By Henry Owen Spell
During the early 1600s, a chieftain and his wife had a child named John. As John was gradually getting older, they began to discuss a method for him to manifest worth to the tribe. Although providing wild game for his dynasty was the most difficult and intimidating option, it was still the best route for the tribe’s approval for their maturing son to become the next successful leader.
As John matured, his father Ben revealed to him the way of life and built his character to be a prideful warrior. John turned sixteen and prepared for his proving journey as his father gradually became more feeble every day due to old age. The village was set to have a ceremony for John the morning before he began his quest, and his father gave him one main instruction; he was to stay away from Spartan Valley. He told John that within the valley resided the most opposing threat to their settlement, and the valley’s inhabitants were known to kill every trespasser.
It was a Sunday morning in the middle of January, and the air was frigid with gusting winds. As the horizon began to peek through the clouds, the village rooster alarmed, and the day had come for John to begin his journey. He was nervous, but ready to prove himself. The village had a ritual on his behalf, to pray for the gods to put a shield of protection over him. As the women painted him with the warrior colors, his father gave him his personal bow, seven arrows, camping gear for shelter, and a traditional dagger, along with a broken horse. As the entire village began to chant, John grabbed the reins of the horse and rode off into the distance.
John traveled west through the day. When the sun became eye level with the treetops, he searched for a quality camping area next to a water source for his horse to rehydrate. While night fell, and John prepared for bed, he heard a pack of wolves off in the distance. Frightened at first, John gathered himself and remembered what his father taught him… "When the wolves you hear, the herd is near,” meaning that the wolves are close to prey. John quickly gathered his equipment, leaped onto his horse and chased the sounds of the darkness under the full moon. Soon, John noticed fewer yelps, and when he pushed closer, he observed four dead wolves with arrows driven into their corpses. Although he was stunned by this, he continued to pursue the herd after noticing fresh buffalo remains. Finally, after traveling down into a canyon, John reached the stampeding herd. Alongside the herd, he saw the outline of six men, shielded in armor, supplied with weapons and with fury in their eyes. John had crossed the boundary of freedom and entered Spartan Valley.
Immediately John jerked the horse’s reins and traveled back up the canyon, with the Spartans following. As arrows flew past John’s head, he took cover behind a mountain of fallen rock, and prepared for war. When the Spartans passed John, he struck two of the men with arrows and proceeded to flee back into the valley to position himself for another ambush approach. He needed to separate the men to elevate this attack, so he leapt from his horse and tied it to a root at the bottom in the valley for a distraction. Confused, three of the remaining four men approached his horse. Once the moonlight glared off of their armor, he struck each man with a single arrow. Three more men down, but John’s hidden position was now given, and one Spartan remained.
The archery-trained soldier fired his bow multiple times in John’s direction, hitting him in the shoulder with the last flung arrow. Even though John could no longer draw his weapon, he pursued one last tactic. He bravely stepped out into the moonlight, threw down his bow and arrow, and stated, "I come before you to surrender! I am no longer a threat and ask that you spare my life and carry me to your Chief as a captured trespasser.” The Spartan agreed, and demanded that John place his hands behind his back. When the Spartan approached John and tried to detain him, John pulled from his belt the dagger his father had given him, and shed the blood of the fooled soldier.
At last, the battle was over and the sixteen year old boy was exhausted. John, covered in blood, gathered himself and his weapons and threw himself onto the horse, dedicated to finishing what he started. While he tracked the herd, he caught up with a buffalo that had been injured due to one of the wolves. This animal was weakened, but still put up a fight. John had one last arrow left in his quiver and used all of his strength to pull back his bow. As he harvested the beast, John sighed in relief and victory.
During the painful return to his tribe, John realized the beauty in nature and in life. He learned to live, lived to serve and was thankful for the life nature gave him . As he arrived home, he was welcomed with admiration and appreciation. He not only fought and provided for himself, but for his tribe, and that defines the character and representation of a true leader.