The Sons of Adam: The sequel of The Immortal Collection (A Saga of the Ancient Family Book 2) by Eva García Sáenz

Solstice meetings but we never spread out. If a Child of Adam takes a companion, they must come with us and adapt to our way of life. That's what makes us powerful, and Mother always protects us."
    "Are you taking me to your camp now?"
    "Yes, you will be welcome there. And many of our daughters would love to get to know a new companion, once you are better nourished. I imagine that you don't have enough strength to be a suitable companion right now," he smiled.
    "I can't even think about that at the moment," sighed Lür, in great spirits. "I didn't think that I would ever get to see another woman, other than those painted in the depths of the caves,"
    The man gave him a friendly pat on the back and they both laughed.
    "What's your name?"
    "They call me Lür. In your language it means Earth."
    "Is that your Real Name?"
    "Yes, I never changed it. It describes me well," Lür answered, slightly thrown aback by the direct question.
    "They call me Negu, which means harsh winter, like this one. How do you know how to speak my language?"
    "I learned it many years ago. There are some words that I don't understand, I think I speak the language of your grandfathers, but don't worry, soon I will speak like you and it won't sound so strange."
    "I can see that, you imitate my accent very well. Are you an interpreter, like me?" asked the man.
    "Yes, there were times that I worked as an interpreter. When it was necessary."
    Negu stopped at the top of the mountain, holding out his hand to help Lür reach the snowy peaks.
    They could now see the billows of smoke that came from the tents, although Lür didn't expect to find what he saw.
    Some twenty round tents, made with defenses and mammoth bones, big enough for several men to lie down in a row. They were covered with taut skin, and smoke from the fires rose out of the holes in the domed ceilings.
    Now I understand , he thought ecstatically. The mammoth is also Mother's totem, that's why she is so ancient.
    All the members of her clan milled around her. Children, many young, and women, some old. Most had similar features. Slightly tanned skin, and slanted eyes. You could tell the real members of the Sons of Adam from the ones that didn't share the same blood.
    They were all well prepared for that eternal winter. Long, fur pantaloons, coats, capes, hats, gloves. Thousands of cowrie shells, white and shiny, were sewn onto their furs. Further south, those shells were very valuable and Lür had used them many times when trading.
    An old woman held out her hand and smiled, inviting him to go inside the main tent. Lür accepted the invitation, shivering from the cold and with a fatigue that he had accumulated over centuries.
    Several boys and girls followed him, asking all sorts of questions.
    From which direction of the wind had he come? Were there any men or animals left alive in his camp? Was Father Sun recovering in the places he had traveled through, or was it as weak as the one shining on them?
    Lür hurriedly answered their questions, sometimes talking like a child, giggling at seeing so many new faces, so many eyes, so many smiles.
    Then they fed him, it was dried meat that he chewed with delight without asking where it had come from. They gave him a wooden bowl with pure water and finally laid him down, covering him with several furs next to the fire and leaving him alone in the tent to rest.
    But Lür couldn't rest, his body began to shake violently, without his permission, and all the fear from centuries turned into a long sob of joy.
     
    The next day he woke up tired, hungry and thirsty. Several members of the clan were wandering around the tent, some hanging small, gutted fish next to the fire to smoke them, a couple of mothers fed their babies while others wove long nets with tight knots.
    Negu was sitting next to him and Lür sat up with some difficulty. Negu had made him a rabbit stew. Lür polished it all off in just a few minutes, still a little dazed from the hubbub around him.