Ratha’s Power

By Vitora

Themes of power and love are frequently found in today’s literature, as well as the literature of the past. These two paths of life, intertwined beautifully, can be found in Clare Bell’s novel of an ancient cat clan, Ratha’s Creature. Two of her main characters, Ratha and Thakur, are each given a choice; and each chooses a different path in life. These paths clash in a powerful climax that effortlessly shows how too much power has the potent ability to destroy, but that love can always redeem. In the pages leading up to this pinnacle, Clare Bell’s extraordinary feline world is fraught with the turmoil found in the real world—politics, struggles for dominance, love, hatred, and so much more.

Ratha, the feisty kitten-herder, is introduced at the beginning of the novel—she is snooty and arrogant, even in her first year of life. The Named—a clan of ancient cats who can speak and use logic—are wary of their close but (for the most part) unintelligent and speechless cousins, the Un-Named…all are wary, that is, save the reckless Ratha. “‘He [an Un-Named cat] is a bad hunter, Thakur…he is stupid,” she growls upon meeting an exception to the Un-Named: a cat who possesses the gift of speech. She is scornful of them even after her teacher admonishes her, and calls the more primitive clan derogatory names like, “‘Dung-eater! Scavenger! Cub-catcher! Bone-chewer!’” Even when these titles rile an Un-Named raider to the point of near-fatal combat, Ratha still derides his kind. “‘I don’t care if you can speak,’ she [Ratha] yelled after him, ‘you are still a scavenger and a bone-chewer!’”

Thakur, Ratha’s teacher, finds a strange fondness for his rather annoying charge. “…In the back of his mind was the hope that when she grew old enough for a mate, she might take him.” Though he is frequently fed up with her wild ambitions—his whiskers constantly twitch with annoyance at her unruly actions—he has found that her inner strength and bold dreams “…challenge him and sometimes frustrate him, but he never tries to break [them].” Then Ratha finds the Red Tongue—fire—along with an unhealthy dose of the heady feeling known as power, and Thakur is suddenly afraid; this is not the wayward but playful kitten he once knew. “His next words were measured and careful. ‘I made a mistake when I chose you to train… Teaching you to herd was a waste.’” He is not through with Ratha, though—of which they are both secretly glad.

From the first moment she wields the Red Tongue—when lightning strikes the dry forest and fire spreads through the trees, killing many of the Named’s herdbeasts—Ratha’s eyes glint with the sensation of power. However, while another rules the Named, she cannot hold power as well. Ratha flees the now-irate clan and finds herself completely empty inside, having left her friends and lost her creature in her flight. She grows in wisdom and good sense during her time away—this has to do in part with Thakur, who still loves her; when she returns to the clan, hungry, disheveled, and having traveled with the raiders who threaten the Named’s very existence, he is nevertheless there to welcome her back. “‘If I help you with the herding, will you have enough time to teach [the young Named kittens?’ asked Ratha. Thakur’s] eyes brightened. He raised his head and yowled at the sky. ‘Arrowoo!’” It is this love, this excitement that she is still alive, that turns Ratha from the dangerous trail on which she treads—the path of a power-hungry clan cat. When the temptation of the Red Tongue comes again, Ratha turns away, now sickened by what once filled her with exhilaration thanks to the herding teacher’s wise council. Suddenly Fessran appears, taking a torch in her own mouth, goading Ratha on with tales of the current leader’s ruthless rule of the clan. “‘A cub has died,” [Fessran] said… ‘By Meoran’s stupidity! To ask a cub that young to guard the herd, without training!’” For a moment, Ratha is reluctant, not afraid of the flames but of the inner damage they do to those who wield them. “‘It never was my creature. Do you understand?’ [Ratha cried.]” Ratha’s friend, crazed with the unnatural strength the Red Tongue provides, finally convinces her despite her protests. “As if in defeat, Ratha lowered her head…she seized a flaming branch… To have [the Red Tongue] once again was a triumph, even though a bitter one.” Again she challenges the leader—not as brashly as before—but now the power of the Red Tongue is too strong even for Meoran, and he bares his throat in submission to Ratha’s torch along with his people. “‘Look well, you of the clan,’ [Ratha growled.] ‘The Law of the Named is now the Law of the Red Tongue.’” The young female finds that her victory is hollow, though; she has seen the destruction her creature brings. “Ratha bowed her head. ‘May my teeth rot if I ever take [the Red Tongue] into my mouth again!’” Despite this, with the unexpected prodding of Thakur, she takes her creature once more and leads her people into an era of strength. Forever after, she is haunted by the destruction the Red Tongue causes, and is determined to guide the Named well: “Whatever came, she would meet it with all the strength and wit she could command.”

In Ratha’s dangerous hunt for supremacy and her herding teacher’s efforts to impede her, Clare Bell shows how power is a deadly thing to wield and how there is only one weapon that can combat it: love. The author has created a world that casually presents issues of today—and her own stands on them—in a tactful but powerful way, and, through Ratha and her Red Tongue (that at first seemed like a simple way to warm oneself on a rainy night), shows that there can certainly be too much of a good thing. Power is not everything—but love is. With Thakur’s patient, gentle nudges, the clan kitten grows into a cat who holds knowledge of power that will serve her well. “My people will survive, Ratha thought. They have changed, even as I have, but they will survive. That is what matters.”