The Finders and all characters not previously owned and found in their company are copyright to each of their players. Elfquest and its concept is a registered trademark, and its logos, characters, situations and their distinctive likenesses are trademarks of WaRP Graphics, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. However, there are no trademarked Elfquest characters found in this story. Well, maybe at the very end, there, but she’s never mentioned again. Healer’s Honor. ^_^

Stormsinger’s Rest

Part 3

The New Holt

The trail the journeyers were taking was no less straightforward than it had been before, but now, the Plainsrunners had tales they'd never heard before. Similarly, they enjoyed barraging Jrean with stories of their own pasts and prowess. When Duskwhisper told an abridge version of what her mother had said about Stormsinger, Longrunner remarked that he had remembered when that happened, but hadn't realized that Fleetdoe and Stormsinger were Recognized.

"No one knew about it other than the two involved, Eagle-Eye and Summerset," the healer replied. "Besides which, you were only six when it happened!"

"Who is Summerset?" Jrean asked.

"He was my mother's lifemate. I never knew him as anything but my father until just before we undertook this quest."

"But if he wasn't your father, why'd you think he was?" Twittersong asked, her usual ditziness shining brightly.

"Because he raised me as his own. He was lifemated to my mother shortly after her Recognition was consummated."

"Oh! Well, that was nice of him!" she said sincerely.

Summerstream smiled and slipped an arm around her waist. He was so happy that she and the kit were fine.

"So what about you, Imberglow?" Jrean asked.

"What about me" she snarled in reply. She was still sulking about Duskwhisper inviting the Soundmaker along. That one misdeed nearly wiped away what the healer had done for her mother in her eyes. Almost, but not quite.

"Tell me more about yourself."

"What's to tell? I'm only fifteen! And even if I did have any stories, I wouldn't tell you!"

"That's it!" Jrean said with a sudden flare of anger. "With all due respect to you and the rest of your tribe, Duskwhisper, I don't think I can continue travelling with this ill-mannered, stuck up child!"

"How dare you?!" Imberglow protested. "If you're going, I say good riddance! Who could possibly want to deal with an insulting, self-serving lout like you, anyway?!"

There was a tense silence as the Plainsrunners watched the two standing nose-to-nose. Eyes were narrowed and fists were clenched.

"I thought you were leaving," Imberglow finally growled after a long, tense moment.

"You know, I think I will stay," Jrean replied, "if for no other reason than it will bother you so much if I do."

"Ooh!" Imberglow shrieked. "I hate you! If you're not leaving, then I will!" She turned and began to stomp back the way they had come.

"Imberglow, where are you going?" Twittersong called after her.

"I'm going home!" she replied, over her shoulder.

"Summerstream, stop her!" the airwalker pleaded of her lifemate. He obligingly chased after his daughter, grabbing her wrist when he caught up.

"Imberglow, stop," he said.

"Let me go!" she cried, angry tears dripping off her chin. Instead, Summerstream held his daughter in a tight embrace.

"Listen to me, kit," he said soothingly. "We've come a long way. The Mother Moon will soon complete her third cycle since we left Greenriver. Do you really think you could find your way back alone?"

She sniffed. "The trail is marked by trampled grass."

"By the time you get back, it will have been five moons. The grass would be standing straight again. And on top of that, you're ready to go bounding off with no supplies."

Imberglow hugged her father tightly. She didn't want to be alone on a plain that had seemingly no end in any direction. Jrean walked up then, sheepishly running his fingers through his hair.

"Look, Imberglow… I'm sorry," he said.

She looked at him and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry too…" she replied after a pause. "You don't have to go."

"Good, because I don't plan to."

Imberglow frowned at that. "But don't expect me to like you, either."

"Believe me, the feeling is quite mutual."

"Hey everyone! Come look!"

It was Duskwhisper, and she was standing atop a hill—the first geographical feature any of them had come across for moons—facing north and east. As they approached her, the others could see that her face was flushed and an excited glitter sparkled in her emerald green eyes.

"What is it, 'Whisper?" Smokeweaver asked.

The healer pointed. In the distance, they saw evergreens. A huge mass of them, stretching farther toward sun-goes-down than they could see. And in the direction of sunup, there lay a huge expanse of water, glittering in the sun. The seven elves were awe-struck.

"Let's go," Duskwhisper said quietly. "It's not much farther now."

** **

A hand of days later, as the sun sank below the horizon, the elves stood at a rocky outcropping just outside the forest. Duskwhisper had wanted to go in right away, but Longrunner had advised against it, cautioning that they didn't know what sort of predatory animals lived in there. With a sigh, the healer had consented.

As she sat by the dying fire, mulling over how close she was yet unable to finish just yet, Imberglow approached her.

"Duskwhisper, could you take a look at my hands?"

"Your hands? What's wrong with them?"

"My palms have been itching all day, and my arms have felt tingly, almost as if they were asleep. On top of that, I've felt kind of feverish. Not bad, but overheated. I think I might have touched some kind of poisonous plant."

Duskwhisper took the girl's hands in her own and attempted to examine hem, but the poor light quality was making it difficult. As it was, her Healer's Eye didn't sense anything, but she wanted a visual examination to confirm it.

"I wish we had something to stoke the fire with," she complained, "but 'Runner would have my head if I ventured into the forest now. I can't see much, but your palms do feel hot."

"Maybe you could see better if I moved my hands closer to the fire."

As Imberglow changed her position and stretched her hands toward the dying embers, the flames suddenly leapt up, feeding off some unseen force. Imberglow gave a cry of alarm that got everyone's attention and yanked her hands back. Duskwhisper's eyes were wide.

"Do that again, kit!" she said.

"I… I didn't do anything!" she replied in a quaking voice.

"Just stretch your hand toward the fire and wish it were bigger."

"What's going on?" Twittersong asked. Duskwhisper shushed her with a wave, concentrating on Imberglow.

The young maiden again reached for the fire, and as she wished, the flames rose again, hungrily looking for fuel to feed off of.

"Congratulations, Imberglow," Duskwhisper smiled. "You're a fireshaper."

** **

The following morning couldn't come early enough for the healer. She wanted to be in that forest, exploring. The call was stronger than it had been the night before, almost audible in its intensity.

Duskwhisper was up at first light, preparing a thin meal of boiled meat broth and berries. She wanted to head in at once, but she figured it would be best to wait until the others were awake. It was all she could do to keep from waking them, herself.

She selected some herbs that she had brought from Greenriver as well as ones she had gathered on the journey. With them, she made an energizing tea that would assure that her friends would be awake a few minutes after drinking it.

As she let the spices seep, Smokeweaver came up behind her and draped a fur over her shoulders against the morning chill. Duskwhisper looked up and smiled then offered some tea.

"Can you make something for breakfast that will get everyone to wake up from its delicious smell?" she asked sweetly. Smokeweaver laughed as she sipped the brew.

"You're really eager, aren't you Rahl?"

Duskwhisper nodded. "We're so close to the quest's end. I just know it. My answers lie there, in the forest."

"Well, I can't deny my soul sister anything," Smokeweaver joked, "so I'll wake the others with something they won't want to miss!"

She got her pack of supplies and began to root around. During the trip, she had pounded some grains into a fine powder. After placing some flat stones in the fire, she took the flour and put a portion of it into a wooden bowl, then added water and lard and stirred. When the mixture was thick and creamy, she added a measure of honey and blended it in. By then, the stones were hot, so she poured a small portion of the batter onto one. "It's a pity I don't have any eggs," she absentmindedly commented. When bubbles appeared on the surface of the baking disk, Smokeweaver slipped the shoulder bone of a jackal, sharpened along the narrowest edge, under it and flipped it over. The scent wafting up from it made Duskwhisper's mouth water, and she looked ruefully at the simmering broth she had been making.

"I get the first one," she said.

Smokeweaver laughed and handed over the treat as soon as it was finished. Before long, the others were awake and sniffing their ways to the fireside. Eating the flat cakes and drinking the tea invigorated the party, and before long they were all ready to explore.

As Duskwhisper stepped into the trees, an excited chill flooded through her. The forest was singing to her, and the call grew louder, more urgent. "Smokeweaver, do you feel it? Can you hear it?" she asked breathlessly, craning her neck to see the tops of the trees.

"Feel what? Hear what?"

"The trees! They pull at me and call to me!"

"Call? 'Whisper, trees can't make noise without wind, and it's not windy."

Duskwhisper smiled a little sheepishly. "I guess it's my father's treedweller blood in me. These trees invite me just as the stars do."

Smokeweaver nodded, able to appreciate that, then went to find her lovemate, who had gone on ahead of them. The healer found herself alone now, and she opened her senses to explore. There was old magic running through the forest almost palpably. Duskwhisper began to walk, letting her feet follow her instincts as her eyes and ears took in the wonders around her. Far above, Duskwhisper herd the croaking cries of a flock of birds. By the call alone she identified them as ravens.

'I'm intruding on their territory,' she mused. 'This is the ravens' wood.' Then she smiled. Ravenwood seemed a suitable Place Name for the forest.

As she walked, the sunset-haired elf noticed the lush greens surrounding her. She realized that the dark green and brown the she wore blended in well. A balmy breeze brushed against her cheek and caused a stray lock of hair to tickle her face. She brushed it out of the way and listened intently to the melodious birdsong around her. The thumping footfalls of an unseen rabbit could be heard, as well as the laughter of running water. Her curiosity piqued, she decided to find its source.

A short walk brought her to a river. Duskwhisper followed it upstream until she came to a wide pond that was fed by a waterfall. As spray filled the air, the morning sunlight streamed through the trees causing a rainbow that took her breath away. The water was as clear as air, and there were flowers in abundance both dotting the grass in clusters and laced through the nearby trees on vines. Their sweet fragrance filled the air and the healer breathed the mixed scents deeply. The riverbed was covered with a soft, luxuriant grass of a deeper hue than that found in Greenriver, even at the peak of the newgreen. Duskwhisper sat in the lush grass, listening to the melody of the forest, smelling the perfume of the blooms and feeling the warmth of the sun and the silken caress of the breeze.

Yet, despite the tranquility she found sitting by the river, the call urged her to her feet. The peace here wouldn't be complete until she found one last thing. She turned away from the beautiful scene embracing her, walking back into the woods, no less lovely than the other setting but in a different way. As she wound her way around trees and bushes, something tickled at her senses. It felt more and more like magic used long ago, but she couldn't be sure.

Then, the healer came across the largest tree she had ever seen. Its height wasn't so impressive, but its trunk was massive and its forked branches spread out and looked as if they intended to embrace the sky. Duskwhisper stood in awe, her emerald-green eyes wide in wonder. With reverence, she approached the tree and reached out to caress the trunk.

**Don't touch that!** The lock-send startled her, and she backed away from the tree.

**Who…?** she sent, looking around.

**Do not fear me, but heed my warning.**

It was the tree! The tree itself was sending to Duskwhisper!

**How are you doing that? How can a tree have a consciousness?**

**I haven't always been as you see,** the tree replied. **Truly, it is the soul of an elf that sends to you now.**

**An elfin soul! How did you come to take the form of a tree?**

**Many eights ago—not so many that I can't remember, but my it seems long ago now—I entered this forest seeking shelter. A voice… a send guided me to this tree and trapped me inside it, harnessing my magic to use as a lantern light, so to speak, to other magic-users. She wants me to call the most powerful magic to Her.**

**'Her'?** A sudden breeze ruffled the tree's leaves and Duskwhisper got the impression that it was sighing. Then she realized that, while she could feel the gentle wind, it was only affecting this one tree. An odd chill ran through her.

**She is Darkness,** the tree continued to lock-send. **She is Hate and Decay. She is all that is Wrong with the world. She is Evilness itself.**

Duskwhisper's chill worsened as gooseflesh raised on her arms. She didn't ever want to meet Evilness.

**Tell me young one… Are you a magic-user?**

**Yes. I am a healer. And there's an airwalker and a fireshaper in my party as well.**

**How many females do you travel with?**

The healer thought the conversation was taking an odd twist. She was interested in learning more about this tree-trapped elf. But she supposed that she could earn his trust by answering his questions. **Well, there's me, and three other females, but there's a total of seven of us. Why?**

Again the great tree "sighed". **She seeks my daughter. I know not why. She made a blood call radiate from me to summon her stronger than anyone else.**

The healer's heart caught in her throat. His daughter? What if…? **You must tell me your name!** she demanded, excitement twined with the meaning.

**I am Stormsinger.**

**My name is Duskwhisper, and my mother's name is Fleetdoe. I am your daughter.** Tears of joy rolled down her cheeks. **I've found you! I've finally found you, Father! I began searching as soon as I learned about you!**

**My daughter…!** The emotion behind that send was so intense, so warm, that Duskwhisper knew he'd be crying if he had living eyes to do so. **If only I had feet to run to you! If only I had arms to embrace you! Duskwhisper, my daughter… you are beautiful!**

The sunset-tressed healer had approached the tree again without realizing it. She leaned her body against the trunk and pressed her cheek against it, then stretched her arms as far as they would go. In this silent manner, their reunion was complete. She could just imagine her father returning the hug. Indeed, the weathershaper filled her mind with the image of his old body. In their minds, the hugged each other tightly. Then Stormsinger sent again.

**Duskwhisper, you must flee! She seeks you like no other for reasons I don't know!**

**I cannot run, Father. I can't let others be drawn into Her clutches. If you are calling to magic-users then it's not safe for me to leave you alone. You might not be able to save them all. I can tell that this is a strain for you, Father. You won't be able to warn everyone.**

**Very well, kitling. But… oh, Duskwhisper, be careful!**

**I will, Stormsinger. I swear it.**

The walk back to where she had split with her friends was serene. Duskwhisper felt her head cloud. She knew that what she had said to her father was true. She couldn't leave now. There was too much at stake if she did. For the entire elfin race, she would give up her life to guard this one tree.

She encountered the others all too soon. They stood in a group awaiting her return.

"Duskwhisper, there you are!" Smokeweaver exclaimed. "What have you been doing? Half the day is gone! We were getting worried."

"Has your curiosity been satisfied? Are you ready to go?" Longrunner asked. When he saw her reluctant expression, he got frustrated. "It took us nearly three cycles of the Mother Moon to get here, and it will take just as long, if not longer, to get back!" he insisted in exasperation. It wasn't that he didn't respect the younger elf, even love her as a dear friend, but he wanted to go back to Greenriver. The trees made him feel uncomfortable, boxed in—almost afraid. He was a runner. He needed open space.

"Do you really want to go now?" Duskwhisper asked in a steady, natural tone of voice. "That's a good idea. It's late in the season. You should get going if you want to make it back to Greenriver before first snow. It will be hard to go through the mountain pass on foot if the whitecold is at hand. You might be forced to go around, the same way we left."

"Duskwhisper, what are you saying?" Twittersong asked pensively.

"I'm saying that I'm not going back."

"'Whisper, no!" Smokeweaver cried, throwing her arms around her soul sister. Duskwhisper hugged her back and ran her fingers though Smokeweaver's bi-colored hair.

"'Weaver, I told you at the start that I might not ever return to Greenriver. Now I know I won't. I've found my home, my true calling. This is my home, and I'm not leaving."

A heavy silence fell over the group. Twittersong was suppressing tears and Summerstream held her close. Then Smokeweaver stood up straight, held head high.

"I'm staying too," she said.

"If you're staying, then so am I," Longrunner added. He had figured she wouldn't leave without Duskwhisper, and he would rather get used to trees then live without the two females he'd shared his life with. Especially Smokeweaver.

Duskwhisper was relieved to know she wouldn't be alone. Solo sentry duty wasn't exactly the most appealing of pastimes. A warm smile lit her face.

"We're staying too!" Twittersong announced.

"And if you don't mind, I'd like to make my new home with you," Jrean added.

"Delighted," Duskwhisper smiled.

"This is fun!" Twittersong declared. "A whole forest to call our o—OH!" She stopped in mid sentence, clamping her hand to her belly. "The kit comes!"

"First contraction?" The healer slipped easily into her role, able to let her mind shift to a completely different subject as the need warranted. "You'll be fine for a bit until I can get you someplace better. Summerstream, carry her. Everyone follow me."

She led her small tribe back to the grand tree. While the others marveled at its size and beauty, she tended to Twittersong. Before the afternoon was half done, the squalls of new life filled the forest.

"Welcome to your new home," Twittersong crooned, placing the baby girl to her breast.

"What will you name her?" Jrean asked.

The glider smiled. "Crystal," was her simple reply. She looked to Summerstream who smiled his agreement.

"Do you think she'll be a magic-user?" Longrunner asked.

"I don't know," Twittersong admitted. "It's still too soon to tell with her. Some know right away, but look at Imberglow and Duskwhisper!"

"Speaking of magic," Imberglow said, "can you feel that pull?" She placed a hand on the trunk of the tree. "It pulses inside me like a second heartbeat."

"I feel it," Twittersong said.

"I don’t," Longrunner replied. Smokeweaver, Summerstream and Jrean agreed with him, Jrean joking, "So, it’s not just a female thing."

"That is Stormsinger's magic call. Welcome to Stormsinger's Rest."

"You've found him?" Smokeweaver asked. The healer nodded, then told about her father's spirit in the tree, the Evil seeking her and the magic call.

"Is it safe to stay?" Longrunner asked.

"I suppose in a way it's not," she replied resolutely. "But I don't feel I have a choice." She smiled then, changing the somber mood. "Well, let's get moving! We have a lot to do before we can rightfully call this place home!"

** **

"This would be easier with a rockshaper!" Twittersong complained. She and Summerstream were working side-by-side, digging a ground den for their family. Crystal was wrapped in soft skins, laying in the shade nearby. Every now and then, the airwalker checked on her.

"That may be," Duskwhisper said, working on a different den not far away, "but that's not an option right now. If I could, I'd have a tree den, but we have no way to make one without a treeshaper."

"What are you going to call this place?" Longrunner asked as he dug. "I mean, I know the holt is Stormsinger's Rest, but what about the tree? It's big enough to deserve its own Place Name."

"I think I'll call it the Mother Tree. The true founding parents of this holt are my father and the Mother Tree."

"Lunch!"

The call caused the workers to drop their makeshift shovels and come running. Smokeweaver was serving a simple meal of fresh rabbit and wild onions. As the elves ate, Longrunner cleared his throat. "Duskwhisper? We've all been talking and we think that you should be our chieftess."

The healer began choking on a mouthful of onion. "What?" she croaked, clearing her throat.

"It's true," Summerstream added. "You led us hear safely from Greenriver, you may have saved Crystal's life, and you've taken the life of a stranger into your hands and accepted him."

"But that is the duty of a healer! What does that have to do with me being—?"

"We'll follow you because we trust your judgement," Smokeweaver interrupted. "We wouldn't have followed anyone else so readily as we did Eagle-Eye."

Duskwhisper looked at them all levelly for a moment. Chieftess? She wasn’t sure she was suited for the job, but the look of trust and determination in the six elves’ eyes made her mind for her. "Very well. If you all believe you can rely on me so much, it would hardly be right to repay your gratitude with a cold shoulder. I shall accept this mantle you place on me and shall strive to live up to it any way I can."

They all watched the healer, wondering if they had upset her by asking too much of her. Their fears were quieted mere moments later when their new chieftess broke into a wide grin, then watched as she braided a thick lock of hair then used it to hold her hair in a half-up style. It was a long-standing tradition amongst the Plainsrunners for the chief to wear at least one braid in their hair. Smokeweaver decided that Duskwhisper looked more regal with her new hairdo. Her soul sister would make a fine chief.

** **

"You called, Mother?"

"Yes." The voice speaking from the darkness to reply was a sensuous purr. "I spoke again with my dark sister tonight. She fears her downfall is at hand. She has much to do. A disease grows in the womb of her home, breaking down walls and letting glimpses of freedom reach her people and slaves. I think I shall never hear from her again. This disease has sharp teeth and the will of a savage wolf. Her dark healing cannot fend him off."

"Are we undone?"

"No. We are just begun. The daughter of Stormsinger is near. We shall collect her and rise to glory. Find her, Jade. Find her and bring her to me."

"Yes, Mother."

** **

TBC…