Or he was teasing them, though, his darker coloration was more agreeable to the anthropoid sensibilities, and they only ever questioned the disguise when Gazda added decorative flourishes to it.
Sometimes he drew fish “scales” or etched the jagged hash marks of “fur” on his muddy limbs. Those symbols invited appreciative glances and much interest, for the apes enjoyed good riddles—unlike the complaints that were caused when he upset the blackbacks by outlining the bones on his arms, legs and chest after applying a fresh layer of mud.
The male apes saw such artistic endeavors as a threat to tribal peace and security, and eventually there was such an uproar that Goro would have banned the practice had Gazda not started leaving for days at a time to test his camouflage in the wild.
Time continued to pass for creatures that were unaware of its passage, except perhaps for dimly noting the waxing and waning of the moon. Instead, the conditions of life dictated the terms and so the young were born and the lucky ones grew to adulthood only to have young of their own should fortune smile.
These adults matured and evolved to suit their natures, ever seeking some pinnacle within the group, and to preserve its elevation. Females rose in stature through the broader hierarchy, and in the tighter embrace of motherhood brought many new members to the fold; as their male counterparts swelled in size and prowess to protect the tribe while gaining skills and courage to one day challenge their massive leader.
Within this milieu Gazda matured, and learned the ways of hunting, yes from the actions of the bull apes, but he also learned by watching and mimicking the behaviors of other successful animal hunters.
Like an ape he moved at speed through the high canopy as stealthy as a black panther on a scent, and closer still he came to resemble the snake, patiently slithering inch by inch until he was in striking range—while at other times he came as an eagle knifing down with irresistible force.
Then also did he employ their methods and with his own fangs or claws tore at the throats of his prey, or with his long knife punctured skulls or chests of those he would consume—the unsuspecting. Still at other times like the apes and like the snake did Gazda grapple with creatures of the jungle and with his strength alone crush out their life, or hold them as he drank it down.
All as time progressed unmarked except when action played in the hot red space between life and death, until another year and more came and passed. And there, at the end of this did Gazda, taller now and much, much stronger, stand with a foot upon the broken chest of another unlucky creature and beating his own breast until the medallion upon it jumped at each fierce strike; he gave his mighty bull-ape cry.
This while in his racing heart were the words: “I am Gazda of the Apes. A great hunter and killer!”
1907
Thirteen years of age.
CHAPTER 18 – Seeds of Ambition
And while the night ape hunted, life in the tribe continued along its unremarkable course. Goro was king, and none would challenge him. Old Baho grew older and the hair atop his head was thinner, but he showed his loyalty, and shared sentry duties with the blackbacks.
Baho also shared his wisdom with the young, and told them that strength in one meant strength in all. The tribe was carried on the backs of all its members, blackback, she-ape, and infant, and all had to honor the king, for it was upon the silverback’s shoulders that the tribe was borne.
These apes of Goro’s tribe were slow to reproduce with the females birthing offspring no more than every five to six years. The many seasons since Gazda’s adoption had produced a comparative “stasis” in terms of numbers, with the total apes now 61. The young had replaced the old, and the cautious filled the space left by the reckless. But this tribe of apes did not breed quickly, and that fact was responsible for their dwindling numbers at that time, and was what led to their eventual extinction.
Calamitous loss of numbers had taken its toll upon the species in the past, as it had on other offshoots of other species. Drought, earthquake and fire presented changes too rapid for the intelligent apes to breed or evolve their way past, and so often as was the case, the most successful tribes maintained at best the status quo. They clung to existence along the coast of a dark continent that would one day forget them, as it had a myriad other kinds.
In times long past, lands like Goro’s had bordered other territories ruled by apes of his kind, but slowly those anthropoids had been replaced by the ruthless and rugged chimpanzee bands, and by loose collections of gorilla groups.
And that was nothing compared to the damage caused by the approach of human beings. As their numbers grew, so did their rapacious need for territory and resources like those found within the borders of Goro’s land. In time, that tide would become too powerful for any group of beasts to turn.
It could be argued that the only chance for Goro’s apes once lay in the cunning of Omag and the aging queens, for in their talk was the development of foresight, and the treasured knowledge of cause and effect and of desires fulfilled—facets of sentience that were powerful tools inherent to the tribe, but that needed exercising to develop as true survival skills.
Skills that admittedly did not guarantee survival, for at one time the whole world had eavesdropped upon many such cunning anthropoid species, and must have buzzed with the whispers of ambitious apes that are now forever gone.
So here Omag, Oluza and Akaki flattered young Ulok who was fast growing in size and strength. Years older than Gazda, he had been a blackback for some seasons now,
