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There was silence for only a ood idea Perhaps we can do so like it It could be a very impressive demonstration”

“Yes, I like that,” Zelandoni of the Third said “That e could have the cere”

“And a cold fireplace ready to be lit would make people curious They’d wonder what it was for, and that would build up so of the Twenty-ninth said

“How should we put the fire out? Douse it ater and make a lot of steao out instantly?”

Or duested “Create a little steam, but kill the coals”

“I like the idea of using water andlots of steam,” said another one that Ayla didn’t know “That would be more impressive”

“No, I think putting it out instantly would be ht one moment, dark the next”

She hadn’t met all the Zelandonia ere there, and as the discussion became more animated, they didn’t always address one another as formally, and she wasn’t able to identify the and consultation went into a cereht that the events just happened spontaneously, that the zelandonia and others who dealt with the spirit world were just agents of those invisible forces They spoke out freely, and she began to appreciate why some had objected to her presence, but as they discussed each little detail, Ayla’s an to stray

She wondered if the -urs of the Clan planned their ceremonies with as much detail, then realized that they probably did, but it would not have been quite the same Clan ceremonies were ancient, and were always done the way they had always been done, or as close to it as possible She understood a little -ur, wanted her to take a significant part in one of their most sacred ceremonies

She looked around the large round sue of the zelandonia The double-walled circular construction of vertical panels that enclosed the space was sies at the caer The movable interior panels that divided the interior into separate areas had been stacked in between sleeping places near the outer walls, creating a single large rooether in one location and that they were all raised, and she recalled that they were also raised in Zelandoni’s lodge at the Ninth Cave She wondered why, then thought that it was probably because when they were used by patients that had to be brought to the zelandonia lodge, it was easier to tend to them

The ground was covered with mats, many of them woven with intricate and beautiful patterns, and various pads, pillows, and stools used for seating were scattered around near several low tables of various sizes Most of theraced with oil lamps usually made of sandstone or liht inside the less shelter, many with multiple wicks Most of the lamps were carefully shaped, smoothed, and decorated, but like the la, sohly pecked-out depressions for the s of women, propped up in woven bowls of sand They were all similar, yet different She had seen several like them and knew they were representations of the Great Earth Mother, what Jondalar called donii

The donii ranged in size froht, but each one could be held in a hand There was soeration The arether with no real feet so the woround, or a bowl of sand, and stand upright It was not a carving of a particular person, there were no features to give identity, though the body ested by a woh-breasted, nubile young wo of her adult life, nor was hers the lean figure of a woman alked every day, a peripatetic wanderer constantly foraging for food

A donii depicted a richly obese wonant, but she had been Her broad buttocks were e, soiven birth to and nurtured several children She had the aure of an experienced older woested much more than the fertility of procreation In order for a woman to be fat, food had to be plentiful and she had to lead a fairly sedentary life The sure was meant to look like a well-fed, successful mother who provided for her children; she was a syenerosity

The reality was not too far off Some years orse than others, but ed fairly well There were fat woures had to kno a fat wo, when the food stored for winter was nearly gone and the new plants had barely sprouted, could be a lean ti, they were scrawny and thin, and their h with so little fat, even the marrow in their bones was depleted Then, the people may have done without certain foods, but they did not starve, at least not usually

To those who lived off the land, hunted and foraged for everything they required to survive, the earth was like a great ave them what they needed They did not plant seeds, tend crops, cultivate or water the land, and they did not herd aniather feed for the