Chapter 7

Every night John lavished attention on Zithrusa, and banged her drum soundly. She in return learned to worship his staff, until his eggs leaked their whites. During the day, John worked hard since that is the only way he had ever worked. He learned the men's occupations around the fire, making rope and spinning yarn, sewing leather for boots belts and sheaths, carving objects and small carpentry like stools for the respected elders and dowery chests for the maidens. He was very good at the woodwork and carving, which was good because wood was scarce, and not to be wasted. He carved a fine wooden comb for Zithrusa, and made her a fine chest to store their kitchen in.

The elders greatly admired his carvings of strange mythical beasts they had never even heard of, like whales and seals and walrus and bears. Actually, one of the elders had heard of a bear once. John even made a miniture totem pole, which was hidden away by the wise man, (who was too wise to be known as a shaman) as being too special for everyday looking. His carvings brought good barter when the caravans passed by, and many caravans sought them out to see what they had for trade, made by John's hand.

Of course, John didn't profit much by this, except as Butalus graced him, he was just a hardworking son of the family, at least for the next six months. He did own one great treasure, which was to finance his quest for his fortune, and that was his bright orange survival suit.

John figured that it would be worth much more to the right buyer, and so he would take it to civilization, which by all accounts was in the east, to find the one who would value it the most. John figured if he could sell it to a sea-going king by explaining its virtues of life protection in cold waters, (never mind the gloves, what you see is what you get.) then he could get a price above rubies and diamonds for it.

Then with careful investment, he could ... well, he couldn't imagine not working, but perhaps he could be a trader and see the world. What was known of it that is.

That brought to his mind what he knew about the world that he didn't think many others did- Things he had learned in school. He could figure out how to prove such things to 'civilized' scholars, and perhaps gain by it, or get financing for exploration and discovery. He could be as famous as Columbus, and let Sinae colonialize the western hemisphere. But, he wasn't into putting himself forward, only as much as he needed to to please Zithrusa.

Even so, it was something to keep in mind if he wanted to explore further than this part of the world. He chuckled to himself- He had never been to Hawaii...

John spent a lot of his time while watching over a herd practicing with his bow. He had three target arrows, which he just about wore out firing over and over. His concentration helped him gain a proficiency that was usually only given by a lifetime of practice, he had that zen focus of 'being the arrrow' going on. He kept his new-found prowess to himself, except for showing Zithrusa, so she could consider it in any calculations.

He also trained hard with the family men in staff and singlestick. Swords were known, but impractical for the nomadic lifestyle, and were usually only carried by the eastern princes, as sort of a swaggerstick. One which could behead someone with.

The nomads weren't worried about that too much, after all, a bow had a much greater reach than a sword. A sword was a most impractical weapon against a wolf, a sling would be a much better choice. Once the wolf was dead, would a sword be much use to skin it with? It was a funny joke, and everyone laughed.

John made himself a singlestick that was longer than usual, and trained by himself, as well as he was able, knowing at some point he would be among men who wore swords and who wouldn't treat him as an equal unless he also wore one. If he was going to wear a sword, he should be able to use it well enough to have a chance at surviving the experience if he had to use it, he thought.

Zithrusa continued to use John as face for her schemes and agenda, and like any good husband he willingly went along with her, wholeheartedly supporting her machinations. A few times he got done what she wanted, but in a way that she had to admit to herself was a better way than what she had supported.

John befriended who she indicated, joined this or that hunting or scouting group, gave meat or firewood to such and such elder. It was the personal politics of the small group, kind of like 'survivor' except the failures weren't voted off, they just lost status, face, and personal clout.

John was very quickly a rising star, and Zithrusa had him make propitiating gestures to those who might feel threatened by his success, to assuage them and indicate that John wasn't seeking to surpass them on the social ladder.

Zithrusa had spoken to John about a second wife, which would raise both of their status, making John a two wife man, and making Zithrusa a head wife, but John pointed out that it was better to finish their probation and make Zithrusa a wife first instead of temporary wife. Zithrusa was in a hurry to gain status, mainly by increasing John's status, but she could see the wisdom of his words.

Zithrusa was very happy with John, he used her knowledge of social nuance, but he didn't let her be fully in charge, and sometimes pulled her in a bit when she got too far out of line. He sometimes put his foot down, and then as husband had the final say. They made a very good team.

John was careful not to usurp various top personages although he could have surpassed various of them. He was now among the best hunters, his 'Spirits' or subconcious led him right to the game. He knew more of first aid than the healer, and had set some broken bones in the field, before splinting them, and it was considered lucky that they healed straight. Often a broken bone just grew back as best it could, leaving a painful crooked reminder of the injury.