Chapter 6
He had
ejected all his assistants and he lay spraddled on a bed of those egg-smelling
leaves. His flaccid wings drooped nearly
lightless on either side of his body, so the only illumination in the dark
chamber came from my own half-fanned wings.
The stench of the vision-fungus, whose name does after all mean “sour
gut,” overpowered the odor of the bedding leaves. Thru’tei’ga’ma’s quarters were in the Alates’
Holies, right next door to the bir’zha|
chamber, but the smell did not originate there.
The Alate’s hemolymph must have been pure extract of bir’zha|.
He
greeted all of us by name, in a manner that expressed satisfaction. “I have been waiting for you to come,
offspring of Prai’mo’na’sha’ma,” he said.
“But I will not tell you what you are going to say. I want you to tell me!”
Ki’shto’ba
said, “We have visited the Shum’za captives, Holy Seer. Rather, Wei’tu has visited the Workers and Di’fa’kro’mi
the Warriors. They found a way to get in
without being detected … ”
Thru’tei’ga’ma
bobbled his antennae. “Tell me how. I was not shown that. Let Di’fa’kro’mi tell it. He is a Teller of Tales. He will tell many before his life ends.”
So I
told him about the dung-smearing and the magic skin. “Magic skin … ” he mused. “Ah, yes.
The strange beings in the flying box …
The time is new … ”
“With
your permission, Holy Seer,” I said, “a ‘new time’ was the first thing Lo’ro’ra’s
beloved Seer Kwi’ga’ga’tei foretold, and now you … ”
His
antennae continued to wobble. “Oh,
yes. The special One. kwi’a’zei|
vi| ta’teio| u| vi| ta’gano|↻
shno’no’zi| ||.[1] Others have seen it, too. I do not know if it is good or bad, but …
change … change … None of us knew … We live by the repeated thing … How could Shshi know that in the end change …
will rule … all … ”
His
speaking ceased and his head sank. His
wriggling palps ruffled the leaves in his bedding hollow.
Trying
to focus the Seer’s attention, Ki’shto’ba said, “Holy Thru’tei’ga’ma, we want
to free the Shum’za captives. Can we do
that without fighting? Without damaging
To’wak?”
Thru’tei’ga’ma
quivered and lifted his head. “Oh, To’wak
needs to be damaged. Di’fa’kro’mi can
see that. Damage will come.” His ravaged body twitched. “Did you know that I will not be eaten upon
this world any more than you will? I
thought I would tell you that so you would know that the strongest body and the
weakest body will share a similar fate.
Nameless One, you do not mind that I spoke of that, do you? I did not think so, Beloved. I will come whenever you summon me. But I know, I submit to all! I will wait … I … will … wait … ”
Our
little helpers shivered against my flanks and I felt my own hairs prickle. I had never before been in the presence of
one who conversed with the Highest-Mother-Who-Has-No-Name as if she were
present in the room. Perhaps she was, to
this Seer.
Only Ki’shto’ba
stood stolidly. “Thru’tei’ga’ma, can you
advise us? Or is this a time when we
must find our own way?”
The
Seer raised his head again. “Tell me
your plan.”
So Ki’shto’ba
spoke of our plan, and Thru’tei’ga’ma heaved his body and tried to fan his
wings. “It will serve. But go to the Holy One and speak to her
however she would have you speak, for once you have embarked upon your course,
you may not see her again. Take to see
her these who are with you. She would like
that, to know who your Companions will be.
Wei’tu the Staunch, the Founder.
And Twa’sei … ” He groomed his
half-blind eye agitatedly.
Wei’tu
stood puzzling over the surnames it had been given, but Twa’sei took a tiny
step toward the old Seer. “‘And Twa’sei’?”
he said. “Twa’sei what, Most Holy
Seer? Have you no name for me? Am I really so unimportant?”
Thru’tei’ga’ma
stretched out an antenna and touched our smallest helper on the clypeus. “Twa’sei the Seeker … perhaps the Finder – I
cannot say for sure … Twa’sei the Never Satisfied … ”
I said
humbly, “And I?”
“Di’fa’kro’mi
vei’fi’zei| – fi’zei| and fiv’zei|,
both? I think so. Perhaps bag’zei|
as well, but that grows too complex … ”[2]
That
perplexed me at the time, but now at the end of my life, I understand …
Thru’tei’ga’ma
was still clawing at his eye. “I am
growing blind of outer sight and I know why.
Once I emerged into the presence of the Nameless One when she was not
expecting it and I saw her grooming her great belly. She was not pleased … ” The Seer convulsed suddenly, then went still;
finally he said, “A’zhu’lo is not with you.”
Ki’shto’ba
hesitated. “We have not yet told it all
the plan. I have some apprehension about
… ”
“You
must include the twin in your plan. A’zhu’lo
must make the decision itself,” said Thru’tei’ga’ma. “I cannot change what I have seen.”
Alarmed,
Ki’shto’ba said, “What have you seen for my ni’a’zei|?”
But
Thru’tei’ga’ma only repeated, “A’zhu’lo must make the decision. Whatever it decides is the right course.”
Somewhat
reassured, Ki’shto’ba said, “Will I see you again, Holy Thru’tei’ga’ma? You have meant a great deal to my life.”
“We
will speak once more before you go – of that I am certain. Come closer.”
Ki’shto’ba advanced and lowered its head, and the Holy Seer laid both
his antennae against the fierce mandibles; it was as near as he could get to
the Huge-Head’s face. “I need give you
no additional surname, Huge-Head. Time’s
tale will make many others for you. But
look – look there! The winged watcher is
very angry! It has but three legs! Are you so weak that a feather can wound you?
…
The Holy Ones are not as safe as they were before the Shshi got used to
sacrilege … That horn is hollow – breaks
more easily than one would expect … How
can a horn speak? – Watch out for the lightning! – and so powerfully! … Baskets
cannot fly – what can the lizard be thinking? … Incredible
– where do all those legs come from? … Even the shma’na’ta|
that live in water cherish their offspring … Gold … a haze of gold, the sun-color, far
away, long off, a distant dream … A horn
speaking a tale in the place of thorns …
There are twelve of them, but not all at once – a-i-i … Sand … so many heads below the tree … water …
deception … burning … a-i-i … No more Seeing, Beloved, I beg – I am tired …
beyond bearing … ”
Now he
was groveling and clawing at his second pair of eyes as we watched in awed
misery. “Go away now. I must take bir’zha| to quiet my mind.
Go to the Mother. Let what is to
come begin! Perhaps as each piece of the
future passes behind, it will leave my head and I can rest.” [3]
* * *
“How will
we speak of our plans to Lo’zoi’ma’na’ta?” I asked as we scurried toward the
Holy Chamber. “There is no way to escape
the King, or her attendants for that matter.”
“She never lets Yan’ut’na’sha’ma come near her
except during insemination,” said Ki’shto’ba, “and she and I have learned ways
to speak round-about or with close antennae.
And she will send most of the others away, even the Chamberlain and her
Tenders. She rules her own chamber and
no one dares nay-say her.”
And
then we were past the surly guards and were standing before Lo’zoi’ma’na’ta. The King was on the far side of the chamber,
in a kind of closet or wall-niche with a leaf-lined bedding hollow in it. I had never seen such an arrangement in a
Holy Chamber. Kru’bu’gli’sti the Keeper stood
alongside him.
When we
came in, the King jumped to his feet.
“You! You are not wanted
here! Guard! Chamberlain, eject them!”
“Be not
stupid, Yan!” said Lo’zoi’ma’na’ta imperiously from her resting-place in the
center of the chamber. “Bu, I would like
to see you go away for a while. Go
perform some useful duty. Find some
decent plate fungus for my next meal.
The last was overripe and the spores irritated my eyes.”
“Holy
One,” said Kru’bu’gli’sti, dancing, “you put yourself in danger. At least allow the guards … ”
“tha’sask|>|| Danger!
With Shto present? Get out!”
responded the Holy One.
The
Chamberlain went. The King subsided into
his niche and groomed his antennae jerkily.
Lo’zoi’ma’na’ta
was awesome. She was no bigger around
than Lo’ro’ra’s Mothers, but she was longer and her foreparts were huge. Cowering in front of her, Twa’sei looked like
a sclerite louse.
She
dismissed all her Tenders except two, whom she allowed to remain by her
ovipositor in case she laid while we were there. Ki’shto’ba went up and lowered its jaws, and
she nuzzled the base of her offspring’s antennae.
“Come
closer,” she said to all of us. “I know
who you are – Di’fa’kro’mi, Wei’tu, Twa’sei.
Thru’tei’ga’ma came to see me earlier today. I was expecting you.”
After we
had made our obeisances and reverent greetings, Ki’shto’ba said, moderating its
word-sending so that even standing close at hand I could hardly receive it, “We
are concerned about the Shum’za captives.”
“And
I,” said the Holy One. “To’wak has
committed a grievous wrong. I know you
have a plan, but do not speak of it to me.
I will support whatever you do.”
“What
if I never return to To’wak? I will miss
you, Holy One.”
“Oh,
and I, you, Shto! But I am a na’ta’zei| of the Da’no’no Shshi, and I
am not of the world. You are of the
world and must fulfill your destiny there.”
“I fear
for you, beloved Mother. The Seer spoke
of dangers for Holy Ones.”
“Oh, he
blathers all the time! But I am safe and
will live out my allotted life – of that he is sure, and so am I. Do what you must. I would rather see To’wak humbled and
defeated than to see it continue on its present course. The elements that weaken its fiber must be
removed one way or the other. Do what
you must.”
“Will
you protect A’zhu’lo?”
Lo’zoi’ma’na’ta
spoke nothing for a moment and then said, “If I can.”
Sudden
speech made us all jump. Yan’ut’na’sha’ma
had sneaked up on the Holy One’s left side without anyone noticing. “Why do you speak so secretively with these
outlanders? Why should they be permitted
to receive your words when I cannot?”
Lo’zoi’ma’na’ta
swung her foreparts toward her King.
“Ha! You forfeited your right to
my trust when you schemed against Ki’shto’ba and sought its destruction! One of your own offspring!”
“It is not my offspring!” exclaimed the King,
bobbing up and down agitatedly.
“It is the
offspring of To’wak, the fortress of your own hatching. For that reason it is your offspring more
than mine! If it truly was engendered by
Prai’mo’na’sha’ma, then it is the offspring of all creation!”
I had the sense that they had engaged in this
argument many times before. But the King
surprised me. He abased his head and
groveled and said, “I am afraid. I am
afraid for my life.”
There
was a great outflow of distress pheromones from him, and it occurred to me that
he had been resentful and vindictive for a long time, but that now he was also
frustrated and lonely and full of regret.
After all, for half his existence the one who should have been the close
comfort of his restricted life had rejected him.
The
Holy One hesitated a moment as if she also saw something she was not accustomed
to seeing, but the years had taken their toll.
She tossed her antennae and said, “Such a weakling! You will live out your life, even as I will
live out mine. You will die, of course –
but of old age. Thirteen is getting
along for a King. And then they will
fetch a new inseminator from another fortress so I will not have to mate with
one of my own offspring, and To’wak will have neither Holy One nor King of its
own hatching. Maybe then my life will
bring me some satisfaction.” And she
turned her head away from him.
Yan’ut’na’sha’ma
crawled back into his niche, contorted his body, stuffed his face into his
bedding, and said no more. Ki’shto’ba
stood with its head down, its mandibles resting on the floor.
“What
would you have me do?” asked Lo’zoi’ma’na’ta.
Ki’shto’ba
lifted its head. “Will you order the
Commander to call Council later today?”
“In
three turnings of the water vessel. Will
that suffice?”
“It
will serve.”
Lo’zoi’ma’na’ta
turned to me and the Workers and began to converse about general matters. We talked of the Star-Beings and of Ki’shto’ba’s
exploits at Lo’ro’ra. She allowed Wei’tu
and Twa’sei to scratch under her wing stubs.
At the end the Mother of the Huge-Head said, “I feel grateful to have
met some of the Companions who will help my Shto and whom it will help. Good fortune to you all, and may the
Highest-Mother-Who-Has-No-Name guide your way.”
* * *
“I must
find A’zhu’lo,” said Ki’shto’ba as we hurried back to our quarters.
“What
does the King believe about your twin?” I asked. “Is A’zhu’lo his offspring or Prai’mo’na’sha’ma’s?”
“No one
knows,” said Ki’shto’ba. “That is not
saying that I myself believe that tale about the Spirit King. But no one knows whether the egg was meant to
hold two offspring, or whether two eggs from different inseminations somehow
grew together. There has been endless
debate about it. But suffice it to say,
Yan’ut’na’sha’ma is not fond of A’zhu’lo, either.”
A’zhu’lo
came to our chamber and we told it the entire plan. It stood silent. Then it said, “It is a noble plan, but it has
its risks.”
“Thru’tei’ga’ma
said that you had a decision to make and that you would make the right one,”
said Ki’shto’ba.
“I will
make a decision,” said A’zhu’lo. “Who
can say whether it will be the right one?”
At the
appropriate time we all went to the Assembly Hall where we had met on the first
day. Bai’go’tha had been avoiding its
sibling; none of us had seen the Commander for many days.
It
waited on the riser at the end, surrounded by its Chiefs and its Alate
Counselors. Kru’bu’gli’sti was there,
and the Remembrancer Goi’o’na’tu, whose glance crossed mine impassively. Bai’go’tha reared its foreparts and said to Ki’shto’ba,
“What is this? The Holy One ordered me
to hold a Council, but if it is merely to receive your … ”
Ki’shto’ba
cut it off, addressing it in an insolent way, without title. “Bai’go’tha, we have visited the Shum’za
slaves.”
Throughout
the Hall there were shiftings and stampings of astonishment.
“Visited
them!” exclaimed the Commander.
“Impossible!”
“We
have Shum’za magic,” I said impertinently.
Bai’go’tha
ignored my words as the jest of one beneath contempt.
“We
have spoken with the Workers in their prison near the Charnel Hall,” said Ki’shto’ba. “We know that only thirteen of some eighteen
who arrived here remain alive and that they are sick and starved. We know how you drive these honored guests of
yours through whole suntimes or darktimes without rest. And we know that of the Warriors only
eighteen survive out of twenty-six. Did
you think you could keep this knowledge concealed forever? We who are in the right have our own ways of
seeing!”
At that
moment a great incoherent sizzle burst against our antennae from outside the
Hall’s entrance, accompanied by a now familiar smell. Thru’tei’ga’ma pushed through the curtain,
walking on his own between his hovering attendants. “I am feeling astonishingly well,” he said,
“and I could not miss this Council! It
is the only Council worth attending that has been held in six years, or perhaps
twelve.” And he staggered into the center
of the chamber and settled down, looking around in satisfaction. “Have the Names been named already? I am Thru’tei’ga’ma, of the Alates, Priest
and Seer! What has been said? Never mind!
I know – I know! Bai, you are
looking dangerous.”
The
Commander had taken a few steps toward the edge of the riser. “Old da’sask|
Alate! This is your doing!”
“Oh,
no, no! I am only a messenger. I never do anything. This is your own doing.”
“It is,
indeed!” said Ki’shto’ba. “How do you intend
to amend the situation?”
“Amend! There is nothing to amend! The shlam’wei’zei|
are worthless nonentities – they are small in more ways than the sizes of their
heads! When they are all dead, the world
will not be any different! This Council
is disbanded!” The Commander turned to
go out, scattering terror pheromones.
“The
Council is not disbanded and you will not leave!” said Ki’shto’ba Huge-Head.
“Oh,
no, not disbanded, not disbanded!” Thru’tei’ga’ma babbled gleefully.
“And
how do you intend to stop me from disbanding it?” responded Bai’go’tha,
whirling and posturing.
“I
could kill you,” said Ki’shto’ba, as if it were proposing a stroll along the
river.
“It
could kill you,” said Thru’tei’ga’ma.
“It cannot be killed where there are witnesses, you recall.”
“Ha!”
said Bai’go’tha. “As unlikely as it ever
was.” But its fear smell was sharpening. “Are you challenging me?”
“I
would rather not … ”
“Coward!”
“Cowards
see cowardice everywhere,” interjected the irrepressible old Seer.
“But I
have a proposal,” said Ki’shto’ba. “I
cannot allow these Shshi from a fortress where I served as Champion to be enslaved,
starved, and treated with contempt in the fortress where I was hatched. So one of two things will happen. So that you cannot say I stole your property
from you, I will pay a ransom for them.
If you release them, I will leave To’wak. I will go out into the world, as I had indeed
planned to do in the first place, and I will attempt to perform twelve wonders,
as you mockingly ordered me to do when I left for Lo’ro’ra. I will not return until that is done, and – who
knows? – perhaps not then.”
“Indeed!
And if I do not release them?”
“That
is the second choice. But then I will challenge you and kill you, and
take the Commander’s post, and then I will release them myself.”
“If you
take the second choice, the Huge-Head will stay in To’wak,” commented Thru’tei’ga’ma. “Many would like to see that, I
believe.” And he ceased to babble,
cocking his head pensively.
Bai’go’tha
stood swaying, stepping from one foot to another, as if seeking the catch in Ki’shto’ba’s
offer. “How do I know that you will not
challenge me even if I release them?”
“Because
I speak my oath upon it, and the oath of our Holy One will confirm it, if you
must have it so.”
Bai’go’tha
swayed some more, then said abruptly, “The lo’ro’ra’zei|
are of no value – not worth fighting over.
Take them. Good riddance.”
“I have
your oath in return?”
“Yes,
yes, you have my oath. Take them and go
away from To’wak as quickly as you can.”
“I want
to see them. I want the Warriors and the
Workers brought to the Hall now.”
“You
will pardon the Huge-Head,” said Thru’tei’ga’ma, “if it does not fully trust
that you will deliver them as planned.”
“tha’sask|>||” Bai’go’tha issued some orders to a
subordinate, who scurried off.
We
waited. The Seer muttered and
bobbed. Goi’o’na’tu scraped about in
discreet satisfaction. Kru’bu’gli’sti
skittered to and fro. Bai’go’tha paced,
working its mandibles compulsively.
At
length, the bewildered Workers were herded in, all thirteen of them. Wei’tu and Twa’sei ran among them, talking
and soothing. They were pitiable –
scared, weak, and sick, and not one lacking nasty fungus growths somewhere on
its anatomy. A babble of emotional
word-sendings filled the Hall.
Then
the Warriors entered, only seventeen of them.
Ki’shto’ba hailed them and they groveled to the Champion. The Hall was now quite overrun with wriggling
bodies.
I
located Mu’tot’a and called it forward.
“Someone is missing.”
“Ur’cha’toi
died today in the exercise yard. It had
been wounded earlier and it had no strength.
Its opponent crushed its thorax.”
“There
will be no more of this brutality!” cried Ki’shto’ba, turning to Bai’go’tha. “Set them free or I will … ”
“They
are free, they are free!” exclaimed the Commander, waving its forelegs
crazily. “Take them now! Go! It
is a small price to pay for being rid of your pious pronouncements! Keep your oath and go! Leave To’wak in peace!”
Ki’shto’ba
hesitated. “I will take the captives and
go peacefully, even as I said. But I
never promised that To’wak would be left in peace.”
Bai’go’tha
stood befuddled, the fear pouring out.
Thru’tei’ga’ma
was babbling again and bouncing, whirling his antennae. “No, no, tyrant, the Huge-Head never promised
that!”
I
thought Bai’go’tha was going to leap on Thru’tei’ga’ma and I had a vision of
Kwi’ga’ga’tei’s fatal wound. But the old
Seer only spun his antennae more wildly.
“I
cannot die – the business between me and the tyrant is not finished yet,” and
he taunted the Commander, “No peace. No
peace. No peace!”
I was
frightened. Did we dare leave the Seer
behind in Bai’go’tha’s clutches?
Ki’shto’ba
moved to put itself between the Commander and Thru’tei’ga’ma, but A’zhu’lo was
closer. It jumped in front of Bai’go’tha. “You will not harm a Holy Seer,” said A’zhu’lo.
“I will not allow it, vermin.”
It was
too much. “Ill-gotten freak, I will kill
you where you stand!” And Bai’go’tha
hurtled from the riser.
But Ki’shto’ba
was ready. To my horror, the three
Warriors crashed together and rolled over and over across the floor. Everyone – Shum’za and Da’no’no – scattered, falling
over one another, piling up against the walls.
Not one
of the Chiefs on the riser jumped to its Commander’s aid.
Then
the flurry was over, and Ki’shto’ba was standing with Bai’go’tha supine beneath
it, its jaws pressing the ventral neck.
“I will not kill you,” said the Huge-Head. “I believe there is another end for you, but
I do not think it is to die of old age.
I promised to leave peacefully and I will. The Council is ended now, in truth!” And it leaped off Bai’go’tha, who twisted itself
and sprang away uninjured.
A’zhu’lo
had scrambled to its feet and stood trembling.
It bore a deep scratch on the metathorax, but that was its only injury.
Wei’tu
and Twa’sei smelled oozing hemolymph and rushed to A’zhu’lo to lick the
wound. Beside me, Thru’tei’ga’ma, who
had merely backed away from the fray unconcernedly, was saying, “No peace. No peace.
We have the fourth. Thank you, A’zhu’lo
– well done. But I am going to miss you
very much, small twin.”
I
looked at the Seer and at A’zhu’lo, who said to me, “I have made my
decision. There is only death for me now
in To’wak. With your permission, I will
join you and my ni’a’zei| on your
journey.”
[1] “The One who sees and who
speaks much,” another alternative interpretation of a name. “Kwi’ga’ga’tei” is usually interpreted as “One of many speakers who
sees.”
[2] The Seer surnamed
Di’fa’kro’mi “Word-Maker,” with a pun; fi’zei|
is one who makes or draws images while fiv’zei|
is a maker in the sense of
creator. bag’zei| is a maker in the sense of builder or fabricator.
[3] The ocelli, or vestigial second
pair of insectoid eyes, seem in Shshi Alates to be connected to brain centers involved in the hallucinatory process of
prophecy.
Coming Next!
Chapter 7
The Companions Set Out a Second Time
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