The Song of Mawu. Jeff Edwards

      

      The Song of

      MAWU

      JEFF EDWARDS

      About the author

      Jeff Edwards lives in Penrith on the outskirts of Sydney, located on the bank of the Nepean River and at the foot of the magnificent Blue Mountains where he and his family have developed strong community ties through their business and sporting activities.

      He is the proprietor of a commercial agency supplying process serving and investigation services to a wide variety of clients in the legal profession.

      Both he and his wife Lyn are members of the board of directors of the Nepean Rowing Club.

      Jeff’s sixth novel is the promised return of the characters in his Jade Green series. He believed that this would be the last in the series right up until The sword of Gilgamesh demanded to be written. Hopefully that novel will be released next year.

      Reader comments are always appreciated and the writer can be reached at: [email protected]

      Published in Australia by Sid Harta Publishers Pty Ltd,

      ABN: 46 119 415 842

      23 Stirling Crescent, Glen Waverley, Victoria 3150 Australia

      Telephone: [phone], Facsimile: [phone]

      E-mail: [email protected]

      First published in Australia 2016

      This edition published 2017

      Copyright © Jeff Edwards 2016

      Cover design, typesetting: Chameleon Print Design

      The right of Jeff Edwards to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

      This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to that of people living or dead are purely coincidental.

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

      Edwards, Jeff

      The Song of Mawu

      ISBN: 9781925282696 (eBook)

      Digital distribution by Ebook Alchemy

      eBook Created by Warren Broom

      Acknowledgements

      As always I must give thanks for the support of Lyn,

      my wife and definitely my better half.

      Without her calming words and patience I would have inflicted much damage upon my computers. Her sage advice and keen editing has seen my work

      emerge in a tolerable form.

      Thanks also to Barbara Ivusic who agreed to edit this epic at short notice.

      Hers is the final effort that makes this novel worth reading.

      Prologue

      Mawu the moon goddess, bestower of fertility and motherhood, sister to the sun god Lisa, shone her silvery light upon the small forest glade where the young doe nibbled gently at a tuft of lush grass. She was in season for the first time and even as she ate the doe was aware of the almost imperceptable vibrations transmitted through the forest floor by the approach of the stag. A shiver of anticipation passed through her slim body.

      Loko, the god of the trees and forests, watched on from up high. He was all too familiar with the tabeleu which was about to take place and relished in watching the stag’s performance. Loko knew that with the great stag’s seed within her, the doe’s offspring would be healthy and strong, thereby ensuring the survival of the herd and the valuable part they played in the life cycle of his forest.

      The doe’s ears twitched and she ceased cropping just as a forminable shadow entered the clearing, brought unerringly to this spot by her scent. She remained silent with her head held high as the stag drew near and began nuzzling at her flanks.

      Sure now that the doe was in season, the stag mounted his willing partner and thrust deep within her.

      From his vantage point among the tree tops Loko smiled. The great stag has done his duty yet again.

      ***

      Unseen by the mesmerised Loko, and undetected by the rutting animals, Rang, the god of hunting, leaned on his mighty spear while he too watched the mating pair, and waited for his opportunity.

      Rang had been following the great stag for some time now and knew that the stag’s moment of truth was at hand. Earlier, Rang had watched while the old warrior had successfully fought off all the young contenders and proven yet again that he and he alone deserved the right to impregnate the females of the herd.

      Now the great stag dropped back off the doe. His last.

      Rang nodded silently toward him. Well done great one, but now your time has come.

      While following the great stag, Rang had noted that this season he had only just been successful in overcoming his rivals and knew that next season he would surely fail, and be replaced by a younger rival.

      Even as he mounted this doe, Rang had seen the quivering of the stag’s hind legs as he strived to support his immense body in the act of impregnating his partner, and Rang understood that this was another sign of the great stag’s decline.

      The gods will sing your praises old man as they dine upon your fine flesh.

      ‘Shine your light so that my aim might be true,’ Rang whispered to his wife.

      ‘It will be so,’ smiled Mawu from on high.

      With their coupling now complete the doe returned to her grazing and slowly edged away from the great stag as he too dropped his head to crop at the sweet dewy grass.

      Suddenly, the stag gave a short cry of alarm and the doe reacted instinctively, leaping away and dashing for refuge in the deep forest. Her tawny coat disguised her and she disappeared into the dappled undergrowth without a backward glance.

      Behind her, the great stag collapsed with Rang’s spear embedded deep in his side.

      ‘No!’ yelled a shocked Loko, hardly believing what he had seen. He turned despairingly in the direction from which the spear had come. ‘You murderer!’ he screamed shrilly at Rang

      Unperturbed by Loko’s angry cry, the hunter approached the great stag and noted that life still flickered within the great body. He knelt and despatched the animal with a slash of his knife to its throat and saved it from any further pain.

      Placing one foot on the warm body, he pulled hard to retrieve his spear, which he then placed to one side.

      Crazed with dispair, Loko rushed into the glade as Rang continued to kneel beside the dead stag and prepared it for butchering.

      ‘Murderer!’

      Rang had heard Loko’s approach, but didn’t bother to stop his work. Quietly he went about his preparations and said calmly over his shoulder, ‘Unlike you Loko, my fellow gods enjoy the taste of meat.’

      This was not the first time that the pair had clashed. As usual it was over Rang’s duties as hunter and supplier of meat to the god’s larder. However, both knew that there was a deeper reason for Loko’s animosity toward Rang.

      Many seasons before, both gods had fallen in love with Mawu and had sought her brother Lisa’s permission to take the beautiful moon goddess as their wife. Lisa had taken their requests to his sister, and after much time in assessing the qualities of the two suitors had chosen the fair hunter Rang over the more petulant Loko.