2

Aja moaned and screamed long into the maelstrom about her. Her memories were like ash in her mouth. The Before Time… was a paradise which she had helped to destroy. She and her brother had destroyed it all.

Again and again she hit the sides of her head and moaned, crying into the sounds of the storm, "My fault! My fault!" She could not conceive that it was not somehow all her fault. She should have known better. Death brings only more death.

Lightning flashed in the sky as Aja wailed. Another of the people had died somewhere close by. Their life force ripped into the heavens and she felt the shudder of creation beneath her. "So… Kritis and I were not the only ones who learned to kill," she whispered. Hot tears fell. Resolutely she forced herself to her feet in the blasted landscape and turned toward the quickening even now fading in the cloud-filled sky. She grasped the sharpened staff she used for walking. The upper end she had filed until it bore a sharpened and hardened edge. She'd seasoned it in fire until it was as hard as stone. The edges she'd carved were like sharp flint… but not as brittle. Still, she might need something less obvious if she found one of the People… especially one who might also carry one of the marvelous swords of metal.

Her tongue tried to wrap around the unfamiliar words that D'Jann had used to describe the weapon he'd brought back. Aja hoped never to see one of those things again… whatever they were. They were far too efficient at killing. One great slice across a neck and the head and body separated. One great slice and the life force erupted in a tortured wave of lightning. She shuddered in the memory of the sword in her hands… and the deaths of those she'd loved.

Around her neck she still wore the shells strung on a plant-fiber cord that Havron had made for her… tied loosely about her waist was the flint she'd taken off of one of the Others. She adjusted it slightly… moving it behind her… so that it did not seem an obvious adornment. She might need it. The flint might be a better weapon than her sharpened staff. Neither, of course, would likely be of any use against a sword. But she wanted to be prepared.

She stepped off across the rocks in the direction of the quickening… her bare feet could still feel the heat in the stone where the fire had passed. Around her… what remained of the vegetation smoldered and the air smelled of fire. Not far away she could still see the fiery liquid that poured from the earth… the life-blood of the earth. Occasionally… pellets of rain fell from the clouds and sizzled on the cooling stones left in the wake of the earth's fiery blood.

Aja gazed at the horizon until she saw the man of the People. Like her he used a long staff for walking. Pausing, she regarded him carefully. He was still far enough away that she could not make out too many details about him… though she could tell his hair and beard were red. He raised an arm in greeting. Aja returned the gesture and took a deep breath as she cautiously approached him.

"I am Kaval, greeter of the People of the Ancient Wood." He pointed toward where the old growth forest had once stood.

Aja pointed to the north. "I am Aja of the People of the Shore."

"You are one of the small ones grown then?" he asked knowingly.

Aja nodded. "And you are one of the elders."

Kaval sighed. "Truly elder now, I fear."

"How did it happen to your People?" Aja squatted carefully. She lay the staff before her on the ground… still within easy reach if she should need it.

Kaval squatted as well, his actions mirroring hers. "Dojan… the seeker of our People returned from a far journey. Two of the small ones grown into the Life during his absence saw the sword of metal he carried. Desire for it consumed them. They stole it from him and in the process he was killed. His spirit flew into one of them… and then the two began fighting. Soon others were fighting for it."

"What happened to this sword?" Aja asked. Her eyes flickered nervously over Kaval's form but she did not see where he could have hidden such a thing.

Kaval shook his head. "When she who was my mate was killed… I fled. I do not know."

"You were not a killer then?"

Kaval shook his head. "I continue to see the life force raging in the skies so I know the killing continues. I had hoped to find others like me and band together."

Aja nodded. "That sounds reasonable."

"What happened in your tribe?"

Aja closed her eyes. "D'Jann, our seeker returned with the sword and found his mate had chosen another. He killed them both." She grit her teeth… not wanting to explain how it was she who had helped begin the wholesale slaughter after that.

"Ah… then the seekers who brought the new knowledge seem to be a common thread. I have heard much the same from others of our kind… although, who did the slaughter and for what reason is often different.

Aja nodded. Kaval was the first she'd met on this journey, but his words were good to know.

The stranger looked around. "I have seen Others more than any of the People. The Others run in fear from me or regard me suspiciously."

Aja nodded. She too had seen Others and noted their fear. "They speak of us as if we were gods or servants of gods who have been involved in a great war amongst ourselves."

"The Others believe strange things," Kaval said nodding his head. "We are not gods or servants of gods. We are only the People."

"Can we hide amongst them?" Aja suddenly thought. Then she shuddered. To hide amongst the Others would mean covering herself in the furs of animals. About her height… she could do nothing.

"That is a thought," agreed Kaval. He gazed at her directly… making certain she stared at last into his blue eyes that reminded her of Havron's eyes.

"I would join with you if it is permitted," he finally asked. "My mate is dead. Yours?"

Aja sighed and looked away painfully aware of the cold, dead feel of her left hand. Havron might as well be dead.

"It would not need to be permanent," Kaval further explained. He lowered his gaze. In their society it was always the female's choice for a coupling. The male might ask… but the female chose.

Aja considered it, looking back at him and gazing at his muscled body and his even features. He was a fine looking male… but he wasn't Havron. She had never been with another, having chosen Havron early in her life. "I don't know," she finally said aloud. "Being one of the small ones… I have not had so long a life and have known only he whom I chose."

"Then we will travel together for a while as brother and sister," Kaval said with resignation. "Perhaps we will find more of the People."

"That is suitable," Aja said rising to her feet and grasping her staff once more. "I came from that direction and you from that." She pointed the two points of origin.

Kaval nodded. "That way the earth's blood still flows," he pointed, "so I suggest that way."

"Then we are agreed," Aja replied and stepped off beside him. She would not let him behind her for the time. There had still been a quickening in the general direction he'd come from. Even though Kaval had not killed during the slaughter… and she only had his word for it… he might still have killed since then.

By darkness… they found shelter beneath a rock. Kaval rummaged in a small pouch of woven grass he bore over one shoulder and offered her a fragment of honey-cake. "There is not much left," he apologized.

"It is more than I have had in many days," Aja said as she thanked him and nibbled at it… noting how dry and old it was. She'd been foraging for food daily, and the recent firestorm had eradicated much in this area.

When she finished, she broke the subject of the recent quickening she'd seen in the sky.

Kaval nodded. "I saw it as well and turned away from it. I have no desire to meet one of the slayers."

Aja again said nothing and looked away. She wondered if he would leave if he knew. She was lonely and truly missed those of her kind… but the dangers now in being with them were great. Who would lift even a blade as crude as hers and take her life? Who would offer friendship and then a blade when she looked away. "I fear we will never have what we had before," she finally said aloud. "How can we tell who is slayer and who is not?"

"Those who carry one of the swords," Kaval suggested.

"But there might be others," Aja warned, "who kill without these strange weapons." She was aware of the flint knife hanging at her waist.

"Do you think flint or wood could do what metal does? Surely not."

Aja sighed, all too familiar with what flint and wood could do when necessary. "I have seen them work. Even in the slaughter amongst my tribe, one took flint and continued it." She omitted that she had been the guilty party.

Kaval shook his head. "What does all this mean? Are we all to die? If so? Who will guide the Others?"

"They will find their own way. They will be numerous and cover the earth. We will no longer be able to shelter and protect them… nor keep them from misusing the elements of the world. The life-fore of earth is in their hands."

"But they do not sense it!" Kaval insisted.

"No, but perhaps they can learn. Our time is gone. The world belongs to them now. Let us hope they recall the lessons and not the slaughter."

She curled onto her side to sleep, her staff and the flint close at hand. Kaval did the same and though he tossed and turned… and one time looked at her in invitation, Aja did not join him. Finally she slept… and in sleep… the memories returned.

In the Before Time:

The hills above the hovels and Standing Stones were lush with life. Aja raced, leaping over obstructions and feeling the warm earth and soft grass against her feet as she ran. The air was laden with the smells of flowers and the damp after-feel of the dew. She glanced back over her shoulder to see Havron racing after her, the remnants of the seawater she had dumped on his head still beading on his strong shoulders.

He glowered at her as he chased her. Aja laughed and sped up until she reached the small glade of conifers. Ducking beneath their low branches she crept into the semi-darkness and hunched down, clasping her legs before her. The shells tinkled lowly between her bare breasts as she settled.

Havron screeched to a halt outside the glade and peered about. When he saw her he grinned and crept in beside her. "For making my hair wet, first daughter, you should be made to dry it," Havron stretched out lay his head in the lap she provided. Slowly she ran her fingers through his tangled sandy locks and idly plaited a few of them. When he made a face up at her, she leaned down and kissed him. He turned and pulled her onto him and she felt his desire for her grow.

His fingers traced over her shoulders and she felt a spark of power in the movements. "That's nice," she whispered and began to move her hands likewise over him until they were each consumed with the exploration and the patterns… and how they made them feel.

Since the night many moons ago, they'd tried to spend some time of each day together. They were forbidden to permanently bond. Gael had said they should join likewise with others to be certain of what they felt for each other, but it did not seem necessary. No one else made them feel quite like this, so they had not done as she asked. In general, the elders seemed pleased with their preliminary joining, so neither felt the need to join with others.

Afterwards, they lay beneath the conifers in one another's arms and watched the wind move through the overhead branches. Occasionally they could see white clouds overhead.

"I must gather the herbs for Gael," Aja finally said but did not move. She loved being in his arms. Havron's hands teased up and down her back.

"I must check the animals for Morannon," he said with a sigh. "It is the birthing time, and he wants me to keep an eye on them."

"Then we must be about our duties," she agreed. Still she did not move… nor did he.

In the distance they could hear their names being called. Havron sighed. "Do you think they will find us here?"

"I think they know where we are, and are being polite," Aja sighed and sat up at last. She shook her thick head of black hair and gazed at him with adoration, her green eyes reflecting the joy and contentment she felt. "I long for the time we can be joined."

"As do I." Havron sat up and kissed her teasingly, pulling her lip with his teeth. One of his hands jingled the shells about her neck. "Never forget how I feel about you… never take these off."

"Never," Aja agreed and kissed him once more before creeping from beneath the conifers. Not far away she saw Gael staring off at the horizon of the ocean and Morannon who seemed to be gazing only at Gael. Aja had often wondered why the two elders were often together, but D'Jann was often busy during the daylight hours with guiding the lives of the Others and seeing that they were taught the care of the elements and the plants and animals. They were the Triad of their tribe, and in their hands was the care of all life in this place.

Sauntering down to Gael, Aja looked back only once at Havron… flashing him her warmest smile… and then took the offered basket the healer handed her and was about her duties. She continued to feel a warm glow throughout the afternoon.

Once, in the care of morning
In the air was all belonging.
Once, when that day was dawning
I was with you

from Fallen Embers, lyrics by Roma Ryan