Prologue:
In Which The Dragon Hatches
Isla de Pascua
June 4, 1980
A tall Hawaiian woman in white robes decorated in yellow and indigo strode from a small cottage. She looked east for a long moment to study the swirling towers and the wall of white marble that surrounded them. After a long moment, she turned west towards the ocean.
It was late afternoon and the sun seemed painfully bright as it prepared to set. The path she followed was surrounded by wildflowers and the air was heavy with their scent. The birds' song seemed to follow her. As she reached the hill's crest, the wind began to pick up. It pushed at her playfully, catching and tugging on her hair and robes as if it wanted to keep her from her goal.
She moved for the hill's footpath to the smaller trail that led down the cliff. Her footsteps were slow but steady and the unlit brazier she carried swung from side to side. Behind her, the birds' songs faded away as the settled in for the night.
The trail wound down into a small cove isolated from the rest of the ocean by rocks. She hung the brazier from the hand of a statue of Odin by the water's edge. She removed a pouch from her robes and laid the leaves petals of several herbs into the brazier. She applied drops of rosemary oil to her eyes from a phial she produced from the pouch. Afterward, she poured the rest of the oil over the herbs in the brazier and lit them.
Once smoke has started to rise, she turned away. She took a deep, fortifying breath as she focused on the calm surface of the water. Sunset has begun, and noises got fainter. Soon, the surface of the water rippled and pictures began to form.
The first images were disquieting; pain and death and more pain. She frowned at the water and whispered, "¿Debe estar tan?"1 Slowly, the images changed; pain and death change into understanding and compassion. The images were the same places, the same times, but something was different. Her brow puckered as she pondered the difference. Finally, she commanded, "¿Qué cambió? ¿Qué se debe hacer subsistencia el cambio?"2
Wind galed through the cove, nearly extinguishing the fire in the brazier. The water in the cove was swept around by the wind, creating sizable waves and causing the woman to throw her arms up to shield her face and step back. Images fell into her mind, completely capturing her attention. A dragon, growing only with other dragons, hunting as it pleased without a thought for anyone else and the havoc it wreaked. The same dragon, taken from it clutch in adolescence. Taken with a collar round its neck and kept among what it considered prey. Learning, and understanding.
The wind ceased just as suddenly as it began. A clock struck midnight and a baby's cry rang out. The woman hastily dropped her arms. The now calm water showed a stone room holding a pale woman breathing hard and a healer bringing an infant boy to her. A door in the background opens, and a tall, pale man enters.
She nodded to herself and moved forward into the water. The picture dissipated as she gathered the water in her hands and lifted them above her head in an entreaty to the Mother Goddess.
Dama Madre
Viglie algo sus Hijos
Guarde los hijos a salvo y
Guiera los pasos de ellos
Le abrazaba en sus
abrazos cariñosos.
Ellos cumpliará las órdenes de ud.
Cuando se llamaba a ellos,
Que se oigan.
Donde se caminaba,
Que se vean.
Pues yo voluntad,
Así que será.3
"Bienvenido al mundo, dragónito. Esté bien."4
1 – "Must it be so?"
2 – "What changed? What must be done to keep the change?
3 - Lady Mother
Guard your Children
Keep them safe and
Guide their steps,
Held safe in your
loving arms.
When you call,
Let them hear.
Where you walk,
Let them see.
As I will,
So mote it be.
4 – "Welcome to the world, little dragon. Be well."