"The younger Kro-lu favor the plan," replied the warrior, "since they
believe they will thus become Galus immediately. They hope to span the
long years of change through which they must pass in the ordinary
course of events and at a single stride become Galus. We of the older
Kro-lu tell them that though they occupy the land of the Galu and wear
the skins and ornaments of the golden people, still they will not be
Galus till the time arrives that they are ripe to rise. We also tell
them that even then they will never become a true Galu race, since
there will still be those among them who can never rise. It is all
right to raid the Galu country occasionally for plunder, as our people
do; but to attempt to conquer it and hold it is madness. For my part,
I have been content to wait until the call came to me. I feel that it
cannot now be long."
"What is your name?" asked Ajor.
"Chal-az," replied the man.
"You are chief of the Kro-lu?" Ajor continued.
"No, it is Al-tan who is chief of the Kro-lu of the east," answered
Chal-az.
"And he is against this plan to invade my father's country?"
"Unfortunately he is rather in favor of it," replied the man, "since he
has about come to the conclusion that he is batu. He has been chief
ever since, before I came up from the Band-lu, and I can see no change
in him in all those years. In fact, he still appears to be more
Band-lu than Kro-lu. However, he is a good chief and a mighty warrior,
and if Du-seen persuades him to his cause, the Galus may find
themselves under a Kro-lu chieftain before long--Du-seen as well as the
others, for Al-tan would never consent to occupy a subordinate
position, and once he plants a victorious foot in Galu, he will not
withdraw it without a struggle."
I asked them what batu meant, as I had not before heard the word.
Literally translated, it is equivalent to through, finished, done-for,
as applied to an individual's evolutionary progress in Caspak, and with
this information was developed the interesting fact that not every
individual is capable of rising through every stage to that of Galu.
Some never progress beyond the Alu stage; others stop as Bo-lu, as
Sto-lu, as Band-lu or as Kro-lu. The Ho-lu of the first generation may
rise to become Alus; the Alus of the second generation may become
Bo-lu, while it requires three generations of Bo-lu to become Band-lu,
and so on until Kro-lu's parent on one side must be of the sixth
generation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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