'Some people have brown hair,' said an acolyte sitting behind Ayla.
'And some people have brown eyes,' Ayla said.
'I've never seen anyone with brown eyes. The eyes of everyone I know are blue or grey, sometimes with a little green,' said the young male acolyte who had spoken earlier.
'The people of the Clan who raised me all had brown eyes,' Ayla said. 'They thought my eyes were strange, perhaps even weak, because they were so light.'
'You are talking about Flatheads, aren't you? They're not really people. Other animals have brown eyes, and a lot of them have brown fur,' he said.
Ayla felt her anger flare. 'How can you say that? The Clan are not animals. They are people!' she said through gritted teeth. 'Have you ever even seen one?'
The First jumped in to quell the incipient disruption. 'Acolyte of the Zelandoni of the Twenty-ninth Cave, it is true that some people have brown eyes. You are young and obviously inexperienced. That is one reason that before you become a full Zelandoni, you need to make a Donier Tour. When you travel south, you will meet some people with brown eyes. But perhaps you should answer her question. Have you ever seen the 'animal' you call a Flathead?' she said.
'Well … no, but everyone says they look like bears,' the young man said.
'When she was a child, Ayla lived among the ones that the Zelandonii know as Flatheads, but that she calls the Clan. They saved her life after she lost her parents; they took care of her, raised her. I think she has more experience with them than you. You also might ask Willamar, the Trade Master, who has had more contact with them than most. He says they may look a little different, but they behave like people and he believes they are. Until you have had some direct contact yourself, I think you should defer to those who have had personal experience with them,' the First said, in a stern, lecturing tone.
The young man felt a flare of anger. He didn't like being lectured, and he didn't like that the ideas of a foreigner should be given more credence than those he had heard all his life. But after his Zelandoni signalled with a shake of his head, he decided not to dispute the One Who Was First Among Those Who Served The Great Earth Mother.
'Now, we were speaking of the Five Sacred Colours. Zelandoni of the Fourteenth Cave, why don't you tell us about the next one,' the First said.
'The second primary colour is green,' the Zelandoni of the Fourteenth began. 'Green is the colour of leaves and grass. It is also a colour of life, of course, plant life. In winter you will see that many trees and plants are brown, showing that their true colour is old red, the colour of life. In winter the plants are only resting, gathering strength for their new green growth in spring. With their flowers and fruits, plants also show most of the other colours.'
Ayla thought her delivery was flat, and if the information itself had not been so interesting, she could make it seem dull. No wonder the rest of the zelandonia didn't select her to be First. Then Ayla wondered if she just thought that because she knew how much the woman annoyed her Zelandoni.
'Perhaps the Zelandoni whose Cave is hosting this Summer Meeting would tell us about the next Sacred Colour?' the First interjected just as the Fourteenth was taking a breath to continue. The Fourteenth couldn't really object, under the circumstances.
'Yes, of course,' he said. 'The third primary colour is yellow, the colour of the sun, Bali, and the colour of fire, although there is also much red in both, which shows that they have a life of their own. You can see the red in the sun mostly in the morning and in the evening. The sun gives us light and warmth, but it can be dangerous. Too much sun can make skin burn, and dry out plants and watering holes. We have no control over the sun. Not even Doni, the Mother, could control her son, Bali. We can only try to protect ourselves from him, get out of his way. Fire can be even more dangerous than the sun. We do have some control of it, and it is very useful, but we should never get careless with fire, nor take it for granted.
'Not all things that are yellow are hot. Some soil is yellow, there is yellow ochre as well as red ochre. Some people have yellow hair,' he said, looking directly at Ayla, 'and of course, many flowers show its true colour. They always age to brown, which is an aspect of red. It is for that reason that some argue that yellow should be considered an aspect of red and not a sacred colour in its own right, but most agree that it is a primary colour that attracts red, the colour of life.'
Ayla found herself fascinated by the Zelandoni of the Twenty-sixth Cave, and observed him more closely. He was tall, muscular, with dark blond, almost brown hair with streaks of lighter colour, and dark eyebrows that blended into his Zelandoni tattoo on his left forehead. The tattoo was not quite as ornate as some, but very precise. His beard was brown with a reddish tone, but small and with a distinct shape. She thought he must use a sharp flint blade to trim it, to keep it that way. He was probably approaching middle age, his face had some character, but he seemed young and vibrant and quietly in control.
She thought most people would think that he was handsome. She did, though she didn't fully trust her sense of who was attractive to her own kind of people, the 'Others' to the Clan. Her perception of who looked good was strongly influenced by the standards of the people who raised her. She thought people of the Clan were handsome, but most of the Others did not, though many had never seen any, and most of those who had, had only seen them from a distance. She watched some of the young women acolytes and decided that they were attracted to the man who was speaking. Some of the older women seemed to be, too. In any case, he was very good at communicating the lore. The First seemed to agree. She asked him to continue.
'The Fourth Primary colour is clear,' he said. 'Clear is the colour of the wind, the colour of water. Clear can show all colours, as when you look in a still pond and see a reflection, or when drops of rain sparkle in all colours when the sun comes out. Both blue and white are aspects of clear. When you look at wind, it is clear, but when you look into the sky, you see blue. Water in a lake, or in the Great Waters of the West is often blue, and the water seen on glaciers is a deep, vivid blue.'
Like Jondalar's eyes, Ayla thought. She remembered when they were crossing the glacier that it was the only time she saw a blue colour that matched his eyes. She wondered if the Zelandoni of the Twenty-sixth Cave had ever been on a glacier.
'Some fruit is blue,' he was saying. 'especially berries, and some flowers, although blue flowers are more rare. Many people have blue eyes, or blue mixed with grey, which is also an aspect of clear. Snow is white, as are clouds in the sky, or grey when they are mixed with dark to make rain, but their true colour is clear. Ice is clear though it may appear white, but you know the true colour of snow and ice as soon as they melt, and clouds when they rain. There are many white flowers, and one can find white earth in certain places. There is a location not far from the Ninth Cave where white earth, kaolin, can be found,' he said, looking directly at Ayla, 'but it is still an aspect of clear.'
The Zelandoni Who Was First picked up the lecture. 'The fifth Sacred Colour is dark, sometimes called black. It is the colour of night, the colour of charcoal after fire has burned the life out of the wood. It is the colour that overcomes the colour of life, red, especially as it ages. Some have said that black is the darkest shade of old red, but it is not. Dark is the absence of light, and the absence of life. It is the colour of death. It does not even have an ephemeral life; there are no black flowers. Deep caves show the primary colour of dark in its truest form.'
When she finished, she stopped and looked at the assembled acolytes. 'Are there any questions?' she said. There was a diffident silence, some shifting and shuffling, but no one spoke out. She knew there probably were questions, but no one wanted to be first, or appear not to understand if everyone else did, or seemed to. It was all right — questions could come later, and would. Since so many of the acolytes were there, and she had their attention, the First wondered if she should continue with the instruction. Too much at one time was hard to retain, and people's minds could wander. 'Would you like to hear more?'
Ayla glanced at her baby and noticed that she was still asleep. 'I would,' she said softly. There were other murmurs and sounds from the group, most of them positive.
'Would someone like to talk about another way that we know five is a powerful symbol?' the One Who Was First asked.
'One can see five wandering stars in the sky,' said the old Zelandoni of the Seventh Cave.
'That is true,' the First said, smiling at the tall, elderly man, then announced to the rest, 'And Zelandoni of the Seventh Cave is the one who discovered them and showed them to us. It takes time to see them, and most of you won't until your Year of Nights.'
'What is the Year of Nights?' Ayla asked. There were several others who were glad she did.
