| The words for stranger and enemy are the same. Amongst the Tuchuks, however, there is a Brotherhood ceremony which makes One Tuchuk. The holding of grass and earth creates a bond which can never be broken.
Suddenly the Tuchuk bent to the soil and picked up a handful of dirt and grass, the land on which the bosk graze, the land which is the land of the Tuchuks, and this dirt and grass he thrust in my hands and I held it. The warrior grinned and put his hands over mine so that our hands together held the dirt and the grass, and were together clasped on it. "Yes," said the warrior, "come in peace to the Land of the Wagon Peoples."
A girl is sent to the Tuchuks with a message ko-lar, and the message tells the Tuchuks to slay Tarl Cabot, allegedly as an enemy of the Priest Kings. The Tuchuks quickly learn otherwise, and Tarl Cabot learns the depth of the meaning of the holding of grass and earth. "What," I asked Kamchak,"would you do if you thought the message were truly from Priest-Kings?" ”Nothing," said Kamchak, gravely. "You would risk," I asked, "the herds-the wagons-the peoples?" Both Kamchak and I knew the Priest-Kings were not lightly to be disobeyed. Their vengeance could extend to the total and complete annihilation of cities. Indeed their power, as I knew, was sufficient to destroy planets. "Yes," said Kamchak. ”Why?" I asked. He looked at me and smiled. "Because," said he, "we have together held grass and earth." |
