by a fine gauze soaked in some oily liquid being laid over the injury and covered with bandages. Depending on the severity of the damage, the wounds were completely fixed within one day to a week, leaving no scar! Vasquez got the idea that her services were used merely as a good-mannered, token gesture. The villagers themselves tended to all injuries and ailments, with no need for a medical service or hospital.
Even with the fantastic knowledge, deaths did occur, mostly as a result of age, which the Elders did not interfere with as it was accepted as nature’s way of keeping a balance. In rare cases, illnesses suffered by children and young people could not be cured and deaths resulted from this, also.
Burials proved interesting to the missionaries. All bodies received a respectful funeral, being dressed in their finest, colourful garb. For females, a small bunch of humming bird feathers tied together, would be placed against the left thigh, whilst with males, the bunch would be placed against the right thigh. It was firmly believed that the bird, which had so many abilities in flight, assisted the soul of the person to enter their heavenly place. All were cremated.
However, even the cremation was something of wonder in that the heat generated in the crematorium was of an unbelievable intensity. The body would be placed into a pod measuring seven feet by four, made of hardened mud and sealed by a lid of the same substance. The pod, a permanent fixture, stood on top of a similar structure, this being the furnace, standing three feet from the ground and slightly longer and wider that the pod. This would then be filled with timber together with mixtures of earth locally gathered, and then sealed.
A shaft, protruding from a place about half way down the furnace and containing a central groove filled with dry timbers, would be ceremoniously lit by the Elder and the whole pushed back in. After a few seconds, the fire within could be heard humming and roaring, building to a heat that caused the exterior to glow a dull red, then white. A loud ‘whoompf’ and the cremation was complete, the people then dispersing to their homes. The whole cremation would last no more than three minutes! No ashes were saved and there were no markers to honour the dead.
Ignatious worked hard at conversion but even he had no success, the tribe seemed content as they were and saw no reason to defect to another God. This strange new God of which the visitors spoke, was invisible; there was no evidence of His being. Nor did He offer much protection; the priests were more vulnerable to the rigours of the world than were this small band of people living in relative isolation. At least the Incuda’s Gods were here, within reach.
Over time, Ignatious and his companions grew into the new society, still trying to convince the tribe to accept the Christian God but realising that theirs was a lost cause. Whilst Ignatious remained celibate, using the power of prayer to resist the many and easy temptations, his companions fell into that part of the village life with ease.
Ottomier, the American, seemed to have found an outlet for his hidden lusts as he regularly took young girls into his dwelling, girls as young as twelve and thirteen. The Elder was quite willing to grant his permission, this being nothing out of the ordinary in his society. Even Christian had allowed himself to indulge on a regular basis, the lure of young flesh being irresistible to him, although his choice was girls of more maturity. Vasquez, too, after resisting commendably for several months, began to throw herself into what Ignatious saw as sinful perversion, in that she started to entertain the young of both sexes.
Ignatious had befriended one of the tribesmen, a young man of around twenty years of age, with whom he spent much of his time. He went about with his friend, named as Karakta, into the jungles and stood with him as he commanded the various beasts, either to come to him or go away. Try though he may, Ignatious could not master this skill. The pair also went fishing together and a strong bond was forged.
The missionaries started to neglect their original orders and gradually gave up on trying to convert these unique people, instead going with them into their dwellings or out on food missions, or simply enjoying the treks into the jungles and along the river. All in all, the group became part of the community, marvelling at the simple yet, in some ways, advanced life.
After a year had passed, the group showing no inclination to move on as their duties demanded, Karakta persuaded Ignatious to stay in his dwelling for a full day, concentrating on his mind. He was urged to search into it, re-live his life to the present, sort the useful from the useless and dwell on the power that lay dormant. He was to do this without break for food or natural bodily requirements, including sleep. When the morning broke, he could then sleep for as long as he wished.
Without deviation, Ignatious carried out his friend’s instructions, falling asleep after the proper period and remaining that way for a full twelve hours. After waking and carrying out his normal functions, Ignatious sought out Karakta, eventually finding him by the river.
“Ah! So you have returned, my friend,” he said, smiling broadly and using the mixture of Portuguese and Spanish that Ignatious and the rest of the party had now become accustomed to.
Ignatious walked over and hugged Karakta. “Yes. I did as you said and I have to say that I feel strangely uplifted. Now, why did you want me to do that?”
Karakta, still smiling, motioned for Ignatious to come with him as he walked along the river. Falling into step together, they walked towards a cluster of thick bushes skirting the tangle of jungle some twenty yards away. Here they stopped. “Okay,” said Karakta. This is the test.”
“Test?”
“Yes. Remember the dragon lizards you saw when you first came?”
Ignatious nodded in response, a nervous tremor rippling through his stomach at the thought.
“Look towards these bushes, picture the dragons and will them to come to you.”
Ignatious looked at his friend suspiciously. “Why do you want me to do that, Karakta?” he asked.
“Just do it, my friend. I will not interfere. Just do as I ask.”
To humour Karakta, Ignatious turned to the bushes, nervously aware of the low growling that had now begun behind the plants, and began to concentrate. ‘Dragon, come to me,’ he thought. ‘Come to me.’
Suddenly two of the frightening dragons appeared, tongues snaking, teeth bared and growling menacingly, walking towards the two friends.
Instinctively, Ignatious thought: ‘Move back! Get back in there!’
To his great surprise, the beast obeyed! Turning as one, they ambled back into the thickness of the bushes. Ignatious swivelled to look at his friend, an expression of bewilderment on his face. “What? What?” he stuttered.
Karakta chuckled. “There you are. You now have the power of your mind. The Elder and everyone here saw in you, a different being from your comrades. You held a dormant power within your brain that we were able to detect. You will have noticed tribes where you last visited treating you with a different respect. That is because of the power that was, in a way, leaking out. Use it. Practice and do not let the skill go, even when you return to your own world.”
Ignatious had completely forgotten about his ‘own world,’ that was far away, lost in the past. However, the mention of it stirred his conscience. It was the duty of the party to leave here and go about their sacred work. He felt a strong degree of sadness at the realisation.
Understanding Ignatious’s reservations, Karakta put an arm around him in comfort. “Sorry I spoke of your world. I can see it has troubled you. There is no need to leave here, Gawain,” he used the name given when the friendship first began. “You and your friends are welcome for as long as you wish.”
“Ignatious shook his head. “No. We do not have a choice, Karakta. Our duty is to our God and we must follow His commands. I will speak to the others tomorrow.”
Sadly, the pair returned to the village. It was becoming dusk, the Sun slipping gently below the earth’s curvature. The village was quiet and almost deserted. As they stood, lost in their thoughts, Ignatious reached a decision. He would not broach the subject of leaving; not just yet, anyway. He was certain that Christian and Ottomier would now be satiating their lust with the nubile girls of the village, and that Vasquez may well be doing likewise. ‘Have they lost all sense of their vocation?’ he thought. He also decided to keep his newfound power
