We will never know what it was that moved our dear Vlagh to make the decision, but she pointed in the direction of the land of shorter summers and said, Go there!
And then the killing stopped and we took up our cause-hurt-things and we all turned and went on toward the land of shorter summers, carrying our many low-trees that flickered and put forth light and left many dark clouds lying behind us as we went.
THE RELUCTANT CHIEFTAIN
1
It was summer in the lands of the west, and the young boy with red hair woke up even before the sun had risen above the mountains to the east of the village of Lattash and decided that it might be a good day to go fishing in the small river that flowed down from the mountains. There were quite a few things that he was supposed to do that day, but the river seemed to be calling him, and it wouldnt be polite at all to ignore her particularly when the fish were jumping.
He quietly dressed himself in his soft deerskin clothes, took up his fishing-line, and went out of his parents lodge to greet the new summer day. Summer was the finest time of the year for the boy, for there was food in plenty and no snow piled high on the lodges and no bitterly cold wind sweeping in from the bay.
He climbed up over the berm that lay between the village and the river and then went on upstream for quite a ways. The fishing was usually better above the village anyway, and he was sure that it wouldnt be a very good idea to be right out in plain sight when his father came looking for him to remind him that he was neglecting his chores.
The fish were biting enthusiastically that morning, and the boy had caught several dozen of them even before the sun rose up above the mountains.
It was about midmorning when his tall uncle, the eldest son of the tribal chief, came up along the graveled riverbank. Like all the members of the tribe, his uncle wore clothes made of golden deerskin, and his soft shoes made little sound as he joined his young nephew. Your father wants to see you, boy, he said in his quiet voice. You did know that he has quite a few things he wants you to do today, didnt you?
I woke up sort of early this morning, uncle, the boy explained. I didnt think it would be polite to wake anybody, so I came on up here to see if I could catch enough fish for supper this evening.
Are the fish biting at all?
They seem to be very hungry today, uncle, the boy replied, pointing toward the many fish hed laid in the grass near the riverbank.
His uncle seemed quite surprised by the boys morning catch. Youve caught that many already? he asked.
Theyre biting like crazy this morning, uncle. I have to go hide behind a tree when I want to bait my bone hook to keep them from jumping up out of the water to grab the bait right out of my fingers.
Well, now, his uncle said enthusiastically. Why dont you keep fishing, boy? Ill go tell your father that youre too busy for chores right now. A day when the fish are biting like this only comes along once or twice a year, so I think maybe our chief might want all the men of the tribe to put everything else aside and join you here on the riverbank. He paused and squinted at his nephew. Just exactly what was it that made you decide to come here and try fishing this morning.
Im not really sure, uncle. It just sort of seemed to me that the river was calling me.
Any time she calls you, go see what she wants, boy. I think that maybe she loves you, so dont ever disappoint her.
I wouldnt dream of it, uncle, the boy replied, pulling in yet another fish.
And so it was that all of the men of the tribe came down to the river and joined the red-haired boy. The fishing that day was the best many of them had ever seen, and they thanked the boy again and again.
The sun was very low over the western horizon as the boy carried the many fish hed caught that day up over the berm to the lodges of Lattash, and all of the women of the tribe came out to admire the boys catch, and even Planter, who seldom smiled, was grinning broadly when he delivered his catch to her.
And then the boy went on down to the beach to watch the glorious sunset, and the light from the setting sun seemed almost to lay a gleaming path across the water, a path that seemed somehow to invite the boy to walk on out across the bay to the narrow channel that opened out onto the face of Mother Sea.
Are you still sleeping, Red-Beard? Longbow asked.
Not any more, Red-Beard told his friend sourly. He sat up and looked around his room in the House of Veltan. It was a nice enough room, Red-Beard conceded, but stone walls were not nearly as nice as the lodges of Lattash had been. I was dreaming about the old days back in the village of Lattash, and Id just caught enough fish to feed the whole tribe. Everybody seemed to be very happy about that. Then I went on down to the beach to watch the sunset, and I was about to stroll on across the bay to say hello to Mother Sea, but then you had to come along and wake me up.
Did you want to go back to sleep? Longbow asked him.
I guess not, Red-Beard replied. If I happened to doze off now, the fish would probably start biting my toes instead of the bait Id been using. Have you ever noticed that, Longbow? If youre having a nice dream and you wake up before its finished, your next dream will be just awful. Is there something going on that I should know about?
Theres a little family squabble in Veltans map-room is about all. Aracia and Dahlaine have been screaming at each other for about an hour now.
Maybe I will go back to sleep then, Red-Beard said. You dont need to tell anybody I said this, but the older gods seem to be slipping more and more every day.
Youve noticed, Longbow said dryly.
Do you have to do that all the time? Red-Beard demanded, throwing off his blanket and struggling to his feet.
Do what?
Try to turn everything into a joke.
Sorry. I didnt mean to poach in your territory. Shall we go?
Its fairly certain that the creatures of the Wasteland will come east now, Dahlaine, Aracia was saying as Red-Beard and Longbow entered Veltans map-room. After Yaltars volcano destroyed the ones in Zelanas Domain, they turned south to attack the nearest part of the Land of Dhrall, and east is closer to south than north. Theyll attack me next. That should be obvious.
Youre overlooking something, Aracia, Dahlaine disagreed. The servants of the Vlagh are cramming thousands or even millions of years of development into very short periods of time. If we assume that theyre still thinking at the most primitive level, I think well start getting some very nasty surprises. Im almost positive that their overmind has come to realize that the attack here in the south turned into a disaster, and that would make closer very unattractive. Im quite certain that their next attack will be as far from here as possible.
Arent we wandering just a bit? Zelana suggested. We wont know which way the bugs will move until one of the Dreamers gives us that information. Id say lets wait. In the light of what happened in my Domain and Veltans, we just dont have enough information to lock anything in stone yet.
Zelanas right, you know, Veltan agreed. We cant be sure of anything until one of the children has one of those dreams.
May I make a suggestion? the silver-haired Trogite Narasan asked.
Ill listen to anything right now, Dahlaine replied.
Im unfamiliar with the lands of the north and the east, but wouldnt it make sense to alert the local population to the possibility of an incipient invasion? If the people of both regions know that theres a distinct possibility that the bug-men will attack, theyll be able to make some preparations.
That makes sense, Aracia, Dahlaine conceded. If what happened here and off to the west are any indication of whats likely to happen in your Domain or mine, the local population will probably play a large part in giving us another victory.
Aracia glared at her older brother, but she didnt respond.
Longbow tapped Red-Beards shoulder. Why dont we go get a breath of fresh air, he quietly suggested.
It is just a bit stuffy in here, Red-Beard agreed. Lead on, friend Longbow.
They went on out of the map-room and then some distance along the dimly lighted hallway.
Is it just my imagination or is Zelanas older sister behaving a bit childishly? Longbow asked.
I dont really know her all that well, Red-Beard said, and I think Id like to keep it that way. It seems to me that shes got an attitude problem.
Or maybe even something worse. Remember what happened back in the ravine? Suddenly, for no reason at all, Zelana jumped up, grabbed Eleria, and flew on back to her grotto on the Isle of Thurn.
Oh, yes, Red-Beard said. Sorgan almost had a fit when she ran off like that without giving him all that gold shed promised him. If I remember right, it finally took a bit of bullying by Eleria to bring her back to her senses.
I dont know very much about Aracia, Longbow admitted, but Im starting to catch a strong odor of irrationality in her vicinity. Her mind doesnt seem to work any more.
I wouldnt be too sure about that, Longbow, Red-Beard disagreed. It might just be working very well. From what Ive heard, anybody in her Domain who doesnt want to do honest work joins the priesthood and spends all his time adoring her.
Thats what Ive heard too.
Soldiering is one kind of honest work, isnt it?
Not as hard as farming is, maybe, but its still harder than adoring somebody.
If thats the way things are in her Domain, doesnt that sort of suggest that she doesnt have anything at all like an army over there? Wouldnt that explain why she wants all the soldiers Zelana and Veltan hired to come on over to her territory to protect her if the bug-people decide to come her way?
Very good, Red-Beard, Longbow said. Maybe shes not quite as irrational as it might seem. If her Domain is totally undefended, shell need just about everybody with a sword or a bow to come there to protect her. Its very selfish, of course, but I dont think that would bother her. She seems to believe that shes the most important thing in the whole world, so from her way of looking at things, were all obliged to rush to her defense.
Theres not much that we can do about it right now, friend Longbow except possibly to suggest to Zelana that shed better keep a close eye on her big sister.
Im sure that Zelana already knows about her sisters peculiarities, but we might want to caution Sorgan and Narasan about this.
Youre probably right. Should we go on back and listen to the screaming? or would you rather go fishing?
The squabbling of Dahlaine and Aracia continued for another half hour or so, and then Ara, Omagos beautiful wife, joined them on the balcony of the map-room. Suppers ready, she announced.
Thats just about the best news Ive heard all day, Sorgan Hook-Beak declared. Lets go eat before everything gets cold.
They all trooped on down the hallway to Veltans impromptu dining-room. That was one of the characteristics of the elder gods that Red-Beard had never fully understood. There was a certain practicality involved in their lack of a need for sleep. If some kind of emergency came up, a sleeping god might not be able to deal with it, but Red-Beard couldnt for the life of him see why they didnt eat. They didnt need nourishment, of course, but there was more to eating food than just satisfying the grumbling in the belly. Dinners in particular were generally something along the lines of a social event that brought people closer together and smoothed over various disagreements. Red-Beard was almost positive that the elaborate dining-room in Veltans house hadnt even been there before the outlanders had arrived, and he was fairly sure that the dining-room Veltan had added to his house had originally been Aras idea. Omagos wife was quite probably the best cook in the entire world, but she was wise enough to know that getting people together and establishing friendships was even more important than eating. There were several peculiarities about Ara that Red-Beard didnt fully understand yet.
He was still working on it, though.
Oddly, Veltan and Zelana were accompanying them to the dining-room. Since they didnt need or want food, they obviously had something else on their minds.
The conversation at the dinner table was fairly general, but after theyd all eaten more than they really needed, of course Zelana and Veltan took Sorgan and Commander Narasan aside and spoke with them at some length.
Red-Beard nudged his friend Longbow after supper. I could be wrong about this, I suppose, but I think Zelana and Veltan might have come up with a way to make peace in their family, and its probably going to involve Sorgan and Narasan.
What a peculiar sort of idea, Longbow murmured.
You saw it too, didnt you?
It was just a bit obvious, friend Red-Beard. I think it might disappoint Holy Aracia a little, though.
What a shame, Red-Beard said with a broad grin.
Thats a nasty sort of thing to say.
So beat me.
When they returned to the map-room, Sorgan Hook-Beak cleared his throat as a sort of indication that he was about to make a speech. Narasan and I talked this over, and I think we might have come up with a way to deal with the problem thats been nagging at us here lately, he announced. Since we cant be certain sure exactly where the bug-people will strike next, well have to cover both possibilities. Since Lord Dahlaines territory is farther away than his sisters is, Narasan and I pretty much agreed that I should cover that part of the Land of Dhrall not because my men are better warriors, but because our ships move faster than Narasans can. Of course, thats why we built them that way. Chasing down Trogite ships and robbing them is the main business in the Land of Maag, but we can talk about that some other time. Since my people will cover the north, Narasans will cover the east. He gestured down toward Veltans lumpy map. If that maps anywhere at all close to being accurate, itll only take Narasans fleet a few days to reach Lady Aracias territory, and he can protect that region. That means that well have people in place to hold the bug-people back in either the east or the north, and our employers can zip from here to there in no time at all. If the attack strikes the east, Ill sail on down around the south end and join up with Narasan in just a couple of weeks. But, if the bug-people come north, my people will be able to hold them back until Narasan arrives to help me. When we add the horse soldiers in the north and the women warriors in the east, well have enough people to bring any bug invasion to a stop. Then, when the rest of our friends arrive, well be able to stomp all over the invaders and win the third war here in the Land of Dhrall.