Chapter 17
More Than A Name
~~~~~~~~~~
Goov was ready; he'd been ready for this moment for many years. Since the day of the earthquake when he had turned his back on Broud, he knew this day would come. The leader had never regained the respect due him in the mog-ur's eyes. This will be the time for change.
Aga brought forward her daughter, still unsure of the events to come. She didn't like conflicts because they could be bad luck for a new baby. As a clan woman, she had no choice; her mate had given his promise. She looked down demurely and uncovered her child and held her up for Goov's inspection.
The mog-ur began making gestures, calling the spirits to the ceremony. Grev, his acolyte held up a bowl of re-ochre paste. Dramatically, Vorn dipped his finger and drew a strip from the baby's brows to her nose.
"Ayla, this girl's name is Ayla."
Hands flew up, gesturing their surprise. Goov held his arm up, and signaled for silence.
"Goov!" Broud said then gestured with angry movements, "that is not a clan name, you will give her another." Broud clutched his fights tightly against his thighs, barely holding onto control.
Goov shook his head, "No I will not change the name. A promise was made long ago to the one who saved Ona's life. Droog gave his word that if another daughter was born to his hearth, he would name the girl after her."
Brun nodded in silent approval. A promise could not be broken, even to one who had been cursed with death.
"I will not allow a female to be named such," Brun gestured angrily
"The choice is not yours," Goov said, "do you want to anger the spirits? The day she was cursed was bad luck for the clan. The cave collapsed, killing our mog-ur. It was her cave, and when she left, the spirits were angry. A piece of all our spirits was cursed that day, because you acted rashly."
Broud blanched at the thought of further angering the spirits. Could it really be his fault that the spirits had not favored them since he had HER cursed? Abruptly, he pushed the self-incriminating thoughts aside. No, he had always acted in the best interests of the clan. Years of pent up anger at the thought of HER besting him came to the core.
"No! She was insolent and dangerous. She deserved to be cursed! And you," he turned to face Brun, "you accepted her, made her a hunter and let her keep the Deformed One. If you had been a better leader, I would not have had to curse her!"
"She's beat you again, son of my hearth," Brun gestured slowly, "a good leader would not allow himself to be affected by a female like this."
Oga was looking down at the dirt floor, but she could see them talking out of the corner of her eye. It was not right for a woman to see the men arguing, and it shocked her. Her mate was losing control. Self-preservation led her to melt into the shadows and observe unobtrusively. The other women followed her and left the gathering. Only Aga stood trembling in the middle, her daughter clutched tightly to her bosom. Ayla cooed and rooted for the warm liquid milk.
Broud's head snapped over to see Aga and her baby. Aga looked up nervously and tried to back away. Angrily, Broud stomped over to her, heedless of the chaffing pain in his thighs and groin. Glaring at the woman and child who had made him think of [I[her[/I] again, he lifted his fist to strike.
An arm shot out and twisted Broud's arm back. Broud grunted and turned around angrily to see Vorn looking at him in disapproval.
"Do not strike the woman, she has done nothing wrong," Vorn said, "you would also harm the baby if she fell. What kind of leader would do this? Is not the clan's welfare more important than a grudge against a dead female?"
Goov stepped forward and addressed the clan as a whole. "I, Goov, the mog-ur of the clan of the cave bear, declare Broud unfit to lead." Hands fluttered again in shocked surprise. The women forgot their place and stared in shock at their mog-ur from the sidelines.
Broud glowered at Goov; "You are not in a position to do this. You're not a powerful mog-ur at all, just a pitiful replacement for the one before you. As leader of this clan, I declare you unfit to be our mog-ur. I will send a runner to another clan for a replacement." He folded his arms as if to signal the end of the discussion.
"No Broud, you cannot dismiss this charge," Brun gestured in resignation, "I will act as leader again until this is resolved. We must discuss this further."
Nods of agreement followed Brun's words. The quick decisions that Broud favored made the Clan uncomfortable. The men would rather think about this and discuss it at length before anything was done. Change was hard for the clan as well as uncertainty. They had heard about leaders being replaced, but it was not done often.
As Broud watched the people depart to go about their daily chores, he seethed in anger. Turning, he looked for Oga, who had discreetly left the cave. It was all HER fault; her spirit had never left. She was still causing trouble. His eyes settled on the Deformed One who sat quietly at his hearth eating his morning meal. Feeling a loss of control, he abruptly left the cave carrying only his spear.
Creb motioned to Thonolan to join him. They were gathered at the back of the cave, where Goov was convening with the spirits. The mog-ur sat in silent meditation, searching out his memories for confirmation.
"He knows we are here, and waits for us to guide him," Creb gestured.
Thonolan threw him a puzzled look, "what can I do?"
Creb's liquid brown eye looked solemnly at the spirit man of the others. "The clan as they are now will die. They must learn to adapt, and only the Others, your people can show them how."
Gently, he took Thonolan's hand and guided it to Goov's flat shaped skull. Thonolan stared entranced at the dark hair and strange shaped head that his hand rested on, and the gnarled strong hand on top of his hand. With a sudden jolt, he realized that they were inside the young mog-urs brain.
Uba hurriedly changed Broud's dressings. She didn't want to linger at his hearth for fear of a cuffing if she accidentally inflected pain. "The blisters are almost gone. If you were not burned too badly, new skin will grow back soon."
Broud turned his head away but motioned; "will ALL return to normal?"
Uba shifted uneasily, "this woman has done all she has knowledge to do. It is not certain yet if ALL will heal back to normal. The more this man stays at his hearth, the better the chance." Quickly, she gathered her herbs together ready to make a quick retreat. Waiting for dismissal, she noticed his thoughts were no longer on her.
Brun was leading the men away to discuss the matter of the leadership. Uba watched Broud struggle to his feet and was surprised to see a grimace of pain. Clan men hardly ever showed outward signs of discomfort. Perhaps he's not just a weak leader, but also a weak man. She banished the thought as quickly as it came and glanced around, fearing that someone had read her thoughts. Her eyes locked with Oga's. Oga looked as if she understood, then nodded and turned back to her tasks.
The men shuffled out toward a comfortable shaded glen. Brun held back and waited as Broud walked haltingly toward him. "You cannot attend this meeting."
"Can I not defend myself?" He gestured angrily.
"Your leadership of this clan is your testimony." Brun's gaze held compassion for the son of his hearth. He grieved that Broud had become the kind of leader he had witnessed these past years. Perhaps if he had trained him better this may not have happened.
"This is a waste of time. When this is over I will be leader again. I will not forget those who spoke out against me." Turning on his heel, Broud stormed away. Seeing the cave, he knew he didn't want to face a bunch of nervous women. He headed out into the forests surrounding the cave.
~~~~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks RD and also welcome to the new readers who have been reading through the story. And no, RD, I hope you don't stop reviewing, I'd feel quite lonely then. Kidding...
More Than A Name
~~~~~~~~~~
Goov was ready; he'd been ready for this moment for many years. Since the day of the earthquake when he had turned his back on Broud, he knew this day would come. The leader had never regained the respect due him in the mog-ur's eyes. This will be the time for change.
Aga brought forward her daughter, still unsure of the events to come. She didn't like conflicts because they could be bad luck for a new baby. As a clan woman, she had no choice; her mate had given his promise. She looked down demurely and uncovered her child and held her up for Goov's inspection.
The mog-ur began making gestures, calling the spirits to the ceremony. Grev, his acolyte held up a bowl of re-ochre paste. Dramatically, Vorn dipped his finger and drew a strip from the baby's brows to her nose.
"Ayla, this girl's name is Ayla."
Hands flew up, gesturing their surprise. Goov held his arm up, and signaled for silence.
"Goov!" Broud said then gestured with angry movements, "that is not a clan name, you will give her another." Broud clutched his fights tightly against his thighs, barely holding onto control.
Goov shook his head, "No I will not change the name. A promise was made long ago to the one who saved Ona's life. Droog gave his word that if another daughter was born to his hearth, he would name the girl after her."
Brun nodded in silent approval. A promise could not be broken, even to one who had been cursed with death.
"I will not allow a female to be named such," Brun gestured angrily
"The choice is not yours," Goov said, "do you want to anger the spirits? The day she was cursed was bad luck for the clan. The cave collapsed, killing our mog-ur. It was her cave, and when she left, the spirits were angry. A piece of all our spirits was cursed that day, because you acted rashly."
Broud blanched at the thought of further angering the spirits. Could it really be his fault that the spirits had not favored them since he had HER cursed? Abruptly, he pushed the self-incriminating thoughts aside. No, he had always acted in the best interests of the clan. Years of pent up anger at the thought of HER besting him came to the core.
"No! She was insolent and dangerous. She deserved to be cursed! And you," he turned to face Brun, "you accepted her, made her a hunter and let her keep the Deformed One. If you had been a better leader, I would not have had to curse her!"
"She's beat you again, son of my hearth," Brun gestured slowly, "a good leader would not allow himself to be affected by a female like this."
Oga was looking down at the dirt floor, but she could see them talking out of the corner of her eye. It was not right for a woman to see the men arguing, and it shocked her. Her mate was losing control. Self-preservation led her to melt into the shadows and observe unobtrusively. The other women followed her and left the gathering. Only Aga stood trembling in the middle, her daughter clutched tightly to her bosom. Ayla cooed and rooted for the warm liquid milk.
Broud's head snapped over to see Aga and her baby. Aga looked up nervously and tried to back away. Angrily, Broud stomped over to her, heedless of the chaffing pain in his thighs and groin. Glaring at the woman and child who had made him think of [I[her[/I] again, he lifted his fist to strike.
An arm shot out and twisted Broud's arm back. Broud grunted and turned around angrily to see Vorn looking at him in disapproval.
"Do not strike the woman, she has done nothing wrong," Vorn said, "you would also harm the baby if she fell. What kind of leader would do this? Is not the clan's welfare more important than a grudge against a dead female?"
Goov stepped forward and addressed the clan as a whole. "I, Goov, the mog-ur of the clan of the cave bear, declare Broud unfit to lead." Hands fluttered again in shocked surprise. The women forgot their place and stared in shock at their mog-ur from the sidelines.
Broud glowered at Goov; "You are not in a position to do this. You're not a powerful mog-ur at all, just a pitiful replacement for the one before you. As leader of this clan, I declare you unfit to be our mog-ur. I will send a runner to another clan for a replacement." He folded his arms as if to signal the end of the discussion.
"No Broud, you cannot dismiss this charge," Brun gestured in resignation, "I will act as leader again until this is resolved. We must discuss this further."
Nods of agreement followed Brun's words. The quick decisions that Broud favored made the Clan uncomfortable. The men would rather think about this and discuss it at length before anything was done. Change was hard for the clan as well as uncertainty. They had heard about leaders being replaced, but it was not done often.
As Broud watched the people depart to go about their daily chores, he seethed in anger. Turning, he looked for Oga, who had discreetly left the cave. It was all HER fault; her spirit had never left. She was still causing trouble. His eyes settled on the Deformed One who sat quietly at his hearth eating his morning meal. Feeling a loss of control, he abruptly left the cave carrying only his spear.
Creb motioned to Thonolan to join him. They were gathered at the back of the cave, where Goov was convening with the spirits. The mog-ur sat in silent meditation, searching out his memories for confirmation.
"He knows we are here, and waits for us to guide him," Creb gestured.
Thonolan threw him a puzzled look, "what can I do?"
Creb's liquid brown eye looked solemnly at the spirit man of the others. "The clan as they are now will die. They must learn to adapt, and only the Others, your people can show them how."
Gently, he took Thonolan's hand and guided it to Goov's flat shaped skull. Thonolan stared entranced at the dark hair and strange shaped head that his hand rested on, and the gnarled strong hand on top of his hand. With a sudden jolt, he realized that they were inside the young mog-urs brain.
Uba hurriedly changed Broud's dressings. She didn't want to linger at his hearth for fear of a cuffing if she accidentally inflected pain. "The blisters are almost gone. If you were not burned too badly, new skin will grow back soon."
Broud turned his head away but motioned; "will ALL return to normal?"
Uba shifted uneasily, "this woman has done all she has knowledge to do. It is not certain yet if ALL will heal back to normal. The more this man stays at his hearth, the better the chance." Quickly, she gathered her herbs together ready to make a quick retreat. Waiting for dismissal, she noticed his thoughts were no longer on her.
Brun was leading the men away to discuss the matter of the leadership. Uba watched Broud struggle to his feet and was surprised to see a grimace of pain. Clan men hardly ever showed outward signs of discomfort. Perhaps he's not just a weak leader, but also a weak man. She banished the thought as quickly as it came and glanced around, fearing that someone had read her thoughts. Her eyes locked with Oga's. Oga looked as if she understood, then nodded and turned back to her tasks.
The men shuffled out toward a comfortable shaded glen. Brun held back and waited as Broud walked haltingly toward him. "You cannot attend this meeting."
"Can I not defend myself?" He gestured angrily.
"Your leadership of this clan is your testimony." Brun's gaze held compassion for the son of his hearth. He grieved that Broud had become the kind of leader he had witnessed these past years. Perhaps if he had trained him better this may not have happened.
"This is a waste of time. When this is over I will be leader again. I will not forget those who spoke out against me." Turning on his heel, Broud stormed away. Seeing the cave, he knew he didn't want to face a bunch of nervous women. He headed out into the forests surrounding the cave.
~~~~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks RD and also welcome to the new readers who have been reading through the story. And no, RD, I hope you don't stop reviewing, I'd feel quite lonely then. Kidding...