“Would it not be simpler to slay those without honor?” I pursued, frowning at the concept presented me. “The innocent are cruelly handicapped so that those without honor might live in peace? No Hosta would countenance such a thing.”
“Perhaps the Hosta are not mistaken in all of their views,” murmured Telion, drawing unreadable glances from Ceralt and Lialt. “In our civilized lands, the innocent do indeed suffer for the guilty.”
“I dislike straying from so fascinating a subject,” said Lialt, his haste causing him to speak before my own words might be uttered, “yet I feel that Ceralt should know that Hannil’s group has been sighted. They will be here well within the hin, and should be properly greeted.”
“By me,” nodded Ceralt, already turning toward his leg coverings. “We will take our evening meals separately, yet Hannil will expect our presence afterward. You two will, of course, accompany me.”
“Of course,” agreed Lialt with a nod from Telion. “Do you wish us with you now?”
“No,” denied Ceralt, taking himself toward his body furs. “I have rested and refreshed myself, and so must you do as well. Hannil is not one to visit with an unguarded tongue. Should you feel up to it, Lialt, you may give Jalav another reading lesson.”
By then Ceralt was well covered in furs, therefore did he take himself from the tent to see to the matter he had spoken of. Lialt and Telion looked upon one another with shrugs, removed their leg coverings, then found a skin of near-renth to share. Famira continued to writhe and cry out beneath Cimilan, causing Lialt and Telion to gaze musingly upon me, yet their musing looks no longer disturbed me. Were I to be used by them it would be so, for Mida had not freed me from my capture. I would accept their use as the trial it was, knowing my capture would one fey come to an end. I sat myself upon the lanthay fur, cross-legged as became a warrior, and awaited the end of my capture.
Perhaps half a hin passed in quiet as the males shared near-renth, and then did Lialt fetch the sheaf called book which contained black stokes called letters. Again I was made to kneel before the sheaf, and again did Lialt point to various strokes and pronounce their calling, yet this time was not as the time before. I immediately saw a stroke I believed I knew the calling of, and when I pointed toward it and spoke its name, Lialt was much pleased. He told me the stroke was the letter “see,” the letter which began Ceralt’s name, and then I paused, recalling the silent speech of the Midanna, which was taught to all warriors-to-be. So long had it been since I had learned it that nearly had I forgotten, yet all first signs taught to warriors-to-be had but a single sound. The sound “see” was made by all the fingers of the right hand, cupped in a semi-circle, as though measuring a small distance. The sound, the sign and the stroke, then, all had the same calling. I asked the stroke for Lialt’s name and the one for Telion’s, and each appeared somewhat the same though differences were apparent after inspection, each sound matching a sign I knew. Lialt became eager at my interest, near excitement in his manner, causing Telion to come close to watch our doings and speak a word or two of his own. It became apparent the strokes were much the same as tracks in the forest, identical to those with no knowledge of them, easily differentiated by one who has studied the matter. Jalav knew each track and print, each scent and habit of each child of the wild; was she to allow mere strokes upon thin leather to best her?
Much did I labor till the evening meal was prepared, Lialt and Telion by my side. Lialt had wished to end the session considerably earlier, yet I had pressed him to continue till all the sounds of all the letters had been shown me. There were less than six hands of such, nearly all the same as the signs I already knew, yet I found it as difficult separating one from the other as a new warrior finds separating the track of the hadat from the track of the zaran. It was this at which I labored, the separating of the strokes, till Telion stretched and stirred where he sat.
“It seems our meal has been prepared,” said he, gazing back away from the sheaf toward the metal holder of glowing stones. “I am pleased to see our stomachs need not suffer due to Jalav’s new-found zealousness. I had not thought it would be so.”
“The High Rider kindly accepted my woman’s efforts,” said Cimilan, causing Lialt and myself to turn toward him as well. He lay at his ease upon the furs, his breech and leggings and leg furs having been replaced, his expression strong with satisfaction. Famira knelt beside him, three cuts of meat upon the board she held, the aroma of cooked flesh only then coming to me. The female remained completely unclothed, her hair falling free down her back, her head bent so that the blush on her cheeks might partially be hidden, though the blush on her body showed clearly her awareness of the attention of males. Lialt and Telion grinned as they looked upon her, causing her to further lower her head in misery, and Cimilan chuckled as he sat up and reached over to stroke her hair.
“I feel you now know yourself to have been punished, satya,” said he to a Famira who seemed near to tears. “Should you wish to disobey me again, should you attempt to force me to your own selfish ends, you will in future know what the attempt will bring you. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” whispered Famira, tears glistening in her eyes as she raised her head to gaze upon Cimilan. “Indeed, all is completely clear to me now.”
“Such understanding should be shared with Jalav,” said Ceralt from the entrance, having entered in time to hear Famira’s words. “I often feel understanding is a total stranger to her.”
“In this matter, my understanding is complete.” I shrugged, turning about to sit cross-legged upon the fur. “Males may give shame and pain to see their desires brought about, yet females are forbidden to do the same. The reason for this is that males have greater strength and size, therefore, they are free to do as they please. The matter is called, ‘concern’ or ‘civilizing’ or possibly, ‘love’ or ‘generosity,’ and is clearly a male thing. None save males might act so in the name of honor.”
A moment of silence passed, broken only by the rustle of Ceralt’s furs being removed, the eyes of all those within the tent resting upon me. The males gazed upon me with frowns, Famira stared with pained yet silent agreement, then Ceralt dried the bottoms of his leg furs and came forward.
“Such sentiments are nonsense,” he asserted, removing his leather chest covering before crouching to face me. “Would you prefer seeing men give women true physical pain to see themselves obeyed? Would you have them beat their women with a lash to spare them the discomfort of embarrassment? Should these women be struck down with swords for the crime of insolence or haughtiness? Men are indeed larger and more powerful than women—yet they need not be brutal in their strength. It is enough to do only that which must be done to see themselves obeyed. ”
“And who is to decide what must be done?” I countered, looking up into his light, serious eyes. “It is, of course, the male himself. Surely it is more brutal to lash a female than to shame her to the point of wishing for death, says he, therefore do I show great generosity in doing no more than giving shame. That she may no longer hold her head up in dignity is of no moment, for surely she is more appealing to males with her head lowered and her eyes upon their feet. Surely does the male feel more a male with his female cowering upon her knees, a living tribute to his prowess as a male. How difficult it is, to put a small frightened, unarmed, female to her knees before you! How great is your concern for others, and how noble!”
“Enough!” growled Ceralt, putting his hands to my arms to shake me. “It is bitterness which speaks within you, not reason! The dignity you speak of is no more than foolish female pride, a pride now pinched to tenderness. It galls you that you may not be served by those about you, but must instead serve them, and as a woman. Women do indeed serve men because they are the smaller, the weaker. Those who serve well need fear neither pain nor embarrassment, a fact which you seem to have overlooked.”