Shizumaat looked at Haruda. "Do we give chase?"
The hunter slowly shook its head. "If you want to sleep in the grass like Vorusma, you may do so." The hunter pointed again at the darghat. "That one is testing the ground, sniffing the air for danger. If he thinks it is safe, he will summon the remainder of his herd. Sit quiet. Watch."
The darghat male examined the surrounding territory for many moments, and then tossed back its head and bleated. Far behind the creature, the stalks stirred, and twenty horned heads appeared above the stalks. Shizumaat clutched Haruda’s arm. "Now? Do we give chase now?"
"No. We will wait. If the herd passes this way without danger, this is the way it will return. Mark their path. When the herd returns, we shall catch and kill a few."
"Haruda, how do you know this?"
"I watch. I listen. I learn. This I have seen the darghat herds do thousands of times. Because of this, they will do so again."
When the herd had moved out of sight, Haruda had Shizumaat and I help in rigging snares across the path that the darghats had taken. The snares consisted of several fiber loops joined together at their draw-ends. Haruda explained. "Several of the darghat will become snared in the same set of loops and will fight and pull against each other until they are exhausted. Then we will move in with spears."
I studied upon it and saw in my mind that the simple scheme would work—had already worked, if Haruda’s reputation as a hunter was any evidence. But it seemed so simple. That is the way it happened, though. With the three of us wielding the spears at the tired, helpless darghats, our kill that day better than tripled the catch of any other three hunters that day. Among the greatest hunters of the Kuvedah, their reputations made in one day as Haruda had promised, were Shizumaat and Namndas.
I said to Shizumaat that night, "It is a wonderful thing to be a great hunter, is it not?"
"Our reputations will not last past tomorrow’s hunt, Namndas."
"Not last? Why?"
Shizumaat giggled and said, "Haruda proclaimed to all of the hunters that it would take two fools and make them better hunters than all of the experienced hunters in the tribe just by showing them something new. Because of their beliefs, and because they were frightened to learn something new, they never wanted to see what Haruda had to show them. I think some of them do now. Most won’t, but a few will look at the new way. Haruda has put the proof to its claim."
The next evening showed me the truth of Shizumaat’s words. Most of the hunters passed off Shizumaat’s and my kills as trickery or magic. Four experienced hunters asked Haruda to show them what it had showed us, and before Aakva’s light again died in the west, great hunters in the Kudah were becoming as common as grass. There were, though, other things to learn, and perhaps other things to teach.
Shizumaat’s experience with the hunters had it thinking many things over and asking many questions. It studied the things the Kuvedah did with and about everything. Why do the pregnant Kuvedah go to Kachine for advice? Why did the one called Vijnya make the best spear points? Shizumaat listened to the advice Kachine gave, and it watched Vijnya make its spear points. And Shizumaat studied every member of the tribe. Thus passed the year until Kangar’s death.
All gathered at the bank of the stream to watch Kangar’s pyre illuminate the night, the flames sending the old master of master’s spirit to Aakva’s Children. Since the time of choosing the new master through combat had long since passed, the clan masters gathered before their own fire to select the new master of masters. From the stories we had both heard as children, such councils were notorious for their rancor and resulting feuds. This council, though, had only one name on its lips: Mantar, the wise leader of its clan. Buna cast the colored fires and read in them that Mantar’s rule would be long and prosperous.
On the next morning, Buna talked to Shizumaat and me about places within the Kuvedah, to become teacher-ones, those who pass on lessons to the tribe’s young. To become a teacher-one of the Kuvedah we would have to reveal a great truth at our first night before the fires of the meeting lodge. Most teacher-ones would reveal mystical truths about the wishes and ways of the gods and great figures of the past. Such truths were profound, and mostly impossible to question. I chose such a truth, and I spoke of Uhe and how it had to do war to find peace and how the peace it found, if kept, should keep the Sindie united and at peace for eternity.
But Shizumaat chose to reveal a truth about the Sindie. It stood between the two fires, faced Banu and Mantar, and lifted its arms. Those in the meeting lodge quieted.
"Each thing that we do, no matter how slight, is to achieve a goal. There are countless goals and countless ways in which we try to achieve them. A goal is the present altered in some way in order that the future will contain that which the present does not contain. To achieve the same goal, though, the ways we each choose are different because we each see by different lights. There are ways that bring the achievement of the goal quickly, ways that achieve the goal slowly, ways that achieve the goal poorly, and ways that achieve the goal not at all."
Shizumaat reached into its pouch and brought forth a long sliver of grainless stone. It held it in its hands so that all could see, "This is a stone spear point fashioned by Kijnya. Kijnya’s points are known by all the Kuvedah as the best. But Kijnya cannot make enough of them."
"This is true," said Haruda, chief of the hunt. "If we had to rely only upon Kijnya’s points, we would starve." There were laughs and agreeing nods from those seated around the fires.
Shizumaat drew forth another spear point from its pouch and held it up. "This is a spear point fashioned by Uline. Most of the hunters tip their spears with Uline’s points."
The chief of the hunt nodded. "They are not as sharp as Kijnya’s points, nor as true, but Uline makes them quickly. The hunters can always obtain new points from Uline."
Shizumaat drew forth a third point from its pouch and held it up. "This was taken from a child’s play spear. It was fashioned by Akkar, the child of Soam." Shizumaat walked between the fires and handed the spear point to Haruda. "Judge this."
The chief of the hunt studied the point, tested it with its fingers, then handed it back Shizumaat. "It is made well enough, but it is too short and too narrow. It would not allow the shaft to penetrate to the deep heart of a darghat."
Shizumaat handed Haruda another point. "And this one?"
The chief of the hunt laughed as it took it. "This stone has a heavy, loose grain, and watch." Haruda pressed the point between a thumb and finger. The point crumbled. "I doubt if this point could penetrate water."
As the laughter in the lodge waned, Shizumaat retrieved the pieces from Haruda. By the time the laughter had died, Shizumaat had resumed its place before the two fires.
"The fourth point was made by Pelard." There was more laughter, for all knew old Pelard had gone dark in its mind years ago. When the lodge was again quiet, Shizumaat held out its hands.
"The goal was to tip a shaft with a point sharp enough, strong enough, and true enough to bring down the big game. But to achieve this same goal, four different ways were used." Shizumaat held up Kijnya’s point. "Kijnya’s way achieves the goal well, but slowly." U line’s point was held up next. "Uline’s way achieves the goal quickly, but not as well." Shizumaat then held up Akkar’s point. "The child Akkar’s point achieves the goal poorly." Shizumaat dropped the pieces of Petard’s point upon the ground. "And poor Pelard’s point achieves the goal not at all."
Mantar, chief of the Kuvedah, held out its hand. "And Shizumaat, what do you see in these things? What great truth have you gleaned from your spear points?"