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Joseph Roni Sr.
Fight for fire
(Wild times. Fight for fire-1)
PART ONE
Chapter I. The Death of Fire
In the impenetrable night, the Ulamry fled, mad with suffering and fatigue; all their efforts were in vain before the misfortune that befell them: the fire was dead! They supported him in three cages. According to the custom of the tribe, four women and two warriors fed him day and night.
Even in the most difficult times, they supported life in it, protected it from bad weather and floods, carried it through rivers and swamps; bluish by daylight and crimson by night, he never parted from them. His mighty face put lions, cave and gray bears, mammoth, tiger and leopard to flight. His red teeth protected a person from extensive scary world; all the joys lived only around him! He extracted delicious smells from meat, hardened the ends of horns, made stones crack, he encouraged people in dense forests, in endless savannah, in the depths of caves. It was the father, the guardian, the savior; when he broke out of the cage and devoured the trees, he became more cruel and wild than mammoths.
And now he's dead! The enemy destroyed two cages; in the third, which survived during the flight, the fire weakened, grew pale and gradually decreased. He was so weak that he could not even eat swamp grasses; he trembled like a sick animal, turning into a small insect of a reddish color, and every breath of wind threatened to extinguish him ... then he disappeared altogether ... The Ulamrs fled, orphaned, into autumn night. There were no stars. The heavy sky descended over the heavy waters; the plants stretched their cold stalks over the fugitives, and all that was heard was the rustling of the reptiles. Men, women, children were consumed by darkness. Listening to the voices of their leaders, they tried to move on dry and hard land, fording the streams and swamps they encountered. Three generations have known this path. At dawn they came to the savannah. Cold light seeped through the chalk layers of clouds. The wind swirled on the oily waters like mountain resin. Algae swelled like pustules, petrified lizards lay curled up among the water lilies. A heron sat on a withered tree. Finally, in a red haze, a savannah unfolded with plants trembling from the cold. The people perked up and, having passed through thickets of reeds, they finally found themselves among the grasses, on solid ground. But then their feverish excitement immediately fell, people lay down on the ground, froze in immobility; women, more enduring than men, having lost their children in the swamps, howled like she-wolves, those who saved their babies, lifted them up to the clouds. When dawn broke, Faum counted his tribe with his fingers and branches. Each branch corresponded to the number of fingers on both hands. Remained: four branches of warriors, more than six branches of women, about three branches of children, several old men.
Old Gong said they survived - one man out of five, one woman out of three, and one child out of a whole branch.
The Ulamr felt the enormity of the misfortune. They realized that their offspring were threatened with death. The forces of nature became more and more formidable. People will roam the earth, miserable and naked.
Despair seized even the courageous Faum. He no longer relied on his huge hands. On his large face, overgrown with stiff bristles, in his yellow eyes, like those of a leopard, there was a deadly weariness; he examined his wounds inflicted by the spear and darts of the enemy, licking the blood oozing from his wounded shoulder with his tongue.
He tried to recall the picture of the battle in his memory. The Ulamr rushed into battle. His club crushed the heads of enemies. Ulamr will destroy men, lead away women, kill enemy fire, drive enemies into savannahs and impenetrable forests. What happened? Why did the ulamri take flight, why did their bones begin to crack, why did their bellies spill out their entrails, their death moans escape from their mouths, while the enemy, flooding the camp, destroyed the sacred fire? So Faum asked himself, tired and heavy. He went berserk at the mere recollection of this battle, wriggling like a hyena, he did not want to be defeated, he still felt enough strength, courage, cruelty in himself.
The sun rose. Its bright rays spilled over the swamp, penetrating the mud, draining the savannah. They had the joy of the morning, the freshness of plants. The water now seemed lighter, less treacherous and dangerous. She was silver among the copper-rusty islands; it was covered with a light swell of malachite and pearls, it spread scales of mica. Through the thickets of willow and alder came her delicate scent. Algae, lilies, yellow water lilies sparkled in the play of chiaroscuro, killer whales, swamp milkweeds, loosestrife, arrowheads flashed by. Thickets of buttercups with aconite leaves, patterns of shaggy rabbit cabbage alternated with wild flax, bittercress, sundews. In thickets of bushes and reeds swarmed with water hens, teals, plovers, and green-winged lapwings. On the shores of small reddish coves, herons stood as if on guard; on the cape, flapping their wings, cranes frolicked; a toothy pike hunted tench. Dragonflies, flashing green lights, flew in the crevices of the stones of lapis lazuli.
Faum contemplated his tribe. Misfortune lay on people like the droppings of a reptile. Lemon-yellow, blood-red, green as seaweed, the people spread the smell of fever and rotting meat. Some lay curled up like snakes, others stretched out like a lizard, and others croaked in death agony. Wounds inflicted on the stomach turned black and hideous; the wounds on the heads seemed larger than their size from the blood dried on the hair. All these people will be healthy. Mortally wounded died on the other side or during the crossing. Faum, tearing his eyes away from the sleeping ones, began to examine those who suffered from defeat more than from fatigue. They were real ulamrs: large, heavy heads, low foreheads and strong jaws; skin of a reddish tone, hairy torsos, strong arms and legs. The sharpness of their senses, especially their sense of smell, they could compete with animals. There was a sullen ferocity in their gazes. The eyes of children and young girls were especially beautiful.
Although in many of its characteristics the Ulamr tribe approached the savages of our time, but this similarity was far from complete.
The Paleolithic tribes harbored a youth that will never return, a flowering of life whose energy and strength we can hardly imagine.
Faum raised his hands to the sky with a long groan:
What will become of the Ulamr without fire? he exclaimed. - How will they live in the savannah and in the forest, who will protect them from the darkness and winds of winter? They will have to eat raw meat and bitter vegetables. Who will warm their chilled bodies? The tip of the horn will remain soft. A lion, a beast with tearing teeth, a bear, a tiger, a big hyena will devour them at night! Whoever takes possession of the fire again, he will become the brother of Faum, he will receive a third of the hunt, a fourth of all the booty; he will receive Gammla - my daughter, and after my death he will become the leader of the tribe.
Joseph Henri Roni Sr.
Fight for fire
FIGHT FOR FIRE
Part one
Chapter first
DEATH OF FIRE
The Ulamr tribe fled for their lives in the impenetrable darkness of the night. Crazed with suffering, people did not feel pain, did not notice fatigue. The fire died - and everything faded before this terrible misfortune.
The tribe from time immemorial kept Fire in three braids; four women and two warriors guarded it day and night.
In the days of the most severe adversity, Fire received food that supported his life. The tribe protected him from rain and storms, river floods and floods; together with the tribe, he forded rivers and swamps, affably blue in the mornings and purple in the evenings.
The cave bear and gray bear, bison and mammoth, lion, tiger and leopard were afraid of the formidable sight of Fire. His bloody teeth protected a person from the whole hostile world. He extracted a tantalizing smell from the meat by burning it, gave strength to the ends of the clubs, split stones into pieces. He poured sweet warmth through his body. On cold windy nights, he gave the tribe cheerfulness. And in the dense forests, and in the depths of dark caves, and in the endless expanses of the steppe - savannas, Fire was the father, guardian, savior of the tribe. But he was more dangerous than the mammoth and the tiger, when, having escaped from the wickerwork, he began to devour the trees. The fire is dead!
The enemy destroyed two braids. - In the third, during the flight, the Fire faded, faded. Barely warm, he could not light even a dry blade of grass. He shuddered on his bed of stones like a sick animal, like a tiny reddish insect, he fluttered at every gust of wind. And then he died...
The orphaned Ulamr fled through the autumn night. The low-hanging vault of the sky seemed to press with its weight on the dark surface of the swamp. The stars were hiding behind the clouds. The trees stretched their bare branches over the fugitives. Creeps splashed in the water.
Men, women, children wandered in the darkness without seeing each other. Listening to the voice of the leader, they tried to follow in his wake. Three generations of Ulamr had used this path, but they needed at least the light of the stars to stay on it.
At dawn they approached the savannah.
A dim light illuminated dark, heavy clouds in the east. The wind rippled the surface of the swamp, which seemed thick and viscous, like mountain resin. The bumps stick out ugly from the water. Among the water lilies and arrowheads, sleepy reptiles swarm and swam. The heron flew up and, circling, landed on an ash-gray tree.
Suddenly, an endless savannah opened up before the ulamra. Clouds of heavy fog rolled over the grass quivering from the predawn wind. People cheered up and, breaking through the wall of reeds, stepped on solid ground.
The feverish excitement which had kept them up during the night's flight was extinguished; most of the men collapsed on the grass in exhaustion and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
In women, grief overcame fatigue: those of them who lost children in the swamp howled like she-wolves; everyone lost heart at the memory of the troubles that befell the tribe.
Faum took advantage of the first glimmer of daylight to count his tribe. He counted with his fingers and branches - each branch was equal to the sum of the fingers on both hands.
Only four branches of warriors, six branches of women, three incomplete branches of children and less than one branch of old people remained.
Old Gown said that one man out of five, one woman out of three, and one child out of a whole branch survived. Only then did the Ulamr feel the full weight of the disaster that had befallen them.
They understood that the very existence of the tribe was threatened by mortal danger, that the forces of nature menacingly took up arms against them, that, having lost Fire, they would not be able to fight these forces.
Despair seized even the courageous Faum.
On his broad face, overgrown with stiff stubble, his eyes, yellow as those of a leopard, reflected deadly fatigue. He looked at the sleeping warriors, forgetting even to lick the blood that oozed from the wounds on his forearm.
Like all the defeated, Faum did not stop remembering the moment when victory seemed to be leaning towards him. The Ulamr charged furiously into battle. Faum's mace crushed skull after skull. Another moment - and the Ulamr will destroy their enemies, take their wives prisoner, trample their Fires and be able to hunt in their savannah, in forests full of game as before.
What evil wind swept over the battlefield? Why did the Ulamry, suddenly seized with horror, take flight, why did their bones crunch under enemy clubs, why did enemy horns begin to rip open their bellies? How did the enemy break into the Ulamr camp and destroy the Fireweavers?
These thoughts relentlessly drilled into Faum's dark brain, driving him into a frenzy. He couldn't come to terms with his defeat...
Sun rays broke through the clouds. The savannah steamed under their bright glare. The joy of the morning and the fresh breath of plants they carried with them. Even the swamp water seemed now not so thick, gloomy and insidious. She now shone with silver among the dark green of the islands, then, as it were, was covered with a brilliant film of mica, then she acquired the opal dullness of pearls. The breeze, making its way through the thickets of willows and alders, carried the fresh smell of water far to the sides.
The sun's rays were reflected in the capricious surface of the waters and fleetingly illuminated now some snag, then a water lily, a yellow water lily, a blue iris, a swamp milkweed, a loosestrife, an arrowhead, then a whole thicket of buttercups, stonecrops, wild flax, bitter cress, sundews, then impenetrable thickets of reeds, willows, where water hens, teals, plovers and green-winged lapwings swarmed.
Faum looked at his tribe. The ulamrs, huddled together, yellow with silt, red with blood, green with algae, looked like a multicolored ball of snakes. Coiled like pythons, or flattened like giant lizards, the people reeked of feverish heat and the smell of rotting meat. Some grunted heavily, struggling with death. Their wounds were blackened with dried blood.
However, most of the wounded were supposed to survive - the weakest remained on the other side or drowned during the crossing.
Faum shifted his gaze from those who were asleep to those who were awake, suffering more from defeat than from fatigue. They were magnificent specimens of the human race. They had heavy heads with low foreheads and powerful jaws. Their skin was brown, but not black; almost all of them had hair on their chests and limbs. The sharpness of smell they could compete with predatory animals.
Faum raised his hands to the sky and yelled out:
What will become of the Ulamr without Fire? he asked. - How will they live in the savannah and in the forest? Who will protect them from the darkness of the night and winter winds? They will have to eat raw meat and bitter roots. Who will warm their chilled bodies, who will give strength to the ends of their clubs? Lion, bear, tiger will devour them alive in the dark nights! Whoever manages to master Fire again will become Faum's brother. He will receive three parts from the hunt, four parts from the prey. Faum will give him Gammla, his sister's daughter, as a wife! And after the death of Faum, the leader's rod will pass to him!
Then Nao, son of the Leopard, got up and said:
Give me two quick-footed warriors, and I will get Fire from the sons of the Mammoth or from the cannibals hunting on the banks of the Big River!
Faum looked at him unkindly. Nao was the tallest of the Ulamr. There was no warrior in the tribe who could compete with him in endurance and speed of running. He overcame Mu, the son of Bison, the first strongman of the tribe after Faum. And Faum was afraid of Nao. He constantly gave him the most dangerous assignments, trying to keep him away from the tribe.
Nao didn't like the leader of the Ulamr. But he liked the tall, slender, luxuriant Gamla, the daughter of Faum's sister. He thought of her now with passion, now with violent anger. Nao often lay in wait for her in the thickets of willows, in the depths of the forest. Standing in ambush, he opened his arms wide to press her to his chest, then convulsively clutched his club, struggling with the desire to throw her to the ground like a girl from a hostile tribe. Meanwhile, he did not wish Gammla harm: if she were his wife, he would not be cruel to her, because he did not like to see the expression of fear and alienation on the faces of those around him.
At any other time, Faum would not have accepted Nao's offer. But trouble tamed Faum. He thought that an alliance with the Leopard's son might prove beneficial; otherwise, he will always find a way to get rid of it. So, turning to the young warrior, he said:
Faum has only one language. If Nao brings Fire, he will get Gammla without a ransom. He will become the son of Faum!
Raising one hand up, he spoke with an emphasis, weighty and solemn.
When he had finished, he made a sign to Hammla. The girl, trembling, approached.
Gammla knew that Nao lay in wait for her in the thicket at dusk and was afraid of him. But sometimes she dreamed about him. And conflicting feelings fought in her: either she wanted him to die under the blows of the cannibals, or she longed for him to return victorious and bring the Fire of the tribe.
Faum's heavy hand fell on the girl's shoulder.
What daughter of men compares to my Gammla? he exclaimed proudly. - She can carry a doe on her shoulder, run without rest from dawn to evening, endure hunger and thirst without a murmur, swim across lakes and rivers. She will bear many sons to her husband. If Nao manages to bring the Fire, he will get Gammla without any ransom - he ...
wild times - 1
PART ONE
I
death of fire
In the impenetrable night, the Ulamry fled, mad with suffering and fatigue; all their efforts were in vain before the misfortune that befell them: the fire was
Dead! They supported him in three cages. According to the custom of the tribe, four women and two warriors fed him day and night.
Even in the most difficult times, they supported life in it, protected it from bad weather and floods, carried it through rivers and swamps;
Bluish by day and crimson by night, he never parted from them. His mighty face put lions to flight, cavernous and gray
Bears, mammoth, tiger and leopard. His red teeth protected the man from the vast terrible world; all the joys lived only around him! He
He extracted delicious smells from meat, made the ends of horns hard, made stones crack, he cheered people in dense forests, in endless
Savannah, in the depths of the caves. It was the father, the guardian, the savior; when he broke out of the cage and devoured the trees, he became more cruel and
Wilder than mammoths.
And now he's dead! The enemy destroyed two cages; in the third, which survived during the flight, the fire weakened, turned pale and gradually
Decreased. He was so weak that he could not even eat swamp grasses; he trembled like a sick animal, having turned into a small insect
Reddish in color, and every breath of wind threatened to extinguish it... then it disappeared altogether... The Ulamry fled, orphaned, into the autumn night. Stars
Did not have. The heavy sky descended over the heavy waters; plants stretched their cold stems over the fugitives, all that was heard was how
Reptiles rustle. Men, women, children were consumed by darkness. Listening to the voices of their leaders, they tried to move along dry and
Solid ground, fording the encountered streams and swamps. Three generations have known this path. At dawn they came to the savannah. cold light
Seeped through the chalk layers of clouds. The wind swirled on the oily waters like mountain resin. Like abscesses, algae swelled, numb
The lizards lay curled up among the water lilies. A heron sat on a withered tree. Finally, in a red haze, the savannah unfolded with people trembling from the cold.
Plants. The people perked up and, having passed through thickets of reeds, they finally found themselves among the grasses, on solid ground. But here their feverish
Excitation immediately fell, people lay down on the ground, froze in immobility; women, more resilient than men, losing their children in
Swamps, howling like she-wolves, those who saved their babies, lifted them up to the clouds. When it dawned, Faum with the help of fingers and branches
I counted my tribe. Each branch corresponded to the number of fingers on both hands. Remained: four branches of warriors, more than six branches of women,
About three branches of children, a few old people.
Old Gong said they survived - one man out of five, one woman out of three, and one child out of a whole branch.
The Ulamr felt the enormity of the misfortune. They realized that their offspring were threatened with death. The forces of nature became more and more formidable.
People will roam the earth, miserable and naked.
Despair seized even the courageous Faum. He no longer relied on his huge hands. On his large, overgrown with stiff bristles
His face, in his yellow eyes like a leopard's, was mortally tired; he examined his wounds inflicted by the spear and darts of the enemy, licking
The tongue of blood seeping from his wounded shoulder.
In the impenetrable night, the Ulamry fled, mad with suffering and fatigue; all their efforts were in vain before the misfortune that befell them: the fire was dead! They supported him in three cages. According to the custom of the tribe, four women and two warriors fed him day and night.
Even in the most difficult times, they supported life in it, protected it from bad weather and floods, carried it through rivers and swamps; bluish by daylight and crimson by night, he never parted from them. His mighty face put lions, cave and gray bears, mammoth, tiger and leopard to flight. His red teeth protected the man from the vast terrible world; all the joys lived only around him! He extracted delicious smells from meat, hardened the ends of horns, made stones crack, he encouraged people in dense forests, in endless savannah, in the depths of caves. It was the father, the guardian, the savior; when he broke out of the cage and devoured the trees, he became more cruel and wild than mammoths.
And now he's dead! The enemy destroyed two cages; in the third, which survived during the flight, the fire weakened, grew pale and gradually decreased. He was so weak that he could not even eat swamp grasses; he trembled like a sick animal, turning into a small insect of a reddish color, and every breath of wind threatened to extinguish him ... then he disappeared altogether ... The Ulamry fled, orphaned, into the autumn night. There were no stars. The heavy sky descended over the heavy waters; the plants stretched their cold stalks over the fugitives, and all that was heard was the rustling of the reptiles. Men, women, children were consumed by darkness. Listening to the voices of their leaders, they tried to move on dry and hard land, fording the streams and swamps they encountered. Three generations have known this path. At dawn they came to the savannah. Cold light seeped through the chalk layers of clouds. The wind swirled on the oily waters like mountain resin. Algae swelled like pustules, petrified lizards lay curled up among the water lilies. A heron sat on a withered tree. Finally, in a red haze, a savannah unfolded with plants trembling from the cold. The people perked up and, having passed through thickets of reeds, they finally found themselves among the grasses, on solid ground. But then their feverish excitement immediately fell, people lay down on the ground, froze in immobility; women, more enduring than men, having lost their children in the swamps, howled like she-wolves, those who saved their babies, lifted them up to the clouds. When dawn broke, Faum counted his tribe with his fingers and branches. Each branch corresponded to the number of fingers on both hands. Remained: four branches of warriors, more than six branches of women, about three branches of children, several old men.
Old Gong said they survived - one man out of five, one woman out of three, and one child out of a whole branch.
The Ulamr felt the enormity of the misfortune. They realized that their offspring were threatened with death. The forces of nature became more and more formidable. People will roam the earth, miserable and naked.
Despair seized even the courageous Faum. He no longer relied on his huge hands. On his large face, overgrown with stiff bristles, in his yellow eyes, like those of a leopard, there was a deadly weariness; he examined his wounds inflicted by the spear and darts of the enemy, licking the blood oozing from his wounded shoulder with his tongue.
He tried to recall the picture of the battle in his memory. The Ulamr rushed into battle. His club crushed the heads of enemies. Ulamr will destroy men, lead away women, kill enemy fire, drive enemies into savannahs and impenetrable forests. What happened? Why did the ulamri take flight, why did their bones begin to crack, why did their bellies spill out their entrails, their death moans escape from their mouths, while the enemy, flooding the camp, destroyed the sacred fire? So Faum asked himself, tired and heavy. He went berserk at the mere recollection of this battle, wriggling like a hyena, he did not want to be defeated, he still felt enough strength, courage, cruelty in himself.
The sun rose. Its bright rays spilled over the swamp, penetrating the mud, draining the savannah. They had the joy of the morning, the freshness of plants. The water now seemed lighter, less treacherous and dangerous. She was silver among the copper-rusty islands; it was covered with a light swell of malachite and pearls, it spread scales of mica. Through the thickets of willow and alder came her delicate scent. Algae, lilies, yellow water lilies sparkled in the play of chiaroscuro, killer whales, swamp milkweeds, loosestrife, arrowheads flashed by. Thickets of buttercups with aconite leaves, patterns of shaggy rabbit cabbage alternated with wild flax, bittercress, sundews. In thickets of bushes and reeds swarmed with water hens, teals, plovers, and green-winged lapwings. On the shores of small reddish coves, herons stood as if on guard; on the cape, flapping their wings, cranes frolicked; a toothy pike hunted tench. Dragonflies, flashing green lights, flew in the crevices of the stones of lapis lazuli.
Faum contemplated his tribe. Misfortune lay on people like the droppings of a reptile. Lemon-yellow, blood-red, green as seaweed, the people spread the smell of fever and rotting meat. Some lay curled up like snakes, others stretched out like a lizard, and others wheezed in their death throes. Wounds inflicted on the stomach turned black and hideous; the wounds on the heads seemed larger than their size from the blood dried on the hair. All these people will be healthy. Mortally wounded died on the other side or during the crossing. Faum, tearing his eyes away from the sleeping ones, began to examine those who suffered from defeat more than from fatigue. They were real ulamrs: large, heavy heads, low foreheads and strong jaws; skin of a reddish tone, hairy torsos, strong arms and legs. The sharpness of their senses, especially their sense of smell, they could compete with animals. There was a sullen ferocity in their gazes. The eyes of children and young girls were especially beautiful.
Although in many of its characteristics the Ulamr tribe approached the savages of our time, but this similarity was far from complete.
The Paleolithic tribes harbored a youth that will never return, a flowering of life whose energy and strength we can hardly imagine.
Faum raised his hands to the sky with a long groan:
“What will become of the Ulamr without fire?” he exclaimed. - How will they live in the savannah and in the forest, who will protect them from the darkness and winds of winter? They will have to eat raw meat and bitter vegetables. Who will warm their chilled bodies? The tip of the horn will remain soft. A lion, a beast with tearing teeth, a bear, a tiger, a big hyena will devour them at night! Whoever takes possession of the fire again, he will become the brother of Faum, he will receive a third of the hunt, a fourth of all the booty; he will receive Gammla, my daughter, and after my death he will become the leader of the tribe.
Then Nao, son of the Leopard, got up and said:
“Let them give me two swift-footed warriors, and I will go and win the fire from the sons of the mammoth or from the devourers of people who hunt on the banks of the Big River.
Faum looked at him unfriendly. Nao was the tallest of all the ulamrs. His shoulders were broad. There was no more dexterous and quick warrior than Nao. He defeated Mu, the son of the Boar, whose strength was equal to that of Faum. Faum was afraid of him. He gave him humiliating work, alienated him from the tribe, exposed him to mortal dangers.
Nao did not like the leader, but at the sight of Gammla he came to admiration; she was slender, lithe, mysterious, her hair like dense foliage. Nao often lay in wait for her in the willow bush, hiding behind the trees, or in the ravine. At the sight of her, he was seized with either tenderness or anger, sometimes he opened his arms to press her quietly and gently, sometimes he wanted to pounce on her, as they do with girls from enemy tribes, knock her to the ground with a blow of a club. However, he did not want to harm her: if she were his wife, he would treat her without rudeness. He didn't like the look of fear on people's faces; it made people strangers.
At another time, Faum would have been angry at Nao's words. But misfortune twisted him.
Perhaps an alliance with the son of the Leopard will be beneficial? Otherwise, he will be able to put him to death. And turning to young man, he said:
Faum has only one language. If you bring the fire, you will get Gammla without any ransom. You will become the son of Faum.
He raised his hand and spoke slowly and sternly. Then he made a sign to Hammla.
She approached, trembling, lifting up her beautiful eyes, full of a moist gleam. She knew that Nao was waiting for her among the grasses, in the darkness, and when he appeared from there, as if wanting to throw himself at her, she was frightened; but sometimes his image was sweet to her; she wished at the same time that he would die under the blows of the devourers of people and that he would be the winner and bring fire.
Faum put his heavy hand on the girl's shoulder.
“Which of the girls can compare with Gamla?” She can easily carry a female deer on her shoulder, walk tirelessly from sunrise to sunset, endure hunger and thirst, dress the skins of animals, swim across lakes. She will produce healthy children. If Nao brings fire, he will have it without any axes, horns, furs, or shells in return.
Then Ago, the son of the Bison, the hairiest of the Ulamrs, approached, full of lust:
“Ago wants to conquer the fire!” He will go with his brothers and lie in wait for the enemy on the other side of the river. He will either die from the blows of an ax, a spear, the teeth of a tiger, the claws of a giant lion, or he will return the fire to the Ulamrs, without which they are weak and helpless, like a deer or a saiga.
On his face were visible only the mouth, framed by the raw meat of the lips, and the eyes of the killer. His stocky figure emphasized even more the length of his arms and the width of his shoulders; his whole being expressed an extraordinary strength, tireless and ruthless. No one knew its limits: he did not use it against Faum, or against Mu, or against Nao. They only knew that his strength was enormous. He never tested it in a peaceful struggle: but none of those who stood in his way could resist him. He either mutilated his opponents or destroyed them by attaching their skulls to his trophies. He lived away from the other ulamri with his two brothers, who were as hairy as he was, and several wives whom he kept in terrible slavery. Although the Ulamrs themselves were not known for their softness of character, the cruelty of the sons of the Zubr frightened even the most cruel of them. The sons of the Bison aroused vague discontent in the Ulamri. This dissatisfaction was the first glimpse of the consciousness of common interests in the face of danger.
Many of the Ulamr reproached Nao for not being stern enough. But this vice in a formidable warrior was to the liking of those who did not possess either strong muscles or dexterity.
Faum hated Ago as much as Nao, but he feared him even more. The hidden strength of the brothers seemed invulnerable to him. If one of them wanted the death of a person, then all three wanted the same. Anyone who declared war on them had to either die himself or destroy them all.
The leader was looking for an alliance with the sons of the Bison, but his fawning ran into a blank wall of their mistrust. Faum was, perhaps, himself no less cruel and distrustful than Ago and his brothers, but he possessed some qualities of a leader: indulgence towards his followers, caring for their needs, and rare courage.
He replied with rude indifference:
- If the son of the Bison returns the fire to the ulamrams, he will receive Gammla without a ransom, he will be the second person in the horde, in the absence of the leader, all the soldiers will obey him.
Ago listened with a fierce expression. Turning his hairy face to Gammla, he looked at her greedily, with lust. In his round eyes threatened.
- The daughter of the Swamp will belong to the son of the Bison; whoever trespasses on it will perish.
Nao, enraged by these words, immediately accepted the challenge and declared:
“Gammla will belong to the one who returns the fire.
“Ago will bring him back!”
They looked at each other. Until that day, there had been no cause for strife between them.
Conscious of mutual strength, they, being neither adversaries nor friends, never once encountered each other even when hunting. Faum's speech engendered hatred in them.
Ago, who had not even looked at Gammla the day before as she sneaked across the savannah, trembled all over as soon as Faum began to praise the girl. He was seized with a sudden passion. It seemed to him that he had been striving to possess this girl for a long time. But from now on, he should have no rivals. He felt it with all his being.
Nao understood that. He tightened his grip on his ax with his left hand, and his horn with his right. At Ago's challenge, his brothers appeared, silent, gloomy and terrible. They were strangely like him, red-haired, with tufts of reddish bristles on their faces, with eyes shining like the elytra of a ground beetle. Their dexterity was no less dangerous than their strength.
All three, ready to kill, lay in wait for Nao's every move. But a murmur arose among the warriors. Even those who condemned Nao for being soft on his opponent didn't want him dead, especially after so many ulamri had died. And besides, he promised to return the fire to them! Everyone knew that he was skilled in military cunning, tireless in the fight, knew the secret of how to support the weakest tribe and make it rise from the ashes. Many believed in his success.
True, Ago also possessed the patience and cunning necessary for this work, and the Ulamry understood the benefit of a double attempt to get fire.
They got up noisily. Nao's supporters cheered themselves up with shouts and prepared for battle.
Alien to fear, the son of the Bison, however, did not neglect caution. He postponed the fight. Gong Dry Bones expressed the vague thoughts of the crowd:
“Do the ulamri want to disappear from the face of the earth?” Have they forgotten that the enemy and the flood destroyed many soldiers: out of four, only one remained. Anyone who is able to carry a stalk, an ax and a club must live. Nao and Ago are the strongest of the men who hunt in the forest and the savannah; if one of them dies, the Ulamr will be further weakened. The daughter of the Swamp will belong to the one who brings us back the fire. This is the will of the tribe!
“So be it,” said the hoarse voices.
Women, formidable in their numbers, terrible in their untouched strength and community of their feelings, exclaimed:
“Gammla will belong to the one who conquers the fire!”
Ago raised his hairy shoulders. He hated the crowd, but did not see fit to enter into an argument. Confident that he would get ahead of Nao, he firmly decided to destroy his opponent on occasion.
His heart was filled with cruelty.
Current page: 1 (the book has 11 pages in total)
Joseph Roni Sr.
Fight for fire
(Wild times. Fight for fire-1)
PART ONE
Chapter I. The Death of Fire
In the impenetrable night, the Ulamry fled, mad with suffering and fatigue; all their efforts were in vain before the misfortune that befell them: the fire was dead! They supported him in three cages. According to the custom of the tribe, four women and two warriors fed him day and night.
Even in the most difficult times, they supported life in it, protected it from bad weather and floods, carried it through rivers and swamps; bluish by daylight and crimson by night, he never parted from them. His mighty face put lions, cave and gray bears, mammoth, tiger and leopard to flight. His red teeth protected the man from the vast terrible world; all the joys lived only around him! He extracted delicious smells from meat, hardened the ends of horns, made stones crack, he encouraged people in dense forests, in endless savannah, in the depths of caves. It was the father, the guardian, the savior; when he broke out of the cage and devoured the trees, he became more cruel and wild than mammoths.
And now he's dead! The enemy destroyed two cages; in the third, which survived during the flight, the fire weakened, grew pale and gradually decreased. He was so weak that he could not even eat swamp grasses; he trembled like a sick animal, turning into a small insect of a reddish color, and every breath of wind threatened to extinguish him ... then he disappeared altogether ... The Ulamry fled, orphaned, into the autumn night. There were no stars. The heavy sky descended over the heavy waters; the plants stretched their cold stalks over the fugitives, and all that was heard was the rustling of the reptiles. Men, women, children were consumed by darkness. Listening to the voices of their leaders, they tried to move on dry and hard land, fording the streams and swamps they encountered. Three generations have known this path. At dawn they came to the savannah. Cold light seeped through the chalk layers of clouds. The wind swirled on the oily waters like mountain resin. Algae swelled like pustules, petrified lizards lay curled up among the water lilies. A heron sat on a withered tree. Finally, in a red haze, a savannah unfolded with plants trembling from the cold. The people perked up and, having passed through thickets of reeds, they finally found themselves among the grasses, on solid ground. But then their feverish excitement immediately fell, people lay down on the ground, froze in immobility; women, more enduring than men, having lost their children in the swamps, howled like she-wolves, those who saved their babies, lifted them up to the clouds. When dawn broke, Faum counted his tribe with his fingers and branches. Each branch corresponded to the number of fingers on both hands. Remained: four branches of warriors, more than six branches of women, about three branches of children, several old men.
Old Gong said they survived - one man out of five, one woman out of three, and one child out of a whole branch.
The Ulamr felt the enormity of the misfortune. They realized that their offspring were threatened with death. The forces of nature became more and more formidable. People will roam the earth, miserable and naked.
Despair seized even the courageous Faum. He no longer relied on his huge hands. On his large face, overgrown with stiff bristles, in his yellow eyes, like those of a leopard, there was a deadly weariness; he examined his wounds inflicted by the spear and darts of the enemy, licking the blood oozing from his wounded shoulder with his tongue.
He tried to recall the picture of the battle in his memory. The Ulamr rushed into battle. His club crushed the heads of enemies. Ulamr will destroy men, lead away women, kill enemy fire, drive enemies into savannahs and impenetrable forests. What happened? Why did the ulamri take flight, why did their bones begin to crack, why did their bellies spill out their entrails, their death moans escape from their mouths, while the enemy, flooding the camp, destroyed the sacred fire? So Faum asked himself, tired and heavy. He went berserk at the mere recollection of this battle, wriggling like a hyena, he did not want to be defeated, he still felt enough strength, courage, cruelty in himself.
The sun rose. Its bright rays spilled over the swamp, penetrating the mud, draining the savannah. They had the joy of the morning, the freshness of plants. The water now seemed lighter, less treacherous and dangerous. She was silver among the copper-rusty islands; it was covered with a light swell of malachite and pearls, it spread scales of mica. Through the thickets of willow and alder came her delicate scent. Algae, lilies, yellow water lilies sparkled in the play of chiaroscuro, killer whales, swamp milkweeds, loosestrife, arrowheads flashed by. Thickets of buttercups with aconite leaves, patterns of shaggy rabbit cabbage alternated with wild flax, bittercress, sundews. In thickets of bushes and reeds swarmed with water hens, teals, plovers, and green-winged lapwings. On the shores of small reddish coves, herons stood as if on guard; on the cape, flapping their wings, cranes frolicked; a toothy pike hunted tench. Dragonflies, flashing green lights, flew in the crevices of the stones of lapis lazuli.
Faum contemplated his tribe. Misfortune lay on people like the droppings of a reptile. Lemon-yellow, blood-red, green as seaweed, the people spread the smell of fever and rotting meat. Some lay curled up like snakes, others stretched out like a lizard, and others wheezed in their death throes. Wounds inflicted on the stomach turned black and hideous; the wounds on the heads seemed larger than their size from the blood dried on the hair. All these people will be healthy. Mortally wounded died on the other side or during the crossing. Faum, tearing his eyes away from the sleeping ones, began to examine those who suffered from defeat more than from fatigue. They were real ulamrs: large, heavy heads, low foreheads and strong jaws; skin of a reddish tone, hairy torsos, strong arms and legs. The sharpness of their senses, especially their sense of smell, they could compete with animals. There was a sullen ferocity in their gazes. The eyes of children and young girls were especially beautiful.
Although in many of its characteristics the Ulamr tribe approached the savages of our time, but this similarity was far from complete.
The Paleolithic tribes harbored a youth that will never return, a flowering of life whose energy and strength we can hardly imagine.
Faum raised his hands to the sky with a long groan:
“What will become of the Ulamr without fire?” he exclaimed. - How will they live in the savannah and in the forest, who will protect them from the darkness and winds of winter? They will have to eat raw meat and bitter vegetables. Who will warm their chilled bodies? The tip of the horn will remain soft. A lion, a beast with tearing teeth, a bear, a tiger, a big hyena will devour them at night! Whoever takes possession of the fire again, he will become the brother of Faum, he will receive a third of the hunt, a fourth of all the booty; he will receive Gammla, my daughter, and after my death he will become the leader of the tribe.
Then Nao, son of the Leopard, got up and said:
“Let them give me two swift-footed warriors, and I will go and win the fire from the sons of the mammoth or from the devourers of people who hunt on the banks of the Big River.
Faum looked at him unfriendly. Nao was the tallest of all the ulamrs. His shoulders were broad. There was no more dexterous and quick warrior than Nao. He defeated Mu, the son of the Boar, whose strength was equal to that of Faum. Faum was afraid of him. He gave him humiliating work, alienated him from the tribe, exposed him to mortal dangers.
Nao did not like the leader, but at the sight of Gammla he came to admiration; she was slender, lithe, mysterious, her hair like dense foliage. Nao often lay in wait for her in the willow bush, hiding behind the trees, or in the ravine. At the sight of her, he was seized with either tenderness or anger, sometimes he opened his arms to press her quietly and gently, sometimes he wanted to pounce on her, as they do with girls from enemy tribes, knock her to the ground with a blow of a club. However, he did not want to harm her: if she were his wife, he would treat her without rudeness. He didn't like the look of fear on people's faces; it made people strangers.
At another time, Faum would have been angry at Nao's words. But misfortune twisted him.
Perhaps an alliance with the son of the Leopard will be beneficial? Otherwise, he will be able to put him to death. And turning to the young man, he said:
Faum has only one language. If you bring the fire, you will get Gammla without any ransom. You will become the son of Faum.
He raised his hand and spoke slowly and sternly. Then he made a sign to Hammla.
She approached, trembling, lifting up her beautiful eyes, full of a moist gleam. She knew that Nao was waiting for her among the grasses, in the darkness, and when he appeared from there, as if wanting to throw himself at her, she was frightened; but sometimes his image was sweet to her; she wished at the same time that he would die under the blows of the devourers of people and that he would be the winner and bring fire.
Faum put his heavy hand on the girl's shoulder.
“Which of the girls can compare with Gamla?” She can easily carry a female deer on her shoulder, walk tirelessly from sunrise to sunset, endure hunger and thirst, dress the skins of animals, swim across lakes. She will produce healthy children. If Nao brings fire, he will have it without any axes, horns, furs, or shells in return.
Then Ago, the son of the Bison, the hairiest of the Ulamrs, approached, full of lust:
“Ago wants to conquer the fire!” He will go with his brothers and lie in wait for the enemy on the other side of the river. He will either die from the blows of an ax, a spear, the teeth of a tiger, the claws of a giant lion, or he will return the fire to the Ulamrs, without which they are weak and helpless, like a deer or a saiga.
On his face were visible only the mouth, framed by the raw meat of the lips, and the eyes of the killer. His stocky figure emphasized even more the length of his arms and the width of his shoulders; his whole being expressed an extraordinary strength, tireless and ruthless. No one knew its limits: he did not use it against Faum, or against Mu, or against Nao. They only knew that his strength was enormous. He never tested it in a peaceful struggle: but none of those who stood in his way could resist him. He either mutilated his opponents or destroyed them by attaching their skulls to his trophies. He lived away from the other ulamri with his two brothers, who were as hairy as he was, and several wives whom he kept in terrible slavery. Although the Ulamrs themselves were not known for their softness of character, the cruelty of the sons of the Zubr frightened even the most cruel of them. The sons of the Bison aroused vague discontent in the Ulamri. This dissatisfaction was the first glimpse of the consciousness of common interests in the face of danger.
Many of the Ulamr reproached Nao for not being stern enough. But this vice in a formidable warrior was to the liking of those who did not possess either strong muscles or dexterity.
Faum hated Ago as much as Nao, but he feared him even more. The hidden strength of the brothers seemed invulnerable to him. If one of them wanted the death of a person, then all three wanted the same. Anyone who declared war on them had to either die himself or destroy them all.
The leader was looking for an alliance with the sons of the Bison, but his fawning ran into a blank wall of their mistrust. Faum was, perhaps, himself no less cruel and distrustful than Ago and his brothers, but he possessed some qualities of a leader: indulgence towards his followers, caring for their needs, and rare courage.
He replied with rude indifference:
- If the son of the Bison returns the fire to the ulamrams, he will receive Gammla without a ransom, he will be the second person in the horde, in the absence of the leader, all the soldiers will obey him.
Ago listened with a fierce expression. Turning his hairy face to Gammla, he looked at her greedily, with lust. There was menace in his round eyes.
- The daughter of the Swamp will belong to the son of the Bison; whoever trespasses on it will perish.
Nao, enraged by these words, immediately accepted the challenge and declared:
“Gammla will belong to the one who returns the fire.
“Ago will bring him back!”
They looked at each other. Until that day, there had been no cause for strife between them.
Conscious of mutual strength, they, being neither adversaries nor friends, never once encountered each other even when hunting. Faum's speech engendered hatred in them.
Ago, who had not even looked at Gammla the day before as she sneaked across the savannah, trembled all over as soon as Faum began to praise the girl. He was seized with a sudden passion. It seemed to him that he had been striving to possess this girl for a long time. But from now on, he should have no rivals. He felt it with all his being.
Nao understood that. He tightened his grip on his ax with his left hand, and his horn with his right. At Ago's challenge, his brothers appeared, silent, gloomy and terrible. They were strangely like him, red-haired, with tufts of reddish bristles on their faces, with eyes shining like the elytra of a ground beetle. Their dexterity was no less dangerous than their strength.
All three, ready to kill, lay in wait for Nao's every move. But a murmur arose among the warriors. Even those who condemned Nao for being soft on his opponent didn't want him dead, especially after so many ulamri had died. And besides, he promised to return the fire to them! Everyone knew that he was skilled in military cunning, tireless in the fight, knew the secret of how to support the weakest tribe and make it rise from the ashes. Many believed in his success.
True, Ago also possessed the patience and cunning necessary for this work, and the Ulamry understood the benefit of a double attempt to get fire.
They got up noisily. Nao's supporters cheered themselves up with shouts and prepared for battle.
Alien to fear, the son of the Bison, however, did not neglect caution. He postponed the fight. Gong Dry Bones expressed the vague thoughts of the crowd:
“Do the ulamri want to disappear from the face of the earth?” Have they forgotten that the enemy and the flood destroyed many soldiers: out of four, only one remained. Anyone who is able to carry a stalk, an ax and a club must live. Nao and Ago are the strongest of the men who hunt in the forest and the savannah; if one of them dies, the Ulamr will be further weakened. The daughter of the Swamp will belong to the one who brings us back the fire. This is the will of the tribe!
“So be it,” said the hoarse voices.
Women, formidable in their numbers, terrible in their untouched strength and community of their feelings, exclaimed:
“Gammla will belong to the one who conquers the fire!”
Ago raised his hairy shoulders. He hated the crowd, but did not see fit to enter into an argument. Confident that he would get ahead of Nao, he firmly decided to destroy his opponent on occasion.
His heart was filled with cruelty.
Chapter II. mammoths and bison
It was at dawn the next day. The wind fluttered in the clouds, and low over the earth and swamps hung motionless, fragrant, warm air. The sky trembled like a lake, on which algae, water lilies and pale reeds swayed. The morning dawn rolled its foam across the sky; it expanded, overflowing with yellow lagoons, beryl estuaries, rivers of pink mother-of-pearl.
The Ulamr, turning to this great fire, felt something majestic rising in the depths of their souls, which made little birds sing in the grass of the savannah and willows.
The wounded moaned with thirst; the dead warrior lay with his blue limbs spread out; some nocturnal animal had already gnawed at his face. Goon muttered vague complaints in a singsong voice. Faum ordered the corpse to be thrown into the water.
Then the attention of the tribe turned to the conquerors of fire, Ago and Nao, who were preparing to march. The hairy brothers were armed with clubs, axes, spears and darts with jade and flint tips. Nao, who counted more on courage than on strength, chose two young warriors who were agile and fast in running. They were armed with axes, spears and darts. Nao added a burnt oak club to this. He preferred this weapon to any other and used it in the fight against large predators.
Faum turned first to the son of the Bison:
“Ago was born before the son of the Leopard. Let him choose the path first. If he goes to big river, Nao will turn towards the swamps, towards the setting sun... If Ago goes towards the swamp, Nao will turn towards the Big River.
“Ago doesn’t know where he’s going yet,” the hairy man objected. – Ago is looking for fire; he can go in the morning to the river, in the evening to the swamps. Does a hunter, chasing a wild boar, know where he will kill him?
“Ago can change the path,” Goon interjected, supported by the murmur of the crowd, “but he cannot simultaneously go to the setting sun and to the Big River. Let him say where he will go!
In the depths of his dark soul, the son of the Bison realized that he would make a mistake not by disobeying the leader, but by arousing Nao's suspicions. Turning his wolfish gaze to the crowd, he exclaimed:
- Ago will go to the setting sun! - and, making a sign to his brothers, he set off along the swamps.
Nao didn't immediately follow suit. He wished once again to capture the image of Gammla in his eyes. She stood under the ash tree behind the chief, Gong, and the other old men. Nao approached her; she did not move, turning to face the savannah. Her hair was woven with arrowflower flowers and moon-coloured non-nufars; it seemed as if a light radiated from her skin, brighter than from the stream of the river and from the green body of the trees.
Nao felt a lust for life, a restless, powerful desire that takes possession of animals and plants. His heart began to beat violently, he choked with tenderness and anger; anyone who could separate him from Gammla seemed to him now as hateful as the sons of Mammoth or the devourers of people.
He raised his hand, armed with an axe, and said:
“Daughter of the Swamp!” Nao will either not return at all - he will disappear in the earth, in the water, in the belly of the hyena - or he will bring fire to the ulamrams. He will bring Gammla shells, leopard teeth, blue stones, bison horns!
At these words, the girl cast a look at the warrior, in which the joy of a child trembled. But Faum interrupted him impatiently:
- The sons of the Bison have already disappeared behind the poplars!
Then Nao went towards the south.
The whole day Nao, Woof and Nam walked across the savannah. She was in the prime of her life; the grasses swayed, ran over each other like waves of the sea, the savannah swayed in a light breeze, cracked in the sun, radiated innumerable aromas into the air. It was formidable and plentiful, monotonous in its immensity and at the same time varied. St. John's wort, sage, buttercups, heartworts bloomed among the sea of cereals, islands of gorse, peninsulas of heather. In places, the bare earth lived a slow life of stones that resisted the onslaught of vegetation. Further on stretched the fields again, dotted with blossoming mallows, wild roses, cornflowers, red clover and bushes.
Low hills interspersed with hollows and swamps, where insects and reptiles swarmed. Here and there bizarre rocks raised their profile of a mammoth above the plain. Antelopes, hares appeared and disappeared in the grass, pursued by wolves and dogs. Bustards, partridges glided in the air, cranes and crows soared. Herds of horses and herds of elks crossed the green plain, where a gray bear with the habits of a great ape and a rhinoceros, stronger than a tiger, and as formidable as a giant lion, slowly wandered. Nao, Nam, and Gav camped at the foot of the mound for the night; they had not gone a tenth of the savanna yet, they saw only the raging waves of grass. All around was flat, monotonous steppe. The setting sun melted into gloomy clouds. Looking at the countless reflections of the clouds, Nao thought of a small flame that he must conquer. It seemed that it was enough to climb the hills, stretch pine branch to kindle it from a fire dying out in the west.
The clouds turned black. The purple abyss lay in the depths of space, small, sparkling pebbles of stars appeared one after another. Breathed in the breath of the night.
Nao, accustomed to watchfires, to this bright barrier protecting people from the sea of darkness, now felt his weakness and helplessness more sharply. A gray bear or a leopard, a tiger or a lion, might appear at any moment, although they rarely penetrated the depths of the savannah; a herd of aurochs could trample on a weak human body; the large numbers gave the wolves the strength of large predators, hunger armed them with courage.
The warriors ate raw meat. It was a sad meal; they preferred the smell of fried food. Nao was the first to stand guard. He breathed in the night with all his being. He perceived its subtlest, elusive shades. His vision caught the glow of objects, their pale forms, the movement of shadows. His hearing distinguished the rustle of the breeze, the crackling of plants, the flight of insects and birds of prey, the steps and crawling of animals. From a distance he recognized the squeal of a jackal, the laughter of a hyena, the howl of wolves, the cry of an eagle; the breath of a flower in love, the pleasant smell of herbs, the stench of predators, the cloying smell of reptiles penetrated his nostrils. His skin received a thousand impressions received from cold and heat, from dampness and dryness, from the slightest change in the wind. His life merged with the life of nature.
This life was full of dangers. Creation was accompanied by destruction; life was bought only by strength, cunning, tireless struggle. Danger lay in every bush for Nao: teeth that could gnaw through it, claws that could tear it apart. The fiery eyes of a predator threatened him from the darkness of the night.
However, most of the animals, considering man as a strong animal, passed by him. Gone are the hyenas; their mouths were worse than lions, but hyenas avoided attacking living people, they were looking for carrion; a pack of wolves stopped, but the wolves did not touch the people, because they were not very hungry and, preferring easier prey, moved in the footsteps of antelopes; wolf-like dogs appeared, howling around the mound for a long time. Sometimes one or two of them crept very close to the camp of people, but fear of the bipeds kept them from attacking.
There was a time when they roamed around the Ulamr camp in great numbers, devouring the dregs and taking part in the hunt. Old Goon made friends with two dogs, he fed them the entrails and bones of animals. Both of them died in a fight with a boar. It was not possible to tame the others, since Faum, having become a leader, ordered the killing of all dogs. Nao liked the friendship with dogs, it made a person stronger and more confident. But here, in the savannah, he considered meeting them dangerous - there was a whole pack of dogs, and only three people.
Meanwhile, the dogs surrounded the mound more closely; they stopped barking, breathing rapidly. Nao was worried. He took the stone and threw it at the most daring of the pack.
- We have horns and clubs, they can destroy a bear, a bison and a lion! he shouted.
The stone hit the dog in the head. Frightened by the blow and the sound of a human voice, the dog disappeared into the darkness. The rest gathered in a heap. They seemed to be talking about something. Nao threw a rock at them again.
“Where are you going to fight the Ulamr!” Come, hunt for saiga and wolves. Just dare to approach, I will release your guts!
Nao walked for seven days. So far, he has successfully managed to avoid dangers; their number increased as they approached the forest. Although the forest was still a few days' walk away, its first harbingers had already begun to appear: islands of trees, large predators. The Ulamry have already met a tiger and a large panther. The nights were getting more and more dangerous. The Ulamrams had to seek refuge in the evening; they took refuge in the crevices of the rocks, among the bushes, they did not dare to spend the night on the trees. On the eighth and ninth day they became thirsty. No brook, no swamp, all around a scorched desert; withered reptiles shone among the stones; insects filled the air with a restless flutter, they flew, drawing copper, jade, mother-of-pearl spirals, they dug into the skin of warriors and pricked them with their sharp proboscises.
On the ninth day the earth became fresh and soft, the scent of the waters descended from the hills; the ulamrs saw a herd of aurochs heading south. Then Nao said to his comrades:
We'll quench our thirst before sunset! The bison go to the watering place.
Nam, the son of Poplar, and Gav, the son of Saiga, straightened their thirsty bodies. These were clever young men, but they lacked determination, they needed to be nurtured courage, self-confidence, endurance. But they were submissive, prone to joy, and easily forgot suffering. Left to their own devices, they were easily confused in the face of any danger, so they preferred not to separate. Nao sensed in them an extension of his own strength. Their hands were agile, their legs were flexible, their eyes were vigilant, their ears were sharp. They were faithful servants and easily submitted to the courage and will of the leader. During the ten days of the journey, they became deeply attached to Nao. He was for them a representative of the family, the embodiment of strength, a protector and patron. And when Nao walked ahead of them, drunk in the morning, rejoicing in his strong body, they were drawn to him with their whole being, like a tree reaching for the light.
Nao felt it rather than understood it, this feeling raised him in his own eyes and gave him confidence in victory.
Long shadows lay down from the trees, the grasses drank to their heart's content the earth's juice. The setting sun, large and yellow, illuminated a herd of bison, which looked from a distance like a muddy stream of water.
Nao's last doubts dissipated: there was water on the other side of the hills - this was prompted to him by instinct, numerous animals making their way behind the aurochs testified to this. Like Nao, his companions sensed a cool dampness in the air.
“We have to get ahead of the bison,” Nao said.
He was afraid that the reservoir would be too small and the bison would occupy its banks. The warriors quickened their pace.
The bison moved slowly - the old bulls were cautious, the young ones were tired. The Ulamr quickly reached the top of the hill. Other animals were also in a hurry, they also wanted to be the first at the watering hole. Light saigas, moufflons, jigetai ran hastily, a herd of horses rushed across them. Many of them have already crossed the hill. Nao was ahead of the bison: it will be possible to drink slowly. When people reached the pass, bison were still at its foot. Nam and Gav quickened their pace even more; their thirst increased; they went over the hill and saw water. She was a mother, a creator, more beneficent and less cruel than fire. Their eyes opened to a lake, stretched out at the foot of the rocks, cut by islets, on the right fed by the streams of the river, on the left falling into the abyss. It was possible to go to it in three ways: along the river, by the pass that the ulamrs had passed, and by another, between the rocks. In other places, the lake was surrounded by basalt walls.
The warriors cheered for the water, orange from the setting sun. Lean saigas, small stocky horses, wild donkeys with thin hooves, moufflons with bearded muzzles, several goats, fragile as autumn leaves; apart from them stood an old deer, on whose forehead a whole tree seemed to grow. But of these, only the boar quenched his thirst, slowly, without fear, the rest of the animals drank, ears pricked up, ready to flee at any second. "The weak must live in constant fear" - this was the law of primitive life.
Suddenly, the heads of the animals turned to one side. This happened quickly and caused confusion. A moment later - horses, deer, wild goats, moufflons were already running west under a shower of scarlet rays. Only one boar remained in place; he stood, rolling his bloody little eyes in silky eyelashes. A pack of large wolves appeared, on high legs, with a large mouth, with close-set yellow eyes. The Ulamr grabbed their spears and javelins. The boar bared its twisted fangs and roared furiously. The wolves, with their sharp eyes and thin nostrils, measured the strength of the enemy and, considering him dangerous, rushed in pursuit of the fleeing animals.
Their departure brought calm, and the ulamrs, having quenched their thirst, began to deliberate. Dusk was approaching; the sun was sinking behind the rocks, it was too late to continue the journey. Where to look for an overnight stay?
- The bison are coming! Nao said. He looked at the western pass. All three listened, then lay down on the ground.
- These are not bison! Gav whispered.
- They're mammoths! Nao said.
The Ulamr hurriedly surveyed the area. Between the basalt mound and the wall of red porphyry with a rather wide ledge, along which a large animal could easily pass, a river flowed. The Ulamr climbed the mountain. Water seethed in the darkness of the stone abyss; trees stretched out horizontally over the abyss, broken by landslides or their own weight, some of them rose from the depths of the gorge, very thin and tall. All their energy was spent in stretching the bunch of leaves towards the pale light; overgrown with moss, entwined with lianas, eaten away by fungi, they showed the inviolable long-suffering of the vanquished.
We were the first to see the cave. Low, not very deep, irregular shape. The Ulamrs at first looked at her long and intently. Then Nao, head bowed to the ground, nostrils widening, entered it ahead of his comrades. Skeletons with pieces of skin, horns, jaws were lying in the cave. Obviously, the owner of the cave was a strong and formidable hunter. Nao tried to catch his scent.
“This is a gray bear cave,” he said. “More than one new moon has passed since it was empty.
Us and Gav did not yet know this monstrous animal - ulamrs roamed in places where there were tigers, lions, bison, even mammoths, but the gray bear was rarely caught. Nao met him during his distant wanderings, he knew his blind, like a rhinoceros, cruelty and strength, almost equal to the strength of a giant lion, his monstrous fearlessness. It is possible that the bear left the cave completely or moved only to a short time maybe something bad happened to him. Confident that the animal would not come that night, Nao decided to take over his dwelling. At this time, a terrible roar shook the rocks and swept along the river: the bison came! Their mighty voices echoed in this strange place. Nao listened, not without emotion, to the roar of these huge animals. Man rarely hunted bison. Bulls possessed such growth, such strength and dexterity, which their descendants no longer knew; they felt their strength and were not afraid of even the largest predators.
The Ulamr came out of the cave. They were excited by the extraordinary spectacle, their dark mind caught without thought, without words, that courageous beauty that lurked in the depths of their own being; they foresaw the anxiety that hundreds of centuries later would give birth to the poetry of the great barbarians.
No sooner had the ulamr emerged from the cave than the roar was heard again, less violent, less rhythmic, not like the roar of aurochs; nevertheless, he announced the approach of animals, the most powerful of all that roamed the earth at that time.
