by Myers, Karen
*What would I do with a bunch of sheep, Naj-sha? I can’t accept that.*
His face sobered from its teasing look. *You must, Pen-sha. First, it would be an insult to the clan to hold yourself separate. And then, herds are the wealth of women, not men. The women control the animals, and bring them or the wealth they represent to their husband’s family, where they continue to manage them, and their husband’s flocks, too, for the sake of their children.*
*Not being married yet…* He winked at her. *I have herds, myself, with the Zamjilah, but they’re managed by the women of my family. That used to be Rubti—I wonder who’s doing it now? Anyway Umzakhilin knows you have no clan, and this gives you standing, wealth to bring to your marriage like any other young woman, so you won’t be a pauper. For the respect of the clan.*
He laughed quietly at her stricken look. *Don’t worry, there will be rapid trading of the yathzurazd until everyone has what they want. Many an orphan has built his wealth from such a foundation, going about in tattered clothing while his flocks increase.*
*Now compose yourself, Pen-sha, like a respectable woman soon to be married, and stop counting your sheep.*
CHAPTER 60
A few hours later, Penrys stood in the slanted light of the late afternoon, in the same cleared circle at the center of the zudiqazd. Najud grinned at her side, and the other five couples were spaced out evenly, surrounding Umzakhilin and Hadishti who were standing now, their chairs gone.
Behind her, Bimal and Haraq stood in support, while Rubti and Ilzay stood for Najud, and each of the other couples had friends to do similar service.
What am I doing here, in this alien place with its peculiar customs? In borrowed clothing and a borrowed language, pretending I’m part of it?
Her fingers of her right hand strayed from the crutch hooked under her shoulder to the brooch above her left breast, the silver eagle the size of her palm with its outspread wings. Najud had presented it to her, and she couldn’t help but think of the first time they’d made love, her wings wrapped around both their standing bodies, until they got in the way. By the leer lurking on his lips when he pinned it on, it was in his thoughts, too—a private sharing between them, in the public view. She felt her cheeks redden.
She’d noticed that the other brides and the women attending them dressed in their finery all seemed to be wearing necklaces and little other jewelry. Even in Gonglik or wherever he found this, he knew already that he couldn’t give me a necklace to compete with this… this chain that brings horrors.
She’d known that Najud had little gifts in his packs for all his family, and Rubti had been delighted with hers—a necklace of various animals, stacked like large beads, each carved from a different mineral. Horse and bear, lion and goat, raven and frog. “This came out of far Ndant,” he’d told her. “I saw it in Yenit Ping and thought of you.”
Najud glanced at Penrys now, in unaccustomed sobriety, and whispered to her, “You won’t regret this, Pen-sha.”
“Promise me you won’t either,” she whispered back.
“Never.” He smiled confidently, and Umzakhilin began the ceremony.
Najud captured Penrys’s left hand, lest she bolt in panic at the last minute. He smiled broadly at the sight of the silver eagle, a reminder for all to see but none to understand, except the two of them. His body tingled with the memory of that first night, in the northern hills of Neshilik, and he had to call himself back to attention.
“After death comes life,” Umzakhilin intoned. “Just as our grief was a private matter for the clan, so this hope is ours to cherish as well, born out of hardship and determination…” His gaze fell on the four couples of survivors. “Out of good fortune…” This time he looked at Khashghuy and Yardiqurti, who clung to each other as if never to be separated. “And out of new blood.” This last was accompanied by a steady look at Najud and Penrys.
Hadishti beamed at all six couples. “May your lives be fruitful and full of children.”
Najud gripped Penrys’s hand hard at that, knowing her fear. His eye fell on Munraz, standing with Winnajhubr among the other witnesses. If not children of my body, then children of my choosing, and hers. It’ll be enough. I hope I can make her believe that.
“May you cherish your jaram—a comfort in hardship, a joy in living, a shield in danger, and a light in darkness. You have partners now, to share your life, and new responsibilities—to each other and to the clan.”
“Go and rejoice!” Umzakhilin cried. “Witness, all ye Kurighdunaq, and celebrate!”
He clapped his hands loudly three times, and Hadishti struck the ancient ram’s bell three times with a length of antler, padded at the tip with leather, waiting each time for the sound to fade. When the echo of the bell died away at the end, the onlookers broke ranks and surged over their friends.
Rubti hugged her brother, and then turned to embrace Penrys. “Naghayin, it should be my mother doing this, but let me welcome you to our family in her stead.”
Najud looked down at the two of them, the dark curls of his favorite sister, and the rich brown hair and foreign features, now so dear to him, of his wife. “There will be a feast soon,” he said, to quiet her nerves. “And then the new couples will sneak off, pair by pair, each into their own kazr, while everyone else drinks.”
He pointed out to her the five small temporary kazrab broken out of storage for the newly married couples and now being erected by enthusiastic well-wishers. They were sited off to the side of Najud’s kazr, out of the way of casual passers-by.
Rubti giggled. “The flaps will be down over the doors for days.” Then she realized this would include her brother and his wife, standing right there listening to her, and her face flamed.
Najud thought Penrys’s laughter was the result his nurti deserved. “Soon,” he said to Penrys, over Rubti’s head. “We have to take a few bites before we retire—it’s expected.”
He grinned at her. “But I find I’m not really very hungry. Are you?”
“Not for dinner,” she said, dryly.
He felt his whole body surge at her response.
Haraq cornered Najud before the feast with questions about the proposed caravan based near the High Pass, and Rubti stayed to listen.
“It won’t be this spring, Haraq,” Najud said, “And maybe not the next either. It’ll take time to prepare a base and spread the word to other traders. And Umzakhilin hasn’t told me what he wants the role of the Kurighdunaq to be.”
“But he’s going to let you breed the donkeys and begin the first generation of mules,” Rubti said. “Bimal told me.”
Najud nodded absently, his eyes following Penrys as she spoke to Hadishti and the two of them shared a laugh.
“That means they’ll still be too young in two years, but it’s a start. And they have plenty of horses here.”
Najud refocused on the face of his eager nurti, looking for her place in the world, and it struck a chord in his heart.
“The new biziz will need a dirum,” he told her. “Would that interest you?”
Her face lit up. “Me? Yes! I’ll learn everything I can from Bimal. I won’t disappoint you, tigha.”
“I know you won’t, nurti.”
“You’ll be needing other folk for the biziz,” Haraq said. “I’d like to be one of them.”
“I would value your help, Haraq. We’ll be here for a month or so. Plenty of time to talk things through.”
“I know you have other things on your mind, bikraj,” Haraq said, and he winked at Najud as he hooked an arm through Rubti’s, to her surprise, and drew her away.
Najud barely noticed as his eyes sought out Penrys. As if she felt his gaze, she looked up from her conversation with Hadishti, and smiled at him wickedly.
Why are they taking so long laying out the feast? The sun’s almost down. I don’t care what they say about it, the bikrajab will be the first ones away tonight.
Penrys’s eyes caught Najud’s and he nodded. She had no appetite for the fo
od, savory though it smelled, and put her bowl on the felt pad on the snow that she shared with him. It was awkward getting up without upsetting it, even with Najud’s help, and she balanced on her left leg with one hand on him while he retrieved her crutch and handed it to her.
All of this drew everyone’s eyes, and she reddened as she heard the chuckles make their way around the camp.
Najud yawned elaborately at the spectators. “Sure is late,” he said, to the air at large.
“Why? You’re not going anywhere tomorrow. Or the next day, neither.” The anonymous joke pulled laughter in its wake, and other less polite suggestions followed.
Penrys raised her head high and pretended not to hear them, though her dignity was seriously impaired by the lurching of her pace through the trampled snow. They walked in silence, away from the eyes of the clan and the light of the fire, until they came to a stop in front of the door of their kazr.
Najud pushed the door open and she stepped over the threshold, while he busied himself lowering the flap and tying it down before shutting the door behind him. He knelt down to tend the fire in the stove, and then stood up again in silence, watching her as she swayed uncertainly near her bed.
“I don’t know why I feel so nervous,” she said.
“It means more now, Pen-sha.” His deep voice soothed her. He unpinned the eagle brooch from her borrowed robe and put it in her hand, and she ran her finger over it.
“I have nothing for you, Naj-sha, nothing like this.” She hung her head.
“It’s not gifts I want from you. It’s you.”
She stood still while he helped her shrug off the robe. He folded it neatly and placed it on his narrow bed, and followed it with his own clothing. She rarely got a chance like this to admire him, the male shape of him, and it held her attention while he removed the rest of her own clothing.
“I’ve thought of something after all,” she murmured. She took one step forward, until she stood, chest to chest, right up against him and invoked her wings to wrap all the way around his back until he was enclosed in sliding feathers against his bare skin. She slipped her arms around him, letting the crutch fall, and just held him while her wings worked their magic on him.
When his thickened voice reverberated through his chest to her ear, the one knee supporting her weakened, and he had to support her.
“Can’t stand much more of this, Pen-sha,” he said, a bit desperately.
“Sorry about the leg,” she whispered, and he helped her hop back to the edge of her bed to sit.
“Oh, I don’t think it’ll bother us much. I don’t think we’ll notice it at all.”
GUIDE TO NAMES AND PRONUNCIATIONS
PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS & PLACE NAMES & TERMS
PEOPLE - ELLECH
Penrys (Ryssi) (PEHN-rewss)
The chained adept. Wizard trained at the Collegium of Wizards.
Vylkar (VIEWL-kar)
Senior wizard at the Collegium of Wizards. Patron of Penrys.
Vylkerri (viewl-KEHR-ree)
The name of the young wizard-tyrant who devastated the Kurighdunaq clan, given by Penrys in honor of her patron.
PEOPLE - KIGALI
Chang Zenju (CHAHNG ZEHN-joo)
The laigomju, commander, of the cavalry squadron sent from Jonggep to Neshilik.
Tun Jeju (TOON JEH-joo)
The notju, intelligence master, and imperial representative for Chang Zenju’s expedition.
PEOPLE - RASESNI
Dzangabtig (Dzantig) (DZAN-gab-tig, DZAN-tig)
Priest and member of the Temple School in Kunchik. His god is Dzangab.
Menchos (Mene) (MEN-chohs)
Senior commander or intelligence master exiled from Dzongphan.
Surdo (SOOR-doh) - The Voice
The chained wizard-tyrant who wreaked havoc in Rasesdad. The name was given by the Rasesni—his actual name was unknown.
The Voice
See “Surdo.”
PEOPLE - ZANNIB
Akshullah (ahk-shool-LAH)
A clan in northwestern central Zannib, part of the Undullah tribe.
Anah-Jilah (Anasha) (ah-NAH-jee-LAH)
The little sister of Yuknaj and Winnajhubr.
Anah-Zul (Zulsha) (ah-NAH-zool)
A survivor of the Kurighdunaq disaster.
Anitqizat (ah-neet-kee-ZAHT)
A master wizard.
Ariqnas (ah-rick-NAHSS)
A herdsman who survives his encounter with the Mistress of Animals, from clan Umzabul, tribe Maqurrah.
Bajushaz (bah-joo-SHAHZ)
Father of Dhalmudhr.
Barshhubr (barsh-HOOB-er)
A herdsman, from clan Umzabul, tribe Maqurrah.
Bimal (bee-MAHL)
The herd-mistress of the Kurighdunaq, a survivor of the disaster.
Birssahr (beers-SAH-her)
A boy who survived the Kurighdunaq disaster.
Butraz (boot-RAHZ)
Najud’s older brother.
Dhajtawhaz (thahj-tow-HAHZ)
A tribe in the northwest central region of Zannib. One of its clans is Rashaban.
Dhalmudhr (thahl-MOOTH-er)
The leader of some of the survivors of the Kurighdunaq disasater.
Dimghuy (deem-GOOEY)
Son of Hadishti.
Ghayrbarsh (guy-er-BARSH)
Father of Jiqlaraz, of clan Rashaban, tribe Dhajtawaz.
Ghuruma (goo-ROO-mah)
Najud’s oldest sister.
Hadishti (hah-DEESH-tee)
A survivor of the Kurighdunaq disaster. Mother of Sharma and Dimghuy. Her original clan is Umzabul, tribe Maqurrah.
Haraq (hah-RAHK)
A survivor of the Kurighdunaq disaster, brother of Lurum.
Hazimjilah (hah-ZEEM-jee-LAH)
A messenger sent to clan Zamjilah.
Ilsahr (eel-SAH-her)
Najud’s father.
Ilzay (eel-ZYE)
A friend of Jirkat.
Inghiti (in-GHEE-tee)
An apprentice herd-mistress of the Winnajjinza clan, tribe Undullah.
Hubrahi (hoob-RAH-hee)
A young man of the Kurighdunaq clan.
Jiqlaraz (jeek-lah-RAHZ)
A senior wizard from a family of wizards, from clan Rashaban, tribe Dhajtawaz. Uncle of Munraz.
Jirkat (jeer-KAHT)
A survivor of the Kurighdunaq disaster.
Kazrsulj (kahz-er-SOOLJ)
Najud’s mother.
Khashghuy (khahsh-GOOEY)
Jirkat’s younger brother.
Khashjibrim (khash-jeeb-REEM)
Father of Kazrsulj and Qizrahi.
Khimar (khee-MAR)
Daughter of Suragh, playmate of Anah-jilah.
Khizuwi (khee-ZOO-wee)
A senior wizard from clan Umzabul, tribe Maqurrah.
Kurighdunaq (koo-REEG-doo-NAHK) - World-bow (Rainbow)
A clan in northwestern central Zannib, part of the Undullah tribe.
Lurum (Lusha) (loo-RAHM)
A survivor of the Kurighdunaq disaster, sister of Haraq.
Mahab (mah-HAAB)
A tribe in the northwest central region of Zannib.
Maqurrah (mah-koo-RAH)
A tribe in the northwest central region of Zannib.
Mishajmarzuwi (mee-shahj-mar-ZOO-wee)
Jirkat’s father.
Munraz (moon-RAHZ)
An apprentice wizard, nephew of Jiqlaraz, from clan Rashaban, tribe Dhajtawaz.
Najjilah (NAHJ-jee-LAH)
The oldest son of Umzakhilin.
Najud (nah-JOOD) - Lucky, Fortunate
A master wizard of the Zamjilah clan, in the Shubzah tribe.
Qizrahi (keez-RAH-hee)
Kazrsulj’s sister, married into the Kurighdunaq clan, in the Undullah tribe. Her original clan was Zamjilah, tribe Shubzah.
Quyubil (koo-yoo-BEEL)
The law-master of clan Kurighdunaq.
Rashaban (rah-shah-BAHN)
A clan in northwestern central Z
annib, part of the Dhajtawhaz tribe.
Rubti (ROOB-tee)
Najud’s second sister.
Sahrzay (sah-her-ZYE)
Clan leader of the Winnajjinza clan, in the Undullah tribe.
Sharma (SHAR-mah)
Daughter of Hadishti.
Shubzah (shoob-ZAH)
A tribe in the northeast central region of Zannib. Zamjilah is one of its clans.
Suragh (soo-RAHG)
Mother of Khimar, from the Kurighdunaq clan.
Umzabul (oom-zah-BOOL) - Sun-arrow
A clan in northwestern central Zannib, part of the Maqurrah tribe.
Umzakhilin (oom-zah-khee-LEEN)
The zarawinnaj, migration leader, of the Kurighdunaq clan.
Undullah (oon-dool-LAH)
A tribe in the northwest central region of Zannib. It has three clans—Winnajjinza, Kurighdunaq, and Akshullah.
Urqudham (oor-koo-THAHM)
Khizuwi’s father.
Winnajhubr (wee-nahj-HOOB-er)
A young man, brother of Yuknaj.
Winnajjinza (wee-nahj-JEEN-zah) - Cloud-rider
A clan in northwestern central Zannib, part of the Undullah tribe.
Wishkazti (weesh-KAHZ-tee)
A friend of Barshhubr, from clan Umzabul, tribe Maqurrah.
Yardiqurti (yar-dee-KOOR-tee)
The betrothed of Khashghuy.
Yukjilah (yook-jee-LAH)
Butraz’s wife.
Yuknaj (yook-NAHJ)
A young woman, sister of Winnajhubr.
Zabrash (zahb-RAHSH)
A boy who survived the Kurighdunaq disaster.
Zamharshat (zahm-har-SHAHT)
The tribal leader for the Undullah tribe.
Zamjilah (zahm-jee-LAH) - Eye of Heaven
Najud’s clan, part of the Shubzah tribe.
Zaybirs (zye-BEERS)
One of Najud’s cousins, son of his aunt Qizrahi, from the Kurighdunaq clan, in the Undullah tribe.
PLACES - ELLECH
Drosenrolkentham (DROH-sen-rohl-ken-thahm) - Wizard-learning-place
The Collegium of Wizards in Tavnastok.
Ellech (ELL-ekh)
A northern nation tucked along the southern margin of the Dunnarfeol mountains, with precipitous timber- and grass-covered slopes running down to a deep-water port. Famed for industry and research, with a well-armed merchant navy to seek out new markets.