Gemini Alatyr of Island. Children of dead mother

All these were strong and very tall fair-haired young men, from among the thirty chosen warriors of the island, the disciples of the seven wise men. Aket approached Ull, once again looked at him with his deep-set eyes, and said after a pause:

– Come, show you your abode.

He led him to a mountain in which cells and common rooms for the inhabitants of the island were hollowed out. The land was not as stony as on Alatyr Island, they walked past a stream, next to which a huge oak tree grew, with a golden chain hung on it.

– This is a sacred tree, Ull. Then there is a field for hunting, there you will learn to rule the chariot, ride a horse, pacify the bulls and handle the cows. We are shepherds, we live in it if you don’t know, feed the cows, catch fish, so every man should be able to deal with cows and bulls. Have you grown up with a witch, have you seen a cow?

“No,” the boy shook his reddish curls, “we only had a goat, they fed me with its milk.”

– And mother like? – already anticipating the answer, but nevertheless asked him Aket.

“He sleeps in the ice with the witches,” he replied, lowering his eyes, “and I was still fed with deer brains from the bones when there was little milk.

– That’s why he became so strong, even though he didn’t taste the mother’s milk. We came, – he said, pointing to one of the holes in the mountain, closed by an oak door and curtained with deer skins, – we live in the old fashioned way, here live the same youngsters like you, and we, the soldiers, live in our wooden houses, who is married and each household is small. We build large log houses on the mainland, and on camps as in the old days, the houses are icy, round, with such a corridor, only on the knees you can go there, so that the heat would not go away. Come into your house, – and the guide opened the door and threw back the skin, they went down the corridor, opened another curtain, and found themselves in a warm room, illuminated with oil lamps made of clay, and heated hearth, built of stones, and held together with clay. In the corners there were eight sun loungers, and Ulle Atey led to one of them.

– This is your place, have a rest here, – and pointing to pegs in the wall, – and here you can hang your things. All other instructions from the teachers receive, in the evening you will meet your new friends.

Ull took out his belongings, and neatly hung all his goods on the wall, a bow and arrows in the middle, and thought it was bad that he did not have a chest here, like on Alatyr. Then he sat down on a stool on three legs, made of pine wood, and gazed at the fire.

– We’ll go to lunch a little later, the house is also nearby, there is a dining room, a warehouse, a barn near and a stable for horses, their workers are serving, be polite, they are not warriors, but here they promise to serve the gods year remains, and who is three. Seven live in another mountain, will call, do not go. They teach in another house, now it is winter, and in the summer they teach in free air, literacy, and the High Way, the Laws of Manu, Aket finished respectfully, and looked at Ulla, who turned her head with increasing attention, looking at the wacky dwelling.

Soon we went to dinner, entered the hut, standing on a high basement of boulders, the stairs and the door were richly decorated with carvings, the windows were tightened either with a fish or a bull bubble, but not as dark as in the cell of the youngsters in the mountain. They sat down at one big table, the warriors on the honorary part of the table, and closer to the edge, on the left, sat the youths, and the pupil vedunii sat down with them, as accepted in the youths. They ate decorously, with wooden boats, did not speak at the meal, they fed simply, but nourishingly, fish and barley porridge, kvass. Then the senior unit, Arpad, led to learn to own a sword and spear, and the soldiers, breaking into pairs, mastered the difficult science. Ull was set up with one more boy, two years older than him; there was no one younger than them. The other four went with other tutors to study.

“What is your name?” Ull asked the boy next to him, turning to face him. He was shorter than him, but wider at the shoulders, equally blond, also dressed like himself – in a fur jacket and pants with soft boots and a fur hat, and under the jacket was a knitted shirt.

– Gun they call me, I’m from the Ghans, And you from Mans?

“I don’t know,” the boy shrugged. “I was brought to the island in a boat on the shore, and my mother died.”“Ah,” the boy stretched understandingly, “come on, we start,” and lunged with the wood, and Ull rejected easily, and so they tried to get each other with training swords, Ullus managed to get the enemy with his sword, and Guna did not. He was already angry, and throwing the sword, rushed to the opponent with his fists, and Ull showed his skill, deftly leaving each blow, so that the whole squad threw exercises and watched forgetting everything on this dance, when only a small movement made an incomplete blow, powerful punch. Gong flushed all over, began to choke, Ull reddened a little, and decided to give in a little to Guna, because that was how the person tried, tired, probably. And at the next attack, he let himself be hooked with a footboard, but he did not let him down to the ground, hitting Gong under the knee, but caught him falling to the ground, and put him on his feet. Gong sniffled loudly, calming from the scrum.

“Teach, Ull?” He asked gloomily, holding out his hand.

“Of course,” shaking the palm of a new comrade, he answered.

From that day they became inseparable.

Doctrine and work a little effort

In the morning, on one of the days when the vernal equinox was not far away, Arpad led the retinue and youths to the lists, the ministers prepared the chariot, and a pair of horses were already unmanaged and harnessed to a light two-wheeled cart. Four more youths, Tal, Sirac and Pret and Knut followed him, talking about something cheerful, and laughing at their own jokes.

“Hey, Ull, and Gunn get ready, stand in the chariot and not fly out, you will learn to keep at the jump,” the leader told them. “Pal,” he called to the young man, already an older warrior, “you will be the driver.”

Pal came up to them, wearing a leather helmet with protective arcs, and a couple of the same helmets were in his hand.

“Take it and put it on,” the driver, handing out the equipment to them, “first you, Gun, and then Ull. After Tal, Syrac, Knut and Pret. Then give them the helmet, as you drive through a chariot.

Both men examined the helmets, twisted it like that and put it on their heads, having some doubts. Pal again addressed them:

– In the combat chariot, the top floor of the straps, so that it would not shake so much during the jump, you must stand with your knees bent slightly, try to catch the beat of the jump. Without a heroic drink it is difficult to control a weapon in a chariot fight. But just ride in a chariot and manage it is quite possible. Gong, let’s go.

Ull sat down on a stone and looked at how Pal first steered the chariot in steps, the sound of hooves in the snow was not overly audible, then accelerated on a level road, they were already racing, and the sound of hooves and the rumble of a carriage became louder, the driver began to lay already sharp turns, repeating the turns, unfolding and evasion of attacks from foreign chariots. Here the driver stopped the chariot, which had already filled the track in the shallow snow. Gong, flushed red, jumped off the chariot, spraying Ulla with snowflakes and water splashes, which, however, managed to shrink from the dirty splashes, which disappointed his friend, and Tal managed to hit the snowball in Guna, and he rushed to the bully, but after a while they were separated by their comrades, without letting them wave fists. Ull straightened his jacket and pants, and went to the wagon, saw how it was decorated with carvings, how the deer were galloping away from the lions on the board, and the warriors were collecting weapons next to the wheels of the wagon. The horses were already hot, hooves on the ground impatiently, and pulled the harness, but the skillful driver held the harness with a firm hand.

“Sit down, boy,” said Pal, smiling at him, slightly pulling on the reins.

Ull straightened his leather helmet, and first with his left foot, then with his right he stepped on the taut straps of the chariot, and slightly bent his knees, as he was taught. The driver clapped the straps, sending the horses forward. The chariot started off with a jerk, but Ull was holding tight, balancing his legs, not even leaning on the side of the wagon, Pal turned his head to him, grinning with a smile with all his teeth, and immediately turned his gaze forward without leaving horses and the way without attention.The boy saw how difficult and responsible the work of the driver, similar to the work of the man in the stormy sea, guesses the uneven ground, like the waves of the sea, measures the size of the boat, and here the turning radius of the wagon and its stability, the force of the wind is similar to to gallop endlessly. Ull was accustomed to, and quietly changing his balance, helping Pal get out of his complicated turns. Finally, they stopped, foam covered the muzzle of horses, Ull jumped off the chariot and went to Guna, to sit next to a friend. The next one got up in the chariot of Tal, dressed in a protective helmet, and repeating the lesson of Pala, and after him drove in the wagon Sirac and Pret and then Knut.

The driver, having finished with all the boys, went to the stable, handing over the cart to the servants, and soon returned.

“Ull, didn’t you just sit in the chariot before?” Pal asked, waving his hands in the manner of a seagull with disbelief.

“No, mentor, and I didn’t see horses, I swear by Ilios,” the boy answered, taking off his helmet and putting a hat on his curls, “they would have liked Elisia,” he smiled wistfully, and felt that there, far away, she was fine too.

“Who is this?” Asked Pal.

Twin sister, stayed on Alatyr.

– Among Harith – veduny is studying, – the driver smiled, – after five years you will meet.

“She is with Pryakh, Pal,” said Ull sadly, and looked at the driver and friend, and to be honest, did not expect what he saw. “The gun fell from a boulder, and the driver, in excitement, took off his helmet, went to the boy, and patted him on the shoulder.

“That’s why they sent you off the island, man.” She is a very difficult girl to know, and you, too, you see, and he looked at him carefully.

– Tomorrow we will train through the bull to jump, first through the wooden one. For now, rest.

“I love a bull,” Pret grinned.

“I, too,” Knut sighed.

– You? – Sirac laughed, – three times before the end of the body did not reach and hit, you know what, – Tal smiled.

“You will like it, Ull,” Sirak confirmed his opinion, “your reaction is excellent, I watched you hold on.” You will not need a drink in battle.

– What did you say about the drink? – asked Ull Pala, their mentor.

– It is only after initiation, Ulle. Do not hurry to live, – and he grinned and went to the retinue house, leaving the boys alone.

“Ull,” Tugging at his sleeve, Gong was already looking at him, frightened, “won’t you tell my sister that I climbed my fists at you?”

“I do not understand, you didn’t hit me,” Ull laughed.

“If she is spinning, it means she is chosen,” his friend said with a positive shake of her head, “Here, Ion, whom Kit swallowed, and after a week he was released from the womb, he now studies at the Seven and does not come out of the Mountain.

“I didn’t know,” the boy was incredibly surprised, “about Jonah. Tell me, Gun.

The boy, satisfied with the attention, sat down on a boulder, made a mysterious face, knitted his brows as an adult, he only lacked kithara, and began to tell:

– Seven desperate warriors went hunting for whales on the boat, and the waves did not frighten them, and the blue sea pleased them, and Jonah was among them. They sailed, they sailed, and finally, they saw a huge whale. It was all whales whale – thirty cubits in length, – and he lifted his face to the gray, overcast northern sky.

Sirac and Pret could not stand it, they laughed so much that they even coughed and Tal soothed them, banging his palm on their backs.