'There wouldn't be no point,' the little man snapped. 'Chariots is not for your common warrior. Chariots is for those who's rich enough to own one. Instruction in that noble art is for those who can pay for it.'
'And fortifications?'
'Fortie what?'
'Fortifications ... banks and ditches like those around the village.'
Thunder's eyes narrowed. 'Banks and ditches is not for warriors. Banks and ditches is what your common people dig when they don't want to fight. Warriors don't need such things.'
Tom couldn't decide whether Thunder was joking or being serious. There was more to the cocky little man than appeared at first sight. He was hunting for something to say when they reached a clearing and began to descend a grassy slope that ran into a shallow valley. On the far side, a crowd was gathered about a recumbent form. As they got nearer, he was able to identify the arms, legs and body of an immense human figure.
Thunder tapped his arm. 'Prepare to be reborn.'
***
The figure was crafted from wickerwork and took the form of a pregnant woman lying on her back, legs apart in the birth position. The colossal structure was so big that two men could sit, side by side, in the lady's upturned palm.
'Sky Warrior!'
The crowd roared his name when they saw him. Women tore at his clothing. Tom guessed they regarded him as imbued with the essence of male virility and wanted a piece of him to take home. He slowed his pace and would have come to a halt if the girls of the guard hadn't driven off his admirers with the butts of their spears.
They forced the women back and escorted him along the immense figure, past upturned feet, bulging thighs, dome-shaped belly and rounded breasts. They reached the head and Thunder pointed to the deity's gaping mouth.
'Right. That's where you go in.'
'Go in?'
'That's right. And I don't have to tell you where you come out.'
Thunder turned to a line of youths.
'I shall now introduce you to your fellow initiates who have been waiting in the cold for you to arrive. You will notice that the smallest is in front and the biggest at the back. I don't have to tell you where your place will be.'
Tom glanced at the serious-faced young people who stood with bowed heads. There were thirty or so, dressed in short cloaks that stopped well above their knees. He ran his eyes down the line.
'Hey. Some of those boys are girls.'