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Ashes to Ash

"Burr, what’s wrong?" Windweaver asked his sullen lovemate. "You’ve been acting this way ever since we returned from saving Wisedove, why won’t you talk to me?"

"You wouldn’t understand." Skygem replied sadly. "I don’t really understand it myself... it’s just that... ... never mind, it’s time to go gathering for the evening meal." She turned away and took to the skies, flying away as quickly as her magic would carry her.

"But Burr..." Windweaver called after her. That was another difference he had noticed in her after their return from the Dark Mountain, Burr had been using her magic a lot more often. The weather-shaper was worried about his lovemate. He didn’t like the way she had closed her heart to him. He headed back towards the mother tree deep in thought.

"Is there something wrong Windweaver?" The tanner looked up to see Teean, a basket of berries at her hip, walking towards him. Relief flooded his senses when he saw his long time friend; perhaps she could help him puzzle out Skygem’s behavior.

"It’s Burr." He replied in exasperation. "There’s something wrong, but she won’t tell me what it is. She’s been like this ever since we all got back."

"Take it easy Tanner," The artsy Finder said lowering her load to the ground. "She’ll talk to you when she’s ready. You know how stubborn and secretive she can be."

"I know," He replied, "but this time it feels different somehow. I don’t know how to explain it."

"Give it time." Teean said putting a sympathetic hand on Windweaver’s shoulder. "I know she’ll come around."

"Oh, there you are Teean!" Twittersong appeared hovering in the trees. "Smokeweaver’s waiting for you to bring those berries. She sent me to find you."

"I’ll be right there." Teean again hefted the basket. It was the largest harvest they’d had in a while indicating the near end of the white cold. She gave the youth a final encouraging smile and followed Twittersong towards the cook-fire.

Twittersong looked back at the sullen weather-shaper. She had over heard the conversation between the two and felt she understood Skygem’s feelings. ‘Something weird was happening in that spooky place.’ She thought to herself. ‘I’m glad I’m not the only one that felt it.’ The glider was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice the low tree branch in her flight path. She ran into the branch at her mid section with enough speed to send her whirling around the branch then falling to the ground bottom first. Something broke her fall though, and the air suddenly smelled very sweet. She looked down to find that she was sitting on a very miffed Teean’s back, half the berries she’d gathered crushed on the ground.

"Sorry," the glider smiled sheepishly.

** **

The night was wonderful. It was the first night out-of-dens of the season, and everyone’s spirits were high. Even the newest arrival Rayen seemed to have found an easy comfort in the group. Yes, indeed all seemed content; all except two. Both Skygem and Snowstreak seemed particularly somber tonight, Duskwhisper observed from her place around the fire. She took another bite of dried deer meat; hopefully the last dried deer meat she would have to eat. She hoped to go hunting the next day; find some fresh meat for the tribe. Still, she couldn’t help her gaze from drifting back to the two members of her tribe that did not seem to reveling in the change of season. She stored it in her mind to ask them what was wrong later on.

"Fresh dreamberry wine!" Smokeweaver proclaimed, proudly lifting a full wineskin for all to see. "There’s plenty to go around!" Duskwhisper couldn’t help but smile at her soul sister’s gaiety. She took a long swig of the juice as the skin was passed to her and resigned herself to enjoy the rest of the night.

Skygem took a small sip of the dreamberry wine not wanting to indulge herself too much. She wanted to be fully aware tonight. Tonight might be the last time she would ever share furs with her lovemate, and she wanted to remember every precious moment. Her decision was made. She would miss her new family terribly, but she had to know the truth. She took another small sip and let the warmth of the wine spread through her.

Snowstreak ignored the skin as it was passed his way. He thought back to the small patch of scorched ground he had found earlier in the day. Was it a warning? A threat... ... or perhaps an invitation. He wasn’t sure, but he knew that the patch was left there intentionally for him to find. Someone wanted to make their presence known, and that someone would probably be at that clearing tonight. Snowstreak was determined to find out exactly who it was, although he was sure he already knew. He sat staring at the fire, waiting as the others went their separate ways falling into furs and fuzzy drunken sleep. After a time, he stood slowly and set out for his destination.

** **

Time past slowly as Snowstreak sat awake, waiting for a companion from the past who was supposed to be dead.

‘This is foolishness.’ Snowstreak thought to himself. ‘Why should I believe that he’s still alive after all of this time?’ Still he waited. The two moons were high in the empty sky, illuminating the small clearing. The fire that he had built was more for the purpose of warmth than for light. He sat contemplating memories of the past, considering his future with this new group of elves who had already grown so dear to him when his hunters instincts alerted him to the presence of another. He jumped to his feet, concentrating on the presence... he knew it all too well.

"Ash."

"Snowstreak."

"I always knew you were still alive," Snowstreak said, as he resumed his sitting position. Especially after hearing Wisedove's story about the destruction of her home." The fireshaper tilted his head to one side curiously.

"How do you know it was me?" he asked. "There could be other flame-shapers, in other places." Snowstreak smiled wanly.

"We share an old weakness," he said. "The past is always with us." He touched the white headband he wore on his forehead. Ash laughed shortly, a sharp, edged sound like a dog's bark.

"Never could quite bring myself to throw it away," he said, touching his own Seeker-band. "Don't feel complete without it." Snowstreak nodded.

"What now?" he asked. "I am here alone, as you wanted. Do you wish to fight?" Ash shook his head with a dark smile.

"I came to give you a warning, as one Seeker to another. Leave Stormsinger's Rest. Go elsewhere, and never come back." Ash's voice held a note of quiet desperation. "My mistress only wants the magic, youngling. She has enough airwalkers already: your talent is nothing special to her."

"And the others? What will happen to them?"

"The others will soon be dead," Ash said flatly. "If she feels them worthy, they shall have the honor of becoming her mind-bound slaves. A select few, like your chieftess, may have the honor of joining myself and Jade as loyal servants: free to think and act for her greater good."

"Then I cannot accept," Snowstreak replied. "You know as well as I do that they are my friends ... perhaps even my new family." He clutched his spear a little tighter. "I fought beside them once to rescue Wisedove. I will fight alone to save their lives."

"Then you are a fool," Ash growled. "My mistress will devour your soul, and your brave words will mean nothing." Snowstreak stood up.

"Is there anything else you brought me here for?" he asked. "If not, I will be going to sleep now." Ash smiled cruelly.

"Yes, child of Surelance," he whispered. "There is something else... ..."

Then the attack came, it felt as if a knife had been slammed through his eye into his skull and was being twisted inside his brain. Snowstreak fell to the ground, clutching his head.

"What are you doing to me!!!" he screamed. Then his scream became a wordless cry of despair. In his minds' eye, the image of lifemate on the day of their Recognition was slowly decaying into a rotting, cadaverous corpse.

Snowstreak was never able to remember how long he writhed in the dust, clutching his head and screaming for mercy. All he knew was that in that time, he relived tenfold a lifetime of pain and suffering. All the precious memories of his time with Farsight were torn from the fragile fabric of his memory and twisted into perverse mockeries of that purity.

Finally, the attack ended, and the unchecked torrent of emotions ceased. Snowstreak lay in the dust, curled up in a fetal position. Ash reached down and grabbed him by the hair, forcing the tanner to look up into his face.

"This is a warning," Ash whispered. "My mistress is safe in her home in the Black Mountains, and yet she is able to reach out through her servants and break your mind with a single word. Imagine what she could do to you when you are hers." He laughed, a high-pitched, warbling sound. "Imagine... ..." He let go. Snowstreak fell heavily onto the dust and began crawling away, whimpering like a crying child. "Think about this!" Ash yelled after him. "Think about this, and reconsider! Time is running low, and soon I will not be able to help you. Leave Stormsinger's Rest, and you will be spared. If not, this pain will be only the beginning!" Ash laughed harshly as he walked away from the shattered tanner, unaware of the extent of damage done to Snowstreak’s mind. Tears streamed unchecked down his cheeks as he crawled blindly through the brush, brokenly whispering his lifemate’s name until finally, he collapsed, fading into a black empty oblivion.

** **

Duskwhisper awoke with a start pulling out of Longrunner’s warm embrace.

"What’s wrong?" He asked groggily, her sudden movement pulling him from a peaceful sleep."

"I’m not sure," Duskwhisper said, using her magic to clear her head. "Someone needs my help."

"Who?" he asked, suddenly coming fully awake.

"I can’t get a clear sense of it. Who ever it is won’t answer my sendings meaning that they’re either too weak to send..."

"Or a weak sender." Longrunner completed her thought.

"Snowstreak." The healer quickly dressed in her furs, the night air still holding a chill, and exited her den, Longrunner at her heals. She stepped outside to find Wisedove approaching, wrapped in her cloak.

"You felt it?" The councilor asked, her face nearly transparent in the moonlight. Duskwhisper only nodded. "You must find him. I fear he may be lost to us if you cannot."

"We will." Duskwhisper said resolutely. She closed her eyes in concentration, calling upon her healer’s eye to show her the way. Her eyes snapped open and she turned and headed into the forest. Wisedove and Longrunner followed, deciding against waking any of the others. The three of them should be enough to get the injured elf back to Duskwhisper’s den. Quickly and quietly, they all headed into the night.

A silent observer was awake to witness the other’s departure. She was planning a departure of her own. Stealthily, she drifted through the branches to a small cave. Inside, there were dried rations, water skins, and a sleep roll. All else that she needed, she carried in small pouches around her slim waist. She had also a dagger, bow, and quiver of arrows for hunting. She gathered all of these things, stepped out of the cave, and willed herself above the trees. Skygem looked back to wards Stormsinger’s Rest sadly.

**Good-bye, Jor,** she sent softly to her slumbering lovemate, then flew towards sundown.

** **

He didn’t know what had awaken him at first, but when Windweaver sat up to find that Skygem was gone, he somehow knew that she would not be found anywhere in the holt or the surrounding forest. He pulled on his bottoms and stepped out side to look up into the sky.

**Cree,** He sent out into the emptiness. Despite the fact that they were not Recognized, the two had shared soulnames to reaffirm their devotion to each other after the destruction of their home. Did it really mean anything though when she would so completely shut herself off from him? He sighed in confusion looking down from the skies. Movement in the forest caught his eye. He turned to see Wisedove, Longrunner, and Duskwhisper emerging from the trees. Wisedove and Longrunner carried a litter between them, and Duskwhisper was leaning on Longrunner for support.

"What happened?" Windweaver rushed over and helped the chieftess to a sitting stone.

"We don’t know," Wisedove told him. "It seems that Snowstreak was attacked."

"His mind..." Duskwhisper added weakly. "When I tried to heal him, his thoughts repelled me with such force... "

"Which can mean only one thing." Longrunner said darkly, looking from Duskwhisper, to Snowstreak, to Duskwhisper again.

"Jade." Windweaver understood. She had stolen something from them again. "Skygem is gone." He said, not knowing why he would bring that up at a time like this. "She might not come back." The others looked at him in shock not sure they had understood him properly, then Duskwhisper rose to take Wisedove’s end of the litter, and Wisedove went to stand beside him. The others carried Snowstreak to Duskwhisper’s den allowing the former Skysingers to speak.

"I really don’t understand." ‘Weaver said to his friend. "Why would she leave?" Wisedove wrapped her arms around him in a comforting hug.

"You cannot try to understand it, Tanner," she said, using his firstname as Skygem did. "There will always be a part of her that you cannot touch, just as there is a part of each of us that no one will ever know." Wisedove held him at arm’s length and looked into his eyes. "You love her though, which means you have to try to understand her, and all of her actions. Trust her judgments, no, trust her. She would never leave you without good cause."

"I guess you’re right." The weather-shaper said, feeling no less lonely, but somewhat consoled.

"We should go see if Duskwhisper could use our help." The councilor said leading him towards the healer’s den. He was nodding his consent when a tortured cry echoed through the predawn gloom. The sound sent a chill down their spines. Wisedove sent a silent prayer for their chieftess to the skies as they hurried to the den. This healing would be a test of every power the elf-maiden possessed.

** **

"This is most perplexing," Jade mused, as she returned to her body. "Our mistress' assault on your young friend appears to have had unexpected results.

"That is because our mistress went too far." Ash turned towards Jade, eyes flickering with an inner flame. "Snow's dedication to his lifemate was nothing short of sickening. If I had known the exact nature of the attack she planned, I could have warned her of this result. Now he could not leave even if he chose to do so."

"Why Ash," Jade said playfully. "Are you speaking ill of our mistress?"

"Of course I am," Ash growled. "Our mistress knows of my opinions on this matter. Snowstreak was an old companion of mine, and I owe him every chance to escape this fate with his life intact."

"I am afraid that is no longer a possibility."

Ash and Jade rose to their feet. A dark, oppressive "presence" was in the room with them.

"I have indulged your little whim, flame-shaper, and allowed you the chance to save your little friend from his fate. No more." The Lady stepped out of the shadows, her dark robes flowing around her with a rustle of silk.

"You think I did not know the results of my actions? Your friend had his chance to escape, and he rejected it. Now he is the weight around Duskwhisper's neck, a hobble to the child of Stormsinger."

"Exquisite subtlety, Mother!" Jade purred. "Yes, yes, I see it now... the Seeker, broken and fallen. The chieftess will place all her strength into healing him: she must it is her nature! So weakened, the Finders will fall apart... yes! Snowstreak will live among them as a living example of the price they shall pay for opposing you!"

"Bat dung," Ash snapped. "Snowstreak has become a rallying point. His plight will not weaken the Finders, it will strengthen them, unify them behind his plight. I disagree with your actions here, mistress. You have set back our plan untold..."

"Our plan?" Dark Lady laughed softly as she glided past Ash, stroking his face with long, delicate fingers. "Since when has this been _our_ plan? It was my mind, my magic that devised this plot, and my power that brought it to fruition. Dear heart, I believe you are letting the desires of your old life shadow your dedication to me."

"Yes, of course." Ash turned to his lady, eyes blazing. "Snowstreak was an old friend of mine. We fought together, hunted together, ate food together, and huddled together for warmth when caught in the snowstorms of the Blade. Such bonds are not easily broken."

"That, my dear heart, is where you are wrong." The Dark Lady drifted behind Ash, rested her hands upon his shoulders. "Never forget to whom your life is dedicated, dear heart. Remember who owns your life, your soul, your body. My word is your law, dear heart. You do all that I tell you to do. I allow you your freedom because you are useful to me free, but remember who it is you serve, who it is you love."

Ash nodded, eyes closed. "Of course, my lady. I would place a dagger in my heart for you, feed you my own flesh if it would save your life. But Snowstreak and I were also very close. I care for him deeply and wish to see him safe."

Venyah smiled. "I knew you would understand. And I understand your dedication to an old friend. But he is no longer your friend, dear heart. He is an enemy now, he has been an enemy ever since he rejected your wish for his safety and spat defiance into both our faces." She leaned down and brushed her lips up against his ear, whispered gently to him, "And you know what must happen to enemies, dear heart."

"They must be destroyed or turned." Ash's eyes had lost their fire, faded into flat pools of grey. "Lest they be a threat to my mistress' safety."

"Yes... yes! You do love me after all!" the Dark Lady purred as she stroked Ash's face gently. "Now, dear heart, you see what must be done. It must be you who kills Snowstreak, dear one. It must be you who destroys he who was once your friend. When the time comes, it will be you who purifies his soul in the flame. It is, after all, the only thing you can do for him." She purred gently, rested her hand upon his chest. "It is your duty as a friend."

"Yes," Ash murmured. "My duty. As a friend."

"Good." Dark Lady took Ash by the hand, turned to face the door. "Come with me, dear heart. Your flame is needed once more. Aid me, dear heart. Purify the souls of the unworthy with your flame. You as well, dear Jade. There is much work to be done."

They left in silence.

** **

Sahkshen rose from his hidden perch in the rafters, worked out the kink in his neck, and allowed himself a sigh of relief for the first time in hours. Not for the first time, he thanked his lucky stars that the Queen had found Ash: with the more powerful fireshaper present, Sahkshen had become largely ignored, giving him more freedom to move about and plot his own plans.

He felt a momentary twinge of regret for the Glider called Snowstreak: none who had ever faced the full force of Ash's flame had ever had a chance to fight back, much less defend themselves. The Glider was doomed, and didn't even know it yet.

He fought back those feelings, returned to the dedication of purpose that he needed in this time. The glider was doomed, and nothing he could do could save him. He needed to plan for himself now. There was still hope for himself, but he needed aid. He needed Duskwhisper.

Rising from his perch, he slunk back into the shadows, mind racing with thoughts of escape and freedom.

** **

TBC…