The Land of Painted Caves - Jean M. Auel [316]
“You certainly did acquire some names and leave a trail of stories behind you on your Journey,” Danug said. “Not just from the S’Armunai. I even heard about you from people who never met you. You were everything from a skilled healer and controller of surprising spiritual forces to the incarnation of the Great Earth Mother herself, a living muta—I guess here it’s donii—come to help Her people. And Jondalar was her fair-haired and handsome mate—as they say here, ‘Her pale shining lover.’ Even Wolf was an incarnation, of the Wolf Star. The stories about him range from avenging beast to lovable creature who tended babies. The horses, too. They were animals of wonder that the Great Horse Spirit allowed to be controlled by you. There was one story—from Aldanor’s people—that claimed the horses could fly, and carried you and Jondalar back to your homes in the next world. I was beginning to wonder if all the stories could be about the same people, but after talking to Jondalar, I think you both had some interesting adventures.”
“I think people like to enlarge stories to make them seem more interesting,” Ayla said. “And who’s to prove them wrong once the people the stories are about are gone? We just traveled back here to Jondalar’s home. You no doubt have had your share of adventures.”
“But we didn’t travel with a pair of magical horses and a wolf.”
“Danug, you know there is nothing magical about those animals. You watched Jondalar train Racer, and you were there when I brought Wolf to the lodge as a tiny puppy. He’s just a wolf that got used to people because he grew up with them.”
“Which reminds me, where is that animal? I wonder if he’ll still remember me,” Danug said.
“As soon as we got here, he ran off to look for Jonayla,” Ayla said. “Apparently, she is with her age-mates doing something for the zelandonia. But I still haven’t seen Jondalar. Did he say anything about going hunting?”
“Not to me,” Danug said, “but the three of us haven’t been around here that much. We’re strangers, from far away, but introduced by Jondalar as your kin, so we have been welcomed as kin. Everyone wants to hear our stories and ask questions about our people. We’ve all been asked to participate in First Rites. Even me, as big as I am, though I was questioned about my experience with such young women, and I think I was tested by one or two ‘donii-women.’ ” The huge young man grinned with delight. “Jondalar translated for us in the beginning, but we’ve been learning Zelandonii, and can get by fairly well now on our own. People have been wonderful to us, but they keep wanting to give us things, and you know how hard it is to carry much when you’re on a Journey. In fact, I did bring something that you left behind. I gave it to Jondalar. Do you remember the piece of ivory Talut gave you when you left? The one that showed landmarks to help to get started out right on your Journey?”
“Yes. We had to leave it behind to make room.”
“Laduni gave it to me to give back to you.”
“That must have made Jondalar happy. It was one thing he wanted to keep as a reminder of his stay with the Lion Camp.”
“I understand that. The S’Armunai gave me something that I will definitely keep. I’ll show you.” Danug took out a figure of a mammoth made out of a very hard but strange kind of material. “I don’t know what kind of stone it is. Aldanor says they make it, but I don’t know whether to believe him.”
“They do make that stone. They start with muddy clay, then shape it, and burn it in a very hot fire in a special enclosed space, like an oven built in the earth, until it turns to stone. I watched the S’Armuna of Three Sisters Camp do it. She is the one who discovered how to make that stone.” Ayla paused, and her eyes took on a faraway look, as though she were looking inside at a memory. “She was not an evil person, but Attaroa did turn her the wrong way for a while. The S’Armunai are an interesting people.”
“Jondalar told me what happened to both of you there. But Aldanor