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let them all absorb that, then said, “Much of the game has migrated too.”
    Everyone looked at the chief hunter, who was also beginning to yellow.
    “Fish has always been a delicacy with us,” Tahneh went on. “There has never been enough of it.”
    “There could be more,” said Ehreh, “if both hunters and judges concentrate on it. And perhaps our methods of fishing need improvement.”
    “The methods work,” defended the chief hunter. “It is not our fault that the sea here is less productive than the land. Send your judges. They’ll learn.”
    “There is no fault,” said Tahneh. “We have a drought and we have to move. That’s all.”
    “But we’re desert people,” said the chief hunter in a different tone. “Since the empire broke apart, our ancestors have lived on the desert. We should find another home here, where we belong.”
    All three of the others flashed white agreement at once.
    “This is our home ,” asserted the artisan again. “It may be that we must leave this dwelling for a while, but why should we leave the desert? What do we know about living in the mountains?”
    “What we don’t know, we’ll learn,” said Tahneh. “We have an offer of sanctuary in the mountains. Which desert tribe would make us such an offer?” The drought was extensive and her chiefs knew it. No desert tribe would be likely to welcome refugees now.
    “We’re not hungry yet,” said the hunter. “We’re not weak. We don’t have to go begging for what we need. We can take it.”
    “So.” Tahneh looked at Ehreh. This was something that she had discussed with him and all but decided to do—until now. “If we had to take from others to survive, we would do it. But now it’s not necessary, and the fighters we would have lost need not die.”
    The farmer spoke up. “But with two Hao, we wouldn’t lose many. Our luck would change.”
    Again there was general agreement.
    Tahneh had been waiting for this. It was an expression of the kind of belief, the kind of faith that made the people consider the Hao so essential. The Hao were supposed to possess some special ability to bring good to their people. It was not just that they tried to give good government, promote unity. Their mere presence was supposed to assure the people of good luck, fulfillment of their needs. Why else would a captive Hao, a bitter cripple, be better than no Hao at all?
    “Our luck has changed,” said Tahneh smoothly. “Because of the Tehkohn Hao, we’ll have a new home with game, water, fertile land. You’ll have two Hao working together for you willingly. And the toll that a captive Hao would have taken on his captors needs never be paid. There will be no more fighting, no more deaths.”
    “No more deaths until we reach Diut’s mountains,” said Ehreh. “Until his people can overwhelm us.”
    Tahneh had to look at him to understand that although he faced her, he was actually speaking to Diut, testing the young Hao as well as expressing his doubts.
    Diut spoke up at once. “I have already given my word that my people will accept you peacefully.” He came over to stand beside Tahneh and face the chief judge. “You’ll take your places among the Tehkohn and rise as high as your ability and your coloring will take you. Or you will remain as low as your judgment can keep you. ” Diut had not missed Ehreh’s too-familiar use of his name rather than his title. And Ehreh could not have missed the warning in Diut’s response. Tahneh watched silently, curious, as Ehreh was curious to see how Diut handled people who were not blue—how far they could push him. She would prevent fighting, if necessary, though she did not think it would be necessary. Diut knew that he was on trial before her chiefs. He might even realize that Ehreh was testing him. At any rate, he would not be eager to kill the Rohkohn chief judge if such a thing could be avoided. Ehreh would advance as far as Diut permitted, then with equal ease, retreat back