- Ar'ox -

“It was a test.” Hen'ex gives me a tight smile.

I look around his cave. I've never been here before, and it's much more full of things than mine is. “I see.”

It's a day of firsts, I suppose. After I mated with Emilia, I was so exhausted by everything that's happened that I just fell asleep. Then we mated again, and then once more. And still the sun was in the sky. Right now, I'm so giddy with a fundamental happiness that Hen'ex could say pretty much anything and I would agree.

He hands me a cup of steaming nib. “She was testing you. If you had actually taken her to her home, you would have failed. It would mean that you didn't know of the Prophecy, and that you were from the wrong tribe. She had to be sure that you came from our tribe, the correct one. She has no home here, of course. Her home is in the stars.”

His cave is larger than mine, which makes sense. This is the shaman's cave, and always has been. There's a stone altar in the middle of the floor, smooth and polished and white. On it there are several items carefully arranged, all with some connection to the Ancestors. In a corner I see the wooden effigy of a woman. If I'd not just mated many times with an actual woman, seeing that thing would have made my manhood stiffen instantly. But now it just looks ridiculous to me.

“Her home,” I repeat. I don't know why Hen'ex invited me here, but the whole village is still buzzing with the remarkable events. First, the Woman Messenger coming here. Then, her taming a gray ghost. Then the gray ghost giving us the salen fruits, letting us taste them for the first time. All those things have a lot to do with the Ancestors and the Prophecy, and so are exactly Hen'ex's field.

“Her home, indeed,” he says, as if I said something especially smart. “I see now that you understand it. But let me lay it out.”

He takes a sip of his own cup and adjusts his position on his sitting stone. “The Prophecy is clear. A man from our village finds the Woman Messenger. She is then given the Gift. She, in return, gives the Gift of Life, and returns to the other Women to tell them that this is the right tribe, and it is worthy of them. Then they return and make our tribe powerful.”

That sounds about right to me. “We just have to find out what the Gift is.”

He frowns. “I have told you before that of course I know what the Gift is. And you have given your part of it to her.”

I take a sip of the nib. It's a little more sour than I usually make it. “I have?”

“Yes. Something important was said at the meeting at Gur'ex's cave last night. Indeed, I said it. 'The safety of the village,' I said. That's the gift.”

“I seem to recall that Tir'ex said that.”

Hen'ex waves a hand dismissively through the air. “Yes, yes. It was his mouth that said it. But it was my action. We shamans can do many secret things, things that are hidden from others.”

I have to stifle a smile. I've known Hen'ex since we were both boys. He did no secret, hidden things then, certainly. But I suppose he might have learned strange things from the old shaman before he died. “The safety of the village, then.”

“Yes. What better gift can anyone give? Outside the village, outside the tribe, there is only death. You yourself saved her life many times and brought her here. Those were also tests of hers. Passing her tests, you gave her the first part of the Gift and became her Mate. Now it follows that the rest of the Gift must be given by the tribe itself. The safety of being inside the walls, behind rows of men with sharp swords, some made by Ar'ox himself! She has found you worthy as the Mate. Now she will test the whole tribe.”

I have a sudden, chilling vision of Emilia mating with every man in the village, and I draw my breath in sharply and feel my face go cold.

“Of course you're still the Mate, the only Mate,” Hen'ex says quickly. He must have seen the shock on my face. “What I mean is this. As you have said so clearly, our tribe is not doing well. Thus we need the women. They will make us powerful. And does that not also mean that we'll be rich and well-fed? Of course it does. So when the Woman Messenger said to you that our food stores are empty and that very few men are actually out hunting, she means only to say that we need the Women! And she's testing us to see if we know and if we'll do the right things. She wants to see if we're ready, if we know the Prophecy, if our belief in the Ancestors is strong. She wants to see if we're worthy. She's always testing us, Ar'ox!”

I scratch my head. This is an appealing idea. I have no other gift to give her than the protection of my sword. And indeed, being in a secure village is the greatest wealth we have. Being able to close the gates at night and keep the horrors out. Being able to sleep soundly in one's own cave, not having to always keep one eye open and one hand on the hilt of one's sword. Not having to hunt every day, but let others do it sometimes. Having the freedom to work on making blades and sitting still, just enjoying the rays of the sun on one's skin and the starlight above without being on guard at all times.

I want Emilia to be safe. I want it with every part of my being. And the only place to be safe is behind our walls.

Of course, I have her now. But it seems only fair that I do as much as I can to make sure that every tribesman can feel the same bliss that I do in company with a woman. And I do want them to feel that. With other women, not Emilia. With women of their own. The women of our tribe, returned from the stars.

“It makes sense,” I state at last. “We will keep her safe until she finds that we're worthy. Then she will give the Gift of Life and get the other Women here.”

Hen'ex beams. “Precisely! You will keep her in your cave, making sure that she doesn't leave the village again, like this morning. She's always testing us! Be aware of her tests! First, she had you splashing around in the Sacred Springs of Merk. Then she left the village altogether and brought a gray ghost inside the walls. Then she had the gray ghost pick the sacred salen fruit, and then she gave of it to all the tribesmen to eat. These were all tests, Ar'ox. We failed them.”

I take another sip and manage to not make a face at the sourness of the brew.

Hen'ex pours more steaming nib into his cup. “Luckily, she's still here. We must make sure we don't fail another test! She must be confined safely to the village. She wants only that! She wants to see that we have the strength and will to keep her safe. Do we have that, Ar'ox?”

“We must,” I state, fully understanding his point. “We must have that and we must let her see it.”

He nods seriously. “Most tribesmen would not understand. But you, Ar'ox, you do. I have been thinking ahead. When the other women return to our tribe, we will need a strong chief. Gur'ex is a worthy man in many ways. But he's old now. We need energy! When his time is out, a new chief must be found. I have someone in mind. Someone young. Someone strong.”

He drinks from his cup and looks at me over the rim.

I get his meaning. The next chief of the tribe will be me. It is often the shaman who determines that, together with the oldest warriors. Normally, I wouldn't want it. I would prefer to be left alone to my hunting and forging of blades. But Emilia made me see all the things that must be done in the village, and I'm itching to get started and make everything better. Better for her. For her and for the other women who will come here.

And surely she can't object to being the chief's mate.

I walk out of Hen'ex's cave, noticing that the sun has set and it's dark.

My head is spinning with joyful thoughts. In spite of his little childish attempts to seem mysterious and elevated, Hen'ex does know what he's talking about. Yes, indeed I will keep her in the village. I will worship her, she will worship me and we will mate. Many, many times.

Indeed I'm ready to do it again right now.