I feel my drowsiness leaving me, my sensations returning. I open my eyes. I squint at the white light. It is beginning to fade. Where did it come from? I want to remember, but my head hurts as soon as I try. Why? I can remember everything before it. I think back to what Images are beginning to appear. I remember. I was running from a man trying to mate with me. I did not want him to. Then I hear a noise above me. A strange silver cloud is descending. The man chasing me stops and looks up in fright. He shouts and runs away. I feel something pinch my neck and I cannot remember the rest. Things are moving around me, things in white and blue. They are blurry. I sit up and my world spins. I reach out to steady myself and suddenly a presence is there, supporting me. I blink and suddenly my vision focuses. I look up. A strange creature in strange coverings is touching me. His eyes are the colour of new leaves but have a light to them, like if you covered only the brightest part of one of the moons in the night sky and look at what is left. Something straw-coloured that looks like fur is covering his head. It falls down past his shoulders. His face has no fur and is dark, with small, light lines on the top of it. They remind me of plant roots. Two things are sticking out of the top of his face. They look hard and are curved. I scream and try to run, but my body does not respond right. I hear him speak to me. I cannot understand. He sounds friendly, but urgent. I do not like it. I hate it! I yell at him. "Leave me alone!" But my rage disappears when I feel a slight pressure on my arm.

When I wake up, the strange creature is back. He sits at the edge of my sleeping place. Waiting. I do not attempt to run this time. I do not want to go back to sleep anymore. I want to know what is happening to me, where I am. I ask him this. He seems to understand me, but when he replies, I do not understand his language. He points to himself. "Ard'oro". I mimic him, pointing to myself. "Eletania."

I gradually become aware that I am in a strange village of my people. I recognize almost everything from our way of life, but everybody acts strangely here. They all do things the strange creatures ask of them, like planting things all in a row and tending them. But they are not forced to. Days roll into nights and back into days. I meet two of the other strange creatures. Ard'oro announces them to us. They are a man who calls himself "E'ranech" and a woman who calls herself "Eng'agea". I learn how to keep track of and recall how many possessions I have. They call it 'counting'. When I have an argument with someone over stealing one of them, I used to hit them to show them my dominance. But now... I am beginning to think there is a better way. The strange creatures have been showing me how to... assert... myself but without hearing the snap of a carapace. And my people here have learned to... request... and not just take what they want from me. I have begun to do this too. Sometimes I forget. I turn away to take a few deep breaths before dealing with the thief. My glance takes me to where E'ranech is. He is acting oddly. I catch him looking over his shoulder at the other instructors as he taps all... ten of his fingers on a small metal glowing device. He slips it into his pocket as Ard'oro begins to glance his way. E'ranech is now looking over a group of children nearby. Ard'oro smiles and looks away. I furrow my brow. I thought it looked like he was sneaking. I shrug and am about to look away, but then I catch him sneaking another glance in Ard'oro's direction before backing off quickly and darting around the hut furthest from the center of the settlement. Does he need to relieve himself? The thief taps me on the shoulder. All the anger I once felt is gone. I tell her that I forgive her but will require her to ask before taking from this moment and all the moments that come after. She smiles, seeming to understand and leaves. I look back in the direction E'ranech disappeared in once more. Should I tell someone?

I am exploring most of the village today. We are told that it is okay but not to wander far. Some have, but the watchers bring them back. I do not see much of these people but they always make sure we do not wander too far. Some of my kind are leaving today, going back to the places they came from. They are taken in a large group far outside of the village toward a strange large rock in the middle of a low, grassy area. There is something beyond this rock, I am certain. One day, I was wandering where the grassy area began. I wanted to know what was beyond it, so I climbed a nearby tree. That was when I saw it - very big rocks and on the other side, a tall shiny thing with a large shiny ball on top. I think there were more tall shiny things in a circle around it. I could not see well but it could make out four. After looking at these, I tried to look as far as I could. I saw a thin, blue line. I listened. I could hear strange birdcalls and the sound of crashing water. The kind you hear when water is falling from a high place. Then I heard voices to my right, below me. I hid behind the tree trunk and I saw some of my kind coming from the village. Ard'oro and two other instructors were leading them. I was not seen. But I was not supposed to be there. A watcher had not come for me. So I watched them cross the grassy area. They came to the rocks and nothing happened for a while. But as I thought to climb down, a strange sound came from the shiny metal object and a light went toward the sky. It was very bright, the colour of a setting sun. I stared at it for a long time. Then I heard a noise below me. A watcher was looking right at me. He did not look happy.

One day, some of the other children and I are asked to form a circle around a body of water. It is shallow, but we are all eyeing it nervously. We fear water. Water gets in our wings, weighing us down and suffocating those who have fallen into its grasp. Eng'agea demonstrates what we will be doing. She walks to the shore. I admire her grace with only two toes to walk with. Maybe it is because her slim legs are toned and are always slightly bent. She wades out waist deep. We fear for her, calling her to come back, but she just smiles. She is happy? She is not right in the head. She lowers herself - we all gasp together - and then she... begins moving with a soft skill across the water. She is not sinking! I look closer, craning my neck. She is moving her arms up and down, exaggerated so that we are able to see. Afterwards, she comes back toward us. I feel her gaze settle on me and I try very hard not to look away, but I am sensing what is coming next. The dread is making my breath come in short gasps. "Come here, little one," she says in that wonderfully melodic voice. "You will be the first to swim. Do not fear, for I will be with you." Her body is telling me that she is sincere, so I clamp down my fear and bravely stride out to meet her. The water tickles me. I stop at her side. "Are you ready, Eletania?" She talks softly in my ear. I nod. "Yes." She smiles and lowers me into the water, keeping a hand under my stomach. That makes me feel better; she will not let go. I strain to keep my neck up. "Relax," she says, "and move your arms up and down, like this," she demonstrates again. I do as she tells me. I am beginning to rise and I get excited. Then I realize that she has released her hand. I panic. "Relax, Eletania! Just keep moving." I cough water out of my mouth. I do as she says and find that I am... floating! It takes a lot of effort, but I am doing it! I HAVE CONQUERED THE WATER! I manage to look up at Eng'agea. Her face is framed by the pale, long, curved 'horns'. Her eyes are bright in contrast to the dark 'hair' falling around her pale shoulders. She is smiling and laughing, showing her white, even teeth. She is very beautiful when she looks like that. I feel warmth in my chest.

It is cold today. I am awake early. Something has been bothering me. I have been noticing E'ranech and Ard'oro arguing every so often. But yesterday, in particular, when I was going to visit Ard'oro in his hut, I heard raised voices. E'ranech thundered. Ard'oro smoothened. I thought to myself that someone needs a 'peacekeeping' lesson. E'ranech stormed angrily out of the tent, almost bumping into me. He looked at me, and I recall being scared to death at the look in his eyes. He sneered and stalked off when he saw Ard'oro emerge from the tent. I looked back at Ard'oro. He looked very sad and tired in that moment, from the way his eyes creased. But as soon as he spotted me, a wide, warm smile appeared on his face. I am amazed at his person... no, I mean to say his 'inner strength' as they called it, remembering my 'peacekeeping' lessons. "What is it you need, little Eletania?" He asked in his always-kind voice. I am now outside my hut in the growing light. I had to tread lightly so I did not wake the others. I made sure Eng'agea did not notice. Now I am on a hill several steps away from the edge of the village. I am admiring the growing light, all of the colours stretching across the sky. That is when I spot a small, dark object growing larger. I watch it curiously. It is coming towards me and I can see that it is something very large. I do not like it. It stops coming closer and lands at the bottom of the hill. I can see strange markings on it. I do not understand... But here, Shepard could understand and her consciousness struggled to assert itself. She perceived the confusion of the young Prothean and her own subconscious knowledge at the same time. The ship's name read: Mamihlapinatapai. A fire comes out of the bottom of it, blue at the top, going yellow at the bottom. It hovers for a moment and then lands. I find I am too curious - or maybe too frightened - to move. So I watch.

Many strange new creatures step down from the dark object. They are pale with smooth, rounded heads and long, thick... arms?... dangling from their faces. They have long, thin arms attached to their shoulders and long, thin legs to match. Their bodies are covered in a strange, shiny material. Some have a faint yellow light that hovers over it. I look them all over. There are... 19 and four more... 20... 20 and 1 is 21... so 23? Yes, I think that is it. Three more figures are coming out of the craft now. I recognize one as E'ranech. The other two are carrying something a little smaller than themselves. I recognize it as the shape of one of the instructors. It is Ard'oro! I watch as they throw him to the ground. I swell with anger. They are yelling harsh things at him. I am not able to understand*. He responds in a calm voice, despite their words. I catch snatches of it. "... thought highly of you, E'ranech... keep your deal... serve in their empire... kill me, but do not harm the others and... Protheans... valuable assets!" Harsh laughter comes from a soldier who spoke to him. He looks the meanest of them all. E'ranech looks white. A flicker blue. Yes, it is the blue light that frightens and awes me most. I see the soldier lift Ard'oro into the air with this blue light. For a brief moment, I am consumed in wonder. But that moment comes crashing down as swiftly as Ard'oro's body does. I scream in grief and rage at the sight of his now lifeless body. Their large, round eyes snap in my direction and I panic. I run for my life. I must warn the others! I hear shouts and people in my pursuit. It feels just like before my time at this village, when I was running from that male. I cannot run fast enough. They are gaining fast. But I manage to reach the first hut and scream all the air out of my lungs. I am tripped by one of 'them'. 'It' looks at me with those terrifying large eyes and leans over me, ready to strike. But the blow never comes. A streak of blue and the man is tossed off of me. I turn my head and see Eng'agea. She is fierce, snarling. More instructors are running from the huts. They look scared and surprised. Eng'agea is covered in blue light as she throws it at the intruders.

A pause in the fight. She looks at me sadly and urges me to run. Something inside me clenches in grief. I know what this means. I want to stay by her side, but something also tells me that it would make her sadder. I run and my grief is flowing on my face. It hurts to breathe. Other instructors are getting my kind out of the huts and away from the village toward the grassy field. I know where they are taking us. I shout. I do not want to go. I want to go back to Eng'agea. To help her. But I am grabbed by one of the instructors. "Eletania, child, you must come with us. Quickly now!" I am pulled against my will, I kick and scream, telling him I must help Eletania. He only looks sadly at me, ushering me across the field and toward the same place where I had seen the long pole of light stretching to the sky many 'days' ago. It is glowing that strange 'orange' colour like the time before. Only it looks much brighter and scarier in the dark sky. I twist to look back once more at Eng'agea and the other instructors fighting at her side. She is the most beautiful I have ever seen her, a light in the surrounding darkness. Her light suddenly flashes in a circle of brilliance and then goes out.

*A/N: For this story, I am going to assume that the Protheans were able to decipher the Inusannon language, but that they had no way of accurately conceptualising the phonetics just as we have no way of accurately conceptualising the phonetics of Linear B, for example. So, Shepard can read, but not speak or understand the Inusannon language. Conversely, Shepard is able to understand only the Thoi'han phoenetics through Eletania's sensory ability, which is able to be carried over to Shepard through the memory transference through the cipher.