Chapter Twenty Three:

They had been walking for half the day when they came to a river. Eager to stock up on their water, everyone pulled out their water flasks. Luke, recalling the lack of water in the desert, pulled out his leaf-bowl as well.

"I know the water will be cumbersome, but it could make all the difference," he told Mara when she gave him a questioning look.

Luke dismounted and went to the river, filling the bowl and then trying to open his water skin. Luke had been having a hard time doing so all day thanks to his bad wrist, and had avoided drinking until now because of that. But he was quite thirsty.

Mara, seeing his struggle, gently took the cruse from his grasp and opened it for him. She handed it back and Luke offered a grateful smile, taking a long drink before he moved to refill the item.

Thea and Shiva moved into the water and dipped their entire bodies into its flow. It was a difficult task for Shiva with her crutch and injury, but she managed it. Thea gestured excitedly when she spotted something under the surface.

"Fish!" The Kestan instantly snatched at the slippery things, catching one within moments. She held it up triumphantly, grinning toothily.

"Well done Thea!" Shiva praised, trying to maneuver through the water so she too could catch one. She couldn't however, and growled in frustration.

Seeing this, Thea returned to her fishing, and Luke had to admit he was impressed by how proficient she was at the task. Luke had never been very good at fishing himself, even though he could hunt land-dwelling creatures with relative ease.

Soon Thea had a handful of fish and she returned to the shoreline grinning. "Are you two hungry?"

Mara nodded, as did Luke, and once Shiva had joined them, the foursome sat in a loose circle on the ground.

"Do humans cook their fish?" Thea asked. "We Kestans can eat them either way."

Luke nodded. "We prefer our fish cooked please, but we have no firewood."

Thea held up a hand. "I will cook your food for you."

Before anyone could argue, Thea moved away, set the fish on a boulder and blew fire at them. Luke and Mara shared a surprised look, but didn't argue. Shiva eyed Thea and then turned to Mara and Luke.

"Did you see that golem again?" she asked. "We didn't, but thought perhaps it trailed you."

Luke nodded. "Yes, we actually..." he paused, looking to Mara, who considered. Now was as good a time as ever to open the subject, right?

"We met him again," Luke said, looking to Shiva.

Thea returned then, looking among her comrades curiously. "Met who now?"

"The golem from the forest," Mara answered.

Thea stared, the fish in her grasp and ready to eat. "Did it hurt you? Was it angry because of what we did to it?"

"Him." Luke corrected gently.

Thea blinked. "Him?"

Luke nodded, indicating the fish. Thea looked as if she'd forgotten the things and then handed them to the humans. Luke and Mara gratefully began picking at the meat as Thea settled next to Shiva.

"What happened with the golem?" Thea couldn't contain her inquisitiveness.

"He wanted our help, actually," Luke replied.

Shiva frowned. "You are making it sound like the things are intelligent. I assure you they are not."

Mara shook her head. "No, that's what your people believe, but they are actually much more than the rabid beasts the Kestans believe they are. They can be quite gentle."

Shiva snorted. "You will forgive me if I don't believe you. That golem came after us."

"No," Luke corrected firmly, "he was protecting himself because he was attacked without reason. He merely showed up, and everyone jumped to the conclusion that he was dangerous."

Shiva frowned, starting to say something, but Luke cut her off. "You know I am right, Shiva. That golem didn't do anything before you attacked him."

Shiva blinked at the man for a time before she reluctantly looked away. "Maybe I was a bit... premature in doing what I did."

Mara smiled minutely. Indeed she and Shiva were a lot alike. Picking up on her thought, Luke glanced at Mara, an eyebrow lifting. Mara smirked wryly, and Luke shook his head, though there was no ire in the gesture.

"I don't understand what you are trying to tell us," Thea told Luke and Mara. "Are golems indeed sentient?"

Shiva huffed. "Of course they aren't! Yes, we attacked too early, but that doesn't make them anything less than beasts."

Mara sighed. "I think only an encounter will change your mind."

Shiva stood. "No thank you. I do not wish to encounter any more of them."

Mara thinned her lips at Shiva's stubbornness. "Are you afraid?"

Shiva glared. "Why would I be frightened?"

"Maybe it is change you fear," Luke said, also rising and tossing his fish's remains into the water for something to finish off. "Maybe you don't want for the tradition of your people to be wrong."

Mara nodded, moving to join Luke. "Luke's right. Your people have spent so long thinking of the golems as beasts that you won't open your minds to anything different."

Shiva looked away. "If our ancestors were wrong, and our traditions false, then what do we have left?"

"A reunion," Luke said gently. "Your ancestors used to be friends with the golems."

Shiva's head whipped about. "You can't be serious?!"

"Why would I lie about that," Luke challenged, "knowing how important your people's genealogy and history is to the Kestans?"

Shiva eyed Luke, clearly at war with herself. But years of belief won her over, and Shiva turned away. "I will not believe this until I see proof for myself."

Luke sighed, thinking. Shiva wanted proof... and Luke wanted to get Shiva to open up because it would be easier here in the wilderness. And if he could get these two Kestans to believe, they would be able to communicate with their own kind in a much more effective way than Luke and Mara could.

Luke eyed the landscape, feeling Mara take his hand in a silent offer of support. If they waited until they were in the desert, Shiva would likely claim it to be a trick of the heat-fuzzed mind Thea had mentioned.

Luke sighed again, kneeling to touch the ground beneath him. Mara moved with him, and together they connected with Keostea, asking her to send a golem to them.

Thea and Shiva saw this and shared a look. "What are they doing?" Shiva asked Thea, who was more familiar with such gestures.

"It looks like they might be communicating with Mother Keostea somehow," Thea answered quietly, awed by what she was witnessing.

Everyone stilled when the water in the river began to stir, and the air grew quieter. Thea and Shiva both jumped, however, when the water began to rise vertically. Alarmed, the two Kestans moved away from the occurrence.

"What did you do?!" Thea cried in fear, trembling.

Shiva gasped when a golem took shape, this one made entirely of water. However, when the sand and tall grasses of the shoreline also began to form, Shiva screamed and backed hastily away.

She reached for a weapon with trembling fingers, but Mara stopped her with a hand to hers. "They will not harm us."

Shiva's fear was clear, her eyes wide as she looked from Mara to the two golems. The one of water remained in the river, looking like a series of long or stout bubbles formed into the figure of a human. The sand and grass looked like a body-builder at the gym, with a muscular frame and grass for hair.

Thea quivered, but didn't run; instead she was frozen in place. Luke touched her shoulder reassuringly. "It's alright."

Thea met his gaze, but refused to move. "Wh-what do they want?"

"They want for the Kestans and the golems to be friends again," Luke said, moving forward to greet the golems, who both made friendly gestures. "Remember how you said that the honites were a part of Mother Keostea?"

When Thea nodded, Luke continued. "The golems literally are extensions of her. They form from the landscape; they take whatever shape they need to. We have met three separate golems before now, and none of them did anything but talk to or help us."

"D-did you just call them to us?" Thea was trembling still, but she seemed to be coming around, an encouraging sign as far as Luke was concerned.

"Mara and I did."

"Can you understand the golems?" Thea asked.

"Yes, through the Force we can hear their voices." Luke waved Thea closer. "Come on, they want to say hi."

Thea swallowed, looking between the golems and Luke. "I... I don't know."

"I promise you will receive no harm," Luke said patiently.

Thea considered, glancing to Shiva, who still looked about ready to flee. However, morbid curiosity kept Shiva in place: she wanted to see what Thea did.

Thea cleared her throat again, took a deep breath, and moved a single step closer. When nothing happened to her, she timidly shuffled nearer until she was standing behind Luke. This close the golems were even larger, and she made a frightened noise.

But as promised, neither creature lifted so much as a finger to harm her. That allowed Thea to relax, and she looked to Luke. "What now?"

Luke offered a hand to her, and she gingerly took it. Luke then guided her limb out toward the sand golem. Thea quivered, but didn't resist, though her eyes widened when the sand golem gently made contact, taking Thea's hand and placing it between the two of his.

Thea gasped, but didn't retract her hand. "Whoa..."

Luke nodded, smiling. "I know. They are amazing, aren't they?"

Thea laughed shakily, nodding. "They are. But... I can't understand them."

Luke frowned. "They said there was a way that the Kestans could hear them again."

The water golem made a sound, gesturing to Thea to approach.

Luke followed her, translating. "She says you need to drink special water that she can provide."

Thea and Luke both watched as the golem took a bit of water from her heart. To everyone's astonishment it began to glow blue-green. Once it was fully illuminated, the golem presented the water to Thea.

Thea stared at the offering, undecided. "You say they had a friendship with our ancestors?"

Luke nodded, as did the two golems.

Thea smiled. "I want that too."

She bent her head and sipped the water, then waited to see what would happen. To her surprise, a light emanated from her chest and then expanded to encompass Thea like a body-suit. Then it faded and Thea looked around.

"Is that it?"

"No, now you should be able to hear us."

Thea gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "I heard you!" she exclaimed. "But which one did I hear?"

The water golem lifted her hand. "Me. I am called Seui. May I know your name?"

"...Thea," the Kestan whispered. She looked to the second golem. "What's your name then?"

"I am Nisip."

Thea was amazed, and she turned to Luke, tears in her eyes. "Thank you for this." She closed her eyes. "I have been searching for some way to connect with my past family members. Now I have that."

She turned to Shiva. "Please, Shiva, I promise you will not regret it."

Shiva didn't move for a long time; so long, in fact, that Mara though that she'd remain frozen in place forever. But finally Shiva shuffled hesitantly forward, her eyes on the golems the entire time. She looked to Thea. "Can you really hear them?"

"Yes. This is Nisip," Thea gestured to the sand golem, the then water one, "and Seui."

Shiva swallowed, not extending her hand yet. "If these things have been our friends in the past friends, why aren't they now?"

Mara joined the group now. "Your people got so lost in their struggle to evolve that they forgot all about the golems. So the friendship died out. But it can be rekindled."

Shiva looked to Mara, noting again the mark. "I want a connection like you have." She admitted. "But alas, I will never. But if I can help my people... that will be worth it. And then maybe my family will accept me."

Shiva extended a hand, and Seui offered her the same water that Thea had drunk. Shiva's body glowed, then faded, and then she smiled when Nisip spoke.

"Welcome, friend Shiva."

"Wow!" Shiva whispered. She then looked down. "I'm sorry for attacking your friend."

Nisip shook his head. "It is in the past. Please speak to your kin when you return home, and help us restore what was lost between our two kinds."

Shiva and Thea shared a smile. "We will do our best. Though it may take a while..."

Mara and Luke stepped back to a respectful distance while the Kestans and golems continued to converse, giving them some privacy. Mara stepped up to Luke and leaned into him. Luke smiled warmly and opened his arms to receive her.

"This has been a rather... fulfilling trip," Luke murmured to her.

Mara nodded against his chest, listening to his strong and sure heartbeat. "Yes it has. I'm glad it was you who came with me. I'd not want to be with anyone else."

Luke smiled and kissed her head. "You took the words right out of my mouth."

00000

Thea, Shiva and the two golems conversed for a long time, coming up with a plan on how to get their species to meet again and begin to re-open relations. Once that was settled, the Kestans turned to Luke and Mara, who had settled into seated positions on the ground.

"Thank you or your patience," Thea said.

Luke stood, offering Mara a hand up. "We don't mind, but we are now behind schedule again."

"We can help with that," Seui said, motioning to the river. "This river will take you to the edge of the desert, where it runs a path between grassland and desert for many miles. There you can begin your journey anew."

To everyone's surprise, a quartet or large amphibians appeared. "They will keep you all afloat." Seui turned to Mara."Please release the palumpas."

Mara nodded, moving to the pair of herbivores. "You two may go home. Thanks for the help."

The creatures snorted softly and moved off swiftly, obviously eager to return to their herd. Mara watched them go, and then moved back to the river, where Luke was waiting with her pack in hand, and his already upon his back.

"Thanks," Mara said as she shouldered her bag. Shiva and Thea were already in the river, clinging to the water-creatures. Luke and Mara joined them, though Luke paused.

"How will the river get us there so quickly?" he asked Seui.

She only smiled, gesturing for him to get set. He and Mara did so and Seui shoved at the water, which to everyone's surprise began to move much faster. The swift current swept the four of them along, with the land flying by so quickly that Luke had to stop looking at it.

Luke hissed when his wrist protested the pressure against his broken limb. But the splint held, and so Luke gritted his teeth through the pain. Beside him, Mara touched him in the Force and offered her strength as he had to her on the cliff.

Luke took her offering and sent his love in return, reveling in their unique bond. Oh, how he loved this woman!

Luke spent the rest of the trip downriver contemplating what it would be like if Mara became a permanent part of his life. Finally the water slowed to its normal pace and the amphibians moved the quartet to shore.

Once everyone was on solid ground the animals departed, and the two teams looked to each other. A new level of friendship had formed between the four of them, and it was with lighter countenances that they turned toward the desert.

"We have plenty of daylight remaining," Mara said, noting the position of the sun. "We can follow the setting sun to find our way across.

"That is a good plan," Shiva said, motioning. "Let us continue."

Mara glanced back at the river, the sight reminding her to check on her water supply. Luke saw this and did likewise, and once they were assured they were set, they followed the Kestans.