In his left hand he carried a sword. Among the men, too, was a large fellow, as
large as, or larger than, Rollo, whom I did not know. He was fiercely bearded,
and carried a spear. He had told us he was Hrolf, and from the East. None had
questioned him. Below us, in the valley, we could see the coals of thousands of
fires in the camp of the Kurii. They slept, curled, several in each shelter. The
field shelters of the Kurii are made of skins and furs, arched over bent
saplings. Each is little more than four or five feet high, with a comparable
width, but is fifty or sixty feet in length, some being as long as a hundred
feet in length. These shelters, too, are often curved and irregular in outline;
sometimes they adjoin one another, with entrances giving mutual access. They
resemble caves, sometimes networks of caves, constructed in the open. Kurii drop
to all fours to enter and leave them. No Kur enjoys sleeping exposed. If in a
field they will sometimes even burrow into the ground, almost like a sleen, and
cover the opening with grass and sticks from the bottom. It always sleeps with
its head toward the opening. The Kurii herds were quiet. There was little
stirring in them. I could see the white herd of verr, hundreds of the animals,
penned in the northwest quadrant of the camp; in the northeast quadrant were the
tarsk pens. I could smell them in the early morning air. I could smell, too, the
odors of Kurii, and the tramped dung of bosk. The bosk were at the south of the
camp. They would, effectively, prevent the Kurii from slipping free on the
south. The herd numbered some several thousand. The northern pole of the camp
would be left free, as a seeming avenue of escape, to lure embattled Kurii,
should the tide of the war turn against them, into flight northward. It would
be, in the language of Gorean strategists, the bridge of jewels, beckoning,
alluring, promising safety, prophetic of escape. Near the center of the camp,
but somewhat to the south and east of the center, like the verr, the tarsk, the
bosk, was another herd of Kurii animals; it, too, resided in its pen, a wide
pen, more than a quarter of a pasang in diameter, formed of poles and crossbars,
lashed together; this pen, however, waspatrolled by prowling, domesticated
sleen; the animals huddled together, within the pen, hundreds of them, terrified
of the sleen; these were herd sleen, trained to group and control animals. To
the north and west of the camp's center I could see the tents of Thorgard of
Scagnar and his men. I smiled. The Kurii had been in no hurry to initiate their
march to the south. They had failed, several days ago, in the Thing Assembly, to
intimidate the men of Torvaldsland into furnishing them provisions for their
march. After their devastating victory of the night of Svein Blue Tooth's feast,
in which his hall was burned, and the thing encampments laid waste, they had
formed their own camp, and set methodically about gathering supplies for their
southern march. Hundreds of sorties had penetrated the hills and valleys,
burning farms, and gathering goods, generally tools and weapons, and livestock.
There were collection points to which such materials were brought, from which,
by short marches, they were conveyed to the camp. During this time, a hundred
pasangs to the south, Svein Blue Tooth had set the rallying point of the men of
Torvaldsland. In these days I had much spied on Kurii, living on the land,
returning more than once to the Blue Tooth's war camp. It is nothing for a
warrior to cover ninety pasangs on foot in a day. This is usually done by
alternating the warrior's pace with the warrior's stride, and allowing for
periods of rest. Few who have been invested in the scarlet of the warriors
cannot match this accomplishment. I, and many others, can considerably improve
upon it. A typical Kurii foraging squad consists of six animals, called a
"hand," with its "eye," or leader. Two such "hands" with their "eyes,"
constitutes a "Kur," or "Beast." The military Kur, in this sense a unit, is
commanded by a "Blood" This seems peculiar perhaps but is explained by ancient
Kurii belief, that thought is a function of the blood. One "thinks" thus with
one's entire body, not just the brain. Contemporary Kurii understand, naturally,
that cognitive processes brain-centered, or largely brain-centered, but the anc
terminology, in their songs, poetry, and even military 1 con, remains.
Analogously, humans continue to speak of affairs of the heart, a man of good
heart, that someone h; big heart, etc., which terminology perhaps lingers from
ti when the heart was regarded not as a chemomechanical pump but as the throne
and home of the emotions. The commander of a military Kur, thus, might better be
thought of as the "brain" or "mind," but continues, in their languages, to be
spoken of as the "blood." A "blood" thus commands the two eyes and the two
hands. Twelve "Kurs,' the sense of military units, constitutes one "Band." This
one hundred and eight animals, including subalterns leaders, and is itself
commanded by a "Blood," whose rank is indicated by two rings on the left arm.
Twelve of these Bands constitutes a March. A March thus consists of 2160
animals, or, counting the commanders of each Band, 2,172 animals. A March is
commanded by a Blood, whose rank is indicated by one ring on the left arm. The
ring rank are quite plain, being of some reddish alloy, and are distinguished
from decorative rings, of which many Kurii are fond. Kurii, generally, like men,
seem vain beasts, there appears to be an inverse correlation between height of
rank and intricacy and variety of ornamentation. The higher the rank the simpler
is likely to be the ornamentation. The commander, or Blood, of a March wears
only a single, sin reddish ring. Whether or not this simplicity is honored duty,
so to speak, or in their privacy, I do not know. I fur do not know the full
significance of the rings. I do not understand how they are earned, or what is
involved in moving from the "second ring" to the "first ring." I do know that
rings are welded on the wrists of the beasts. The iron files of the Goreans,
incidentally, will not cut the alloy. They may be obtained, of course, by the
severing of the arm. Why the conjunction of bands is spoken of as a "March" is
also unclear. This may refer to a military march, of course, but, I suspect, the
term being apparently ancient, that it may also refer to migrations in the
remote history of the Kurii, on their own world, putatively no longer existent
or viable. There is some indirect evidence that this may be the case, because
twelve "Marches" are referred to not as a Division or Army, or some such unit,
but rather as a "People". A People would be commanded by a "Blood" of the
People. Such a commander is said to stand "outside the rings." I do not fully
understand the meaning of this expression. The Kurii, as I may have mentioned,
consist of several "Peoples." Not all of these "Peoples" speak the same
language, and, I gather, there are differences among, and within, each People.
For example, differences in marking, in texture of fur, in temperament, in tooth
arrangement, in ear shape, and so on. These differences, negligible
from the
point of view of humans, are apparently of considerable importance among the
Kurii themselves. The human, pursued by such an animal, is not likely to be
concerned about the width of its ears or the mottling of its fur. Kurii, in
their past, at least, were apparently torn by internecine strife, disrupted by
"racial" and 'civil" wars among themselves. It is not impossible that the
defertilization or destruction of their former home was a consequence of such
altercations. No Kur, however, I am told, of whatever race or type, will eat the
meat of another. This is interesting, considering the ferocity of their
carnivorous dispositions. They hold the human, unfortunately, in no such regard.
It will be noted that the military arrangements of the Kurii are based on the
number twelve or divisors and multiples of twelve. Kurii use, I understand, a
basetwelve mathematics. The prehensible, appendage of the normal Kur is six
digited. Sometimes the foraging squads of the Kurii had been accompanied by
trained sleen, often four of them. Twice, in my reconnoitering, I had had to
kill such beasts. The sleen have various uses; some are merely used as watch
animals or guard animals; others are used as points in the advance of squads,
some trained to attack putative enemies, others to return to the squad, thus
alerting it to the presence of a possible enemy; others are even more highly
trained, and are used to hunt humans; of the human-hunting sleen, some are
trained merely to kill, and others to hurry the quarry to a Kurii holding area;
one type of sleen is trained to destroy males and herd females, distinguishing
between the sexes by scent. A sleen may bring a girl in, stumbling and weeping,
from pasangs away, driving her, as Kurii take little notice, through their very
camp, until she is entered into a herd. Four days ago I had seen a girl drive,
in which several sleen, fanning out over a large area of territory, had scented
out scattered, hiding slave girls and, from various points, driven them into a
blind canyon, where a waiting Kur had swung shut a wooden gate on them,
fastening them inside. Sleen are also used to patrol the large return marches of
groups of foraging expeditions, those marches between the temporary holding
areas and the main camp. The order of such a march is typically as follows:
captured humans, in single file, form its center. These humans are usually
thralls and bond-maids, but not always. The spoils are carried by the captured
male humans, unless there are too many, and then the residue is divided among
the bond-maids. Kurii burden the males heavily; they can think of little more
than the weight they carry, and the next step; furthermore, their wrists are
usually tied to the straps of their improvised backpacks. Kurii, unlike Goreans,
do not subject bond-maids to heavy labor; it toughens their meat; the bond-maids
are separated from the males, that they be deprived of leadership; furthermore,
the technique of keeping prisoners in single file, separating them by some feet,
and preventing speech between them, tends to make conjoint action between them
unlikely. Prowling the long single-file of prisoners, male and female, in
alternate groups, bond-maids thus used to separate files of men from one
another, will be sleen. Should any individual, either male or female, depart by
so much as a yard from the line of march, or attempt to close the gap between
himself and a fellow prisoner, the sleen prevent this. Once I saw a girl stumble
and two sleen, immediately, snarling and hissing, sprang toward her. She leaped,
weeping, to her feet and darted to her precise place in the line, keeping it
perfectly, casting terrified glances at the vicious predators. The line of
prisoners and sleen is, on both sides, flanked by the Kurii foragers. There are
thus five lines, the center line of prisoners and spoils, its flanking lines of
sleen, and, on either side, the flanking lines of the Kur foragers. Human
prisoners of Kurii, incidentally, are usually stripped; Kurii see no reason to
give animals clothing. I glanced to the Torvaldsberg. The sun now glinted more
fully on its height. Below us, in the broad valley, the camp of the Kurii lay
still in darkness. We heard, below, the howling of a sleen, lonely. I wondered
if Kurii dreamed. I supposed they did. "It is almost time," said Ivar Forkbeard
to me. I nodded. Then, from below, we heard the hunting cry of a sleen, and then
of two others, then others. I did not envy Hilda, Ivar's slave. The Kurii would
take little note of the sleen. Their cries were neither of alarm nor offury.
They were only gathering in another animal, perhaps a new one, wandered too
close to the camp, or a stray, to be expeditiously returned to its herd. The
first light then began to touch the valley. From the noises of the sleen we
could detect the progress of their hunt, and the location of the imbonded
daughter of Thorgard of Scagnar. "There," said Ivar, pointing. They caught her
north of the bosk herd. We could see her white body, and the dark, sinuous,
furred shapes converging upon it. Then she was surrounded, and she stopped. Then
the spleen opened a passage for her, indicating to her which direction she was
to go. Where else she turned she was met with the fangs and hisses of the
accompanying animals. When she tried to move in any direction other than that of
the opened passage they snapped at her, viciously. A single snap could tear off
a hand or foot. Then two of the sleen fell in behind her and, snarling and
snapping at her heels, drove her before them. We saw her fleeing before them,
trying to escape the swift, terrible jaws. We feared, more than once, that they
would kill her. A female who cannot be herded is destroyed by the herding sleen.
In the northwest quadrant of the camp was the herd of verr; in the northeast
quadrant were the tarsk pens. The bosk were penned at the southern end of the
camp. Near the center of the camp but somewhat to the south and east of the
center, behind its poles and crossbars, lashed together, was a different herd of
Kurii livestock. It was to this pen that the daughter of Thorgard of Scagnar,
running before the snapping, snarling sleen, was driven. She darted between the
crossbars and, in a moment, no longer harried by sleen, found herself on the
trampled turf within, another member of the herd. It was as we had planned. The
sleen now resumed their rounds, patrolling the perimeter of the pen. The new
animal had been added to the herd. They were no longer interested in it, unless
it should attempt to leave the pen. We saw Hilda, a speck in the grayish light,
hurrying to the herd within, it huddled on the damp, soiled, trampled turf. "I
wish," said Ivar Forkbeard, "that I had such a herd.' The herd, indeed,
consisted of sleek, beautiful animals, fair and two-legged. There must have been
three or four thousand chattels confined in the great pen. "Some of the girls
are yours," I reminded him. "And I intend to have them back," he said. In that
herd, I surmised, were several of our women, Thyri, Aelgifu or Pudding,
Gunnhild, OIga, Pouting Lips, Pretty Ankles, the former Miss Stevens of
Connecticut, now Honey Cake, the girl named Leah, from Canad
a, whose last name
was of no interest, and others. Too, among them now, prisoner, was Hilda,
perhaps Ivar's preferred slave. Hilda, even now, would be conveying our
instructions to the frightened girls, for the most part, bond-maids. We would
soon see if such feared sleen and Kurii more, or Gorean males, their masters. If
they did not obey, they would be slain. As slaves, they were commanded; as
slaves, did they fail to comply, they would be put to death. They had no choice.
They would obey. The sun was now sharp and beautiful on the heights of the
Torvaldsberg. "Tie on the scarves," said Svein Blue Tooth. The word slipped from
man to man. On the other side of the valley, too, men would be performing the
same action. Each of us tied about our left shoulder a yellow scarf. It was by
such a device that the Kurii had recognized their confederates in the men of
Thorgard of Scagnar. We would, too, wear such scarves. This was our vengeance on
those who had betrayed their kind. "Loosen your weapons," said Svein Blue Tooth.
The men shifted. Swords were withdrawn from scabbards; arrows were fitted to the
string, spears more firmly gripped. It seemed strange to me that men, only men,
would dare to pit themselves against Kurii. I did not know then, of course,
about the fury. Svein Blue Tooth had his head down. I sensed it first in the
giant, Rollo. It was not a human noise. It was a snarl, a growl, like the sound
of a larl, awakening from its sleep. The hair on my neck stood on end. I turned.
The giant head was slowly lifting itself, and turning. Its eyes were closed. I
could see blood beginning to move through the veins of its forehead. Then the
eyes opened, and no longer were they vacant, but deep within them, as though
beginning from far away, there seemed the glint of some terrible light. I saw
his fists close and open. His shoulders were hunched down. He half crouched, as
though waiting, tense, while the thing, the frenzy, the madness, began to burn
within him. "It is beginning," said Ivar Forkbeard to me. "I do not understand,"
I said. "Be quiet," said he. "It is beginning." I saw then Svein Blue Tooth, the
mighty jarl of Torvaldsland, lift his own head, but it did not seem, then, to be
him. It seemed rather a face I had not seen before. The eyes did not seem those
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