"That's mammoth. Some hunters from the Nineteenth Cave went north on a hunting trek and got a mammoth. They decided to share some. I un- derstand they got a woolly rhinoceros, too."

"I haven't had mammoth for a long time," Zelandoni said. "I'm going to relish this."

"Have you tasted mammoth?" the woman asked Ayla.nettles, she thought, mixed with pieces of brown-capped, spongy, boletus mushroom.

"Jondalar also brought you, and your animals, Ayla. You must know how astonishing that is. People have hunted horses, and observed them with other horses, but they have never seen horses behave as yours do. It is frightening, at first, to see those horses go where you want them to, or that this wolf will walk through a camp full of people and do what you tell him," she said, specifically acknowledging Wolf for the first time, though she had certainly seen him. He yipped a small bark when she looked at him.

It was a custom the wolf and the woman had developed that rather sur- prised Ayla. Zelandoni didn't always acknowledge Wolf when she saw him, and he ignored her until she did, but when she did, he responded with a short yip. She seldom touched him, except for a pat on the head now and then, but on rare occasions, Wolf would take her hand in his teeth, never leaving any toothmarks. She always allowed it, saying only that they under- stood each other. It seemed to Ayla that they did, in their own way.think it has to be seen as a Gift from the Mother, which can be done if it is first understood and accepted by the zelandonia, and presented with the proper ritual," the donier said.

The way she explained it seemed entirely logical, but in a quiet space in her own mind, it made Ayla realize how persuasive Zelandoni could be.

"When you explain it like that, I understand," Ayla said. "Of course I will show the zelandonia how the firestone works, and help you with whatever ritual you feel is necessary."

They joined Jondalar's family and some of the people from the Ninth Cave who were sitting with a few people from other Caves. After the meal, Zelandoni took Ayla aside. "Can you leave the wolf outside the lodge for a while? I think it's important to concentrate on the fire-making, and I'm afraid Wolf would be a distraction," she said.

"I'm sure Jondalar won't mind keeping him," Ayla said, turning to look at him. He nodded, and when she got up to leave, she told Wolf to stay with him, making hand signs as well, though they were not noticed by most people. The midday sun had been bright, which made the inside of the zelandonia lodge seem dark even though many lamps were lit. Her eyesThe One Who Was First Among Those Who Served The Mother re- pressed a sigh of frustration. She was not going to make any obvious dis- play of her irritation and let the tall, thin Zelandoni of the Fourteenth Cave have the satisfaction of knowing how much she annoyed her. But the ques- tion brought frowns and disapproving looks from some of the other Zelan- donia, and a smirk from the acolyte of the Fifth Cave with the missing front teeth.

"You are right, Zelandoni of the Fourteenth," the First said. "Outsiders, those who are not part of the zelandonia, are not usually invited to these meetings. This is a gathering of those who have had some experience with the world of the spirits, the ones who have been called and the acolytes, who have shown promise and are in training. That's why I have invited Ayla. You know that she is a healer. She was a great help to Shevonar, the man who was trampled when that bison bolted during the last community hunt," the donier said.

"Shevonar died, and I don't know how much help she was, I didn't ex- amine him," the Fourteenth said. "There are many who have some knowl- edge of certain medicinals. Almost everyone knows about willow bark and its ability to stop the pain of minor aches, for example."too?" The question was asked by an elderly woman with white hair and intelligent eyes.

"Her tattoo, Zelandoni of the Nineteenth?" the large woman asked, and thought, what did the Nineteenth know that she didn't? She was an experi- enced and reliable Zelandoni, who had learned a great deal in her long life.

It was a shame she'd been having so much trouble with arthritis during the past years. The time was drawing near when she would not be able to walk to the Summer Meetings. If this meeting were not near the Nineteenth Cave, she might not have made it this year.

"I know of the Mamutoi. Jerika of the Lanzadonii lived with them for a while when she was young and still traveling with her mother and the man of her hearth on their long journey. One summer, many years ago, when she was pregnant with Joplaya, she was having some trouble and I at- tended her. She told me about the Mamutoi. Their doniers are also marked with tattoos on their faces, though not quite like ours, but if Ayla is the same as a Zelandoni, where is her tattoo?"

"She was in training, but not fully trained when she left to come here with Jondalar. She is not the same as a Zelandoni, she is more like an"Not at this time. I haven't yet asked her if she wants to further her training," the First said.

Ayla felt a touch of consternation. Though she would not mind talking about healing with some of them, she had no desire to become a Zelan- doni. She just wanted to mate with Jondalar and have children, and she noticed that few of the zelandonia had mates or children. It wasn't that they couldn't mate if they chose, but it seemed that there were so many other demands on their time and attention when they were in the service of the Great Earth Mother that they didn't have time to be mothers themselves.

"Then why is she here?" the Fourteenth asked. Her wispy gray hair had pulled loose from the small bun on the back of her head, more on one side than the other, giving her a careless, disheveled appearance. If someone were kind, they would tactfully suggest that she fix her hair before she went out, but the First wouldn't dream of it. The contentious Zelandoni would take anything she said as criticism.

"I asked her to come because I would like her to show you something that I think you will find very interesting."Three Rocks. He was a full-fledged Zelandoni in his own right, and the First knew him to be a good healer. He had the same right to speak out as any other donier.

Ayla noticed that the One Who Was First addressed the members of the zelandonia by their full titles, which were sometimes quite long, since they included the counting words of their Caves, but sounded very formal and important. Then it occurred to her that the only way to differentiate among them was by the counting words. They had given up their personal names and were all "Zelandoni." They had, she realized, exchanged their names for counting words.

When she lived in her valley, she had scratched a mark on a stick every day she was there. By the time Jondalar arrived, she had a bundle of sticks full of marks. When he used the counting words to tally the cut marks and was then able to tell her how long she had lived in her valley, it had seemed to her magic that was so powerful, it was almost frightening. When he taught them to her, she had sensed that counting words were very im- portant and highly valued by the Zelandonii. Now she realized that, at least among Those Who Served The Mother, they were more important thantance. They had guided her when she visited the deep cave with the ani- mals painted on the walls at Fountain Rocks. She heard comments and questions of curiosity from the assembled group who knew the First was setting them up for something dramatic. Most of the older, experienced ones were preparing themselves to be critical. They knew and understood the techniques and impact of dramatic presentations and were determined not to be easily deluded by tricks or misdirection.

When all the fires had been put out, there was still enough light to see from the occasional beams of sunlight that filtered in here and there. The lodge was not completely dark. Ayla looked around and noticed light seep- ing in, particularly around the outline of the entrance, though it was closed, and around another less obvious access almost directly opposite it. Later, she thought, she might walk around the outside of the spacious zelandonia lodge to find out if she could see the second opening.

The First knew the demonstration would be much more impressive at night when the dark was total, but that didn't matter with the ones who were here. They would understand the possibilities immediately. "Would anyone like to come here and verify that the fire in this fireplace is completely out?"

she said."I have most of it here," she said, taking out the fire-starting kit that she had used so often on her Journey, "but tinder is necessary; almost anything that catches fire quickly will work, fireweed fuzz, or rotted wood from an old stump, if it's dry and especially if it's pitchy, for example. Then it's good to have some small kindling close by, and of course some larger pieces of wood."

There was a little buzz of noise, and the First picked up some words of irritation. They didn't need a lesson in fire-making, they were saying. Eve- ryone knew how to make a fire from the time they were small children.

Good, she thought, feeling rather pleased. Let them grumble. They only think they know all there is to making fire.

"Will you make a fire for us, Ayla?" the Zelandoni leader said. Ayla had fluffed up a small mound of fuzzy fireweed tops as tinder and had a piece of iron pyrite in her left hand and a flint striker in her right, but it wasn't ob- vious. She struck the firestone, saw a good spark land in the fluff of fire- weed, blew it into life, and added kindling. In less time than it took to ex- plain it, she had a fire going. There were some involuntary oohs and "How did she do that?" comments, then the Zelandoni of the Third Cave said, "Can you do it again?"met him before.

"Zelandoni of the Fifth Cave, since she is the one who discovered it, Ayla will explain her technique," the First said.

Ayla realized this was the Zelandoni of the Cave that had already left for the Summer Meeting when they'd stopped at Old Valley. He was a younger, middle-aged man with brown hair and a round face, which char- acterized his body as well. There was a round softness about him, and the fleshiness of his face tended to make his eyes look small, but she sensed a shrewd cleverness to him. He could see there might be some benefit to her fire-making technique and wasn't too proud to ask. Then she recalled that the acolyte with the missing front teeth that Jondalar didn't like and Wolf had threatened was also from the Fifth Cave.

"First Acolyte of the Second, will you light the lamps again, and Ayla, would you demonstrate how you make fire to the zelandonia?" the large woman said, fighting to keep from gloating. She noticed that her acolyte, Jonokol, was grinning with delight. He loved to see his mentor outmaneu- ver the rest of the wise, canny, intelligent, strong-willed, and sometimes arrogant zelandonia."I hope you can remember where," the First said. "We don't know yet whether they are rare or plentiful."

"Where did you find stones like that?" the Fifth asked Ayla.

"I found the first ones in a valley far to the east of here. Jondalar and I looked for more on our way here. They might not have been where we looked, but I didn't find any until after we arrived here. A few days ago, I found a few near the Ninth Cave," Ayla explained.

"And you will show us how they work?" said a tall blond woman.

"That's what she came here to do, Zelandoni of the Second Cave," the First said.

Ayla knew she had not met the One Who Served The Mother from the Second Cave, but there was a familiarity about her. Then she remembered Jondalar's friend Kimeran, the age-mate with whom he shared a superficial resemblance because of their height and hair color. He was the leader of the Second Cave, and though the woman looked a little older, Ayla could definitely see the resemblance. With the brother as leader and the sister asyou have some good tinder nearby. Then, if you strike them together right, you can draw a long-lived spark that you can blow into a flame."

While Ayla demonstrated how to use the firestones to the crowd gath- ered around her, the One Who Was First sent Mikolan, the Second Acolyte of the Fourteenth Cave, to look for Jondalar. As the leader of the zelando- nia watched, she noticed that no one held back. There were no more doubts or questions. This new technique for starting a fire was not a trick, it was a legitimate new way to make fire quickly, and they were all eager to learn, as she knew they would be. Fire was too important not to know eve- rything they could about it.

To the people who lived in that cold, ancient, periglacial region, fire was essential, it was the difference between life and death. They needed to know how to start it, how to keep it going, and how to move it from place to place. Though it could be intensely cold, the broad expanse of territory surrounding the massive sheets of glacial ice stretching far south of polar regions was rich with life. The brutally frigid and dry winter conditions inhib- ited the growth of trees, but at the middle latitudes climate was still sea- sonal. It could even be hot during the summer, which fostered extensive grasslands that supported vast herds of a great variety of grazing andfor food, they could survive for a while exposed to the elements, but to live, they needed fire, to keep them warm when they rested and slept, and to cook their food, both meat and vegetable, to make it more digestible. When materials to burn were available, they tended to take fire somewhat for granted, but they never forgot how indispensable it was, and when fuel was scarce, or the weather was wet or snowy, they knew how much they de- pended on fire.

After several people had used one of the two firestones to make a fire and passed it on to the next one waiting to try, Jondalar arrived with more of them. The First personally took the firestones from him at the entrance, counted them to herself, and brought them to Ayla. The training sessions went faster after that. Once all the Zelandonia had each made at least one fire, the acolytes were invited to learn the technique, the more confident doniers helping Ayla to teach their apprentices. It was the Zelandoni of the Fourteenth who brought up the question that everyone wanted to ask.

"What do you plan to do with all these firestones?" she asked."I don't know how many Caves are at this Summer Meeting, but I think there may be enough," Ayla said.

"If there's only one for each Cave, I think it should be entrusted to the Zelandoni of that Cave," the Fourteenth said.

"I agree, and I think we should keep this way of making fire with firestones to ourselves. If only we can make fire like that, imagine how awe- inspiring it would be. Think how a Cave will react to seeing instant fire cre- ated by a Zelandoni, especially if it's really dark," said Zelandoni of the Fifth Cave. His eyes were full of enthusiasm.

"We would command much more authority, and it could be a very effec- tive way to make ceremonies more meaningful."

"You're right, Zelandoni of the Fifth," the Fourteenth said, adding her agreement. "That's a good idea."

"Or perhaps it should be entrusted to the Zelandoni and the leader jointly," the Eleventh said, "to avoid any possible conflict. I know Kareja would not like it if she didn't have some control over this new technique."best interests of our Caves. It might be exciting for us if we could keep this firestone to ourselves, but the benefit to the entire Zelandonii outweighs our wishes. The stones of the earth are the bones of the Great Earth Mother. It is a Gift from Her, we cannot withhold it."

The One Who Was First stopped and looked searchingly at each mem- ber of the zelandonia in attendance. She knew the firestones could never be kept secret, even if they hadn't already been shared. There was some obvious disappointment and perhaps a little resistance from the doniers of some of the Caves. She was sure the Fourteenth was getting ready to ob- ject.

"You can't make them a secret," Ayla said with a frown.

"Why not?" said the Fourteenth. "I think that should be a decision for the zelandonia."

"I have already given some to Jondalar's family," Ayla said.

"That's too bad," the Fifth said, shaking his head, immediately acknowl- edging the uselessness of pursuing it, "but what's done is done."the Third.

"Then how will the people know it was started by the firestone and not by a live coal?" said an older man with light hair, though Ayla wasn't sure if it was blond or white. "No, I think we need a new hearth, one that has not been lit, but you're right about the darkness. There are too many distrac- tions at twilight, when the ceremonial fire is lit. Only when it is totally dark can you draw the attention of everyone where you want it, when they can see nothing except what you want them to see."

"That's true, Zelandoni of the Seventh Cave," the First said.

Ayla noticed that he was sitting next to the tall blond woman of the Sec- ond Cave, and there was a close resemblance. He could have been the elder man of her hearth, perhaps the mate of her grandma or grandam.

She recalled that Jondalar had told her that the Seventh and the Second Caves were related and were located on opposite sides of Grass River and its floodplain. She remembered well because while the Second Cave was the Elder Hearth, the Seventh was Horsehead Rock, and he promised to take her there for a visit when they returned in the autumn to show her the horse in the rock."But people would think it was strange if there is no ceremonial fire from the beginning, Zelandoni of the Twenty-ninth," the Zelandoni of the Third countered. "Perhaps it would be best to delay the beginning until darkness falls."

"Is there something else that can be done first? Some people start gathering early. They will get restless if we hold off too long," another added. She was a middle-aged woman, nearly as fat as the One Who Was First, but rather than tall, she was quite short. Where the size of the First, both height and weight, gave her a commanding presence, this woman looked warm and motherly.

"How about telling stories, Zelandoni of West Holding? The Story- Tellers are here," suggested a young man sitting beside her.

"Stories may detract from the seriousness of the ceremony, Zelandoni of North Holding," the Zelandoni of the Twenty-ninth said.

"Of course, you're right, Zelandoni of Three Rocks," the young man said quickly. He seemed rather deferential toward the primary Zelandoni of the Twenty-ninth Cave. Ayla realized that the four Zelandonia of the Twenty-He was the one who had asked the First if Ayla was here about the animals, and the South Holding was Reflection Rock, which housed the Cave led by Denanna. She was the one that Ayla felt viewed her, or per- haps the horses and wolf, with some animosity, but his tone had not seemed unfriendly. She would wait and see.

"Joharran wants to bring up the matter of flatheads and whether or not they are people," Zelandoni of the Eleventh said. "That is a very serious matter."

"But some people won't like to hear such ideas, and are liable to get ar- gumentative. We don't want to start this Summer Meeting with contentious feelings. That could make them quarrelsome about everything," Zelandoni Who Was First said. "We have to create a receptive mood before new ideas about flatheads are broached."

Ayla wondered if it was appropriate for her to comment. "Zelandoni,"

she finally said, "could I make a suggestion?" Everyone turned to look, and she didn't think all the Zelandonia were pleased. "Of course you can, Ayla,"

Zelandoni Who Was First said. "Jondalar and I visited the Losadunai on our way here. We gave the Losaduna and his mate a few firestones... for thefire in the second hearth." There was silence for only a moment. "Thank you, Ayla," Zelandoni said. "I think that's a good idea. Perhaps we can do something like it. It could be a very impressive demonstration."

"Yes, I like that," Zelandoni of the Third said. "That way we could have the ceremonial fire from the beginning."

"And a cold fireplace ready to be lit would make people curious. They'd wonder what it was for, and that would build up some anticipation," Zelan- doni of the West Holding of the Twenty-ninth said.

"How should we put the fire out? Douse it with water and make a lot of steam?" the Eleventh said. "Or dump dirt on it and make it go out in- stantly?"

"Or dump mud on it?" one of the others, whom Ayla hadn't met, sug- gested. "Create a little steam, but kill the coals."

"I like the idea of using water and making lots of steam," said another one that Ayla didn't know. "That would be more impressive."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 ob- jected to her presence, but they discussed each little detail, Ayla's mind began to stray.

She wondered if the mog-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 more now what a dilemma it must have been when Creb, The Mog-ur, wanted her to take a significant part in one of their most sa- cred ceremonies.

She looked around the large round summer lodge of the zelandonia.

The double-walled circular construction of vertical panels that enclosed the space was similar to the sleeping lodges at the camp of the Ninth Cave, but larger. 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 room. She noticed that the sleeping places were clustered together 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.that were, as a rule, lit day and night inside the windowless shelter, many with multiple wicks. Most of the lamps were carefully shaped, smoothed, and decorated, but like the lamps in Marthona's dwelling, some were crude stones with naturally formed or roughly pecked-out depressions for the melted tallow. Near many of the lamps she saw small carvings 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 from about four inches to eight inches in height, but each one could be held in a hand. There was some abstraction and exaggeration. The arms and hands were barely suggested, and the legs tapered together with no real feet so the woman figure could be stuck into the ground, 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 may have been suggested by a woman known to the artist. She was not a high-breasted, nubile young woman, at the beginning of her adult life, nor was hers the lean figure of a woman who walked every day, a peripatetic wanderer constantly foraging for food.well-fed, successful mother who provided for her children; she was a sym- bol of plenty and generosity.

The reality was not too far off. Some years were worse than others, but most of the time, the Zelandonii managed fairly well. There were fat women in the community; the carver of the figures had to know how a fat woman looked to depict her in such faithful detail. Late spring, when the food stored for winter was nearly gone and the new plants had barely sprouted, could be a lean time. The same was true for animals; in spring, they were scrawny and thin, and their meat was stringy and tough 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 mother who nourished her children. She gave them what they needed. They did not plant seeds, tend crops, cultivate or water the land, and they did not herd animals, protect them from predators, gather feed for them for winter. Everything was theirs for the taking, if they knew where to look and how to harvest. But they could not take it for granted, because sometimes it was withheld.was good. The donii was an idealized figure, an evocation of the conditions that they earnestly desired.

"I would like to thank Ayla..."

She was startled out of her daydreaming when she heard the sound of her name. She couldn't even remember what she was thinking about.

"... for her willingness to show this new way of making fire to all the zelandonia, and for her patience with some of us who took a little longer to learn," the One Who Was First said.

There were many voices in agreement, even the Zelandoni of the Four- teenth Cave seemed to be genuine in her appreciation. Then they began to discuss the details of the rest of the ceremony to start off this year's Sum- mer Meeting, and other ceremonial occasions coming up, particularly the mating ceremony known as the Matrimonial. Ayla wished they would talk more about that, but primarily they talked about when they would meet again to discuss it further, Then the focus of the meeting shifted to the acolytes.things an acolyte must learn. Let us finish this gather with Her Legend, the Mother's Song."

She paused and her eyes seemed to look inward, dredging up from the recesses of her own mind a story that she had committed to memory long ago. It was the most important of all the Elder Legends, because it was the one that told of the beginnings. To make the legends easy to remember, they were told in rhyme and meter, and to make the stories that were re- quired to be memorized even easier to recall, melody was often added by those who had the talent to compose music, which other people enjoyed learning. Some of the songs were ancient and so familiar that the sound of the melody was often enough to recall the story.

Zelandoni Who Was First, however, had created a melody of her own composition for the Mother's Song, and many people were starting to learn it. She began to sing, a cappella, in a pure, strong, beautiful voice.

"Out of the darkness, the chaos of time, The whirlwind gave birth to the Mother sublime.

She woke to Herself knowing life had great worth, The dark empty void grieved the Great Mother Earth."They grew up together, learned to love and to care, And when She was ready, they decided to pair."

"Around Her he'd hover. Her pale shining lover."

Ayla remembered the last line of the second verse, too, and said it with the others, but then she listened through several more verses, trying to hear the words, saying what she remembered under her breath. She wanted to memorize it exactly because she loved this story, and she loved the way the First sang it. Just the sound of her voice almost brought tears to her eyes. Though she knew she would never learn to sing it, she wanted to learn the words. She had learned the Losadunai version on their Jour- ney, but the language, the meter, and some of the story were different. She wanted to learn the story in Zelandonii and listened carefully.

"The dark empty void and the vast barren Earth, With anticipation, awaited the birth.

Life drank from Her blood, it breathed from Her bones.

It split Her skin open and sundered Her stones."

"The Mother was giving. Another was living."And lush verdant plants made all the Earth new."

"Her waters were flowing. New green was growing."

"In violent labor spewing fire and strife, She struggled in pain to give birth to new life.

Her dried clotted blood turned to red-ochred soil, But the radiant child made it all worth the toil."

"The Mother's great joy. A bright shining boy."

"Mountains rose up spouting flames from their crests, She nurtured Her son from her mountainous breasts.

He suckled so hard, the sparks flew so high, The Mother's hot milk laid a path through the sky."

"His life had begun. She nourished Her son."

This was one of the parts she especially loved. It reminded her of her own experience, especially the part about it being all worth it because of her great joy, her wonderful boy.

"He stole from Her side as the Great Mother slept, While out of the dark swirling void chaos crept."And Her luminous friend was prepared to contest, The thief who held captive the child of Her breast.

Together they fought for the son She adored.

Their efforts succeeded, his light was restored."

"His energy burned. His brilliance returned."