Balsa could only stare at Toto speechlessly as he related this tale. He grinned. “Some among the Kanbalese know our secret. And they hold us in great esteem…. Your foster father, Jiguro, was one of these.”
“What?”
“He was a great Dancer, you know.”
“Dancer?”
“The one who partners the hyohlu in the Spear Dance. Only the best spear-wielder is chosen for this honor.
“At the time of the Giving Ceremony, the greatest warriors from each clan — the King’s Spears and their attendants — descend beneath the mountain. They compete with each other, and the one who emerges victorious dances with the hyohlu, who guards the Last Door. When the hyohlu acknowledges the Dancer as the victor, the door finally opens, and the true form of the Mountain King is revealed. That is when the men of Kanbal learn for the first time who we, the Herder People, really are.”
Toto sighed. “I knew Jiguro from the time he was born. He didn’t show his feelings much, but he was a solid, honest man. And he was a gifted spearman, far surpassing any other from his youth. It didn’t surprise me one bit that he beat all the Spears to become the Dancer, even though he was just an attendant. Still …” He stopped and stared steadily at Balsa. “His gift brought disaster to Kanbal.”
“That’s not —” Balsa began, but he raised his hand.
“I know. He was forced to make that decision in order to save your life. But it still doesn’t change the fact that he brought great misfortune to this land.” He gazed at her with piercing eyes. “Yuguro claims that before he died, Jiguro chose him to succeed him as the King’s Spear. Even if he lied about defeating Jiguro, is it true that Yuguro was chosen as the Spear?”
Balsa shrugged. “How should I know? All I know is that they practiced together in the dead of night, and when he left, Jiguro gave him his gold spear ring.”
Toto nodded. “If Jiguro, the last Dancer, gave his ring to Yuguro, it means that he wished him to become the next Dancer. Jiguro brought much unhappiness to Kanbal, but that was the seed of the worst evil.”
“What do you mean?”
Toto looked at Balsa with glittering eyes. “You think that Jiguro killed his friends. But that’s because he couldn’t say more. Like all those who have been to the Mountain King’s palace, he vowed to remain silent for life about what he had witnessed there.” Toto moistened his lips. “Let me tell you how the ceremony works. If you think about why youths of only sixteen or seventeen are allowed to attend when it’s supposed to be for the strongest spear-wielders in Kanbal, you’ll understand why he did something much worse than just killing his friends.
“Up until now, this ceremony was held about once every twenty years. To participate more than once, a man would have to be under twenty-five the first time he went as an attendant or a Spear, because by forty-five he’d be reaching his limit as a spear-wielder. The first Spears, who knew just how difficult, how terrifying, the ceremony was, made sure that at least some of the participants would be experienced enough to prevent failure. They started the custom of bringing attendants so that nine participants were always young enough to participate in the next ceremony.”
The stern light in Toto’s eyes sharpened. “Now do you understand? All the young men that Jiguro killed had served either as a Spear or as an attendant in the last ceremony thirty-five years ago. In other words, Jiguro slew all those who might have become the Dancer in the next ceremony.”
A shiver ran up Balsa’s neck.
“The king called Rogsam was a terrible man. Not only did he kill his older brother to seize the throne, but he also found the perfect excuse to eliminate the best young men from every clan … Jiguro.”
Balsa felt her body go numb. What an appallingly clever trap Rogsam had hidden within the lie that made Jiguro a thief. And Jiguro had played right into his hands.
“Rogsam was probably aiming to weaken the clans and make his rule as king absolute.” Toto shook his head. “But he lacked a vital piece of information. He had never seen the Giving Ceremony. It was his older brother Naguru who had served as the king’s attendant, so he didn’t know what it meant to wipe out all future candidates for the Dancer.”
Toto suddenly brought his face up close to Balsa’s. “I’m the eldest of my people. Though I have only a few years left to live, I still receive all messages and make all final decisions. We’ve known that something was afoot for some time now. Tonight I received word from the Herders who live in the mountains near the capital, confirming that our fears were well founded. Yuguro and the current king of Kanbal have hatched an incredibly foolish plot.”
He sighed deeply and then said with disgust, “When the Last Door opens at the ceremony this year, Yuguro and King Radalle plan to invade the palace of the Mountain King with an army of several hundred men. They aim to conquer the land beneath the mountain and take as much luisha as they want.” A mixture of sorrow and anger kindled in his eyes. “If only Jiguro hadn’t killed those young men. None of the king’s men went below in the last ceremony. They have no idea what a stupid, futile dream this is. The king might be a fool, but if his Spears were wise and steady, such a plan wouldn’t even have been considered.”
His gleaming eyes bored into Balsa. “The Darkness within the caves reads the minds of men. If the hyohlu detect any enmity toward the Mountain King in the heart of the Dancer, they’ll kill him instantly. No matter how great a warrior he may be, nothing can stop them if they wish to destroy him. And even if thousands of soldiers could be hidden in the Mountain Deep, they could never defeat the hyohlu.”
Balsa shivered again, remembering the cleanly sliced torch in the cave.
Clenching his teeth, Toto the Elder declared emphatically, “When hostility fills the Darkness of the ceremony chamber, this country will fall. If the hyohlu kills the Dancer, the Last Door will not open. If the door fails to open, Kanbal will have no luisha. Without luisha, there will be no grain. Without grain, thousands will die of hunger.” He closed his eyes. “How I wish I had never lived to see such things as this.”
Silence filled the darkness. Not a breath was heard.
Balsa shook herself as if to throw off the weight of that silence. “And just what are you trying to make me do?”
Toto looked up. “I want you to protect Kassa.”
“You what?” Balsa frowned. She could not see how his tale was related to Kassa.