Tavaar - 2nd Edition

Yes, I am back to talking about Tavaar. I think she is probably the most interesting of all the characters, but she is not the Main Character. Why not, if she is so interesting? There are several reasons, but a lot of it has to do with the fact that she's only had a name for the last ten years. Thirty years ago, at the story's conception, she didn't even exist. She's a Sally-Come-Lately, but a wonderful addition. I think.

Last week I left off with Tavaar having lost the annual Mock Sword Tournament to Shello. It was the first time she had ever lost to anyone, and it didn't sit well. Her idiot brother, Pulich, who was eleven years older, torked her off and she fought him. She didn't win - but neither did she lose. An important point. (very important)

We begin this week with Tavaar having won the Mock Sword Tournament at the age of ten. Family members would compete in the Mock Sword Tournament eighteen times, beginning at age eight (8) and completing their run at age twenty-five (25). There were six (6) groupings (NOTE: I am using our lettering. Their alphabet was completely different.):

Group A: 8-year-olds (They competed alone)
Group B: 9 and 10-year-olds (9)
Group C: 11 to 13-year-olds (12, 13)
Group D: 14 to 16-year-olds (14, 15)
Group E: 17 to 20-year-olds (17*, 18, 19)
Group F: 21 to 25-year-olds (21, 22, 23**, 24)

The numbers to the right (without stars) indicate the ages when Tavaar had to compete against Shello, who was a year older than she. She would lose to him every time. When she didn't have to compete against him, she won. At seventeen, Tavaar fought Khaiu, and she fought Klarissa at age twenty-three.

I apologize for the writing. This is pretty much how it was written by hand in a notebook. I've made a few minor changes, but nothing significant. My purpose in these first drafts is to simply get what happened down. I worry less about the how, trusting myself to edit it appropriately later.

The pattern continued. When Tavaar competed against Shello, she lost. Otherwise, she won. Their battles were fierce, and it always seemed she could win, but she never did. She hated the defeats, but she was gaining respect for this warrior who would not be beaten. What she did not know was she was also making a favorable impression on Shello and his older brother, (1)Khaiu. She became aware of it when she won the sword championship at age sixteen. Shello and Khaiu came to congratulate her. They greeted her with kisses, as was the custom. However, when Shello kissed her the kiss became passionate. Tavaar had kissed before, many times. Kissing was actually encouraged at the full moon bonfires. Up to this moment, though, Tavaar had never felt the passion, despite her efforts to generate it. Now, with Shello’s lips pressed against her own, passion awoke, touching every nerve, giving her a new awareness of touch and sensuality.

They broke apart. Tavaar's breathing was shallow, and her entire body felt warm. At first she was enraptured, but that immediately changed to a feeling of being exposed. She looked into his eyes, longing for reassurance but terrified of finding mocking laughter. She had been caught by surprise, which did not happen often. She was afraid. But Shello’s eyes showed no laughter. There was no hint of triumph or accomplishment. He looked startled, perhaps even amazed. And there was something else: Shello looked timid and fearful. He had been caught by surprise, too.

Tavaar recovered her poise and with an exhilarating realization she understood she finally had the advantage of this magnificent young warrior. She took the initiative. She kissed him again. This time the passion was not accidental. She had summoned it. It had come at her desire and he was helpless against it. She had won.

Khaiu broke them apart unceremoniously, remarking that he and Shello still had to fight each other for the seventeen to twenty-year-old championship. Tavaar let them go. Shello’s frequent looks back were all she needed. She wasn't a little girl anymore.

(1) references a footnote which simply states: This was the first hint that Khaiu, not Shello, would be Tavaar’s actual love.

From this point on Tavaar is no longer just a little girl who can fight well. She is now aware of her sexuality, and quickly learns how to use it to her advantage. She is entering that period of her life which will generate her reputation henceforth. Some of it was fun to write. Some of it wasn't.

Book I explicitly states that Tavaar and Shello were once lovers. Now here, in a passage written later, we are told Khaiu was Tavaar's actual love. How do these two seemingly opposing statements reconcile to each other? Simple. Tavaar loved them both, and she took both for lovers. But according to this footnote, she loved Khaiu more.

Now, to something related.

Tavaar was sixteen when she first experienced these feelings of sexuality and desire. In Book I, Khirhsa is nineteen. And if you read through the archives you would find this is about right for everyone in the family - all seven thousand of them.

Seems a bit old, doesn't it? Maybe even - odd?

There are reasons for it, but none of the books directly address any of them. The books treat this as normal and hence have little to say about it. However, since at least one person has remarked unfavorably about this, more than implying there is something "wrong", or even sick about it, I will try to explain.

First, and this is most important, the reader must understand that Swords of Fire does not take place in modern day America, England, France, Germany, Australia, Brazil, Kenya or any other place on this planet. In Western Culture, sexuality comes early (much too early to my way of thinking, but that's a different topic) to our children. Some are dating as young as twelve, including sexual activity. For this reason it is easy for even some of our societies' most conservative members to accept sexual awareness at age sixteen.

One hundred years ago that was far less true than it is today. I do not deny that some pretty wild behavior took place then, but it was far less widespread - and certainly less acceptable. When I was young, living in rural Minnesota, only the most wild (in our area anyway) ever went on dates before sixteen, and most did not date until they were seventeen or older. Television was only beginning to relax its standards, and magazine and billboard advertising were quite tame compared to what we find today.

My point? Even thirty years ago a sixteen-year-old knew a lot less about sex and sexual behavior than sixteen-year-olds today. And in other cultures (we might call them primitive, but they might not appreciate that) this sexual ignorance was even more pronounced. Physical maturity plays a big role in sexual awareness, but Culture can - and often does - suppress it. That is the case in Khirhsa's family. It is a cultural thing, whether we like/agree with it or not.

But beyond culture, there is another overriding force which affected the people in Khirhsa's family. That is the water from Fire Mountain and Fire Lake.

In Book I, the water is spoken of as having healing properties. It heals minor wounds quickly, and cures minor illnesses. The Power of the mountain has leeched into the water, the soil, the food they eat, the animals they hunt and - themselves. It has extended their lifespans by as much as fifty percent. It has made them physically strong. But not all of the effects are desirable. While stronger than any other of the Free People, they mature much more slowly, particularly after the age of twenty. (Tavaar is fifty-six when she and Khirsha have their romantic encounter. Khirsha is nineteen. Converting their physical ages to our own it would be more like twenty-eight and sixteen.) Also, in line with this, they do not reproduce as quickly. A large family would be four children. Most had two or three.

The books do not address these issues directly, beyond hinting that the water explains their lifespans. When entering any new world there are some things which are not explained. One must just accept them as parts of the reality in which one now resides.