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They would have continued kissing if Krillgan's stomach hadn't started growling. He admitted to Ludia that he had not had anything to eat all day. She got up and started dragging him to the village.

"I will not have my husband-to-be, starving to death, before we are married."

The people in the dining hall were surprised to see Krillgan and Ludia enter hand in hand, and no sign of Diennu. Krillgan held up a hand, so everyone stopped talking, so that they could hear what he had to say.

"I want you all to know that Ludia has just agreed to marry me."

Everyone started talking at once. As they made their way towards the kitchen, people would reach out their hand to congratulate them. When they grabbed their dinners, Ludia took more than she normally would, so she could top up his plate without them having to get up. While they were eating, people would come up to them to congratulate them. Things suddenly grew quite when Diennu entered the hall. She went and got her dinner and approached the couple. Ludia and Krillgan stood up as she approached. Since she was approaching on Ludia's side of the table. She placed her plate beside Ludia's, and hugged her best friend, congratulating her. They sat down together, and Diennu asked her friend how he proposed. When they sat down, people started talking again. Apparently some were worried that there might be fireworks.

After Ludia told Diennu, how Krillgan proposed. She quietly ask Diennu how Krillgan had broken it to her. She could tell that Diennu already knew, before she entered the dining hall. Ludia had taken her hand, so Diennu felt comfortable telling her. When she finished. Ludia hugged her, and thanked her for being her best friend. Diennu told Ludia and Krillgan, about the meeting that evening for the Sisters. They were going to be talking about the best way possible, for them to help Krillgan to prepare for the Nightsisters' Recruiting Party. So unless Krillgan had any suggestions for them, he did not have to come.

Krillgan told them that he wanted to talk with mother and father after dinner, so if they wanted to see him after the meeting, they can find him with them. If not, he will meet them for breakfast.

At the meeting a number of Sisters made proposals that they thought would help Krillgan, including having a Bonding Ceremony. The Clan Mother told them that the last thing Krillgan needs right now, is to see a lot of naked women. He will see a lot of that at the Nightsisters' Recruiting Party. After all the trouble they had accepting Krillgan as a Sister, they still have to acknowledge that he is a man. Men bond differently than woman. They bond by doing things with them. That is why his relationship with Ludia and Diennu is so strong. They have been bonding most of their life. Then she addressed Ludia directly.

"Is it true what we heard? That you and Krillgan are now engaged to be married?"

"Yes he proposed to me this afternoon."

"Congratulations daughter. To the rest of you Sisters, that means that we cannot afford to leave Ludia and Krillgan alone, until after the Nightsisters' party. Diennu that means that you have a very difficult assignment for the next month. You have to be their chaperone."

She encouraged the other Sisters to actively engage Krillgan this next month. Challenge him to fighting stick duels. Practising the Martial arts with him. Critique his dancing routine, since he has altered it on the tour. If you are injured in practice, go to him first (that is something they already do). She reminded Kreen that berry season should be starting in a few days. She could challenge him to a berry picking contest.

Kreen told her it would not work. Whenever she picks berries with Krillgan, none of them end up in the berry pail. This made all the Sisters laugh. Then Mother suggested that it be a berry eating and picking contest. Kreen said that it would not be fair to Krillgan. She is a nursing mother. No one can out eat a nursing mother. More laughter from the Sisters. Mother told her that they need to have some contest were the winner gets to lick the berry juice off of little Kindell's face, and the loser has to change her diapers. Again the Sisters laughed. Kreen was sure that if they went berry picking together, Krillgan would not mind changing Kindell's diapers. He has always had a soft spot for children. After the meeting, Ludia and Diennu rushed over to Mother Andriel's home.

After dinner, Krillgan told his parents that he proposed to Ludia, and that she agreed to marry him. His parents had heard the rumour, but they were glad he came himself to tell them. He asked them what happens next, he was concerned that the Nightsisters' party that he was invited to, would interfere. They told him, that as his parents, it was there responsibility to talk with Ludia's mother, Amblin-Elu, to set a date, and to see that all the arrangements are being made. They asked him about the party he is invited to. He told them that the Sisters described it, just as Captain Richard had described it to them. It would start with the raping of the bride. All the food and drinks will be laced with aphrodisiacs to encourage sexual promiscuity of all participants. Normally the clans do not allow a Sister to attend that is under a vow of celibacy before marriage, to go. They will normally send another Sister in their place.

"Since I am the only male Sister, there is no one they could send in my place."

Andriel held her son, telling him that he would get through it. Reminding him that he has her blood in him to help him against all poisons. Chitrah reminded himself to ask Amblin-Elu for a Sister to help him to get to the pirate ship quickly. He needs to send a coded message to the Fenelar Phoenix through the Pirates Network. That they return to Dathomir as soon as possible. Chitrah was sure that Krillgan would need to leave Dathomir right after the party.

Krillgan was happy that Ludia and Diennu came over after the meeting. Diennu let Krillgan and Ludia be alone on the rooftop patio, she knew that if she was just engaged, she would want some alone time with her man. Ludia told Krillgan about the meeting, and told him that Mother does not want them to be alone until after the party. Diennu was not supposed to let them be alone even now, but she is a good friend, and said we should be. Diennu told mother and father about the meeting, and that Mother did not what Krillgan and Ludia to be alone. That she is supposed to be up on the patio with them. Andriel and Chitrah wondered what was bothering Mother. They need to have some alone time. They will need to talk with Mother about this.

Andriel asked Diennu, how she was doing, knowing Krillgan picked her best friend over her. Diennu admitted that it hurt a lot at first. Even though Krillgan was really nice about the way he told her. She had a nice long talk with her mother, and heard about her past relationships, and how she ended up marrying father. What blew her away was that mother had a list of every available guy in the clan who wanted to get married. She said that the Clan Mother is supposed to know everything about everyone, and she and her sister had been keeping tabs in case one of their daughters needed it. She has already told me about a couple of nice guys in the village who are near the end of their apprenticeship. She can arrange to have someone introduce me. She would not tell me which of them she preferred. They are not Krillgan, but they are both good men. She said that they would both make good husbands. Andriel gave her a big hug. She told her that she is a very beautiful young lady, both in the heart where it counts most, and on the outside. Some young man is going to be very fortunate if he can win her heart. Diennu thanked mother. Her words meant a lot to her. Eventually Andriel went upstairs and told the couple that Ludia needs to go home to bed, because Diennu is ready to fall asleep on her feet.

The next morning after breakfast, when Andriel and Chitrah went to talk with Amblin-Elu about wedding preparations, they were surprised to find the elders were already there. The elders were pushing Amblin-Elu to have Krillgan and Ludia get married right away. A celibate Sister should not be going to the Nightsisters' Recruitment Party. Mother countered, that it would be all right for a married man to go there and commit adultery? The elders said that Krillgan was strong and would not be unfaithful to his wife. But he does need her to vent the aphrodisiacs from his system. Mother countered that he would abuse her, and their relationship would be scarred for life, right from the beginning. Mother turned to Andriel and Chitrah, hoping that there was something in their traditions that would prevent them from getting married right away. Chitrah said that normally when you arrange a marriage, you have a courtship period where the couple get to know one another. But Ludia and Krillgan have been courting most of their life. Once the young man asks the young lady to marry him. The only delays is in arranging permission from the governing authorities. Renting facilities for both the wedding ceremony and reception afterwards. Sending out invitations, arranging catering. Getting the apparel ready that the bride and groom and the wedding parties would be wearing. Amblin-Elu could not understand most of what he said. So she asked him, how long it would take for the clan to do everything he said. He told her that from the time she gave permission, as the local governing authority, he believed that it would take two days to have everything ready. Andriel backed him up. The elders were all for it. But still Mother resisted. When Chitrah saw that she wasn't going to budge, he asked that at least she provide him with a Sister to help him get to the pirate ship and back. So that he could send a message to the Fenelar Phoenix to come to Dathomir. Mother checked which Sisters were nearby, and assigned one to help Chitrah, and they were off.

Andriel had another couple of requests that she wanted to ask the Clan Mother. Because of her tour, she wanted to dismantle her sewing machine and weaving loom. She wanted Chitrah to scan each part into his computer, so that he could get the trades people to recreate both machines, for each of the clans. She also wanted permission to design and build a special weaving loom. That can handle a wide variety of materials, including metal threads. The Clan Mother gave her permission for everything she wanted. She wanted Mother Andriel to leave, because the elders were not finished with her yet, and she did not want Mother Andriel to hear them arguing.

After she left, elder Hm-Shassa asked Amblin-Elu if this was because of Kindell's prophecy. Was she not willing to let her daughter go with her husband? Amblin-Elu told them, that if they were not married when he left. He would come back for her when he is able to support her. Right now they have nothing, they will be dependent upon others to support them. What type of life is that for a Sister? At least on his own Krillgan will be more flexible in providing for himself, until he can establish himself to the point where he can provide for a wife, and child, if she gets pregnant. Elder Jielu said that what she is saying sounds good. But the real reason was that she was not willing to let go of her daughter. Amblin-Elu looked down at the floor. "She is all I have. Is it wrong for a mother to want to hold on to her baby girl, just a little while longer?"

"Yes if it interferes with determining who is eligible to be the next Clan Mother. Besides, you have your sister, and your niece, and all of us."

"It's not the same, and you know it."

The elders made it clear what was at stake. But the Clan Mother had final say. Amblin-Elu knew she owed Mother Andriel and Father Chitrah an explanation on why she was opposed to Krillgan and Ludia marrying right now. Even if it wasn't the complete truth. When Mother was notified that Father Chitrah was back from sending the message, she asked Butashe if she knew where Diennu was. Butashe said that she was at Mother Andriel's home. Amblin-Elu invited her sister to come with her, as she spoke to Mother Andriel and Father Chitrah, about why she wants them to wait before they marry. Butashe was very curious about what her sister would say, because she heard all the arguments between her sister and the elders. When Mother entered Mother Andriel's home, she sent Diennu up to the patio to get Krillgan and Ludia. She did not say anything when a red faced Diennu went upstairs to get her friends. She told them all about Krillgan having to leave, after the Nightsisters' Recruitment Party, if Kindell's prophecy was going to continue to be fulfilled as it has so far. She told them that she was not ready to let her daughter go, knowing that she may never see her again. She knew Krillgan was very intelligent and resourceful, and would be able to survive out in the galaxy on his own. But it is a different matter altogether if he has a wife along, and the odds were in favour of them having a child within that first year. Mother Andriel and Father Chitrah assured her, that Krillgan would have access to enough credits that he and Ludia could live quite comfortably, even with a baby, for more than a year. As she said, Krillgan is resourceful, they doubted he would need that much time to find a position that brought him sufficient credits to support a family.

"On the surface that may be true, but remember Captain Chrashan said that the Republic and the Sith Empire were back, openly fighting one another. When Krillgan comes back for Ludia. I will have the confidence then to release Ludia into his care." With that Amblin-Elu left the home for them to talk about it. They knew that those were her conditions as Ludia's mother. That night, when Ludia came home, she knocked on her mother's bedroom door, asking if she could come in and talk with her. Amblin-Elu invited her into her bedroom, and patted the bed so that she knew to sit beside her mother.

"If I promise to wait for Krillgan's return. Will you let us get married now?"

Ludia saw her mother's eyes well up with tears. She kissed her daughter on her forehead.

"Daughter, you don't know what you're asking of me. You don't know this. But I would love to see you and Krillgan get married right now, and you would, if it wasn't for this Nightsisters' party. Trust me when I tell you this. I am doing this to protect you. I am not doing this to punish you, and I don't want to hurt you. I want you and Krillgan to have many happy years together. I also expect to be a grandmother more than once. Do you believe me?" Ludia looked into her mother's eyes. She saw no malice, only love, and a little pain.

"I believe you."

"Good girl. Now let me deal with the monsters."

Ludia did not know what her mother meant. But she knew her mother saw them. Therefore they must be real. What no one in the clan knew, not Butashe, her closest friend, not the elders who seem to know everything, not even her own mother when she was still alive, was that Riktob rarely made love to her. He had a dark streak in him, and liked to abuse her when he had sex with her. When they were in bed, she was no longer a person, she was his play thing. He made himself believe that she enjoyed what he did to her, but she did not. She put up with it because she loved him. In his own way he loved her. When he found out that she was pregnant with Ludia. He arranged for the entire village to come together and build a secret cottage for her. It was strong. The walls are thick. There is a small kitchen with a larger area adjacent to it where she could work with plants and potions. The main room was large enough that she could have a meeting with all the Sisters that were in town and not out on patrol, provided that they all stood. There was one comfortably sized bedroom. Carved into the bedrock under the cottage, with access from the kitchen, was a large cold storage area. Outside they planted beds of wildflowers. It is where most people go to pick flowers when there is a wedding coming up. She was into her third term of the pregnancy when Riktob brought her to it. With the whole village waiting there for her. Ludia was born in that bedroom. It's where she goes when she needs a break. But it did not negate what he did to her when they were alone in there. She was too ashamed and humiliated to tell anyone, especially when she became the Clan Mother. She had thought of permanently paralyzing him, from the neck down. But how to make it look like an accident. She would have lovingly cared for him for the rest of his life. But the force took him away from her instead. Now the elders want her daughter to be exposed to that type of monster, when she would be little more than a virgin. The monster would scar her for life. She had to protect her. If the elders knew what she did, they would understand.

Krillgan did not mind all the attention that his Sisters were giving him. Ludia made him show them the two stone knives that they made for him at the Great Canyon Clan. He had to explain to them that the knives can never be repaired if broken. You could not twist them or apply a sideways pressure on their blades. They were virtually undetectable, even with the sophisticated equipment they have in the galaxy. He had to demonstrate what he could do with them. The Sisters where surprised to find out that both Mother Andriel and Father Chitrah have a pair of them, each. But you would only ever see them if they or someone they loved was being attacked, and there was nothing else that they could do. They asked Ludia how she knew about them. Ludia blushed, and said that she only saw the pair that Mother Andriel had, when she suddenly made them appear to show the artisan that made Krillgan's knives. So that he could see what they wanted him to make. She told the Sisters that she was nervous sleeping the next few nights, being in the same bed with Mother Andriel. Since she never saw her remove them before going to bed. The Sisters laughed, because they thought she was making it up. They asked her what she was going to do about Krillgan's knives on their wedding night. She told them that he promised her, if she finds them, she is allowed to remove them from him. The Sisters laughed again. They told her that it was only an excuse for her to get her hands on his body. She innocently replied that she did not know she needed an excuse. Which made the Sisters laugh again.

When it was time to go to the Nightsisters' party, Krillgan was in the best shape of his life, he worked out with more Sisters in that month, than he had worked out with before. He broke more fighting sticks than he could have imagined. Before that month, he would have thought them unbreakable. He enjoyed going berry picking with Kreen and little Kindell. Yes he did change her diaper, and he even licked the berry juice off her face. She laughed when he did that, and enjoyed rubbing the fur on his face. He went for walks with Ludia, and Diennu, and some young men from the village that also wanted to meet him. They told him that they remembered being healed by him when he first came to the village, and were proud to hear all the good things that people kept saying about him. Krillgan felt very close with all his Sisters, what he liked the most, was that Ludia was always there, so the experience was always shared. She is quite the warrior.

On the day of the Nightsisters' Recruitment Party. Ludia kissed him goodbye. Diennu, his mother and father each hugged him. He was told by his Sisters not to take any weapons, because the Nightsisters will search him. He told them not to worry they will never find any. So they worried. He had quite the honour guard of Sisters accompany him to the gate and beyond. They were his rescue party if he ever gave the signal he was in distress and needed help. All he had to do was flash a force fireball on top of the Glass Mountain. They were all proficient with the water element, so even if there was a major high tide, which there will be. They expected that they could walk to the Glass Mountain on water shields. They all had a pair of Dathomirite daggers, and Father Chitrah assured them that the glass would be easily penetrated if the blades were activated, so that they could pull themselves up to the top of the mountain, catching the Nightsisters completely by surprise. They met the other invitees at the gate along with their escorts. Krillgan was surprised to see that Gwenlath from the Frenzied River Clan was among them. She told Krillgan that she convinced her Clan Mother that she was the best candidate from her clan who could help him. The other invitees told him that that was their instructions from their Clan Mothers as well. That was why they had so many escorts. They were ready to storm the mountain if they had to. The Sisters from the Singing Mountain Clan shared with the other Sisters how they were planning on scaling the Glass Mountain. The other Sisters felt that they could use the holes that they would make with their daggers to climb up after them. The Sisters divided up into two groups. Each group would wait at the trail head of one of the two trails leading down to the swamp. The invitees were supposed to meet the Nightsisters at the bottom of the east trail. The one closest to their village.

The Nightsisters had planned on doing a very thorough check of Krillgan's body, to make sure that he wasn't carrying any weapons, and to check what else he was packing. But when they saw all the Sisters standing at the top of the trail, they felt intimidated and only did a quick search. They asked Krillgan if he had any weapons on him. He said yes, and held out his hands. "With these hands, I can easily snap your neck." They laughed because they thought he was joking. They were each assigned a Nightsister as their guide. They were told to keep their hand on their shoulder, because they would be blindfolded. The trail had many twists and turns, and pits along the sides. The Nightsister that was Krillgan's guide, kept trying to get Krillgan's hand lower than her shoulder. She was hoping that he would grab one of her mountains. He would always stop whenever she would try to do that. He kept his hand at the height of her shoulder, and would not continue until he felt her shoulder under his hand. The tide started coming in, they were already starting to splash water as they walked. The Nightsisters' Mother had to tell her to stop and just be a guide, because they were in danger of being caught in the tide before they reached the mountain.

They completed the last part of the trip at double time because of that. The tide was already at knee height and climbing, by the time they entered the mountain. The Nightsisters removed their blindfolds so that they could climb the ramp as quickly as they could. It seemed like the water was trying to chase them as they quickly ascended towards the top of the mountain. When they reached the top, they were allowed a moment to rest. Then they were allowed to go to the edge of the mountain. The sun was setting. When they looked down, they saw that they were now on an island in the ocean.

They were led into the Nightsisters' Temple, where the party would take place. They were each assigned a place to sit. Before anything happened, a male slave came around with some bite sized treats. Krillgan was the first person he came to. He took one and put his tongue to it. There were no aphrodisiacs in it, but it was very salty. He knew that if he ate it, he would be very thirsty in no time. So he just left it on the table that was next to him. When the other Sisters saw his reaction, they refused it altogether. When the slave returned to the kitchen area. The Nightsisters' Mother hit him across his back with a whip, because she thought he should have been more persuasive. She made sure that she did not mark him anywhere with the hit, because she did not want any of her guests to know. The Nightsisters then entered the temple, and took their places. Many of the younger ones were scantily dressed, not leaving much to the imagination. Krillgan's guide was one of them. She caressed her mountains and ran her tongue around her lips when he looked at her. Finally the Mother's two lieutenants entered, followed by the Mother herself. Krillgan noticed that the one lieutenant had a scar across one cheek that looked like it may have been burnt, and a number of burns on the back of her arms. Her legs were covered but he bet there were burn marks there as well. This must be the Nightsister that tried to pretend that she was Amblin-Elu when she was younger. The only thing she had in common with the Clan Mother, was the colour of her hair. This woman had a masculine body, whereas the Clan Mother's body was very feminine, but very strong. She was no match for the Clan Mother. When the Nightsisters' Mother entered, she seated herself on what looked like a throne. The temple floor was layered, with the clan Sisters seated on the lowest level. The Mother was on the highest level and had a commanding view of everything in the temple. Krillgan also noticed the two pillars the Captain mentioned, with rings at the top and at the bottom. Where a person's limbs could be secured. The Mother would not have to move a centimeter to watch a person being beaten. Krillgan would not be surprised if the dark splotches on the pillars were dried blood. No wonder they have to drug people to get them to join them.

The Mother welcomed her guests to the night's festivities and hoped that they would find some way to pleasure them. They were told that they would start the night's entertainment with the traditional raping of the bride. The village was promised that the female slave would be returned to them tomorrow, in time for her wedding. A pretty young lady was escorted out between two Nightsisters. She looked like she might be a year younger than Diennu. That the Nightsisters had not touched her until now, told Krillgan that they had been saving her for this day. He wondered how long ago she had actually asked to be married. It was obvious to Krillgan, being the son of a weaver, that the clothing she was wearing had no strength in the material. The two Nightsisters positioned her in front of a padded bench, and held her. The male slave that had been selected for this, was signalled by the Mother to begin. He quickly approached the young lady and started ripping handfuls of clothing off of her body. Krillgan thought that the male slave looked like he was enjoying himself too much. After he had torn every piece of clothing off of her, the two Nightsisters forced her to lie back on the bench. With one hand they pinned her down, with the other hand they grabbed the inside of her knees spreading her legs. The male slave slowly forced his horn into her secret place, as far as he could. Then he slowly pulled it all the way out. He turned his body so that the Mother could see he had blood on the horn of his manhood. He turned back and penetrated her place of secrets again. This time he went as hard and as fast as he could, not caring one bit about her. As a healer Krillgan knew that he was tearing her inside, and if it scarred, it would make childbirth that much more painful for her. He only stopped when he spent his seed inside of her. He rested on top of her for a moment before pulling his shrivelling horn out of her, and went and sat at the Mother's feet.

The two Nightsisters pulled the young lady to her feet and told her to go to the kitchen for refreshments for their guests. She came back with a tray of drinks, and headed for Krillgan as she was instructed. Krillgan could see a trickle of blood, and some of the male slave's seed, running down one leg. She held her tray for him to grab the first drink. He didn't. He reached for a drink further back. In the process holding his hand against hers as she held the tray. She could feel a tingling in her secret place, and looked at him in amazement. She had heard the Nightsisters say that he was supposed to be a powerful healer. But this was unexpected. When he took the glass he selected off of the tray. She asked him if he was healing her. Krillgan held the glass in front of his face, and told her to be careful what she says to him, because they can read lips. Krillgan saw that she shifted her tray when she served the other clan Sisters, so they would not reach for the drink that was intended for Krillgan. Then she shifted it again so that a Nightsister took it instead, so she would not have to take it back to the kitchen. Fortunately for the Nightsister, she only lightly sipped on the drink. The next couple to entertain them went and stood in front of the bench where the bride-to-be, was raped. The Nightsister wore all sorts of brightly coloured garments. At first Krillgan wondered if she had no sense of taste or style. Then he remembered that their Mother is coordinating this show. She must have gone into every Nightsisters closet, and removed the brightest article of clothing she could find. The result was what everyone in Krillgan's family would call an eyesore. She proceeded to sway her body, and removed a piece of clothing, throwing it amongst the people in the temple. Krillgan thought that this could be considered entertaining, if someone had been playing some musical instruments. The Nightsister than removed an article of clothing from the male slave. She went back and forth, removing articles of clothing, from both of them. Until they were both standing completely naked. Krillgan noticed that the young Nightsisters were the most enthralled by this. Gwenlath smiled at him, when she saw her look his way. So he knew that she was as much entertained by this as he was. Looking around, Krillgan noticed that he had a clear view of everyone, even though he was on the lowest level in the temple. He presumed that they placed him where they all had a chance to watch him. But this meant that he could also watch them. The Nightsisters' Mother noticed that he had looked at her, but he started looking somewhere else before they made eye contact. She was very disappointed that he was not watching the show. She considered this Nightsister to be her very best seductress. When he did look back at her they locked eyes, she could see that he had no fear of her. She saw his eyes were cold towards her. She thought that male healers were supposed to be full of compassion. There was no compassion in those eyes.

Krillgan forced her to look away. It was a good thing he did, because he thought he saw the Nightsister take the male slave's horn of manhood into her mouth, out of the corner of his eye. He turned and looked. That is exactly what he saw. Now why would she do that? He forced himself to look away, because of what Mother and elder Yma taught him about how the aphrodisiacs that the Nightsisters use, work. If he is looking at something that is arousing him. The aphrodisiacs tend to magnify that stimulation to the point that it takes control of your brain. Causing you to force yourself on the person who is visually stimulating you.

So if the Nightsisters' Mother had noticed that he had started looking at what this Nightsister was doing, she would have had more Nightsisters do it. Even right in front of him where it would be difficult for him to look away. There are other aspects to what the force enhanced aphrodisiacs do. For men, who have consumed large amounts, once they are fully aroused, their horn stays firm until the aphrodisiacs are purged from their system, no matter how often they release their seed. There is also the aspect that once they take control of the brain the person that is under its control has no conscience knowledge of what they are doing. They become a sex machine. Krillgan vowed that he would not let that happen, for Ludia's sake.

He found himself studying the Mother's face. He knew it was painted. But normally the Nightsisters paint it white, then paint black designs over that to hide how their faces have become distorted from using the dark side of the force. Her one lieutenant had painted her face that way. Scarface on the other hand has not bothered. The distortions are clearly visible, it is almost like she does not care anymore how her face looks. The Mother clearly cares because she mixed something with the white paint to give herself a pinkish face. But first she must have put something thick on her face that she could mold, to cover up her distortions. Then applied her special paint over top. Because from this distance it almost looks normal.

Krillgan suspected that if she ever smiled, her face would fall off. It was too bad that the other clan Sisters were not close enough for him to talk to. They would have had a good laugh if he had been able to tell them. The next time that the bride-to-be, came around, she was carrying a tray of snacks. She positioned her body so that only Krillgan could see her face. She pointed to one of the snacks, and told him that she is supposed to get him to take it. But not to worry she knows how to get rid of it. Krillgan dropped a couple of drops of kolto on her skin. To continue healing her without touching her. He took the snack next to the one she pointed out. He commented out loud, "Not much of a selection is there."

To let the Nightsisters know, that they are not very good hosts. She smiled both because of the tingling feeling she was getting from the ointment he just placed on her skin, and because of his brashness. He was a fighter. She wondered if he is sharing ointment with her, that he had smuggled in for himself, knowing that everything he will be eating and drinking will have Nightsister's potions in it. She heard the Nightsisters talking about all the things they want to make him do, once he was under their control. She knew about the raping of the groom. The man she will be marrying tomorrow had fully expected to be told to come here with her. They were both surprised, and thankful that he wasn't. She now believes that it is because of this purple healer, that he wasn't called. The Nightsisters had heard that he is engaged to be married. So he is the one that they want for the raping of the groom. Only they plan on doing much worse than she has ever heard. How can she help him? How can she let him know that he has to get away? It would be better for him if he perished in the high tide waters, than stay here and fight the Nightsisters' potions with his ointment.

After the Nightsister finished her show with the male slave. She went up to her Mother, to ask her how she did. She was expecting to hear praise. Instead her Mother told her that he was more interested in staring at her, than at watching their show. So she sent her to the kitchen to help the slaves serve everyone. The Nightsister knew that she was being punished for a poor performance. Since there was nothing else planned for a performance. The Nightsisters' Mother gave the signal that they were allowed to have sex with the male slaves. The Nightsister that the bride-to-be, gave Krillgan's special cup of potion to, had only finished half the cup. But it was enough to set her off. When she knew that she had permission. She knocked the tray of food, out of the hands of the closest male slave, and pulled him down on top of her, wrapping her legs around him. The only clothing that male slaves were allowed to wear at this party, were cloth vests. So they were all naked from the waist down. Some of the older female slaves were also allowed to wear vests, because the Nightsisters did not like looking at their sagging mountains. The young female slaves were all completely naked. None of the slaves were allowed to say anything if a Nightsister wanted to touch them. The Nightsisters did, just because they could. The Nightsisters also wanted to see if the slaves would be embarrassed by where they touched them and how they touched them. If the female slaves reacted, than the Nightsisters would be merciless in touching them. It was not unusual for a new female slave to be on the ground crying, while the Nightsisters fondled her all over. If she tried to use her hands to protect herself, she would be immediately secured to the posts and whipped until she bled. Then the Nightsisters would fondle her some more, while her hands and feet are secure.

Fortunately, all the slaves were veterans, and did not react to the touching. Krillgan would have tried to defend a slave, if he saw them hurting them. Even though he was instructed not to interfere with what they do to their own slaves.

Krillgan tried hard to pace himself with the food and drinks they gave him. He spent most of the time looking at the Mother so that he would not have to look at the orgy taking place around him. One of her lieutenants thought that he might be more interested in men than women, even though they knew he was engaged to be married to the daughter of the Clan Mother of the Singing Mountain Clan. She sent one of the male slaves to dance before him. Krillgan took it as a welcome reprieve. The male slave blocked his view of everyone. Unfortunately the reprieve was short. The Mother realised that he could not see them. She slapped her lieutenant in the face for doing what she did, and ordered the male slave away. She told the lieutenant that it would have been better if she had danced before him, and showed him what she has to offer him. The lieutenant told her Mother that her body was much nicer, and would be more appealing to him. This lieutenant got where she was by knowing what to say, and when to say it.

The Mother thought, "He is staring at me all the time, maybe I can entice him with my body. She asked the male slave that had raped the bride, and was still sitting at her feet. To push up her skirt. The slave got excited, maybe Mother wants him to pleasure her. He pushes up her skirt revealing that she was wearing nothing underneath. Krillgan was probably the only one who could see this. She then instructs the male slave to stand behind her and to reach down through the neck opening of her blouse and fondle her mountains. The slave considered this a great honour. He told the Mother as he was fondling her, that he would like to use his lips, his tongue, and his teeth on her. She told him that if he does a good job, she would let him. She tilts her head back and moans, opening and closing her legs, pretending she was in a moment of great pleasure. At the same time watching Krillgan out of the corner of her eye, to see if there would be any reaction. Nothing! He continued to stare at her with his cold eyes.

She tells the slave to stop, and to remove his hands. She pushes her skirt down by herself. She tells the male slave to go get the purple man a new drink, obviously he has not drunk enough.

Now Krillgan had been daydreaming while the Nightsister's Mother had put on her show for him. He was remembering the tournament his mother fought in, on Uvena Prime, and how much fun he had with his friend.

When he saw the mother move her hands, straightening her skirt, and he noticed that the male slave was no longer at her feet. He wondered what he had missed. When he saw the male slave return. He saw that he was carrying one of his special drinks. Krillgan gave a small pillow that was lying along the path he was taking, a slight push. The pillowed tangled in the male slave's feet causing him to trip. The drink ended up all over Scarface. Krillgan thought that this could not have been any better if he had planned it. Scarface gets up and starts wailing on the slave, using the force with her punches to make sure she was inflicting pain. The slave had curled up into a ball with his arms over his head to protect himself. He knew that it would be no use to complain, he just whimpered. He was saved, only because of Mother's intervention.

Her lieutenant protests, showing her what the slave has done, telling Mother that this was not the first time. Claiming he was incompetent as a server. The Mother sends the slave back to the kitchen, telling him to handle only foods, and not touch the drinks. She tells her lieutenant to go wash up and change.

The Mother had noticed Krillgan watching, this with a smirk on his face. She wondered if he had anything to do with it. If he did, she did not sense it. Which would make him a very powerful force user. If she did try to enslave him as she wanted to. She would have to be very careful who she let near him. Even if she kept him drugged. He could still force most of her Nightsisters to obey him and do his bidding. She might not be able to use him in her breeding program.

Why did those stupid clan Sisters ever teach him how to fight?

The bride-to-be did what she could to help Krillgan. She took a big gulp out of a regular spiked drink, and topped it up with water. She wasn't worried about their being a smell on her breath. Because slaves were allowed to drink. In fact they were encouraged to take a glass that was almost empty, and drain it. Leaving a full glass in its place. They were not allowed to take a regular drink and water it down. Fortunately no one saw her. She went to Krillgan, letting him know which drink he should take from her. As soon as he tasted it, he knew why. She then took the drink that they had prepared for him, and went around topping up the Nightsisters' drinks with it. Again no one took notice.

Krillgan was quite worried that if she continued doing this, she would be caught. He knew that if she was, he would be forced to defend her. He did not anticipate that the clan Sisters would be in any shape to help him.

Fortunately most of the Nightsisters were in worse shape than the clan sisters. Krillgan was confident that he could fight his way off the mountain. He could not stay and fight, because the Nightsisters' Mother had a Dathomirite sword somewhere. If he had to fight for her, she would not be getting married tomorrow. He was also concerned that the raped bride might be ingesting too many aphrodisiacs herself. So when he noticed that other slaves were showing that they were being affected by what they drank. He signalled her to put down her tray. He then started lowering her heart rate. She did not know what was happening. Suddenly she had no energy. There was a pile of pillows near the clan Sisters. She made herself comfortable. In a short time she was asleep. When he knew she was asleep, he raised her heart rate back to normal.

None of the Nightsisters detected that he had used the force again. The clan Sisters were in awe, because they watched him do it.

Later that evening, Gwenlath noticed someone carrying a tray of drinks, and one of Krillgan's drinks was on it. She signalled the person to come to her, and grabbed Krillgan's drink off of the tray, and started drinking it. She did not know that it was the Nightsister who was forced to serve them. She went and told her Mother what the clan Sister had done. They started watching her because they were starting to question their recipe, since it did not seem to affect the healer. Gwenlath thought that she should be able to handle at least two drinks, because she believed that Krillgan had had more. Krillgan knew this was a disaster about to happen, and he could not stop it. With all the spiked food and drinks she had already consumed that evening, this could break her will.

Krillgan knew that all the clan Sisters were trying to be strong because of him, and had not given into their desires. She had not finished the drink when a male slave walked by her. She grabbed him and kissed him. Then she tore off her clothes, oblivious of who was watching her. Making him have sex with her. Suddenly right in the middle of having sex, she fell unconscious. The Nightsister and her Mother watched the whole thing. They were pleased that the drink worked as they designed it. They talked about making this foolish clan Sister, a Nightsister. Now that they had control over her. They decided that the male healer was still their top priority. After they controlled him, they would start working on her.

When Gwenlath succumbed, it was not long before the other clan Sisters gave in to their desires. Krillgan knew that it was time for him to leave. He knew that they would not just let him walk out of here. So he had to think of another way out. He got up out of his chair like he was having trouble because he was drunk. The Nightsister who was serving, came up to him, asking what he was doing. He slurred his speech telling her that he had to go relieve himself, because he was full up to his eyeballs. The Nightsister told her Mother that he was drunk and needed to relieve himself. The Mother told her to take him to the slaves' latrine. They did not have a men's and women's latrine on the mountain. They had the Nightsisters' latrine, and the slaves' latrine. As the Nightsister led the healer away, the Mother wondered if they may have been looking at this all wrong. The healer is not human, even if he looks similar to one. Maybe the aphrodisiacs have no effect on him. His weakness might be alcohol. Then she wondered if they really could breed him. What if his seed was not compatible with a human female's egg? Then they wasted a lot of time and energy trying to seduce and enslave him.

She was thinking too hard, she needed a distraction. A nice young male slave was nearby. She stood up and called him over to herself. When he was standing directly in front of her, on the next level down, she lifted her blouse and put it over his head. She looked down into her blouse, and told him to enjoy.

The slaves' latrine was dark, and reeked. It was only the Nightsisters' latrine that was lit and cleaned regularly. The Nightsister stood in the doorway. The longer she stood there the more her eyes were able to adjust to the darkness. Krillgan was a long time in relieving himself. He really was full to bursting. When he finished, he teased the Nightsister.

"Don't you want to look before I put it away? It might not be worth all the trouble you Nightsisters are going to, to try and get your hands on it."

She was curious to see it. She also did not know that Krillgan had already put his horn away. When she was close enough Krillgan grabbed her. He wanted to put a choke hold on her and subdue her. But because of all the drugs pumping through his system, he misjudged his strength, and snapped her neck. He just let her naked body drop to the floor of the latrine. Later he realised that it was better this way. If he had subdued her, they would have tortured her to death for letting him escape.

Krillgan knew that the only Nightsisters not at the party were guarding the ramp. He could not see the ramp when he stepped out of the latrine. So he knew the guards could not see him. There was only one way down for him. He took a couple of deep breathes, then started running for the edge of the mountain, as fast as he could. He knew that he needed to use the ledge as a springboard, to jump as far from the mountain's edge as possible. The clan Sisters had told him, that ever since the big fire, that the Nightsisters had used to make Glass Mountain, they noticed the ground around the mountain had been sterilised by the heat of the fire. So nothing grew around the entire mountain. Now over the years the swamp would try to claim the land back. So every few years the Nightsisters would light another ring of fire around the mountain, to push the swamp back.

Krillgan did not know how big the dead zone around the mountain was, because he was blindfolded when they brought him to the mountain. He just knew that he did not want to land in it. So when he hit the ledge around the mountain, with both his feet. He used all his strength, and all the force energy he could muster, to push himself away from the mountain.

With the drugs in his body and the air rushing around him. He wanted to scream, "I'm Free!" Normally because of his Chagrian heritage, he would have had no trouble seeing at night. But tonight when he looked down (he was hoping he was looking down) all he could see was blackness. He kept pushing down with the force to try and slow his descent, but could not feel anything solid pushing back. At one point he started panicking, thinking that he still might be back in the latrine, hallucinating all this. That thought quickly disappeared when the first branch hit him. It was too solid, and hurt too much to be a hallucination. He quickly reached out with his left arm and the force to embrace the tree. To help slow him down. At the same time reaching down with his right hand to force push down, as hard as he could. Still he could feel nothing solid.

The branches were cutting and tearing at the flesh on his arm, but he did not care. He found that he had no sense of distance or time. Nothing really seemed real.

He finally stopped falling, holding onto a branch with both hands and feet. His natural eyesight was useless because of the drugs. He had no idea how much farther he needed to fall before reaching the ground. He just hung there and let his body heal all the cuts, tears, and abrasions. When he felt better, he knew that the only thing he could do was let go and drop, hoping that he did not have far to go. He let go and almost immediately landed on his buttocks, on some very soft, but very wet moss. Krillgan started to laugh, no wonder he could not feel the ground. There most be a very thick layer of moss in this part of the swamp. Whenever he pushed down with the force, the spongy moss must have absorbed the push. It still slowed him down, but he had no feedback, about hitting something solid. He had no idea where he was, or where he needed to go. Now he felt like he was losing control of his body. He needed to get to somewhere safe, and he needed help.

Krillgan reached out with the force to see if he could sense any life around him. He ignored all the insects and all the little creatures he could feel scurrying about in their daily life and death struggle to survive. He felt a large enough life force not too far away. He hoped it would help him. He tried standing up, but could not, because of the soft moss. He found that he had to crawl on his arms and knees, if he wanted to get anywhere. He actually could not use just his hands, because he would push them through the moss. He had to use his forearms with his hands spread, to stay on top of the moss, as well as keeping his legs spread so he was crawling on his belly, rather than having his knees underneath him. It was very slow going.

When he was close enough to the creature, that he could identify it with the force, he stopped and reached out to it. It was a Dathomir Boar. A very big one. Krillgan tried talking to it as a Rancor. Though boars are intelligent creatures, they were no-where near as intelligent as a Rancor. So Krillgan had a hard time getting through to it. The good news was that it did not run away. He was able to get it to understand that he wanted help getting out of the swamp before the next major tide. The boar could not come out onto the moss, so Krillgan had to crawl to it. He kept connected to the boar, and sensed that it was surprised to see that it was a human that had reached out to it. Humans were a predator, he was their prey, but this one seemed different. The boar found it amusing to watch the human crawl on the moss. It asked Krillgan how it got out there. Krillgan told him that he fell out of a tree, because he did not know where he was going. He told the boar, that the Nightsisters had poisoned him. Now he had trouble telling where he was going. The boar recognised the image of the Nightsisters with their painted faces. He knew they were the enemy of all his kind. The boar for some reason seemed willing to help him. The boar was large enough that it let Krillgan crawl up onto its back and rest. While the boar went to find the way out of the swamp.

Suddenly the boar stopped. Krillgan could smell it too. There was a Rancor up ahead. Krillgan got off of the boar, onto unsteady feet. He told the boar to run away, he would protect him. The boar had no doubt that as long as he kept the human between himself and the Rancor, he was safe. He thanked the human for willing to sacrifice himself for him. He left knowing that this the way of the swamp, some get eaten, while others get away.

Krillgan reached out to the Rancor. He told him that he has become separated from his herd, and was not feeling well. He needed to get back to them, so that they could help him. The Rancor asked him, what was his herd called? Krillgan told him the Singing Mountain Clan. The Rancor knew this herd. They controlled the lowlands where he had to go when there was a major tide covering the swamp. They were well fed and tolerated the Rancor that came up to the lowlands for sanctuary. Sometimes they were even gracious enough to give them permission to hunt while they were waiting for the waters to go down. They were large Rancor, and every swamp Rancor feared them, and obeyed. Secretly every swamp Rancor dreamed of the chance to become part of that herd. But they were small and would be eaten if they tried to approach the herd mother.

The Rancor asked Krillgan how his herd would treat him, if he helped him. Krillgan told him that he would speak with the herd Mother on his behalf. He was sure that the herd Mother would accept him, for helping one of her herd. The Rancor told Krillgan that he could approach, he would not hurt him. When Krillgan staggered up to him, he could smell that he was not a female. He asked Krillgan why he deceived him. It was only females that rode Rancor. Krillgan asked him, how he could talk with him, if it was only females that rode Rancor? The Rancor had to sit down to think about that one. He asked Krillgan, if there were other males like him? Krillgan told him he was the only one. The Rancor was satisfied. If he was the only male, then none of the swamp Rancor would know about him, and he would be special to his herd. The Rancor let Krillgan climb up onto his back. In no time the Rancor was at the edge of the swamp, and started to climb the cliff to the lowlands. He avoided the trail because he had earlier smelt the presence of the females at the top, and there were mixed herd smells. Not a place to be for a small Rancor with no herd attachments. When he reached the lowlands the Rancor stretched his legs and started running at a comfortable pace. He could hardly wait to be accepted as part of a herd. He would never have to go hungry again. Right now he was very hungry, and it did not help that this man smelt like Dathomir boar, not a Rancor herd. He easily ducked under the low hanging branches of the lowland trees. As he approached the cliffs of the midlands he smelt a small group of the herd he was looking for, and started running towards them. He spoke to the man on his back to tell him that he had found his herd. But there was no response. Then he realised that the man was no longer on his back. He must have knocked him off in the trees. The Rancor sat down and started to cry, because now he was going to be eaten.

The Singing Mountain Clan's patrol spotted the Rancor approaching them, then stop and sit down and start crying. What unusual behaviour for a Rancor. The Sister in charge of the patrol stopped everyone. She jumped down off her Rancor and approached the crying Rancor on foot. She asked the Rancor why he was crying. The Rancor told her that he was crying because now he was going to be eaten. The Sister asked him, why he thought that? He told her that he has come deep into her herds' territory without permission. So now he must be punished, and the only punishment he knows is that he will be eaten. The Sister asked him why he had come this far into their territory, and it looked like he was looking for them. The Rancor told her about the male he encountered in the swamp, who smelled of boar, and not of a herd. But he said he was part of a herd and needed their help. The Rancor told her, that the man said he was part of her herd. The Singing Mountain Clan herd. But he wasn't paying attention and must have knocked the man off in the trees. So now there was no one to talk to the herd Mother for him. So now instead of being fed, he was going to be eaten. So he started crying again. The Sister had to calm him down, and assure him that he was not going to be eaten for trying to help one of their herd. She told him that she was going to ask her Rancor to come and sniff him. If the man he was trying to help was on his back. Her Rancor would recognise his smell.

She went back to her patrol. She told them that the swamp Rancor claims that he was helping Krillgan. But must have knocked him of his back when going through the trees. She climbed back up on her Rancor's back and went into their supplies. She pulled out the last porridge cake, and jumped down. Her Rancor looked at her. She told her Rancor that the swamp Rancor claimed that Krillgan smelt like Dathomir Boar, and that he was hungry. He must be very hungry if he was smelling Dathomir Boar for a long time, and did not try and eat Krillgan. Her Rancor understood. Her Rancor also told her that one porridge cake would not do much in her big stomach, so maybe it was better for the swamp Rancor to have it.

When they approached, the swamp Rancor was surprised that the Sister offered him something to eat. So he munched on the cake while the female Rancor sniffed him. The Rancor confirmed that Krillgan had been on the swamp Rancor's back, and that there was the strong smell of boar. The Sister thought about what she should do next. She asked the swamp Rancor, if he would be willing if one of her people rode him back to her herd Mother? The person would not be able to communicate with him, and if he knocks her off, there would be no one there to stop him from being eaten. The swamp Rancor understood. He promised that he would be more careful. The Sister looked at her favourite scout, and asked her if she was willing to go for the ride of her life. They need to know that Krillgan has escaped the Glass Mountain. The scout was thrilled at the idea. So the Sister handed her one of her flags to wear, so that the swamp Rancor would not be attacked when approaching the village. Then the Sister turned to her other scout, and handed him one of her other flags. He was to make his way to the top of the trail to the swamp, which was near the Nightsisters' village. He was to tell the Sisters there, that Krillgan has escaped the mountain. There was no need for them to wait there any longer. She was going to retrace where the swamp Rancor has been, in case Krillgan is just lying on the ground, unconscious.

When the healer and her Nightsister, did not return. The Nightsisters' Mother was starting to get angry, maybe her best seductress had manage to seduce the healer in the latrine. Not the best place to have sex, but she was very opportunistic. She also knew that her Mother wanted to be the first to have her way with him.

She sent Scarface to go see what was taking them so long. Her lieutenant returned very quickly. She told her Mother that the Nightsister was dead, and that the healer was nowhere to be found. "The guards are at their posts, so he did not go down the ramp." At first the Mother was happy to hear that her Nightsister did not defy her. Then she realised that the male healer was gone. She ordered everyone to look for him. She even told them to get one of the guards to help. She tried to rouse her Nightsisters that had passed out in the temple, but they were too far gone, because of the drugs and alcohol in their system, to be of any use. With the help of the kitchen staff, one of the guards, and the serving slaves that where still on their feet. The lieutenants conducted a thorough search of the mountain. They told their Mother that the healer was no longer on the mountain. She ordered every Nightsister to start searching the swamp. There was no longer a need to keep a guard posted. If the healer was foolish enough to jump off of the mountain, she wanted his body found. She even went down to the swamp to help them.

Krillgan had fallen asleep, while riding on the back of the swamp Rancor. He was feeling nauseous and not fully in control of his body. It did not help when that branch suddenly struck him in the gut, winding him, leaving him just hanging there trying to catch his breath. Wondering how he got there. He could not remember the boar, or the Rancor. They just seemed like part of a dream to him. But he did remember that he loved running through the branches of the trees, from one tree to another. He let his instincts take over. He knew that he needed to get to his safe place, someone would be waiting there to help him.

Every Sister had a safe place, a place where they were conditioned to go when they were under duress. Most were conditioned to head for the temple, or the training ground. The younger Sisters of the Djo family were conditioned to head for the Clan Mother's cottage. That is where Ludia and Diennu would head when under duress. Krillgan was the only Sister of the clan that was conditioned to head for Lovers' Leap. It was where the stream that originated at the temple in the main village, wound its way past every village in the highlands, before tumbling over the escarpment onto the midlands. There it made its way south, southeast, through the heart of the midland forest, to where it emerged and went over the edge of the midland escarpment to the lowlands beneath. It continued its short southeast trek through the lowlands, until it went over the cliff edge into the ocean below. The waterfall from the midlands to the lowlands was called lovers leap. Because they found the dead bodies of two lovers that were cheating on their spouses at the bottom. It was a beautiful place in the midlands. It was also a place where many Sisters through the ages, brought their lovers and surrendered their virginity to them. This place was chosen by the Clan Mother for Krillgan, because it was the closest safe place in the midlands, to the southern coastal swamp, and the Glass Mountain. From the beginning when Krillgan came to the Singing Mountain Clan, it was assumed, that if Krillgan was in duress, it would be because of the Nightsisters. Because of his healing ability, there was nothing else that could cause him duress. So when Krillgan emerged from the lowland forest, at the base of the midland escarpment, he did not hesitate to climb it to the top. Then he followed the edge of the escarpment east until he reached Lovers' Leap.

By the time he reached his safe place, Krillgan was no longer Krillgan. The drugs had taken over his mind and now controlled his body. The next female he met, young or old, it did not matter what she looked like. He was primed to rape her.

The Clan Mother was waiting for Krillgan at his safe place. The elders had argued with her about this. She was the Clan Mother she should not risk herself like this. Amblin-Elu refused to give in. They knew that she believed that she was doing this to protect Ludia. She made it abundantly clear that as her mother she had to do it.

The elders had convinced Butashe to go instead, for the sake of the clan. Amblin-Elu was horrified that they would even suggest that. Butashe is her baby sister, she could not let her face that monster. She had to protect her, just as much as her daughter. When the elders realised that their Mother was not backing down, they knew they had to stop fighting her, and figure out how to help her. Amblin-Elu asked them not to follow her. She did not want them see her humiliate herself for Krillgan's sake. But two of them did. So she undressed where she was sure they would find her clothes. There was also a pretty dress that Mother Andriel made for her that she herself had shredded. Along with torn undergarments. There was a vial of blood that Butashe donated, as the only way that Amblin-Elu would let her help. Ludia and Diennu also donated blood. It was in the bottle with the blood Mother Andriel donated. She knew that the elders would know what to do with all of it. All she had on, was her cloak, to keep her warm until Krillgan showed up.

When the Krillgan monster entered the clearing, all he knew was that there was a female standing there. When she dropped her cloak revealing her naked body. All he could see was the naked torso. He had no idea who it was. He just saw an apparition floating before him of what he wanted. He ripped off his own clothes as easily as the male slave had torn the clothes off of the bride. His extra strength was not from the force, but from the drugs and the high levels of adrenaline and testosterone they had induced in his system. When he was free of all hindrances, he tackled the torso he saw before him before it could get away. He forced himself on it, and started grunting worse than a Rancor. Amblin-Elu suspected that she would have major bruising over most of her body, from the way she was tackled. But then she felt tingling all over her body. The healing oil in Krillgan, was now healing her. She also sensed that something else had come with it. Some of the aphrodisiacs in his blood had dissolved into his healing oil. So every time he hurt her, than healed her. More aphrodisiacs would enter her system. It would be really bad for both of them, if she also lost control of herself. She dissociated her mind from her body, something that she learnt to do with her husband.

Now Krillgan had full control of her body, and could do whatever he wanted to with it, and she would not feel it. She went to her happy place, the forest and fields around the village where she and her sister grew up. She relived those happy times when they played together, and discovered the force together. It wasn't until they were much older that she found out that Butashe was not supposed to be a force user. Amblin-Elu was so glad she was. She could not imagine what life would have been like without her. She has always needed her sister to be there for her, and she always was.

Suddenly Amblin-Elu felt herself falling. She quickly re-associated herself with her body. They had both slipped over the edge of the escarpment. She tried lifting their bodies with the force, but she was not strong enough. She could only hope to give them a soft landing when they reached the base of the waterfall at Lovers' Leap. Suddenly a very powerful force grabbed them, and picked them both up. It lifted them both back over the edge of the escarpment. It was the two elders, Hm-Shassa and Yma. They asked her, where they wanted her to put them down? Amblin-Elu told them to drop them in the stream, Krillgan needs to start cooling off. They told her, that she needs to pay more attention. It would have been disastrous for the clan, if she would have been found at the bottom of Lovers' Leap by her own Sisters, especially with the way Krillgan is right now. Krillgan had been oblivious of everything that was happening around him. He just kept grunting away. Amblin-Elu on the other hand, was very conscience that she was totally naked, with her soon to be son-in-law, between her legs, just grunting away. With two of her elders carrying on a conversation with her, while they held them suspended in the air, with nothing to hide them.

Amblin-Elu asked them if they found the clothes and the blood. They said they did. "So you know what to do." They said they did. They will tell her later that they also found something else.

When they grabbed them, the force revealed that Krillgan had two knives hidden on his person. When they let go of them over the stream. They held onto the knives. Amblin-Elu was prepared for the shock of hitting the cold water, and held her breath. Krillgan was not, and got a mouthful of cold water.

Krillgan momentarily stopped what he was doing. But he stubbornly held onto his prize.

When they resurfaced, Krillgan coughed to clear his airways, then went back to his grunting. Amblin-Elu used the force to carry them upstream, always checking both sides, to see if there was an appropriate place to beach, and get out of the water.

It was good that they were in the water. Krillgan's body was producing and consuming hormones at an extremely high level. His body temperature had started to rise. If it had not been held in check by the cold stream water, he could easily have overheated. Which would have caused severe brain damage.

It was Amblin-Elu that was now in danger of hypothermia. So she clung to Krillgan as her only heat source, and controlled both their body temperatures. Whenever he started getting too hot. She would dunk him. Either by both submerging, or by rolling over. Either way, Krillgan ended up with a mouthful of water, and a brief coughing fit when he was allowed back up for air. Ironically Krillgan needed those mouthfuls of water to help him stay hydrated. The running water also helped to carry away his seed. He never experienced a true climax because of the aphrodisiacs. He just did not tire. Every time he released his seed, it only drove him to want to experience it over and over. They went upstream for quite a few hours. It was only when the light of predawn appeared that Amblin-Elu sensed that Krillgan's heat output was starting to diminish. She found a nice thick bed of grass on the west side of the stream. This was perfect, because it received the morning light. She beached their bodies, but stayed near the stream in case she had to cool Krillgan down. She was sure the elders were someplace nearby, ready to help her, once Krillgan was spent, and all the aphrodisiacs had been consumed.

One of the guards found the marks left by the swamp Rancor, where it climbed the cliff face. She found that odd because it was still hours away before the next major tide. Rancor are usually one of the last creatures to leave the swamp, because they like to intercept, and feed on the other creatures that are trying to escape. So she backtracked and found the footprints of a human approaching the Rancor. She went and found her Mother the two lieutenants and the other guard, and brought them to that spot. The Mother ordered the two guards to climb to the top and follow the Rancor's tracks. Apparently the healer was still alive. She and her lieutenants decided to backtrack, to see if they could determine how he survived the jump off of the mountain. They followed the footprints back to where they were next to those of a huge Dathomir Boar. They realised that it must be one of the biggest boars in the swamp. They followed the boar's tracks back to the edge of a bed of moss, where it had been feeding. It was hard to tell if this was where the healer made contact with the boar. They could see drag marks over the moss. They knew the boar could not have made them. So the Mother ordered Scarface to follow them to see what she could find. When Scarface stepped out onto the moss, she sank up to her waist. The Mother told her that she will have to do what the healer did, and drag herself across the surface. Scarface complained that the moss was all wet, and she would be soaked. Her Mother reminded her that it was better than her being dead. So she first had to climb out of the moss. Then she had to figure out how to stay on top, and travel across it. It was painfully slow crawling across the surface of the moss. Her Mother asked her, if she could go faster? She just said, "No!"

It was quite a while before her lieutenant yelled back that it looked like the healer had fallen down out of a tree. She could see what looked like broken branches above her. Her Mother asked her if she could climb the tree and have a closer look. It was predawn when her lieutenant called back and said that she found some leaves and branches with blood on them. Her Mother asked if she could bring them to her. She heard her lieutenant swear, she forgot to bring a knife. The only way she could cut the green branch off, is if she chewed it off.

The guards followed the Rancor's tracks until they were lost by a patrol's tracks covering it up. The only chance they had was to backtrack along the patrol's tracks, to see if the Rancor's tracts left them. As they backtracked, they found the spot where the patrol intercepted the Rancor. They could see where the Rancor was sitting on the ground. The one guard spoke to the other.

"This does not make sense, if the healer was on the Rancor. Won't they have taken him back to their village?" The other guard agreed. She suggested that they continue to follow the Rancor for now. They followed the Rancor's trail to the base of the escarpment. They climbed up the escarpment, and one guard started to follow the Rancor's trail.

The other guard called her back and pointed out that someone was following the edge of the escarpment on foot. She asked the guard to put her foot beside the footprint. She told the guard that she heard that she has one of the largest feet of all the Nightsisters, yet the footprint is larger than hers, so it must have been made by a man. They backtracked to where the footprints started. Definitely he climbed up here. The other guard speculated that the reason the patrol did not escort the Rancor, was because the healer was not on its back. The patrol must have followed the Rancor's trail back to where they must have believed the healer left the Rancor. So the two guards started following the man's footprints wondering where they would lead them.

They themselves did not notice, that they were also being followed. A Sister, who was also a Ranger had spotted them when they first appeared on the lowlands. She followed them because she saw that they were tracking something, or someone. She had to be careful because it was already the predawn sky.

Amblin-Elu noticed that Krillgan was not as hot as he was before, and was starting to show signs of fatigue. She rolled them away from the stream into the soft grass. She continued to let him have his way with her, until he collapsed on top of her, fast asleep. She rolled over putting him on his back, and got up. There were a few broadleaf plants at the edge of the small clearing. She picked some leaves and covered him. That would have to do for now.

The elders appeared with her clothes and cloak. They also showed her the two stone knives that he had hidden on his body. She went back to the stream to wash herself as best she could. She told the elders that Ludia had warned her about them, but she could not find them when he first attacked her. The elders asked her, if she thought they were a danger to her? She told the elders that if he had still had them on him, went he went through one of his violent spells, he would have cut both of them, hoping that it would enhanced his pleasure. Hm-Shassa wondered where their Mother had gotten so much knowledge. There is little written in the book of Knowledge and Wisdom on this subject. She wanted to talk with Yma about what she had suspected for a long time. It would account for her odd behaviour over this matter. Maybe their Mother was right.

They helped Mother dress, she was shivering, so there was no question that she needed her cloak. They all helped each other through the forest and up the escarpment to the highlands. They raced across the highlands to Mother's cottage. Ludia and Diennu were waiting there for them. They asked Mother, if Krillgan was going to be all right? She told them that he was fine and resting. She gave them a thick stiff carpet. She told them where they would find Krillgan. She told them to wrap him in it, and not let him out, because he was too weak. She gave Ludia a little piece of porridge cake. She told her that if he wakes up, and complains about being hungry. That is all she could feed him. She can give him handfuls of cold water from the stream, as much as he wants, just don't let him out.

When the two young ladies left to go find their friend, Mother went over to her mixing bench to prepare herself a potion. It is the same potion that they give to women who are raped, to help them from becoming pregnant.

On the Glass Mountain it was the bride-to-be who woke up first. She quickly woke up the clan Sisters cautioning them to be quite. The Nightsisters were still asleep. She could not seem to wakeup Gwenlath, and asked one of the Sisters to wake her. When Gwenlath would not wake up by normal means, she took drastic measures. She covered her mouth, and pinched her nose shut until she opened her eyes. She let go of her nose but kept her mouth covered. Gwenlath took two deep breathes through her nose, before the Sister asked her if she was awake enough to function. She nodded her head yes, so the Sister removed her hand from her mouth, and told her to dress quickly. When Gwenlath put her clothes on, she remembered having ripped them off. Now she could not cover herself up. She looked around to see if she could find something to wear. All she could find was bright pieces of clothing that looked like it might fit her. They all knew where they came from. She put them on, then she put her own ripped clothes on top. The other Sisters told her that it did not look bad, when she wore it like that.

The bride-to-be led them to the kitchen, where they were told that the only thing safe for them to have was the water. They all drank a couple of glasses because they were all dehydrated, and they all had bad headaches. The bride-to-be found her clothes in the storage room where she left them. She told them that they have to hurry, because a major tide should be coming back soon, and they would be trapped here for most of the day, and she had no plans on miss her wedding. The Sisters all said, that they had to use the latrine before leaving, after drinking all that water.

As they excited the building they asked the bride-to-be if there was any sign of Krillgan. She told them that his chair was cold, so he hadn't sat in it for a long time. When they entered the slaves' latrine they found the dead body of the Nightsister. One of the Sisters touched her, and told them the body is very cold. She has been dead for a long time. They all did their business as quickly as possible. When they made their way to the top of the ramp, they found no one there. Gwenlath told them that Krillgan must have escaped, and every Nightsister that has not passed out, must be out looking for him. They quickly made their way down the ramp. The temptation was to run. But if you did that, with the way their bodies still felt, because of the potions, there would come a point where your legs could not keep up with your body. Then you would smash into a wall at high speed, going head first. They still managed to get down faster than they went up, and they had all run up, because the tide was chasing them. It was not hard for the bride-to-be to find the trail, and all the Sisters followed her. When they made it to the lowlands they were surprised that none of their Sisters were there. One of the Sisters reminded them that they were all there because of Krillgan. If they received word that he was no longer on the mountain, than there was no need to hang around. When they looked back over the swamp, they could see that the tide was already starting to cover the swamp. They made it out just in time. Then she took them with her to her village, where the people welcomed them. They insisted on serving them breakfast before they continued on their way.

Some of the women came up to Gwenlath, and mentioned that it looked like she needed their help. An embarrassed Gwenlath was led into a room where she removed her clothes, and handed them to the ladies holding needle and thread. They gave her a robe to wear while she had breakfast with her new friends. None of them commented on the colourful clothes she was using as undergarments.

The Nightsister's Mother told Scarface to hurry with her chewing, because the tide should be returning soon. Scarface called back that she had already chewed through the branch, it was traveling on the moss that was slowing her down. She handed the branch to her Mother before making it all the way off the moss. The Mother asked her if she was sure it was the healer's blood. It looks darker than normal blood. Scarface told her that she was not sure, but when she looked up from this broken branch, she could see a trail of broken branches going up the tree. So if it wasn't the healer's, it was another creature that fell out of the sky.

Their Mother told them, "We may not have the healer, but we still have that other Sister that drank his potion. Let's go back up, and have some fun."

They made it to the base of the Glass Mountain, just as the tide waters reached it. Again they had to race up the ramp to keep ahead of the tide. When they went into their temple they could see that some of the Nightsisters were starting to stir. Their Mother noticed right away that some people were missing. The bride-to-be and all of the clan Sisters were gone. Including the drugged one. The Nightsisters' Mother screamed. It was a terrible sound to begin with. Much worse when your head is pounding.

Ludia and Diennu found Krillgan lying right where Mother had told them. Naked and covered in leaves. They did not bother removing the leaves when they wrapped him up. When they lifted him to their shoulders, they heard a feeble, "Where am I." They placed the carpet on the ground and looked in the one end. They told him that he was in the middle of the midlands, and that they were taking him to Mother's cottage. He asked them if they would let him out. They told him no. Mother had given them specific instructions that he had to stay wrapped up, until they reached the cottage. He then asked if he had hurt anyone last night. He had had some really bad dreams, and was afraid that he had hurt someone. Ludia and Diennu told him that they had not heard of anyone being hurt. They asked him what he remembered from last night. He told them that the last thing he remembered was jumping off of the Glass Mountain, thinking he was a bird.

Both women laughed. "If you were a bird, than your feathers have turned into leaves."

Krillgan was suddenly embarrassed. He could feel the leaves against his body, but nothing else. He told them he was thirsty. So they both went to the stream, grabbed handfuls of water and brought it back for him to drink. They probably spilt as much water in the carpet as he managed to drink. They had to make a few trips before he was satisfied. Ludia then gave him the small piece of porridge cake for him to chew on, that Mother had given her. When he finished it he asked her for more. Ludia told him that Mother had said that that was all he could have. Krillgan thanked them and did not ask for anything more. The two young ladies, again picked up the carpet with him inside it. Krillgan did not remember that trip, because he had fallen back asleep.

The Ranger following the two Nightsisters did not like what she heard them saying about Krillgan. They were at the top of Lovers' Leap. The two Nightsisters were saying that it looked like Krillian had attacked some lady. They could see signs of struggle, and claimed that they found fresh splatters of blood. When they looked down over the edge they thought they saw something snagged partway down the escarpment. When they climbed down they found a dress. It was torn and had blood on it. When they climbed down to the foot of the falls they found torn pieces of a woman's undergarments. They looked closely at the dress. One of the Nightsisters commented on how pretty it once was. She was going to take it back with her, to see if the slaves can wash the blood out, and mend the dress. Going downstream from the falls, they found a shirt. The Ranger recognised it as having belonged to Krillgan, the Nightsisters called him healer. It was the shirt he wore to their party. It was torn and had what looked like blood on it. It was much darker than what was found on the dress. The Nightsisters were speculating whether the healer was injured from the fall or from the struggle with the lady. They continued downstream and found Krillgan's pants snagged on some rocks just before the waterfall to the ocean. When they looked over the edge they saw a giant fish swimming around where the waterfall hit the ocean. The Nightsisters were pretty sure that they knew where the healer and the lady ended up. After the Nightsisters left, the Ranger broke down and started crying. Krillgan is dead.

When Ludia and Diennu reached Mother's cottage with their bundle. Krillgan noticed the ingredients on Mother's mixing table, through the opening in the end of the carpet. The only way he could see anything. He felt really bad, to him it was obvious that he had raped someone last night. The dreams were too real to be imagined, and they had mixed a potion for someone.

Ludia and Diennu unceremoniously unrolled the carpet with Krillgan in it on Mother's bed, and left the carpet on top of him. They told him that mother and father had prepared some new clothes for him. They were draped on a chair. When he was feeling stronger, he should get dressed. He just lay there for quite a while. He had never felt so weak in his life. He kept wondering how many people he hurt last night. He remembered breaking that Nightsister's neck, when he only wanted to subdue her. Then there were those horrible images of him doing horrible things to some woman's body. He was sure that it was not the Nigtsister's body he had done those things to. He was pretty sure he was outside somewhere when it happened. Tears came to his eyes as he lay there. He had no strength or desire to get up.

It was a while later, when the Ranger came to the cottage looking for Mother. It was evident that she had been crying. When she saw that Ludia was in the cottage, she did not want to say anything. But Mother made her give her report. She told her about spotting the two Nightsisters as they climbed onto the lowlands, they were trailing something, so she followed them. She heard them talking about a Rancor and a healer. Somehow they were together at first, then they seemed to have parted company.

Mother stopped her at that point. She spoke to one of the Sisters in the room, "Can you go talk to the herd Mother, and tell her not to eat the swamp Rancor. We have enough evidence that he really did help Krillgan. He should be rewarded, not eaten."

She then instructed the Ranger to continue. She told them about following them up the escarpment to the midlands. When they came to Lovers' Leap, they started making horrible accusations about the healer, which she had guessed to be Krillgan. They found fresh blood splatter on the ground. Then they noticed some material down the escarpment. They climbed down and found a torn woman's dress with blood on it. The dress looked like it may have been made by Mother Andriel. It sure looked like one of her designs. At the foot of the falls they found torn woman's undergarments. Downstream they found Krillgan's shirt, torn and bloody. She recognised it, before they said that it was the shirt the healer had worn to their party. They found his pants amongst some rocks, just before where the stream emptied into the ocean. Then they spotted a giant fish swimming at the bottom of the waterfall. "Krillgan's dead!"

Then she started crying again. Mother reached over and put her hand on the Ranger's shoulder. The Ranger was surprised that no one was reacting to her news.

Before she could question them, Krillgan who had been listening, had a spark of hope in him. The scenes she described were what he saw in his dreams. Could they have been all made up? He clearly wasn't dead. He stuck his head out the bedroom door and asked the Ranger whether it was a good thing or a bad thing to be dead. The Ranger screamed, "You're alive!" Then held her hands over her mouth.

"No! You just said I was dead. I certainly feel like it."

"Come and give me a hug."

Krillgan's face darkened, so the Ranger knew he was embarrassed.

"Not just yet. I need to dress first."

So she came over and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm just glad that you are whatever you are."

Krillgan ducked his head back into the bedroom and closed the door. The Ranger turned around and saw that everyone had smiles on their faces.

"You knew he was alive. Why didn't you stop me from making my report?"

Mother hugged her. "We needed to be sure the Nightsisters believed what they saw. If you believed it, than we a sure they did."

Mother than went on to describe to her the preparations they made, and who donated blood. The elders described how they planted the evidence, without setting foot on the lowlands.

Krillgan was listening to all this through the door. He started crying softly, it really was all just a bad dream. He started feeling better. He wiped his face, and started dressing. There were a number of pairs of underwear. His mother had sewn him a couple of nice shirts. Father outdone himself. There was a nice pair of soft leather pants, a nice leather vest, and a soft leather jacket. He was sure this was all Rancor leather. It was really hard to get Rancor leather this soft. That would explain why the leather garments were all slightly different in colour. Beside the chair was a brand new pair of leather boots, with little slots built in them for daggers. Beside them was his father's backpack. Which he and mother made when they first found out that they were coming to Dathomir. When he picked up the top piece of underwear, he found his two stone knives underneath. He wondered where they had gotten to. While he was dressing he heard a Sister reporting that the Fenelar Phoenix had been spotted over the ocean. It should be landing soon. He heard Ludia asking Diennu if she could go talk to Rasha. "It might be easier if she heard the news from her. She did not think that Krillgan was in any condition to tell her himself." Diennu agreed, it would be easier if she told Rasha about the engagement.

Mother left Kreen with Ludia, to bring Krillgan to the Phoenix. They were under strict orders. If they see a scavenger creature, kill it! They don't want to take any chances, with the Nightsisters finding out that Krillgan is still alive.

Diennu found Rasha at her mother's grave. When Rasha saw Diennu, she stuck her hands out to her, so that she would hold them. "I'm so glad that you and Ludia had me plant flowers on Mother's grave. I know I told you this before, and I will tell you this again. But it was the only thing I ever had a chance to do for her. The only way that I could thank her for loving me, and giving me the chance to let her know, I still love her." Diennu assured her that it was okay to keep telling her. This way she knew for sure that it really was her good friend Rasha who got off the ship, and not some imposter. The two young ladies hugged. Diennu told Rasha, that Ludia was with Krillgan, helping him to get ready to leave with them. This was news to Rasha, she only knew that they had received an urgent call from Kindell's World, asking them to come quickly. Diennu told her that she would tell her all about it. But first she needs to tell her something important about Ludia and Krillgan. Ludia wanted her to hear it from a friend. Rasha told her that she can tell her. "Krillgan asked Ludia to marry him."

"Wait, I thought you just said Krillgan was coming with us?"

"He is, but he is also engaged to Ludia."

"So are you warning me away from him?"

"Don't be silly. We are telling you because we love you. Even Krillgan. It's okay to still be his friend. I know I still love him with all my heart. Ludia is still my best friend, and I really, really love her. We just wanted you to know that he is no longer available."

"I did not think he would even consider me."

"He did, and so did father, the only question they had concerning you, was whether your father would let you marry him."

"It sounds like he was very serious about all this?"

"He was. He spent more than a day off by himself. Not eating anything, until he was sure in his heart who he should marry. He approached me first, to tell me that he was going to ask Ludia to marry him."

"Did it hurt when he told you?"

"Very much. But it helped knowing that he still loved me, and did not want to hurt me, even though he had too. My mother also helped me with it, and I knew I would not stop loving him. So we would like you to look after him, until he can come back for Ludia. Maybe you will get a chance to look after both of them then."

Rasha thank Diennu for telling her. Now she had mixed emotions. She was proud of the fact that Krillgan had seriously considered her as a possible life partner. But sad because he had chosen someone else over her. At least that someone else was Ludia. Someone she both loved and admired.

Diennu than told her about the Nightsisters trying to get their hands on Krillgan, and how their clan managed to fake his death. Which is why he must leave. She also warned her that these past few days have been very hard on Krillgan, so he might not be his usual self. Not to mention that he was leaving behind the woman he had recently asked to marry him. Rasha assured her, that she would do her best, to watch over him.

Ambling-Elu informed Captain Chrashan of the reason they contacted him. She had brought a number of kegs of New Ale, regular Ale, and fruit wine, as compensation for him and his crew helping them. The Captain assured her that they were more than adequately compensated for breaking their regular schedule. He apologised that he had not had a chance to make his regular tea purchase on their behalf, and hoped that they would not run out before he returns.

Mother was thinking the same thing, but did not tell him. She was planning on re-establishing trade with the town to see if they could get some tea through them.

It did not take long for the Sisters to load the kegs in one of his cargo bays. Captain Chrashan always wondered what it would take, for one of them to come along, and handle all of their cargo handling.

Krillgan and Ludia showed up holding hands, with Kreen watching over them, and always checking around them.

Erin and Aliyanna were the first ones to step forward, and say goodbye to their cousin, at Mother Andriel's prompting. Krillgan shook Erin's hand, but gave Aliyanna a hug, whispering in her ear, that she was growing up to be a nice looking lady, just like her mother. Aliyanna turned red and kissed him on the cheek, thanking him for the compliment. (She always found it strange that kissing him on the cheek, felt the same as when she kissed her mother on the cheek.) All the Sisters that were there, lined up to hug him, and say goodbye. Mother knew that all the Sisters that were not there were going to be upset that they missed this opportunity. She was sure that they would understand, she just needed to figure out a way to make it up to them. Amblin-Elu was the last Sister to say goodbye. She gave Krillgan a brace of Dathomirite daggers to take with him. She said that he could consider them as an engagement present, and asked him to hurry back for Ludia. He promised he would, and gave her a big hug. Neither one bothered to wipe the tears from their eyes. Mother Andriel was next. She could not help running her fingers through his hair a few times, asking him if he gets a chance to look up some of their old friends. He knows how to contact them. She too had tears in her eyes when she hugged him, and kissed him goodbye.

Father Chitrah made him recite all the codes for all of their accounts. Because they had not been touched for so long, he should be able to access them, as a survivor. He also warned him to conduct all his transactions in credits, because Hutt money is only good in Hutt space. Credits are good everywhere. He then held him close, and gave him a couple of kisses on his cheek. Diennu was the next to say goodbye with a hug and a kiss. Finally it was Ludia's turn. She had been crying with everyone else, and was still crying. She was the only one to kiss him on his lips, and they had a long embrace. She told Krillgan to come back soon.

Rasha had tears in her eyes from all the emotional goodbyes. She went up to Ludia and gave her a good hug. She told her not to worry, she would look after him. She then took Krillgan by the hand to lead him up the ramp onto the ship, because he kept looking at all the people he loved, that he was leaving behind, and did not watch where he was going.