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But the sound of these sobs seeht, not so much of despair, but of nal fro Ranokol, Shevonar’s brother, helped therave

Ranokol’s pain at the loss of his brother had been as great as Relona’s, but he expressed it differently He kept wondering why Shevonar had to make the sacrifice and not him His brother had a family, and he didn’t even have aabout it, but he didn’t want to talk about it He would have avoided the burial cere hi he wanted to do He just wanted to leave as soon as he could

“We have returned Shevonar of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii to Your breast, Great Mother Earth,” Zelandoni intoned

All the people who had gathered together for the burial of Shevonar stood surrounding the grave, and Ayla sensed an anticipation They were expecting soreat donier The drums and ñutes had continued to play, but the sound had become part of the environment and Ayla hadn’t noticed it until the tone of the ain

“Out of the darkness, the chaos of time,

The ind gave birth to the Mother sublime

She woke to Herself knowing life had great worth,

The dark erieved the Great Mother Earth”

The people responded in unison, so the words

“The Mother was lonely She was the only”

Then the One Who Was First sang alone again

“From the dust of Her birth She created the other,

A pale shining friend, a companion, a brother

They grew up together, learned to love and to care,

And when She was ready they decided to pair”