who by accident or precocious ferocity killed an opponent received special attention, but in general, killing was not condoned, late developers were allowed time to reach their full potential The Sardau believed mat after pubert} inherent ability would show itself, and then formal death combat was required in a match between single opponents of fairly equal skill Those who lulled their opponents ID the ring passed the first major step of initiation The production of warriors was always the final aim although fights to the death were permitted among adolescents, they were usually forbidden among adults Clearly, tribal rather than personal priorities produced this taboo the tnbe benefitted if the unfit were murdered at an early age, but the tnbe suffered if the best soldier killed the second-best soldier These pitiless tests never pitted boys against girls conflicts between the sexes were forbidden at any age Girls who survived past puberty faced no more initiation trials Thereafter, the strongest and most intelligent became wives, the less* capable became concubines Many Sardau children did not live to age twelve because of the hardships of Salusa Secundus, murderous raids by neighboring tnbes or the endurance tests the Sardau alone seem to have practiced Twice a year between eight and twelve, each child faced survival tests In mid-summer and mid-winter, the child was taken empty-handed into the wastes and left No time limit was set, no rescue party sent out, the child either returned or died In the first year after puberty, males were sent on the most difficult survival test- to Skull Reach, the region of Salusa Secundus with the greatest extremes of temperature But well over ninety percent of those sent to Skull Reach returned, reflecting the hardi ness of the young Sardau The survivors became full warriors, who could join raids tor plunder Bv then they had learned swordsmanship, ganja-ndmg unarmed combat and rudimentary tactics Their skills were honed during adolescence against other tnbes, but since those tribes raised their young almost as rigorously as the Sardau, the mortality rate among the youths was not inconsiderable That Sardau children reached adulthood in appreciable numbers was due to the astonishing fecundity not only of the Sardau but of most tnbes on Salusa Secundub Females who had reached puberty faced their own test succes sive pregnancies The Sardau birth rate was such that infants and children outnumbered adults almost five to one The initiation rituals weeded out the weak, leaving the strong to maintain a stable tribal population Females bred as soon as they were physi-call) capable but sex for males was a reward for performance in battle Those who excelled in leadership and prowess were giv en second rate women as concubines, but a young man could afford a wife from among the best women only if he could pay an enormous bnde-pnce from his spoils of war Thus, leadership of the Sardau fell to the most abl