Carlos broke his gaze and looked back at his father, the Calusa High Priest and then to his men. Of the five hundred who left their homeland, only twenty three warriors now lived. Carlos’ only son had perished in the battle.
He had considered for the past two days what he must do next. He kept coming back to a decision he did not want to make. Finally after wrestling with that decision, he realized it was the only decision.
He left the ledge overlooking the village and walked back to his men. There, he sat down in his designated place between his father and his most noble warrior, Dominic. Each warrior looked at Carlos reverently and with anticipation. Before he spoke, he turned to look at his father. The High Priest knew the words his son was about to speak as he had spoken those words to his own father many years before.
“I call on the spirits to accept our High Priest into the Land of the Three Gods. May he go now and battle for eternity with those who came before him.” Tears filled Carlos’ eyes as he cast them towards his father and the High Priest returned a sad smile.
From his pouch, the High Priest unwrapped an ancient knife as he walked into the center of the circle of men. He knelt and raised the knife above his head while praying to the Three Gods. He gave one final look to his son and drove the knife into the soft flesh of his stomach above the navel. He drew the blade upward and remained composed and silent as the knife reached and pierced his heart. The High Priest’s blood pooled beneath his dying body as he exited the mortal world.
When the death was concluded, Carlos walked to his father’s body. The knife remained in its position of demise and Carlos grasped the bloody handle. With a firm thrust, both the blade and his hand entered the cavity that had been carved during his father’s Death Ceremony and he used the steel to cut his father’s heart free.
He pulled the heart from the body and raised it to the sky, praying to the Three Gods to guide his father. Then, he bit into his father’s heart, transferring his father’s power to him.
He used the same knife to dig a hole in the ground and buried the heart.
Carlos stood facing the Calusa for the first time as their High Priest. He wiped the red circle from his forehead – drawn in blood and the sign of the High Chief – and removed the cloth from his waist. The High Priest wore no clothing so that there would be no barrier between the Three Gods and him.
He removed the boar tusks that hung from his neck and replaced them with his father’s necklace of bones. “I am your High Priest. My son would have been your High Chief had he not died honorably in combat. In the tradition of our people, I now call on the ritual of High Combat to name our new High Chief.”
“Dominic,” Carlos announced. Dominic was the highest noble of the Calusa and all eyes turned to him as he stood. “You will combat for High Chief against Antonio.”
A hush came over the warriors. Dominic had been chosen based on his nobility. Antonio was also a high noble among the Calusa but had left them.
The Calusa believed a man followed his spirit guide which showed him the path to follow. Antonio’s path led him away from his people and they did not fault him for that but some examined whether Antonio should be allowed to fight in High Combat. They wondered why he would he want to return.
Their protest remained unspoken as no man dared to question Carlos. It was decided: the next morning, the Calusa would return to the village where they had suffered much death and a new High Chief would be named.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Eduardo was the first to spot the Calusa warriors. They came under a banner of truce – the head of their former High Priest turned backwards atop a spear. Eduardo’s first thought was they had come to avenge their fallen but Antonio clarified the meaning of the backwards head. “The eyes look backwards and cannot see forward to battle.”
The Calusa were welcomed in the village and greeted by Antonio in the village commons. Antonio and Carlos embraced and as they did, Carlos whispered the words in Antonio’s ear, “You are summoned to High Combat.”
Antonio pulled back surprised. After the words sank in, he lifted his chin to stare straight into Carlos’ face. “I accept High Combat.”
The ritual was prepared and late that afternoon, the Men of Nod joined the circle of Calusa warriors around Carlos, Dominic and Antonio.
High Combat would begin with the setting sun. The ordeal was to be fought by hand and would conclude when one man was unable to continue (there was no submission). The victor would be named High Chief. A circle had been drawn on the ground with white dust around Antonio and Dominic and they circled each other as they waited for the sun to set.
The sun met the horizon and Carlos began to dance – the bones of his necklace rattling. The dance continued for several minutes before it ended suddenly with Carlos urinated in the dirt, forming a circle in the center of the chalk ring. Raising his hands he prayed, “I call on the Three Gods to command the ritual of High Combat.”
He turned his gaze to Antonio and Dominic. “One of you will be our High Chief. I pray as you fight you call on the spirits
