Zatanar

First chapter of a new story I have been sort of tinkering with.........

Zatanar – The Beginning

People may have called my father Tarzan, but he really was not. My dad’s name had been Jonah for as long as he could remember. Sure, he grew up on a nearly deserted jungle island and swung from tree vines occasionally and sometimes even wore animal skins, but he was not and is not that weird ape-man that everyone relates him too. There were people living in a village on the island, and Dad talked to them quite frequently. He only swung from vines when he was crossing the river or trying to get away from the hostile clans. He wore animal skins only when he was cold. Besides, what else would he wear on a jungle island?

My father was actually a quite educated man. Though he had never seen civilization apart from the little village, he knows more about the world then any of the villagers. Most people would assume that being on a jungle island would make him seem backward, but Dad was not. He may not have possessed the greatest knowledge, but he was very intelligent and learned.

He was born to a couple from one of those old European countries, though I have never been able to remember which one. Of course, I have never been there myself. His parents were affluent and ranked high on the social ladder of their city, bur some scandal happened that made them fear for their lives. So they chartered a ship and set sail for a new life. Their intent was the Indian colony.

They would never make it. They did make it around the Cape of Good Hope, and they did make it into the Indian Ocean. They even made it close to India, but they would never reach it. One night, while my father’s parents slept in their cabin, a huge typhoon swept across the ocean and into the ship, knocking it to and fro across the sea. It blew the ship many, many miles from its intended destination. The storm also drowned a good number of the crew, including the captain, who was swept from the ship into the sea. He screamed as he fell overboard, and though he was a fantastic swimmer, he was never spotted again. The story that was recorded states he turned into a dolphin and swam away. You can believe that is true if you wish

When the storm was finished with the tiny boat, it had been swept up upon a giant reef that surrounded a deserted island. The only survivors were my father’s parents and two old sailors, all still in great shock over the devastation they witnessed.

My grandfather, though stunned by the storm, immediately took charge of the situation. He had the men load up the only surviving rowboat with supplies. He then helped my very pregnant grandmother into the boat and watched as the men row the boat to shore. He then scrambled abound the wrecked ship, gathering those things that could be salvaged. By nightfall, the crew had made many trips and the ship had been stripped.

Eventually the sailors and my grandfather had built a makeshift cabin from the lumber of the ship, supplemented with driftwood. A palm roof covered the shaky building. Every night, Grandfather would write in his journal, detailing every event of the day. He also described his failures of the past, his hopes for the future, and his worries for his wife.

One night, the sailors disappeared, as had the rowboat and a chest of gold that had been found among the wreckage of the ship. Later, my grandfather discovered his good pocket watch and a few other things had been pilfered. He wrote of his frustrations of trusting the men, as they robbed him blind and left him and his wife with no means of escape from the island.

My grandfather had little time to fret about it though. The next day my grandmother went into labor. His hurried writing that he had to tend to her while she labored was the last entry entered by his hand.

My father knows little about his birth and the events surrounding it, but from what he has told me and what my imagination has been able to conjure up, I would like to imagine it looked a little like this.

My grandmother’s labor was hard and difficult and she perished not long after she gave birth to her only child. Whether it was due to exhaustion or lack of medical care or the fact that she was already weakened by the hard task of sea travels, she passed away when my father was just a few hours old.

My grandfather was out of his mind with grief over her demise, for she was the love of his life. His howls of despair were loud and nerve-wracking. They attracted the bear clan, a very dangerous clan on the island. They came to investigate the noise, and found my grandfather hovering over his wife’s body, wishing there was still life in her cold body. The bear clan slaughtered my grandfather, who did nothing to defend himself from the attack. He would have killed my father as well had it not been for the old ape Hak-ka-ri.

Hak-ka-ri was the leader of the ape clan and answered to no one, save the great lord of the beasts himself. He was feared and respected by all the animals on the island because of his wisdom and his strength. And though he was elderly by ape standards, he was still vibrant and agile, much like a youngster.

He had heard the cries of the human male as well. Like the bears, he too had gone to investigate the matter. He arrived at the makeshift house in time to see the bears hovering over the ripped carcass of the human male. The bear clan’s leader, Orsinius, was hanging over a tiny basket; his paw was raised to strike whatever was inside.

Hak-ka-ri saw a tiny hand of a human child reach up out of the basket. It was as small and as innocent as the hand of one of his clan’s newborns. The ape was angered at the thought of Orsinius killing such a gentle creature.

Hak-ka-ri stood on his feet and pounded his chest, growling as loud and as fierce as a tiger.

The bears stopped dead in fear. Orsinius’ paw was still in mid-air, swaying slightly as he glared at the ape. Hatred for Hak-ka-ri was fierce in his eyes, but he dared not touch the ape.

“Leave the child!” Hak-ka-ri growled in the common language of the animals. “If you lay even one claw upon the innocent’s nest you will have to deal with me.”

The bears knew his threat would be carried out. He was a fierce warrior, even fiercer than Orsinius, though he was much older. Even as they stood there glaring at the Ape clan leader, they could hear the rumble of animal paws as the rest of the ape’s clan drew near.

Orsinius glared at Hak-ka-ri once more before dropping his paw and lowering his body back down onto all fours. He turned, the hatred in his eyes never faltering and nodded to his clan. They walked out of the cabin, their own eyes cloudy with disgust and rage towards their enemies.

“Do we kill them, Lord Hak-ka-ri?” the ape clan’s second-in-command asked.

Hak-ka-ri’s voice was harsh as he answered. “No. They did as I commanded. We would be dishonoring our own code if we were to attack them on their retreat. Leave them be.”

He turned his attention towards the infant. He knew it would perish if he left it there. Though he had compassion, he knew his own tribe would be incapable to care for such a being.

The baby started to cry. Hak-ka-ri stroked its wraps as he pondered his dilemma.

The second-in-command, whose name was Un-mok, spoke up. “Lord Hak-ka-ri, suppose we were to take this child to Unsil. Do you think the child would be safe with him and his mate?”

Hak-ka-ri nodded slowly. “Anrihan has spoken of her wish to have a child of her own to my mate. Unsil and she are unable to do so. This would be a perfect gift.”

He scooped the infant up in one hand as gently as he would one of his own, though he had never held one of his own children when they were so young.

He never faltered to guard the child as he bounded across the jungle isle with his clan. He took pains to never make a misstep.

The clan came to a clearing in the midst of the jungle, where they slowed. They continued to a cave that was cut years ago in the side of the mountain. Hak-ka-ri raised himself up to bellow in the great ape fashion.

“Unsil, my great friend, you are needed!”

“I am coming,” came the reply

From the depths of the darkness stepped the ape friend Unsil. His shaggy dark hair was streaked with gray, showing his nearly elderly age. He was as revered as Hak-ka-ri and Raktog the cheetah in terms of wisdom, though he held no clan. For at that time, no humans, save for himself and his wife, lived on the island.

“We have brought you this,” Hak-ka-ri said, holding out the bundled infant.

Unsil’s eyes grew wide as he accepted the offering. “Where did you find the child?”

Un-mok spoke. “There is a dwelling by the beach almost in ruin. He was lying in a basket. His parents have perished. Orsinius and his clan killed his father, but Hak-ka-ri intervened on behalf of the child. We thought to bring him to you."

Unsil nodded as he handed the baby to his wife. Anrihan was heard the exchange and had come to see what was important. She cradled the baby as her husband turned back toward the apes.

“Are the bodies of those perished still there?”

“Yes friend Unsil,” Heetar the cheetah exclaimed. He had just arrived with a portion of the cheetah clan. They bowed to their ape allies and to the human and his mate. “Raktog called for us to go to the aid of our allies. She heard your war cry, Lord Hak-ka-ri. We have left some of our fiercest warriors on the beach to protect the bodies until you can decide what is to be done. That is if you wish to come. Lady Raktog does not trust the bear clan.”

Unsil nodded. “I do wish to come to the site. Perhaps clues will have been left to help determine the identity of this child.”

And thus, the infant who would become my father was discovered. His adoptive parents gave him the human name of Jonah, but the animals named him Zatanar. Yes, he learned to swing on vines and to talk to the animals. Yes, he was a friend to the ape and the cheetah. But he also learned much about the lives of humans from his parents. He learned to speak the languages of humans. He learned to read and write and think. He learned to believe in the unseen and have faith that what he believed truly existed.

The animals helped in this education as well. They shared what they knew of the humans. The dolphins of the sea would teach him to swim well. They also taught him to read the ocean currents and tides and when and how to catch the best fish. The apes shared their knowledge of the stars and their ancient stories of the Animal Lords with him. The cheetahs taught him to be sure footed and fast.

Maybe that makes him Tarzan. I do not know. But it makes him my father. But that is all I wish to share today. I am kind of tired and wish to sleep, child. Come back tomorrow and I will tell you the story of how the first humans came to the island.

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