My Kaitiaki

The sun rose gently above the small village of Pangu, warming the sleepy earth with its gentle rays and rousing the villagers. Today was an important day for the village and everyone was going to be very busy all day making sure everything was perfect. Everyone except me that is. As the granddaughter of the Kowa tribe's spiritual leader it was my responsibility to feed our guardian spirit and keep him calm. It was a fairly boring job, and meant that most of the time I would just be sat by the edge of the river waiting for Whano, our spirit, to wake up and look for food. Whano is a giant lizard like creature but he is gentle towards humans, unless they are attacking the tribe. He has great power, but mostly just uses it to keep our crops growing and our people healthy. At least, that's what Grandma Taka tells me. I'm going to miss Grandma and Whano a lot when I go. Today is the day our rival tribe from across the ocean are coming to take me as a bride for their chieftain's son, Paku, in return for peace between our peoples. "Miyu, they're here," Grandma Taka's voice rang out from behind the hill. "I'm coming!" I called back. "No escape now, I guess." I heard a rumbly gurgling sound behind me as I got up to go, and turned to see Whano blowing bubbles at me. I reached over to scratch his chin one last time, only for him to drop something into my hand and dive back under the water. It was a piece of jade carved in the shape of Whano, meant to be worn as a protective amulet. Smiling at the water, I tucked the jade into my bag and started the walk back home. As I neared the village I noticed it was oddly silent. No sounds of people talking or scurrying about, no music, no cooks shouting instructions, just silence. Even the birds had stopped singing. My stomach dropped and I began to run as dread settled itself like a lump of lead in my tummy. The first thing I saw when I rounded the last corner, was the smoke. The houses were on fire, food scattered everywhere, but not one person in sight. I ran from house to house, trying to find anyone, but there was nothing. No signs of life anywhere, but no bodies either. I collapsed to the ground, letting my long black curls fall over my face as despair hit me like a tonn of bricks. They're all gone. Everyone I know is gone. Rain started to pour down as I felt something nudge my back. Turning to look I saw Whano looking at me with concern in his big yellow eyes. He used his front leg to nudge me again, gazing out towards the ocean. Using his side as a support, I stood to my feet and looked through the dissipating smoke to see the shapes of 3 large ships leaving the bay. They were headed for the ocean, and were proudly flying the flag of the Daros tribe. I felt my blood began to boil as I realised who was responsible for taking my people and my Grandma. My vision turned red and a sharp pain started pounding in my head as I spat out one word, "Paku!" Then everything went black...