Zelandoni before me that she didn't think she would ever mate again. Then Dalanar walked into the Ninth Cave.'
'Everyone says that he was the great love of her life,' Jondalar said.
'Dalanar was the great love of her life. For him, Marthona could almost have given up her leadership, but not quite. She felt they needed her. And though he loved her as much as she loved him, after a while, he needed something of his own. He wasn't content to sit in her shadow. Unlike you, Jondalar, his skill in working with the stone wasn't enough.'
'But he is one of the most skilled I have ever met. His work is known by everyone, and they all acknowledge him as the best. The only flint-knapper I've ever known who can compare with him is Wymez, of the Lion Camp of the Mamutoi. I always wished the two of them could meet,' Jondalar said.
'Perhaps, in a sense they have, through you,' the large woman said. 'Jondalar, you must know that if you aren't already, you will soon be the most renowned flint-knapper of the Zelandonii. Dalanar is a skilled tool-maker, there's no question of that, but he's Lanzadonii now. Anyway, his real skill was always people. He is happy now. He has founded his own Cave, his own people, and though in a way he will always be Zelandonii, his Lanzadonii will someday come into their own.
'And you are the son of his heart, as well as the son of his hearth, Jondalar. He's proud of you. He loves Jerika's daughter, Joplaya, too. He's proud of you both. Although in a hidden place in his heart, he might always love Marthona, he adores Jerika. I think he loves that she looks so exotic, and that she is so little, yet so fierce. That's part of what attracts him. He's so big that next to him she looks half his size, she looks delicate, but she is more than a match for him. She has no desire to be leader; she's happy to let him do it, although I have no doubt that she could. Her strength of will and character are formidable.'
'You are certainly right about that, Zelandoni!' he said, with a laugh, one of his big, lusty warm laughs, its spontaneous enthusiasm all the more astonishing because it was unexpected. Jondalar was a serious man, and though he smiled easily, he seldom laughed out loud. When he did, the unreserved exuberance of it came as a surprise.
'Dalanar found someone after he and Marthona severed the knot, but many doubted that she would ever find a man to replace him, would ever love another man in the same way, and she didn't, but she found Willamar. Her love for him is not less than her love for Dalanar, but of a different character, just as her love for Dalanar was not the same as her love for Joconan. Willamar also has a skill with people — that's true of all the men in her life — but he satisfies it as the Trade Master, travelling, making contacts, seeing new and unusual places. He has seen more, learned more, and met more people than anyone, including you, Jondalar. He loves to travel, but even more, he loves coming home and sharing his adventures and knowledge about the people he met. He has established trading networks all across the Zelandonii land and beyond, and has brought back useful news, exciting stories, and unusual objects. He was a tremendous help to Marthona as leader, and now to Joharran. There is no man I respect more. And, of course, her only daughter was born to his hearth. Marthona always wanted a daughter, and your sister, Folara, is a lovely young woman,' Zelandoni said.
Ayla understood the feeling. She too had wanted a daughter very much, and she glanced down at her sleeping infant with a strong feeling of love.
'Yes, Folara is beautiful, and also intelligent and fearless,' Jondalar said. 'When we first arrived, and everyone else was so uneasy about the horses and all, she didn't hesitate. She ran down the path to greet me. I'll never forget that.'
'Yes, Folara makes your mother proud, but more, with a daughter one always knows that her children are your own grandchildren. I'm sure she loves the children born to her sons' hearths, but with a daughter there is no doubt. Then, of course, your brother Thonolan was also born to Willamar's hearth and though she played no favourites, he was the one who made her smile. But he made everyone smile. He had a way with people that was even more winning than Willamar's — warm, open, and friendly — qualities no one could resist, and he had the same love of travel. I doubt that you would ever have gone on such a long Journey if not for him, Jondalar.'
'You're right. I never thought of making a Journey until he decided to go. Visiting the Lanzadonii was far enough for me.'
'Why did you decide to go with him?' Zelandoni asked.
'I don't know if I can explain it,' Jondalar said. 'He was always fun to be around, so I knew it would be easy travelling with him, and he did make the trip sound exciting, but I didn't think we'd go as far as we did. I think part of it was that sometimes he could be a little reckless and I felt a need to look out for him. He was my brother and I think I loved him more than anyone I knew. I knew I'd come home someday, if it was possible, and I felt that if I was with him, he'd come back home with me, eventually. I don't know … something was pulling me,' Jondalar said. He glanced at Ayla, who had been listening even more intently than Zelandoni.
He didn't know it, but my totem and maybe the Mother pulled him, Ayla thought. He had to come and find me.
'What about Marona? Obviously you didn't feel enough for her to make you want to stay. Did she have anything to do with your decision to go?' the First asked. This was the first time since his return that the Donier had an opportunity to really talk to him about why he took his long Journey, and she was going to take advantage of it. 'What would you have done if Thonolan had not decided to make a Journey?'
'I guess I would have gone to the Summer Meeting and probably mated Marona,' Jondalar said. 'Everyone expected it, and there wasn't anyone I cared for more, at that time.' He looked up and smiled at Ayla. 'But to be honest, I wasn't thinking about her when I decided to go, I was worried about mother. I think she guessed Thonolan might not return, and I was afraid she might worry that I wouldn't either. I did plan to come back, but you never know. Anything can happen on a Journey, and many things did, but I knew Willamar wouldn't be going away, and she had Folara and Joharran.'
'What makes you think Marthona did not expect Thonolan to return?' the First asked.
'It was something that she said to us when we left to go visit Dalanar. Thonolan was the one who noticed it. Mother said 'Good journey' to him, not 'Until you return', as she did to me. And remember when we first told mother and Willamar about Thonolan? Willamar said that mother never expected him to return, and as I feared, she was afraid I wouldn't come back either when she found out I had gone with him. She said she was afraid she had lost two sons,' Jondalar said.
That was why he couldn't stay with the Sharamudoi when Tholie and Markeno asked us to, Ayla thought. They were so welcoming and I had grown so fond of them during our visit, I wanted to stay, but Jondalar couldn't. Now I know why, and I'm glad we came all the way back. Marthona treats me like a daughter and a friend, and so does Zelandoni. I really like Folara, and Proleva and Joharran, and many others. Not everyone, but most people have been nice.
'Marthona was right,' Zelandoni said. 'Thonolan was favoured with many Gifts, and he was greatly loved. Many people used to say he was a favourite of the Mother. I never like it when people say that, but in his case it was prophetic. The other side of being one of Her favourites is that She can't stand to be separated from them for too long and tends to take Her favourites back early, when they are still young. You were gone so long, I wondered if you were a little too favoured, also.'
'I didn't think I'd be gone five years,' Jondalar said.
'Most people doubted that you or Thonolan would ever return after you were gone two years. Occasionally someone would mention that you and Thonolan had gone on a Journey, but they were already starting to forget you. I wonder if you know how stunned people were when you returned. It wasn't only that you appeared with a foreign woman, and those horses and a wolf,' Zelandoni said, and smiled wryly. 'It was that you came back at all.'
Chapter 14
'Do you think we should even try to take the horses inside that cave?' Ayla said the next morning.
'Most of the cave has high ceilings, but it is a cave. That means once we get away from the entrance, it's dark, except for the light we bring with us, and the floor is uneven. You have to be careful because it falls down to a lower level in several places. It should be empty now, but bears use it in winter. You can see their wallows and
