Volume 1

After Qoyllor had returned to the skies, Ukuku, blinded by the sun's golden
arrows, remained within the tribe, raising the still-young Kuntur alone. All
within the tribe knew why this had happened, and though they did not banish
father and son — who had naught save each other to depend on — from their midst,
they still feared and shunned them. Kuntur, who then could not even speak,
became dragged into all this. Like his taciturn father, wheresoever he trod, the
sun would retreat behind a thick layer of clouds, depriving the world of its
light. Who, then, could say if the sun's ire would not also fall upon those
close to them? None of the tribespeople dared to brave such misfortune. Kuntur
grew all the same, unloved though he was by the sun. But just as the fruits in
front of his house were smaller by far than his neighbors, he was a weak
specimen compared to other youths his age. This poor child never knew the touch
of the warm sun upon his skin, so he was sickly pale as opposed to ruddy as his
peers were. But his eyes shone like the stars, just like his mother's. It was
those bright, starry eyes that had first drawn his father in, that had driven
him to make his foolish decisions, bringing judgment upon himself. "Could any
Iktomisaurus not like basking in the sun?" Kuntur asked Ukuku one day. Ukuku did
not reply, and merely whittled his arrows in silence — though blind, he was a
fine hunter still. It was only natural for Kuntur to ask such questions, for in
those days, which child of the tribe was not inseparably bound to their Saurian
companion? Kuntur thus wished for a companion of his own, but it was evident
that no Iktomisaurus would willingly live in the shadows. Though they may be
more active at night, we now know that they would never assent to being utterly
deprived of sunlight. Kuntur searched long and hard, but he could not find an
Iktomisaurus who loved not the sun to be his companion. As for Ukuku, his father
and sole support, he only cared for hunting and feeding his son, giving no
thought to Saurian companionship. This was little wonder, for Ukuku's own
companion had chosen to be Qoyllor's helper when she left the tribe, returning
to the wilds with her. Ukuku had grown used to being without such a companion,
just as he was now used to having neither sight nor sunlight. He even thought
that Kuntur might also grow accustomed to this and cease asking, and so remained
silent in response. Fortunately, Kuntur was only half alike to his father, or
the story would have ended here. He was never the sort to take things lying down
— and he was certainly not going to let people make him a laughingstock for
failing to find an Iktomisaurus companion. All those children who mocked him
received their due reply, albeit with fists rather than words. In the beginning,
he always lost, which was quite understandable. He was small, and his fists
lacked strength. And as they watched him sit on the ground, dust and dirt caking
his face, the children who laughed at him laughed all the harder. But slowly,
they no longer did so, nor did jokes at his expense come so freely from their
lips. For they found that Kuntur learned quickly, and his strength surged in
pursuit of theirs, such that his fists were persuasive indeed, even in the
absence of a Saurian companion. But Kuntur was not satisfied with merely
reducing loud mockery into low murmuring. He knew now that strength could at
least force half-grown children to give the appearance of acquiescence, but he
still lacked a Saurian companion of his own and remained unloved by the sun.
Though many adults in the tribe were neither hostile nor friendly toward him, he
did not like the looks in their eyes. And so, Kuntur decided to do something
remarkable to prove himself. If he did that, no one would ever look down on him
again, and surely, there would be a Saurian willing to be his companion. His
chance came soon. One day, an old man in ragged clothing came to the tribe,
asking for water. The people took pity on him, and one of them invited them into
their home: "We are all kind-hearted people here. You must have come from a
faraway place, dear guest, so stay and enjoy our hospitality." "Indeed, you are
all kind people. In that case, treat me to the best you have, I'm starving over
here!" The master of the house did indeed provide the best food to the guest,
but seven days and seven nights later, the guest was still not satiated. "Is
there anything else? Well, is there? Now, now, don't be shy, serve it all up!"
The master of the house would kindly ask the guest to leave, though not because
he had nothing left to be eaten, but because he needed to consider his family
and himself. "I have put him up and had him fed and feasted for seven days,
proving my kindness of heart. Now, it is someone else's turn." Kindness is a
pleasant word, especially when used to describe oneself. And so, the
tribespeople gave this ragged old man all manner of things, but none could
satisfy his bottomless desire. In the end, all could do nothing but shake their
heads, wave their hands, and ask him to depart. Only Kuntur's house did not
entertain the old man. "You are a kind soul, too. So, what will you host me
with?" "Hah! No one has ever called me 'kind.' I have nothing to share with you,
and even if I had, I shan't give you any. You've eaten, drank, and taken more
than enough." Seeing how Kuntur chased the old man away, many in the tribe could
not help but ridicule him again. But none could have anticipated that this old
fellow dressed in tatters was the infamous sorcerer Rumi in disguise! Those who
had promised him hospitality yet who could not satisfy his appetites, he
bewitched with his dark arts, and by the time they awoke from their nightmares,
he had long since captured all their Saurians, leading them away! Many in the
tribe had already heard the terrible rumors concerning Rumi, and while none
could say what terrible scheme he meant to carry out with their Saurians, all
knew that failing to stop him would bode ill. To seize their Saurians back, the
tribe sent forth their three mightiest warriors to challenge him, but they did
not return. "Even the best warrior is no match for the sorcerer Rumi without
Saurian aid..." And just as the tribe had lost their confidence, Kuntur stepped
forth to volunteer himself. Yes, him! "Kuntur, Unloved of the Sun"! One who had
never even gained a Saurian companion! Now, none believed he would succeed, but
neither did any bar his path. "Good thing I've nothing to lose. At least he
cannot take from me what l never had." Thus thinking, Kuntur set out on his
journey with great confidence. As Kuntur made his way forward, Rumi's spells
summoned up layers of mist to surround the warrior. He knew that Kuntur was
hated by the sun, and so, could count on no sunbeams to scatter the mist for him
and light the way. But Kuntur had learned the hunting arts from his blind father
since he was a boy. Though he was as good as blind, sounds and smells guided the
way for him, and the magically manifested mists could not snare him. One ploy
having failed, the sorcerer Rumi deployed another, sending forth three talking
Pakpakas to come before Kuntur with both threats and temptations. These three
Pakpakas were the three warriors the tribe sent forth, who had each been
defeated due to their own weaknesses and turned into this form by Rumi. They did
not believe "Kuntur, Unloved of the Sun" to be superior to them, and so they
spoke the very deceptions Rumi had snared them with, attempting to trick Kuntur.
But Kuntur would not fall for such trickery. His father had been punished for
deceit and betrayal, and so he hated all lies most bitterly, and could always
see through them at a glance. Having had their ruse exposed, the warriors were
enraged and tried to block Kuntur's path, upon which he had no choice but to
persuade them to step aside by force. Thus did Kuntur pass through numerous
trials until he finally found the sorcerer Rumi, and also laid eyes upon the
captured Saurians. The sorcerer put his evil arts to use once more, attempting
to frighten Kuntur. But even towering waves and running lava could not scare
Kuntur, much less these illusory traps made through spellcraft, so akin to the
fog he had encountered at the bottom of the valley earlier. His wicked spells
had no effect on Kuntur, but the captured Saurians were not similarly immune,
and so Rumi used his spellcraft to turn them to his service. Yet, he did not
expect even them to not be a match for Kuntur. "Your fists are tougher than the
hardest stones I've ever seen!" No one would want to go hand-to-hand against
such fists, and Rumi was no different. Realizing that he was on the back foot,
he no longer cared for the Saurians he had stolen from the tribe. Turning into a
cloud of smoke, he fled in defeat. Capable though Kuntur was of discerning the
sorcerer's traps and lies, he could do nothing against his foe now that he had
turned into smoke. But how could he back down? He intended to prove himself to
everyone in the tribe by doing this extraordinary thing. And so, he made up his
mind to capture Rumi, no matter what it took or what he had to do. At that
moment, he saw the still-bound Iktomisaurs, and he thought, since Rumi had been
able to command them using mystical arts, perhaps he might use force to compel
an Iktomisaurus to help him track Rumi's down and pick out his manifestation.
The poor creatures were still under the influence of the spell as he unshackled
them, and so they struggled and screamed. It took Kuntur a lot of effort to calm
them down. And as to which was the bravest of the lot, Kuntur had recognized it
at a glance. "Alright. Now then, you're coming with me, and we're going to track
down Rumi the sorcerer — for my honor... Uh, and also for the warriors who were
turned into Pakpakas." The Iktomisaurus seemed unconvinced and tried to break
free, but Kuntur held it fast, and it could not move. Yet, looking into the
creature's sad eyes made even fearless Kuntur shudder. Of course, he could tame
the Saurian this way, but were he to do so, how different would he be from the
wicked sorcerer? So, after only a moment's hesitation, he made up his mind.
"Fly, then! Go where you please." The Iktomisaurus spread its wings and flew off
the moment Kuntur let go, swiftly disappearing over the horizon. And so Kuntur
went in pursuit of Rumi alone. The released Saurians could not speak human
language, of course, and glory unwitnessed is no glory at all. Thus was Kuntur's
first step on his journey to prove himself also his most anxious one: For Rumi
had long transformed into smoke, drifting far away to places unknown. He had
also heard the rumors that the tribe's storytellers and well-informed messengers
had brought of Rumi, and guessing that he might turn into an animal to avoid
pursuit, he wrestled Long-Necked Rhinos and stared down grasshoppers all along
his path, but to no avail. It seemed that without an Ikotmisaurus companion's
aid, the search for the sorcerer would be like searching for a needle in a
haystack. But Kuntur had inherited more than just star-like eyes from Qoyllor,
and just as his mother had once wandered the wilderness, searching tirelessly
for star-shard traces, Kuntur too did not despair of the chase for Rumi, and the
confidence he had set out from the tribe with never dimmed. Until the day he
heard a familiar cry. It was that of an Iktomisaurus he recognized. Indeed, it
was the one he'd released, the boldest in the tribe, one who also lacked a
companion. It had left him, but now, it had returned. We do not know why it did
so, but we can be sure that Iktomisaurs are most intelligent creatures who
choose their partners. Surely, then, Kuntur had earned its recognition, which is
why it returned and willingly showed Kuntur the way. With the aid of an
Iktomisaurus, even the wily Rumi was no match. The sorcerer even attempted to
take a Brown Deer's form to escape Kuntur, only to find that the hunter was just
as swift as he. On the brink of being caught, Rumi transformed into a capybara
and dived into the water. How secretly pleased he was with himself then, for he
thought that Kuntur might not be a good swimmer. Surely, he would escape! Yet
Kuntur's Ikotmisaurus companion was not merely brave, but blessed with wisdom as
well. It flapped its wings in the air, summoning forth a cyclone. Kuntur rode
that wind, and his footsteps grew swift and light, as if his feet had grown
wings — giving him speed no less than that of Rumi, now a fast-swimming
capybara. Shocked, Rumi leapt out of the water, transforming into a bird that
immediately made for the skies above... Which wasn't a good move, if you ask me.
If this had been the Kuntur of yesterday, he would have had no choice but to
give up, but today, things were different. His Iktomisaurus companion carried
him up and up through the clouds, and at last, they caught the cunning sorcerer.
Realizing that there was no way out, Rumi simply turned himself into a giant
rock. Surely, Kuntur could do nothing about him now! Yet the young warrior
grabbed the giant rock and would not let go, crying, "Fly! Higher, my friend,
higher!" And so higher and higher they flew, until they soared above the very
highest cloud layer, and there, Kuntur beheld the sun for the first time. But
before he could say anything, the sun brought forth cloud layers, more and
thicker, to surround them. Kuntur and his companion had no choice but to try to
find a way out, bursting through the thunder, rain, and storm in the cloud
layers as they went. The great heights were frigid indeed, with even Kuntur's
eyelids swathed in frost, while the rock that Rumi had transformed into was
frozen solid — never again would his foul magic wreak havoc. Having overcome
trial after trial, Kuntur and his companion returned to the tribe, telling
everyone about their marvelous experience. After that, the stone that Rumi had
turned into was placed in a suitable location. The three warriors who had been
turned into Pakpakas by the sorcerer were themselves restored to human form. As
before, they gave Kuntur a wide berth, but out of shame and regret rather than
disgust and fear, for had they not thought then to use despicable lies to trick
him? Thus did Kuntur prove himself to his tribe and win glory. But more
importantly to him, he finally had an Iktomisaurus companion of his own!