Healing Words Disclaimer:
- His Mother's Gift, His Way -
A/N: I know you should never write stories that are based on dreams, but this one stayed with me for weeks. I was REALLY tired when I wrote this, so I may have some events mixed up, so that is why I have an "Alternate Universe" label on here. This was inspired by the events of Siege at Blue Mountain. The first part of this story is taken directly from Kings of the Broken Wheel 1, but condensed, so that part is essentially written by Wendy Pini, so... HEAVY SPOILER ALERT! I put the healing ceremony in there to set the scene, and I tried my best to describe that scene in words. Sadly, I think (read: know) I used too much of Wendy's stuff! But, I could not think of a way to do this story without the already established scene. If you have not ever read ElfQuest, I suggest that you go out at read it. Read it now. ( has EVERY comic ever printed available for public viewing). It is a truly fascinating and captivating story. Please review.
Special Thanks To: kurahieiritr (go read her stories here at FFnet!) for looking this over for me, and my coworker, Violet, for reading my rough draft and asking questions that led me to fill in more of the background.
Synopsis: AU, sort of. Takes place during Chapter 1 of Kings of the Broken Wheel. Suntop and Dewshine have a very special talk about their respective associations with Winnowill, and have a healing session of their own. No pairings (except the usual canonical pairings, but those are barely touched upon).
It was night on the World of Two Moons, and the velvety darkness permeated the dense forest of the Forbidden Grove Holt. For the past few years, the Wolfriders had been living peacefully and secretly in the safe haven that was the Grove, being careful to hide when bird-riders from Blue Mountain passed overhead. Even when they knew the Gliders were not nearby, they insisted on being cautious with their movements in the wood. Their experiences at Blue Mountain taught them that not all elves were alike, and to be more wary of others of their kind in the future.
Blue Mountain had been home to the Gliders, tall immortal elves who were closely descended from the High Ones, and were led by Lord Voll, a Firstborn of the High Ones. As far as the Wolfriders had known, all the Gliders had died when Blue Mountain fell. However, they quickly found out that some had survived, which was why they had increased their caution in their new home. There had been eight elves, called The Chosen Eight, who had bonded with large birds. One of the Gliders, Tyldak, the Recognized mate of Dewshine and the father of Windkin, obsessed with wanting to be able to fly rather than merely glide like the rest of his people, had asked Winnowill to use her healing ability to change his body and give him his own wings, so that he could truly fly as he pleased. Winnowill was the archenemy of the Wolfriders. She was not always as black-hearted as she had been toward the Wolfriders during their visit to Blue Mountain. Countless centuries of boredom and uselessness within the mount, which they had shaped to resemble the original Palace of the High Ones, had caused her power for healing to fester and turn in on itself. This resulted in Winnowill slowly going mad, yet she retained her wits. From her madness evolved her cunning. In order to cling to what little sanity she had left, she would purposely injure her fellow Gliders in order to practice her gift.
The Wolfriders, plus a few elves from the various other tribes, had gathered in a brightly lit clearing in the Forbidden Grove Holt. The Wolfrider wolf pack and the Sun Village Jackwolves were there also, snarling at each other, but keeping the peace so far, as the Jackwolves knew that this was not their territory.
Leetah, the beautiful Sun Village healer who was the Recognized lifemate to Cutter, chief of the Wolfriders, stepped forward. She was dressed in an open and flowing ground-length dress, made of varying shades of green leather. It was tied together in the front in a couple places. Her long wavy auburn hair swung loose, hanging to the small of her back. For one who tended to wear a lot of jewelry, she was rather naked in that respect. The only ornamentation she wore was a gold circlet on her brow, and green feather earrings.
As she wove her way through the assembled elves, she nodded greetings to those she passed. Stepping before her, Zhantee, a Sun Village elf she had grown up with, knelt and declared how much she was missed in Sorrow's End. "Come back to Sorrow's End with us... if only for a visit. Without the glow of your healing touch, the Sun Village does not shine as it used to."
Leetah smiled fondly at her friend, expressing regret over not being able to visit her childhood home. The redheaded elf stated that she had been changed by the introduction of Cutter's tribe to her world, but added that she was not the only one who had changed. "Look at you, Zhantee. From our faraway desert home you've come, across burning waste and through echoing gorge to this green growing place." Leetah pushed back the younger elf's hood and cupped his face in her hand. "You, who worked the clay of Sorrow's End - and thought never to leave it - are now a true Wolfrider! Our forest brothers changed your life - as they changed mine."
"He changed you. He changed everything!" Zhantee grumbled, hearing her words.
Cutter, who was wearing an outfit similar to his mate's, though in shades of brown, stepped forward. His very presence called for silence and once all eyes were on him, he stood before the crowd for a few moments, silently welcoming all the elves that were there. His shaggy white-blond hair was held back as always by the chief's topknot, which he had gained as a teenager, following the death of his father, Bearclaw. Madcoil had killed Bearclaw, along with several other members of the tribe. He had lost his mother, Joyleaf, not long before to Madcoil.
After she felt that everyone had been including in Cutter's greeting, Moonshade, the tanner of the tribe and the lifemate of Strongbow, the reserved silent archer of the Wolfriders, spoke from her place at Cutter's feet, where she had been putting some final changes on her chief's outfit. She told the group about a device that the trolls have, which they call a wheel, and how they have eight-and-two spokes for strength and stability. She then went on to call attention to how their chief, Cutter, had the blood of eight-and-two chiefs, closing her analogy.
Taking a cue from the elf elder's idea, Cutter elaborated, stating that a new circle was now complete, with the union of four tribes presently gathered that night. The four tribes were the spokes of the wheel, which was the circle in which they all existed.
"Four tribes, Cutter?" Newstar asked from her place in the audience.
"Look around you, Newstar," Cutter said, pointing out the tribes of elves as he named them and stated from where they came: Skot and Krim representing the Go-Backs of the White-Cold Land and Dart's Sorrow's End Jackwolfriders representing the Sun Village. "We've entered a time when nothing in the world can divide us - not distance, not rock walls, not even old beliefs."
At this point, Newstar asked how that was true, as there were no Gliders there, in the grove, as all the Gliders died when Blue Mountain fell. "The circle is not complete!" She stated though Skywise tried to quiet her before she could say too much.
Cutter pointed out that Windkin, the son of Dewshine and the Glider Tyldak, was now a full Glider, due to Winnowill's interference. The fault was not entirely Winnowill's, however. Though she knew that Dewshine had recognized one of her Gliders, she forgot that Recognition always resulted in offspring. The Gliders had gone many, many centuries without breeding that they had nearly forgotten what children were. So, she had not known about Windkin's existence until Aroree bought the cub to her.
Aroree had seen that Windkin was a Glider and cubnapped him to take to Winnowill. She had hoped that Windkin could take her place among the Chosen Eight when he was grown and that she could finally be free of the twisted healer. When she met Skywise, he opened her eyes to a wider world, which turned out to be much, much bigger than Blue Mountain and its immediate surroundings. Aroree saw in Skywise a spark that was missing from her life. She and Skywise became better acquainted when she invited him to ride with her on her giant bond-bird. This would turn out to be the first time Skywise had ever flown. It was also the first time he had gotten close to the stars he loved. It was this experience that started a on and off relationship between the two, and his attraction to the beautiful Glider was what caused him to defend Aroree against his tribe, though it was clear that she was responsible for cubnapping Windkin. Aroree had even confided her guilt over the act to him. She kept the cub in her room for a while, but Windkin soon grew fussy. Aroree knew he was hungry, but had no way to feed him. Finally, in desperation, she took the cub to Winnowill.
Winnowill was amazed that such a young Glider was alive. Taking the infant, she had quickly granted Aroree her freedom. Winnowill looked the squalling infant over, and seeing that he was healthy, his cries were merely due to his hunger, she put him to her breast and used her healing ability to cause milk to flow. His only defect, in her eyes, had been his wolf blood, but her milk had quickly taken care of that. Now he was a pureblooded Glider that she could shape and mold to suit her needs.
Scouter, who was sitting next to Dewshine, leaped to his feet and cursed the Black Snake's name and the fact that his adopted son no longer had any Wolfrider blood running through his veins. "He was born half Wolfrider! His wolf blood was stolen from him at Blue Mountain!" The tribe's wolf blood was the legacy of Timmain, the High One who was the Mother of the Wolfrider tribe. She used her shape shifting ability to save herself and her friends shortly after the ancestors of the trolls, after they became resentful of their subservient status, mutinied and forced the High Ones to crash-land their ship, which would become the Palace of the High Ones, on The World of Two Moons. Unfortunately, having wolf blood caused the Wolfriders to be the only tribe of elves that was mortal. The Wolfriders themselves, during their ongoing conflict with the nearby humans, forgot this fact because of the high mortality rate of the conflict.
Leetah walked over to Scouter, escorting her children. She explained that while she was pregnant with the twins, it was Ember who called the wolf blood to her, while Suntop called something else and was therefore a pure Sun Villager. "Are they both Wolfriders?" She asked.
This led to Scouter feeling conflicted about an elf's blood status. "No... Yes...! I - I guess it doesn't matter," he finally answered.
Leetah gestured toward Dewshine and Windkin. "If Windkin is happy, and he seems so, let him be a Glider. Remember, we are all elves first."
"Yes... the circle is whole," Dewshine mused, looking at her son with love and pride in her eyes. Due to her brief union with Tyldak, she very much agreed that they were all elves, and that was the most important thing.
Satisfied that Scouter understood her point, Leetah gestured for her children to return to their seats before continuing toward the center of the group, her arms spread. "Then the healing can begin. Speak no more words. Sing. And Send." Sending was the telepathic communication shared by the elves. To some, such as the Wolfriders and Go-Backs, it came as naturally as breathing, while others, such as Leetah and her Sun Folk relatives, had to learn how to Send. *Who comes to receive the power of the circle?* she mentally broadcast her question to all present.
Strongbow stepped forward to receive Leetah's healing touch, escorted by his lifemate, Moonshade, and their son, Dart. His continuing depression had cost his tribe dearly, as it caused his nearly legendary accuracy with the bow to waver. During recent hunts, his arrows had completely missed their mark.
*My father, Strongbow, comes.* was Dart's answer to the healer's invitation.
Leetah stepped forward to receive him, and gently placed her hands on Strongbow's face, cupping his jaw. *What is your need?* she Sent.
*I ask release from the pain that makes me unfit to hunt or guard. I've killed an elf! Kureel's death is turning into my own!* Strongbow answered sorrowfully. While at the time, there was no question about what had needed to be done to protect the tribe, the scars have remained with Strongbow for all the years since. Not even the Now of Wolf Thought was enough to alleviate the pain.
*Will you allow yourself to receive what we give?* Leetah asked, looking at the anguished elf with love in her leaf-green eyes.
*I'll try.* Strongbow fell to his knees and closes his eyes, ready to accept her touch.
*Though you hated Kureel's deeds, head, hand and heart, your soul knows you have killed a brother. You are brim full of tears. Release them. Mourn. Wash the pain away.* She cradled his face in her hands, throwing her head back as she fully unleashed her power to heal.
Tears fell from many eyes, including Leetah's, as she took Strongbow deeper into her healer's embrace. The Wolfriders howled, while the others watched the ceremony in reverent silence. The air shimmered and tingled with Leetah's power.
The Preservers flew around the pair, giving their usually unnecessary commentary in their screeching voices. The Preservers were small genderless fairy creatures that produced a type of webbing, which they called Wrapstuff, from their mouth. Anything that was encased in the Wrapstuff went into perfect suspended animation. During their time at Blue Mountain, the Wolfriders had discovered that the little winged creatures were also nearly invulnerable to any physical harm. This was particularly vexing to Cutter, who had wanted to squash a few Preservers, but mainly Petalwing, on many occasions, but simply could not do so.
Leetah, tears streaming more heavily down her face, pleaded with Strongbow's spirit, *Give away your sorrow, your guilt. Leave them to fade, here in the circle's center. Let the tears come.*
Strongbow, completely dry-eyed, though his sorrow was evident in his eyes, answered after a moment more. *I... Can't! I hoped this would help, but it doesn't.* He Sent, feeling dejected. He was ashamed that he somehow couldn't let himself heal. His family came forward and embraced him, asking what it is that could help him.
Ember, from her father's lap, spoke unexpectedly. "Why don't you just tell Kureel you're sorry, Strongbow? Then he can forgive you and you can be friends."
The Go-backs, Skot and Krim, sitting with their lovemate Pike, cheered the chief's daughter, hailing her idea as a good one. All the eyes of the tribe turned toward the girl, silently asking her explain.
Ember, feeling a moment of shyness, looked at her father, as if seeking confirmation for what she was about to say. After taking a deep breath, Ember went on to explain that, while an elf's body may die, their spirits will live on, occupying the Palace of the High Ones. After not receiving any acknowledgment, she put her nose on Cutter's and uttered a nearly childish "Well...?"
Hearing this, Cutter and Leetah looked at each other, and then at Strongbow, who stood behind his family.
Strongbow mulled the idea over for a moment, seriously considering it. Moonshade and Dart looked back at him, as well, waiting for his answer. It came, in a surprising way.
"The Palace of the High Ones..." Strongbow spoke aloud. His voice, unused for so long, had only the volume of a whisper. Ember's idea was one no one had ever considered before. He walked to Cutter, Leetah, and his family to discuss the possibilities.
Perhaps it was his mother's strong healing energy that was swirling around the grove that prompted Suntop to approach Dewshine. He slid out of the tree he was in and walked, as if in a trance, his feet padding softly on the forest floor. He moved toward Dewshine, who was leaning against her lovemate, Scouter, while cradling her son, Windkin, in her lap. "Your eyes seem to see with sorrow, cousin. Perhaps my mother can help you, like she is helping Strongbow." He spoke softly, sitting down next to her.
Dewshine shook her head regretfully. "No, Suntop. I don't think this is something Leetah can heal. My wounds are far too deep, even for her."
Suntop stayed silent for a while, thinking about the best way to approach the subject he was desperate to talk about. Finally, he sighed, having decided to simply say what was on his mind. "Dewshine... I have something I need to talk to you about. Something very important. It's about Winnowill..."
Dewshine whipped her gaze to the young elf, her blue eyes narrowing slightly at the sound of the Black Snake's name. "What is this about?" She asked curtly, wincing just a bit when she saw the effect her tone of voice had on the youngster. She knew it wasn't his fault that she had been hurt so badly by the much older elf, but Winnowill was nevertheless a sore subject.
Suntop glanced at Scouter from the corner of his eye. He was unsure if Dewshine had shared her soulname with her lovemate, and did not want to let the older male know if she had not yet chosen to tell him. It would not seem fair that a child knew, but not her lovemate. *It's about Winnowill and your soulname...* He whispered in Dewshine's mind.
"Scouter, can you take Windkin for a while? Please?" Dewshine handed over the infant to her lovemate, who looked shocked and betrayed for the merest fraction of a heartbeat as he took the child in his arms. "Come with me, Suntop." She held out her slender, four-fingered hand for the boy to take. They stood and walked a short distance away from the crowd.
"You know when Winnowill captured my spirit when I tried to 'go out' to talk to Savah's captured spirit?" The boy asked as they walked.
Dewshine nodded. She had never seen either Cutter or Leetah as angry as they were when they discovered that Winnowill had their son hostage.
"Well," Suntop continued, "As I was searching for a way out of her grasp and back to my body, I came across something shocking."
At this point, the female elf stopped walking and stared into the branches of the tree they had ended up under. Remembering what Suntop had told her he had wanted to talk about, she could easily guess what he was about to say next. "You know my soulname, don't you?"
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Suntop apologized frantically. "She didn't bother to hide it. It's as if she thought no one else would be able to learn it. On the other hand, maybe she thought it an interesting trinket, and left it out on display. Or... maybe she thought it only as something that she needn't bother to take care of." The youth said once the blonde-haired woman signaled that they were far enough away. "I don't think Savah knows. She was really very weak by that time."
Dewshine nodded, comprehending. It hurt to hear the words, knowing that they were true. However, this was Winnowill they were talking about. She sat down and gestured for the boy to join her.
*I need to say your name. Something in me is telling me that this needs to be done.* He closed his eyes. *But, I do not want to hurt you as she hurt you...*
Dewshine sat silently for a moment, mulling over what the boy had just Sent. She was afraid of being hurt again, even though she knew that Suntop would never use her soulname maliciously. However, Suntop seemed to be burdened by his accidental knowledge, and like she, needed to be relieved of any spiritual pain. "So, this is something you need to do, for the both of us?" She asked.
The young blond elf nodded in agreement, afraid to speak. Dewshine's soulname was pressing against his lips, and he knew that if he opened his mouth, it would come out. *I don't want to hurt you...* he repeated. *I also don't want to be hurt. I'm scared, Dewshine,* he Sent, timidly.
*Why would you be hurt, dearheart?*
*What if... What if my knowing your soulname is because of... Of...* Blood rose to his cheeks, turning them pink. *Recognition?*
Peals of laughter came forth from Dewshine's mouth. After a moment of mirth, she wiped her eyes, for tears caused by her laughter had formed there. *I don't think you have to worry about that, Little One. I think you are a bit young yet, and I feel no attraction to you...* Her hand flew to her mouth. *What I mean is... I do love you, Suntop, but there is nothing between us like there was between Tyldak and me. There's no urge. You would know what Recognition is when you feel it. The blood knows. There's really no other way to describe it.* She closed her eyes, reminiscing about her fleeting affair with Tyldak. *Besides, you are my cousin's cub, and I think we may be too closely related to mate.*
Dewshine and Tyldak had at first been mutually resistant to their Recognition until Leetah encouraged her tribesman to follow her instinct. Some elves had tried to resist Recognition before, as she had seen happen with herself and Cutter. However, it was Leetah who had been refusing the Recognition, as she did not want to mate with a barbarian. Unfortunately, Cutter felt the ill effects of denied Recognition, and grew gaunt with need. It was this experience that Leetah had related to Dewshine to convince her to go through with mating with Tyldak. Their initial perception of each other had been less than flattering, as each could sense the state of the other's blood.
Even after Recognition had altered their perception of each other: Dewshine saw Tyldak in his natural form, how he had looked prior to his transformation, and Tyldak had seen the wolf within Dewshine. They agreed that they could not stay together, but they decided that by being together for a short while, they could set each other free.
Suntop nodded, understanding that she meant what she said. It was impossible to lie while Sending. "I didn't mean to learn your name, but there's no way for me to unlearn it now. I'm sorry," Suntop looked up, sadness and love shining in his eyes. "I swear that, for as long as I live, no one shall ever be able to pry your name from me." At this statement, he looked down at his hands, which were folded in his lap. Then his gaze traveled up, until he was watching the Mother Moon advancing on the Child Moon. His promise still felt inadequate somehow. Though his words were said in earnest, he felt he lacked the proper conviction, as he had nothing meaningful available to swear on. "I haven't found my soulname yet, and because Ember is the one who called the wolf blood to her, I don't even have that bond with you. I have nothing to share with you, and that's not fair." He lowered his gaze from the sky and passed it over the assembled elves before turning back to Dewshine. In doing so, his eyes fell on Dewshine's boot knife, which he suddenly took hold of. "I only have my life to give to you," he said as he pressed the sharp blade to the palm of his small hand.
Dewshine reached over and removed the knife from the child's hands. "Suntop, you may not share your father's wolf blood, but you are still your father's son, and that is good enough for me." She spoke quietly, but strongly, as she re-sheathed her blade. Once the blade was safely away, Dewshine reached out and pulled Suntop into an embrace. "Go ahead, Suntop. Tell me my name." She paused, taking a deep breath. "Because it's you, I think it will be okay."
*Lree... You are Lree.* He lock-Sent, his eyes screwed shut. After a moment of silence, he slowly cracked open one eye and glanced at the older elf. "Oh, Dewshine! I'm sorry!" He cried, reaching up to wipe away the tears that were now streaming down her cheeks.
The woman caught the boy's hand and held it gently. "It's okay. There's no pain."
"But, you're crying."
"Winnowill had tainted my name, and made it dirty," Dewshine began. "Somehow, when you said it, it became clean again, and I feel like I've become whole once more." At this point, she smiled and hugged Suntop a little more tightly. "You gave my name back to me. Thank you."
A/N (con't): Though the dialogue in the comic states "Blood of Ten Chiefs," the elves use a base 8 number system, so I wrote "Blood of Eight-and-Two Chiefs." If you look closely, when Ember is asking why Strongbow just doesn't ask for forgiveness from Kureel's spirit, Suntop is not there. Only Ember is sitting with Cutter. Suntop is sitting in a tree. I have always felt sympathy for Dewshine since Winnowill abused her mentally and spiritually by misusing her soulname. I have read ElfQuest many times, and each time, Dewshine's experience with Winnowill always seemed to speak to me on a deep level. I wonder if it has something to do with the loss of self, of someone having absolute power over who and what you are.