Chapter 1 – 4
Prologue
Slowly, the tenth day of the month of Bram came to an end. Sola – as the inhabitants of Chrisidokia called their sun – lost its warming power and hung like a ripe blood orange on the horizon over Wormland’s west.
The air hoverers – that’s what they called the worms, which are similar to our birds – went back to their nests to feed the young. The wise still-standers – which are now what the trees are with us – stopped rustling, rolled up their leaves and got ready for the coming night like all other living creatures. The moons dressed up to begin their journey across the sky in a few minutes and silence descended over land and water.
Yes … Moons. Chrisidokia has two of them. A yellowish, large one called Nadòd and the smaller, brownish Dráan, which move in opposite directions across the sky and sometimes even orbit each other. Actually, the planet even has three moons, but the smallest one – called Scib ‘The-happy-but-one’ – almost always traces its orbit in the shadow of the others, so you almost never get to see it. And when you do: Yes, when it does it’s a big festival. The Scib festival.
Wormland lies on the north-western surface of the world of the planet Chrisidokia. Chrisidokia is soooo far away from Earth that you can’t even see it in the sky among all the other stars… unless you go to Africa up to Mount Kilimanjaro. On its summit, on a clear night with a new moon, you will see a star twinkling far, far to the south. It shimmers greenish-blue and glitters a little. That is Chrisidokia. Maybe your parents will take you to Africa one day if you tell them about Chrisidokia. And if they don’t, then you’ll go there on your own when you grow up. In any case, you now know where Chrisidokia is.
You probably think that people live there just like we do on Earth. Completely wrong and far from it! Not a single human being has ever set foot on this planet.
On Chrisidokia, a tribe of Wormers lived in an area called Wormland. But instead of living together in friendship and harmony, or at least as good neighbours, the Wormers had at some point long ago decided to split into two tribes and dislike each other. They avoided each other wherever they could, retreated to their own part of the tribal territory and if they were unfortunate enough to meet each other, there was anything but a friendly ‘Good day, neighbour, how are you today? It was a very bad situation that only stemmed from the fact that the worms differed from each other in one tiny little thing. It was not such a serious difference as with us humans, where some have a completely different skin colour. No, it was only about the last little end of your ringed body: it was about the tail end.
No one in Wormland was able to change this situation. And only the tribal elders knew how it had come about. They were able to read the Uti scrolls. The entire history of the Wormland was written on these scrolls made of woven and dried seaweed. It said that once upon a time there had been another time – a time when the worms lived in peace and harmony and when there had been no differences between them. But nowadays things were different, and that this was so was regularly evident on Sietag, the last day of the eight-day week in Wormland, when – as the last common ground between the tribal groups – all the adult Wormers met for Uti. But I see already…
Until you know a little more about the back story and beginnings of the time in Wormland, all these things are hard to understand and certainly a little confusing. So let’s start from the beginning.
Or better yet, tomorrow, because there are many wondrous new things that will come your way and you will have to pay very close attention to understand and retain them. In the meantime, I’d better read a little more in the Uti scrolls so that I don’t say anything wrong.
1. The Prehistory
As the saying goes: a long, long time ago, when Sola was still blue … Suns are born blue, and only in the long course of their lives do they change colour. Only when they get older do they glow bright white, like our sun when it’s noon. Much later they turn red and at some point they fade away again …
In any case, only one tribe of Wormers lived in Wormland at that time. The normal Ringwormers. They were peaceful creatures that wouldn’t hurt a fly. They looked a little different from the worms here on earth, because they were a little bigger, had two small but strong arms and were beautifully coloured reddish blue. They had no legs, otherwise they wouldn’t have been worms, but a beautiful ringed tail adorned their slender bodies. They looked cheerfully into the world from alert, clever eyes, and they looked very friendly. They lived on what the land produced and led a pleasant and regular life without much worry.
Their week had eight days and began with the I-day. On this day, all the worms occupied themselves with themselves. They wiped their noses, took a thorough bath and did all kinds of things that one does for oneself. There was no talking the whole day because everyone had to deal exclusively with themselves.
Dutag – the second day of the week – was for the best friend. If one was married, for the family. Small gifts were given, one was helped, the other had a nice meal cooked.
The next days were Sietag, Ertag and Estag. On these days, first the women, then the men and on Estag the children were allowed to do whatever they wanted, while the others had to do their chores. Of course, Estag was the happiest day of the whole week, because if all the children could do what they wanted at once, you can imagine …
Wirtag – the sixth day of the Wörmian week – was what we humans know as the seventh day, Sunday. Everyone was free and did not have to work. People got together for fun and games and were happy to have so much free time. Yours Day was the day to look after the other friendly residents of Wormland. The stillborns, the flowers, the lakes and rivers, the fields and the forest. Especially popular were the woolly maggots and the climbing worms – cute little creatures that were wonderful to play with because they were so cuddly and covered with little hairs that always tickled so nicely when they crawled over a worm’s skin. The climbing rings could even interlock with each other to form a ticklish, lively cushion.
A special kind of friendly and welcome guests were the Rummelangis. These were very special inhabitants of the coast of the Great Water, a large sea near Wormland. From time to time they came to visit Wormland by swimming through the waterways from the Great Water to the Little Water. This was again a lake that bordered directly on the tribal territory of the Wormers. The Rummelangis looked like stones, preferred to lie completely motionless on the beach and said almost nothing at all all day long – except when they were in a good mood. Then they made a very soft ‘Mooooh! When they were laughing, you would hear a soft ‘Tss! or something like that. The Rummelangis were so popular because they were so nice and warm. When the Wormers had bathed in the Little Water, they liked to lie down on the Rummelangis to warm themselves up again, especially when Sola was not shining.
The most unpleasant day of the week was Sietag. It was the day of duties and problems. In the evening, all the adult worms met for uti around the campfire and consulted. Uti is Wormish and translated into human language means something like ‘place-and-time-when-something-changes! It was the meeting where all important events were discussed. The Uti was always chaired by the chief of the tribe. And since time immemorial his name has been Winuwuk. From Winuwuk the First to the Two Hundred and Fifty-Sixth, the present ruler, there was an unbroken line of chiefs with the same name.
The Uti was mainly there to defend itself from the enemies of the Wormers, and there were quite a few of them in and around Wormland: from Krán-Tòr, the huge grey-black predatory air hoverer that circled above the forests, to the bubble fish, a peaceful fellow and inhabitant of the Little Water. If it couldn’t find anything good to eat, it would sometimes catch a worm that had ventured out too far while bathing.
On the Uti, the guards were appointed every week. They had to ensure that the tribe could live in safety until the next sieve day and had to send out quick alarm signals if necessary. This was bitterly necessary, knowing that the Wörmer could disappear in a flash into their caves, play dead or simply burrow into the earth, but had no weapons to defend themselves. And when Kan-Tòr’s shadow appeared in the sky, all the worms – except for the guards – disappeared from the face of the earth. The job of guard was very unpopular among the Wormers, because it was exhausting and very dangerous (which is to be understood).
At one of these Utis – it was during the reign of Winuwuk the One Hundred Fourth – there was a very special problem to discuss. At the time, no one had any idea that it would have such far-reaching consequences. Actually, it was not a serious matter, if not … Anyway: It was about Parla, an old wörmin of the tribe, who had had children for the thirty-fourth time. This was nothing special in itself, for Ringwormers could have children up to two hundred times. Usually only one Worm was born at a time, but Parla had now had twins for the sixteenth time. This was still nothing bad in itself. It only became a problem when the little worms reached puberty, i.e. became adults. Something very strange happened to the respective twin siblings. One of the two children developed normally. Size, appearance and everything else was just right and as it should be among Wormers. His twin, however, suddenly developed a second tail end. Like the forked tongue of a snake at the front of its body, this Worm had two tails at the end of its body.
They wanted to prohibit Parla from having children during this uti, or at least she should no longer have two children at the same time. You can imagine that there was a lot of argument about this point, but no solution.
So life continued to run its course without anything being done. The worms with two tails became more and more numerous, because this small difference was passed on. And the two-tailed worms behaved strangely. They retreated, wanted to be among themselves and were not particularly sociable. So over time, a small tribe formed within the tribe. The normal one-tailed worms felt more and more that they were just something ordinary, but the two-tailed worms were something special. They were now also looking for ways to have something extraordinary, and they soon found it: First it slowly became fashion, then habit and finally a must: every one-tailed worm decorated the end of its tail with a knot. So soon there were no more adult normal ringtail worms, but only the two-tailed and the knot worms. The trunk was split.
For the first few years, everything went well. There were small quarrels and bickering between the two parts of the tribe, but otherwise worm life continued to be peaceful. But little by little, the two kinds of wormers became more and more hostile towards each other. Now, when Winuwuk, the Two Hundred and Fifty-Sixth, ruled, a decision was made that will occupy us a great deal in this story.
But before I go any further, I’ll take another look at the relevant Uti scroll to see what happened at this memorable gathering that would one day go down in Wormland history as the ‘Uti of the Great Awakening’.
2. The Dispute
Sola had just set and the older Wormers met under the big toadstool as they do every Sietag. It didn’t take long at all before you were already on your favourite topic: What is there on the other side of the world? This question has fascinated the Wormers since time immemorial. Because they could drill into the earth and had very good powers of observation, they came to the conclusion that there must be another side of the world. Maybe all you had to do was dig into the earth long enough or walk to the edge of the world and then along the other side. That way you could find out what was there.
A very special legend was the assumption that on the other side of Chrisidokia’s planetary disk there must be a strange kind of Schenagen, which is a kind of snail. And this Schenagen species had a very special kind of Schenagen slime, it was assumed. The Knotenwörmer were firmly convinced that Scheinstein was made of this special slime: This wondrous material that was so infinitely smooth, as hard as stone, but as clear as water, so that you could see through it. You could use it wonderfully for the light openings of the caves, if only you had it to let the daylight in and still keep it warm and safe. The Schenages produced it but left it lying around carelessly because they didn’t realise what they had. The only thing they used it for was as a smooth surface to slide around on just occasionally for fun. The two-tailed worms, on the other hand, were convinced that the paths of the Schenages were made of ice, which they bought from the ice lorries at the East Pole. The ice was paid for – how could it be otherwise – with the gems that formed from the Schenagen’s slime trails dried by Solas. And these were beautiful and very valuable.
Winuwuk tried to calm the general commotion somewhat by calling out in his dark, raspy voice:
“By golly, doesn’t it make any difference what happens over there? We’ll never get the truth out anyway, because we can’t dig that far, let alone crawl that far. The most we could do is ask Krán-Tòr. But I suppose we’d better leave that alone, or do any of you fancy being eaten? “
The chief was a mighty apparition who was especially conspicuous in that the end of his body was lost in a myriad of loops, knots and ringlets that no one would have been able to count. He sat on this tangle as if on a throne, letting only his white head, surrounded by a long flowing beard, peep out. His clear eyes had the clear gleam of knowledge and wisdom, even if they had been clouded lately by concern for his tribe and looked tired.
Naitsirc, the impassive leader of the two-tailed worms, glared at Winuwuk with undisguised resentment, stroked his black, long beard and announced in a cutting voice: “Hear, hear! So our honourable chief doesn’t care what goes on inside us! He doesn’t care what is happening in the world around us and he doesn’t care if we continue to live here as poor and backward as before or if we can share in the wealth of the Schenagen. This is simple and just typical once again. As soon as it comes to discovering something new in the rest of the world, the knot people pull in their tails! “
This statement naturally infuriated Winuwuk beyond measure, but nevertheless he kept his voice dignified and replied outwardly completely calmly: “Very well! It seems that there are two irreconcilable opinions on this subject and also on how we should deal with it. Since nothing seems to change about this and we are getting into more and more arguments about it, I suggest we try to unravel the mystery. “
At some point, there had to be an end to this talk. He couldn’t imagine how they could do it, but his suggestion seemed logical. He would at least make sure that silence returned for a while.
“The only question is how we are going to achieve this. Does anyone have any suggestions on this? “
Loud murmurs started and the worms put their heads together. For so long they had dwelled on the legends and told each other what it was like, but now a great perplexity took hold. What was to be done to get to the bottom of the mystery? Finally Naitsirc spoke up: “For once we agree with you, Winuwuk. Something must be done. But it seems premature to make a quick decision now. We need time to think. I suggest we consider proposals until the next Uti. “
That couldn’t be true, thought Winuwuk. What was wrong with Naitsirc, who was usually so quick-tempered? He was usually the one who was quick to get to the point and wanted to take everything in hand. Now he wanted to think. That could only mean that he had also noticed that there was a big difference between words and deeds. In other words, even this smart-alecky two-tailed worm didn’t dare to just start digging or go off to find the Schenagen. How good. Perhaps no one would be willing. That way the matter would settle itself and the argument would stop all by itself.
“All right, I’ll take your suggestion and I think we should vote on whether and how to proceed. “
Voting was always one of those things. Officially, votes were cast with the tails up and the chief had to count all the votes in order to conduct a proper election. But it had become common practice not to do this because it was very difficult to count all the tails sticking up. Especially when the two-tailed worms started cheating and holding their ends so far apart that you might think they were two tails. Besides, the votes were always reasonably clear anyway. There were about the same number of two-tailed and knot-tailed worms, so there was either a draw because the tribal parts had different opinions or there was a clear vote for or against one thing because the whole tribe was of the same opinion.
So Winuwuk called for the first vote. Perhaps the whole problem disappeared into thin air here.
“All those in favour that we should find out more about the Schenages, raise your tails now! ” Winuwuk urged his subjects in a loud voice.
All the tails on both sides stretched up into the air. Well, then, action was to follow. Winuwuk did not believe that any workable proposal was to be expected or that anything would come of whatever venture, but he had no choice.
“All those in favour of proposals for an expedition to solve the mystery of the Schenages being drawn up by the next Uti, to be put to the vote? “
The same picture. So they really wanted it. All of them. Maybe this was the big chance for his tribe. If they managed to get behind the Schenagen secret, maybe peace could return. But how could that be done?
Winuwuk did not know the answer to that.
3. The Friends
Inwardly stirred by the meeting, but also very tired, everyone went home. The next morning at breakfast, of course, the same topic was discussed in all the families. The children listened curiously, but could no longer hear all this argument.
The next day, the Dutag, when the best friends always met, Araic and Aidualc also saw each other, two Worm boys who were soon to grow up. The special thing about this friendship was that Aidualc came from a knot worm family and Araic from a two-tailed worm family. The parents of the two did not like to see this friendship, and yet Aidualc and Araic always found ways to meet, so that the parents finally gave up trying to separate them. Besides, Aidualc and Araic had not yet decided which tribal group they would belong to. That was because all the Wormers looked completely the same when they were children. They neither had a knot in their tail nor did they have two tail ends. Only on the day they grew up was this question decided.
Since there were two types of wormers, this day was a very special date in the life of a worm. It was the day when they had to leave the carefree world of children and the day of deciding which group they would belong to. With humans, you can never know exactly when a child begins to grow up, but with the worms it always happens on the same day in life and always within a few moments: it always happened in the fifteenth year of life, in the sixteenth month, on the seventeenth day and between the eighteenth and nineteenth hour of the day. In this one hour, the fate of each Worm was decided and which path it would take for the rest of its life. For Araic and Aidualc, it would not be long either. Both had been born on the same day and had long since reached their fifteenth year as worms. So they were now exactly fifteen years, sixteen months and fourteen days old – there were only three days left until the decision.
For the two of them, therefore, there was naturally only one topic at their meeting: that one day when it would be so far: finally grown up and no longer a green tail! Aidualc was just about to tell Araic what he had dreamed last night when he interrupted him:
“You know,” he said, “it would be incredibly nice if we both belonged to the same side. I can’t imagine anything else at all. Then the others would finally stop talking about us. But just imagine if you were a two-tailed worm and I was a knot worm. What would happen then? “
“I don’t know either,” Aidualc replied helplessly. “Then I guess we’ll have to avoid each other for life. “
“Well,” said Araic, “I guess we should wait and see. It won’t be long before we finally know … Depending on how it turned out, we can still rack our brains. “
But inwardly they felt exactly that there was no way they would give up their friendship. This was and remained unimaginable for them. On the other hand, it was equally inconceivable that two adult worms from the other tribal group would have anything to do with each other.
So, once again with a wormy feeling in their stomachs that was a mixture of rising tension and perplexity, the two friends parted that evening and meandered home. Neither of them slept particularly well that night.
The morning of Estag was as it should be for a happy day: the chirping of the mountain swells could be heard early, there had been no sign of Krán-Tòr during the night, and Sola appeared on the horizon as if she had slept particularly well. Her warming rays were already luring the first children out of their burrows to romp around, meander to the Little Water and amuse themselves with the thread maggots and climbing insects. Everyone was in high spirits, it seemed. But unfortunately not everyone. Our two friends Aidualc and Araic just didn’t want to be in an Estags mood. But it was their day! There were exactly seven hours left until the eighteenth hour of the day, but unlike the other children who enjoyed this day as their absolute day of joy, they were sullen and closed off. The traditional last children’s breakfast, which is taken with the whole family on this day, was almost stuck in their throats. Not even the delicious hummus berries with louse porridge produced a little joy.
Fortunately, on this day of transition into the adult world, it was common for the adolescents to withdraw and wait completely alone for the big moment, which was, after all, a very private and personal thing that concerned only oneself. They thought about the future and the past, took stock of their carefree childhood days and tried to work out with themselves what they wanted to achieve as an adult and where their place was.
Araic and Aidualc, however, had met early under their umbrella mushroom in the forest. Neither of them spoke a word; silently they stared ahead and indulged in their own thoughts. By the course of Sola they realised how much time they had left before the decision. Every time another hour passed, they both let out a loud sigh. As Sola slowly sank behind the horizon and the decisive hour approached, they moved closer and closer together until they were finally entwined. Above all, they both instinctively tried to hide the tips of their tails under their bodies.
And then they heard the signal from the village. The long drawn out low note of the tube still horn cut the silence and announced the eighteenth hour of the day. Both looked anxiously and with wide eyes at the ends of their bodies.
“Something’s about to happen, something’s about to happen” Araic said “I feel a very unpleasant tingling in the tip of my cock! “
Aidualc looked at Araic uncomprehendingly and said, “I don’t notice anything at all! “.
And then it happened. The tip of Arac’s tail began to tremble very slightly at first, without him being able to do anything about it. The trembling became more and more violent, the tip of the tail straightened up, and after a while a sound like that of a rattlesnake was heard. Both stared spellbound at the end twitching back and forth. Suddenly Araic let out a strangled cry and Aidualc jumped up in shock. All at once, the skin on the tip of Araic’s tail began to tear open and peel away from his body. Very slowly, a crack formed that continued upwards. There were violent movements underneath, as if a chick was about to hatch from its egg. And indeed, a new, fresh tail suddenly popped out from under the old shell. But that was not all: another followed a few moments later, and the now useless old skin fell to the ground. The tail was split, and it could not have been clearer: Araic had become an adult two-tailed worm.
Aidualc, on the other hand, didn’t move at all. No tingling, no trembling, no skinning and no rattling. The end of his body lay completely unimpressed on the ground and only wriggled back and forth a little now and then as usual. Nothing happened and the crucial time was running out. Aidualc’s eyes filled with tears and when time ran out, he could no longer hold back and began to sob bitterly. Now had happened what they both felt they had been afraid of all along. Araic was supposed to be proud of his beautiful two-tail, and both of them were supposed to be meandering back to the village, beaming with joy, to prepare to find a place for a burrow of their own, but they remained paralysed. Finally Aidualc whispered:
“I don’t want to be a node worm if you’re not. I don’t want to have to avoid you. I want to keep being your friend. I want, I want, I want, you hear me? “
Araic only murmured, “What are we going to do now, what are we going to do now? “without getting an answer.
He slowly recovered from the transformation and gradually became aware of the fact that he was now an adult and a two-tailed worm. Then he made a serious face, the kind adults make when they have something very important to say.
“You know”, he said, “that we both have to return to our families now and make the preparations necessary to have our own burrow soon. After all, they also have a right to know whether the family still belongs together or whether it has now lost a son. At least they will be happy that everything remains the same in this respect. I’ll make you a suggestion: we’ll go home for now and meet here again tonight. Then we’ll discuss how things can continue with us. “
Sadly, Aidualc nodded in agreement. But before they left their mushroom, Araic solemnly helped Aidualc to tie a knot in his tail. It turned out to be a beautiful knot, sitting exactly where it should. After all, Aidualc had to return to his family as a proper adult. Although the situation was so not cheerful, Aidualc could not help feeling a little bit proud of his new piece of jewellery.
When they arrived home, the joy was great. Both had to tell in detail how everything had happened. They had to pull themselves together to share in the general joy and at least pretend to be just as happy as their relatives that at least in the family everything remained as it had been until then. They were insistently reminded of their coming duties. This was, of course, first and foremost the building of their own cave. But just like that, they again heard the admonitions that there could be no friendship between knot-twisters and two-tailed twisters and that they now had to keep their distance from each other. As a child, such behaviour would have been just about tolerable, but as an adult such a thing was absolutely impossible!
At last they all went to sleep, after this exciting day. Araic and Aidualc could hardly wait until they could hear the steady snoring of their relatives, crept quietly out of the cave and made their way to their mushroom, which stood there gloomily in the glow of the moon Nadòd. Their mood and perplexity had still not changed, however, and so they sat silently looking at the moon.
All at once, Araic jumped up, did a real dance of joy under the mushroom’s spreading umbrella and almost couldn’t get himself together again:
“Now I have the idea! That’s it! Hooray, that’s the solution! Why didn’t I think of it before? “he shouted again and again, ignoring the helpless shouts of his friend, who was now desperate to know what was going on and what had suddenly happened. After Araic had calmed down, he began to explain:
“Now that we are adults, we can take part in the Uti for the first time next Sietag and even have the right to speak and vote. At the last Uti, there was this vote, wasn’t there? Well, you know! About the problem with the slimy days and the whole argument. So now I’ve thought that you can only find out the truth if you take a close look at the matter directly in Schenagenland. But you can’t do that alone. That would be far too dangerous! “.
“That’s right! “Aidualc agreed, still totally confused.
“So at least two of us have to go on the journey,” Araic continued. “But there is already the next problem: it would be downright impossible in the current situation for two Wormers from the same tribe to set off. They might say something else when they return, and no one from the other tribe would believe a word anyway. So the quarrel would start all over again, and it would all have been to no avail. “
“Right! But what do you suggest? “, Aidualc asked, without getting much smarter.
“So one worm from each group would have to go. But which knotted worm would put up with a two-tailed worm for such a long time and on such a dangerous journey? Well? No one! Except … “.
“Except? “, Aidualc repeated, still not understanding a word.
“Except for you and me! “, Araic shouted enthusiastically into the night. “We’ll suggest that we both go! That way we’d have shaken several thread maggots off the still-stand at once! Firstly, we could be together, secondly, we could do something for the whole tribe by finally finding out what is really on the other side of Chrisidokia, and thirdly, we could have a real genuine, exciting, dangerous and unique adventure! “
“Yes, of course! Of course! “, Aidualc now also began to shout, with whom it had now clearly been worming. “And we might even be able to ensure that the tribal animosities are sorted out once and for all. “
With joy at this idea, they hugged each other and wriggled and wriggled around the base of the umbrella mushroom until they felt quite dizzy.
4. The Uti
They were all there, and the solemn but slightly tense atmosphere again prevailed as at every Uti. The fire in the middle and the torches around the gathering place bathed the Wormers present in flickering light. Chief Winuwuk had sat down on his ancestral mound and was still sorting out his infinitely long body when Araic and Aidualc joined the gathering from their respective tribal sides. It was quite exciting, for the first time they could participate in the deliberations directly and did not have to rely on rumours and gossip. Winuwuk cleared his throat noisily and opened the meeting.
“As decided at the last Uti, we will make it our business as soon as possible to find out more about the other side’s schenagen. Therefore, I propose that we now deal with the question of how we want to proceed. Everyone was invited to give us their suggestions today. If there are any ideas, let them be put forward now! “
Winuwuk fixed his gaze on Naitsirc, expecting him to be the first to make a suggestion. But he avoided his gaze and suddenly seemed to be looking for something on the floor. The king looked around, but could not see anyone else in the large crowd of wormers who even made an effort to speak. Everyone seemed to be waiting for the others, and so nothing happened at all. Everywhere, there were embarrassed faces. So much for courage and worms. There seemed to be no proposal. All right. Then I’ll make sure once and for all that this nonsense disappears from the scene forever, Winuwuk thought grimly. Idiotic shenanigans! I’m not going to let them completely destroy my tribe.
The chief cleared his throat again and raised his voice again. He knew exactly what he wanted to say and he would shout it in their faces so that reason would finally return.
“As I understand from your silence, no one is …. “
“Yes! “
“I beg your pardon? “Winuwuk had heard the word, but could neither believe that someone was about to say something, nor who had spoken it.
“I said: yes, you do! And I meant that I would like to speak after all and that I have a suggestion after all! “
Araic had actually done it. He had spoken up for the first time at a Uti. His tail was trembling and his voice sounded very uncertain. But when those first sentences were out, a tremendous pride spread through him. Now it had to go on like this. Aidualc couldn’t believe it. He was standing on the opposite side of the meeting place by the knot wranglers and was completely frozen when he heard his friend’s voice. Now it was getting serious. How would the Wormers react to the proposal the two of them had come up with. The end of his tail trembled when he thought that he might also have to appear before the large group of old and experienced Wörmer.
Winuwuk looked around in despair. There! At the very back, between the two-tailed wolves! It had come from the corner there. And the voice had sounded very young. Who the heck was that?
“What’s your name? “
“My name is Araic, and I have a proposition to make. “
Araic? Winuwuk thought for a moment. Of course, that young brat. He had grown up last week and was allowed to participate in a Uti for the first time. But how dare this young worm open his mouth at his first Uti. Normally, one had to keep quiet at the first Utis and listen respectfully to the elders. But that was the way it was: everyone had the right to speak! So also this newcomer, who certainly still had a green tail. Reluctantly, he gave him the floor.
“Well, good. Araic. Speak then and tell us what is on your mind! “
Winuwuk did not believe in a serious proposal and was already preparing a suitable retort in his head that would drive the boy’s ideas out of his head.
But then he listened to Arac’s words. What he said was nothing short of astonishing. It was not only serious, it even sounded really reasonable. Two worms to go on the journey … One from each part of the tribe … It sounded logical. It even sounded very logical. It was not only logical, it was the solution. But no! Who would be so crazy among the knot worms to be completely alone with a two-tailed worm for so long? That would never work out well.
That was precisely the question Araic had put at the end of his speech. The question of whether there was anyone from the Knotworms who would be willing to accompany him on this dangerous journey.
Silence. Again there was only an embarrassed silence. And again it became clear how little courage the Wormers had and how little they could crawl over their own shadow. Araic could hardly bear the silence. On the one hand, he fervently hoped that someone else would not want to accompany him. Someone older, more experienced and stronger than Aidualc and him. On the other hand, he hoped just as strongly that Aidualc would not back out now and not come forward out of fear.
The silence continued. Winuwuk smiled to himself. All right. I guess that finally settles the issue …
“Me! “
Tentatively, but still for all to hear.
Oh, no! It couldn’t be. Who was that again?
“Who shouted ‘I’ just now! “
“I, Aidualc of the Knotworms! I wish to accompany Araic! “
They were the heaviest words he had ever spoken and they did not sound particularly convincing. But still, there was no doubt in the minds of any of the Wormers present that he meant what he said. Aidualc thought he would faint, so weak did he feel all at once. But it was said. He looked over at Araic, who returned his gaze with a proud wink.
But now it all stopped! Another young guy like that! And then also the one Araic had always played with as a child. They still seemed to understand each other, despite the separation. What am I supposed to do now, thought Winuwuk, who didn’t know what to do despite his age and experience. He couldn’t let these two green tails move to the other side of Chrisidokia. Or maybe he could?
“Both of them may step forward! “I must buy some time, thought the chief, and have a good look at them first. And so the two friends gathered up their trembling bodies and slowly and unsteadily meandered into the middle of the large circle to Winuwuk at the fire.
“Are the words really meant seriously or is it a silly young worm prank? You know that speaking on a Uti is a very serious thing! There is no joking around here! “
“We mean it! “came out of both mouths at the same time.
They looked healthy and strong, and in their eyes, there was a flash of something that looked like they really wanted to do what they had just suggested.
“So, good. So be it. Let us make the decision. “
Winuwuk cleared his throat again and addressed everyone. Maybe the worms would stop them from this madness.
“All in favour of sending Araic of the Two-Tailed Wormers here on one side and Aidualc of the Knot Wormers here on the other on the great journey and tasking them with solving the mystery of the Schenagen? “
Immediately, all the tails shot up, and when everyone realised that it was so, cheers suddenly rang out and loud applause rang out. The spell was broken. There was a decision, and there was someone who was going to provide a solution. Everyone shouted loudly to encourage the two and made the ground shake by tapping it with the ends of their tails.
When the commotion had died down to some extent, Winuwuk took the floor again and announced the end of the Uti.
“I will discuss the details with the two ambassadors and ask you to give them all the support and help they need for this unusual journey over the next few days! That concludes the Uti! Now go home in peace! “
The next three days were made an exception. So there was no Me Day, Sie Day or Er Day, but three days in a row on which the preparations necessary for such a long journey were made.
Amta, the wise Wörmin, showed them what edibles they would find on their journey and how to prepare them. After all, they could only take a few provisions with them for the first few days. She also showed them all kinds of herbs and roots and their healing properties in case something should happen to them. There were recipes for everything from remedies for colds to sleeping potion. She also gave them a bag containing dried herbs, in case there was nothing nearby in case of emergency.
Barla taught them how to follow Sola and the stars on their journey so that they would not lose their way, and finally Winuwuk told them how best to deal with alien creatures. Friendly and polite, but firm. That was his opinion. Of course, this or that of the other Wormers also gave them good advice, because everyone wanted to contribute something to this exciting adventure.
Araic and Aidualc’s heads were smoking after these three days from all the things they had to learn. Nevertheless, they were very confident that they would at least retain most of it. Punctually on the last evening before departure, everything was done and they spent the last night in the caves of their respective families. They could hardly fall asleep because of the excitement, but finally the tiredness was stronger and they fell into a dreamless sleep.