The day after soldiers had marched upriver sweating in armor highly unsuited to the jungle 
erein the temple was reared; and had returned two hours later without their captain and his two lieutenants, marching faster and sweating harder. Those folk of the region o ventured in their bootsteps after a week had passed reported that the temple seemed entirely unmolested, though they did not approach it closely out of long-established fear of its temporarily departed suzerains, o it was expected would soon return, having somehow deflected the anger of the king.
But they never had returned. Some said they were now all perished, others that they had built a temple deeper in the ju
le, ere they could pursue their worship and lepidopteromancies disturbed by noth royal favor and royal displeasure. But fear of them remained, growi indeed with the telli, and the fisherfolk and hunters, despite their poverty, never ventured to steal from the temple. Then, for the eleventh time since the deserti of the temple, it was announced that the chief eunuch of the high-ki’s seraglio would be touri the south to select maidens for a new intake. Shalinn-Hul, daughter of Zwun-Tsyarrh the fisherman, was brought the news by Nluth-Qearr, daughter of Pharë-yend the hunter; and though she remained seemily unmoved in the face of her enemy’s taunts, she later wept with aer at their truth.
There was little to choose between the beauty of the two girls, but Nluth-Qearr’s fa
er was rich from his venery skill and dari, and would be able to cloe his daughter in such a nuptial cloak of feaers as was sure to attract and captivate e eunuch’s discerni eye. Shalinn-Hul’s faer, by contrast, had never raised himself or his family from e poverty bequeaed to him by his faer and grandfaer before him. Shalinn-Hul’s cloak would be not of feaers but of worthless flowers at-day-gaered, ich were sure to have begun wilti before e eunuch’s ceremonial inspection was over. One girl alone would be chosen from eir village, and Nluth-Qearr, already born to privilege and ease, would be she, leavi Shalinn-Hul to marry some uncouth jule-scion and grow prematurely old wi child-reari and work.
But at night Shalinn-Hul dreamed of butterflies danci above sun-glints in e slow green flow of e river, and wo
e around midnight to find a large ite moth seei shelter from a brief shower in her parents’ hut. Butterflies were sacred to Rilirac e sun-god and moths to Lirilac e moon-goddess, and she brooded on e significance of her dream and e refugee moth some days before decidi, on e eve of e eunuch’s selection, ey had been sent by e god and goddess emselves, granti her permission to see in e temple for at ereby she might defeat Nluth-Qearr in e selection. en her moer sent her to fetch wood for midday meal, she went but did not return, slippi off upriver alo e nearly overgrown trail at led to e temple.
en its pale stone 
irst wined at her through e trees, her heart beat aster and her readi o e dream and midnight moth suddenly struc her as absurd to e point o blasphemy; but e thought o Nluth-Qearr’s smile o triumph, as e eunuch tapped her head wi e silver hammer o selection, re-convinced her o e truth o her exegesis and she orced her momentarily stumbli eet on. Soon she had passed e pierced stone tablets o lepidopteromancy, ereto butterlies were once enticed wi honeyed water at eir color and movements might be read by e priests o e temple, and reached e great door o e temple, its outline sotened wi e sot green ronds o some jule-creeper. Here she paused lo, allowi her eyes to adjust to e gloom o e temple’s interior, at she might examine it oroughly beore entrance. earsome monsters guarded e temple’s treasure, so it was said in e village; but all Shalinn-Hul could see were e webs o jule-spiders stru between its pillars and a drit o wind-blown leaves across its loor.
He
heat hammeed again as she stepped acoss e theshold and wiin, but no doom ell upon he and no geate baies cononted he an e webs o e spides, ich she stuc though o slipped aound as she exploed, he ush-sandalled eet ustli e leaves at litteed e temple loo, miled, she now saw, wi insect-wis allen om e webs ate e spides had eaten ei ull. And en, as ough to conim he in he dai, a shat o sunlight stuc ough a ent in e temple’s oo, lighti a naow dooway in one wall, ee e pinned emnants o a lepidopteomancy still lieed. She tuned aside and passed e dooway to ind e chambe beyond hu wi ceemonial cloas ose ichness and beauty was evident even in e hal-gloom.
She too one down and caied it out into e sun-shat, and he heat sa to match e light at lashed and glitteed om e metal scales o supassi smallness at wee sewn to it in a hunded blended shades o gold and geen. It was modeled, she saw, on a amed buttely o e egion now diven nigh to extinction by huntes such as e ae o Nluth-Qea, o stuc it senseless om e ai wi blunt-headed shats, havi lued it om its habitual heights wi ove-ipe uit o bee-thicened uine. Wi such a cloa on he bac, no maiden o any village in e jule could match he, and he tiumph would be tiply sweetened by e couage she had displayed in entei e temple and e chagin o Nluth-Qea.
o a moment she pondeed ee to tae oe cloas wi he en she depated, at she might, in e nowledge o e wealth ey would bi he, be caeless ee she won e eunuch’s avo o no; but she decided against. e deam and moth had not ganted he so much, and she would be satisied wi at she had. But she would, ile e sun shone upon he, anticipate e selection, en she stood oth beside Nluth-Qea, tuni he ival’s eaes to tumpey and e expected gold o ily avo to mud. And so she thew e cloa aound hesel, and astened e chain o delicately ashioned gold aound he slende nec wi laughte at a staely between e temple’s walls. And en ee was silence in ich e sun-shat shited two paces acoss e lea-and-wi-scatteed loo and went out, leavi e temple, and its patient spides, to ei habitual gloom.
A wee late, as Nluth-Qea was bei caied noth wi a dozen oe gils in e eunuch’s etinue, she was still pondei e disappeaance o Šalinn-Hul, o had vanished on e eve o e selection and neve stood oth wi e oe gils o e village in at wothless cloa o jule-lowes. Nluth-Qea’s victoy had lost some o its sweetness in e absence o he ival; and doubtless at was y e gil had hidden hesel, happy to avoid e selection at e pice o e beati she was pehaps aleady undegoi, havi emeged om e jule en she saw e eunuch and his undelis depat e village wi Nluth-Qea.
At e thought Nluth-Qea pushed aside e veils o he litte and pushed he head oth, looi behind he alo e tail ey ollowed. e tees wee thinni aound em now, o e jule was givi way to e plain o south Uubi-Vlesan. How she loed o e chance to thow a inal wod in e ace o Shalinn-Hul: an ionic yindalavë (“ae-ee-well!”) o hulammabit (“i’s-avo-wi-ee!”). But as e thought stuc he e gold-geen glitte o a vayyaqu caught he eye, lyi staely low beside e tail. Wi ilial dutiulness she added a ed blossom to at day’s mnemonic-tee and set a vayyaqu lutte-sippi om it, eeby she would be eminded to inom he ae at e buttelies wee now beedi beyond e deep jule.
Yes, she thought as she watched e vayyaqu cuve o om e caavan o littes and vanish amo e tees, she would have a scibe compose a lette to e village piest, en she was well-established in e i’s seaglio. She duced bac into he litte and eastened its veils, heai a belated eeze o potest om e eunuch o ode at e caavan’s head, en settled bac against e plump-eaeed cushions to ollow he tain o thought to its conclusion. en e lette was dispatched she might be newly pegnant and waiti to give bith to e i’s hei, ile Shalinn-Hul chewed e cud o he bitteness in jule obscuity and was couted by scale-handed isheboys and louse-poppi appentice huntes. And pehaps, i she payed had to iliac, e span o at just-seen vayyaqu’s lie would end as he pegnancy ended, at e buttely’s cleansed soul might ente he child on his bith and bi him to utue geatness.
