Jean Auel - The Land of Painted Caves

'It's here in the next room,' said Zelandoni of the Second Cave. She was also a tall blond woman, though somewhat older than Ayla.

The Zelandoni Who Was First Among Those Who Served The Great Earth Mother stepped aside to let Ayla move in behind the woman who was leading them. 'You go ahead. I've seen it before,' she said, shifting her considerable size out of the way.

An older man stepped back with her. 'I, too, have seen it before,' he said, 'many times.' Ayla had noticed how much the old Zelandoni of the Seventh Cave resembled the woman who was leading the way. He was also tall, though a little stooped, and his hair was more white than blond.

Zelandoni of the Second Cave held her torch up high to cast its light ahead; Ayla did the same. She thought she saw some indistinct images on some of the cave walls as they passed by, but since no one had stopped to point them out, she wasn't sure. She heard someone begin to hum — a rich, lovely sound — and recognised the voice of her mentor, the Zelandoni Who Was First. Her voice echoed in the small stone chamber, but especially as they entered another room and turned a corner. As the Zelandonia held their torches up to highlight a wall, Ayla gasped.

She wasn't prepared for the sight in front of her. The profile of the head of a horse was carved so deeply into the limestone wall of the cave, it appeared to be growing out of it, and so realistically, it almost seemed alive. It was larger than life-size, or else it was a carving of a much larger animal than she had ever seen, but she knew horses and the proportions were perfect. The shape of the muzzle, the eye, the ear, the nose with its flaring nostril, the curve of the mouth and jaw, everything was exactly as it would be in real life. And in the flickering torchlight, it looked as if it were moving, breathing.

She let out a sobbing burst of air; she had been holding her breath and didn't realise it. 'It's a perfect horse, except it's just the head!' Ayla said.

'That's why the Seventh Cave is called Horsehead Rock,' the old man said. He was just behind her.

Ayla stared at the image, feeling a sense of awe and wonder, and reached out to touch the stone, not even questioning whether she should have. She was drawn to it. She held her hand on the side of the jaw, just where she would have touched a living horse, and after a time the cold stone seemed to warm as though it wanted to be alive and come out of the stone wall. She took her hand away, and then put it back. The rock surface still held some warmth, but then it cooled again, and she realised that the First had continued to hum while she touched the stone, but had stopped when she let go.

'Who made it?' Ayla asked.

'No one knows,' said the First. She had come in after Zelandoni of the Seventh Cave. 'It was made so long ago, no one remembers. One of the Ancients, of course, but we have no legend or history to tell us who.'

'Perhaps the same carver who made The Mother of Elder Hearth,' said the Zelandoni of the Second Cave.

'What makes you think so?' asked the old man. 'They are entirely different images. One is a woman holding a bison horn in her hand; the other is the head of a horse.'

'I have studied both carvings. There seems to be a similarity of technique,' she said. 'Notice how carefully the nose and the mouth, and the shape of the jaw of this horse are made? When you go there, look at the hips on the Mother, the shape of the belly. I've seen women who look just like that, especially those who have had children. Like this horse, the carving of the woman that represents Doni in the cave at Elder Hearth is very true to life.'

'That's very perceptive,' said the One Who Was First. 'When we go to Elder Hearth, we'll do as you suggest, and look closely.' They stood quietly, staring at the horse for a while; then the First said, 'We should go. There are some other things in here, but we can look at them later. I wanted Ayla to see the Horsehead before we got involved with visiting and such.'

'I'm glad you did,' Ayla said. 'I didn't know carvings in stone could look so real.'

'There you are!' Kimeran said, getting up from a stone seat on the ledge in front of the shelter of the Seventh Cave to greet Ayla and Jondalar, who had just climbed up the path. Wolf followed behind them and Jonayla was awake and propped up on Ayla's hip. 'We knew you had come, and then no one knew where you were.'

Jondalar's old friend, Kimeran, the leader of Elder Hearth, the Second Cave of the Zelandonii had been waiting for him. The very tall light-haired man bore a superficial resemblance to six-foot-six-inch Jondalar with his pale yellow hair. Though many men were tall — over six feet — both Jondalar and Kimeran had towered over their other age-mates at their puberty rites. They were drawn to each other and quickly became friends. Kimeran was also the brother of the Zelandoni of the Second Cave, and the uncle of Jondecam but more like a brother. His sister was quite a bit older, and she had raised him after their mother died, along with her own son and daughter. Her mate had also passed on to the next world, and not long afterward she began training for the zelandonia.

'The First wanted Ayla to see your Horsehead, and then we needed to get our horses settled,' Jondalar said.

'They are going to love your field. The grass is so green and rich,' Ayla added.

'We call it Sweet Valley. The Little Grass River runs through the middle of it, and the flood plain has widened into a large field. It can get marshy in spring from snowmelt, and when the rains come in fall, but in summer when everything else is dried out, that field stays fresh and green,' Kimeran said, as they continued walking toward the living space beneath the overhanging upper shelf. 'It attracts a nice procession of grazers through here all summer long and makes hunting easy. Either the Second or the Seventh Cave always has someone watching.'

They approached more people. 'You remember Sergenor, the leader of the Seventh Cave, don't you?' Kimeran said to the visiting couple, indicating a middle-aged dark-haired man who had been standing back eyeing the wolf warily, and letting the younger leader greet his friends.

'Yes, of course,' Jondalar said, noting his apprehension, and thinking that this visit might be a good time to help people get more comfortable around Wolf. 'I remember when Sergenor used to come to talk to Marthona when he was first chosen as leader of the Seventh. You have met Ayla, I believe.'

'I was one of the many to whom she was introduced last year when you first arrived, but I haven't had a chance to greet her personally,' Sergenor said. He held out both hands, palms up. 'In the name of Doni, I welcome you to the Seventh Cave of the Zelandonii, Ayla of the Ninth Cave. I know you have many other names and ties, some quite unusual, but I will admit, I don't remember them.'

Ayla grasped both of his hands in hers. 'I am Ayla of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii,' she began, 'Acolyte to Zelandoni of the Ninth Cave, First Among Those Who Serve'; then she hesitated, wondering how many of Jondalar's ties to mention. At the Matrimonial Ceremony last summer, all of Jondalar's names and ties were added to hers, and it made for a very long recitation, but it was only during the most formal of ceremonies that the whole list was required. Since this was her official meeting of the leader of the Seventh Cave, she wanted to make the introduction formal, but not go on and on.

She decided to cite the closest of his ties and continue with her own, including her previous ties. She finished with the appellations that had been added in a more lightearted vein, but that she liked to use. 'Friend of the horses, Whinney, Racer, and Grey, and the four-legged hunter, Wolf. In the name of the Great Mother of all, I greet you, Sergenor, Leader of the Seventh Cave of the Zelandonii, and I would like to thank you for inviting us to Horsehead Rock.'