The Days of the Deer (27 page)

Cucub told of these events often throughout his life afterwards, and he always ended by repeating the same sentence:

‘I felt relieved when Dulkancellin decided that the animals with manes should stay alive. I had seen too much death for one day. And besides, as soon as I saw them I fell in love with
those animals.’

24

Dulkancellin pushed open the gate and entered the big fenced-in area. This
rectangular corral, built in one of the side courtyards of the House of the Stars, was where
they kept the two animals with manes already in their possession, as well as where they would put the others the Husihuilke warrior hoped to seize from the Sideresians.

His very first ride had made him realize the value of these animals. Convinced they would one day be indispensable, he set himself to learning about them and training them. The Husihuilke
trusted them completely. The Zitzahay did not share his enthusiasm. Most of them feared or resented the animals the Sideresians had brought, and paid for this whenever they tried to mount them.
Cucub was the only one of their people who did not share this attitude. For that reason, he was the only one who could come close to Dulkancellin’s extraordinary skill in riding them. The
animals patiently endured all the acrobatic manoeuvres to which he submitted their huge bodies. In return, they were given names:

‘Greetings, Spirit of the Wind!’ said Dulkancellin, to the white-coloured beast. The other one, which was his favourite, was walking round the far side of the enclosure.
‘Greetings, Dusky One!’

‘Greetings, brother Dulkancellin!’ the voice of Cucub had replied.

The warrior looked all round, but could not see the little Zitzahay anywhere.

‘Where are you?’ he asked.

‘Neither up nor down,’ Cucub said.

‘Will you never stop playing games?’

Dulkancellin was never one to be patient, so Cucub decided to quickly put an end to the puzzle.

‘Here I am,’ he said, appearing as if by magic on Dusky One’s back. ‘Now, watch this.’

As he talked, Cucub demonstrated to the Husihuilke that was he was saying was perfectly possible.

‘I am mounted on this animal. You are quite close, and are looking at it. Yet you think the animal is on its own. But you’re wrong ... Dusky One is not advancing alone. I, a fierce
warrior, am concealed on one of its flanks. And you over there, who are a Sideresian, do not realize it. Dusky One comes closer . . . unaware of the danger he poses, you are still not concerned.
Then when we are within striking distance, I suddenly appear. I charge at you, giving you no time to react. Falling upon you and your strange weapons, I kill you three times over.’ Cucub
threw himself at Dulkancellin, pretending he had an axe in his hand. ‘Once for the old luku, once for the fleet-footed young Offspring, and once for my friend the eagle—’

These memories made Cucub feel sad, and so he had no wish to continue with his game. Dulkancellin was able to push him off as if he were no more than a child.

‘Do you think a man bigger than you could do the same?’ he asked, interested in his companion’s new trick.

‘Yes,’ replied the Zitzahay. ‘Even you could do so, if we only find the way. Come on, let’s try.’

The day Dulkancellin had mounted one of these animals with a mane for the first time, the same day that the strangers were called by their true name, was known as the Day of Shame.

When Magic woke from its lethargy and saw what was going on, it understood there was much sorrow that could not be remedied. The whole of the Fertile Lands was mourning its sons: green maize
fields, trees as high as the sky, lukus from the southern isles, birds, men, rushing rivers, all had been equally beloved. But although it was late and much had been lost, Magic drew closer still
to the Creatures. Together they undertook a resolute defence that sought to preserve the last heartbeats of Creation, even if they knew a world had been lost for ever, in the forever of every
possible time.

That day the countless orders flying out of the observatory were carried out in a huge number of determined actions. There was much to try to remedy as Dulkancellin sped on Dusky One’s
back in pursuit of the Sideresians who had escaped from the grey pyramid. And when the warrior returned empty-handed, there was still more to do. On the heels of the messengers sent to the land of
the Lords of the Sun, fresh runners were sent to tell them the latest news: it was no longer a case of attacking an unknown fleet by surprise; nor were they three brotherly ships which had come to
share a triumph. Now it was an all-out war against Misáianes, a war that had begun very badly.

A column of men was sent out along the Long Road to meet the children of the Northmen, who must be close by. Two trackers were dispatched to find Illán-che-ñe. Many were set busy
preparing water, food and medicine. A host of other tasks that had to be done left the surrounding villages deserted. The young men were recruited for battle, the older ones occupied workshops to
sharpen weapons. The village women and children were given refuge in the city’s many stone buildings. Beleram was crowded with people who still could not fully grasp what was going on. The
same was true in the House of the Stars: everywhere apart from Zabralkán’s observatory and a hidden room where the sacred books were kept was full of women and children, who took it
upon themselves to carry out many of the preparations for battle.

‘I’m glad we are all in Beleram,’ Cucub was saying. The two men had closed the corral gate and were heading inside the walls of the House of the Stars. ‘I’d be even
happier if we could all be inside these walls. That way I feel nothing bad could happen to us.’

‘You are speaking of yourself and your friends,’ replied Dulkancellin. ‘The people of the Ends of the Earth will be alone when the dark night arrives. Old Mother Kush and my
children will be on their own.’

‘Forgive me,’ said Cucub. ‘It’s just that distance ... the Sideresians are so close to us, and so far from the Husihuilkes.’

‘Who knows? No one can be sure whether at this very moment the Sideresians are not entering our houses exactly as they did those of the Offspring.’

‘But just think,’ replied Cucub, trying to ease his friend’s mind. ‘In the Offspring’s villages the Sideresians met with only a few gentle people, who were sleeping
an untroubled sleep. Nothing like that could take place at the Ends of the Earth, where the most valiant warriors in all the Fertile Lands live. Warriors who always sleep with one eye
open.’

‘I, though, am wondering how those brave warriors could confront faceless death.’ Dulkancellin was referring to the weapons the Sideresians had used against the men guarding the
coast under Molitzmós’s command. Weapons that had allowed Drimus and his companions to reach their ships safely and make good their escape.

‘Tell me again what happened,’ said Cucub.

‘You know I was not there when it occurred. My ears heard the roar. My eyes only saw the results.’

‘But Molitzmós gave you an exact description—’

‘Haven’t I done the same?’ said Dulkancellin. ‘Haven’t I told you the story each time you asked?’

Cucub insisted he tell him again.

‘One last time,’ the Husihuilke accepted. He began: ‘As I have already said, when we set off for the port—’

‘Don’t start by saying “As I have already said”, because that detracts from the interest of the story,’ said Cucub.

‘Very well, Cucub. When we set off for the port in pursuit of the Sideresians—’

‘I cannot forget that you set off with someone who was not Cucub ... I wanted to go with you, but you forbade me.’

‘Cucub, didn’t you say you wanted to hear the whole story again?’

‘I did and I still do. I won’t interrupt you again.’

‘Very well, Cucub. As I was saying, we left in pursuit of the Sideresians in the face of a gale that held us back the whole time. We could not keep our eyes open because of the stinging
sand. But when we drew close to the port, we heard the explosions. Neither of us knew what had caused them. In fact, apart from hearing that they came from the harbour, we had no idea what was
going on. It was then, as I told you, that our mounts escaped our control. I’m sure that was due to our anxiety rather than theirs. The fact is that they bucked and twisted so much they
almost threw us off. It took a great effort to calm them and persuade them to carry on. Meanwhile, until we reached the coast, we heard nothing more apart from the howling wind. The delay meant we
had no hope of catching the strangers, but we were still confident that Molitzmós would prevent them from reaching their ships.’

‘You were mistaken,’ said Cucub, stressing each word.

‘We had no way of knowing then what was taking place in the harbour,’ replied Dulkancellin.

‘What state did you find Molitzmós’s men in?’ Cucub was deliberately speeding up the story to reach the part that interested him.

‘What state...?’ echoed Dulkancellin, then went on: ‘I found them confused by what had just happened, and very frightened. Some were standing round their bleeding companions,
without daring to touch them. They simply stood there, watching them die. You might have thought they considered them cursed—’

‘Of course they thought they were cursed!’ Cucub exclaimed. ‘What else could they think of a death that comes from afar, in the midst of a huge roar and clouds of smoke? And
the body that falls is wounded but there is no sign of any arrow.’

‘That’s right,’ Dulkancellin admitted.

‘What about the ships?’

‘The three ships were heading out to sea. We had arrived too late. All we could do was watch them leave, taking our enemies with them.’

‘And Molitzmós?’

‘He behaved like a true leader. I saw him restore calm among his men.’

‘The same as you had done shortly before with Dusky One.’

Dulkancellin knew that Cucub was expert in cloaking his most damaging insinuations in a show of innocence. And since this remark was obviously double-edged, he preferred to ignore it. But Cucub
was not in the habit of giving up because of a silence, however much it seemed like disapproval. So he returned to the charge.

‘I’m not asking what Molitzmós did, but what he told you about what had happened.’

Cucub was doing his utmost to delay their return to the House of the Stars, and to make sure the Husihuilke warrior stayed with him. This was because he realized only too well that once they
were inside the House of the Stars, Dulkancellin would be far too busy to finish the story. Fortunately for him, the Husihuilke warrior himself came to a halt as soon as he began to recall the
words used by Molitzmós to describe the flight of the Sideresians.

‘Molitzmós told us that everything had been calm. Or so it seemed. The ships had not moved. There was no sign of life on them, apart from three black birds circling around,
apparently hunting for fish. The first sign that all was not well was a wind that did not come from elsewhere. According to Molitzmós, it sprang up directly from the shore. He said:

‘“The air began to twist between us and the coast, and a thin tower of air rose up like a column, growing bigger at every moment. Then we were all enveloped by a sandstorm. It was
almost impossible to speak to each other or hear what was being said, and none of us could keep our eyes open if we looked towards the sea. In spite of this, we started to march towards the coast
to prevent the strangers leaving their ships if they tried to do so. We struggled against the force of the wind. All at once there was a sound like the buzzing of bees, and the wind dropped. When
the mound of sand it had lifted sank to the ground, we saw that the strangers had left the jetty and were spread out on the shore. We were still further from them than the bows of our best archers
could reach, so I ordered my men on. Then something happened which we are still at a loss to explain . . . Brother Dulkancellin, the strangers’ weapons can throw fire from a long way off, a
fire that tears bodies apart. Three times in short succession they aimed those fires at us, and three times one of our warriors fell like a pigeon struck in mid-air. Fire, smoke, death .. . After
the third time, I could not control their fear, and my men began to run away. Some riders appeared from the south, and the strangers welcomed them with battle-cries. The new arrivals responded in
kind, raising themselves up on the backs of their mounts. They raced across the shore, and came to a sudden halt at the end of the jetty. It was only then that we could see there were two men on
one of the animals. The four of them dismounted, and were immediately protected behind the other men’s weapons. The last fires kept us at a distance while they all returned to the ships. The
rest you know: the ships sailed off. By the time you arrived, all you found were laments and fear. Believe me, Dulkancellin, it all happened so quickly I have taken longer just telling it
you.”’

The Husihuilke finished relating what Molitzmós had told him. Cucub, who had heard the same story several times, was amazed at the warrior’s new-found ability.
Who would have
thought that the Dulkancellin I met at the Ends of the Earth would be able to say so much, and to tell a story so
well
, mused Cucub, although he was not entirely sure whether this was a
good thing. Since the Husihuilke warrior did not seem to have noticed his amazement, he preferred to keep this observation to himself. Something told him Dulkancellin might not like to find out
that he was acquiring Zitzahay habits!