"By the way, I wanted to ask earlier Rahul, but so much happened that I missed it." Tele Tete grinned after lunch.
"What do you want to know?* Rahul tilted his head to the side.
"Just where did you get that earring? The last time I saw you, you weren't wearing it." Said the man, pointing to the jewel hanging in Rahul's ear.
"Oh..." Rahul reached to his ear and took the round earring. "This..." He muttered to himself, his gaze seemed to be looking off into the distance, he shook his head, then lowered his hand and smiled widely. "We should say goodbye to the villagers before we leave. Come on guys." He waved to the team. "See you soon, uncle Tete." With that, the boy turned and hurried to the door.
"Rahul wait!" Citar shouted after him, then bowed to the Crazy Farmer. "Goodbye, Tele sir." He said, then hurried after his friend. The rest of the team looked questioningly at Razvan, who just nodded. So the boys said goodbye to Tele Tete one after the other, Teveli a little longer than the others, and then they all left.
"There's something wrong with that earring." Tele Tete narrowed his eyes.
"There's some kind of observing curse on it. I noticed it too." Razvan nodded. "It hasn't done any harm so far, so I'm just observing." The boy declared.
"If I knew that I wouldn't harm Rahul with it, I would take it off immediately..." The hegin man growled. "But we don't know what the consequences would be if I removed it." He said seriously. "Zaukán child, can I trust you to look after him?" He asked as gloomily as he had been speaking for a long time.
"There is no power that can harm him as long as I'm with him." Razvan's voice sounded as harsh as the ice on the water of the lake in the middle of winter, like the sound of the winds biting the mountain peaks. His gaze, that blind gaze characteristic of the Zaukán family, was staring directly at Tele Tete, and a determination shone in him that the elder hegin had never seen before in his life, not even when his good-for-nothing chief went after his wife from ötandis against everyone's will.
"Hey Tapló boss! Are you coming?!" Rahul's head appeared in the doorway. A wide smile appeared on the face of Razvan, who was still looking at Tele Tete. His eyes softened and warmth moved into them. The older hegin was already familiar with this look, but now it surprised him. A Zaukán, who is also the son of a tribal chief, directing this gaze at his Rahul...
"I'm coming, I'm coming." Razvan finally spoke. "I am glad to meet you Tele Teveli. May the spirits of your ancestors be with you." He finally bowed and followed the team. Finally, the Athamanas actually entered the city, where they said goodbye to everyone. They were on their way to Rahul's home when they ran into the itaguyn Father.
"May the Onegod protect you on your journeys, travelers from the East." The Father nodded towards the team. "I won't bless you, because you have God's blessing on you, Rahul. Just be true to yourself. May the Onegod be with you." He leaned forward a little and then left.
"What?" Several people blinked at Rahul.
"I can honestly say that I have no idea what that meant." The boy scratched his head. "Anyway, let's go." He waved before the team set off again.
They then reached Rahul's home without interruption, from where they returned to Madüjawr using Master Mo's scroll. The team then went their separate ways. Everyone returned home to their own tribe, so after long days of walking Rahul and Citar returned to the territory of the Bolacsuks and then to the castle of Hegyfok.
The place was exactly as Rahul remembered it. Now, however, there was an important difference compared to last time. Barely six days had passed after their return, when one evening Citar grabbed his hand and dragged him into his room. Grinning, the boy stopped in the middle of the room and put his hands on his hips.
"Why do you look like you're thinking about to do some mischief?" Rahul asked suspiciously.
"No bad intentions are leading me now." Citar protected himself. "The star is about to come up. Let's sit down." He said, and then actually took a seat in the middle of the room in the meditation pose.
"Why is it important that the star rises?" Rahul raised his right eyebrow.
"Éjalana járin!" Citar grinned.
"Éjalana járin?" Rahul asked back with furrowed brows.
"Well, you're finally here! What's wrong with you, did the star come up later?" Rahul's eyes widened as he heard Suk's voice in his head. He completely forgot about the team's communication system.
"Unlike some, we are not tribal chieftain kids. We have work to do!" Citar was outraged
"Enough, don't fight." Razvan spoke up. "Let's speak instead. Did everyone get home safely?" Hearing the question, Rahul smiled. Although he considered Razvan to be a Tapló boss, it was undeniable that the boy cared deeply about his team's situation. The Athamana team then talked for more than three hours with each other until everyone was tired enough to go to bed.
After that, the days passed monotonously in Hegyfok. In view of the approach of winter, every day of the hegin's was spent harvesting and organizing the crops. The result of the busy days were very tired young people. Meanwhile, despite their fatigue, Rahul and Citar talked to the other Athamanas once a week. In this way, they also discussed where and when they would meet next, and what they should bring with them for the winter moonwalk.
Razvan arranged the meeting of the Athamanas eleven days after the end-of-summer. In this way, every Athamana could freely participate in the end-of-summer celebration of their tribe. It was Rahul's first end-of-summer holiday. That is, such a holiday at the end of summer. In the west, on this day, they only remember their dead and hold a dinner after a big service.
The end of summer here in the Karrabata ranges is a real holiday, for which they prepare for days. As Citar explained to Rahul, on this day the hegins bid farewell to summer and thank Mother Earth for her gifts. This is when Mother Earth is allowed to rest, so a huge celebration is held, one of the rare days when ordinary Madüjawri residents celebrate with the hegins.
On the day of the autumn solstice in Hegyfok castle, the people of Hegyfok gathered a huge log fire, set up tables and benches, brought musical instruments together and prepared food. By the afternoon, Rahul really didn't know where his head was. Then, when the sun went down, all the guests stood around the big wooden bonfire, which the Bolacsuk tribal chief, after a speech in which he thanked Mother Earth, he lit the bonfire.
The flames shot high and the chieftain's place was taken by a man dressed in a strange animal skin, with a deer antler on his head and a drum as big as his chest in his hand. Rahul watched in amazement as the man began to sing and dance around the fire. After doing two laps the people in the circle joined in the singing and dancing and Rahul soon found himself dancing next to Citar. The revelry, eating and drinking lasted until dawn, when Citar and Rahul returned to the castle's corridors pleasantly tired.
"Now that's how a hegin pegin is like!" Citar put his arm around Rahul.
"What?" The chüvigh boy, who was already half a foot into the realm of dreams, blinked widely.
"I told you that I have to show you a real pegin after yours." Citar waved with his free hand. "Well, that's was a real pegin." He giggled and then yawned a lot.
"It's not that bad." Rahul smiled. "Now let's get some sleep, we have to leave for the meeting place soon. You don't want Razvan to bite your head off because we're late." He put his hand over his mouth to stifle a yawn. "However, I hope that one day I will be able to participate in such a party with the others too." He thought about it.
"Of course! Just wait until the beginning of summer." Citar grinned. "But now let's go to sleep, because I think I won't even know where is frontways." He raised his index finger.
"Where your nose is your moonstruck hegin!" Rahul laughed.
"You are not funny!" His friend snapped at him, but Rahul just laughed at him.