The chapter opens with the narrator coughing. He's in the middle of a conversation with a barzesa servant. The servant tells him that he's been called to the family's camp. The barzesas are the only people in the area, and they don't have any animals. They're eating him, the servant tells the narrator. He doesn't know if he'll live or die, but he does know that they'll eat his blood, meat, and bones. He also tells the servant that the true ancestor was corrupted by greed and arrogance, and that he descended from a distant place above the stars. The true ancestor explored the dry, dead earth, fought against the evil spirits, and returned the vitality of the plants to the earth. Finally, he entrusted the destiny of rebuilding the earth to the barzsa family. It's 72 years since that ancestor died, and the servant is finally here.