The Land of Painted Caves (Earth's Children 6)

“Perhaps the Zelandoni whose Cave is hosting this Summer Meeting would tell us about the next Sacred Color?” the First interjected just as the Fourteenth was taking a breath to continue. The Fourteenth couldn’t really object, under the circumstances.

“Yes, of course,” he said. “The third primary color is Yellow, the color of the sun, Bali, and the color of fire, although there is also much red in both, which shows that they have a life of their own. You can see the red in the sun mostly in the morning and in the evening. The sun gives us light and warmth, but it can be dangerous. Too much sun can make skin burn, and dry out plants and watering holes. We have no control over the sun. Not even Doni, the Mother, could control her son, Bali. We can only try to protect ourselves from him, get out of his way. Fire can be even more dangerous than the sun. We do have some control of it, and it is very useful, but we should never get careless with fire,

nor take it for granted.

“Not all things that are yellow are hot. Some soil is yellow, there is yellow ocher as well as red ocher. Some people have yellow hair,” he said, looking directly at Ayla, “and of course, many flowers show its true color. They always age to brown, which is an aspect of Red. It is for that reason that some argue that Yellow should be considered an aspect of Red and not a Sacred Color in its own right, but most agree that it is a primary color that attracts Red, the color of life.”

Ayla found herself fascinated by the Zelandoni of the Twenty-sixth Cave, and observed him more closely. He was tall, muscular, with dark blond, almost brown hair with streaks of lighter color, and dark eyebrows that blended into his Zelandoni tattoo on his left forehead. The tattoo was not quite as ornate as some, but very precise. His beard was brown with a reddish tone, but small and with a distinct shape. She thought he must use a sharp flint blade to trim it, to keep it that way. He was probably approaching middle age, his face had some character, but he seemed young and vibrant and quietly in control.

She thought most people would think that he was handsome. She did, though she didn’t fully trust her sense of who was attractive to her own kind of people, the “Others” to the Clan. Her perception of who looked good was strongly influenced by the standards of the people who raised her. She thought people of the Clan were handsome, but most of the Others did not, though many had never seen any, and most of those who had, had only seen them from a distance. She watched some of the young women acolytes and decided that they were attracted to the man who was speaking. Some of the older women seemed to be, too. In any case, he was very good at communicating the lore. The First seemed to agree. She asked him to continue.

“The Fourth Primary color is Clear,” he said. “Clear is the color of the wind, the color of water. Clear can show all colors, as when you look in a still pond and see a reflection, or when drops of rain sparkle in all colors when the sun comes out. Both Blue and White are aspects of Clear. When you look at wind, it is clear, but when you look into the sky, you see blue. Water in a lake, or in the Great Waters of the West, is often blue, and the water seen on glaciers is a deep, vivid blue.”

Like Jondalar’s eyes, Ayla thought. She remembered when they were crossing the glacier that it was the only time she saw a blue color that matched his eyes. She wondered if the Zelandoni of the Twenty-sixth Cave had ever been on a glacier.

“Some fruit is blue,” he was saying. “especially berries, and some flowers, although blue flowers are more rare. Many people have blue eyes, or blue mixed with gray, which is also an aspect of Clear. Snow is white, as are clouds in the sky, or gray when they are mixed with dark to make rain, but their true color is Clear. Ice is clear though it may appear white, but you know the true color of snow and ice as soon as they melt, and clouds when they rain. There are many white flowers, and one can find white earth in certain places. There is a location not far from the Ninth Cave where white earth, kaolin, can be found,” he said, looking directly at Ayla, “but it is still an aspect of Clear.”

The Zelandoni Who Was First picked up the lecture. “The Fifth Sacred Color is Dark, sometimes called black. It is the color of night, the color of charcoal after fire has burned the life out of the wood. It is the color that overcomes the color of life, Red, especially as it ages. Some have said that black is the darkest shade of old red, but it is not. Dark is the absence of light, and the absence of life. It is the color of death. It does not even have an ephemeral life; there are no black flowers. Deep caves show the primary color of Dark in its truest form.”

When she finished, she stopped and looked at the assembled acolytes. “Are there any questions?” she said. There was a diffident silence, some shifting and shuffling, but no one spoke out. She knew there probably were questions, but no one wanted to be first, or appear not to understand if everyone else did, or seemed to. It was all right—questions could come later, and would. Since so many of the acolytes were there, and she had their attention, the First wondered if she should continue with the instruction. Too much at one time was hard to retain, and people’s minds could wander. “Would you like to hear more?”

Ayla glanced at her baby and noticed that she was still asleep. “I would,” she said softly. There were other murmurs and sounds from the group, most of them positive.

“Would someone like to talk about another way that we know five is a powerful symbol?” the One Who Was First asked.

“One can see five wandering stars in the sky,” said the old Zelandoni of the Seventh Cave.

“That is true,” the First said, smiling at the tall, elderly man, then announced to the rest, “And Zelandoni of the Seventh Cave is the one who discovered them and showed them to us. It takes time to see them, and most of you won’t until your Year of Nights.”

“What is the Year of Nights?” Ayla asked. There were several others who were glad she did.

“It is the year when you will have to stay awake at night and sleep during the day,” the First replied. “It is one of the trials you will face in your training, but it is more than that. There are certain things you need to see that can only be seen at night, like where the sun rises and sets, especially during midsummer and midwinter, when the sun stops and changes direction, and the risings and settings of the moon. The Zelandoni of the Fifth Cave is the one who knows most about that. He made notations for half a year to keep track.”

Ayla wanted to ask what other trials she would have to face in her training, but didn’t speak up. She guessed she would find out soon enough.

“What else shows us the power of five?” the First asked.

“The Five Sacred Elements,” the Zelandoni of the Twenty-sixth said.

“Good!” the large woman Who Was First said. She shifted to a more comfortable position on her seat. “Why don’t you begin.”

“It’s always best to talk about the Sacred Colors before the Sacred Elements because color is one of their properties. The First Element, sometimes called a Principle or Essential, is Earth. Earth is solid, it has substance, it is soil and rock. You can pick up a piece of Earth with your hand. The color most associated with Earth is old red. As well as being an element in its own right, Earth is the material aspect of all the other Essentials; it can hold them or be affected by them in some way,” he said, then looked toward the First to see if she wanted him to continue. She was already looking at someone else.

“Zelandoni of the Second Cave, why don’t you continue.”

“The Second Element is Water,” she said, standing up. “Water sometimes falls from the sky, sometimes rests on the surface of the earth or flows across it, or through it in caves. Sometimes it is absorbed and becomes part of the earth. Water is movable; the color of Water is usually Clear or Blue, even when it looks muddy. When Water is brown, it is because you are seeing the color of Earth, which has mixed with Water. Water can be seen and felt, and swallowed, but you cannot pick it up with your fingers, though your hand can make a cup for it,” she said, holding her two hands together to form a cup.

Ayla enjoyed watching her because she used her hands a lot when she was describing things, although it wasn’t intentional the way it was with the Clan.

“Water must be held in something, a cup, a waterbag, your own body. Your body needs to hold water, as you will find out when you go through your trial of giving it up. All living things need water—plants and animals,” the Second finished and sat down.

“Would anyone else like to say something about water?” the leader of the zelandonia asked.

“Water can be dangerous. People can drown in it,” said the young acolyte sitting on the other side of Jonayla. She spoke softly and looked sad and Ayla wondered if she had personal knowledge of what she spoke.

“That’s true,” Ayla said. “On our Journey, Jondalar and I had to cross many rivers. Water can be very dangerous.”

“Yes, I knew someone who broke through the ice on a river and drowned,” said the Zelandoni of South Face, of the Twenty-ninth Cave. He started to embellish the story about drowning, but the main Zelandoni of the Twenty-ninth interrupted and cut him short.