Warrior Scarlet by Rosemary Sutcliff

Author:Rosemary Sutcliff [Sutcliff, Rosemary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781448173020
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2013-12-01T08:00:00+00:00

IX

The Black Pebble

DREM WALKED PROUDLY among his fellows of the Boys’ House in the moons that followed, while the long gash on his forearm healed and faded to a pinkish line that would be silvery by and by, and autumn gave place to winter, and the mid-winter fires blazed on the crest of the Hill of Gathering. And when the year turned towards spring and the wolves left the winter pack to mate, it was time for the Wolf Slaying to begin.

For two winters, Drem had watched the boys in their third year go out to the Wolf Slaying; and now the time had come for him and Vortrix and the rest of them. The time that, he realized now, had lain like a kind of darkening gulf across his path ever since he entered the Boys’ House, making everything on the far side of it seem fiercely bright and at the same time remote. That was the same for all of them, he knew; they did not speak of it, but it was in their eyes as gaze caught gaze, every time they drew the sacred lots.

Since the choice of the Tribe’s warriors must lie with the Sun Lord, the boys drew pebbles out of a narrow-mouthed jar—one black pebble and the rest white—to determine each time who should have the next hunting. And after each Wolf Slaying, one pebble was cast away, so that there were always so many pebbles in the pot as there were boys with their Wolf Slaying yet before them; one black pebble, and the rest white.

And in the dawn after each lot drawing, the hunting would begin. There were no hounds with the Wolf Slayers, but the whole of the little brotherhood would set out together as a hunting band; and together they would track down the beast and bring it to bay. Only the actual kill must be left to the one of them who had drawn the black pebble. For at the last, the thing must be fought out in single combat between the hunter and his wolf, matched together by the Sun Lord, so that from that time forward there was room for only one of them in the world of the living.

The time of Wolf Slaying went by slowly, and the white pebbles dwindled in the narrow-mouthed jar; and one white pebble was smeared with red ochre before it was cast away. That was for Gault who had missed his spear thrust and would never play the fool again. They made his death fire as it had been made for the old King; but this was a small fire, for a boy who had never come to the Warrior Scarlet.

Vortrix drew the black pebble and killed his wolf; Luga also, and Tuan and fat Maelgan, while still Drem drew only white pebbles, and waited for his turn to come. Spring came early that year, and the curlews were calling over the upland country and the first blackthorn foaming on the forest fringe, when Urian and he drew the last two pebbles from the jar.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.