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emotions themselves become more variegated and subtle. But it is inevitable that animals evolving on two
planets separated by light years in space would still arrive at the same basic emotions. There is no mystic
truth here; simply the requirements of natural selection.
And yet, nothing is ever identical. In their broad range, the emotions of gukuy and humans are the
same certainly if the entire gamut of emotions, which vary considerably between the different cultures of
both species, are taken into account. Still, they are different species; and, with regard to emotions, the
biggest difference is that one is chromatophoric and the other is not.
There is an expression, among humans, that an individual "wears his heart on his sleeve." The cultural
subtleties behind that expression, the product of a species for whom emotional dissemblance is physically
easy, would puzzle a gukuy.All gukuy "wear their hearts on their sleeves" on their entire bodies, in fact.
Humans, of course, also express their emotions involuntarily. They burst into tears; they laugh; those with
little melanin in their skins even turn pale; or red. But these involuntary reactions are a pale reflection of
the rich pallette of a gukuy.
Hence, two significant differences. Gukuy are far more straightforward than humans in their recognition
(including self-recognition) of their emotions. And they are far more sophisticated in their understanding
of the subtle complexities of those emotions.
Combinations of emotions which, to a human, are a murky blur, are like crystal to a gukuy. A human
warrior, in the midst of battle, experiences a confused combination of emotions (fear, rage, indecision)
which he does not perceive clearly himself. Not at all at the time, and poorly in the aftermath.
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But to the gukuy, these emotions are not a murky blur. A human observing a gukuy battle would see a
vast and kaleidoscopic rippling of colors across the serried mantles of the warriors. Blue and red
predominate, of course; for a battle is the epitome of rage and fear. But the ochre hues of uncertainty and
indecision are often seen, as well. Gukuy battle leaders learn early to gauge the colors of their opponents.
A sudden great surge of ochre across the mantles of the foe signals that the moment is perhaps right to
press home the attack. And always, of course, the battle leader looks for the wave of scarlet which
indicates that the foe has been beaten into pure terror. The time has come for rout and destruction.
Red; blue; ochre those, the principal colors of a battlefield. But there are others as well, seen more
rarely.
Gray is one. Gray is the "natural" color of a gukuy's mantle. A gukuy whose mantle remains gray in battle
is one of those unusual gukuy who have learned to master their emotions even under extreme stress. It is
an ability which is given a name in every gukuy language. It is always respected; never more than on the
battlefield. Such a warrior is invariably a veteran, and a mistress of the art of war. On occasion, tinges of
yellow will ripple across such a warrior's mantle. Contempt for the foe.
Black is another. Black is the color of implacability. Not the absence of color, as is the gray of
self-discipline; but the sudden suffusion of all color in a ruthless determination to accomplish a task,
regardless of cost.
The color is never seen in pure form on a battlefield. Pure black is the color of executioners, not warriors
amidst the clash of arms. But it is not uncommonly seen in combination with blue. Never red, or ochre, or
even pink. Such warriors are feared, for they have cast aside all fear and caution. They may not be
skilled in battle, but they will sell their lives dearly.
And there is another color which is seen on a battlefield, on only the rarest occasion. It is the most
feared of all colors.
Green. Color of love, and tranquillity.
It is never seen alone, nor as the predominant color; but rather as a gleam beneath the black and blue of
implacable fury. The three colors combine into a hue which has no name in any human language. "Dark
cobalt green" is the closest approximation in English.
It is the color of those rarest of all warriors, whom the Utuku callghaxtak and the Kiktukuopto .
Centuries earlier, on Earth, a culture had flourished briefly which had a name which was strikingly similar.
The victims of that culture had gathered in places of worship, crying out:"From the fury of the
Norseman, dear God deliver us!"
They were called berserks, and they were the most famed and feared Vikings of all.
Since the first moments of the battle, that color, which the Kiktu calledkuoptu , had suffused Guo's
mantle. It had never wavered since. Even now, as she rested and waited for the signal to begin the
retreat, the color on Guo's mantle did not even fade slightly.
To an opponent, kuoptu was a frightening enough color to see on the mantle of an enemy warrior. The
sight of the enormous mantle of a battlemother suffused by the color was utterly terrifying.
Hours after the battle had begun, the Utuku were indeed terrified of her; and their terror was by no
means unreasoning. They had seen countless warriors smashed into so much jelly beneath the blows of
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Guo's mace. The beautiful bronze blades of her mace were now dented and dulled, but it hardly
mattered. The titanic strength of the young battlemother was such that she could have been using her
palps alone and had, on several occasions, with much the same effect as a human smashing a mouse.
Guo's flankers, and all the Kiktu warriors within sight, were in awe of her. Never, in the history of the
tribe, was there a record of akuopto battlemother. Mothers were, by their nature, not well suited to
battle. Only infanta young, still infertile mothers could be trained as battlemothers; and few enough of
those. And the training was so arduous and difficult, so opposed to the nature of mothers, that, among
the western tribes, only the Kiktu used battlemothers as a regular practice. The custom was not the least [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]