Highlander 1. Default Chapter

**Author's Foreword: **Several people have asked for additional stories about Aja, the ancient immortal who found and taught Methos. This is her story. Also, if you haven't found it yet, please read **_Lost in the Shadows_**, which I recently loaded. Both of these short stories ar set in the same AU as the longer stories **_Crossroads in Time_**, **_The Pilgrim Heart_**, **_The Shattered Soul_**, and _**The Artist's Loving Hand**_. I appreaciate any and all reviews. -_elle-nora'  
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_**Fallen Embers:  
**__**Wind and Water, Fire and Earth**_

_For the breath of life is in the sunlight  
__And the hand of life is in the wind._

_Kalil Gibran_

**1**

How long she had huddled in the darkness… fearing the storm that lashed the landscape, Aja did not know. Time had ceased to have meaning for her. All that remained was the storm, the heaving of the earth and the fire that moved inexorably across its face. Even the ocean seemed to sizzle as if even there, life was dying.

"My fault!" she cried beating her hands against her head again and again. Ever since she and Kritis, her brother, had begun the slaying of the People and the Others, chaos had ruled the day. _Chaos… fire… the agent of change_, she whispered to the lightning, thinking, perhaps, if she said the old chants and gave obeisance to the Source of Life… that she would be forgiven and the storm would end.

But the storm continued.

Lightning crackled through the darkness and the inner fire of the earth heaved into the sky in bright plumes of molten lava. The air no longer smelled of fresh grass or cut flowers… but instead smelled of scorched earth and sulfur.

Kritis had vanished wailing to the East… somehow forbidden to seek shelter in the earth he loved, even as Aja found the beloved ocean of her childhood… now a violent wind-tossed tempest.

_He was Earth and I was Water. Until we have calmed… until we are at peace with what we did… the elements turn their face from us,_ she thought.

On her hand… where once the sign for water had been carved… her palm burned. She rubbed at it… feeling the emptiness of her soul. Kritis had been bound to her right hand… earth and water… creation and sustenance.

Almost as an afterthought… she opened her left hand and stared at it. That palm was cold and dead. The symbol of fire was dead… as dead as Havron's love for her it seemed. Air… the breath of life, and fire the agent of change.

Havron had warned her that killing D'Jann would not ease their father's pain at slaying their mother. "Only more hurt can come from this!" Havron had screamed against the rising storm.

But she and Kritis hadn't listened. Their father seemed to live within her… screaming forever his pain and sorrow. Their mother, Gael, too seemed to be there… filled with a despondent sorrow that turned the world to ash. Her despair seemed greater than Aja's own. Anger, despair, jealousy, and hatred filled her even now… even as it had filled her when, with her father's death… she'd helped her brother in the slaying of the People. One by one the life essences of the People had lit up the sky in an ever-growing maelstrom of lightning and spent power.

True… some escaped. But most did not. Nor had they been satisfied to attack the People. The Small Ones… the tiny ones sent to them by the Source of Life to be cherished and raised were also slain. So, too, the Others… the mortal and short-lived ones for whom the People had always cared… ran in terror from the demons, which seemed to have suddenly appeared.

Now the very existence of life itself was in doubt… unless the earth calmed, the seas stopped raging, the fires were quenched, and the air stopped blowing in a howling gale that sought to freeze her soul. Aja did not know what to do.

And still the storm raged.

Curling in upon herself in the dark, shallow hollow of the earth, Aja sought to make sense of the past… and sense of the glimmer of the future that even now flickered in Gael's great crystal. Scenes of some future that sparked and faded as each moment passed, and each chance for a different outcome faded. The future was like a thousand roads splayed about her… like the spokes of a wheel, and Aja was lost as to which to take.

Whimpering… she took refuge in the memories of the past… long before the madness had destroyed her world.

_**Within the Standing Stones, in the Before Time:**_

The moon was dark this night, hiding her silver face behind the veil of night. A cold wind blew across the face of the earth and Aja shivered as she huddled at the edge of the Standing Stones, the Sentinels of the Source, and peered into the darkness. On nights such as this… a small one sometimes appeared. It was, Aja, first daughter of the People had decided, the way of the Source… to send one when none should be about the Stones. This was neither a night for the celebrations… nor a night for the rituals. This was a night when most were in their hovels, clasping their beloved, and seeking warmth in their beloved's arms.

Aja sighed. On such a night, even she would wish it so. Still a child in the counting of seasons of the People, she remained as yet at the home of those who raised her, D'Jann the speaker and Gael the Healer, her mother and father in the speech of the Others.

At a scurry of small rocks behind her, she stiffened and then relaxed as Havron, her brother's friend, and the male she most hoped to bond with in the future, climbed into the hollow with her and wrapped his arms about her from behind.

He leaned close to her left ear as his hands found hers. "Why do you watch the night, first daughter?"

"Go away," Aja laughed and tried to shrug him off. "I'm busy. I want to see how it is the Small Ones come."

"They just do," Havron said as he nuzzled her ear and darted his tongue into it lightly and teasingly.

Aja felt the thrill of something deep within her at his attention. She'd always adored him and always known that one day they would be together even as Gael and D'Jann were, and she longed for that day. But tonight she was busy.

Eight times she'd sat here watching for a Small One to appear… and eight times she had failed. The one time one had appeared, it had been near dawn and she'd closed her eyes for only a moment. Startled when she heard a baby's cry… she realized that she'd missed the moment.

When Aja had been small, Gael had gathered the Small Ones and found them homes. Now the first of them, Kritis, he whom Aja called brother, Havron and she would soon face the trials and the changing… the secret ceremony by which they would be ushered into the unchanging life of the People. And now, it was Aja who came to the circle each morning in search of the Small Ones. Most of the hovels had one, and a few had two of them to raise. Surely the last of them would come soon. After all, surely the Source of all Life would not send too many more. One of the lessons of the symbols was that all life was to be held in balance. When the balance was altered… there were catastrophic failures. The job of the People was to maintain the balance of life in this place.

They watched over the Others so that with their increasing numbers they did not over-hunt the herds or over-fish the sea. They made certain that they did not clear the forests or dam up the streams unnecessarily. They watched over the Others and kept them safe.

But the influx of small ones in what had been for millennia a closed and static society of the People, was a wonder and a topic of conversation. They who never had children… suddenly had small ones to raise. Ones who looked like the babies of the Others… but in whom were the promise of the future. The People accepted and cared for the Small Ones as only the latest in the gifts they'd received from the Source of Life. "It is the Source's way of fulfilling our longings and desires," Morannon, the judge had said recently.

But Aja wanted to know how it was they arrived, if not how they were created.

Havron's hands teased across her bare breasts and he blew into her ear as he now wrapped even his legs around her. "It's cold out here. You're like ice, first daughter."

Aja leaned back against his bare chest as she often did when they sat at the evening campfires. In the past season, instead of sitting so often with Kritis and pelting her with small stones and teasing her, he'd begun to sit with her. Their elders nodded approvingly at their obvious choice of one another, and averted their eyes, as was the custom whenever any pair wished to pleasure one another.

"I need to watch, far-seeker."

"We have so many… surely no more will come." One of his hands moved down to rest lightly on her abdomen. "You can watch another night. Let me warm you now."

Aja closed her eyes and concentrated on the feel of his hands on her. They'd not done much else, as the elders had forbidden a formal joining until they were much older, but both had known increasingly in recent days that the time of choice was upon them. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps she was on a fool's errand and that they were what was important this night.

Aja shifted to face him and spread her legs to encircle him, feeling him enter her as they clasped one another in an attempt to reach the moment of unity that they'd heard the elders speak of… the moment when mind and body became one… when heart and soul beat as one… darkness and light… sunlight and wind… fire and rain… pain and pleasure.

Her mouth hungrily found his and they rocked back and forth in the night… eventually falling to one side as they sought to find other positions to totally encompass one another and to explore the undiscovered country of one another. Above them, Aja saw stars falling in the night sky.

No small one had come that night, nor for long nights after that. But Aja no longer sought to spend her nights watching. Instead, she sought only Havron, getting to know the smell of him, the sound of him, the feel of him. They were joined in heart if not yet in soul, in body if not yet in mind. They were the first of the Small Ones to take the next steps into the undying life.

_Once, as my heart remembers,  
__All the stars were fallen embers,  
__Once, when night seemed forever  
__I was with you_

from **_Fallen Embers_**, lyrics by Roma Ryan


	2. 2

**2**

Aja moaned and screamed long into the maelstrom about her. Her memories were like ash in her mouth. The Before Time… was a paradise which she had helped to destroy. She and her brother had destroyed it all.

Again and again she hit the sides of her head and moaned, crying into the sounds of the storm, "My fault! My fault!" She could not conceive that it was not somehow all her fault. She should have known better. Death brings only more death.

Lightning flashed in the sky as Aja wailed. Another of the people had died somewhere close by. Their life force ripped into the heavens and she felt the shudder of creation beneath her. "So… Kritis and I were not the only ones who learned to kill," she whispered. Hot tears fell. Resolutely she forced herself to her feet in the blasted landscape and turned toward the quickening even now fading in the cloud-filled sky. She grasped the sharpened staff she used for walking. The upper end she had filed until it bore a sharpened and hardened edge. She'd seasoned it in fire until it was as hard as stone. The edges she'd carved were like sharp flint… but not as brittle. Still, she might need something less obvious if she found one of the People… especially one who might also carry one of the marvelous _swords_ of _metal_.

Her tongue tried to wrap around the unfamiliar words that D'Jann had used to describe the weapon he'd brought back. Aja hoped never to see one of those things again… whatever they were. They were far too efficient at killing. One great slice across a neck and the head and body separated. One great slice and the life force erupted in a tortured wave of lightning. She shuddered in the memory of the sword in her hands… and the deaths of those she'd loved.

Around her neck she still wore the shells strung on a plant-fiber cord that Havron had made for her… tied loosely about her waist was the flint she'd taken off of one of the Others. She adjusted it slightly… moving it behind her… so that it did not seem an obvious adornment. She might need it. The flint might be a better weapon than her sharpened staff. Neither, of course, would likely be of any use against a _sword_. But she wanted to be prepared.

She stepped off across the rocks in the direction of the quickening… her bare feet could still feel the heat in the stone where the fire had passed. Around her… what remained of the vegetation smoldered and the air smelled of fire. Not far away she could still see the fiery liquid that poured from the earth… the life-blood of the earth. Occasionally… pellets of rain fell from the clouds and sizzled on the cooling stones left in the wake of the earth's fiery blood.

Aja gazed at the horizon until she saw the man of the People. Like her he used a long staff for walking. Pausing, she regarded him carefully. He was still far enough away that she could not make out too many details about him… though she could tell his hair and beard were red. He raised an arm in greeting. Aja returned the gesture and took a deep breath as she cautiously approached him.

"I am Kaval, greeter of the People of the Ancient Wood." He pointed toward where the old growth forest had once stood.

Aja pointed to the north. "I am Aja of the People of the Shore."

"You are one of the small ones grown then?" he asked knowingly.

Aja nodded. "And you are one of the elders."

Kaval sighed. "Truly elder now, I fear."

"How did it happen to your People?" Aja squatted carefully. She lay the staff before her on the ground… still within easy reach if she should need it.

Kaval squatted as well, his actions mirroring hers. "Dojan… the seeker of our People returned from a far journey. Two of the small ones grown into the Life during his absence saw the _sword_ of _metal_ he carried. Desire for it consumed them. They stole it from him and in the process he was killed. His spirit flew into one of them… and then the two began fighting. Soon others were fighting for it."

"What happened to this _sword_?" Aja asked. Her eyes flickered nervously over Kaval's form but she did not see where he could have hidden such a thing.

Kaval shook his head. "When she who was my mate was killed… I fled. I do not know."

"You were not a killer then?"

Kaval shook his head. "I continue to see the life force raging in the skies so I know the killing continues. I had hoped to find others like me and band together."

Aja nodded. "That sounds reasonable."

"What happened in your tribe?"

Aja closed her eyes. "D'Jann, our seeker returned with the _sword_ and found his mate had chosen another. He killed them both." She grit her teeth… not wanting to explain how it was she who had helped begin the wholesale slaughter after that.

"Ah… then the seekers who brought the new knowledge seem to be a common thread. I have heard much the same from others of our kind… although, who did the slaughter and for what reason is often different.

Aja nodded. Kaval was the first she'd met on this journey, but his words were good to know.

The stranger looked around. "I have seen Others more than any of the People. The Others run in fear from me or regard me suspiciously."

Aja nodded. She too had seen Others and noted their fear. "They speak of us as if we were gods or servants of gods who have been involved in a great war amongst ourselves."

"The Others believe strange things," Kaval said nodding his head. "We are not gods or servants of gods. We are only the People."

"Can we hide amongst them?" Aja suddenly thought. Then she shuddered. To hide amongst the Others would mean covering herself in the furs of animals. About her height… she could do nothing.

"That is a thought," agreed Kaval. He gazed at her directly… making certain she stared at last into his blue eyes that reminded her of Havron's eyes.

"I would join with you if it is permitted," he finally asked. "My mate is dead. Yours?"

Aja sighed and looked away painfully aware of the cold, dead feel of her left hand. Havron might as well be dead.

"It would not need to be permanent," Kaval further explained. He lowered his gaze. In their society it was always the female's choice for a coupling. The male might ask… but the female chose.

Aja considered it, looking back at him and gazing at his muscled body and his even features. He was a fine looking male… but he wasn't Havron. She had never been with another, having chosen Havron early in her life. "I don't know," she finally said aloud. "Being one of the small ones… I have not had so long a life and have known only he whom I chose."

"Then we will travel together for a while as brother and sister," Kaval said with resignation. "Perhaps we will find more of the People."

"That is suitable," Aja said rising to her feet and grasping her staff once more. "I came from that direction and you from that." She pointed the two points of origin.

Kaval nodded. "That way the earth's blood still flows," he pointed, "so I suggest that way."

"Then we are agreed," Aja replied and stepped off beside him. She would not let him behind her for the time. There had still been a quickening in the general direction he'd come from. Even though Kaval had not killed during the slaughter… and she only had his word for it… he might still have killed since then.

By darkness… they found shelter beneath a rock. Kaval rummaged in a small pouch of woven grass he bore over one shoulder and offered her a fragment of honey-cake. "There is not much left," he apologized.

"It is more than I have had in many days," Aja said as she thanked him and nibbled at it… noting how dry and old it was. She'd been foraging for food daily, and the recent firestorm had eradicated much in this area.

When she finished, she broke the subject of the recent quickening she'd seen in the sky.

Kaval nodded. "I saw it as well and turned away from it. I have no desire to meet one of the slayers."

Aja again said nothing and looked away. She wondered if he would leave if he knew. She was lonely and truly missed those of her kind… but the dangers now in being with them were great. Who would lift even a blade as crude as hers and take her life? Who would offer friendship and then a blade when she looked away. "I fear we will never have what we had before," she finally said aloud. "How can we tell who is slayer and who is not?"

"Those who carry one of the _swords_," Kaval suggested.

"But there might be others," Aja warned, "who kill without these strange weapons." She was aware of the flint knife hanging at her waist.

"Do you think flint or wood could do what _metal_ does? Surely not."

Aja sighed, all too familiar with what flint and wood could do when necessary. "I have seen them work. Even in the slaughter amongst my tribe, one took flint and continued it." She omitted that she had been the guilty party.

Kaval shook his head. "What does all this mean? Are we all to die? If so? Who will guide the Others?"

"They will find their own way. They will be numerous and cover the earth. We will no longer be able to shelter and protect them… nor keep them from misusing the elements of the world. The life-fore of earth is in their hands."

"But they do not sense it!" Kaval insisted.

"No, but perhaps they can learn. Our time is gone. The world belongs to them now. Let us hope they recall the lessons and not the slaughter."

She curled onto her side to sleep, her staff and the flint close at hand. Kaval did the same and though he tossed and turned… and one time looked at her in invitation, Aja did not join him. Finally she slept… and in sleep… the memories returned.

_**In the Before Time:**_

The hills above the hovels and Standing Stones were lush with life. Aja raced, leaping over obstructions and feeling the warm earth and soft grass against her feet as she ran. The air was laden with the smells of flowers and the damp after-feel of the dew. She glanced back over her shoulder to see Havron racing after her, the remnants of the seawater she had dumped on his head still beading on his strong shoulders.

He glowered at her as he chased her. Aja laughed and sped up until she reached the small glade of conifers. Ducking beneath their low branches she crept into the semi-darkness and hunched down, clasping her legs before her. The shells tinkled lowly between her bare breasts as she settled.

Havron screeched to a halt outside the glade and peered about. When he saw her he grinned and crept in beside her. "For making my hair wet, first daughter, you should be made to dry it," Havron stretched out lay his head in the lap she provided. Slowly she ran her fingers through his tangled sandy locks and idly plaited a few of them. When he made a face up at her, she leaned down and kissed him. He turned and pulled her onto him and she felt his desire for her grow.

His fingers traced over her shoulders and she felt a spark of power in the movements. "That's nice," she whispered and began to move her hands likewise over him until they were each consumed with the exploration and the patterns… and how they made them feel.

Since the night many moons ago, they'd tried to spend some time of each day together. They were forbidden to permanently bond. Gael had said they should join likewise with others to be certain of what they felt for each other, but it did not seem necessary. No one else made them feel quite like this, so they had not done as she asked. In general, the elders seemed pleased with their preliminary joining, so neither felt the need to join with others.

Afterwards, they lay beneath the conifers in one another's arms and watched the wind move through the overhead branches. Occasionally they could see white clouds overhead.

"I must gather the herbs for Gael," Aja finally said but did not move. She loved being in his arms. Havron's hands teased up and down her back.

"I must check the animals for Morannon," he said with a sigh. "It is the birthing time, and he wants me to keep an eye on them."

"Then we must be about our duties," she agreed. Still she did not move… nor did he.

In the distance they could hear their names being called. Havron sighed. "Do you think they will find us here?"

"I think they know where we are, and are being polite," Aja sighed and sat up at last. She shook her thick head of black hair and gazed at him with adoration, her green eyes reflecting the joy and contentment she felt. "I long for the time we can be joined."

"As do I." Havron sat up and kissed her teasingly, pulling her lip with his teeth. One of his hands jingled the shells about her neck. "Never forget how I feel about you… never take these off."

"Never," Aja agreed and kissed him once more before creeping from beneath the conifers. Not far away she saw Gael staring off at the horizon of the ocean and Morannon who seemed to be gazing only at Gael. Aja had often wondered why the two elders were often together, but D'Jann was often busy during the daylight hours with guiding the lives of the Others and seeing that they were taught the care of the elements and the plants and animals. They were the Triad of their tribe, and in their hands was the care of all life in this place.

Sauntering down to Gael, Aja looked back only once at Havron… flashing him her warmest smile… and then took the offered basket the healer handed her and was about her duties. She continued to feel a warm glow throughout the afternoon.

_Once, in the care of morning  
__In the air was all belonging.  
__Once, when that day was dawning  
__I was with you_

from **_Fallen Embers_**, lyrics by Roma Ryan


	3. 3

**3**

Morning did not bring anything new. The sky was still overcast with dark gray clouds that pelted harsh raindrops off and on during their travels. After some time Kaval pointed with his staff and Aja saw the thin line of green to the East. They were coming back to an area that was not so devastated. Surely here they would find food, clean water, and life. Aja shivered in the cooler air that seemed to settle over them. She considered turning aside to find grasses to weave for a cloak. But Kaval wanted to keep moving.

Soon they passed among low scrub bushes. As they did so, Aja searched for berries and tubers, and greens to eat. She found only a few… but it was more than they had. Food, not comfort was still the primary focus of their searches.

By nightfall, they'd reached a rolling meadow with tall grasses and could hear the sounds of birds, nesting in the tall grass. Aja smiled, they might be able to find a few eggs if the birds were nesting. It was the right time of year. And… if they remained, she would weave a cloak to warm her against the wind.

Kaval gestured toward a rock and dropped his staff at its base to climb to the top and peer around the grassland from the height. "I see only grass," he said climbing down… sliding down along the rock-face.

Aja sniffed the air. "I smell water though."

Kaval looked off into the distance. "Wait here while I do a fast run through. I'll see if I can find it. Perhaps it is in a low-lying area where water collects." He pulled a baked clay jar from his bag and started off.

Aja cleared an area for working and pounded some of the grassheads to paste. She added a few of the pungent greens, chopped with the flint knife, and worked up dough, which she wrapped in some broad leaves. Then she set about making a small fire and banking it to bake the dough into bread. It would be dense and coarse… but it would be filling. She turned her attention to the berries, wishing she had some cream to go with them. Pulling out a small clay flatpan from her bag, she pressed the berries into the pan, covered it with leaves and placed it in the fire.

By the time Kaval returned with water and a handful of nuts, the aroma of the baking food had begun to be scented on the air.

Kaval grinned. "I have missed real cooking."

"It's not the best," Aja replied smiling at his gift of the nuts, "but it will be something to fill us. The pungent greens will help season the bread."

"We will need to find or trade with the Others for some salt."

Aja smiled. Already this male was making long-ranging plans. She crouched by the fire, stirring it slightly. Perhaps this would not be so horrible a partnership.

Kaval stood suddenly, sniffing the air. Aja smelled it soon after, the thick smell of dead, rotting flesh. She clasped her staff as she stood beside him. In the distance, she saw them… a hunting pack of the Others… four males. They carried hunks of dead meat wrapped in skins on their backs. Their staffs had flint blades and they, themselves, were adorned in fur. Even from here, Aja could smell the animal grease they lathered onto their bodies to help ward off insects.

The four paused… sniffing the fire on the air. The leader pointed towards the couple as the others dropped their loads of meat and readied their weapons. Evidently this was a group that had come to fear the People they now met.

Kaval handed her his staff, spread his hands and stepped forward, intoning the ancient words of greeting. Aja nearly smiled at the memory of the Ko'val of her own tribe who had always been the one to greet travelers first. Their names were similar… but the inflection in saying them was slightly different.

The Others snorted and lowered their spears as they circled and approached. Their fierce demeanor showed they meant business.

Again Kaval attempted to speak greetings but the Others hooted at him. He lowered his hands and stepped back. Aja handed him his staff, and stepped away from him calmly watching the eyes of the Others.

One of the men leered at her when she moved and worked his tongue up and down. Aja stared flatly at him… as if he were nothing. He was so certain that he was the stronger, and already looking forward to rutting with her the way he did with the women of their tribe, that he would be easy to deal with. She turned slightly and twirled her staff as she watched both him and the one who had attempted to move behind her. She had to trust that Kaval would deal with the others.

This second one was not so easily distracted. Evidently he'd seen the People fight before. He glared stubbornly and watched her and not the movements of her staff. He jabbed the spear a few times in her direction as if to warn her off.

Suddenly the leering one leaped forward. Aja supposed he thought she'd forgotten him. With a whirl and twirl she cracked the hardened staff over his head and continued the movement so that the other end slammed up against his bearded jaw. Between the two swift blows… he was down for the count. She kicked away his spear and heard another fall behind her with a thud. She focused on her opponent.

He kept moving, slightly stooped and with both hands on his spear. He kept jabbing in her direction and pulling back without landing a blow. A swift glance at the ground showed Aja some loose rocks between them. Evidently he hoped she'd step forward onto the loose stones and lose her footing. She continued her sidestep as she circled around him… It they were going to come to blows… he'd have to step in.

She heard another hit the dirt off to one side. Her opponent looked up startled and grunted. Wide-eyed he shifted and pulled back his spear as if to cast it. Aja used that moment to twirl into him and slam the staff into his head one way and another. He sank to the ground. Aja sighed in relief and smiled thinly at Kaval.

"Let us retrain them," he said with a laugh.

Aja bent over her first opponent. He was still unconscious. She found several long strands of sinew and rawhide and tightly tied his hands and feet. She did the same with the second man. Then she tied them together… back to back and returned to the fire.

She scooped the meal from the flames. Kaval, meanwhile, having secured his two opponents, began going through their belongings to see what the two of them might be able to use. In the distance, Aja saw vultures circle and begin to dive at the loads of meat the Others had carried. Before long the other carrion eaters would come. She blew on the charred leaves and began to peel them away from the bread… breathing in the warm pungent aroma. She handed one gingerly to Kaval who passed it from one hand to the other until it cooled. Then he tore off a chunk and chewed.

"We'll eat and move on despite the darkness," he finally said.

"Yes… it would be best not to sleep near these Others. They will be angry when they awaken."

"Perhaps next time they meet the People they will merely greet and move on."

"That would have been best." Aja let the bread melt in her mouth. She was surprised how very hungry she was. She wished she'd had time to find a few eggs. Sighing, she pulled the berry pot out and let it cool. They each dipped a green stick into it and sucked on the sweet berries. When finished, Kaval pulled a few things from the packs of the Others, a flint knife, a sling, some salt, and then checked the four men. They'd awakened and were struggling. Kaval threw three of the spears into the distance and jammed the fourth into the ground where they could manage to eventually cut their bonds. He clubbed each man unconscious again as Aja packed up their belongings.

The moon was high in the night sky by the time they stopped again near a tree line. They climbed into the low branches and settled for the night. As she gazed into the high small face of the moon, Aja once more thought of the life she had lost… and her dreams still troubled her.

_**Within the Standing Stones, In the Before Time**_

The drumming beat pounded and seemed to emanate from within. Aja and the other females shuffled their feet as they danced about the stone altar chanting and trilling. Once, she had been the one lying on the altar… awaiting rebirth. Now… after long years, it was a regular occurrence as one by one the small ones were ushered into the life unchanging. Behind her… moving in the other direction were the men. Their lower voices sang a counterpoint to the female's chant so that the two melodies wove in and under and about each other… even as males and females did when coupling.

She sensed Havron's light touch and laughter as he passed behind her… taking the moment to appreciate what he saw. Aja smiled but remained focused on the young female on the altar. Recently, a few of the small ones had not returned from the initial death-sleep. The elders were confused by what that might mean.

As one of the eldest of the small ones to be found by the tribe, she often sat in quietly on their discussions and often knew more about things that were happening than most of the others like her… the small ones who's passed into the unchanging life. She kept the secrets of the elders. They were not hers to speak of. Aja knew that the elders could not fathom the reason that some returned and others did not. And still small ones came.

Only a moon ago she had found one. She'd been awakened from sleep by the sounds of thunder in the distance.

"It is nothing," murmured Havron who'd attempted to pull her back onto their pallet and once more into his arms. She'd resisted and he'd changed position to fall back into sleep. Aja had risen and seen lightning on the horizon… flashing like a great fire into the lowering clouds. She'd felt a cold wind from the ocean. She shivered slightly, and her necklace of shells chinked between her breasts. Havron had re-strung recently it and added more shells to the ones he'd made the first necklace from while she had still been very small. She loved the way it felt… and its every sound reminded her that they were joined.

Lightning flashed again. A few moments later she felt the rumble of its voice. The weather had been odd here lately… as if the warm climate that had always been was growing colder. To'val, the weaver of grasses had mentioned having to wander further afield to find the ones she most needed. "In my wanderings, I have seen the distant mountains covered in a white blanket. And where no mountain should be… I have seen a great white mountain arise… and a cold wind blows from it. The only constant is change."

Aja had repeated the adage along with others who had heard the patient one speak. To'val believed if one lived long enough… one would see all things. One need only have patience to await the unfolding of the future… as the unfolding of a flower.

That night the stones had called to the first daughter of the people so that she climbed the hill to stand among the sentinels of the source of life and listen to the wind blow and the thunder roll. In between the cracks of noise that accompanied the lightning… he heard a cry.

Even as the rain had begun to fall… cold and harsh… she had found the small one lying on the altar stone. She was tiny girl child… so small she seemed more one of the Others than one of the people. But in her Aja sensed the promise of tomorrow she always sensed in the small ones. In them was the untapped and unrealized power of the undying. Aja had gathered the child of joy into her arms with the knowledge that this child meant there was once more a complete set of small ones that had come to the tribe. Soon, when this child was grown and unchanging, the time of division would come. Kritis, her brother, and Havron would lead the small ones of the People to a new Holy Place.

Aja was comforted that for every one of the small ones who did not survive the changing, another child came. As she turned from the stone, she'd known that this child was for her and Havron to raise. "At last," she'd breathed, "joy is ours."

Now she worried as she stepped the ancient steps and chanted the old words with the others that Omar'le would not awaken. They had painted her body with the signs, they had given her the sleeping draught and laid her on the altar. Morannon had slipped the flint shard deeply into the young woman's side and she'd screamed and lurched as her life's blood pooled about her.

All they could do now was wait.

How long had it taken Aja the night she'd made the crossing? The moon had been full and low when she'd gazed sleepily into the sky. She could still recall the pain as the flint entered her heart and it had stilled. She'd slept then, not understanding what had happened. When she breathed again and opened her eyes… the moon was small and high in the sky. It seemed very far away. Then she'd seen the lights of the night sky falling like fiery trails.

Glancing upward, Aja could see the first rose of dawn in the east.

Then she heard it… the ragged breath.

Immediately the dancing, the drums, and the singing stopped. As Omar'le screamed into her new life… they gave a great shout. "All life is one with the source of life!"

Aja breathed a sigh of relief even as Havron's arms encircled her. Now the celebration could truly begin.

By mid-afternoon many were stirring from where they lay entangled with mates among the stones. Aja sat up and was running fingers through her heavy hair when she saw two of the Others sneak about the outer circle and back toward the hovels. She pointed them out to Havron who nodded and rose to approach Morannon with the information.

"They have been watching again."

Morannon nodded. "Their ways are not our ways. They do not understand what they see and hear."

"Should we talk to them?"

Morannon shook his head. "They are children. They do not live long enough to understand what it is we do. If they come to me and ask their questions… I shall try to answer them as we would the small ones."

Havron pointed toward Omar'le. "What if they saw her changing?"

"To their eyes they see nothing. Only the People can truly see and feel the People. They do not sense the source of life in all things."

Havron shook his head. "Some of them are graybeards and old crones. Surely they should receive some instruction."

"But the graybeards are often more simple than the younger ones. It is as if sometimes their minds revert to childhood. They are not part of the unchanging guard. They are those who must be guarded and watched over until they are ready."

"Already I have seen some leave the encampment and strike out on their own. Their numbers grow too rapidly," Havron pressed.

"Yes… they do not yet understand that all must be in balance," agreed the judge of the People.

"How can it be when we are not in balance."

Havron met Morannon's gaze. Three of the elders had left uncounted seasons ago on a journey to discover why the small ones came. They sought to know why in a society that had no need for children or for extras had they suddenly begun appearing. The elders were out of balance. "D'Jann and the others will return. If all of the small ones reach maturity and the make the change… by then you will be ready to move on. The source of life must have need of another clan of the People to guard the increasing numbers of Others and to preserve the balance. It is the only thing that makes sense.

"And the lightning in the skies that feels like the Power of the People has been torn asunder and ripped out of being?" Havron finally asked.

Morannon looked away.

"What does it mean?"

"I do not know," Morannon finally said.

Aja listened to their words and worried… but it was warm… and she wanted to return to the hovel where the eldest of the small ones watched over the tiny one of joy. She had not named her yet… the name seemed fleeting… but she would soon. Never had she not known the name with a single touch… but the name she heard in her mind was not one the People had ever used… so she waited. The time of naming would come in time.

Havron took her hand, kissing it with a smile. Pulling her close, they returned to the hovels and the activities of the day.

_How far we are from morning  
__How far we are  
__And the stars shining through the darkness  
__Falling in the air_

from **_Fallen Embers_**, lyrics by Roma Ryan


	4. 4

**4**

Several days later, Kaval and Aja arrived in the area of cave dwellers. The Others stared at them curiously.

"They may not have had dealings with out kind recently," Aja murmured. It was possible. The Others often sent groups off when their clans became too large. If these were descended from such a group, their knowledge of the People might only be legend.

Kaval raised one arm and chanted and motioned the greeting as he had done with the hunters. From the cave came a graybeard, leaning heavily on a staff and accompanied by a young woman. All that Aja saw were covered in scraped and tanned animal skin. On their feet were strappings of the same material. Their garments were decorated with small shells and quills.

The graybeard stopped before them and chanted the words of welcome. Kaval smiled. "He knows of us."

Aja said nothing. Instead she watched the eyes of the armed men about the encampment and judged their skill by their movements. Their spears were not so large and rough-hewn: they were smaller, slimmer, and no doubt swifter. Clay pots were about the campfire and a woman sat weaving grasses. Indeed, she saw many of the same skills of the people in this group of Others. _Perhaps they are learning_, she thought. If so, this might bode well for the future of the world.

That night about the fire, and a meal made up of bread, roast tubers, a berry-nut concoction sweetened with honey, and meat… which neither Aja nor Kaval touched… the old man spoke of tales told by his mother's mother long ago of the tall hairless ones of beauty. He had never thought to see such come to his campfire.

Aja shifted uncomfortably. There was a hint of worship about the old man, as if she and Kaval were messengers of some higher power… one that required that hospitality be shown. While she was certainly thankful for the meal, the shelter, and the welcome… there was something wrong about being worshipped… even slightly. Especially considering what she'd done. Kaval seemed at ease with it, though. He took their deference as something that should be.

That night they lay amongst the Others near a small fire. She'd noticed the scraped animal skins on frames earlier… and now she saw their purpose. They were dragged out and the cave interior was divided into private sleeping chambers. From within the chambers, she could here the sounds of rutting and the snores of sleeping.

She lay on one side, staring at Kaval… who likewise stared back at her. Then he rolled onto his back with a great sigh. Obviously the sounds from the Others were bothering him. Aja rolled to her other side and finally slept.

When she awoke the following morning, she felt his arm thrown over her. He'd also moved closer to her. She had to admit that she liked the feel of his warmth behind her and over her. She had been alone too long. On the far side of the screens, she could hear the sounds of daily life beginning. She knew she should rise and assist the Others… but it was pleasant to feel Kaval close to her. Perhaps that is why she'd not dreamed last night. Perhaps at last her dreams of what she'd lost… of what she'd destroyed were over. Perhaps it was time to face the future.

Kaval's breathing changed slightly and she knew he was awake. His hand lifted and then began to trace the patterns on her shoulder. Unlike with Havron… she did not feel the unity of their touch. But just the feel of him… the touch of him made her weep silently. She turned so that his arms encircled her and their faces were only inches away.

"We are guests in this place," she finally whispered. He nodded. "We should arise and help. We are the guardians of tomorrow." Again he nodded, his fingers traced "creation" on her shoulder.

Aja shook her head and sat up reluctantly. "I am not ready for this."

Kaval sighed. "I once knew Assia, the first daughter of our tribe. She had hair almost as white as the blanket of frozen water that covers the far mountains. Her eyes were like the sky on a clear day."

Aja drew her knees to her chest and lay her head on them as she gazed at Kaval… listening to his story.

"During one of the changing festivals… I approached her. She was soon to choose her mate and the elders had suggested she couple with different males to be certain that her choice was correct. I asked and we spent a pleasant night. She greeted me the following morning with a smile and said that Marran, my mate was very lucky."

"How did Marran spend the festival night?"

"With another, I assume," Kaval shrugged. "It is the way of it at festival. You said you had known none but he whom you joined with." He gestured toward the scars of unity on her neck. Did not your elders suggest you know others?"

Aja looked away, her eyes unfocused on a far distance that only she could see. "Yes," she finally said. "But we always sought one another. Neither of us wanted another."

"Then you joined without knowing?"

"We joined because we knew. The elders were uncertain of our choice… but after we entered the life and remained steadfast in our choice… they allowed it."

Kaval shook his head. "That was likely unwise. It is best to know many before choosing only the one." He ran one finger across the scars at his own neck. "I miss Marran a great deal, but life goes on."

"Yes," Aja agreed, "but I cannot couple with you, yet. My heart and soul still cling to Havron."

Kaval's shoulders sagged slightly. "Then I will wait," he finally said quietly.

Without further discussion, Aja rose and slid one of the screens to one side and rose to join the Others in their activities. But the discussion had stirred her memories once again.

_**In the Before Time:**_

Although Leila grew, as all the small ones did, she still seemed so very tiny and many of the People commented on it.

"But for the promise of tomorrow within her, she could pass for a child of the Others."

Aja smiled at their words, knowing they were ones she'd once thought as well. But Leila was a delight to raise. She seemed to find all of creation interesting and intriguing. She laughed and clapped her hands and danced about… sometimes chasing the small winged ones that fluttered about blooming plants. Her laughter made Aja's heart light.

She clasped the tiny one's hand as she sauntered confidently through the hovels of the Others, noting that some of the children waved at Leila, who waved back and laughed. She evidently had a way even with the Others. Perhaps it was well that Aja had at last given her the name that had whispered in her mind when she first held the child… a name unknown among the People, but a name like those the Others used… Leila. "You are my joy," Aja whispered to the small one whenever she could.

Havron also adored the girl. They'd raised several small ones through the years, but this one touched him in ways no other had. She seemed a small version of Aja with her wild tangle of black hair and the green eyes that were so like Aja's. He carried her on his shoulder when he trekked about the land. He'd found a few shells for her, which she wore about her neck, much as Aja had done as a child.

When she'd asked him why, he'd shrugged. "She bears our hopes for the future. If the remainder of the small ones including her grow into the life… then our time will come. We will journey to a new place and take charge of an area where we will aid in the balance of the world."

Aja had nodded. She'd almost forgotten that plan, so settled had she been in this place. Staring at the horizon, she wondered what sort of land they'd inherit. She'd known only the shore and was content to stay near where she could hear always the pounding surf of ocean, the source of life. Havron, though, she knew, ached for the day to travel. She'd once feared he'd leave her and journey with D'Jann to find the answers… but he had remained, saying he would never leave her and pressing his lips to hers while his fingers had traced the patterns on her arms and back. Her fingers had answered his in thankfulness that he remained… that he loved her… that he had chosen her as she had chosen him.

Even now, long lifetimes of the Others later, he still turned to her with great eagerness. In the ceremonies, when they could couple with others, they yet remained with one another, unwilling to be without one another.

"You are always with me," Havron had murmured after their unity had been allowed. "We are one in body and soul."

Aja had sought to understand how others who were joined could couple with others.

"It is the way of it," Gael had said. "D'Jann is one with me and I with him. But after he left to journey, being alone was not a choice I was willing to make. This way, I am not alone." Morannon had recently moved his sleeping mat into her hovel.

Others of the People said much the same. "It is the way of it. We must know each of us to truly understand the great purpose of the source of life and the unity of all creation. All are one."

But Aja and Havron had continued to choose only one another. Aja could not imagine just coupling with someone when her heart and soul would be with Havron and his with her. Even now, his thoughts and his emotions accompanied her on her daily chores, even as hers accompanied him. She could know his strongest emotions and his innermost thoughts with but a thought. They'd known they could erect mental barriers for privacy at times… but neither ever had.

Even now as she moved amongst the Others she could feel him breathe on her neck so that the unity flared and she could sense his longing for her again. She followed his thought back to where he sat teaching some of the small ones the symbols. One of the females had made clear her wish to couple if he so desired.

"She is lovely," he thought back at Aja. "But she is not you. It is you I want."

Aja had laughed, sensing his physical changes that meant he was aroused. "Leila and I are headed to the Standing Stones. Meet us there," and she'd withdrawn. She'd scooped the tiny one into her arms and taken off running, already feeling her own need for him swell and grow within her.

Leila laughed in her arms as she ran. He arrived almost as soon as she did. She settled Leila among some flowers that grew near the circle and instructed her to make garlands. Then she and Havron had withdrawn into the stones and coupled in delight… still amazed at the wonder of each other, and in exploring one another as they had that first night so long ago.

In the afterglow of their love, they'd lain in one another's arms and stared at the clouds in the sky. Leila, hungry and bored had at last sought them out and she sat between them, pointing at the overhead clouds. Life was in perfect balance… and joy had filled them all.

On the way back to their hovel later that afternoon, Aja had sensed the return of D'Jann and the others, and eagerly gone to greet him. D'Jann had brought the answers to their questions and had much to tell the People. About his waist was hung a long cold thing that whispered to Aja about _justice_. She shivered. There was cold menace to the thing.

"It is a _sword_ forged from the life's blood of the earth," D'Jann had said, drawing it from its covering and holding it aloft in the sunlight where it gleamed redly. "It will guide our destinies for all our tomorrows. It is the _justice_ of the People."

It was later that night… that the slaughter began.

_Once, as the night was leaving  
__Into us our dreams were weaving.  
__Once, all dreams were worth keeping  
__I was with you_

from **_Fallen Embers_**, lyrics by Roma Ryan


	5. 5

**5**

By the time the communal evening meal was being served in the cave, Aja had become despondent. She seemed not to hear or see those around her. Instead… the visions of her bloody past seemed everywhere. Every child she saw reminded her of the small ones… bloodied and headless. Every female who hovered around her… reminded her of Gael or of the other females whom she had slain. Every male reminded her of D'Jann. All males… but Kaval. The greeter… the only one of her kind in this place… was still hoping to recreate the world as it had been. He sought to deny the slaughter. Aja closed her eyes. The slaughter could not be denied… it needed to be remembered. If those that remained denied it… then it would happen again and again until all the people were dead.

She began to focus on the fire before her and noted the embers rising in the heat of the flames. Rising… not falling as the fires of heaven had fallen time and again. If embers might rise… could balance be restored? What was needed? What more did she need to do to make things right? The answers eluded her.

Suddenly the sounds of the Others about the fire, the heat of the fire, the closeness of Kaval, sitting closely beside her were all too much. Aja angrily rose and raced out of the cave into the cool night air. She stood on the stone shelf and breathed in great gulps of cold air until her chest ached.

Glancing heavenward she saw the streaks of the fires as they fell to earth. A sob escaped her and she screamed in pain. Hearing a step behind her, Aja wiped the tears from her eyes and reset her placid expression.

"Is there a way for me to help you first daughter?"

Aja closed her eyes. It was Kaval. He wanted so to comfort her. Should she allow it? Would coupling with him ease the loneliness in her heart? Would the act bring forth Havron's thoughts where now there was only the wall he'd built between them to sever their unity?

Turning swiftly she grasped his face in one hand and pressed her lips to his. His mouth opened slightly in surprise and she inserted her tongue to begin the exploration and to make certain he understood that she was responding to his invitation.

Almost immediately his lips pressed hard on hers and he clasped her to him tightly. Aja stepped even closer and rubbed against him, already feeling his physical response… so eager was he. He lifted his lips from hers and groaned as he looked about. She pushed him toward the exterior cave wall and then began to run her tongue over his chest… tracing the patterns of the People. Kaval shivered. Aja hopped onto him… wrapping her legs about his waist and feeling him within her. Back and forth they rocked as he struggled to maintain the position while standing.

Aja focused eagerly on him… opening up all she had in an attempt to feel anything. But despite her best efforts… it was only going through motions. There was no feeling in this coupling… Havron was not here. Nor did he seem to care what she did… or how she felt. Her left hand remained cold and dead. Her heart remained a block of ice. Her soul wept for the loss of all that had been.

When she felt Kaval finish she dropped free of him and turned away. He moaned a few times and then reached out to her. He obviously still needed something. Aja stood quietly while his fingers traced patterns on her that did not inflame her. She remained passive as he moved his mouth and tongue over her in desperation for a response that she did not feel. Finally he met her gaze… the questions looming in his eyes.

"It means nothing anymore," Aja said sadly.

"It must. Even with our mates dead… surely it would mean something. It did even before we were joined."

"Not for me. You are not my mate. We will never be joined."

Kaval shook his head as if not understanding her. "We must try. If we are to recapture what was…"

"It cannot be done," she said in little more than a whisper.

"Why not?"

Aja slowly took in a cleansing breath. It was time to tell him… time to make him understand. "When the slaughter began with your people… you said they killed your mate."

"Yes. She sought to reason with them. She was the judge of the People… Marran… whose word was law."

"Why did you not try to help her?"

"They would have killed me?"

"When they began to slaughter the small ones… what did you do?"

"I ran for my life. To stay would mean I would die. A great madness took all that killed. I did not wish to fall to the madness."

Silence followed his words. Aja pulled out the flint knife tied to her waist and held it by his neck. Kaval's eyes widened in fear. "On the day of the slaughter… I was one who participated. I know what it is to call forth the living fire of the Source of Life that fills the People. I have basked in it… and been ever eager for more. Have you ever eaten a honey-cake that was so sweet and moist… that you wanted more and more?"

Kaval's head barely nodded… his eyes watched the knife.

"That is what it was like. With each head I took… I felt for a moment the unity of creation… and then it faded and I had to have it again… and again… and again. At first it was only the People who began to die. We pursued them if they pulled back… we tossed the great _sword_ between us and used it until it was stained red with their blood and we were so covered with blood that it was as if we would never be clean again. We reveled in the carnage that such a thing was possible… that the People could die. That they who were unchanging… could die and feed us their power." Aja laughed.

"You should see your face. Even now you fear to die… fear me… fear the knife at your throat. What? You don't think it can take a head? It can… I have taken many with it in the days since the slaughter. But that day… I found it on the body of one of the others I killed. We turned to killing them… curious if they would feed us as the people had. They didn't. They were lumps of flesh… cattle to be slaughtered… things in our way. One of the small ones crouched holding tightly to the body of one of the People we'd slain. I pulled him up and rammed the knife into him before his time. I waited to see him re-enter life and then I sliced away his small head. The power was there. At that… I began hunting them."

Kaval sobbed and tried to turn away. Aja grasped him tightly and pushed him against the wall and leaned in… tracing patterns on him with the knife.

"Understand first speaker… I was in a trance… I wanted more and more… and more. Small one after small one I killed to assuage my lust. And it still did not fill me. The unity was sparse as if it were incomplete. Finally I did the unthinkable. I noted the small one of my household hidden within the arms of my mate. I knifed him and pushed him away from her… and killed her. When she awoke… I took her head. It was only after her power died away that he awoke screaming and I began to come to my senses. My Leila… the joy of the people was dead. I had killed her in an attempt to feel and know her joy… but I did not feel it. I felt only a horror as I began to look around the Standing Stones and see the blood splatters everywhere. I saw the bodies of many of the People and knew that I was one of those who'd slain them. I saw the bodies of the Others and knew that those whom we were to protect had been slain by my hand. I saw the bodies of the small ones and knew that I had betrayed the trust of my guardianship and had robbed them of life. I saw the mutilated body of the last of them… my Leila… my joy… the small one of my household… she whom I had loved. And I saw the face of my mate. He knelt next to her and sobbed. Then he rose and took from my finger the ring he'd once had crafted for me and closed his heart to me. He lives Kaval… but he is dead to me. He turned his face from me."

Aja's voice had slowly risen with each statement. She could see horror and dismay on Kaval's face. He was shuddering in fear of her next move. The patterns she'd carved had already healed. She smiled. "We are each of us… alone now. All of the People who live are the same. We cannot trust another one of us. We can kill without the _sword_. We can kill while sleeping beside one another. We can kill… while coupling. Nothing else matters… but that we feel again… however briefly… that moment of ultimate unity."

Kaval slipped to his knees… moaning.

Aja leaned over him, whispering in his ear. "Can you ever trust me again?"

Kaval met her gaze as he shook his head.

"Go then," she finished. "Before I change my mind."

He scrambled to his feet. "I will find others like me."

"Then you will die in your ignorance."

She turned to watch the night, hearing him retreat into the cave. Sometime later he emerged, with staff in hand, and with his journey bag slung over his shoulder. "I take my leave of you," he said to her.

Aja shrugged. She'd known he would flee. He was not Havron who had dared her to kill him before he would surrender Leila. He was not Havron who had tried again and again to stop the slaughter. He was not Havron who'd remained within the stones to burn the dead and cleanse the holy place. Kaval was a coward who sought only to continue and to have things as they were. So frightened of her was he now that he would rather chance a night journey than remain here one more night.

Aja let him go.

Once she no longer heard him she returned to the fire and the odd glances of the Others who wondered what had happened. She smiled and nibbled at the offered food… wondering where her path lay. That night, once the screens were drawn, she pulled from her bag Gael's Stone of Seeing. For so long it had shown her only scenes of the slaughter, that she'd feared to look into it. She chanced it now… seeing the day to day tasks of the Others… both these and those she'd never met. Aja sighed. It would seem that she might begin her true journey and atone for her past by offering her gifts to the Others. If she could teach them the way of balance in creation… perhaps one day Havron would open his heart and soul to her again.

By dawn she'd laid her plans. She could not manage to make a covering of animal skin… but she wove one of the grasses so that she could cover her body and be one of them. By the time the screens were withdrawn she was ready to begin this first day of her new life day by working with the females in their food preparation tasks… slowly and carefully showing them the way of the People. She did not know how long it would take. But she would try. She would work with the ones here… and then move on to other groups. One by one… the Others would learn the balance of creation… and the toll it took on they who inherited it. And one day she would find again the joy of the People and Havron would forgive her. On that day, perhaps she and Havron would be one once again. While she worked… she began to hum one of the old songs.

_Once when our hearts were singing  
__I was with you_

from_ **Fallen Embers**, _lyrics by Roma Ryan

#30#

* * *

_**The Symbols of the People**_

1. -- 2. water (cradle of life)--fire (instrument of change)  
3. -- 4. earth (the sustainer)--air (the unknown)  
5. -- 6. light; day--darkness; night  
7. -- 8. love--hate  
9. --10. life--death (rebirth) (Omar'le)  
11.--12. promise, trust--betrayal  
13.--14. (Aja, first daughter); guardian--(Kritis, first-born); craftsman; builder  
15.--16. (Methos) scholar, knowledge-- warrior, (Darius)  
17.--18. (Gael) healer--outcast; liar; lies (Nestor)  
19.--20. (Morannon, Marran) judge; balance--champion (MacLeod)  
21.--22. (Ko'val, Kaval) creation (meetings, beginnings)--destruction (endings)  
23.--24. chaos--order; patience (To'val)  
25.--26. loss; despair--comfort; gain; hope; joy (Aella, Leila)  
27.--28. people--others  
29.--30. (Sofaer) compassion--indifference  
31.--32. desire (hunger); the devourer--fear; avoidance  
33.--34. (O ro' dred) friend--enemy  
35.--36. home; destination--journey  
37.--38. (D'jann) seeker, questions--answers; truth  
39.--40. (Nin) vengeance; consequences--mercy  
41.--42. (Havron)prophet; vision; dreamer--speaker, teller of tales; holder of memories (Phillip)  
43. Choice  
44.--45. Now and for all time---all things are one

* * *

_**Fallen Embers**_

_Once, as my heart remembers,  
__All the stars were fallen embers,  
__Once, when night seemed forever  
__I was with you_

_Once, in the care of morning  
__In the air was all belonging.  
__Once, when that day was dawning  
__I was with you_

_How far we are from morning  
__How far we are  
__And the stars shining through the darkness  
__Falling in the air_

_Once, as the night was leaving  
__Into us our dreams were weaving.  
__Once, all dreams were worth keeping  
__I was with you_

_Once when our hearts were singing  
__I was with you_

lyrics by Roma Ryan

The above lyrics are from Enya's CD **_A Day Without Rain_** and are used without permission.


End file.

Highlander, Adventure, Fantasy