Many thanks to every one that reviewed. I appreciate it more than you know.

---

Six years passed quickly for the young half-breed Harry Potter. He had been accepted into the nomadic Ekrloc clan almost immediately after Aklari had finished the explanation of the situation, with minimal complaints. Aklari took him under her wings and adopted him as her own. One of the first things she managed to teach him were the basics of the English and Draconic languages. By the time he was four he was speaking both as fluently as possible for an intelligent four year old and was able to go and play with the three others near his age.

At age five Harry began his lessons. That was the other thing that Aklari had drilled into his head since an early age. You studied with various members of the clan until you came of age, after that you selected an area or two to specialize in and studied there. And once your education in that was completed you were put to work for the clan.

Early on the clan noticed how odd things happened around Harry and one of the elders recognized the magical talent in him. Harry spent a good deal of his of his time studying under the Elder Repthasth. Repthasth, or Repth as many called him, was the only member of the clan that knew anything about magic. He began teaching Harry the Druidic arts, the form of magic he knew, when Harry was just four years old.

Currently a seven-year-old Harry Potter was sitting inside Repthasth's tent adding a few curves to a design on the paper he was working on. Harry fixed the paper with a glare. The effect was less then helpful, especially since, at the age of seven years old, Harry was far too cute to glare effectively, and his attempt was further marred by the ink splotches he had on his forehead and nose.

Hearing light footsteps heading toward the tent he was occupying Harry stuck his head out through the tent opening to see a tall, dark green clad figure walking tiredly toward the tent. Harry wondered briefly at what could make his usually jubilant master walk so dejectedly. Or his vibrant eyes so dull.

"Master?" The paper clutched in his hand forgotten, something was definitely wrong. "What's going on? Why do you look so sad?"

Repth looked down at his apprentice and smiled weakly. "The runner from the clans far to the north spoke of disturbing news, young one. They spoke of a tainted shadow creeping over the land. Of an evil long forgot regaining power, fusing with an evil thought defeated." Sighing deeply, he moved passed Harry, fully entering hid dwelling. He collapsed onto his favorite chair; one he had coaxed a young oak tree to grow into himself, looking older than Harry had ever seen him. "You remember, of course, what Aklari told you about the human world, and your importance to them?" At Harry's slow nod he continued. "The evil they thought you defeated is regaining strength. He will return, I fear, more powerful then they can imagine."

He turned his weary eyes to the face of his apprentice. "You had said you had finished a project of yours? I could use some good news right now."

Harry looked down at the paper crumpled in his shaking hand. His hand had clenched into an involuntary fist. Being reminded that his parents' murderer was still living, in one sort or another, always provoked a more hostile side of him. Never the less, he unfolded the rumpled paper onto the table before his master. "My Mark master. I've finally completed my Mark."

Repthasth knew of what his apprentice spoke, of course. The Mark that all Half-breeds bare; the Mark of heritage. Each one being completely unique to the wearer, as each person was completely unique unto themselves. Marks were the pride and joy of the barer, some spoke of ancestry, others of spirits of the wild, and others still were unknown to all but their makers. Repth knew how much this meant to his apprentice, he had been working on it for almost a year.

"Well then, let's see it." He said pulling the parchment across the table so he could examine it.

Repth had to admit, it was beautiful. Though it was relatively simple that did not subtract from its appearance, in fact the simplicity gave it an elegant look. Harry had written, in draconic, (their native tongue) an assortment of descriptions about himself tying them in the shape of a triangular Celtic knot type of design. It was fairly easily distinguishable. He could make out the characters describing his name, Isgath'Phyres, chosen by Harry himself only two years ago. His breed was right next to his name, which flowed right into his parents. From his parent's names he had tied in the characters representing his ability to cast magic, very clever seeing as that was where he inherited the talent from. The symbols for his magic then became the emblem for Druidism, the sect of magic he was learning, which he then had tied back to his own name.

"Interesting," Repth mumbled to himself. He noticed, as he inspected the design a second time, that the boy had tied is breed to his mother's name and magic to his father's. He wondered if Harry had done that intentionally or not. "Its very well-designed, Gath. You should wear it proudly. We will discuss when you want the application ceremony to be during our next meeting, which is in a week if I recall."

Harry was practically jumping up and down. Repthasth never called him by his nickname unless he was really pleased with something he had done. Grabbing the design from the table, Harry hastily rolled the parchment up, before quickly bowing to his master and running back out through the tent door.

Shaking his head, Repth squashed the urge to smile at Harry's exuberance. Bringing the papers he had cleared away earlier in the day, Repth's deep frown returned and he started pacing the room. All of the reports still read similarly, no matter how many times he reread them hoping they would change. Something was stirring in the wilds of the north, something that would bring naught but suffering to the world.

***

The sun would be setting soon. That was the first thing Harry noticed as he exited Repthasth's tent. That meant the others would be ending their lessons soon. Drek'Tiloth, Kiath'Sklac, and Kystel'Riv had been his friends for as long as he could remember. Being the only four people in the clan that were under at least thirty human years, they had all stuck together forming their own little group within the clan. Harry headed over to the fire circle that he and his friends usually sat around at night. He could see others forming their own little groups around firepits, and soon, he knew from experience, the night sky would be colored by flame rather than sun.

Living with the clan was tough, but Harry wouldn't have it any other way. The days were tough, spending dawn till dusk training and learning easily wore down the body and mind, especially ones as young as Harry and his friends. But it was fun. well mostly. He never really did enjoy his sessions with Nythyris'Hsk. He just didn't like working with plants. And the Driskorth was far too serious for Harry's tastes. Gardening was all well in good, hey it provided food so Harry would never badmouth it, but he felt it was more of a chore then something that could be done to soothe yourself, as Nyth had so often insisted it could be. She often used her tail, she was one of the few half-breeds in the clan that actually had one, to keep his attention by swishing it back and forth in an agitated manner, for it was an obvious reminder of the reason the humans called her breed Horntail and a symbol of the level of her power.

And he loved Aklari dearly, but could her lessons on culture and history couldn't be any more boring, even if she tried to make it so. Learning with Azjol was fun, the Nhajek half-breed was entertaining. Even though learning languages wasn't exactly fun for Harry, he did see its uses, Ekrloc clan being as nomadic as they are (the clan had moved almost twice a year for as long as Harry could remember). But his lessons with Repthasth'Ysth were by far his favorite. It was said that Harry was Repthasth's first apprentice in over five hundred years. His master was a difficult person to be apprenticed under sometimes, he worked Harry harder then all of his other instructors combined, but it was worth every last drop of blood, sweat, and tears. Learning the Druidic arts was one of the most rewarding things that Harry could ever think of.

Off course Drek could go on and on about his sword fighting lessons, Harry himself wouldn't be allowed to chose specialized lessons to attend for a few years yet, but he doubted that playing with a pointy piece of metal could even come close to the feeling of the sound of the wind howling in your ears, the feeling of the heat of flame flowing through you, the feeling of power as the elements bend to your will. Or at least he assumed that it couldn't, seeing as Harry had nowhere near that kind of power yet. But he had been awed by Repthasth's demonstrations of power in his first days of training, and vowed that one day he would never stop training until he could.

The sun was still a little ways above the horizon when Kiath plopped down onto the ground next to Harry. Kiath was the same age as Harry in human years, and was the only person in the tribe shorter then he was, even Kystel who was a year Harry's junior was taller then he was. Being the same age meant that the pair had most of their lessons together, along with Kystel. Drek, who was three years Harry and Kiath's senior, had already taken those lessons and had his own set he attended.

Kiath flopped backward onto the ground, her shoulder length dark hair fanning out slightly. Her voice was slightly strained when she spoke. "Hey 'Gath, I'm pretty sure tonight's gonna be colder then normal so could you start up the fire earlier tonight?"

Harry quickly squelched the pity he felt for his cold-blooded friend, knowing she wouldn't appreciate it, and forced a mock glare at her. "What am I, your personal fire-starter?" He smiled at her, already standing halfway up. "Give me a minute to gather some wood up; I'll be right back, alright?"

Kiath shivered at breeze only she could feel. "Please hurry. the days are so short now." Sitting back up, she wrapped her arms around herself. "It's been so cold lately."

Harry knelt beside her, hugged her for a second offering what momentary warmth his small body could before standing once more and taking off. "I'll be quick about it." He said as he trotted of toward the woodbin in the north end of the camp.

Gathering wood was never a big deal. It rotated every third day who had to fill the been and yesterday had been Drek and his turn to chop and stock, so he had no problem getting choice pieces of wood for a fire. Picking up as much wood as he could carry Harry staggered back to the fire circle. He dumped the wood next to the circle of stones and had moved to place a few pieces inside the circle before realizing that there was already a small pile of wood there.

Confused he looked up at Kiath. Arms still clutching her sides, she smiled faintly and mouthed the word 'sorry' to him before flicking her eyes to Harry's right side. Turning he found a grinning Kystel looking back at him. Shrugging his shoulders moved over to where Kiath was sitting and plopped down next to her. "I guess we'll have a big fire tonight." He said looking over to where Kystel had sat down on Kiath's other side. "Do you want to wait for Drek? Or would you rather have a fire right now?"

Kiath looked over to the western horizon at the sun that was now rapidly sinking into the horizon. "Now would be nice, please."

Harry nodded and moved his gaze back to the woodpile in the middle of the circle of stones. His face scrunched up in concentration. Harry glared at the wood as hard as he could. He could see the flame flicker, feel the heat rolling off fire in waves, hear the crackle as the wood burned; now all he had to do was will it into existence. Harry was so wrapped up in his new 'mission' he didn't even notice when Aklari, his surrogate mother, stopped by to ask how they were doing. Nor did he notice the fit of giggles the other two women she was with burst into when Aklari commented on how cute he looked with his nose scrunched up like that before moving to their own circle.

The sweat that had started beading up on his for head dripped down into his eyes causing him to flinch from the sting. Slowly Harry raised his hand and swiped the sweat from his eyes and brow, still focusing only on a single point on the woodpile. Then suddenly there was a spark within the pile and the wood erupted into a blaze.

Harry was panting heavily by the time he had finished. Blinking his eyes, Harry turned away from the fire hoping to get the spots to leave his vision. As he turned he noticed Drek was sitting beside him now. He turned back to where Kiath and Kystel were sitting, his voice strained. "How long was it this time?"

Kiath scooted closer to the fire. "About ten minutes or so. You're getting faster."

"Really? That's good. And I'm not even that dizzy this time." Harry smiled wearily, eyes still unfocused. "Well. not too much."

Drek guffawed loudly and clapped Harry on the back. "Wasn't it just a week ago that you asked me to tell the sky it wasn't supposed to be under you?"

Harry felt his blood rush to his cheeks. He picked at a clump of grass mumbling. "How was I supposed to know I was lying down?"

The girls stifled their laughter at Harry's pseudo-morose tone. He tried to hold his own smile in check but failed miserably as Kystel couldn't hold in her laughter any longer and burst into a fit of hysterics before resuming her conversation with Kiath. Shaking his head, Harry left the girls to their discussion and stared into the flame he had created. Drek imitated Harry's actions for a few minutes before speaking. "Ugth told me that we'll be moving again soon."

Harry, startled, jumped at his voice. It took him a moment before what Drek said sunk in. It wasn't too surprising, they were after all a nomadic tribe, but the move was usually announced before hand so there could be a vote on where to head. "Did he tell you when we'd be leaving?"

Drek shook his head. "No, he had just come from a meeting with Repthasth they hadn't worked out the details yet. All they told me that is we're headed south."

"Weird," Harry said as her returned his gaze to the flames. Harry wondered about it for a few moments. "It must have something to do with the evil Repth said was regaining strength in the north." But why flee? I don't understand.

"Oh? I thought you already had your lessons with him earlier in the week." Drek spared a sideways glance toward his young friend.

"I did. But I went to show him my Mark." Harry smiled faintly. "He seemed to like it too."

Drek looked at Harry as if he though Harry had just sprouted horns. "Of course he liked it! I just wish I had thought of what you did."

Harry just shook his head. Drek's design was far better then his, in Harry's opinion, but to avoid an argument he just kept that thought to himself. As the night wore on the other fires had started to die down and other members of the clan had begun to drift off to their respective tents, yet the four friends fire blazed still, from both the extra wood and Harry's gentle yet constant administrations.

Harry felt a heavy hand drop onto his shoulder suddenly. He turned his head looking curiously at Drek and saw that he was pointing to a point on the other side of the fire. Following Drek's finger, Harry noticed Aklari standing a few meters away. She was rocking onto the balls of her feet in impatience.

Sighing Harry slowly stood, stretching as he did so. "Sorry guys but Aklari is already fidgeting."

Drek snorted and muttered under his breath. "She's always twitchy about something."

Kystel and Kiath tried to hide their amusement but were rapidly losing their battle to keep a straight face. Harry felt indignation quickly build up within him on his mother's behalf. Seeing the familiar blaze light up Harry's eyes, and the flame beside them acting in kind, nearly doubling in intensity, Drek quickly put up his hands in a passive maneuver. "Easy 'Gath, easy. You know I'm kidding."

The fire left Harry's eyes and the fire had burned into nothing but ashes. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. He managed to murmur a quick "Sorry," before he stumbled over to Aklari, drained of all energy. He barely caught Kiath's quiet thank you as he staggered by her. As he nearly collapsed into his mother's arms he did miss Drek's rueful shake of his head, quiet chuckle and whispered. "It's scary how alike they are. At times he can be almost as twitchy as she is."

Harry accepted his adopted mother's steadying arm, not even trying to complain about not needing her help, fearing he would even have the energy to complete the sentence. Aklari, for her part, led Harry to their tent in relative silence until they were within the rather large makeshift dwelling. Harry had barely made it passed the leather screen separating Aklari's side from his before he collapsed heavily onto the ground; Aklari's arms the only thing keeping his head from the ground.

She sighed, her eyes shined, like they had the beginnings of tears in them. "'Gath," she began. "You have to stop doing this. You're going to burn out, if you keep this up."

"But mum," Harry could only quietly protest. "You know Kiath is cold blooded. All the Elders say she needs as much heat as possible. I'm just trying to help her."

"I know, Jsyik'Dislari, I know. But for all the good you are probably doing her, you're doing far worse to yourself." Harry only half heard what she had said though, as he was already falling into a deep sleep.

***

In the days that followed the clan's elders held several meetings. No matter how much eavesdropping that Harry and his friends had tried to do they could not gather any information about what they were discussing. Only one bit of information was allowed to circle the firepits: that the clan needed to head south, because of something that was happening in the countries to the north, and they needed to leave soon.

Harry was currently sitting in Repthasth's tent waiting for the man to return for the current meeting. Harry's eyes darted back and for across the room. The Elder's tent had always fascinated Harry. With all the oddities that somehow made their way here Harry couldn't quite decide if it was more of a treasure trove or a junk shop.

The sound of footsteps drawing closer pulled Harry away form his appraisal of an especially interesting horned skull belonging to a creature the likes of which he had never seen. Repthasth strode into the tent with a small smile on his face. "Alright, Isgath," He began, sitting down behind his table as he did so; he lifted a small sack from his side and placed it on the tabletop. "Now let us talk about your Mark. You know the process right?" At Harry's response in the negative, Repth explained. "The Marking Ritual does not commence until the thirteenth anniversary of the subject's birth. Until that time you bare the symbol on the back of one of your hand, as well its palm. There are several styles of ritual but those are not discussed until the a few days before the commencement of the Ritual."

Harry nodded, before asking. "But then when do I mark my hand?"

Reaching into the bag Repth pulled out seven small ceramic jars, no bigger than Harry's own fist, placing them in a row in front of Harry. "There are several different colors and types of pigments to use. Unfortunately we do not have the time to teach you to make your own, so you're going to have to use one of these."

Harry examined the dyes for a moment before selecting the deep red pigment. Tracing the design on his hand only took him a moment. After he had finished Repth warmed the air around Harry's hand drying the pigment in seconds.

"Now," Repth put away the pigments as he spoke. "With that out of the way, we can get to work. We don't have time to go into anything new right now. All of council members have finally agreed as to where we should go, so the clan is packing up tonight and we are heading out tomorrow morning, at first light." He leaned across the table, toward Harry. Lowering his voice he whispered in mock secrecy. "You wouldn't tell anyone if we just relaxed just this one time then?" Harry shook his head in a vigorous 'no'. "Good, good. The morning comes too quickly to this old man." Repth winked at him.

The pair sat in comfortable silence for a while. Neither paying much attention to the room surrounding them. Repth had sent his mind out on the winds surveying the surrounding countryside. Harry had tried to follow what his master was doing, but his range paled in comparison to his masters, and was quickly left behind.

The sun was high overhead when Harry finally returned to his body. He glanced at the older half-breed for a moment before he stood up to leave the tent. Harry knew his master would not return to his body for a long time. As he was passing through the tent flap, he heard his master call after him. "We're headed for Egypt, Isgath. I'm sure you'd like to share that with Kiath; hopefully the climate down there will be good for her.. Oh and do tell Azjol as well. I don't know if he's heard yet, but I'm sure he would like to know we are returning to his homeland."

Harry turned to reply, but the vacant look was already back on his masters face, signifying he was back with his head in the clouds.