Rahn was dazed and bewildered when Sindi found him at the base of the mountain. He looked up in amazement as she appeared.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. Then he reconsidered. "On second thought—what am I doing here?"
"What happened, Rahn?" she asked quietly.
"I—I don't know. I left my deest here. I intended to climb on up—but—" He shook his head. "I don't know."
"Silly," she said smiling, "you fell. You hit your head on a rock and it knocked the sense out of you.'' Rahn blinked, then grinned. "I suppose—did you see me?"
"No. But I've been following your tracks in the gravel and sand for days.''
Rahn rubbed his head. "My head hurts, and I feel groggy. I'll never—" He was looking toward the east, and he saw the first glimmerings of the Great Light rising above the horizon. "The Light! How long have I been—"
"You've been wandering around for hours," Sindi improvised swiftly. "I've found your deest. Mine got away."
Rahn put his hands to his temples. "Let's go. Let's go home. My—my head hurts." Sindi nodded silently. Yes, she thought, it hurts. I'll bet it hurts.
Grandfather Kiv peGanz Brajjyd paced back and forth in the outer office of Smith, the Earthman. Seated on a heavy chair in one corner of the room was the well-padded frame of old Grandfather Gils peKlin Hebylla, his hands folded comfortably across his paunch.
"Calm yourself, Grandfather Kiv," he said. "The children are on their way back. The telegraph message from Gwilis Village said that they passed that way only three hours ago."
Kiv ceased pacing and clasped his hands anxiously together. "I know they're safe! I'm not worried about that. But what about the betrothal? It's gone haywire from both directions. What a scandal! What should I do?"
The old man shrugged. "Why worry? Young Yorgen peBor has solved the problem for you. If he can get a member of his own Clan — ah — in an — ah — interesting way and then talk old Yorgen peYorgen Yorgen into sanctioning their marriage, then you should have nothing to worry about."
"Nothing to worry about?" Kiv exploded. "Why, this is terrible! My daughter runs off with a member of her own Clan, and then the man she's going to be betrothed to finds that he is forced to marry a member of his Clan. Forced! Grandfather, do you realize that twenty years ago they would have been stoned to death? It's—it's terrible!"
"You're repeating yourself, my son," said Grandfather Gils quietly. "Remember, things change. Times are different today. Our society isn't what it was twenty years ago. We must remember that, you and I."
Before Kiv could make reply, the door to the inner office opened, and Smith, the Earthman, said, "You wanted to talk to me, Grandfather Kiv?"
Kiv nodded. "Yes, Smith. If I might."
"Come in."
It was not Smith whom Kiv really wanted to see: it was old Jones he wanted, actually needed. But Jones had gone to the Great Light. Kiv would have to depend on the younger man.
He said, "I understand you'll have to expel my daughter from the School. I know that's proper, and I don't oppose it. But I want your advice on one matter. Should I permit her marriage to this Rahn peDorvis—a member of our own Clan?"
Kiv shuddered. All his plans now were destroyed; Yorgen was lost to him, and he was faced with the possibility, of an outrageous match between his daughter and the son of a penniless Edris-manufacturer.
Smith looked up from behind the massive desk and ran the tips of his fingers over his beard. "You're an alumnus of Bel-rogas, right?"
Kiv nodded.
Smith smiled quietly. "I fear you haven't taken your teachings to heart, then." "What do you mean? I—"
"I don't mean to criticize your knowledge. But you've become too emotionally involved in this thing. Your thinking's clouded. Tell me: how do you interpret the Law as regards in-clan marriage?"
After a moment's thought Kiv said, "Well, there's nothing specific, but—"
"Actually. There is nothing specific. In-clan marriage is governed by custom. And what governs custom?"
"The practices of our Ancestors," said Kiv. "Ah, yes. But who determines when customs should change?"
"Our Elders," Kiv replied. He felt as if this were some sort of elementary catechism.
"And who is Yorgen peYorgen Yorgen?"
Kiv shook his head stubbornly. "I can see what you're driving at, Smith. But it won't wash. Elder Grandfather Yorgen pe Yorgen permitted the marriage of young Yorgen peBor because he had been intimate with Lia gePrannt. It was the least unpleasant way of covering up an unpleasant situation. But no such thing has happened in the case of my daughter and Rahn peDorvis."
Smith folded his hands on the desk and closed his eyes. "Can you be sure?" he asked. "And if you can, can the rest of society be sure? It's not what you may think that matters—it's what society thinks. Is there, after all, any proof of Lia gePrannt's condition? Didn't the Elder Grandfather have to take that on faith?"
Smith jabbed a forefinger in Kiv's direction: "There's your precedent, Kiv. Faith. It doesn't matter which way it may go; you have certain decisions you must make.
"Legally, your daughter can marry Rahn peDorvis, now that an Elder has sanctioned such marriages. Such marriages are now part of the accepted body of tradition. And isn't it your duty to your daughter to remove any stain from her name by announcing her betrothal?''
Suddenly, Kiv felt terribly small, and very confused. He fought with himself for a moment. He tried to picture how the Elder Grandfathers had felt, that day when a younger Kiv dynamically showed them how to wipe out the hugl threat. They must have been as confused and as puzzled, Kiv thought, as I am now.
Again a pattern was changing. And there was no help for it.
"I see," Kiv said quietly. "I understand, and I accept what you've told me. I thank you for your advice."
Smith nodded, smiling. "I'm at your service any time, Kiv peGanz. And we'll be expecting your daughter and her husband back here at Bel-rogas as soon as they 're through getting to know each other. They 're the kind of people we want here."
Kiv nodded, not daring to think any more. He gave the Earthman his blessing and walked out the door, uncertain of his attitude toward this new thing that had happened to Nidor, but still managing to keep his head high.
245th CYCLE
I
There were times in the following years when Kiv felt that perhaps Smith had erred in his judgment, but when he took time to analyze his thoughts, he realized that it was fatherly concern speaking, not any real fault in the young man who had married his daughter.
Rahn peDorvis studied hard, and often neglected his wife without realizing what he was doing, but he was never purposely unkind. Both he and Sindi were graduated with honors, and Rahn apprenticed himself to one of the Holy City's leading physicians, Syg peDel Lokness. The young man's knowledge of the strange teachings of the Earthmen puzzled Syg peDel on occasions, but the lad was a hard worker and had a fine capacity for learning, and was never disrespectful.
Once, when Kiv went to the old physician to ask how Rahn was doing, Syg peDel remarked: "He should do well, Grandfather. He's full of ideas, but he doesn't say much about anything until he's got it all worked out. Sometimes, when I tell him something that I've learned through years of experience, he looks at me as though I'm repeating idle gossip—but he never says anything about it until he's checked it himself. And—I must admit it, Grandfather—a couple of times, he's taught me something I didn't know."