My name is Brylaneth daughter of Eonor of Black Stag Vale. I'll tell you the tale of the days after I became a woman.
Wurk and Collan Fire-Hair had both gone through their initiations too, and Wurk was showing Erynn that he liked her. She was the foster-daughter of Goranor. That day was the first time I saw the Red Crow. He was watching us from above. Wurk's father told him we should stay away from Red Crow, but I didn't listen.
We had a contest of throwing javelins at a target. Bothildr wanted to compete with the young men and go through the men's initiation. I tried throwing my javelin against the other young women and my aim was good. I didn't win the contest but I hit the target well on my first round. The second round I missed. Bothildr's javelin nearly went through the target and came out the other side.
Later on I watched Bothildr playing hide and seek with Ernina. I ran a footrace against Bothildr and did well, but Collan Fire-Hair well outran the priestess's child. I danced against Bothildr and lost at that, but I was the better singer of the two of us that day. I did better at that than when I danced for the Earth Mother. I didn't do so badly as to bring shame on my family, but I forgot the proper order of the steps.
When we all ate together the tale of the Black Stag and the Seven-Tailed Wolf was told, I remember. Esrola snuck off while we ate. Keladon Blue-Eye told stories of his tricking Fazzur Wideread. Then he told a grimmer tale, of the duck that warned the clan of danger.
On the eighth day after the initiation there was another feast.
On Fire Day of Movement Week in Sea Season of that year I helped for the first time as an adult with caring for the dead. An old woman, I can't remember her name. I helped the other women wash her body and say the prayers and sing over her, and we put out her hearth fire and stood watch over her for seven days.
Wild Day was the holy day for Issaries. Wurk sang and make a good speech. There were sacrifices and we enjoyed beer and ale. In the evening everyone gathered together. Arlanda flirted with Collan Fire-Hair and they went off behind a shed together. I spend a little while with Erynn and saw that she liked Wurk.
After the beginning of the year Wurk and Collan both acquired shadowcats. Wurk named his Rops and Collan called his Shadow. Wurk was sent to take some cattle from Cliff Shield to new pasture - Wurk's father Shorr was a herder. I went along because I didn't have any duties at home. We went with Gorhas and his son Andren. We heard an animal scream as we went along and found that two sabercats had brought down a ghost deer stag and were trying to slay the doe too. Wurk tried to scare them by beating his spear on his shield but they didn't care. I wanted to cast a befuddlement spell on the male cat but the magic wasn't in me then. Gorhas came to where we were and told Andren to take the cows away. He took his spear and thrust it at the cat. In the time since I've forgotten what happened to the cats, but I remember seeing the dead stag and hearing the doe's scream.
The night after that I saw the Black Stag in a dream. I went to the village hall but I'd forgotten to put on my clothes. There was a circle of swords floating in front of me and I hid behind it until I found a robe to wear. There were other people at the hall but I didn't know why they were there. They didn't seem to see the swords. But the Black Stag saw the swords and he nodded and they disappeared. The Black Stag nodded at me. I saw the Inner Ring and the Outer Ring of the Vale there too, and Chabo the old cranky shaman. He smacked his apprentice with a stick. Then I saw the Red Crow with the Black Stag. He was painted white with ash and his hair stuck straight out. The Black Stag stepped back and I saw that Red Crow's shadow was shaped like a crow and it was red. He seemed big, and then he wasn't big because he didn't need to be big to impress anyone. He and the Black Stag seemed familiar with one another. Then the Stag was gone, and now I was with the Crow. The swords had come back, but they folded together and I felt an aura like an opening, a gateway to somewhere else. After that I woke.
Collan told us later he'd had a dream too, of a thane in the river that might have been a water spirit. This spirit came out of the water as a brown-haired young man wearing nice clothes. He mirrored Collan's movements. He had a huge goblet in his hand that he used to scoop some fish out of the river, and Collan knew this was a good omen. Then he woke up.
Wurk said he dreamed about Erynn.
In Illusion week of Sea Season, Wurk got permission from his father to talk to Borkar about learning the ways of a merchant. Wurk didn't want to be a herdsman like his father. Erynn said she'd wait for him.
A few days later Wurk arranged to teach some children about herding so they could help his father when he went off with Borkar. He sought Aventarl's younger brother Doraso from Bear Fallen. Aventarl told him to talk to the thane, Ernina Copper-Axe, but get to know her first.
At that same time I decided to seek out Red Crow. I went to the west side of the plateau where I had seen him before in the waking world and saw him with the Stag again. The Stag went off to the west and Red Crow strolled northward. I followed him and walked faster until I caught up with him. We came to a place in a ravine where there was a waterfall, and Red Crow went behind it. I hesitated. I could smell food. I looked around the waterfall and realized it was like a curtain and I could walk behind it. There was a cave behind the water.
Red Crow was in the cave cooking. He nodded to me to sit down and then nodded for me to get some bowls. He gave me some good fish stew. It had some vegetable in it I didn't recognize. In person he wasn't as big as he seemed in my dream.
We didn't talk while we ate, but after a while he said to me that he knew I was a good student and he could use a helper and I could learn. He also told me that if I saw a crow to consider it him, and to consider him the crow. If both were in the cave they were both him.
After that I went to the cave whenever I could. I cleaned and took care of things for him. There were lots of interesting things in his cave, but he told me not to touch them. He still didn't talk much, but he did tell me about the uses of herbs and plants that the women in the Vale don't use for potions or poultices.
Wurk found several kids to take over the herding for him. He had Andren, and the twins Kiyora and Kiyara, but they had to get permission from their father Tarn Sharp-Eyed first. Tarn gave permission. While they were out they spotted a puma, but it fled. Wurk told the young ones what to do if they saw a predator and how to summon help if they needed it.
One day I was on the way home from the Red Crow's cave when I saw a shadowcat acting strange, like it was trying to get my attention. I lost sight of it and went home. That night I went to Ernalda's temple and was entertained by Collan's behavior there. He was only interested in finding dreaming mushrooms.
Wurk had a surprise when he was out with the herd the next day and he found Andren, who was always odd, petting an aurochs bull. The bull was so friendly it went into the herd and had its way with three hiefers.
On Windsnight I was heading home again and saw the same cat as before. It acted like it wanted me to follow it. I did, and it led me to a ravine to the north where there had been a landslide. The cat turned to the right and suddenly I saw bear cubs to the left. I turned around and the mother bear was right behind me. She wasn't happy to see me so near to her cubs. She swung her paw at me and nearly took my left arm off at the shoulder. I tried to use the Stag's Leap to get away but I was too hurt and scared to do it.
Then the Red Crow appeared. He made a pushing motion at the bear, and the shadowcat leaped on her back and clawed her. There were sparkles around the bear, like little embers flying out of a fire. She seemed confused. She took her cubs and ran.
The Red Crow healed my arm with his magic, but I still have the scar. The shadowcat seemed anxious again and was pawing at some of the fallen rocks. Red Crow started pulling the rocks away and motioned for me to help. We spent a long time moving rocks. Red Crow created a light. We moved rocks until we exposed a little den where the cat's mate and kittens had been trapped. They took the kittens and moved them to a new den.
On Gods Day Wurk found he had another student for learning about herding cows. The other kids brought Ashart, son of Beroth the cottar.
That night was Eurmal's feast night. Jaryan nephew of Karenstar joined our group then. He was looking for someone to sponsor him in a cult. He offered a gift of food and sang a song of Orlanth's initiation, but he didn't find a sponsor.
We heard that the people in Twice Blessed needed some cattle. That was where Jaryan lived. While we were climbing up the hillside I fell and hit my head on a rock.
That night I we stood watches over the cows. I had the last watch, but while it was Collan's watch he spotted Sambori raiders creeping up on us. They were all well armed. There were six of them. Collan banged on his shield to ward them off and wake the rest of us. He set his shadowcat on one of them and it ripped open the raider's leg. The raiders used Stag's Leap to flee.
Then we spied something glinting down in a ravine. I improvised a torch with my magic and Collan and I climbed down to see what it was and this time I didn't fall. The wolf had been stabbed with a spear that was still in the body, but the youth showed no wound though his leg was broken.
When we had the body where Wurk could see it he said he knew this boy. His name was Killed Three Bears and Wurk had met him during his initiation. They had helped each other so Wurk wanted to take the body back to the Telmori. In the morning we went toward the Telmori territory. When we came to the boundary Sees Far and Black Fang came out to meet us. They told us the one who'd attacked Jaryan was a rival to Killed Three Bears. Sees Far told us they'd remember what we did. We knew they would owe us a favor for bringing back the body of Killed Three Bears.
The holy day of Lhankor Mhy came and Jordi and Gordangar bickered like they always did about who was best suited to be chief. The food ran out but Jordi made himself look good by having a whole ox butchered and roasted.
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