ayla (fictitious character)

Ayla and Jondalar meet the Mautoi, the Mammoth Hunters, people like Ayla. Ayla finds herself torn between the wildly jealous Jondalar and the master carver Ranec.

When her parents are killed by an earthquake, 5-year-old Ayla wanders through the forest completely alone. Cold, hungry, and badly injured by a cave lion, the little girl is as good as gone until she is discovered by a group who call themselves the Clan of the Cave Bear. This clan, left homeless by the same disaster, have little interest in the helpless girl who comes from the tribe they refer to as the "Others." Only their medicine woman sees in Ayla a fellow human, worthy of care. She painstakingly nurses her back to health--a decision that will forever alter the physical and emotional structure of the clan.

Ayla and Jondalar finally reach the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, the settlement that is home to Jondalar's people. Here Ayla eagerly learns the ways of her new tribe while in turn sharing her knowledge, but finds her unique spiritual gifts make the quiet life she desires impossible.

Declared dead by the new leader of the ancient clan that has raised her, Ayla sets out to search for other humans like herself in prehistoric Europe.

As Ayla and Jondalar travel across Ice Age Europe they encounter savage enemies and brave friends in their search for a place they can call home.

Ayla and Jondalar finally reach the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, the settlement that is home to Jondalar's people. Here Ayla eagerly learns the ways of her new tribe while in turn sharing her knowledge, but finds her unique spiritual gifts make the quiet life she desires impossible.

Ayla and Jondalar, while living in prehistoric Europe, struggle to continue their lives among Jondalar's people, the Zelandonii, as Ayla becomes more aware of her growing powers as a Shaman. Her connection with the cave drawings in present-day France profoundly alters her life.

After her parents are killed in an earthquake, Ayla is raised by the Clan of the Cave Bear, a rival race of humanoid creatures living in prehistoric Europe. But Ayla knows she is different and a member of The Others, and she longs to find her own people.