The Days of the Deer (28 page)

‘So there were four of them!’ was what Cucub eventually said. ‘Four men .. . I’m sure that, as you say, it was Illán-che-ñe who left with the
Sideresians.’

‘Everything points to that,’ replied Dulkancellin, walking on again. ‘Although Molitzmós said they could not recognize them because all four were wrapped in their
cloaks.’

‘Talking of Molitzmós,’ said Cucub, coming to a halt once more. ‘Wasn’t it very fortunate that of all the fires directed their way, none was aimed at the
warriors’ commander?’

Dulkancellin finally understood where Cucub had been leading him. And since he believed that such doubts, in someone who had not been at the port and knew nothing of the weapons in question,
could not mean more than an unreasoned dislike, he decided to bring their conversation to a close.

‘Yes, it was indeed fortunate. Otherwise we would have lost a great leader,’ said Dulkancellin, hastening to reach the House of the Stars.

Cucub watched him stride away.

‘Oh, yes! A great, great leader ...’ he muttered under his breath.

In the days following the ships’ escape, there was no further news of the Sideresians. No fish, swallows, jaguars, or owls could provide any information about them. It
was as if the Yentru had swallowed them. Emboldened by this lack of information, some wanted to believe the Sideresians had been so frightened that they were now heading back across the sea to the
Ancient Lands. Yet no one who properly understood what was going on, and was aware of the orders these strangers were obeying, as well as the vast strength of the Power that had sent them, could
accept this version.

And so it proved. Before the moon had gone twice through its phases, the first reports came filtering back to the House of the Stars. Bad news, although it had nothing to do with the march of a
large Sideresian army towards Beleram, as many of them could have wished.
Somebody to fight
..
. An army facing our army
..
. A war!
This was Dulkancellin’s wish during
nights when he could find no sleep.

The fact was that after his working tirelessly to prepare for the only war they knew, the war of mankind, these hidden attacks that his bow could not prevent left Dulkancellin frustrated. How
could he fight against the evils threatening the Fertile Lands? Perhaps Kupuka could, and all the other Earth Wizards. Perhaps the Supreme Astronomers could. But warriors like him were powerless.
The Husihuilke saw freshly sharpened spears and axes leaning against the stone wall, and longed for a war.
A war
, was what he wished for.

The moons waxed and waned ... each day the House of the Stars heard of fresh tribulations and losses: that from Claw Canyon to the River Yum, to the west of the Central Mountains, huge tracts of
forest were burning; that the children of the high villages were dying, their faces covered in blotches. And that at the opposite end of the Fertile Lands, the water from the Great Spring gave
anyone drinking it terrible pains and black vomit. Despite the fact that Magic had recovered its light and summoned storms to put out the fires, as well as sending medicine and healing songs to
steer the sick back towards life, a painful battle was being fought.

Yet in the Fertile Lands, which only a few moons before had been a plentiful, fragrant land, something far worse than the fires, sickness, poisoned water, or young born before their time was
occurring. Voices reached the House of the Stars whispering of disloyalty. These voices said that many people were abandoning their houses and villages to go and join the Sideresians. ‘They
are powerful ... they have been sent by an omnipotent Being and will bless all those who join their service,’ those who left were heard to say. The Magic knew that to distinguish between Good
and Evil could be as hard as telling two grains of sand apart. There were bound to be mistakes and confusion. A punishment of death was declared for anyone bowing down to Misáianes.

In the days that followed, some of the border guards reported seeing the Sideresians. None of them was completely certain about it. When questioned, they spoke of shadows in the undergrowth, or
furtive movements along nameless trails.

The first real news of their enemy’s position arrived at the House of the Stars one windy morning. A small band of Sideresians had been seen spending the night in the jungle, on a sandbank
in the Red River With Feet Apart.

‘At last!’ said the Husihuilke warrior.

The meeting following this report took place in the observatory. Zabralkán and Bor were seated at opposite ends of the stone table. Crowding round them, filling the room, were a group of
lesser Astronomers and the representatives at the Council. There were fewer of these now than there had once been. Apart from the old luku, who had never arrived, now Illán-che-ñe,
who would never be forgiven, was missing, and so too was Nakín of the Owl Clan.

She had been given the difficult task of memorizing the sacred books sheet by sheet, word by word. To do so, she had to dedicate all her mind to it, without any distractions. Alongside her, the
scribes were busy making copies of them on sheets of soft leather. As soon as these were finished, they were taken out of the House of the Stars. The copies were sent to different, almost
inaccessible places in the Fertile Lands, in the hope that if everything else were lost, someone living in another Age might rescue them.

These sacred books contained ancient explanations about all that had been created and had taken place. At this time of war against Misáianes, Magic had to protect them in whatever way it
could. It did not matter how many warriors they put to guard them, every one of them could be killed. Every wall could be knocked down, every chest be broken into. That is why they scattered the
sacred books all over the continent, and hid them where no one would think of looking. For instance, in the memory of a fragile young woman.

Nakín of the Owl Clan spent her days and most of her nights shut up in the secret room, reading the sacred texts by oil lamp. She only rarely came out, and then only for a moment. This
was when her eyes and body, tired of giving warning signs, gave out completely. Whenever this happened, Nakín was oblivious to what people were doing or saying around her. Even then she was
incessantly repeating to herself the texts she should never forget.

‘It’s our turn to be invisible now,’ said Dulkancellin, who was seated next to Molitzmós.

‘I can imagine what you are referring to,’ said Elek.

Hatred had done its work on the fair-haired man’s body. In a short space of time Elek had become so thin he looked ill. His plump body and pleasant manner had vanished. His eyes were like
the ashen sea, only lighting up when he talked of killing.

‘I think we can all imagine what Dulkancellin is trying to tell us,’ said Molitzmós. ‘And if as I believe we are all agreed, then we must take action at once.’

The talk in the Astronomers’ observatory was of ambush and surprise. They would attack the Sideresians whenever they halted. Only a few warriors in each attack: swift, silent, protected by
the jungle they knew so well. They would fall on the Sideresians without giving them time to seize their weapons: cut them down, wield their axes, chop off the creeping fingers of Misáianes.
Get hold of their weapons and animals. Then disappear.

Everyone there except for Molitzmós agreed it should be Dulkancellin who led the first attack.

‘I would have liked to do it,’ said Molitzmós. ‘In order to restore my honour after what happened in the port.’

‘Allow me to say,’ Zabralkán burst out, ‘what the best way to restore your honour will be. Molitzmós of the Sun, that will be when I see you pleased that the best
person is chosen to lead each task.’

‘So be it,’ said the haughty lord, clenching his teeth.

The afternoon had scarcely begun, but everything was decided. Dulkancellin had chosen twenty-nine men to go with him. Elek of the Offspring was one of them.

News of their departure spread through the passageways of the House of the Stars. A crowd of people, especially women and children, gathered on the platform outside to see the warriors off.

Dulkancellin gazed at a little girl peeping out from behind her mother, and thought of Wilkilén. An old woman sitting in the traditional manner reminded him of Old Mother Kush. Kuy-Kuyen
was evoked by another girl with long tresses.

The women came up to the men and one by one went along stroking their faces. This was the custom whenever a man left his village. It meant:
Remember, there is a reason for you to
return.

Dulkancellin caught sight of Nakín standing at the back apart from the others, and raised his arm in greeting. A weak smile fitted across her pale, lifeless features. What prophecies
could be going through her mind at that very moment ...?

But Dulkancellin was looking for somebody else. To find him, he left his column of men and pushed his way through the crowd, who fell back before him.
Why is Cucub never where he ought to
be?
he wondered.

‘Were you looking for me?’ asked Cucub, tapping him on the shoulder.

‘I was,’ the warrior admitted.

Taking Cucub by the arm, he led him to one side, where they could not be overheard.

‘Tell me.’

‘I want to ask you something,’ said Dulkancellin. ‘I want you to give me your word about something.’

Cucub waited for him to explain.

‘You are my brother here in this land that is foreign to me,’ Dulkancellin began. ‘And my brother everywhere else as well. I want to know once and for all that if I should die
without being able to return to the Ends of the Earth, you will do so on my behalf. You will go back to my village, to my home. And you will leave some of my blood in the land that I
love.’

Cucub found he had to choke back tears.

‘You have Cucub’s word. I would have to be dead not once but twice to fail you.’

The Supreme Astronomers were making their way down to the platform. Dulkancellin left Cucub and went back to his post. Zabralkán had come down from the observatory to speak to them before
they departed. The old man spoke slowly, and so softly the silence had to grow around them.

‘The Fertile Lands are sending you out ... do not count each other and think that is the number of spears you bear. You are not thirty warriors. You are the Deer and the strength of
Creation is with you. We know that the Sideresians have brought unknown weapons with them. But our Magic tells you that these weapons kill some with their fire, but many more with fear. Do not let
that happen! The Deer is going to fight for the Deer! Bring back the first victory!’

When Zabralkán had finished his harangue, the women shouted promises for all the warriors who returned: mallow liquor, succulent dishes, leather sandals, and love-making in the hammocks
in the jungle’s cool shade.

Dulkancellin sought out Cucub to make sure he would keep his promise, but the Zitzahay was no longer there. Not there, or anywhere visible.
He will not forget it
, the Husihuilke warrior
told himself.

The plan was to attack the Sideresians under cover of darkness on the river sandbank, if they were still there, or wherever they made camp on the following nights. The Creatures who had spotted
them and were keeping a close watch on them, would inform Dulkancellin of where they had moved to. Since the sandbanks of the Red River With Feet Apart were five suns’ march away, and since
the Sideresians could slip still further into the jungle, the warriors had to leave in haste.

The warriors saluted the Supreme Astronomers. The thirty of them, a chant of honour ringing in their ears, descended the great staircase.

From a window high in the House of the Stars, a scowling man watched them march away until they vanished into the distance.

Five nights later, the Fertile Lands won their first victory. The Sideresians camped by the Red River were surprised by an attack which flew through the air, leapt on them, and destroyed them.
From that first battle on, Dulkancellin’s companions began to talk of his bravery. They, and many more in times to come, swore they had never seen anyone fight the way he did.
‘Dulkancellin goes into battle as if death did not exist,’ some said. ‘As though he were already dead,’ said others.

Very soon, the Sideresians themselves were talking of a fierce warrior with painted face and long hair ... And when they succeeded in cutting off a piece of his tunic to give to the black dogs
to smell his scent, they began to call him ‘the prey’.

But in the attack at Red River, the Husihuilke and his twenty-nine warriors emerged unscathed. None of the Sideresians was left alive. Those who tried to escape into the jungle were pursued by
the Deer, who wielded his axe once more. Because the Deer knew that by the end of the war against Eternal Hatred, there would be the living and the dead. No prisoners, or truces, or mercy. Shortly
after the combat, the all-seeing sun rose on the first of Misáianes’ dead in the Fertile Lands.

As soon as they had recovered from their hunger and exhaustion, Dulkancellin sent four men back to the House of the Stars. These men left with the good news and with the animals with manes that
were taken from the Sideresians. Dulkancellin had no wish to keep them, because he did not think they would be useful for this kind of combat. The only weapons they recovered were the long, sharp
blades with which the Sideresians had tried to defend themselves. Elek of the Offspring asked to have one of them. When the others saw the way he handled it, they realized that such skill must come
from distant ancestors who had used them in the Ancient Lands.

Dulkancellin decided they should stay in the jungle, waiting for some messenger to come to the river looking for the Sideresians. He could not then imagine there were many more battles to be
fought near by.

After this Red River ambush, there were more and more reports of Sideresian forces. They were always few in number, spread out in the jungle. But however difficult the path they followed, the
Creatures saw them, smelt them; they crawled, flew, and ran to tell Dulkancellin. He and his warriors were constantly on the move, seeking out the camps of the Sideresians. And whenever they came
across them, they vanquished them.