The Adventures of Mantei Tebow, Ch. 1

From an early age, Mantei knew he was special.

He could run faster, swim longer, and was stronger than any other boy in town.

And on the nights when the the people gathered in the circle at midnight to protect against the demon Kuahana, Mantei broke the circle and went back to his home, boasting that he was not afraid of any being, mortal or immortal.

So it went until the eighteenth year of the Lakakane festival, when it was ordained that at the celebration dance, each of the young men would be paired with one of the young women.   And together, the couple would perform the Boom Chicka Bow Wow ritual in honor of Kuahana, hoping that Kuahana would be pleased and the town spared of any further mischief.

But Mantei scoffed at the old hag who led the protective circle, and while the rest of the town participated in the ritual, Mantei went to the land of the foreigners and participated in games of strength and agility.

After the festival was over,  the young women named Emmanulana whom the old hag selected to Bow Wow with Mantei became violently ill and her soul was devoured by Kuahana.  At this, the old hag became so enraged that she banished Mantei from the circle, telling him never to return until Kuahana was satisfied.

So Mantei went to the land of the foreigners and settled down.   In order to assimilate, he changed his name to Tebow, in honor of their gods.   And by and by Tebow participated in the foreigner's rituals where they immerse themselves in water to atone for the sins of the elders.

Tebow's fame soon spread far and wide among the foreigners as he excelled in their games of strength and agility.

But as fame invariably begets envy, there became talk among the foreigners questioning why Tebow was not pared with a woman, as is the custom of their people.

Tebow, perhaps being too preoccupied with the games of strength and agility, or perhaps not wanting to be with a women, let it be known that he could not be paired with a women of the foreigners as he was already paired with a women named Emmanulana in his hometown.

And the foreigners were satisfied with Tebow's explanation, and Tebow's fame became even more widespread among their people.

And such was the state of events until one midnight, Tebow's normally dreamless sleep was interrupted by an apparition of Emmanulana performing the ritualistic dance that often proceeds the Bow Wow ritual.  Tebow awoke in cold sweat and was horrified that the mark of the totem, the most profane mark of Kuahana, was upon him.

The next morning, compounding his growing unease, Tebow read in his favorite entertainment weekly magazine that a women named Emmanulana, purporting to be his wife, was making routine appearances at public events among the foreigners.

And for the first time in his life, Tebow would soon learn the limits of his strength and agility.

End Chapter 1