It took him a while to work up enough nerve to speak with Zelana about the matter.
Are you busy? he asked her one bright, sunny morning as the Seagull raced down along the east coast and Zelana was standing alone near the bow.
Are we having some sort of problem? she asked him.
Well, I hope not, he replied. Do you think you could see your way clear to persuade Sorgan Hook-Beak to avoid the bay of Lattash?
Is there something wrong with Lattash, Red-Beard?
New Lattash, he corrected her. Old Lattash was just fine, but its not there any more. Its New Lattash thats got me worried.
And whys that, dear boy?
Boy? Red-Beard found the term to be a bit offensive.
Its just a relative term, she said, smiling. Whats troubling you so much, Red-Beard?
Id really be much happier if word that Im here on the Seagull didnt leak out anywhere in the vicinity of the new village.
Its your home, isnt it?
Well, it used to be. After my uncle White-Braid came apart when Old Lattash was buried by that lava flow, the villagers decided that I should be the chief.
It seems that Id heard about that. Did I ever congratulate you?
No, and I think Id like to keep it that way. To be honest about it, I didnt want to be the chief, and I still dont. If Im lucky, these wars in the other parts of the Land of Dhrall will go on and on for years. Ive never wanted to be the chief of the tribe, and I still dont.
Zelana laughed. You and my sister make a very odd pair, Red-Beard. She wants all that authority and adoration, but you keep running away from it.
How can she stand all that foolishness?
It makes her feel important, Red-Beard, and being important takes some of the sting out of the fact that our older brother out-ranks her in this particular cycle. She paused, looking thoughtfully at Red-Beard. You do know about our cycles, dont you, Red-Beard? she asked.
Sort of. As I understand it, you and your family stay awake for a thousand years, and then you hand your task off to some younger relatives and take a long nap. Is that anywhere close to what happens?
Fairly close except that your number isnt quite right. Our cycles are twenty-five times longer than one thousand.
Red-Beard blinked. Youve been awake for that long? he asked her in a voice filled with wonder.
Not quite yet, but its getting closer to nap-time. When our current cycle began, people your species were at a very primitive level. They hadnt even discovered fire yet, and their most sophisticated weapon was the club. In many ways, this is the most important period in the history of the world. The man-things your species spend most of their time changing things. That makes this particular cycle very significant and very dangerous. There are some things that should not be changed and that brings us to the Vlagh. Do you know anything about bees?
Red-Beard shrugged. They make honey, and they sting anybody who tries to steal it. Honey tastes good but not so good that Id want to get stung a thousand times just to gather it up.
Wise decision, Red-Beard. Bees and a number of other varieties of insects have developed very complex societies that are designed to expand their territories and their food supply. Thats what these wars here in the Land of Dhrall are all about. Unfortunately, the Vlagh is an imitator. When one of the creatures of the Wasteland sees a characteristic that seems useful, the Vlagh starts experimenting, and its next hatch will have a variation of that characteristic.
So we end up with bug-men who know how to talk.
Not exactly bug-men, Red-Beard. Bug-women would come closer to whats really happening. There arent really very many males among the creatures of the Wasteland. Theyre almost all females, but the Vlagh herself is the only one that lays eggs thousands and thousands of eggs at a time.
I dont think baby bug-people would be very dangerous, Red-Beard scoffed.
Maybe not, but they grow very fast.
How fast?
Theyre adults within a week. Of course, they only live for about six weeks, but a new generation is already in the works. The outlanders weve hired to help us dont fully understand this, but its not really necessary for them to understand. Its probably better that they dont. If they knew that the Vlagh can replace all the ones our friends kill in about two weeks, there isnt enough gold in the whole world to have persuaded them to come here and help us. Why are you telling me all this, Zelana? Red-Beard asked her.
She shrugged. A few people need to know whats really happening, Red-Beard, and you just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Ill have a word with Sorgan about your problem, and if its really necessary for the Seagull to go on into the bay of Lattash, well find someplace to hide you so that the people of your tribe wont be able to find you.
That definitely takes a load off my mind. Red-Beard hesitated. You do understand why I dont want any part of being the chief of the tribe, dont you? he asked her.
It has something to do with freedom, doesnt it?
Exactly. He frowned slightly. You went right straight to the point, Zelana. How did you pick it up so fast?
Ive already been there, Red-Beard. Thats why I went off to the Isle of Thurn a long time ago. If you think that being chief would be unbearably tedious, take a long, hard look at being god. Just like you, I didnt want any part of that, so I ran away. I spent thousands of years in my pink grotto composing music, writing poetry, and playing with my pink dolphins. Then my big brother brought Eleria to me, and my whole world changed.
You love her, though, dont you?
Zelana sighed. More than anything in the whole world. Thats what Dahlaine had in mind when he foisted the Dreamers on us in the first place. In a certain sense, it was very cruel, but it was necessary.
Well, Im not really all that necessary where the tribes concerned. They can find somebody else to sit around being important. Then a thought came to Red-Beard, and he suddenly burst out laughing.
Whats so funny?
I know whod make the best chief the tribes ever had, he replied. The tribe might not like it very much at least the men wouldnt but Planter really should be the chief.
Zelana smiled. She already is, Red-Beard. She doesnt need the title. The tribe does what she wants done, and thats what really counts, wouldnt you say?
Not out loud, I wouldnt, Red-Beard replied.
The wind was coming out of the east when Sorgan Hook-Beaks fleet of longships rounded the first peninsula jutting out from the south coast of Veltans Domain, and when that wind caught the sails, they billowed out with a booming sound. It seemed to Red-Beard that the longships almost flew toward the west. He had a few suspicions about that. Zelana and her family frequently spoke of tampering, and a wind coming from the east was very unusual. West winds and south winds were fairly common at this time of the year, but east and north? Not too likely.