Climate of Change

  They followed it, herding it back into the dead-end chasm. Suddenly it whirled and lurched, directly at them, making them scramble out of the way lest they be trampled. Neither man was in position to use his second spear.

  But Rebel thrust hers as the horse passed, wedging it just behind the foreleg. It squealed again and plowed into the ground.

  The men recovered and ran up to finish it. But there was no need; the animal was already dying. Rebel’s thrust had mortally wounded it.

  Harbinger turned to her, amazed. “You do know how to use a weapon!”

  “Somebody had to,” she retorted. But she was clearly pleased, both by her success and the compliment.

  They set to work butchering the creature. They used their stone knives to cut and hack off the legs, which had good meat that could be readily carried. Then they carved off as much of the surface meat as was feasible. There was really too much of the horse for them to take completely; they would leave the carcass for scavengers. It had been a successful hunt.

  “You were right,” Harbinger said, excited by their victory. “They went by without knocking down the wall, just as you said. Then they couldn’t escape us. We can hunt this way, now, and always get a horse.”

  “When they return,” Craft agreed, quite pleased by the success of his ploy. “But they may not return soon.”

  “They will return. It’s good grazing here by the river.” Then he glanced speculatively at Craft. “You threw fast and well. You are no novice with a spear.”

  Craft shrugged. It was not a side of his nature he cared to show, ordinarily. It was necessary to fully understand the use of a weapon in order to make it well, so he practiced carefully, and was competent. He liked fathoming the ways of tools and weapons, and wished he could spend more time studying them. But he was no warrior. He lacked both the muscle and the spirit.

  Well satisfied, they hauled their meat up to the house. Then they took down the baffles, so as to save their elements for future use.

  When Rebel worked beside Craft, she commented on another aspect. “You did well, inventing the baffles. It’s too bad you can’t spend your whole time inventing things.”

  “Yes. But there are so many other things to do.”

  “If I could go out and hunt all the time, I’d be glad to let you stay home and make things.”

  He sighed. “But you can’t. And I can’t. We both have other tasks. Everyone does.”

  “Everyone does,” she agreed. But she seemed thoughtful.

  Dusk came before they were done. Crenelle and Rebel put some of the new meat into the pot, and in due course served up good portions. They all ate well, and then sang well, and retired for the night. The two women slept in the center, but this time Rebel was beside Harbinger rather than Craft.

  However, they were all worn out, and sleeping was all they did.

  In the morning the two women were up first. Craft heard them talking as they set more meat on the fire to roast. They seemed to be quite compatible now. “It’s time to decide,” Rebel said.

  “Yes.”

  “You know he’ll never commit if you don’t force the issue. Men don’t.”

  “I know. But what will you do, if I take him?”

  Rebel shrugged. “I haven’t decided.”

  “You don’t hate my brother anymore.”

  “He does intrigue me. But if Craft doesn’t stay, neither will I.”

  “So you won’t be my enemy, either way.”

  “That held you back?”

  Now Crenelle shrugged. “It holds him back. Maybe now he’ll commit.”

  “Maybe. But I think some concession will be required. Nobody in our family likes rape, especially considering the way it angers the spirits.”

  “Maybe I can compromise.”

  Their dialogue lapsed. Craft suspected that they had meant him to overhear. It was true: He had returned to marry Crenelle, but there had been constraints. He didn’t like the rape aspect, or Rebel’s antagonism to Harbinger. But there was more: He wasn’t sure he liked this northern life. He had had a winter of pleasure with Crenelle, but he would much rather have that pleasure in a warm climate. He knew she liked this territory, and now that he had worked out a way for them to hunt the horses on the plains, she would want to go on north, following the herds. That would mean more cold winters.

  Harbinger stirred, so Craft stirred too. They got up to join the women.

  They ate. Then Crenelle made her move. “Craft, it is time for us to decide. Are you going to marry me?”

  “I want to. But—”

  “Harbinger and I will go north, following the horses. Come with us, and I’ll let you take me without rape.” She smiled, somewhat sadly. “That’s more than I did for your brother.”

  This was awful. She was conceding a key point—and he still wasn’t sure. “I don’t think I want to go north. I want to take you south, into warmer lands.”

  “Then you will have to take me by force. I will fight you.” She paused. “But after the first time, I will do whatever you say. I will go south with you.”

  “And what of your brother?”

  “My sister and I stay together,” Harbinger said. “If she goes south, so do I.”

  Rebel looked at him, but didn’t comment.

  Crenelle returned to Craft. “So which is it to be?”

  The moment of decision was upon him, but he had no idea what to do. He couldn’t rape her, even though he knew she wanted it, but neither did he want to commit to life in the cold north. So his choice was really between marrying her and going north, or going south without her. Neither prospect appealed.

  Climate, it seemed, was his destiny. He needed a compromise, but did not see one.

  Mankind spread across Asia, but was more thinly spread in Siberia. The earliest evidence dates to circa 67,000 years before the present. As elsewhere, he hunted the large game animals, horses included. Yes, today we think of horses as steeds and pets, but before that they were prey. Erectus seems to have been on the way out, probably outcompeted for resources and marginalized until he was gone. Erectus, like his cousin Neandertal, was well suited to endure, but he had a limitation that was to prove critical.

  4

  REBEL’S DREAM

  Mankind moved across southern Asia, crossing India and Indochina and coming up against the Pacific Ocean. The ice age lowered the sea level, making what we call land bridges in several parts of the world, but in human times there was always a gap between Asia and Australia. However, at times Sumatra/Java/Borneo and the Philippines were connected to Indochina, and evidences of mankind there date back as far as 50,000 years ago. That is the time of this setting. The place is by the shore of the Sulu Sea, which today separates the Philippine Islands from Borneo, but at that time was a great inland sea some four hundred miles across. Climate does, to a fair extent, determine the outlines of the land; when it changes, the land changes.

  Erectus was resident throughout Eurasia for more than one and a half million years, but his population was relatively sparse. Man for man, Erectus was more than a match for modern man, physically, and he was by no means stupid. But the superior technology, communication, and foresight of the moderns made them more formidable. Why didn’t Erectus develop such things in similar fashion? Perhaps because his brain was as significantly different from that of mankind as his body: of similar size, but differently proportioned, as described in Chapter 2. On the other hand, Erectus and Neandertal did hold their own for about 50,000 years after the moderns invaded their territories, so it took more than a better brain to do the job. The key to victory may have been as simple as a better idea, late in coming, but ultimately overwhelming in its cumulative impact.

  Plus one other thing: the first tamed animals. Genetic evidence now indicates that the dog descends from the wolf, and was first domesticated perhaps 100,000 years ago. Until relatively recently no effort seems to have been made to modify its appearance; the dog looked just like a small brown wolf, but ran with men
. It proved to be a great friend.

  Note: in this context, the term “beest” means any large beast of prey, as in wildebeest.

  This time it was Rebel who was returning, with her younger brother Keeper. And Keeper’s dogs.

  For Keeper had a way with animals. When Hero had speared a wolf bitch, Keeper had sought out her den and found the pups. He had taken them in and cared for them, and Haven, softhearted, had helped. The others thought this was crazy, but the pups grew up into tame wolves that looked to Keeper as their pack leader. Keeper, at seventeen, was a slight man, gifted with neither the power of Hero nor the expertise of Craft, but now the three wolves were always with him, and while they sought no quarrels with others, they bristled and growled warningly when there seemed to be any threat to him. Recently he had found another litter, and was raising a second group of animals, so that he could breed them together and have more. At this point, a number of other people were interested. Haven was caring for that second litter, while Keeper traveled with the first.

  The area was easy to locate, because the brother and sister lived on an island in the sea. All they had to do was follow the coast until they spied it. The sea was so big they could not see across it, but Rebel understood that it was entirely surrounded by land. That was hard to imagine!

  They came in sight of the isle. It was a rocky projection from the water, about a hundred and fifty paces from the shore. Nestled among the stone spikes was a structure of rocks, gravel, wood, hide, and brush: the house. The only access to it was by boat, for there were crocodiles and large snakes in the vicinity.

  “I like that,” Keeper said, gazing at the residence. “No one will sneak up on that residence.”

  “That’s the idea,” Rebel agreed. “The Others don’t use boats, and they’re the main threat.” She took a stance on a projection of land that reached out partway toward the island. “Keep the dogs quiet while I hail them.”

  Keeper cautioned the wolves, who were suspicious of strangers, and Rebel put her hands to her mouth and called, “Ho! Harbinger!” She was afraid he would be gone, or have found another woman. She had hardly encouraged him during her prior visit, after all.

  Harbinger emerged, and stood with his bare toes touching the water. He recognized her, of course. “Come to quarrel, Rebel?” he called.

  “No. I come to marry you.”

  He shook his head, knowing better. “What of Craft?”

  “He didn’t come. This is my younger brother Keeper. And his dogs.”

  The man stared at the animals. Aware of it, even from that distance across the water, they began to bristle. “Don’t stare at them,” Rebel called. “That makes them angry. Ignore them.”

  “Dogs?” he asked, averting his gaze to a degree. “They look like odd wolves.”

  “They are wolves,” Keeper said. “From another region, so they don’t look the same as the wild ones around here. These are smaller, and brown, and tame. But not friendly until they know a person. So just let them sniff you, and they will gradually accept you. You can tell when they are friendly, because their tails curl upward and their ears perk up too.”

  Harbinger looked doubtful, understandably. So Rebel made a demonstration. “Here, Brownback,” she called. One of the dogs perked up his pointed ears and ran to her, tail wagging. She stroked his head, and he licked her hand. He was her chief foot-warmer, and she always gave him tidbits from her food. He was the boldest of the three, sharing her adventurous spirit.

  Now Crenelle emerged. She had evidently held back, until sure of the visitors. She cupped her mouth to call. “How is it you come, and not Craft?”

  “I had a wild change of heart. He didn’t.” Rebel glanced to Keeper. “This is Harbinger’s sister Crenelle, who almost married Craft. But it didn’t work out.”

  “I know,” Keeper said. He was here nominally to protect Rebel, and with the dogs he was quite capable of doing that. But she suspected that he was more than slightly curious about Crenelle, about whom he had heard from all four of his older siblings.

  Crenelle seemed just as curious about Keeper, but wary. Twice she had been ready to marry his brothers, and twice they had left her despite being greatly attracted. Keeper was a year younger than Crenelle, so was of less interest, but Rebel knew the woman was not one to let any possibility pass by without close inspection.

  Harbinger squatted and drew a boat out from under the house where there was a low channel. He held it while Crenelle stepped in and took her place at the front, kneeling. Then he climbed into the back. Both lifted stout paddles and stroked the craft forward across the water.

  Soon they reached the landing. The dogs drew forward, their ears laid back. “Don’t move,” Rebel said. “Just stay there in the boat.”

  Both Harbinger and Crenelle looked uncomfortable. “If you will sit still while the dogs sniff you, they will let you be,” Keeper said. “But don’t make any sudden gesture that might be taken as a threat to me.”

  “Tame wolves!” Crenelle said. “I never saw that before. What do they do?”

  “They protect us,” Rebel said. “And they help us hunt.”

  “The Others don’t let us hunt much,” Harbinger said darkly. “Anything larger than a rabbit, and they will come for us.”

  “But aren’t you protected by the island?” Keeper asked.

  “Not against a siege. They could make a raft if they wanted to. They know how, but don’t trust large waters. It’s better not to give them cause.”

  “But there were no Others here before,” Rebel protested.

  “They returned. They range widely. Once we traded with them, but I think the Other woman who did it died. Now they merely tolerate us.”

  “Well, if I am to marry Harbinger, I’ll want more hides than rabbits provide,” Rebel said.

  Harbinger didn’t speak, so Crenelle did. “Get in the boat, come into our house. Settle by the fire, and we’ll talk.”

  “We must bring the dogs,” Keeper said.

  “Put the wolves in the boat with us? They wouldn’t like that any better than we would.”

  “They have been in boats before,” Keeper reassured her. “They know your smell now, and understand that we are friends. It will be all right.”

  Rebel got carefully into the boat behind Crenelle, and Keeper got in ahead of Harbinger. They laid their spears on the boat’s floor. It was a close fit, but they made a space between them. Then they gestured to the dogs. In a moment all three had scrambled into the space.

  Silently, Harbinger and Crenelle paddled the craft around and back out to sea. It floated low in the water now, but was strongly made and not in danger of sinking. The dogs peered out across the water, evidently enjoying the experience.

  They crossed to the island. There was a snug harbor there, just wide enough for the boat, holding it steady. Crenelle stepped out, then held on to a bar on the house and extended her free hand to Rebel. Rebel stood and got out, steadied by the hand, and stood beside the boat. Then she signaled the dogs, who scrambled out to join her. After that Keeper and Harbinger got out, and Harbinger slid the boat the rest of the way under the house.

  Keeper looked around. “Is there anything dangerous on the island?”

  “Nothing but us,” Crenelle said cheerfully. “It’s barren.”

  Rebel hoped her wince didn’t show. “Go,” she said to the dogs. They bounded away, gladly exploring the terrain.

  They went to the hearth on the other side of the house, where there was an open region, and Crenelle produced some dried rabbit meat and some fermented juice. Also some scrap bones for the dogs as they returned, who quickly warmed to her. The woman was not stupid; she appreciated both the danger and the help the dogs could be to her and her brother, so was already cultivating them in much the way she cultivated men.

  “Now we need to understand each other,” Crenelle said. “When you were here with Craft, you didn’t let my brother near you. Are you teasing him now?”

  Rebel shook her head. ??
?I know how he raped my elder sister. No one will ever rape me. I thought it best to make that clear at the outset, lest blood be shed. But then I heard him sing.”

  “Ah.” Crenelle glanced at her brother. Then they brought out the drum and flute, and sang and played. Rebel loved it, and saw that Keeper was also rapt. Of course Crenelle was also doing her thing with the bouncing breasts and partly glimpsed crotch, so he had plenty to occupy his attention. But the dogs were also listening, surprised. Maybe it sounded like howling to them, which was no bad thing.

  “Yes, like that,” Rebel agreed when they were done. “I realized that there was more to you both than hunting and foraging. And you do those things well too.”

  “Still, you can understand why my brother is wary of you.” Crenelle held a tempting bit of bone and sinew out toward the nearest dog, Whitepaw, who was similarly wary. The implication was that Harbinger might be amenable, given sufficient reassurance.

  “I need to explain two things,” Rebel said. “The first is that I will always be my own woman. I will not be raped, I will not be dominated. But the man I marry will find me good company, and competent.”

  “You brought down that beest,” Crenelle agreed, referring to a prior hunt when Rebel had wielded a spear like a man. “You can use a weapon.”

  “I can use a weapon,” Rebel agreed. “And I like action. So I can be good for a man who doesn’t mind an aggressive woman.” She got to her feet, and removed her cloak. In this warm weather she wore no under-clothing, so for the moment she stood naked. She turned in the light of the fire, showing off what she knew was as good a body as they were likely to see. “Very good.”

  She saw Harbinger’s tongue run around his lips. He did appreciate her physical qualities, as she intended. Crenelle was good at impressing men, but Rebel knew she herself was better, when she wanted to be. She sat down, remaining nude, and folded her legs under her. Everything was in plain view. Her brother, knowing her, ignored it, and the dogs hardly cared.