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The mouse led Dinara down the path to the cabin. All the various animals greeted her in their own ways. The humans came toward her with their arms extended in a loving fashion while the Master looked on. Dinara turned toward the Master and said, "I am here to learn what you will teach me if you find me worthy." The Master smiled and said, "I have been waiting for your arrival. You have much to learn and take back to your people."
Dinara stayed with the Master for what seemed like months. She would find out later that the Master was also the Master of Time as well as Master of Shape Shifting. What had seemed like months was actually only days in Dinara's land. This great shaman taught her how to feel the life energy within her called Great Spirit and how to control the flow and shape this energy took so that she appeared to the wold in any form she chose. She learned that all things were connected in ways that she had never imagined and that every life form dependend on every other life form in order to exist. Even the smallest flea affected the Web of Life. Everything was important.
One morning the Master told her it was time for her to go. He said that she had learned all that he could teach her and now it was time for her to take this knowledge to her people. She had become very fond of this old man and was sad to leave, but she knew he was right. Dinara spent the morning saying farewell to all the animals and humans she had gotten to know and love. Then Eagle swooped down from the treetops and called for her to follow. She sholdered her pack for the last leg of her journey.
Dinar walked for many days, gradually walking through thinner and thinner forest. Finally, she could smell salt air on the wind and knew she was getting close to the Great Ocean. She came to a hill where she could see forever over the never-ending water. Down below she saw her village and began to cry tears of joy and sorrow. How would these people greet her? She was not the same person she had been when she left. Would they even remember her?
Dinara walked down into the village and was stunned to find that it was about half the size she remembered. People started coming out of cottages, and to her amazement, there were no men among them. All were women and children. One old woman came up to her that she thought she remembered. The woman spoke with tears in her eyes. "Dinara, my granddaughter, you have returned to us."
That night, while sitting around the community fire in the longhouse, Dinara was told the story of what had happened while she was gone. The last of the fundamentalist religous groups had convinced the men in their village that war was the only way that a "true man" could be of any value to "God". All the men had left to kill and pillage and prove their worth to their God, leaving the woman and children to fend for themselves. That had been over 7 years ago and no one had heard anything from them since. It had been very difficult at first, but the women had managed to endure and adapt.
Dinara was saddened by these tales. She had memories of being abused by many men in her life, including her own father, but she had, also, learned that there were many good men as well. She thought of the old Master she had met in forest and how kind he had been to her. She knew that without the men and their masculine energy, her people would die out like so many others had. Both masculine and feminine energy were necessary in order for there to be balance in this world.
Dinara began telling the stories of her adventures while she had been away from her people. They were amazed that she had been able to survive on her own. They were in awe of her wisdom. As the night wore on and her story unfolded, the people became more and more convinced that she had been transformed into a Goddess that only look like the old Dinara they had known. From that night on the people began to see the potential power within themselves. They learned of the delicate connection they had with the Web of Life and how they were related to all the other beings on the planet.
As time passed, some of the men came back to the village with tales or horrible loss and distruction. The fundamentalist religious groups had eventually distroyed everything and consumed even themselves. Nothing was left but small villages scattered great distances from eachother.
Many years after Dinara passed on into the world of her ancestors, the people continued to pass her teaching to their children, telling them that they were but one part of an intricate Web called Life. They were no more or less important than the smallest creature. They learned from their elders that all beings were here to learn from and to honor all as being sacred.
