Kavio
"Forgive me if it seemed I was not kind, nephew," said Hertio. "You helped us save the Initiates, and I'm thankful. I know you've been exiled. I want to give you a home. A purpose. And…" He pointed at the Bear Shields. "…an army."
Hertio had not changed much in the ten years since Kavio met him as a child. The man still smelled like garlic. His belly was round and wide, like a drunk man's grin.
It was polite to call an elder man "uncle," but Kavio still remembered their talks from years ago with true fondness. Even so, he never forgot that Hertio was clever and dangerous.
"You are too generous, uncle," Kavio said.
"I am, aren't I?" Hertio laughed and clapped Kavio's back. "Today, we count the deathdebts. We will blood the spear with vengeance before the moon grows full."
"No, I mean you are too generous," said Kavio. "If you give me a place here as a war leader, it will pull the problems of Rainbow Labyrinth into Yellow Bear."
"The cub wants to teach the bear how to fish." Hertio punched him in the arm—not quite playfully.
"I must say no," said Kavio.
The dust in the kraal felt dry and hot in his mouth. He heard the shuffle of armed warriors nearby. Some were still breathing hard after the fight. Hertio had thrown him into the bear pit before making this offer. That insult had not been a mistake.
Hertio didn't argue. He gave orders for the men to bring the death jars, and he asked Kavio to walk with him to the Tor of the Stone Hedge to collect the fallen.
On the walk to the hill, Hertio talked about his family.
"You remember Lulla, my oldest daughter? She finished her Initiation three years ago. But I won't let her marry until she finishes her seven years as a Tavaedi. She works as a goldsmith. You used to love the smelting ovens, didn't you?"
The smell reached them before they reached the top of the hill.
The bodies had been pulled out of the three stone circles. They lay in two neat rows—friend and enemy. Their skin was black and wet-looking. Kavio wondered why, until the warriors walked closer and a swarm of flies rose into the air.
One young warrior threw up. The others laughed and teased him. The spell of silence broke.
The men began joking with each other as they folded the bodies into the death jars. They did not make fun of their own dead. No one stepped into the circles of stone.
Kavio looked at the clan marks on the enemy faces. For a raid this size, he expected to see about twelve different marks. But there were men from more than twice that number of clans—just one or two men from each.
Some of those clans belonged to clan klatches, groups of allied families. That meant many clans had quietly agreed to join the raid.
He decided Nargono, the Blue Waters War Chief, must be very persuasive. Kavio had never met him.
The dead warriors' spears were gathered in a pile. Twenty-eight warriors and three Tavaedies had died, including one woman. A death count of thirty-one.
That was too high for a small answer, like firing arrows at boats. This called for a big raid.
Hertio pointed to the spears. Maybe tonight or tomorrow, while the prisoners like Rthan were being tortured, the spears would be dipped in blood to honor the dead.
"You fought side by side with these heroes," said Hertio. "Can you turn away from their blood's call?"
"Where will you attack?" Kavio asked.
He already knew what his father would say. Sharkshead, the Blue Waters tribehold. His father always said, A snake that bites once will bite again. Unless you cut off its head.
"Jumping Rock clanhold," said Hertio.
"Uncle, no Jumping Rock warriors joined the raid."
"Not strange," Hertio said. "A flood hit them years ago. Most of the men died saving boats. The rest are elders, mothers, and children. They have no strong Tavaedies. It will be easy to kill thirty-one of them without losing a single warrior. Maybe we can wipe out the whole clan."
"Women and old people are not a fair offering for the bravery of the dead."
"Are you calling me a coward?"
"No, uncle. I worry that wiping out a whole clan will start a full war between your tribe and theirs."
"Is that why you left your tribehold without a fight?" Hertio asked. "I wondered if the Imorvae were so weak they had no allies."
"I don't want the blooded spear—for my tribe or yours."
Hertio waved away the flies. "You can't run from war, Kavio. It's like trying not to piss when you're drunk. But some things last longer than blood. The Aelfae built this hill. But humans built all the others. Do you hear me? We built mountains!"
He pointed at the morning fog. There, a dark shape showed the Unfinished Tor.
"I'll probably be lying in a jar before that's done. Some chief full of fire will stop the building and send men to attack Blue Waters again. Where a mountain might have stood, there will be only blood and mud.
Do it my way. Kill a clan of old women. Do you think Nargono will care? They'll have no one left to cry for them. And Nargono won't fight for a clan that gave him no warriors.
After that, my men can go back to building the tor."
A fly landed on Kavio's cheek. He brushed it away.
"You know I'm right," said Hertio. "Take my offer. Or leave. Decide by the night of the victory feast."