"First Woman defined. The first of her kind."

Ayla looked up and noticed Zelandoni watching her. She glanced at the other people around her and when she looked back, Zelandoni's gaze had shifted.

"The Mother remembered Her own loneliness,

The love of Her friend and his hovering caress.

With the last spark remaining, Her labor began,

To share life with Woman, She created First Man."

"Again She was giving. One more was living."

"To Woman and Man the Mother gave birth,

And then for their home, She gave them the Earth,

The water, the land, and all Her creation.

To use them with care was their obligation."

"It was their home to use. But not to abuse."

"For the Children of Earth the Mother provided,

The Gifts to survive, and then She decided,

To give them a Gift of Pleasure and sharing,

That honors the Mother with the joy of their pairing."

"The Gifts are well-earned. When honor's returned."

"The Mother was pleased with the pair She created,

She taught them to love and to care when they mated.

She made them desire to join with each other,

The Gift of their Pleasures came from the Mother."

"Before She was through. Her children loved too.

Earth's Children were blessed. The Mother could rest."

Ayla felt a little confused about the two lines at the end. It broke the established pattern, and she wondered if something was wrong or missing. When she looked at Zelandoni, the woman was staring at her, which made her uncomfortable. She looked down, but when she glanced back up, Zelandoni was still watching her.

After the meeting broke up, Zelandoni fell into stride beside Ayla. "I have to go to the camp of the Ninth Cave, do you mind if I walk with you?" she said.

"No, of course not," Ayla said.

They walked in companionable silence at first. Ayla was still feeling overwhelmed by the legend, and Zelandoni was waiting to see what she would say.

"That was beautiful, Zelandoni," Ayla finally said. "When I lived at the Lion Camp, sometimes everyone would make music and sing, or dance, together, and some of them had beautiful voices, but none as beautiful as yours."

"It is a Gift of the Mother. I didn't do anything to make it happen, I was born with it. The Legend of the Mother is called the Mother's Song, because some people like to sing it," Zelandoni said.

"Jondalar told me a little of the Mother's Song while we were on our Journey. He said he couldn't remember it all, but some of his words were not exactly the same as yours," Ayla said.

"That's not unusual. There are slightly different versions. He learned from the old Zelandoni, I memorized my mentor's song. Some of the zelandonia make slight revisions. It's perfectly all right, as long as it doesn't change the meaning, and keeps the rhythm and rhyme. If they feel right, people tend to adopt them. If not, they are forgotten. I made up my own song because it pleased me, but there are other ways to sing it."

"I think most people sing the same song as you do, but what do the words 'rhythm and rhyme' mean? I don't think Jondalar ever explained them to me," Ayla said.

"I don't suppose he Would. Singing and Story-Telling are not his greatest skills, though he has become much better at telling about his adventures."

"They are not mine, either. I can remember a story, but I don't know how to sing. I love to listen to it, though," Ayla said.

"Rhythm and rhyme help people to remember. Rhythm is the sense of movement. It carries you along as though you are walking at a steady pace. Rhymes are words that sound similar. They add to the rhythm, but they also help you remember the next words."

"The Losadunai have a similar Legend of the Mother, but it didn't make me feel the same way, when I memorized it," Ayla said.

Zelandoni stopped and looked at Ayla. "You memorized it? Losadunai is a different language."

"Yes, but it's so similar to Zelandonii, it's not difficult to learn."

"Yes, it is similar, but not the same, and some people find it quite difficult. How long did you spend with them?" Zelandoni asked.

"Not too long, less than a moon. Jondalar was in a hurry to get across the glacier before the spring melt made it more dangerous. As it is, the warm wind came on the last day, and we did have some trouble," Ayla explained.

"You learned their language in less than a moon?"

"Not perfectly. I still made a lot of mistakes, but I did memorize some of Losaduna's legends. I've been trying to learn the Legend of the Mother as the Mother's Song and say it the way you sing it."

Zelandoni looked at her a moment longer, then started walking back toward the campsite again. "I'll be happy to help you with it," she said.

As they continued, Ayla thought about the legend, especially the part that reminded her of Durc and herself. She was sure she understood how the Great Mother felt when She had to accept that Her son was gone from Her forever. She, too, ached to have her son at her side sometimes, and looked forward to the birth of her new child, Jondalar's child. She recalled some of the verses she had just heard and began to walk in time to the rhythm as she recited them to herself.

Zelandoni noticed a slight change in their pace. There was a familiar feeling to it. She glanced at Ayla and noted an expression of intense concentration. This young woman belongs in the zelandonia, she said to herself.

Just as they reached the campsite, Ayla stopped and asked a question. "Why are there two lines at the end, instead of just one?"

The woman studied her for a moment before answering. "It's a question that comes up now and then," she said. "I don't know the answer. That's the way it's always been. Most people think it's meant to give the legend a definite ending, once for the verse and once for the entire story."

Ayla nodded. Zelandoni wasn't sure if her nod meant acceptance of the explanation or simply comprehension of the statement. Most acolytes don't even discuss the finer points of the Mother's Song, she thought. This one definitely belongs in the zelandonia.

They walked a little farther. Ayla noticed the sun was lowering toward the western horizon. It would be getting dark soon.

"I thought the gather went well," Zelandoni said. "The zelandonia were impressed with your fire-making, and I do appreciate your willingness to show everyone. If we can find enough firestones, everyone will be making fire like that soon. If we can't find very many… I don't know. It will probably be best if they are used only to light special ceremonial fires."

Ayla frowned. "What about people who already have a firestone, or those who may find one? Can you tell them they can't use it?" she asked.

Zelandoni stopped and looked directly at Ayla. Then she sighed. "No, I can't. I can ask people to agree, but you're right. I can't make them, and there will always be those who will do what they want in any case. I suppose I was thinking out loud of an ideal situation, but in fact, it wouldn't work, not after everyone knows how to make fire that way." She made a wry expression. "When the Fifth and the Fourteenth were talking about keeping it a secret for the zelandonia, they were simply saying out loud what I think most of us wished, and I have to include myself. It would be an impressive tool for us, but we can't keep it from the people." She started walking again.

"We won't be planning the Matrimonial until after the first hunt. All the Caves will participate in that," Zelandoni said. "People get very anxious about it. They believe that if the first hunt is successful, it bodes well for the whole year, but if it's not, it portends bad luck. The zelandonia will be doing a Search for game. Sometimes that helps. If there are herds around, a good Searcher can help to locate them, but not even the best Searcher can find game if there are none to be found."