How Long 'Til Black Future Month?

Cet, known for being a Gatherer, knows that in Gujaareh, “trouble” arrives in “twos” (296). For Cet, this trouble takes the form of “two women” (296). The first is a woman who has been “injured by an angry bull ox” (296). She is brain dead and needs help moving her soul into the “land of dreams,” which is why Cet has been called in (297). He arrives to find her husband hysterical and insisting she be kept alive. After threatening the husband with his “jungissa stone,” Cet explains that at best, if revived, his wife would have the mind of a child, which would then make their marriage inappropriate (297). Cet leans over and presses her eyelids, safely delivering her soul to the proper realm and gathering her “dreamblood” (298). When he is finished, he rises to find his “Temple Superior” watching him. He compliments Cet on his ability to give “peace without dreamblood” and tells him “our Goddess” would be impressed (298). Cet says the Goddess is more likely upset because there was just so much “violence […] at Her feet” (298). His superior tells him “chaos” is inevitable and then calls him to his office so that he can tell Cet what his next mission is (299).

In the office, he is met by a confident woman named Mehepi, three men, and another silent woman sitting separately from the rest. He asks if the silent woman is supposed to function as “payment” in exchange for his help, and though Mehepi denies it, it’s clear this is the case (300). The silent woman explains that she is a “curse” because she is “barren” as she was unable to give her and Mehepi’s husband, or her rapists, a child (301). Her companions agree and say that they thought a Gatherer like Cet would want a woman who brings death—not life. Cet retorts that “[d]eath is not a Gatherer’s business […] peace” is (301). He also says he does not require payment when “the peace of many is under threat” as it appears to be from where Mehepi and her brood came (302). The Temple Superior explains that Mehepi and her people keep falling under a “sleep spell” then being robbed (30). Cet is incredulous as he thought sleep spells could only be used by the church, but his superior only says they must fight magic “with magic” (302). Inside, Cet wishes he could pass this duty off to another healer, but he knows he will look “hypocritical” if he does so, and he is also intrigued by the barren woman. He agrees to the mission, only requesting that a “soul-healer” help him (303). Both he and the Temple Superior dislike the soul-healers but agree on the necessity of one all the same.

A high-ranking soul-healer named Ginnem arrives but Cet is immediately annoyed because he is a man. He confronts Ginnem about this choice, saying a woman would have been more appropriate for this job since the barren woman has suffered at the hands of men. Ginnem defends his right to be there by explaining that the barren woman is also mistreated by women and that he has been a victim of rape, so he can understand some of the barren woman’s plight. He tells Cet that Cet should probably soon engage with the barren woman.

When everyone is asleep, Cet approaches the barren woman and asks her name. She says to call her Namsut and says that she reveres Gatherers, even if they often must bring death in order to bring peace. This makes Cet feel good so he assures her he will find the men that killed Mehepi’s husband and raped Namsut and make them pay. Namsut says he should kill the men, but not for her because she has been raped so many times by so many people that he would have to spend the rest of his life chasing them down. Cet then asks what would make her feel better and she asks him to impregnate her.

He reports her request to Ginnem the next morning, explaining that she would rule her village if she could bear a child. Ginnem says he thinks Mehepi is after the same with him. Unlike Cet, Ginnem is happy to oblige, as he sees sex as one way to heal people. He admits, however, she has not been so forward as to “approach” him yet (307). The men decide that the two women are battling each other in order to gain power over their village, knowing that a baby is key to this win. Ginnem says that Namsut is after power or she could easily have escaped by now. This bothers Cet who finds Namsut “beautiful” and worthy of “respect” (309). He compares her to a horse his brutal father once tried to sell, who chose to brave the current instead of fall into the wrath of another miser’s hand. The horse put himself in great danger to gain freedom; Cet believes Namsut is doing the same. Ginnem tells Cet he should go for it but Cet reminds Ginnem that as a Gatherer he must remain celibate. Ginnem replies that Cet’s duty is to bring peace, whatever means necessary.

They go to bed and Cet dreams of Namsut standing over some water in the desert. She looks at the water and tells Cet “I wish I could be you” (311). She tells him she was first raped as a child, that it broke her parents’ hearts and that she has been full of “shame” since (311). Cet offers her some dreamblood that will “erase [her] pain [and] quiet [her] emotions” (311). She resists this offer, saying pain makes her “strong” (311). She repeats her request for a child. He offers Ginnem and explains his limitations in that respect, but she insists that the only being she wants to impregnate her is Cet. She continues to push and though it is clear he “want[s] to”, he continues to resist (313).

The group gathers supplies and travels towards Namsut and Mehepi’s homeland. When they put up camp for the night, Cet notices Ginnem rubbing Namsut beneath a blanket. He sees red and almost attacks him but just as quickly realizes Ginnem is only “healing” her (314). Ginnem approaches Cet and confronts him over the “jealousy” he could feel from across the room (314). He assures Cet he is not even capable of having a child. Cet reveals he is worried that he is about to “go mad”—something that eventually happens to all Gatherers (315). Their conversation is interrupted by the “whine of a jungissa stone” and an overwhelming urge to sleep (315). Cet realizes the narcomancers who have been messing with Mehepi and Namsut’s village are upon them. He casts a counter spell using his jungissa stone and the attackers run away.

Cet explains the jungissa stone is one of 15 known stones that enhance a trained narcomancer’s power. Namsut interrupts this train of thought to say she thinks one more recently fell from the sky. Ginnem says they must retrieve the stone right way. Mehepi accuses Namsut of infidelity towards their deceased husband, saying she could only have known about the falling jungissa stone if she was sneaking around at night. Namsut mocks Mehepi in return and Ginnem scolds Mehepi for her behavior. Namsut exits the group and Cet follows her so he can ask about scars he saw on her hands. He realizes the scars helped her stay awake during the narcomancer’s attack while everyone else fell asleep. He can’t help himself and he heals the scars. She heads off to wash up, making sure he knows that healing her scars did not “help” her (320).  

They eventually arrive in the village to find the people and the place devastated. Cet notices the villagers are warm to Namsut but not to Mehepi. The villagers throw them a meager “feast,” making evident how “poor” the whole town is (321). Ginnem points out that stopping the narcomancers will not save the town as they are “too poor to survive,” even with access to some lapis (321). Ginnem notices Cet watching Namsut and says it's evident Cet is in “love” (322). He tells Cet to hurry up and make his move, that Namsut is in fact “fertile,” just fortunate not to have conceived the progeny of any of her rapists (323).

That night, Cet dreams of the child he and Namsut could have. It’s a beautiful dream that is interrupted by Ginnem announcing the arrival of the narcomancers. Cet acts quickly and pegs a narcomancer with his jungissa stone, then drags him into the land of dreams. There, he confronts the narcomancer—a young man who claims to have been raised by the church. Cet demands to know how he could turn his back on the Goddess. The boy explains that he had been kidnapped by the narcomancers but not allowed to use the stone. He stole some of the stone for himself and got away, and since then had been wreaking havoc. Cet asks him to show him where the narcomancers keep their jungissa stone, so through a dream vision, the young man shows him the hiding place. Cet takes him to a place where the young man will die because he used his “freedom” to hurt others (327). He leaves the young man in the land of dreams and returns to earth where he gets the jungissa stone from the now dead narcomancer’s grip. He directs the villagers to the location of the larger jungissa stone, and with Namsut’s encouragement, explains how they can use the jungissa stone to restore wealth to their currently impoverished area.

Namsut seeks him out later to thank him and to apologize for being so pushy about having a child. Cet tells her he is willing to impregnate her under the condition that he will never see her or the baby again. She agrees, knowing the “village will care for” her (329). They have sex and Cet declares it “holy,” realizing he has not forsaken his oath to the Goddess but upheld it by having sex with Namsut.

As Cet predicted, the church pays a handsome sum to Namsut and Mehepi’s village for the jungissa stone. Cet parts ways with a sad Ginnem, who urges him to stay with Namsut. He says he cannot do that and quickly proceeds to confess the whole adventure to his Temple Superior. He then asks to be killed because he knows his love for Namsut means the “madness” is coming (331). A fellow Gatherer kills him, but before he dies, he tells the Gatherer to have his daughter named “Cetennem” (332). He passes with the hope that he will meet Namsut again in her dreams.