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“The Mog-ur told me that if I ever lose rasped her aes, and a kaleidoscope of memories of her life with the Clan rushed back
“Then we need to keep it in a very special place,” Marthona said “Perhaps near a donii so the Mother can watch over it But you don’t have a donii, do you? Usually a woets one at her First Rites I don’t suppose you ever had a ceremony like that?”
“Well, yes, in fact I did Jondalar taught me the Mother’s Gift of Pleasure, and the first tiure that he made himself I have it in my backpack,” Ayla said
“Well, I suspect if anyone could make a proper First Rites cereh experience at it,” Marthona said “Why don’t you let me take care of that ain your trial period, I’ll give it back to you so you can take it with you” The woree off over her head, the leather cord got caught up in her new hairstyle
“That’s all right, Ayla I can fix it,” Mejera said
Ayla held the faive it up They were right, it didn’t look good with her Matriave it to her, not long after she was found by the Clan It had been a part of her for so long, it was hard to let it go More than hard, she was afraid to let it go It see at her hair when she took it off Maybe her tote, maybe she shouldn’t try to be only one of the Others on this day of her , with her Mamutoi clothes and her Zelandonii necklace She had been hardly more than a woht to keep so of that time, too
“Thank you, Mejera, but I think I’ve changedto wear my hair down and loose Jondalar likes it that way,” Ayla said She held the aer, then handed it to Marthona She let the woiven by Dalanar’sout the pins and ties that held her hair in the elegant Zelandonii style
Mejera hated to see all her effort taken apart, but it was Ayla’s choice, not hers “Let racefully, which i to be a fine Zelandoni soht
When Jondalar and the rest of thetoward the zelandonia lodge near the foot of the slope where the ceremony was to be held, he suddenly felt nervous He wasn’t alone The woe empty With the help of several of the zelandonia, the ed the to the counting word of the Cave where they would live, and then by their rank within the Cave Since all counting words were powerful—only the zelandonia knew the enignate rank, it was si, a way to line up The unnu within the Cave was another story, although it wasn’t hard and fast
A person’s status could change, and the position of s It was one of the otiated prior to the cereher, some lower than they had been before, because the status of the hearth was a coht to the union, which also determined the status of any children It was understood that the resulting hearth belonged to the man, but was tended by the woman; children that were born to the woman were also born to the hearth of the man They and their fah as possible for the sake of the children, and for the names and ties of those related to them, but a certain number of other Cave leaders and zelandonia
had to agree It could sootiation
Ayla hadn’t been otiations for the status of her and Jondalar’s new hearth, she wouldn’t have understood the nuances anyway, but Marthona did The oblique conversation that Marthona had had earlier with so Zelandoni of the Nineteenth, that Ayla was beginning to understand, had been an ele to use Jondalar’s youthful indiscretions to bring down his status partly because Ayla had discovered the exceptional new cave within the territory of the Nineteenth Cave The find had brought her status up considerably, even though she was foreign born, but it had embarrassed Zelandoni of the Nineteenth somewhat If they had found the cave, they could have kept it private and lie But the fact that it was found by a foreign wo immediately opened it up to everyone, a point that was made clear by the First
Jondalar’s ranking was ahest, with his mother as a forest Cave of the Zelandonii, not to ht back fro, a complex talent that had to be attested to by respected and knowledgeable flint-knappers from other Caves, and the new, publicly de Ayla’s status had presented a probleners always had the lowest status, which would nor of the new hearth down, but Marthona and several others were fighting it by claih, and she had uous factor, with so they raised it The ulti of the new hearth was still not fully resolved, though it did not prevent theThe Ninth Cave had accepted her, and that’s where they would be living
The woe nearby Until recently, it had housed the young wo for their First Rites, but was now eested that the men could have waited there so the wo girls during their transition into womanhood, to men about to be mated made the zelandonia and others unco manifestations of spiritual forces whenever transcendent activities were involved, especially with a sizable group, and the significant vitalities of men and women were sometimes in opposition It was decided to move the women ere to be ical step for the girls who had previously occupied the dwelling
The women were no less nervous than the men Ayla wondered if Jondalar would decide to wear the tunic she had made for him, and wished she had known that she would not be allowed to talk to hiiven it to hiht it was appropriate and if he liked it Now, she would not know until they caether for the Matrimonial