Chapter 20

Blinking in the sudden brightness of the sunlight, Grey could see that theirs was not the only sleek, silvery transport ship that had been requisitioned for use that day.

At least five more of the craft were sitting in the huge, open area in front of the massive, ancient temple, and as she craned her neck a bit, Grey saw that there were a number of smaller ships that must have been the personal conveyances of the fully-grown Hunters who were attending the ceremony.

"I wonder if Kantra's here yet…" the human thought, straining to see if she could see his now-familiar ship. She couldn't see it, though, and decided that he either hadn't arrived yet, or she simply couldn't see his ship, with the limited view with which she was currently presented.

"Do you think he'll be here?" she heard Nanku ask, echoing her own thoughts at the moment.

"I think he will, yes." Ijane replied, and Grey knew that Ijane was even more anxious than her nephew to see the esteemed Arbitrator that was her son.

As she descended the ship's ramp, Grey got her first look at the Yautja temple.

The structure was made of a kind of pinkish, marble-looking stone, delicately veined with shades of black and grey. The place, she thought, must have stood there for a very long time, since it almost seemed to be a part of the dense jungle that surrounded it.

Massive stone pillars rose into the air, supporting arches, and casting dark shadows on the ground below. The walls of the temple were adorned with what must have been thousands of carvings, and though the stone was well-weathered from ages of rain, wind and sun, Grey could still make out what was etched into the stone: Strange creatures curled around the massive columns, looking perhaps like giant, impossibly terrifying centipedes, while carvings of kiande amedha battled with those of legendary Yautja Hunters, their spears and blades raised against the terrible claws, tails and mouths of their adversaries. Here and there were large sections of text, though Grey was too far away at this point to make any of it out clearly; though it was probably either some kind of prayer or perhaps a kind of account of something significant that happened in the Yautjas' incredibly long history.

Her eyes were soon drawn away from the magnificent temple, however, by the incredible sight of all the Yautja who were in attendance; the females, anyway.

There must have been more than two hundred of them, all dressed in their absolute finest, and all, like Grey's group, milling about outside the temple.

All of them were wearing bright colors: dresses, tunics, halter tops, tube tops, sashes, long skirts, and even a few in long, flowing pants, and many of these were adorned with exquisite patterns or carefully embroidered with Clan insignias or symbols of good fortune. The glinting of their jewelry and hair ornaments kept catching Grey's eye, and every neck and wrist seemed to have some kind of adornment. Gold and silver (or the Yautja approximation of it) glittered in the sunlight, and all of them had seen fit to adorn their hair with beautiful beads and long wraps of colorful thread, while some of them even wore what looked like very fine gold and silver chains woven into the locks.

The young initiates, by contrast, were incredibly plain, dressed as they were in their tan ritual robes, with the only ornamentation being their Clan symbol stitched onto the breast. Their mothers had made these robes over the past few days, and as Ijane had told Grey, they would be burned in a special ceremony, on the night of their final plaiting ritual.

As drab as they were by comparison, the males nevertheless held their heads up with unassailable pride; as though each of them wore the finest armor ever made.

"Will cousin Kantra be sitting with us?" she heard Nanku ask, on Ijane's other side.

"No; he will be with the other Hunters. They have their own private balcony that overlooks the amphitheater." Di'Sedi replied.

This was kind of a letdown for Grey, who'd really been looking forward to seeing Kantra again; but she cheered up immensely when she remembered that he would be coming back to the village with them after the ceremony to partake in the traditional meal.

It was then that she noticed that many of those around her in the crowd appeared to have noticed her, and more and more of them were turning as their friends grabbed their arms or clothes to get their attention. The sound of hushed whispering began to remind Grey strongly of the sound of the strong winds that sometimes blew through the huge trees of the forest surrounding the village, and she became a bit nervous as more and more of them turned to look in their direction.

"It's all right, Luar-ke. Just stay close to me." Ijane said, putting a large, yet comforting, hand on Grey's shoulder. Though she doubted that any of the females would actually attack, she did feel immensely better knowing that Ijane was so close to her.

Soon though, it seemed like every single head was turned in their direction, and Grey found herself beginning to wish that she'd stayed home, and that V'kha and Nanku were probably right in their apprehension about bringing her along.

Suddenly, a loud, metallic ringing made them all jump slightly and look around, breaking their concentration on the human in their midst.

There, on the wide, sun-bleached landing of the stairs in the front of the temple, stood several female Yautja in long white robes, embroidered in gold and silver, and their hair reaching almost to the ground. The loud clanging had come from what looked like a huge gong-like thing, beside which another female stood, holding a long stick that was probably used to strike the thing.

Once they saw these females, every single member of the crowd turned in their direction, and the whispering that had permeated the landing field died down instantly, to the point where the silence was louder than the whispering itself.

"The ceremony will begin now. All of the initiates, come with me. Once we have departed, the families of the initiates may take their places in the seats around the dais." one of the females, clearly the head priestess, judging by her age and the authoritative way in which she spoke, said, loudly and clearly.

Silently, all of the males made their way through the crowd to stand before this aged female, and, as one, knelt respectfully at her feet, before she nodded, and they rose, then followed her through the huge doors and vanished from sight.

A few minutes later, all of those remaining in the crowd began to file inside, as silently as ghosts.

Ijane had told her the day before that none were supposed to speak while the ceremony was going on, and that, Grey figured, was the only thing that kept the others in the huge crowd from resuming their whispering about her as they made their way through the temple's high-ceilinged corridors. The change from the bright sunlight to the cool darkness of the temple had made it almost impossible for her to see at first, but Ijane surreptitiously put a hand on her shoulder and guided her along until she could see properly again.

They were led out into a huge, circular area, where the seats had been arranged like those of the amphitheaters of Earth, leading down, stair-like, to a large dais in the center, upon which the temple's head priestess and a few of her acolytes now stood, waiting patiently until all had taken their seats, before she began to speak again.

"Today we begin the ritual that will mark the beginning of these young males' lives as Hunters. We Yautja have performed this ritual since before we first set out to explore what lies beyond our own world. Even when we were planet-bound, and the Clans warred with each other, we would still come together to perform this rite. Today will be the first of nine, and once the ninth plaiting is done, the initiates will depart their mothers' homes forever, to begin their lives as Hunters, and bring honor to themselves, their offspring, and their Clans. Let the sacred rite begin!" she finished, her strong, clear voice echoing throughout the amphitheater.

It was then that Grey noticed what must have been the oldest female Yautja she'd ever seen making her way slowly to the platform, flanked by two much younger female attendants, each of whom held what looked like a censer.

Ijane had told her previously that there were priestesses whose sole duty was the plaiting of the young males' hair for this ceremony. They were highly revered, and trained for decades to perform these rituals. This must have been the female who would be plaiting Nanku and the others' hair, Grey reasoned, as the female made her way up onto the dais and settled herself on a low stool, straightening out her robes as she did so.

For a few moments, nothing happened; but then, the priestess from before, who'd given the opening speech, looked at a tablet in her hands and began to read the names of the initiates.

"Kha'ri-de, of the Shifting Sands Clan!" she called, and the young male nervously stepped forth, and made his way up to the dais to kneel at the feet of the old Yautja female.

The female then began to carefully inspect his hair, which, like all the other males' hair, had been unbraided the night before and thoroughly washed in preparation for today. One she had done this, an acolyte brought forth an ornate, lacquered wooden box, which she set carefully beside her and bowed herself off the dais. Another acolyte then brought forth a small metal cauldron, which she set over a small fire, and then a large bowl, which was also set on a small table beside the ancient female.

This old female opened the box and brought forth a sturdy-looking metal comb, which she dipped into the small cauldron, before beginning to run it through the hair of the male before her.

"The female who braids the young males' hair will apply a sacred oil to it before she begins." Ijane had told her the day before, so Grey wasn't left wondering what was going on before her.

Once she'd applied this oil, the female got to work on braiding the male's hair. Though he didn't show it, as was the condition of the ritual, Grey had been told that this was an incredibly painful experience, meant to test the initiates' commitment to becoming a Hunter.

The entire process took around thirty minutes, after which only a handful of his hair had been plaited; though he had passed the first part of the initiation without showing or voicing any pain.

In total, there were more than thirty initiates; and Grey watched as a number of them, including Nanku, V'kha and the others from the Lakeshore Clan, went through the ritual. When the sky began to grow dark, the old female rose, stretched herself, and began to make her way back into the temple, while the head priestess made another announcement:

"The ritual is completed for today! The young males who have already undergone the ceremony and their families needn't return tomorrow. For the rest, you will eat and sleep at the temple tonight, and finish your own ritual tomorrow! You are all dismissed for today!"

With this, almost half of the females in the place rose and began silently filing back out of the temple, this time led by several young acolytes with brightly-burning torches held out before them. As she walked with the others through the temple, Grey could smell what must have been some kind of incense; it wasn't unpleasant, though she'd never smelled anything quite like it before.

When they arrived outside, she saw that a number of large stone braziers had been lit, illuminating the outside of the temple so that those returning to the ships could see better in the darkness.

They were about to board their ship, when another hush fell over the crowd, and they turned to see the head priestess from earlier making her way through the crowd, her gauzy white robe fluttering around her legs as she walked, making her appear almost to glide or float along. She stood before Grey's group, seeming unsure of what to say, but soon found her tongue again.

"You are of the Lakeshore Clan, I am told." she said, looking at the group.

"We are, Priestess. How may we be of service?" Di'Sedi asked. As the Matriarch of the Clan, she was the most qualified to speak with the other female, and while Grey knew her to be respectful, she was also not one who would be easily cowed.

"I have come to speak with you about your…companion here." she said, nodding at Grey, who'd known all along that her presence was bound to cause a stir, sooner or later.

"Has she given you some cause for offense?" Di'Sedi asked, calmly.

"She, herself, has not; but the other priestesses and I feel that her presence here is a…distraction. Today was a day for the young males of these fine Clans; and during the ceremony, I noticed many heads turning in the direction of this ooman here. We feel that it takes away from both the gravity of this ceremony and the sanctity to have such a creature here." the priestess said, and Grey felt her face grow red in the semi-darkness of the evening.

"It's an insult, is what it is!" she heard a female in the crowd hiss to someone, and her face became hot with both embarrassment and budding rage.

Clearly, Ijane had also heard the female, for Grey felt her tense up as she put a large hand on her shoulder, intending to comfort her.

"It is because of this that I must ask that you not bring her here again. The rest of your family and Clan may, of course, return for your initiates' ritual; but please, leave this one at home." the priestess finished, nodding to Grey as she did so.

"But she herself intends to become a Huntress one day, and she has several friends among the Clans' initiates; should she not be allowed to watch the ceremony? You yourself said that she has given no cause for offense." came a familiar male voice.

They all turned to see Kantra walking slowly and purposefully through the crowd, which parted to let him pass. He was wearing an impressive set of silvery armor of the kind that was only used for rituals and the like, and several of the females let out involuntary trills of interest as he passed them.

"Arbitrator, I am afraid that you have no say in this matter." one of the other priestesses said.

"But I am the one who brought her to live among our people; do you think I would have done so, had I thought that she might cause some kind of trouble?"

"Certainly not, and as I said: she herself gave no reason for offense; but her presence here is, again, as I said, a distraction. Some would even say that she does not belong in such a sacred place at all."

"She has done nothing wrong." Ijane said quietly.

"We don't want her here!" another priestess said loudly, dropping all pretenses.

"We made enough of an exception with the Arbitrator, in his youth!" another added, and a muttering began in the crowd.

"Ouch!" Grey yelped, as she felt Ijane's hand tighten painfully on her shoulder.

Kantra was quiet for a few moments.

"If those are your feelings on the subject, then I must respect them. You will not see her here again. Good evening." he said at last, in a low voice, then bowed to the clerics.

"Mother, Grandmother, Mjadi, Nanku, Grey… You will all ride home on my ship with me. Come along." he said. It wasn't a request, and even Mjadi made no protest as they followed behind the large male, and none of them spoke as they boarded the ship, though all of them could feel the eyes of the crowd on their backs…