Authors note: This story is non-canon, but there are going to be some little bits of information that are correct in the Star Wars Universe. People don't usually give me ideas for my fan fictions, but the window of opportunity is always open.

Read and enjoy!

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Part i: Young Hunter

Chapter One: Birth

Here begins the first stage of Qymaen jai Sheelal's life . . .

The orange sun sank below the jagged peaks of the Kâä'wéké mountains. The sky was a show of vibrant colours over the desert below: the fiery orange of a gëtchälük's eyes, the dainty pinks of a sôril'änin blossom, or the deep red of an âdäk's blood blended.

One lone Kaleesh stood atop a low rise, his gold eyes glittering as he surveyed the desert before him.

Those who dwelt in the deserts of Mother Kalee were named the Lë'tché'Tä'Döné - fierce people that ran with the herds of sräk and danced with the bones of Huk.

The lone soldier - Âgäst'éc ohn Sheelal - lowered his hood as the hot sun vanished behind the vast mountains. Cool winds came from the east (the direction of the Jenuwaa Sea). He tasted the air with his tongue, tasting salt, then thought of his wife.

At this moment, Yarzyb setch Sheelal was in labour. If he was lucky, he would get another girl . . . One to keep his Öpô company.

Öpô was his third eldest, and only daughter. The rest of his offspring were males. It was the Sheelal's curse: to have more sons than daughters. No Sheelal could ever escape it.

Âgäst'éc looked to where his müfé was resting. "Önô öyk! Frä'dâ!" he commanded in his native Kalee.

The müfé jumped to its feet like a spring, with the speed and grace to match a gëtchälük, and capered toward its master. Âgäst'éc swung his leg over the saddle, jumping up onto the müfé's back like an acrobatic primate. He had done this many times before.

Until tomorrow, he would see his wife.

✠

It was the eerie silence of the cold dawn that was shattered, and not the dusk. In the village-tribe of Tyâyéä'Zahn the wives and children of the soldiers were just beginning to hang out the laundry to dry. Others prepared the morning meal for their families.

Yarzyb setch Sheelal did neither of these things, let alone get up. She was in too much agony to let the idea cross her mind.

An aged woman talked to her in a soft voice. "Breathe deep, and control yourself." This was Midwife, ever the perfectionist, but a competent woman all the same. Her hair was white and what was left of it hung in long strands at the sides of her head.

Yarzyb tried to open her eyes, but they stung from the salty tears. Controlling herself was difficult.

"Öpô!" Midwife barked, and then muttered, "Where is that girl?"

Öpô scrambled into the room. "Yes, Midwife?" she asked in her sweet voice - a voice so sweet that anyone could forgive the Sheelals of producing too few girls. They were just too good to be true!

"Get some clean cloths, girl! And be quick!"

The young girl who had not grown into her hair hurried away. Midwife watched her go, then directed her attention back to Yarzyb. "I hate to be harsh," she growled, "But you've been going on all night," she explained, "And I hate stubborn babies!" She smacked Yarzyb's swollen belly.

"AIEEEEE!" Yarzyb shrieked. Her own shriek was followed by the loud cry of her baby - her new son.

"Is it a girl? Do I have a new sister?" Öpô queried with excitement as she returned with the cloths.

"No!" Midwife snatched the cloths away and hurried to clean up the blood. Carefully she staunched Yarzyb's flow, and cleaned up Âgäst'éc's baby, gently wrapping it up in the remainder of the clean rags. "If only I'd thought of that before," she stated. Midwife's jaw cracked with a yawn, revealing all of her teeth that, would in her youth, been sharp like spears.

Öpô came closer. "He looks fatter then Éog! Nömé, why is he so fat?"

Yarzyb sat up. "Öpô, don't say such things!" Her tone was scolding. "He a normal baby, and your baby brother!"

"But I don't want another brother, Nömé! Can't you just give him away to somebody with too many girls, and bring me a baby sister?"

"Öpô! Shame on you!"

"He's not even normal, Nömé! Look! His eyes are open and he's staring at me!"

Midwife listened to the exchange with mild interest. Poor Öpô, she really did deserve a break. he laughed at the thought.

Midwife was an old woman, with wrinkled skin stretched tight over her frame. Her body was slender and gnarled, with brown, red, and black garments hanging off loosely to allow air circulation. Many years ago, she was the most beautiful woman around, but the years of her practice and the harsh Kalee sun had withered that loveliness away. Never had she been married, and never did she give birth herself.

Quietly, she surveyed the small room, noting everything. For one thing, it was bigger than the other rooms in the Sheelal home, and newly made. "Your husband must have worked hard to get this done so fast!"

"Yes, he did. He had so hoped for another girl."

That would explain why it's so big. Midwife nodded. Her attention went to the cooing baby. "Lucky boy, lucky indeed . . ."

"What is it?" Yarzyb asked.

"This boy's going to be great one day. I feel it in my veins."

That was why she was so good at what she did. Midwife felt things that no other could feel, saw what others took for granted. At times, she could be one with her work; she could see how everything fit together.

This was why she was the best midwife on the planet.

But what she didn't tell Yarzyb was that her son would also suffer a great fall. It wasn't her place to do that.

Öpô cam closer to the baby. "Nömé, he's looking at me funny, that means he's going to torture me in my sleep!"

Yarzyb smiled. She held out her arms and took her boy. My little soldier, she thought, tears glistening in her eyes once more.

Later in the afternoon, her mother-in-law paid her a visit. Seiländrüv dabu Sheelal had fought in the Huk war herself when she was younger. It was her husband, Âgäst'éc's father, who had taught her to fight. H'ztôrroch quam Sheelal had died fighting though, and he had left Seiländrüv a widow and their two children fatherless.

Seiländrüv eyed the baby thoughtfully, then broke out into a smile. "A little warrior!"

"Shkömé," Öpô said, "He'll look at you funny too."

"Nonsense, Öpô. He's sleeping!" The old woman pointed at the infant's closed eyes. Âgäst'éc's son slept soundly in his crib, quiet for once. "Besides, all babies are different, so don't worry."

"But how is he different, Shkömé?" To emphasize her question, Öpô prodded her baby brother in the stomach, bringing out a short whimper.

Slowly the infant woke up, yawning and staring at her once more with those wide eyes. "Nömé!" she cried, and hid behind her mother.

Yarzyb setch Sheelal turned to the door and saw her husband looking in. He came in slowly when she beckoned to him.

Tradition stated that the men could not disturb the women during childbirth. It was strictly a female's business. However, they could come home when the wives said they could. Naming a child was usually a male's job, given he hadn't died.

Âgäst'éc looked at his son and sighed. "I was hoping for a girl," he murmured. Öpô muttered something under her breath, and her father chuckled.

"Where are the other boys?" Âgäst'éc asked.

"They're with your brother, Thârün; I believe they'll come back when supper is ready." Yarzyb answered.

"That would be good for them. I'm tired of all this."

"It is this war that drains you, my dear," Yarzyb rubbed her husband's shoulders affectionately.

"To hell with the Huk, I wish they'd all go away and die!" Âgäst'éc said bitterly.

The baby began to cry.

"I'm sorry," Âgäst'éc picked up his infant son gently, cradling hi in his arms. "Qymean jai Sheelal," he declared. "Because I was dreaming for a girl."

-

Phonetics of the Kaleesh:

(PLease note, these are not official Star Wars ideas)

ä- 'ah' as in bat

é- 'ee' as in bee

ô- 'ay' as in hay/Long A sound

â- 'ar' as in car

ö- Long O sound

ë- 'eh' as in get, not 'eh' as in eh

ü- 'oo' as in boot

ï- 'iss' as in kiss

î- 'iz' as in liz

á- Long I sound

Language:

Nömé- mommy (no-ME)

Shkömé- grandmother (shko-MAY)

Kâä'wéké- mountain range (car-RAH-wee-KEE)

sôril'änin- flower (SAY-ril-AHN-in)

âdäk- animal native to the deserts (ar-DAHK)

Lë'tché'Tä'Döné- Desert Kaleesh; wild people-can literally be called uncivilized in human terms (leh-CHEE-ta-DOH-knee)

sräk- wild herding animal (SRAHK)

-more pronunciation to come!