Until the Celebration
Encyclopedia
Until the Celebration is a fantasy novel by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
, the third book in the Green Sky Trilogy
.
The first group to receive the revelations are prominent Kindar leaders. D'ol Falla recounts the true history of their civilization and exposes the lies regarding the Pash-shan. She then introduces Hiro D'ahnk, thought to have been captured and killed by the vile creatures, who verifies that the Pash-shan are really entrapped Kindar and that he has lived with them after being imprisoned by the Geets-kel. He also recounts the events of the past few days that have led to the secrets being revealed and the planned "Rejoyning" of Erdlings with Kindar. The Kindar have difficulty accepting the news and are initially hesitant to help with any plans until they are told of the miracle re-appearance of uniforce. With that, the fears of many Kindar leaders are relieved and they volunteer to help with tasks such as bringing food down to the starving Erdlings.
A similar presentation is made to the Ol-zhaan. They have different concerns, such as why they had been left out of the secrets and how their lofty place in society will be diminished. Some think it would be best if they would exile themselves into an uninhabited tree as D'ol Regle has done, while others are eager to help with D'ol Falla's agenda.
Meanwhile, Raamo, Pomma, and Teera have turned into celebrities and are moved into the vine palace to provide some privacy. The attention makes them somewhat uneasy as they no longer have freedom to wander about and are uncomfortable being thought as deities when they still feel like regular children.
Food starts being delivered to the Erdlings and members of their society begin talks of how to integrate with the Kindar. The initial plan is to not release Erdlings into the open air immediately, but they soon catch word of the way out and start building crude dwellings on the forest floor.
Six months later, integration of Kindar and Erdling is moving along slowly. Erdlings are much less reserved than Kindar—the adults talk boisterously and the children play roughly. They also light fires, eat meat, use metal weapons, and buy things with money, all foreign concepts to Kindar. Erdlings are instantly identifiable due to their dark skin, sun-tanned while waiting for food to drop from the Kindar orchards. Erdlings find some of the Kindar school lessons strange, so they are having a separate school made for their children. Every week, various complaints from both groups are brought to the Joint Council for discussion.
Neric is returning from yet another drawn out meeting when he hears news that D'ol Wassou has been attacked by a group of Erdlings known as the Nekom. Lead by Axon Befal, they have sworn vengeance against the Geets-kel for imprisoning the Erdlings. Wassou, always in favor of Erdling freedom, is now being attended to by healers. The news is taken to the Kinder-Erdling council, which struggles to cope with this new concept of violence. They decide that Befal and the Nekom must be found and restricted to a newly built city for two years.
On both Kinder and Erdling sides, resistance groups are gathering strength. Axon Befal has escaped his holding area and is formulating plans with fellow Nekom in the Erdling city on the forest floor. They discuss their attack on Wassou and a near-attack on Raamo, regretful that both still live. Meanwhile, D'ol Salaat, working for D'ol Regle, leads his men to pillage food from the orchards and take it back to their hiding place in the forest. He meets an infiltrator trying to locate the tool-of-violence inside the vine palace. Both groups are quietly trying to recruit more members from the general population.
As Chief Mediator, Hiro D'ahnk has many issues to tackle. He is under stress, which is soon compounded by Neric's news that Axon Befal has been lost for a month and they are just hearing about it now. He rests before making way to his next Joint Council meeting where numerous topics are discussed, but no Erdling mentions the loss of Befal. Just as the meeting is coming to a close, Raamo's mother barges in with the news that Pomma and Teera are missing, and a vine is hanging from their window.
Hiro is dejected. He goes straight to bed and then wanders around Green-sky the next day, finding it practically deserted. The devastating news has spread everywhere, and Hiro has no confidence in the Erdlings and Kindar getting along without the children that gave them hope. He goes to see Raamo.
More bad news follows. First D'ol Falla finds that the tool-of-violence is missing from its hiding place, most likely in the hands of D'ol Regle. Then Axon Befal sends a message that he has kidnapped the children and will kill them unless Orbora is turned over to his control. With much difficulty, a Council meeting is arranged, deciding to send search parties are into the forest to see what Regle's and Befal's groups are up to. The reports are presented at subsequent Council meetings, surprisingly indicating that their compounds are nearly deserted. Then, just as a Council meeting is getting underway, in walks the suspected tool-of-violence stealer, Maala D'ach, a servant in the Vine Palace. She carries a leaf bundle and tells how she was instructed by D'ol Regle to steal the tool-of-violence, but then became disenchanted with him when she thought he had kidnapped the children. She peels back the bundle she is carrying to reveal the weapon, which the Council decides must be destroyed as soon as possible. They decide to take it down to the Erdling cavern and drop it into the Bottomless Lake.
Raamo leads the procession carrying the tool-of-violence inside a metal urn. They descend to the forest floor, take a mining car through the Erdling caverns, and finally arrive at the metal barrier sealing off the Bottomless Lake. The urn is placed before an opening in the barrier made by the Erdlings, but all are afraid to touch the evil object. Raamo eventually steps forward, picks up the urn, and carries it to the edge of a precipice, below which is the Bottomless Lake. He tries to drop the urn, but its power prevents him from doing so and he tumbles into the lake with it. Holding lamps over the hole, no trace of him is seen or heard.
After the initial shock has worn off, a young man lets out a cry, comes forward, and throws a weapon into the lake. He explains only that he has a story to tell the Council. Up in Orbora, the man reveals that he was recruited by Axon Befal to kill Raamo, but was not able to do so when he saw the goodness in him. He reports that Axon Befal does not have possession of the children or any more followers and that his message was simply a bluff.
A celebration had been planned for the one year anniversary of the Rejoyning, but with Pomma and Teera still missing there doesn't seem to be anything to celebrate about. So instead of a joyful event, the citizens of Orbora gather in their newly-built amphitheater to mourn together. D'ol Falla is asked to speak, but is nearly lost for words. The first thing that comes to her mind is that the Kindar should celebrate indeed, for they have managed to free the Erdlings and largely come together as a united society. She tells them they did not need Pomma and Teera to inspire them, that they had found the power in themselves. Suddenly, a figure glides down from above. It is a servant in the D'ok household, bringing news that the children have been found. To the great relief of the crowd, they appear shortly thereafter. It turns out they were simply hiding from all the attention they had been getting in a tucked-away place. Lack of play had caused their spirit skills to weaken again, and they wanted to gain them back in case they needed to do another demonstration.
As Hiro gives one last speech to the people of Orbora, D'ol Falla finds the back room where the children are playing. Off to the side, two little boys raise their arms up as a marble urn lifts off the shelf and floats gently to the floor. Teera smiles at D'ol Falla, telling her they've been teaching the other children their "game."
Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Zilpha Keatley Snyder is an acclaimed author of books for children and young adults. Snyder was awarded three Newbery Honor Book awards for The Egypt Game, The Headless Cupid and The Witches of Worm. Since 1964, Snyder has completed 43 books...
, the third book in the Green Sky Trilogy
Green Sky Trilogy
The Green Sky Trilogy is a series of fantasy novels by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, originally published between 1975 and 1978 by Atheneum. The books feature illustrations by Alton Raible....
.
Plot summary
Now that the inner circle of Ol-zhann, known as the Geets-kel, have decided to reveal their secrets and integrate Erdlings with Kindar, there is much concern over how to do it properly. A lifetime of beliefs will not be converted easily and there are numerous logistical issues to consider.The first group to receive the revelations are prominent Kindar leaders. D'ol Falla recounts the true history of their civilization and exposes the lies regarding the Pash-shan. She then introduces Hiro D'ahnk, thought to have been captured and killed by the vile creatures, who verifies that the Pash-shan are really entrapped Kindar and that he has lived with them after being imprisoned by the Geets-kel. He also recounts the events of the past few days that have led to the secrets being revealed and the planned "Rejoyning" of Erdlings with Kindar. The Kindar have difficulty accepting the news and are initially hesitant to help with any plans until they are told of the miracle re-appearance of uniforce. With that, the fears of many Kindar leaders are relieved and they volunteer to help with tasks such as bringing food down to the starving Erdlings.
A similar presentation is made to the Ol-zhaan. They have different concerns, such as why they had been left out of the secrets and how their lofty place in society will be diminished. Some think it would be best if they would exile themselves into an uninhabited tree as D'ol Regle has done, while others are eager to help with D'ol Falla's agenda.
Meanwhile, Raamo, Pomma, and Teera have turned into celebrities and are moved into the vine palace to provide some privacy. The attention makes them somewhat uneasy as they no longer have freedom to wander about and are uncomfortable being thought as deities when they still feel like regular children.
Food starts being delivered to the Erdlings and members of their society begin talks of how to integrate with the Kindar. The initial plan is to not release Erdlings into the open air immediately, but they soon catch word of the way out and start building crude dwellings on the forest floor.
Six months later, integration of Kindar and Erdling is moving along slowly. Erdlings are much less reserved than Kindar—the adults talk boisterously and the children play roughly. They also light fires, eat meat, use metal weapons, and buy things with money, all foreign concepts to Kindar. Erdlings are instantly identifiable due to their dark skin, sun-tanned while waiting for food to drop from the Kindar orchards. Erdlings find some of the Kindar school lessons strange, so they are having a separate school made for their children. Every week, various complaints from both groups are brought to the Joint Council for discussion.
Neric is returning from yet another drawn out meeting when he hears news that D'ol Wassou has been attacked by a group of Erdlings known as the Nekom. Lead by Axon Befal, they have sworn vengeance against the Geets-kel for imprisoning the Erdlings. Wassou, always in favor of Erdling freedom, is now being attended to by healers. The news is taken to the Kinder-Erdling council, which struggles to cope with this new concept of violence. They decide that Befal and the Nekom must be found and restricted to a newly built city for two years.
On both Kinder and Erdling sides, resistance groups are gathering strength. Axon Befal has escaped his holding area and is formulating plans with fellow Nekom in the Erdling city on the forest floor. They discuss their attack on Wassou and a near-attack on Raamo, regretful that both still live. Meanwhile, D'ol Salaat, working for D'ol Regle, leads his men to pillage food from the orchards and take it back to their hiding place in the forest. He meets an infiltrator trying to locate the tool-of-violence inside the vine palace. Both groups are quietly trying to recruit more members from the general population.
As Chief Mediator, Hiro D'ahnk has many issues to tackle. He is under stress, which is soon compounded by Neric's news that Axon Befal has been lost for a month and they are just hearing about it now. He rests before making way to his next Joint Council meeting where numerous topics are discussed, but no Erdling mentions the loss of Befal. Just as the meeting is coming to a close, Raamo's mother barges in with the news that Pomma and Teera are missing, and a vine is hanging from their window.
Hiro is dejected. He goes straight to bed and then wanders around Green-sky the next day, finding it practically deserted. The devastating news has spread everywhere, and Hiro has no confidence in the Erdlings and Kindar getting along without the children that gave them hope. He goes to see Raamo.
More bad news follows. First D'ol Falla finds that the tool-of-violence is missing from its hiding place, most likely in the hands of D'ol Regle. Then Axon Befal sends a message that he has kidnapped the children and will kill them unless Orbora is turned over to his control. With much difficulty, a Council meeting is arranged, deciding to send search parties are into the forest to see what Regle's and Befal's groups are up to. The reports are presented at subsequent Council meetings, surprisingly indicating that their compounds are nearly deserted. Then, just as a Council meeting is getting underway, in walks the suspected tool-of-violence stealer, Maala D'ach, a servant in the Vine Palace. She carries a leaf bundle and tells how she was instructed by D'ol Regle to steal the tool-of-violence, but then became disenchanted with him when she thought he had kidnapped the children. She peels back the bundle she is carrying to reveal the weapon, which the Council decides must be destroyed as soon as possible. They decide to take it down to the Erdling cavern and drop it into the Bottomless Lake.
Raamo leads the procession carrying the tool-of-violence inside a metal urn. They descend to the forest floor, take a mining car through the Erdling caverns, and finally arrive at the metal barrier sealing off the Bottomless Lake. The urn is placed before an opening in the barrier made by the Erdlings, but all are afraid to touch the evil object. Raamo eventually steps forward, picks up the urn, and carries it to the edge of a precipice, below which is the Bottomless Lake. He tries to drop the urn, but its power prevents him from doing so and he tumbles into the lake with it. Holding lamps over the hole, no trace of him is seen or heard.
After the initial shock has worn off, a young man lets out a cry, comes forward, and throws a weapon into the lake. He explains only that he has a story to tell the Council. Up in Orbora, the man reveals that he was recruited by Axon Befal to kill Raamo, but was not able to do so when he saw the goodness in him. He reports that Axon Befal does not have possession of the children or any more followers and that his message was simply a bluff.
A celebration had been planned for the one year anniversary of the Rejoyning, but with Pomma and Teera still missing there doesn't seem to be anything to celebrate about. So instead of a joyful event, the citizens of Orbora gather in their newly-built amphitheater to mourn together. D'ol Falla is asked to speak, but is nearly lost for words. The first thing that comes to her mind is that the Kindar should celebrate indeed, for they have managed to free the Erdlings and largely come together as a united society. She tells them they did not need Pomma and Teera to inspire them, that they had found the power in themselves. Suddenly, a figure glides down from above. It is a servant in the D'ok household, bringing news that the children have been found. To the great relief of the crowd, they appear shortly thereafter. It turns out they were simply hiding from all the attention they had been getting in a tucked-away place. Lack of play had caused their spirit skills to weaken again, and they wanted to gain them back in case they needed to do another demonstration.
As Hiro gives one last speech to the people of Orbora, D'ol Falla finds the back room where the children are playing. Off to the side, two little boys raise their arms up as a marble urn lifts off the shelf and floats gently to the floor. Teera smiles at D'ol Falla, telling her they've been teaching the other children their "game."