Beginning
Cairns
by liketheriver
John looked back over his shoulder at his teammates spread around the inside of the stone circle. Each of them stood before a path that led into the jungle, a path each had chosen at random from the seven different ones that led off in various directions from the open ground of the ring that surrounded the stone dais in the center. The tribal leader stood on the top platform with his six advisors on the level below them. Each represented a delma as they called it, just like the paths they had to choose from. The best Sheppard could tell, a delma was a talisman or spirit or maybe elemental force was the word for it. Rock, wind, water, fire, animal, and plant were the ones John recognized, but the seventh was a little more elusive. The leader had referred to it as the delma ta and Teyla had probably come the closest to deciphering it as something like inner strength, but John felt there was something a little more elusive about it seeing as the chief himself was the embodiment of it for his people. It was also what they were each supposed to find on this challenge that had been set for them.
Challenge. That was the politically correct way of saying do it or die for being unworthy in the eyes of the delma. There wasn’t even some nifty piece of Ancient tech they were trying to get their hands on this time. They’d been captured within an hour of arriving on the planet. He and Teyla had ended up in what was probably a net set to trap animals, but the hunting party had wasted no time in disarming Rodney and Ronon who were attempting to cut them down. The team was brought to the chief and immediately been told they had to prove themselves worthy of drawing breath and they’d let them live. Sheppard tried to be pragmatic in the knowledge that all the tribe members had gone through this same trial as a rite of passage, so it wasn’t an automatic death sentence, but somehow that really didn’t make him feel much better.
"You have each chosen a path," the chief announced from his stone stage. "You will each be tested by the delma of that path to see if you can find your delma ta. There will be decisions to be made along the way that will either lead you to righteousness or defeat and only your delma ta will be able to guide you."
John looked up at the crude stone archway that rose above him. There were markings carved into the rock, just as there were above the others, but he had no clue what they meant. The swirling loops could represent waves or flames, or hell, an animal’s eyes, so he had had no idea which delma he’d chosen and any of them could be dangerous. They were nowhere near an ocean, but they had passed several large waterfalls before they were captured, so treacherous waterways could be common in the jungle. Rodney had said the planet was noted in the database for hot springs, which would suggest potential volcanic activity for the fire delma. The spotted fur the chief wore around his shoulders made John think predatory animals were also lurking in the trees, and given that the pelt nearly reached the ground, they were big mothers. Then he supposed there was the potential of cliffs and landslide from the rocks, maybe poisonous plants, and winds… Jesus, who the hell knew what to expect there. That was the thing about the delmas, they could preserve life as easily as take it. They were necessary to the tribe’s survival, but also the greatest enemy to the humans who resided here, and now Sheppard was supposed to go head to head with at least one of them.
Whichever one it was, he’d have felt a lot better if he’d had his gear with him. But their guns and vests had been collected and placed at the feet of the advisors. All they had been allowed beyond the clothes on their backs was a single knife… although Sheppard knew Ronon had several more beyond the one he wore on his belt. But Ronon was going down another path, a different path than he or Teyla or Rodney.
Looking over his shoulder once more, John saw McKay staring back at him with a barely contained wild-eyed panic on his face. Of all of them, Sheppard knew he was the one who was the least comfortable with the idea of being alone in a strange jungle, and with good cause. Teyla and Ronon could probably do this trial with their eyes closed; in fact Ronon had actually rolled his eyes when the chief had announced what was required of them. But Rodney’s experience with the Eager Beavers or Rabid Woodchucks or whatever the hell Canadian scouting organization he’d been a member of for a few months in his childhood didn’t exactly measure up to military training and seven years on the run from the Wraith. And even what he’d learned during their time together as a team in Pegasus had its limits when stripped of all their field gear.
"Stick to the trail," John had advised McKay quickly before they’d had to split off and choose their paths. "They have to loop around at some point to bring us back to the circle here. So stick to the trail so you don’t wander off and get lost in the woods. Okay?"
"And what about the death traps along the trail I’m sticking to?" Rodney had demanded.
"You’ll be fine," Sheppard assured, doing his damnedest to believe it himself, because Rodney freaking out wasn’t going to do anybody any good, especially the scientist himself.
"You just told me not to get lost!" McKay reminded. "If you don’t think I can do something as basic as stay on the goddamn trail, how am I supposed to survive anything else?"
"Rodney," Teyla told him calmly, "as soon as any of us make it back here, we will come looking for you."
Apparently, Rodney hadn’t considered that option. "Will they let you do that?"
Ronon had looked over at the chief and his entourage with a bit of disdain, "I’d like to see them stop me." Although Sheppard didn’t miss the way the Satedan stared at this gun and sword with a bit of longing.
"So just stick to the trail so we can find you if we need to," John reiterated. "Got it?"
Rodney had nodded briskly in understanding before taking up his place at the stone archway before him and now Sheppard nodded back in an attempt to reassure his teammate once more. We’ll come for you. He just hoped like hell McKay would stay alive long enough for help to come. To be honest, he hoped like hell they all would stay alive long enough to provide the help Rodney might need.
"There is little to fear if you are possessed of a delma ta," the chief continued. "Those without will be judged appropriately and destroyed."
McKay’s eyes widened even more and John could see how he was breathing rapidly. Christ, Rodney was going to hyperventilate before he even took a step into the jungle. As much as Sheppard wanted to say something or cross the large circular opening to move to stand beside the frightened man, he knew they weren’t allowed to do either without forfeiting and being put to death immediately.
Teyla was the closest to McKay and she cleared her throat to catch his attention. She took a deep breath and exhaled in the manner she did at the beginning of her meditation. She repeated the motions and gave Rodney a discreet prompting gesture to indicate he should do the same. McKay finally caught on and mimicked his teammate and Sheppard decided he should probably do the same.
Inhaling deeply, Sheppard looked up at the sky. They only had a four or five hours of daylight left. There was no time limit on how long they could take to return to the stone circle, but John knew that the jungle would only become more dangerous after nightfall, which meant the sooner they got started, the faster he moved through this test, the sooner he’d be back and able to help his team if they needed it.
"Prepare yourselves, untried ones," the chief warned, before speaking the words that would start the trial. "The delmas await proof of you worthiness."
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