was gathered. 'Yes, that has always been true and it hasn't changed.' She saw that the Donier was sitting beside the young man who had so many questions, and turned to take a question from an entirely different segment of the audience.
'What is my father's father called?' asked a man from the Eleventh Cave.
Zelandoni breathed a quiet sigh of relief. An easy question. 'A mother's mother is a grandmother, and is usually called grandma. A mother's father is a grandfather, or grandfa. A father's mother is a grandmother, too, but to distinguish between them, she will still be called grandam. A father's father is a grandfather, or grandaf. When you name your ties, your mother's mother is your close grandmother, or your grandma, and your mother's father is your close grandfather, or your grandfa, because you are always certain who your mother is.'
'What if you don't know whose essence started your mother?' the leader of the Fifth Cave asked. 'Or if they are walking in the next world, how can you name the tie?'
'If you know the man who was mated to your mother's mother, he would be your grandfather. The same is true for your father. Even if he is in the next world, your father was started by a man who coupled with his mother, just as your mother was started by a man who put the essence of his organ inside her mother,' Zelandoni carefully explained.
'NO! Noooo!' came a cry from the audience. 'It's not true! She has done it again. She has betrayed me, just when I was starting to trust her.'
Everyone turned to look. On the far outside edge of the large group of people from the Ninth Cave, a man was standing. 'It's a lie! It's all a lie! That woman is trying to trick you. The Mother would never have told her that,' he screamed, pointing at Ayla. 'She's a lying evil woman.'
Shading her eyes, Ayla looked up and saw Brukeval. Brukeval? Why is he screaming at me like that? I don't understand, she thought. What did I do to him?
'I come from the spirit of a man who was chosen by the Great Mother to join with the spirit of my mother,' Brukeval shrieked. 'My mother came from the spirit of a
Chapter 38
Brukeval suddenly started running down the hill, then across the small field and kept on going, leaving the campsite behind without looking back. Several men, mostly from the Ninth Cave, started after him, Joharran and Jondalar among them, hoping that once he ran out of breath, they could talk to him, calm him down, bring him back. But Brukeval ran as though the spirit of the dead were chasing him. For all his resistance to it, he had inherited the strength and the stamina of the man of the Clan who was his grandfather. Though they ran faster in the beginning, and started to catch up, the men who were chasing after Brukeval did not have his endurance, and could not keep up the pace he set.
They finally stopped, gasping, bent over, some rolling on the ground, trying to catch their breaths in a collective agony of aching sides and raw throats. 'I should have got Racer,' Jondalar rasped, barely able to speak. 'He couldn't have outrun a horse.'
When they finally trudged back, the meeting was in disarray. People were standing up, walking around, talking. Zelandoni didn't want it to end like that, and had called for a pause until the men returned, hopefully with Brukeval. When they returned without him, she decided to finish up quickly.
'It is unfortunate that Brukeval of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii feels as he does. His sensitivity about his background is well known, but no one knows for sure what really happened to his grandmother. We only know that she was lost for some time, and finally found her way back, and later gave birth to Brukeval's mother. Anyone lost for so long is bound to have adverse effects from the ordeal, and Brukeval's grandmother was not in her right mind when she returned. She was so full of fears, no one could believe, or even understand much of what she said.
'The daughter she bore was not physically strong, probably because of her mother's ordeal, and her pregnancy and the birth of her son was so hard for her, she died as a result. It's likely that Brukeval bears the imprint of his mother's difficult pregnancy in his stature and appearance, though it is fortunate that he grew strong and healthy. I think Brukeval was entirely right when he said he is a man. He is a Zelandonii man of the Ninth Cave, a good man who has much to offer. I'm sure he will decide to return to us after he's had time to reconsider, and I know the Ninth Cave will welcome him back when he does,' the One Who Was First said, then she continued.
'I think it is time to close this meeting. We all have much to think about, and you can all continue the discussion we started here with your own Zelandoni.' As people were getting up again to leave, the First signalled to the leader of the Fifth Cave. 'Will the Fifth Cave stay a little longer and join me here, near the lodge? she asked. 'I have a matter of importance that concerns you.' Might as well get this unpleasant chore over with while I'm at it, she thought. The meeting had not gone at all the way she'd hoped. Jondalar's fight the night before had set the wrong tone in the beginning, and Brukeval's abrupt departure left people feeling unsettled at the end.
'I'm sorry I have to do this,' the First said to the group of people of all ages that constituted the Fifth Cave. Madroman was among them as well as their Zelandoni. She picked up a carry-sack that was on a table near the back of the lodge and turned to face the acolyte. 'Does this look familiar to you, Madroman?' she asked.
He looked, and then he blanched, and glanced around looking worried and wary.
'It's yours, isn't it? It has your markings.'
Several people were nodding their heads. Everyone knew it was his. It was quite distinctive; they had seen him with it.
'Where did you get that?' he asked.
'Ayla found it hidden in the deep of Fountain Rock. After you were 'called' to go in there,' the First said, with heavy sarcasm.
'I might have guessed it was her,' Madroman mumbled.
'She wasn't looking for anything. She was sitting on the floor near the large round niche at the back, and happened to feel it in a hidden space at the bottom of a wall. She thought someone had forgotten it, and wanted to return it to him,' Zelandoni said.
'Why would she think someone had forgotten it if it was hidden?' Madroman said. There was no use pretending anymore.
'Because she wasn't thinking straight. She had just lost her baby, and very nearly her life in that cave,' the First said.
'What is this about?' the leader asked.
'Madroman has been an acolyte for a long time. He wanted to join the ranks of the zelandonia and was tired of waiting to be called.' She emptied the carry-sack on the table. Out fell the remains of food, the waterbag, the lamp and fire-making equipment, and the cloak. 'He hid this inside the cave, then pretended that he felt the call. He stayed inside a little more than two days, with plenty of food, water, light, and even a covering for warmth. He hid this, then came out acting groggy and disoriented, and claimed he was ready.'
'You mean he lied about his call?' the leader asked.
'In a word, yes.'
'If it hadn't been for her, you would never have known,' Madroman spat out.
'You are wrong, Madroman. We knew. This only confirmed it. What makes you think you can fool the zelandonia? We have all been through it. Don't you think we'd know the difference?' Zelandoni said.
'Why didn't you say something before?'
'Some of us were trying to find a way to give you every opportunity. Some thought, or hoped, that it wasn't intentional. They wanted to make sure that you hadn't fooled yourself in your strong desire to become One Who Serves … until Ayla brought this to us. You would not have become Zelandoni, in any case, but you might have remained an Acolyte, Madroman. Now, that is no longer possible. The Great Earth Mother doesn't want to be served by a liar and a cheat,' the powerful woman said in tones that left no doubt about her feelings. 'Kemordan, Leader of the Fifth Cave of the Zelandonia,' the First continued, 'will you and your Cave bear witness?'
'We will,' he replied.
