by Jean M. Auel
Jonokol walked to the middle of the room and stared up at the walls and ceiling with an entranced grin. He was in his element, lost in his imagination. He knew that these beautiful white walls hid something spectacular that wanted to come out. He wasn’t in a hurry. Whatever was done with them had to be exactly right. He was beginning to get some ideas, but he needed to consult with the First, to meditate with the zelandonia, to reach inside those spaces and find the imprint of the other world that the Mother had left there. She had to tell him what was there.
“Should we explore those two passageways now, or come back later, Tormaden?” Joharran asked. He wanted to go farther now, but felt that he should defer to the leader within whose territory the cave was.
“I’m sure some people of the Nineteenth Cave would like to see this cave, and explore it deeper. Our Zelandoni probably can’t do anything very strenuous, but I’m sure her First Acolyte would like to be involved. His kinship line has a wolf sign, and since it was a wolf that found this cave, he will be very interested,” Tormaden said.
“Yes, the wolf found it, but if Ayla hadn’t been curious enough to see where he had been, we still wouldn’t know it was here,” Joharran said.
“I’m sure he’d be interested in any case,” Zelandoni said. “We all are, and all the Zelandonii will be. This is a rare and sacred cave. The other world is very close here, I’m sure we all feel it. The Nineteenth Cave is very fortunate that it is so close to them, but I suspect that means you will be hosting more of the zelandonia, and others, of course, who will want to make a pilgrimage to this spiritual place,” the First said. She was making it clear that no one Cave could lay claim to such a special find even if it was within their understood territory. This place belonged to all of Earth’s Children. The Nineteenth Cave of the Zelandonii only held it in trust for the rest.
“I think that a closer look is necessary, but there is no hurry,” Jonokol said. “Now that we know it is here, it won’t go away. No one knows how much is here or how deep this cave is. Any explorations should be carefully planned, or we could wait until someone is called to it.”
Zelandoni nodded slightly to herself. She understood, more than he did himself, that her First Acolyte, who had wanted only to be an artist and didn’t care if he ever became Zelandoni, had found a reason to make the commitment. He wanted this cave. It claimed him. He wanted to know it, to explore it, to be called to it, and especially to paint it. He would find a way to move to the Nineteenth Cave so he could be closer to it, not that he would actually plan it, but he would work toward it because all his thoughts and dreams from now on would be of this cave.
Then another thought came to her mind. Ayla knew it! From the moment she saw it, she knew this cave belonged to Jonokol. That’s why she insisted that he had to see it, even if I didn’t. She knew it would be more important for him than anyone else. She is Zelandoni, whether she knows it or not, even whether she wants it or not. The old mamut knew. Perhaps the magician of the people she grew up with, the one she calls Mog-ur, recognized it. She cannot avoid it, she was born to it. And she could replace Jonokol as my acolyte. But as he says, there is no hurry. Let her have her mating, and her baby, then she can start her training.
“Of course, it would take some planning to explore all of it, but I’d like to take a closer look at that passageway at the back,” Jondalar said. “Wouldn’t you, Tormaden? A couple of us could go back there and see where it goes.”
“And some people are ready to leave,” Marthona said. “It’s cool in here, and no one brought warm clothes. I think I’ll take a torch and start out, though I’m sure I’ll want to come back.”
“I’ll go, too,” Zelandoni said, “and Ayla was shivering earlier.”
“I’m fine now,” Ayla said. “I’d like to see what’s back there.”
In the end Jondalar, Joharran, Tormaden, Jonokol, Morizan, and Ayla, six of them—and Wolf—stayed to look a little deeper into the new and wonderful cave.
The corridor at the back of the main room of the cave was almost directly opposite and along the axis of the entrance corridor. The entrance to the axial gallery was fairly symmetrical, wider and rounded at the top, narrowing down at the bottom. To Ayla, who had delivered babies and had examined many women, the opening was feminine, maternal, a wondrous evocation of the female organ. Though both were the same, it didn’t so much put her in mind of the vagina, but the upper round part suggested the birth canal, narrowing to the lower extension of the anal region. She understood exactly what Zelandoni meant when she said this was the womb of the Mother, although all caves were considered an entrance to Her womb.
Once they went in, the winding passage continued to be narrow and difficult to negotiate, although the upper white walls widened out into a broadly curving archway. It wasn’t very long, about the same length as the entrance gallery. When they reached the end, the walls opened out around a pillar of stone that gave the false impression that it supported something above, but in fact it was short of reaching the ground by more than twenty inches. The passage went around the large stone shaft on the right side, making a sharp turn to the left and meandering off a few more feet until it ended.
At the place where it turned around the column, the surface of the floor dropped down about three feet, but it was a wide horizontal space that extended up ten feet, making it one of the few really comfortable places to stand or sit and relax. Ayla took the opportunity and sat down to see how it looked from that position. She noticed that something could easily be stashed beneath the stone shaft, out of the way. She also observed a low hole in the wall opposite the pillar into which one could put small things, so they could be easily found again. She thought when she came again she would bring in something to sit on, even a bundle of grass would keep her off the cold floor.
After they worked their way back out of the gallery, they looked into the entrance of the other passageway that was to the right of it, but it was a smaller tunnel, which would require crawling up into it on hands and knees, and there were pools of water on the floor. They all decided to save exploring that place for another time.
As they left the cave, Wolf went ahead with Jondalar and the two leaders, Joharran and Tormaden. Jonokol walked beside Ayla and stopped her with a question. “Did you ask Zelandoni to invite me here?”
“After seeing what you did inside Fountain Rocks, I thought you ought to see this cave,” she said, “or should it be called a deep?”
“Either one. When it gets named, it will be called a deep, but it’s still a cave. Thank you for bringing me here, Ayla. I have never seen a more beautiful cave. I am overwhelmed,” Jonokol said.
“Yes, I am, too. But I’m curious, how will this cave get named? Who will name it?” Ayla asked.
“It will name itself. People will start referring to it in whatever way best describes it or feels most appropriate to them. What would you call it if you wanted to talk about it to someone?” Jonokol asked.
“I’m not sure, maybe the cave with white walls,” Ayla said.
“I’d guess the name will turn out to be close to that, at least one of the names, but we don’t know much more about it yet, and the zelandonia will make their own name,” Jonokol said.
Ayla and Jonokol were the last ones out of the cave. The sun seemed especially bright when they reached the entrance, after the dark cave lit only by a few torches. When her eyes adjusted, Ayla was surprised to see Marthona waiting, along with Jondalar and Wolf.
“Tormaden invited us for a meal,” Marthona said. “He has hurried ahead to let them know to expect us. Actually, he invited you, but then he asked me to come, too, and all the rest of you who were in the cave just now. Including you, Jonokol. Everyone else has other things to do, most people are busy at Summer Meetings.”
“I know Joharran is having a gather at our camp with people from all the other Caves to plan the hunt,” Jondalar said. “In fact, Tormaden will be going, too, after he introduces you to his camp. I was going to go,
but it will still be going on after the meal, and I’ll go later. It’s not that I would usually be included in the planning of these things, but since we returned, Joharran has been getting me involved in them.”
“Why don’t we all go to our camp?” Ayla said. “There is still a special meal to prepare for tomorrow morning, and I haven’t helped at all.”
“For one thing, when the leader of the host Cave at a Summer Meeting invites you for a meal, it’s a courtesy to go, if you can.”
“Why would he invite me?”
“It’s not every day one finds a cave like that, Ayla. All of us are excited about it,” Marthona said, “and it’s close to the Nineteenth Cave, in their territory. They will probably become a more important Cave now.”
“You’ll be getting more attention, too,” Jondalar said.
“I get too much attention as it is,” she said. “I don’t want all that attention. I just want to get mated, and have a baby, and be like everyone else.”
Jondalar smiled at her and put his arm around her. “Give it some time,” he said. “You’re still new. When people get used to you, things will settle down.”
“It’s true, things will settle down, but you know you are never going to be like everyone else. For one thing, everyone else doesn’t have horses and a wolf,” Marthona said, looking down at the big carnivore with an ironic smile.
“Are you sure they know we’re coming, Mardena?” the older woman said, stepping carefully across the small creek that emptied into The River.
“She invited us, mother. She said come and share a morning meal with them. Didn’t she, Lanidar?”
“Yes, grandma, she did,” the boy said.
“Why did they camp so far away?” the grandmother asked.
“I don’t know, mother. Why don’t you ask them when we get there?” Mardena said.
“Well, they are the biggest Cave and take a lot of room,” the woman said. “A lot of people were already here and had set up camps.”
“I think it’s because of the horses,” Lanidar said. “She has them in a special place so no one will think they are just regular horses and decide to hunt them. They would be easy to hunt. They don’t run away.”
“Everybody is talking about them, but we were out when they came. Is it true the horses let people sit on their backs?” the older woman asked. “Why would anyone want to sit on the back of a horse?”
“I didn’t see that, but I don’t doubt it,” Lanidar said. “The horses let me touch them. I was touching the young stallion, and the mare came and wanted me to touch her, too. They ate off my hands, both of them. She said I should feed both horses at the same time, so they don’t get jealous. She said the mare is the mother of the stallion, and she can tell him what to do.”
Mardena slowed and knit her brow as they approached the campsite and watched people talking and smiling around the long trenchfire. There seemed to be a lot of people. Maybe she was mistaken, maybe they weren’t expected.
“There you are! We’ve been waiting for you.”
The two women and the boy turned at the sound of the voice and saw a tall, attractive young woman.
“You probably don’t remember me. I’m Folara, daughter of Marthona.”
“Yes, you look like her,” the older woman said.
“I suppose I should offer a formal greeting, since I’m the first one to see you.” She held out both her hands to the older woman. Mardena watched as her mother stepped forward and took the young woman’s hands. “I am Folara of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, Blessed of Doni, Daughter of Marthona, former Leader of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, Daughter of the Hearth of Willamar, Master Trader of the Zelandonii, Sister of Joharran, the Leader of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, Sister of Jondalar of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, Master Flint-Knapper and Returned Traveler, who is soon to be mated to Ayla, of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii. She has a bunch of names and ties of her own, but the one I like best is ‘Friend of horses and Wolf.’ In the name of the Great Earth Mother. Doni, you are welcome to the camp of the Ninth Cave.”
“In the name of Doni, the Great Mother, I greet you, Folara of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii. I am Denoda, of the Nineteenth Cave of the Zelandonii, Mother of Mardena of the Nineteenth Cave and Grandmother of Lanidar of the Nineteenth Cave, once mated to …”
Folara has a lot of important names and ties, Mardena thought as her mother began her recitation. She’s not yet mated, I wonder what her kinship sign is? Then, as though her mother knew what she was thinking, as she finished her names and ties, the woman asked, “Wasn’t Willamar, the man of your hearth, once of the Nineteenth Cave? I think we share a kinship sign. I am the Bison.”
“Yes, Willamar is the Bison. Mother is the Horse, I am, too, of course.”
Several people had gathered around in the course of the formal introduction. Ayla stepped forward and greeted Mardena and Lanidar, and then Willamar greeted Denoda in the name of the entire Ninth Cave. Names and ties could take all day if someone didn’t cut it short. He finished by saying, “I remember you, Denoda. You were a friend of my older sister, weren’t you.”
“Yes,” she said, smiling. “Do you ever see her? Since she moved so far away, I haven’t seen her in years.”
“Sometimes I visit her Cave when I go to the coast of the Great Waters of the West to trade for salt. She is a grandma. Her daughter has three children, and a grandam as well. Her son’s mate has a boy.”
A movement around Ayla’s legs caught Mardena’s attention. “That’s the wolf!” she almost screamed in her fear.
“He won’t hurt you, mother,” Lanidar said, trying to calm her. He didn’t want her to leave suddenly.
Ayla bent down and put her arm around him. “No, he won’t hurt you. I promise,” she said. She could see the fear in the woman’s eyes.
Marthona stepped forward and greeted Denoda, much more informally, then said, “The wolf lives in our lodge with us, and he likes to be greeted, too. Would you like to meet a wolf, Denoda?” She had noticed that the older woman showed more interest than fear. She took her by the hand and led her toward Ayla and Wolf. “Ayla, why don’t you introduce him to our guests.”
“Wolves have good eyes, but they learn to recognize people with their noses. If you give him a chance to smell your hand, he will remember you later. That is his formal introduction,” Ayla explained. The woman held out her hand and allowed the wolf to smell it. “If you’d like to greet him, he likes to be stroked on the head.”
Wolf looked up at Denoda as she lightly stroked his head, with his mouth open and his tongue lolling out the side. She smiled at him. “He is a warm, living animal,” she said. She turned to her daughter. “Come, Mardena. You should meet him, too. Very few people ever get to meet a wolf, and walk away to tell about it.”
“Do I have to?” Mardena said.
It was obvious that Mardena was uncommonly frightened, and Ayla knew Wolf would smell it. She held him firmly. He didn’t always respond well to such evident fear.
“Since they offered, it’s the polite thing to do, Mardena. And you’ll never be able to visit again if you don’t. You will be too afraid. You don’t need to fear this wolf. You can see that no one else does, not even me. So why should you?” Denoda said.
Mardena looked around and saw the large crowd watching her. She thought it was probably the whole Ninth Cave, and none of them seemed to be afraid. She felt as though she were on trial and was sure she’d be too humiliated to face any of them again if she didn’t go close to that wolf. She looked at her son, the boy for whom she’d always felt mixed emotions. She loved him more than anything in her life, and she was embarrassed by him, by the fact that she gave birth to him.
“Go ahead, mother,” he said. “I met rum.”
Finally, Mardena put one foot toward the woman and the wolf, and then another. When she reached them, Ayla took her hand and, holding it in hers, brought it to the wolf’s nose. She could almost smell her fear, but the
woman did overcome it and face the animal. Ayla thought Wolf probably smelled her own hand more than Mardena’s. Then she took the hand and led her to touch the fur on his head.
“Wolf fur can be a little rough, but you’ll notice how smooth it is on his head,” Ayla said, letting go of her hand. Mardena kept it there a moment longer before pulling it away.
“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Denoda said. “Sometimes you make more of things than you need to, Mardena:”
“Come and have some hot tea, it’s a mixture that Ayla makes, and it’s quite good,” Marthona said. “We decided to make an occasion of your visit, and cooked everything in a roasting pit. We’re almost ready to take it out.”
Ayla was walking with Mardena and Lanidar. “That’s a lot of work to go to for a morning meal,” Mardena said. She wasn’t used to being treated so generously.
“Everybody worked on it,” Ayla said. “When I told them I had invited you and thought I’d dig a pit oven, they thought it would be a good time to dig a big roasting pit. They said they planned to do it anyway, but this gave them a reason. I cooked some of the things the way I learned when I was a girl. Try the willow grouse, it’s the one I killed with the spear-thrower yesterday, but if the taste is not to your liking, please don’t hesitate to have something else instead. I learned on our Journey that there are many ways of cooking things, and not everyone likes all of them.”
“Welcome to the Ninth Cave, Mardena.”
It was the First Among Those Who Served The Mother! Mardena didn’t think she had ever spoken to her before, except in unison during a ceremony.