Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own the Echorium sequence, etc.
Singer Graia sat on the beach, her knees drawn up to her chest, staring out at the sea long after the merlee pulled the two little boats out of sight. The sounds of people talking, laughing, and even singing passed behind her, but all Graia could do was stare out at the horizon. She had told the rest of the Echorium that Eliya would not want them to be sad, and it was true. But Graia just couldn't help it; as she had stood waist-deep in the ocean, watching as the last remains of her two best friends being carried off into oblivion, the Shi had just burst from her. The rest of the Echorium thought they understood. They figured that she was just paying her respects, honoring the passing of a well-accomplished and valuable Singer that had reached the end of her days. But it was more than that. They couldn't understand, they couldn't know. It wasn't proper.
A light breeze played over the shore. Graia's robes billowed a little around the shoulders, and would have more so had she not been sitting on the ends. She thought about the changes that had occurred since Eliya's death. Toharo's vacant chamber was now occupied by Kherron, the latest to join the ranks of the Singers. Graia herself had been appointed First Singer of the Echorium. It was very awkward living in Eliya's old quarters; Eliya's echoes were everywhere. Graia sensed her everywhere-this is where she slept, this is where she did breathing and humming exercises, this is where she stood by the window and gazed out at the sea. Graia wished she could move back to her old chamber, but it would soon be occupied by another new Singer, perhaps Chissar, or Rialle, when she finished her therapy. The changes seemed very minor, but each left a big, gaping hole in Graia's heart.
Gone. The fact settled into Graia's mind like a tidal wave. Both of them were gone. She couldn't quite believe it. They said Eliya had died of old age. She had only been eight years Graia's senior, in her mid-fifties. Graia knew that it was not old age that had killed her. It was partly because of many, many years of singing; it only made sense that something of as much power as the Songs would begin to take power out of those who wielded it. It was partly because of Toharo's death; the news came as such a shock, especially the means: crushed by an avalanche orchestrated by the Khizpriest. But it was the Yehn that did it. Eliya herself had been part of Khizpriest's Yehn. It may not have been as bad if the Song hadn't been transmitted so far through bluestone and then through the Khiz, but the combination of that and the echoes of the Yehn itself that had seen Eliya to her last.
But what affected Graia the most profoundly was the loss of Toharo. Graia would never forgive the Khizpriest for the fact that Toharo had to die so far away from the Isle, from his home, from her. Just in case the raging Quetzal hadn't finished the job, Graia had put more feeling into the Khizpriest's Yehn than she had into any song ever before. Oh, Echoes, how she missed Toharo. She missed his soft blue curls; she missed his beautifully deep voice; she missed everything about him. Graia fingered the silver metal disc that hung from a silk cord around her neck. She wore it always, except when she was singing on the Pentangle. It had been a gift from Toharo; he had found it many, many years ago on one of their adventures as novices. Good times, good times…
Graia fingered the end of her braid, still staring out at the sea. She put her head her knees, thinking of Toharo and Eliya. She thought about a time many years ago, when she, Toharo, and Eliya were still novices. Eliya's final year had been Graia and Toharo's first year. It was such a long time ago, but Graia remembered. Graia remembered…
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A/N: Sorry about the shortness, but it was 3 AM and I just had to get this up. No betas, because no one's READ the Echorium Sequence, but props to Georgia, Rosie, Demi, and Vivian for letting me rant.