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Gone was the aardness In its place were hypnotically powerful rhyth the eyes to look The raceful dance, for all it appeared to be; Mog-ur was an orator speaking with a persuasive force Ayla had never seen; and the great holythe unseen audience more real to hi-ur of the Clan of the Cave Bear poured forth even greater efforts when he began to direct his attention to the incredibly venerable spirits he wished to call to this unique ceremony
“Most Ancient Spirits, Spirits we have not invoked since the early s, heed us now We call upon you, ould pay hoe to you, and ould ask for your assistance and your protection Great Spirits, so venerable your names are but a whisper of memory, awake fro, a sacrifice to placate your ancient hearts; we need your sanction Heed us as we call your names
“Spirit of Wind Oooha!” Ayla felt a chill up her spine as Mog-ur spoke the name aloud “Spirit of Rain Zheena! Spirit of Mists Eeesha! Attend us! Look upon us with favor We have one of your oith us, one who has walked with your shades and returned, returned at the wish of the Great Cave Lion”
He’s talking about me, Ayla suddenly realized This is a cere at a ceremony? Who are those spirits? I never heard theht all protective spirits were ued Thelike the stones in front of the-ur called their na the ancient names stirred an equally ancient memory stored in the deep recesses of their minds
“Most Honored Ones of Old, the ways of the Spirits are a mystery to us, we are only human, we do not knohy this female was chosen by one so powerful, we do not knohy he has led her to your ancient ways, but we ht for her in the shadowed land, defeated the evil ones, and returned her to us to make his wishes clear, to make it knoe may not deny hier the ways of the Clan, yet once they were and ain for this one who sits with us We entreat you, Ancient Spirits, sanctify her to your ways Accept her Protect her and give your protection to her clan” Mog-ur turned to Ayla “Bring the female forward,” he commanded
Ayla felt herself lifted bodily fro arician She gasped as Brun grabbed a handful of her long blonde hair and yanked her head back Fro-ur take a sharp knife froh above his head Terrified, she watched the face of the one-eyed man loom closer, knife raised, and nearly fainted when she saw hie down quickly to her bared throat
She felt a sharp pain, yet was too frightened to cry out But Mog-ur only made a small nick in the hollow at the base of her throat The trickle of warm blood was quickly absorbed by a small square of soft rabbit skin He waited until the square was soaked with her blood, then wiped the cut with a stinging liquid from a bowl held by Goov Then Brun released her
Fascinated, she watched Mog-ur put the blood-soaked square into a shallow stone bowl partially filled with oil The ician was handed a small torch by his acolyte, and with it he set fire to the oil in the bowl and watched silently as the skin burned to a charred crisp with a sharp, acrid smell When it was burned out, Brun -ur dipped his finger in the residue left in the stone bowl and drew a black line over each of the four lines that scarred her leg She stared at it in wonder It looked like a tote the ceree into -ur address the spirits again
“Accept this sacrifice of blood, Most Venerable Spirits, and know it is her totem, the Spirit of the Cave Lion, that chose her to follow your ancient ways Know that we have shown you honor, know that we have paid you hoe Give us your favor and return to your deep rest, content that your ways are not forgotten”
It’s over, Ayla thought, breathing a sigh of relief as Mog-ur sat down again She still didn’t knohy she was made to participate in the unusual cereh with her yet Brun moved around in front of her and motioned to her to stand Quickly, she scrambled to her feet He reached into a fold of his wrap and withdrew a small, red-stained oval of ivory sawed from near the tip of a mammoth tusk
“Ayla, this one time alone, while we are under the protection of the Most Ancient Spirits, you stand as an equal with the men” She wasn’t sure she understood the leader correctly “Once you leave this place, you ain think of yourself as an equal You are female, you will always be female”
Ayla was nodding her head in agreement Of course, she knew she was female, but she was puzzled
“This ivory is from the tusk of the mammoth we killed It was a very lucky hunt; no reat beast This piece has been sanctified by Ursus, colored the sacred red by Mog-ur, and is a powerful hunting talisman Every hunter of the clan carries one like it in his amulet, and every hunter must have one
“Ayla, no boy becomes adult until he makes his first kill, but once he has, he cannot be a child Long ago, during the time of the Spirits that still hover near, women of the Clan hunted We don’t knohy your totem has led you to follow that ancient path, but we cannot deny the Spirit of the Cave Lion; it must be allowed Ayla, you have made your first kill; you must now assume the responsibilities of an adult But you are a woman, not a man, and you will be a wo, Ayla, but you are now the Woman Who Hunts”
Ayla felt a sudden rush of blood rise to her face Could it be true? Had she really understood Brun? For using a sling, she had just been through an ordeal she didn’t think she would survive; now she was going to be allowed to use it? Allowed to hunt? Openly? She could hardly believe it
“This talisman is for you Put it in your amulet” Ayla took the pouch from around her neck and fumbled to untie the knots She took the red-stained oval of ivory from Brun and put it beside the chunk of red ochre and the fossil cast, then closed the leather bag and slipped it back over her neck
“Do not tell anyone yet; I will announce it before the feast tonight It is in your honor, Ayla, in honor of your first kill,” Brun said “I hope your next one will be more palatable than a hyena,” he added with a twinkle of humor in his eyes “Now, turn around”
She did as she was told, and felt the blindfold cover her eyes and the two men lead her back, then remove the blindfold She watched Brun and Goov return to the circle ofof the wound where Mog-ur had cut her, then slid her hand down and felt three objects inside her ahtly smeared black lines that covered her scars A hunter! I am a hunter! A hunter for the clan They said it was my totem anted it and they couldn’t deny hian the forestures
“Great Cave Lion, why did I ever doubt you? The death curse was a difficult test, the worst yet, but it had to be for so great a gift I aht—my life will never be easy with you as my totem, but it will always be worth it”
The cereh to convince the men that Ayla should be allowed to hunt—all but one Broud was furious If he hadn’t been so frightened by Mog-ur’s warning, he would have left the cereave that fe-ur, but his special bitterness was directed at Brun, and he couldn’t s his gall
It’s his doing, Broud thought He’s always protected her, always fa
vored her He threatenedher for her insolence Me, the son of his ht, it should have been forever Now he’s letting her hunt, hunt, just like aold He won’t be leader forever Someday I’ll be leader, then we’ll see Then she won’t have hiets; just let her try to get aith her insolence then
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