Tō’ata 1259
Ferns and bushes tugged at Herimata’s limbs as she fled through the brush, a blur of vibrant green and deep brown shapes flying past her legs. The only thing outpacing her legs was her racing mind. As a scout, she had been fulfilling her duty; guarding the fringe of her tribes territory from possible war and raid parties. That’s when she saw it.
She made her way up the main village road towards the Great House, shouting for the chiefs as she went. She had been thinking about what she saw. On the ocean, just past the reef, there had been something floating. A canoe? It was unlike any canoe she had ever seen before, The construction was so strange, so foreign. Whoever they were, they were not from any of the nearby islands, they had come from further away. And the size of the canoe? It was more like an island!
Who these sea-farers were and what their intentions were, she couldn’t say. What should the village bring to the shore? A procession of gifts? A war party? Perhaps she should call for both. She didn’t know, but she did know that the world is about to change.