The High Priest removed the gag from Lela’s mouth and released the bindings on her feet so she could stand. Then he began a ceremonial chant for the benefit of his audience, whipping them into a religious fervor.
Just as everyone’s attention was riveted on the proceedings, Zen hollered, “Now!” and they all rushed in, swinging their swords.
While Zen was busy cutting Lela’s bonds, Cam flung the High Priest into the boiling lava, and yelled, “This is for Den!” They could hear the priest screaming as he fell to his well-deserved death.
Ren grabbed another priest, severed his head with one swift stroke of his sword, threw the head into the volcano, and then joined the others who were eliminating the priests with abandon. The cliff dwellers ran screaming down the mountainside.
Taking advantage of the confusion, Zen quickly led Lela to their horses and they bounded away. The others followed, and they all met up just outside the village, and then quickly rode out of range of anyone who might be pursuing them.
It had been a terrifying experience for Lela, and neither she nor Zen would ever forget it.
Ren and Cam felt a little better; they had vented their anger.
At last, when they were able to slow down enough to hold a conversation, Lela said, “I have good news.”
“How could any news be good at a time like this?” Zen asked incredulously.
“I am with child,” Lela said simply.
Zen was so surprised that all he could do was look at her with complete wonder. He put his arms around her. “That is good news! Our child will be the first member of our tribe to be born in our new village. We must make it a happy place for him to grow up.”
“Why do you think it will be a ‘him’?”
“Because we’re going to have more than one child, and it’s better for the first one to be a boy, so he can protect his little sister. That way, he’ll learn to care for the women, and his sister will learn to live with the men. Don’t you think that would be best?”
“Perhaps it would be best, but how are you going to have children in just the order you want them? That is something man will never learn to control.”
Zen answered, “Zor taught that all knowledge is possible if we will just look for the answers. I think he was right. The only thing that limits what we can know is our willingness to look for the answers. We defied the priests, and our first child will truly be our child. Thank you for having enough confidence in me to come with me on such a hazardous journey as the one we made through the Valley of Mist.”
“I’m proud of you, Zen,” Lela said. “You not only saved Ador and me from the priests, you saved our entire village. Everyone will remember your name for many generations.”
Jok rode back from the guide position to talk to Zen.
“Zen,” he said, “I think we should stop at the stream where we stopped on our way down the mountain. It will be the last place where we’ll be able to sleep in a warm bed for the next three nights. I think we should help our followers prepare for the cold of the mountain pass.”
“Thank you, Jok, that would be the wise thing to do. They have never experienced camping in the snow, and it’s going to be uncomfortable and confusing. Some of them will be frightened.”
After they made camp, Zen told them to prepare their warm skins, as they would need them tomorrow.
“It’s going to be cold on top of the mountain,” Zen explained. “Tomorrow night we will camp near the pass. Once we are on top of the mountain, you’ll be able to see into the beautiful valley of the clear river that runs beside the snow-covered mountains. After we have made our way through the pass and down the other side, it will be easy traveling for the rest of the way. Then we’ll arrive at the location we have chosen for our new village.” He paused, as the travelers were expressing their feelings. “Food will be easy to obtain, and we will have a beautiful, clean river for drinking and bathing.”
The climb to the pass was long and tiring, but as promised, the view was magnificent. Everyone was excited and pleased. Ador called them to watch the sun go down. She wanted them to help her figure out if Sun went into Earth, past the end of the Earth, or around Earth. They all watched as the sun disappeared beyond the distant hills. It seemed to some that it went into Earth, a very long way away.
An extended, excited discussion followed. Some thought the sun had gone behind the edge of the earth, others thought that the earth was endless, and that the sun had gone into the earth. They would be discussing that difference of opinion for years. They never concluded the discussion in their lifetimes, but they had found the curiosity to wonder and the courage to ask the question. That was the beginning of their long and lasting search for knowledge.
On their way down the mountain, everything was new and exciting, and when they came to the new river, they were ecstatic. This was beyond their wildest dreams.
At last they came to the canyons and saw the home that Zen and his companions had built. They all wanted to get started building their own homes right away.
“It will take a lot of time, and it’s going to be a lot of work,” Jok explained, “but if you’ll be patient, in time you’ll each have your own homes, where you can sleep in peace, free from the wild beasts and free from the priests and their vengeful God. And we must think of a name to call our village.”
The houses had to be built of stone; therefore, Jok spent most of his evenings explaining how to build them. The Lalocks had a lot to learn, but their future was bright, and Zen, Lela, Jok, and Ador would be their teachers.
Their first decision was what to name the village, and they decided to name it Lelador, as a tribute to Lela and Ador, who ignited the flame and the spirit of freedom.
They devised a set of rules to live by, where each person would have the right to think, say, and do whatever he or she wanted, as long as it did no harm to anyone else, and then they sat down to decide who would be their leader.
For many days, they worked tirelessly building their new homes. They had fun making blocks by mashing mud with straw and rocks with their feet. They called them adobe and layered them to the desired height, leaving some openings for light and air, to the delight of the Leladors. They were proud that they were now able to live in houses rather than in caves, and could worship the God of their choosing.
***
As soon as the last home was built, they held a feast in commemoration of their new village. It was a great celebration, as the first two children—a boy born to Lela and Zen, whom they called Zela; and a girl to Ador and Jok, whom they named Jadora—were born, making them the first Leladors. Ren and Lor announced that they would be parents in the spring.
Zen and Jok invited the Zorians to the new village and paid tribute to them for sharing their knowledge of weapons and homebuilding methods. As promised, Zen also furnished the Zorians with more firestones. The villagers formed a friendly alliance, to their Zorians’ delight, since the Zorians no longer felt threatened by raiders.
Beyond the Valley of Mist Page 15
