THE STORY OF HODEKIN
Robin, as the old stories do tell, was the leader of the Merry-Men (and a merry leader of men). But occasionally the burden of leadership would weigh too heavy and Robin would feel his spirits sink. There were occasions when the village people, those that had gratefully received food from him the week before, would turn their backs on him one week later; for fear of reprisals from the Sheriff. It was at these times that Robin would wonder if there was any purpose to his life's pursuit. Were the people grateful that he and his men constantly risked their lives, to provide for the poor and needy? Were the actions of his men making any difference to the injustice that existed in their world? To answer these questions Robin would take himself deep into the forest; for a week or a fortnight, and there he would seek inspiration.
Many a-new recruit to the Merry-Men might think to follow him.
"Try if you like." Would say Will scarlet.
"But you'd be wasting your time if you do." Would say Little John.
Most recruits (the sensible ones) would heed this advice, but some would persist, trying foolishly to follow their leader. They would always meet with the same result - a thick tangle of brambles growing up behind Robin; blocking his path so completely that he would always come alone, to the heart of the forest and there he would meet with his guardian.
From his guardian Robin would hear tales from the past and receive visions of the future. From his guardian Robin learnt the names of those that would come after him - Wat Tyler, William Buckley, Ned Ludd, The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift; and from his guardian he learnt the names of those that had come before him - Hereward the Wake, Boudicca, Arthur, Hodekin.
This is the story of Hodekin.
Hodekin was born on the edge of the forest, but his people were hunters and, latterly, farmers of the plains and valleys. They would not and could not enter the forest - those that tried were never seen again. Nevertheless the forest provided a plentiful bounty of deer and boar - animals that would occasionally leave the shadowy greenery, in search of fresh water; or different tasting plants, from their usual food. So the surrounding plain was a happy hunting ground for the tribe, although the forest remained a great and deep mystery to them.
However, even from a young age, Hodekin showed himself to be different. For hours at a time he would stand at the edge of the treeline, gazing inwards; as though he could see to the very centre of the mystery. This worried his father, who did not view introspection as a worthwhile pursuit for a future hunter. Furthermore Hodekin grew tall and willowy, which was not considered to be a good thing in a tribe where short and squat was the norm. His differences made him a natural target for the other children, who sought to bully him. But what he lacked in strength he made up for in speed and he would easily lead the other children a merry chase, taunting them to catch-me-if-you-can, urging them to try harder until in their frustration they became blind to their surroundings. Then, suddenly, Hodekin would seem to vanish before them and the children would look about with bewildered, frightened eyes and know that they were lost. In that unfamiliar world of greens and browns they would see strange faces leering at them from behind trees or from within thickets. Blink and the faces would be gone. Scarier still were the sounds. Creaking branches and odd birdcalls. Whispering winds and the scamper of tiny feet in the undergrowth. This world was not one that the tribe's children understood and in their terror they would run in circles, becoming even more lost; but only in their own imaginations.
Lost they would remain if not for Hodekin's good graces. After suitable pleading from distraught parents (and the promise of a future favour to be repaid) he would venture into the outer fringes of the woods and from there rescue the children. So you can understand how it was that when the old chief died Hodekin was elected to be the new leader of his tribe. And a very good leader he proved to be. Under his guidance the tribe prospered. Raids decreased and trade flourished. His people made unions with other tribes in the area, marriages were arranged and ideas were shared all the more easily between new relatives.
One day a cousin arrived from distant lands in the south. He told the gathered and concerned people of a new tribe that had arrived from across the sea, bringing with them weapons made from a grey-black metal, against which the old weapons were useless. Already, the cousin told them, the old tribes of the south had been driven from their lands, their villages destroyed and themselves killed or taken as slaves. Already, he told them, the new tribe was spreading northwards, claiming the land for their own, with no regard for the old tribes that had survived there for centuries.
Now Hodekin knew that this was a time he had foreseen, standing on the forest's edge as a child. He took his brother with him to that treeline and there he bade farewell, with instructions to his brother on how to be a good leader and a promise to return. Then Hodekin set off into the deep woods. Every so often he would call to his brother and his brother would call back; so that Hodekin knew how far he had travelled and which way to return. However at each time the echo grew fainter, as Hodekin went further; until finally there was no answering cry. Still he had not reached the centre of the forest but still he kept working his way inwards.
Until, suddenly, he came to a clearing; in the middle of which, there grew an immense tree. Its girth was greater than a hut and its trunk disappeared into the clouds. But, impressive though the tree was, it was not the sight of this that drew Hodekin's attention. It was the figure that waited there: Sitting on the ground, his legs crossed before him and his back resting on the tree, there was Stag. He lifted his proud antlered head and with his great, belling, voice he said to Hodekin:
"When my people come to your land your people kill my people. Why should I not do the same to you when you come to my land?"
Now Hodekin lowered himself to one knee, in a gesture of reverence, and he answered Stag by telling him of the new tribe and their weapons made of a grey-black metal. He used all the tricks of diplomacy that he had learnt whilst forming alliances with tribes that had once been enemies. He displayed subservience and sincerity coupled with assertiveness and just a hint of aggression.
"Already they have defeated our cousins in the South. Soon they will defeat us and after they have destroyed our villages they will turn their grey-black metal weapons on your forest - and who will you have to protect you? Give my people sanctuary and we will be your protectors." offered Hodekin, at the end of his recounting.
Stag considered this for a few moments before replying "I must see proof of your intent." he told the man. "You must promise to serve me until my decision is made."
"I promise."
"And you must promise that you will never again leave the forest." Now that was a harder decision to make but -
"I promise." said Hodekin at length.
So it was that Hodekin entered into service with Stag and for a long time after that he stayed with Stag, learning the ways of the forest; and the ways of the animals and the birds that would be sharing his new home.
Days, weeks or months passed in the timeless forest and at length Hodekin grew fretful for his people. He had received no news of them and he worried for their wellbeing. But mindful of his promise to Stag Hodekin knew that he could not leave the forest. He considered the problem carefully until he came up with the idea of climbing the tree that stood in the centre of the woods. Surely from the top of it's branches he should have a good view to the forest's edge.
And this is exactly what he did. At first the climbing was easy; as the branches grew close together and afforded no problem for Hodekin's long reach. But as he climbed higher so the branches grew thinner, with the gaps between them growing larger. Now Hodekin must stretch to reach from one limb to another. But still he climbed until he came to the point where the tree swayed in the strong wind. Now Hodekin must told on tightly for fear of being plucked from his perch. He reached out his arm to grab at a higher branch. Just one branch higher. But a sudden gust of wind flicked him from the tree.
Hodekin fell, crashing through the foliage, causing a rain of leaves and branches with his passing. As he fell vines and creepers caught at his body, wrapped around him, binding his arms to his sides, and tying tightly around his ankles. Biting bloodily into the soft skin; with a sudden jolt the vines pulled taut. And Hodekin stopped falling, his head scant inches from the ground, his body weight pulling at the creepers, causing them to constrict even tighter about his body, leaving him cocooned and helpless.
And there he hung for a long time after. At first he struggled to free himself but soon he realised the futility of his actions. He could move his head and he could wriggle his body but his arms were too tightly tied to permit any chance of freeing them. Besides which struggling only caused the vines to tighten painfully. So he hung and he hung and he hung.
Three months passed, until one day he opened his eyes and there before him stood Crow. Now Crow regarded Hodekin first with one eye and then the other, cocking his head to each side as he looked up at the hanging man. In his loud, raucous, voice Crow asked:
"How did you get into such a position?"
And Hodekin told him how he had tried to climb the tree, of his wish to catch a glimpse of his village and his desire for news of his people.
"Well I could be your eyes." said Crow "But what would you pay me for such a service?"
"There's not much I can offer you, in my present circumstance." Hodekin told Crow "What price would you ask?"
"Well how about one of your eyes for both of mine" offered Crow, with the crow equivalent of a wicked laugh!
"That's a hard bargain." objected Hodekin. "It would be a permanent loss for me - your service would have to be a permanent gain".
Well both parties agreed and the deal was made. Crow plucked out one of Hodekin's eyes and feasted joyously, whilst Hodekin ruefully watched with his other eye. Still to this very day you will see crows flying out of the forest at the start of the day and returning at dusk to sit cawing to each other, as they relate all the places that they have visited and all that they have seen on that day. In those long ago days Crow gave Hodekin a daily report on his people. But still hodekin hung and he hung and he hung.
Another three months passed, until one day he opened his eye and there before him stood Stag. Now Stag regarded Hodekin, whose body was swathed in vine and whose face poked out from the leaves.
"I have made my decision." said Stag "You may bring your people to the forest."
"Thank you." replied Hodekin "But I'm a little tied up at the moment. Maybe you could help?"
"You have become part of the forest. You have become part of the tree. Now free yourself!" stated Stag and with nothing further said he turned and left Hodekin to riddle the meaning of his words.
Which he did. Hodekin thought about it and realised that he had indeed become part of the tree. In the months since he had fallen the cuts to his ankles had healed - but with the vines, that still tied him, growing into and under the new skin. These same shoots had given him sustenance through those months, feeding him with sap from the tree. With this knowledge came a new awareness of the tree and Hodekin found he was able to follow the tracery of vines and creepers that tangled about this body. With slow practise, over another three months, he traced each stem from root to shoot until he knew which single vine must be broken to allow all the others to unravel. With a thought Hodekin snapped that vine and, after nine months of hanging, helpless but safe, he was dumped on the ground, bruised and cold but free.
Now at the end of the day Hodekin's people saw a sight they had never expected to see again. There, at the forest's edge, stood their chieftain. And yet he looked different - taller, even more willowy. From a distance it seemed that his skin looked almost bark-like and patches of moss grew on his chest and shoulders.
In each hand Hodekin held a sapling. As he came towards them he planted the sapling in his left hand ahead of him and took a step forward, then he planted the sapling in his right hand and took another step. Left and right and left and right and closer and closer he came to the village; always keeping one tree before him and one tree behind. So that in this way he never left the forest and therefore kept his promise to Stag.
Finally he arrived at the village. He gathered the people together and he told them of his plans. At first they voiced their fear and superstitions. The woods were no place for them. Many had entered but never returned. He, himself, was the only one ever to return after so long a time, lost in the woods. But Hodekin was firm. He told his people of his deal with Stag and of the safe place he had found for them. With the same skills that he had used to make an ally of Stag Hodekin now convinced his tribe that a new life in the forest was their only future.
"Let the new tribe come and take our old villages." He told his people. "But they must learn that the forest belongs to us. And whilst their grey-black metal weapons might prove fatal to us they must learn that our stone-tipped arrows can harm them from a greater distance!"
And so it was. The new tribe arrived and found the old villages deserted and ruined, nothing left but abandoned hillforts. There was no sign of the old tribe and no proof of their existence beyond a feeling of being watched from the forest. But if ever a hunter from the new tribe ventured into the forest, well then he would be returned to the forest's edge, his body riddled with elf-shot. And if ever the new tribe took a tree from the forest, well then they would find a baby taken from its cradle; a bundle of sticks and moss, tied and shaped like a child, left in it's place. Very soon the canniest of the new tribe learnt that it paid them to leave out food each night for the old people - the little people. And so the legends grew and as far as I know Hodekin and his people are still in the forest, guarding and protecting.
Whilst, all those years ago, Robin Hode learnt the name of his guardian.
'The Story of Hodekin' © Gary Breinholt. 2000