Two clans, the Others (warriors) and the People (peaceful, believing in the power of dreams) lived in the far north where the seasons were the Long Dark and the Long Light. The water was rising. These people were under pressure to move from their traditional hunting grounds by the Glacier people west of them (white, hairy, used boats, and had some kind of disease) who were in turn being pressured by others (look like the People and the Others). There was no place to go unless they crossed the glacier toward the south. The People were the furthest east so received the most pressure. They and the Others were one people in the past but became divided over the Dreams.
Heron, a dreamer, used certain mushrooms to connect to the One. In a key dream she saw Ice Fire rape a woman when he thought she was the spirit of his dead wife. As a result she had twins, one born in light (Runs in Light) who was a dreamer, and the second born in blood, angry and crying, and catching a raven feather in his hand (Raven Hunter).
Dancing Fox loves Runs in Light but is married to Crow Caller, an elderly fake dreamer who mistreats her. In the worst of their starving time Runs in Light kills a Wolf and eats the heart, which starts his true dreaming of going south under the glacier. Part of the People go north following Crow Caller and the others go south following Runs in Light (renamed Wolf Dreamer), eventually getting to the hot sulfur springs/geyser where Heron lives. Dancing Fox becomes an outcast but Raven Hunter wants her, giving her enough food to live, and raping her. She eventually leaves the group and goes with old Talon on her own and survives, becoming a strong hunter as a result of her ordeal. In the meantime, Heron trains Wolf Dreamer, who finally realizes that to be a true dreamer he must give up all personal attachments, including his love of Dancing Fox. Heron has a dream of the future in which we hear of the Father of Waters, tall buildings/monuments, corn, and rattlesnakes. She dies because she could not stop loving an individual.
Raven Hunter has a certain dark power that attracts followers and starts a killing spree of the Others, causing retaliation. Moon Water, an aristocrat of Ice Fire’s people is captured by the People and becomes a second wife. She is present when Wolf Dreamer crosses the glacier and comes back under it. She is among those who go through the hole in the ice and and she sneaks back alone to bring the secret of the passage to Ice Fire, the dreamer of the Others.
After Wolf Dreamer unites with the One he kills Crow Caller in a confrontation. Raven Hunter tries to kill Wolf Dreamer but kills a child instead and is sent away. He goes to the Others to kill Ice Fire but is captured and Ice Fire arranges for him to escape and take the White Hide totem south of the glacier. He becomes obsessed with carrying the heavy hide, which has power. He mistakenly believes he has captured the soul of the Others.
Dancing Fox meets with Ice Fire to work out a peace. She eventually sleeps with him and conceives a child who is central to their future (brother of Wolf Dreamer and Raven Hunter).
Once everyone is through the hole in the glacier, Wolf Dreamer is called by Wolf to join the One. He first fights with his brother, who goes off to die. No sign is ever found of Wolf Dreamer’s death, although the wolves howl for days after.
Important to remember:
The Sacred White Hide (the hide of a baby mammoth) is a power totem. It is held by the Others, taken by Raven Hunter, and goes back to the Tiger Belly Clan of the Others.Spider image in the sky. The Sky Spider spins the web that holds up the sun and the sky. Quote: “The web is almost complete. The spiral of the spider is coming together.” This will come true in the birth of Ice Fire and Dancing Fox’s child.
The One (also called the Great Mystery) - the dreamers’ aim is to become part of the one. Quote: Change is “the breath of the One, a step in the Dance.”
After Death - The People believe at death the person’s body must lay exposed at a high point and be sung to the Star People. Burying is the worst punishment. The Others believed a person’s heart had to be placed in the Great River so it could go the Camp of Souls under the sea.
A Dreamer (some aspects) - power taunts, stirs the mind, forcing toward the blinding light inside. Touches the soul of the World, becomes part of it (the One). The Dreamer is chosen, must decide whether to accept. Sinks into the world, lets it swallow him/her until he/she no longer exists. Basic rule: there is only one life. The One Life is a Dance: have to feel its motions before can understand it. Dreamers have no room for family. Each thing/being has personal dance - must get below it for the One Dance. When have reached inner “hole” (nothing), can handle fire (be one with), and poison. Sees people’s souls in various colors.
Spiral - everything goes round and round in eternal dance. The spiral holds power. It is a sign of the One, as is a cross (opposites crossed). Circles within circles within circles.
The cleansing power of steam. It clears the mind. Dreaming Wolf sprinkled snow on hot stones to produce steam, then pulling his cloak up to capture it (like a steam tent/sweat lodge).
The refining of the dart used with an atlatl is mentioned.
Briefly mentioned is that dogs carry burdens.