"Different Sight" by Emily Bisset

The child grew quickly, by three, she could walk, count and talk in Gadrean- the national language, and was being taught elven by her parents. She never left their side, hanging on to her mother where ever she went, but hardly ever speaking a word. Perhaps, for a young child, you wouldn’t know any better than what you knew. Perhaps, if you were a little child living in the desert, you would scoff the idea of an ocean, for the desert is the only land you have ever known. Perhaps that is why Erin never spoke of the darkness that she bore every moment of her waking life. Perhaps one would assume that the parents may have been suspicious when even after three years, the child seemed to be staring constantly into the distance, but alas, they regarded her as a daydreamer, and nothing more.

On the August Eve of her fourth year, she happened to be sitting beneath a tree with her father. He was discussing how the bees made honey in their hives, and how the honeyhunters warded off the bees, then stole the honey.

‘Where do the bees get the pollen?’ she asked quietly, a simple enough question if you didn’t know about flowers.

‘Why, from the flowers of course,’ her father replied, picking a flower from beneath the tree and twirling it in his fingers, before tucking it behind her ear. She smiled innocently and giggled.

‘That tickles, what did you do?’ she asked, still staring with her hollow eyes into the distance. Her father was stunned at this, as she would have clearly been able to see him tuck the flower behind her ear, yet she asked what he had done?

‘Why, I put the flower behind your ear, Erin,’ he faltered, taking up his daughter’s hand lightly within his own.

‘How do you know it was a flower?’ she asked, still with childish innocence, as if she knew nothing of sight.

‘Because of how it looks, Erin. Do you not know how a flower looks?’ Her father asked anxiously, tightening his grip on her hand. She must be able to see things, or else she would not be perfect.

‘How can you know how things look?’ she asked at a length, a puzzled expression on her face.

‘Can you not see, Erin?’ her father asked, his voice shaking.

‘I do not know.’ She replied hesitantly, anger becoming riddled all over her father. She could feel it.

‘If you cannot see, Erin, then you are blind. If you are blind, then you are imperfect. You are, perhaps, as low as those are with three heads, or seven toes.’ Her father, for all his soft kindness, was a perfectionist, hating anything that wasn’t as normal as the rest of the community. Erin hesitated, and her father jumped on the opportunity.

‘Tell me, what colour are my eyes?’ he asked, the anger and fear becoming apparent in his voice. He had a firm grip on her small hand now, and the tips of her fingers had turned white.

‘Colour?’ she asked, rather shakily, unsure of what he was talking about.

‘Colour Erin, blue and green and orange,’ his voice was quivering now, his face was twisted into some kind of menacing snarl, though he knew she could not see it.

‘I donot know what a blue is, though I have heard you talk of it before,’ she whispered in reply, lowering her head slightly. Her father placed a finger under her chin and raised her head.

‘If you can see, my daughter, tell me what I am about to do,’ he had raised his hand to the hight of her face, and was preparing to strike her. Erin shook violently, for she did not know what he was preparing to do. And then he struck her across the face, sending her sprawling to the grass. She burst into tears, holding to the side of her face. He saw her tears and smirked.

‘Well those eyes are good for something,’ he snarled, and moved over to her. She shied at his touch, and he picked her up roughly, carrying her to the nearby creek.

‘What is water to you, Erin?’ he asked, pushing her near.

‘Water is cool, it is a cool wet something that slides over my hands,’ she replied, remembering the sound of the water. Her father roared in rage, and threw her into the creek, leaving her to be swept down stream a way as he walked back to the house. She crawled out of the creek, soaked and freezing, her hand was throbbing and her face hurt. She let out a whimper, and began to retrace her steps back to the house, knowing the feel of the path beneath her feet as she went, until she had reached the sandy entrance. Inside, the sounds of things being packed up abruptly reached her ears, and she paused, knowing her father would be in a rage. Then, silently, she entered.

‘Erin, we are going to Gadreal’s Peaks to consult the StormDragons. Perhaps they shall be able to give you sight.’ He grumbled, tossing more things into his pack.

Gadreal’s Peaks were at the top of the world, enormous spires that rose high into the clouds. It frequently snowed atop the peaks, but the StormDragons made sure that the path for travellers was safe enough. The StormDragons were the only creatures to live on Gadreal’s Peaks; they were the only reason one would wish to trek up there. The Dragons, it was said, knew every possible future path. They were the wisest beings ever known, and races from all across the land came to seek their council. The StormDragons themselves were blind, but had some uncanny way of knowing things without actually seeing them. It surprised Erin that her father should decide to seek the Dragons for help- them being imperfect as well.

The trek to Gadreal’s Peaks took over a week, her father sometimes carried Erin, or forced to wear funny shoes that stopped her from sinking into the soft snow. It was an early season this year, August Eve having just passed, but snow had already fallen on the higher peaks. As always, the StormDragons protected the traveller’s way from storms and animals, even if the traveller couldn’t feel their watching eye. Erin always knew it was there. Until finally they reached the top of the world. The highest plateaus of Gadreal’s Peaks. Rising from the centre of the plateau stood a giant spiral made of ice, although it had been there many centauries and would not melt. On the day of their arrival, the clouds hung low about the plateau, making it look like something from a story book Erin’s father had read to her once, in which it talked about a fantastic place high in the sky called Fin- the high place of clouds. No one believed it to exist. The spiral was, of course, the entrance to the lair of the StormDragons.

Her father placed Erin upon the snow and started towards the spiral; his eyes shining in awe for he had never seen a place such as this. Erin stumbled behind him, her feet sinking into the snow, for her father had forgotten about her special snowshoes. Erin, of course, could not see the spiral, and was confused as to why her father had left her like that. Somehow though, she knew they had arrived. She followed her father into a deep cold place, where their footsteps echoed and nothing else stirred.

‘Erin, if only you could see this place,’ her father breathed, gazing upon the icy spiral from inside. His breath came out in puffs of white mist as he craned his neck to look up the spiral, twisting like a deep blue shell until it had the point of an alicorn. Erin just stood there, listening to the silence.

‘Father, where are the StormDragons?’ she asked, her voice bouncing loudly off the walls.

‘They will call us when they want us,’ he replied bluntly, then speaking no more as he continued to stomp about the snow-covered floor within the spiral. And then suddenly, a voice shook the walls, coming from everywhere and nowhere all at the same time. Erin strained her ears to pick up where the sound came from, but couldn’t pin-point it, hard as she tried.

‘Come, follow the steps of ice until you reach our lair,’ the voice commanded with an air that demanded respect. Her father took Erin roughly by the arm and led her down some steps, upon which she slipped and fell many-a-time. And then they were in the lair of the StormDragons. It was a massive cavern, somehow hidden in the mountains and under the plateau. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, and the whole floor seemed to be made of completely smooth ice. At the far wall sat four huge white dragons, all with their eyes closed as if they were sleeping. One of the white dragons lifted his head then, the blue light of the cavern reflecting off his shining scales, and he turned his face towards the two.

A smile spread across lizard-like lips, for although he could not see them, he knew who they were. StormDragons knew all.

‘Greetings, L’lwyn and Erin,’ he said without moving his lips. It was his thought that projected out and sounded as if he were speaking, rather than thinking it.

‘Greetings, StormDragon,’ Erin’s father replied humbly, bowing before the massive creature.

‘You have come to ask of your daughter’s sight,’ the dragon said, turning his snout to the father, as if ignoring the girl for the moment.

‘Yes, she was born blind. I wish for her to see.’ He father glared with pride up at the white face of the blind dragon. Another dragon’s eye opened slowly, revealing a deep blue colour. He did not lift his head though, and like Erin’s, his eyes stared no where and everywhere at the same time.

The first StormDragon seemed to think for a moment, before he shook his head slowly.

‘There is nothing we can do for her seeing eyes,’ he replied, his voice left no room for argument, and Erin’s father hung his head.

‘Let me speak with the girl, after all, it is her fate that you are trying to decide,’ he commanded, waking another dragon- this one with crimson red eyes. Erin’s father frowned then walked back up the ice stairs, but paused halfway so he could hear the conversation.

Being a StormDragon, he knew this of course, and switched his voice so he spoke inside the girl’s mind.

‘Greetings Erin Kaleanae,’ he said, his voice soft now, less commanding. She was unsure if she should speak her greeting out loud or to think it.

‘It is fine, Erin, I can pickup your thoughts, you just think your replies,’ he said warmly, sending her a mental smile. WhydidyoucallmeKaleanae? She asked hurriedly, unsure of how to think-speak.

‘Because you are Erin the Watcher,’ he answered simply, stretching his neck so that the giant head rested beside her.

‘You cannot see with your eyes, Watcher, but I am going to give you the gift of Mind-Sight. That is how we see. I feel you are smart enough to understand all I say, and your fate and ours rests on you not telling your father that you can see with your mind, you understand?’ the dragon’s mind voice had become serious, so Erin nodded her head slightly.

‘I will give you your gift, Watcher, and you will know what I mean, and quickly, I will teach you how to use your Mind-Sight.’ The StormDragon smiled again, and lifted his head slightly, bringing it close to the girl.

‘Touch between my eyes there, Erin,’ he said, tilting his head down so she could reach. Nervously, she placed a hand on the space between his eyes. Suddenly, within her mind, she heard and saw a thousand things, all too quickly for her to pick up. Then, they slowed until there was a slight stream of thoughts and silver images.

‘You can see the Thought-Forms now, Erin. Every living human, elf, dragon, thinking organism has Thought-Forms, for as long as they can have thought, then they have a form with that thought. It is like, for normal people, how they can distinguish one another by how they look. You shall distinguish people by how their Thought-Form looks or "sounds", do you understand?’

Erin nodded her head.

‘Good. Now, with your mind, imagine it to be "seeing" our lair. If it were to be a forest, all the trees would be like silver shapes. This is so you do not walk into trees or walk off cliffs. Your mind will make a "map" of the area you are in. It is almost how a dog or cat would see, only in silver forms. Another useful talent you will now have, is how to Search one’s mind. Be wise when you use this, some things are not meant for your eyes, or mind, in our case. Your talents will grow, and you will learn how to use your Mind-Sight over time. Just be careful, if you are ever shocked or frightened quickly perhaps by being shot with an arrow or the like, your mind may "shut down" leaving you completely blind again for a time. Then you may panic, for you will have come to rely on your sight. It is just a warning. From now on, use your new name: Erin Kaleanae- Erin the Watcher. And donot tell your father about your Mind-Sight.’

Erin committed his speech to memory, and quickly tried to think of any questions she needed to ask.

‘You willnot be able to speak through your mind again, not unless you are talking to ones like us,’ the StormDragon said softly, resting his head on the ground, and looking through her with his emerald eye.

‘You must go now, your father grows weary,’ he said, a smile spreading across his dragon-lips again.

Then, she turned and walked back to her father, seeking out his Thought-Form as the StormDragon had told her to.

Her father kept her at home after their trek to Gadreal’s Peaks only long enough for him to find a home to send her to. He decided that the children’s home in Galachad would do her well enough and prepared her to leave. He packed all her things into a small bag, then placed her upon a wagon, smiling up at her reassuringly.

‘Make sure to become friends with the other children at your new school, Erin,’ he said, patting her shoulder. For some reason, he seemed to refuse to call it a home, or to admit to the fact that hew as sending her away in hope that he would not have to see her again.

‘Goodbye Papa, say goodbye to Ma for me,’ she said, waving her small hand as the wagon started to move off and down the road and onto the town where her life-path would begin properly.

On the August Eve of her fifth year, she was sitting in a particularly boring class, when the Professor began to criticise her work.

‘It is messy because I cannot see what I am writing!’ she yelled, placing her lead heavily on the table.

‘Well if you wrote slowly and concentrated on what you were writing then it wouldn’t be so unorderly,’ he growled, snatching up her parchment. She could feel the controlled anger building beneath his emotional-shield.

‘Your classes arenot interesting and you make them no fun, maybe if they were fun then I would pay more attention!’ she snapped, pursing her lips together and folding her arms across her chest.

‘All the other children seem to enjoy my classes, Erin. Perhaps your sight is not the only thing that is lacking.’ He said, carefully scrunching her parchment into a ball. Erin stood up abruptly, the chair falling over behind her.

‘Well how am I supposed to do anything when all you do is write on the blackboard and never come to help me?’ she turned and ran out of the room then, retreating to the forest where everything was quiet save the bubbling brooks or the twitter of bird song that weaved its way through the trees. She enjoyed running her hands over the bark of the trees, and though she didn’t know the names of the trees, she knew where she was just by touch. Today, however, she ventured further into the forest than ever, stopping only once to touch at a tree, and, not finding any familiar grooves or knots in the trunk, slowed to a walk. Very slowly she was beginning to learn how to map out the forest as she went, but this particular afternoon she came across something she had not "seen" before.

It was flat. That was the first thought that came to her mind. Flat and large and unmoving. There were no trees anywhere in the middle of the large expanse of flat silver area, and so she paused at the edge a moment, wondering if it were a large clearing. She figured this must be so- perhaps a large paddock that was clear of trees, although paddocks usually had a different feel to this large flat nothing, she shrugged it off, still getting used to the Mind-Sight as it was. So she ran for what she thought was a clearing, and before she knew what had hit her, she was neck-deep in icy cold water.

As it had happened, she had charged for the lake, only to find out that it deepened incredibly quickly. Having never learnt how to swim, she spluttered and struggled for the shallower water. As she tried though, the mud shifted from beneath her feet and left her stranded in water that was deeper than her little body. She thrashed about in the water and was gradually carried further out to the middle where it was chillingly cold. She bobbed beneath the surface and tried screaming for help, but her mouth was flooded with water.

When she surfaced next, her classmates had gathered about the edge of the lake and were looking on with wide eyes. The professor kicked off his shoes and watched her bob for a moment more as if it were punishment for yelling back at him, before he dived into the water.

A moment later and she was lying on the grass beside the lake, cold to the bone and her lips blue. The Professor pulled her to her feet, then walked back to the school, leaving her to walk on her own.

When she returned, she went straight to her room, dressed in warmer clothes, then lay down in her bed and fell asleep.
Then, she dreamed:

The StormDragon- Gadreal was there, his head rested beside her much as it had when they had first met. His emerald eyes were closed, but a smile passed over his lips as if he knew she was there then.

‘Greetings again, Erin Kaleanae,’ his mind-voice said out loud, echoing about the silver/white cavern they were in. Erin tried to use her voice to reply, but Gadreal shook his massive head side to side.

‘It is best to use thought-speak here, Watcher. There are many things listening in who would not be able to hear our Thought-Speak.’ He said, changing to speaking within her mind.

‘I have been watching your life-paths, Watcher. I think you have a great journey ahead of you. I am sure you will make the right decisions when it comes to that,’ he said softly, blowing warm air from his nostrils and opening one bright emerald green eye.

‘I want to teach you a trick tonight, Erin, though I don’t think you will use it for some time yet. Not until you have learnt a lesson. I want to teach you how to Deep-Think someone else’s thoughts. All you need to do, Watcher, is weave between their Thought-Form with your mind, then sink into their consciousness. You will know when you have done this. Some people may have Mind-Talents, and they will feel you entering their mind. Be careful of this. When you Deep-Think people, you can read their memories and their deepest thoughts. This is not to be used lightly. Do you understand?’

‘I will be guiding you on your life-path, but you will not know when I am there, and when I am not. In a few days, a friend of mine will come and take you to Ederoi and to a new home for you. This new home will be better for you. My friend will make sure you are looked after, and you will live with him. You do wish to move, do you not?’

‘It doesn’t matter what his name is. You will know him when you see him. Erin, I shall not contact you like this for some time now, it is dangerous for any immortal creatures, be it StormDragons, Pegasus or Phoenix to be in the Mortal Realm. Remember this. I have ways of contacting you though. Do not worry, you will not be alone for long. I must leave you now. As you wake, be wary of the dæmons, I shall fight them off. That is why it is dangerous for us to talk like this. Farewell Erin Kaleanae, do what is in your heart and I know you will make the right choices,’ a mental smile appeared in the girl’s mind, causing her to smile physically.

The big StormDragon smiled broadly, and touched at the girl with the tip of his nose.

‘Perhaps I shall take you flying some day, Watcher. For now, we must part. At your feet, there is a MoonCrystal; it is a present from me. If you need me, call, and I shall contact you as soon as I can. Farewell now Erin, the dæmons come. You must leave.’ He blew a puff of warm smoke over the girl as she bent to pick up the MoonCrystal on a silver chain at her feet. The smoke smelt sweet like honey and spices, though it did not last for long.

Then, she woke.

Clutched tightly in her hand was the MoonCrystal, and at that time the whole "dream" came flooding back. She quite liked Gadreal the StormDragon of whom the Peaks were names after. Although she hadn’t spoken to the others, he was the oldest and wisest. She smiled at the thought, then slipped from the bed, placing the MoonCrystal around her neck, then making her way towards the NightMeal.

A few days passed before a stranger arrived at the Home. Erin let her mind rejoice over his Thought-Form and instantly picked him out to be Gadreal’s friend. The HouseMasters sent him away though and her heart sank. She wondered how much longer she would have to stay in there and when Gadreal’s friend would come. The next morning, however, the HouseMasters ordered her to pack up her things so she could be transferred to a new home. Once her things were packed and she stood waiting out the front of the Home, she felt his Thought-Form coming down the road and was ecstatic. She didn’t show her emotion however, but he knew how she felt.

He gave her a horse, and they set off for Edroi- a town to the north of Galaclhad, sitting at the base of Gadreal’s Peaks. Erin was happy that she should be nearer to the Storm Dragons, but kept her thoughts on the matter silent.

‘Hello Erin,’ the man said, having not properly greeted the girl yet. She smiled brightly, her eyes shining with childish curiosity.

‘Gadreal has told me of you. My name is Darrian, I shall be teaching you until such time as the StormDragons feel you are able to leave and walk your lifepath on your own.’ He reached over and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as he talked, hands gently guiding the head of the horse he rode. They rode on in silence for a few minutes more, Erin pondering over the questions she would like to ask the StormDragon’s friend.

‘You are shy Erin, or just quiet?’ he asked, his eyes still on the road ahead. Erin had developed the sense of being able to tell when one layed eyes upon her. She had grown quite fond of his voice already, soft and warm and caring.

‘I am just quiet, I am trying to think of things to say for you,’ she said, smiling a little to him. He let out a little chuckle, and smiled back warmly.

‘Well ask me anything, I’m happy to answer any questions.’

‘Do you talk to Gadreal much?’ she asked with child-like innocence, knowing nothing of the spies in the trees. Darrian glanced about nervously for a moment.

‘Erin, let me give you a word of advice for your journey; never mention the StormDragons unless we are completely alone in my home. There are those who would love to own a part of the precious StormDragons, a head as a trophy perhaps. Yes, there are those out there who would wish to kill Gadreal and his companions. But, I feel we are on a safe road, for it is off the main highway. Gadreal will only speak to me when it is of great importance; he knows how dangerous it is. Sometimes he will speak through me, but I doubt you will know when that is.’

Erin nodded her head, then sunk back into thought as they rode on along the road. The cold-seasons wind whipped up a pile of leaves and dirt and send it spiralling along the road and into the distance, as if embarking on a journey that could take it to the other ends of the earth…

Ten years passed with Darrian teaching her how to use her mind-sight and strengthen her abilities. She didn’t speak to Gadreal once through her dreams during the time, but she was beginning to tell the difference between Darrian and when Gadreal was speaking through him. She found that when Gadreal was speaking through her Teacher, there was a slight ‘hitch’ in his Thought-Form, something that was just out of place. Darrian had taught her to find these little hitches and imperfections in people’s Thought-Forms, as that made it easier for her to see their true personality. In all the years she stayed in Edroi, she learnt the old laws, the stories and myths about the Immortals, about the StormDragons and the Pegasus of Fin. He taught her to find her way by feeling the sun against her face and to be able to tell approximately what time it was by that method.

Another year passed and her teaching intensified. Darrian always taught of the Immortals and all the connections between the StormDragons, about being able to Deep-Think without being felt, and then, he announced that she was ready. As soon as the words left his lips, she forgot all the teaching, forgot how to find the slight hitches in Thought-Forms and suddenly felt unable to go out on her own. Darrian smiled his reassuring smile and layed her down on her bed.

‘Sleep, Erin, someone needs to talk with you,’ he said. His voice was slightly colder than usual, as if he were trying to hide how he felt about her departure. In the years, he had become her other father, the one who had taken care of her since she was young. The voice of her first father- her real father, had become nothing but a dim memory now. She was excited at the idea of Gadreal wishing to talk with her again, and quickly settled down to sleep, not noticing the worried thoughts radiating off her Teacher.

She slept. First there was darkness, she knew he would come though, she would just wait. Suddenly, he was there, one emerald eye open towards her and a half-smile spread across his snow-white scales.

‘Greetings, Erin Kaleanae’ he said softly, resting his massive head down beside her again as he had always done.

‘Has Darrian taught you all you need to know, Watcher?’ Gadreal asked, his deep voice was serious now.

‘You have a long path in front of you Watcher. You will have two new Teachers soon. If you are ever unsure of your real path, think back to all you have been taught and you will know. Darrian will always be in Edroi to help you, and I will always be watching.’

‘Child, Watcher, we all have our own paths and what is to be done is to be done. What ever you choose to do will be your path in the end, no matter what you do. If you stay with Darrian, then that shall be your path, and it shall alter the lives of many many people who’s lives you could have affected, had you chosen a different path, you see?’

She nodded her head, and gently rested a hand on the snout of the white-dragon. His emerald eyes fluttered open a moment and he smiled, nudging her gently.

‘You will do fine.’ He said, softly.

‘They are sleeping for now, they do not know I am here. But you are right; it is safer if I go now. We shall talk soon, Watcher. You will not know your next Teacher when you meet him, but do not worry and do not go looking for him either. He will teach you and you will learn all that you need to know. Farewell now, Erin Kaleanae, be brave on your journey.’

The world around her flashed a sudden brilliant white, and then she slept dreamlessly till the morning.

When she awoke next, she let her mind quickly scan the room, as was habitual now. In the corner was a pile of things, and upon ‘looking’ more closely, she figured them out to be bags. Darrian poked his head around the doorway and smiled upon seeing her awake.

‘I packed your things ready for you to leave, I’m giving you a horse to help you with too. ‘ He sighed a little sadly, then turned to leave but she called out his name and stood onto her feet.

‘C’mere,’ she said, holding out her arms. He came over and she embraced him tightly, resting her head beside his.

‘Thankyou. Thankyou for teaching me everything and caring for me like a father would…’ she whispered into his ear, then let him go after a moment. He took her hand within his, and for a moment, she had a fleeting memory of her father crushing her hand by the river and so instinctively pulled back from his grasp. He looked at her a little surprised but didn’t question the action; he simply began walking for the stables where her horse was waiting while the HouseKeepers collected her bags. She followed his Thought-Form, keeping a mental map of the house as she went.

As she prepared to leave, tears stung Darrian’s eyes but he said nothing. There was no point in delaying this moment any further. He handed her her cloak and watched her place the hood over her head, then delicately, he reached towards her face and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, much like he had the first time they had been on the road together. He leant in close to her and whispered:

‘The nearest town that your journey shall begin in is Aidan. Remember to pretend that you can always see, even if you have to pretend to be occupied looking other places, it’s the safest way. Farewell dear Erin, we may perhaps meet again,’ he fought back tears, though she could feel how he was feeling but showed nothing. She kissed him on both cheeks, wet from the occasional tear and smiling softly towards him, swung onto her large bay horse and began riding away from Edroi, thus becoming the end of the beginning.

They stopped around midday, when she could feel the shadows of the trees shifting to the opposite side of the road. She leant against a tree and pulled food from her saddlebags, trying to look as if she could see what she was doing, although she knew there would be no travellers on the road that morning- Darrian had planned it so. Anyone who was anyone would be celebrating the Beginning of the Chill-Season, when the leaves fall to the ground and make wondrous crunching noises beneath your feet.

She ate quickly and left again, moving Darth into a steady trot and letting him remain at that speed until he let out a little distressed nicker to tell her that they were approaching a town/person. She heard the noises of the town ahead and knew which it was- Galachad, her FirstHome so many years ago.

‘I think, Darth, that it would be wise if we were to stay in a tavern, and not seek refuge at the old home. I feel they would be less than welcome towards us,’ she muttered to the horse, slowing him down so she had time to scan the minds of those closest to the edge of town.

‘If I can DeepThink some people, I will know what they have their minds on, and if they are thinking about tending the bar or about how many beds they must fill, then well shall know that they own a tavern. A clever idea, no?’ she smiled a little at herself and slipped from the horse’s back, leading him along beside her. She let her mind run across the Thought-Forms of a group of people in the town, but none of them were thinking of the bar or the tavern.

Once they had reached the opposite end of the town, she had almost given up on finding anywhere and intended to spend the night out, before a voice appeared from beside her with a Thought-Form she hadn’t noticed before.

‘Excuse me miss, you look a little lost,’ he said, his hands behind his back as he looked the cloaked girl over.

‘We’re looking for a tavern to stay the night,’ she replied, pretending to glance across at Darth and stroking his neck to reassure herself. Silence from the boy for just a moment. She caught a lot of strong confused thoughts drifting from his mind, but didn’t dare read them.

‘Why, you’re standing right out front of one, miss…’ he said, motioning to the building that they had stopped outside. She moved her eyes to be facing the building, then pulled her hood further over her head, blushing a little.

‘My thoughts are elsewhere today, I must have walked straight past it without realising,’ she said, turning her face so he couldn’t see her eyes properly. He seemed to calm down at her reply, breathing a sigh of relief.

‘Well, I can get someone to take yer horse if you like, miss and we can fix you up with a room,’ he said, beginning to unhitch her saddlebags. She smiled softly and blew air in Darth’s nose as if to reassure him that it was going to be Ok as well. The boy then led Erin towards the Tavern while Stablehands came and took Darth round the back of the building.

As they entered the doorway of the tavern, the boy paused to look back to her.

‘Watch your step,’ he said, taking her elbow and guiding her through. It was a lucky thing he warned her- steps couldn’t be made out in ThoughtMaps. He led her through a set of long corridors and into a warm room where he placed her things on the bed.

‘We’ll be serving meals in an hour if ye’re hungry, otherwise there’s always drinks. Bathroom is just down the corridor and you can pay yer fare in the morning,’ he said, a worried smile on his face. He wasn’t exactly sure of what to make of this girl. Bowing a little, he left her in the room, hoping she would emerge later.

She did emerge once more, to take a quick dinner then disappear back into her room. She was awoken abruptly as voices sounded from the main dining area and loud fiddle music played lively tunes to rhythmic drum beats. Wondering about the commotion, she slipped from her bed and walked bare-foot down the hallway. Seeking out the boy’s Thought-Form, she found him soon enough, brimming with the same merriment that the rest of the crowded room was filled with. She sidled over to him, careful to avoid any dancing Thought-Forms.

‘You’re awake!’ the boy said, pulling her towards him as someone almost spiralled into them. She smiled a little shyly but was nervous. Nervous of so much noise and confusion, and nervous of his hand on her arm.

‘I don’t like this,’ she whispered, her thoughts becoming quickly confused from all the darting Thought-Forms as the people danced to the quick music, spinning between one another.

‘Why not?’ he asked, looking down at her.

‘There’s too much noise,’ she said, pulling her arm from him, then pushing through the people to retreat to her room. He watched her worriedly as she went, being busted by the people who danced, but never seeming to be able to avoid them.

Once back in her room, she curled herself into a ball on her bed and shook. This was her first real experience with people, many people and it was so confusing, there were so many different thoughts that people had, too many loud thoughts that you couldn’t block.

‘Gadreal, I don’t like this,’ she said, pulling herself beneath the covers and grabbing a hold of the pillow for reassurance. Slowly, she drifted to sleep and there she lay, dreamless until the sunlight woke her the next morning.

Slipping from bed, she dressed, packed her things and quietly snuck to the bar of the Tavern, hoping that she could pay her fare there. The barkeep glanced up and smiled heartily at her.

‘Goodmornin’ lass! Up so early? Why, it’s not even time for breakfast yet!’ he boomed, laughing deeply. She wanted him to be quiet, she didn’t want him to wake up the boy who would figure her out soon enough- she could sense his curiosity.

She smiled softly and shook her head.

‘No sir, I’m just here to pay for the night,’ she said, pulling a purple velvet pouch from her pocket and dealing out the correct amount of coins for the man. Then she felt an extra Thought-Form, all too familiar.

‘Wait! At least before you go, tell me your name,’ the boy said, once again grabbing her arm, as if for security so that she wouldn’t run away.

‘My name is Erin. Erin Kaleanae,’ she said, turning her face away so he couldn’t see her hollow gaze.

‘Mine is Fox. Just Fox,’ he smiled and let go of her arm, bending down to pick up her bags. She smiled a little and began on her way to the door, forgetting about the step. She was sent tumbling into the door and sprawling on the front step as a couple stepped through the entrance. Fox dropped her things and rushed to help while the couple went into the tavern with startled looks on their faces.

‘Are you ok?’ Fox asked, guiding her outside then grabbing her saddlebags from inside. She nodded her head a little.

‘I forgot about the step,’ she replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, then Mapping out the path to the stables. Fox frowned and put her things on the ground before grabbing her shoulder and whirling her around to face him.

‘Would you just look at me? You haven’t looked me in the eye since you came here!’ he said, removing the hood from her head. She shook at his subtle violence and turned her gaze to where she thought his face would be. No matter how much he looked to her eyes, he would never connect with them. She would always stare through him as if he were a pane of glass or simply didn’t exist. He was shocked into silence at her eyes though for it was true- none had seen eyes such as hers before. Like storms, they contained blues and greens and greys and seemed to swirl like violent clouds as you watched. Fox’s hand dropped from her shoulder as he bent his knees so they were the same hight and he could see her in the eyes properly, yet still she was never there.

‘Can you see me at all?’ he asked, hypnotised by those eyes. She figured there was no point in pretending- it must be pretty obvious to him by now. She could feel his gaze fixed on her, searching her. She shook her head slightly and turned her face to the ground. She was panicking now- Gadreal had told her never to tell anyone. Suddenly Fox’s eyes glazed over and his voice changed.

‘Erin, be careful of who you trust. Next time you may not be so lucky. Do not make friends in this world. You will end up hurt. I am always with you, Watcher.’

Erin gasped at Fox’s words, then she realised it wasn’t Fox speaking at all, but the StormDragon Gadreal speaking through him.

‘It’s ok Erin, I won’t hurt you. I won’t tell anyone,’ Fox said, smiling to her. Gadreal had warned her of next time- that must mean that Fox was trustable. She smiled a little to him.

‘I know. I need to leave now, Fox. I have a journey to complete,’

‘I’ll go get your horse. You just stay here,’ he said, then ran off to go saddle and prepare Darth.

He returned a few moments later and attached her packs to the saddle, then gave her a boost onto the back of the large horse.

‘Farewell Erin,’ Fox said, waving as she rode off and away from Galachad and towards the South and Aidan.

If Erin the Watcher had sight as she rode, she would have seen spectacular sights upon a large hill that she and Darth scaled around midday, halfway to Aidan. To her right rose the World Mountain and the surrounding ranges, to her left far in the distance stood Gadreal’s Peaks- white and covered in snow as always. If she had been able to see the World Mountain, some of Darrian’s teachings would have sprung into mind. The World Mountain was supposedly the pathway to Fin, some texts tell of the top of World Mountain actually being Fin- the home of the Pegasus. There are few writings on the sacred place, for little know of it and no one has been there in thousands of years. Some called it the home of the Gwairoch- Sky Horse, others knew it simply as Fin or the Pathway to Heaven. The Pegasus was last seen one hundred years ago diving and soaring through the clouds around Fin with effortless grace, his hooves clipping the clouds and graceful wing beats sending him shooting upwards again.

She rode on late into the night. Her distinction of night was however the colddark. People often spoke of stars and how dark it was at night. The only thing that seemed different to her about that time was that it was generally colder and she became tired then. As she neared the walled edge of Aidan she could hear music from within and smiled to herself, thinking to rest here for another night after this, to get herself used to being around many people at a time.

‘I think Aidan is larger than Galachad, Darth. It should be easier for us to find a Tavern. Maybe we should ask directions this time,’ she said. It was becoming a habit to speak to the horse now.

Once they had entered the town, music came from inside every second or third building.

‘Maybe the taverns at the other end of town will be less crowded,’ she muttered, grabbing a hold of the horse’s mane and letting him steer himself for a moment. She stopped outside the next Tavern, thoughts of drinking and the empty beds surfacing strongly on the minds of most people within. Slipping from Darth’s saddle, she let him walk her around the back where she unsaddled him and slung the saddlebags over her shoulder, preparing to walk inside. At that moment, four Thought-Forms entered her range. She noticed something new about these Forms though- they had dark patches about the edges. She couldn’t understand or begin to wonder what it meant, for a moment after they appeared, three men sprung on her, tore her saddlebags from her shoulder and took any possessions within, before taking her coin pouch as well. The fourth man delivered a sharp blow to her head with his fist before they ran off and out of her range, leaving her slumped on the ground outside the tavern for some time after.

She buried her head in her hands and curled herself into a ball, once again doubting her abilities to partake on any life-journey on her own. She huddled there until her fingers were numb from the cold and she was damp all over from dew and frost. Without realising it, another Thought-Form had entered her range, and the owner took her shoulder and guided her gently inside. She failed to notice the hazy blackness around the edges of his Thought-Form too.

He took her up to his room where a few of his friends were waiting, then began questioning her on what they looked like and why they robbed her. She didn’t know the answer to any of his questions and just shook her head, having disappeared into her own imaginary world some time before.

‘Name’s Takoma’ he held out his hand. She didn’t see it and smiled weakly.

‘I’m Erin,’ she replied with somewhat of a sigh.

‘When someone offers their hand, you’re meant to take it, you know.’ He said rather harshly. She started, chewing her lip.

‘Sorry… I’ve been away a long time. I’ve forgotten these things,’ she said; though there was no truth in her voice.

‘Are you sure you’re ok? You look kind of pale…’ she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and she hand an instant flood of homesickness. He placed a finger beneath her chin and tilted her face upwards. He cast a look towards his friends, they instantly knew what she was, why the men on the street had so much ease robbing her. He took her hand gently but she didn’t care any more. They led her from the building and out onto the street.

‘Where’re we going?’ she asked after a moment or two of walking.

‘Why, we thought that a walk would make you feel better,’ he said, a smirk playing on his lips. She didn’t like the tone of his voice and was instantly snapped out of her dreams and back into the real world. Deep-Thinking his uppermost thoughts, she found out their real reason for taking her to walk and tried pulling her hand away but he tightened his grip and the other men closed around her, taking a hold of her arms and pulling her along with them. They reached the edge of a great lake and stopped her there, pulling off her cloak and then holding her arms behind her back.

‘We in Aidan, we don’t like your kind. You’ll bring the world to ruin you know? You and those stupid StormDragons.’ He spat on her face, then delivered a sharp blow to the side of her head with his fist. She was shocked for a moment, then passed out, hanging limp while the men beat her, and then threw her into the icy cold lake.

She awoke with a gasp, struggling to the surface again and hauling herself to the edges of the lake whimpering and shivering. They had left her cloak in a tree some ways off, but quickly found it with her Mind-Sight, before heading back to the inn and avoiding people as much as she could until she reached her room, locked the door and threw herself into her bed.

She left quickly the next morning before the sun had even risen, sneaking down to the stables and taking the emergency money out of her saddlebags. Darrian had been thinking ahead when he had hidden some gold coins in a separate pouch unless (as was seen last night) she got robbed. She placed her fare on the counter then gathered her things and headed out to the stable to prepare Darth.

She felt slightly more relaxed now she was on the road. More so when the sun finally rose and began warming her stiff and bruised body. The dive into the lake had cleaned off any blood, but the cuts on her face and arms still remained nasty and open.

‘I wonder what wonderful things and people we shall encounter in Leire, Darth. I am sure it is another place just like the last. How I miss Edroi and Darrian and Gadreal. I wonder if there is any mortal human in this world who I am able to trust,’ she sighed a little and leaned over to rest on the horse’s neck, gently stroking at his mane as he walked.

The day was clear and crisp and the sun rose quickly high into the sky, slowly beginning to burn the travellers below. There was not a breath of wind in the air and all was still. The only sounds came from the steady plodding of Darth’s heavy hoof beats upon the gravel road. She began to hum to herself in time with the beats, just quietly, to begin with, before making up words. Darth’s ears swivelled curiously to listen. Her singing soon died out as she heard other noises of merriment some way up the road.

‘What is that Darth?’ she asked, clutching at the horse’s reins. Darth cast his head about anxiously and kept his ears tuned forward. Voices came clearly from over the ridge and fast fiddle and tambourine music followed.

‘It sounds like a festival, but there aren’t enough people… I doubt it could be gypsies. Gypsies are a rarity now. I donot think we should stay to talk with them. If they are gypsies though, they will think something amiss if I ride past without even casting a glance upon their fine crafts and music. Well Darth, I think if they want to talk, they should be the first to make contact.’ As the horse and rider rounded the hill, the whole of the valley below was a splash of colour for situated outside the walls of Leire was about 5 gypsy troupes, their coloured tents and silks were scattered about.

‘Such a sight I would wish to see, Darth,’ Erin said, sensing his excitement at the scene below. He picked up his feet and strode forward now, eager to breathe in the smells of the strange peoples below.

Soon the sound of music was all around, for both sides of the road was covered in gypsy tents. As Erin neared the gates, the last gypsy band before Leire spotted her, and the leader called out.

‘Hai! You’d not stop to come listen to the music, or to admire our crafts?’ he said, tumbling over the thick accent that the older gypsies carry. Erin pulled gently on the reins and kept her face downwards. A younger gypsy had emerged from the main tent and was watching her curiously.

‘I’m sorry, I wished to get inside the walls before it was dark. My horse and I have not stopped since the morning and are hungry and cold…’ She twisted her fingers nervously in the horse’s mane, watching the Thought-Forms of the two gypsies there. The younger one seemed kindly, curious about her.

‘Well, it is not in gypsy spirit to keep a lady from her food or bed for the night. But if you spare us a moment in the morning, perhaps then you could come feast on gypsy food and share our crafts, for it is not often we get a woman on her own to come through our tents,’ he said, tipping his coloured hat.

‘Thankyou, perhaps if I have time tomorrow I shall come and visit… Farewell now,’ said she, and nudged Darth gently with her heels before riding off through the high gates of Leire.

The older gypsy turned back to his son and raised a bushy eyebrow.

‘She is a strange one, taught in the old craft if I’m not mistaken,’ he grumbled, stepping back inside the tent.

‘There’s certainly something odd about her for sure. I’d quite like to meet her again,’ the younger gypsy said, following his father into the tent.

‘Don’t trouble yourself. She doesn’t plan to stay in Leire any longer than she needs to, she won’t be back here in the morning. Now come, we must prepare for the festival.’ The son cast one look back towards the gate, before dressing himself for the SunFestival that night.

Erin soon found herself a tavern within the maze of streets and alleys that made Leire. As soon as she had made sure Darth was safely away in the stables, she retired to her room. Soon there came a knock at the door and one of the servants poked his head in.

‘Beggin’ your pardon miss, but yeh see, the whole of the rest of the tavern is empty cept for you. They is all out watchin’ the SunFestival see and I was wonderin’ if yeh didn’t know about it. It’s a big festival miss, held by all the gypsies in the county it is. An’ tonight they’re celebrating the first day of the Everdawn, but no one watches that no more if yeh catch my meanin’. Everyone’s seen th’ EverDawn once in their life as sure as Gwairoch can Fly on his mountain of clouds as we say here, it’s jus’ the music they go to see. It’s all lively down there with dancin’, sure if you’re an outsider I reckon you should stay a while and watch the EverDawn break. I think you’d have to be a pretty strange one to miss the festival though. But I’m just tellin yeh miss,’ with that, he bowed and closed the door as he left, leaving her to ask no questions of him and his confused rambles.

Erin soon made up her mind to head out and listen to the music for a while perhaps as that didn’t involve seeing anything. Pulling her silver/grey cloak over her and the hood over her head, she set out of the tavern, feeling the eyes of the servant boy as she left.

Once out on the street, she followed the noises, and the place where hundreds of Thought-Forms had collected and were all excitable, their minds fixed only on the music.

She stayed and listened to the lively gypsy music for a while, most of it carrying the same rhythm and being of fiddle and tambourine. She had found herself a quiet corner between two buildings where she sat and listened, letting her mind wander over the numerous Thought-Forms and trying to get used to the different ‘types’ that she found.

Soon the music became uninteresting and she began to wonder about the EverDawn as that thought was primary in a few people’s minds now. Upon finding a resident of Leire who was thinking about it, she DeepThought him quickly. The EverDawn was on the Eastern border of the town on the ocean. The Everdawn was simply the turning of the Leire year into which the sun remained poised on the horizon as if it were forever stuck on dawn. This only happens in Leire as it is on the most eastern edge of the world. None of the magicians or scientists in Leire can explain the phenomenon but it is celebrated at this time every year.

Erin thought there was no point in going to see the EverDawn since she would not be able to see anything anyway, so slowly turned to head back for the inn. Just then, a crowd of people caught her up in their midst and swept her along the street with them, heading for the ocean, which could now be faintly heard rumbling.

Suddenly she was tossed upon the sand as the crowd of people moved away. She had heard of the ocean before, but never actually been near it, yet here she was, sprawled upon the sand. She picked herself up and moved to a quiet spot on the beach where she sat, wrapping her hands around her legs and resting her chin on her knees, she listened. She listened to the rumble of the breakers, and the gentle lapping of the waves against the sand, and of the quiet mutterings of people further along the beach, also astounded by the ocean. She was sat quite a long way back from the actual water, not daring to go any closer. She let her mind wander tentatively at the edges, curious about how the breaking waves felt to her mind, but she didn’t let it fly wild across the ocean.

She became lost in the monotony of the breaking waves and didn’t realise that a semi-familiar Thought-Form had approached behind her.

‘Hai,’ he said, his voice was rich but that alone was unfamiliar. She was quickly shaken from her daydreams, letting her mind latch onto his Thought-Form, and recognising it as belonging to the younger gypsy. She lowered her head a little and mumbled a greeting.

‘Can I sit here?’ he asked, motioning to the sand beside her. She wanted to say no, the last thing she needed was more trouble near water. She shrugged her shoulders and felt him sit down heavily beside her. There was silence for a moment, she guessed he was watching the sky.

‘Have you ever seen the EverDawn before?’ he asked, unsure of how to start a conversation with this strange girl. She shook her head, pulling herself further into a ball. The boy nodded a little, chewing his lip thoughtfully.

‘I’m Hawk… I remember seeing you outside the camp this afternoon, Da said you didn’t intend to come back to hear our music…’

‘I didn’t, I’m trying not to stay in one place for too long. My name is Erin Kaleanae,’ she said, her voice a little more than a mumble now.

‘Erin’s a nice name,’ he said, watching her sidelong. She faked a smile but said nothing more. Some of the shapes on his Thought-Form reminded her of Fox. While in the crowd, she had begun to categorise people’s Forms, but she wasn’t ready to trust yet.

‘I think the EverDawn is breaking, can you see?’ Hawk said, pointing excitedly towards the see, the casting glances back to see if she was watching. Gasps were going off along the beach as the red head of the sun began to inch over the horizon. Erin turned her face towards the east as if she were watching. She faked another smile and took emotions off the people there, just to make herself look "real".

Suddenly, half the sun sat like a fat red blob upon the horizon, lighting up the sky with reds and oranges and pinks. Thus was the breaking of the EverDawn, and the sun moved no more.

‘Wow, that was great don’t you think Erin? Is everything ok, you’re kinda quiet,’ Hawk said, his gaze on the EverDawn for a moment more, before turning his eyes to bore into her. She nodded her head a little.

‘I’m fine, I just haven’t slept much,’ she lied, hating it though she did. Hawk didn’t believe her at all, he watched her still, wondering if his da was right about her having the old craft. She began to want to trust Hawk almost, he seemed to be trustworthy enough, but one couldn’t be too sure.

‘So what did you think of the EverDawn?’ he asked, slowly shifting around so he could perhaps get a peek inside her hood.

‘It was beautiful,’ she said, hoping it was beautiful and that was the word you’re meant to use.

‘Just beautiful… Everyone else on the beach thought it was amazing to say the least. Afterall, it’s not found anywhere else in the world.’

Erin nodded her head, wondering what game he was playing at. She let her mind rest on his Thought-Form, trying to beat off her curiosity and stop herself from reading his upper thoughts.

‘Have you ever heard of the old craft?’ he asked, laying himself back on the sand and looking up at the pink/orange sky. She thought back to her teachings with Darrian, wondering if he had ever mentioned it.

‘It sounds vaguely familiar, though I don’t know what it is exactly,’ she replied, chewing her lip a little.

‘It’s a kind of magic that enables you to have extra mind abilities compared to normal people… my Da thinks you might have some of the old craft. It’s rare these days and only gypsies generally have it. I have a mind amount of the old craft and my Da has some,’ he said, sitting up again and stretching, looking across at her and frowning some, still trying to figure her out. He was a little empathic at times but that was his only old craft talent, yet as much as he tried, he couldn’t read anything off her.

‘None of my family were gypsies, and I don’t think I have this old craft,’ she lied, knowing very well that she had mind magic, though it wasn’t inherited as he thought. They sunk into silence again, the beach had emptied and they were one of the last people left there now. The temperature remained cool and fresh as the sun never gained enough heat to be able to warm it up any more. Hawk sighed a little and lightly touched her cheek with his gentle hands. She shied away violently, skirting to the side in fear. Hawk looked stunned, pulling his hand back and looking at her worriedly, pushing himself onto his knees and edging a little closer to see if she was all right.

‘Are you ok Erin? I didn’t mean to startle you, I just wanted to see what you look like...' he was worried for her now, hoping he hadn’t scared her off. Erin curled herself into a tight ball, hoping that with the ocean that close that Hawk wouldn’t get any ideas, that he wouldn’t figure her out and get mad like everyone else. Again she wished to be back with Gadreal and Darrian.

‘I didn’t mean…’

‘I’m fine, don’t worry about me, just leave me be,’ she said, wrapping her arms around her knees and squeezing her eyes shut. Hawk sighed dejectedly and stood to go but paused a moment, finally picking off some emotions from her: She had a secret. She was scared of him. Scared that he’d find out. Scared of being hurt again. He crouched beside her and was tempted to reach out and touch her to see if he could pick up anything else from her- physical touch sometimes increased the link.

‘Erin… I won’t hurt you, I promise. I don’t know what’s made you afeared but I won’t hurt you,’ he said, shuffling forward a bit in the sand and watching her with kind eyes. Erin uncurled a little, her mind still resting on his Thought-Form. She wanted to trust him, just like she’d wanted to trust everyone else.

‘How can I trust you though? How can I be sure you won’t break your promise?’ she asked, keeping her head down but uncurling a little more. Hawk thought for a moment then pulled a plain gold and silver ring off his finger then held it out to her.

‘I’ll give you my ring that my mother gave to me and her mother to her. My mother gave it to me just before she died. I won’t hurt you Erin. What ever your secret is, I won’t hurt you,’ he said, stretching out his hand that held the ring. Erin said nothing, only wanting to obey Gadreal and stick to his warning to not trust people. But here was Hawk, offering his dead mother’s ring as a promise not to hurt her.

‘I will trust you Hawk…’ she held out her hand to where she could sense that his hand was, palm open. A second later and something cold and metal dropped into her hand and she closed her fingers over it. Hawk sat beside her then, still watching her closely. He smiled just a little as she slipped the ring onto her middle finger.

‘If you trust me Erin, won’t you let me see you properly?’ he asked, resisting the urge to take her hood off her head so he could just see what she looked like underneath. Erin suddenly had a feeling that it was ok if Hawk knew, so strong was the feeling that it almost compelled her to take her hood off without another thought. She nodded her head a little.

‘Very well then Hawk, just remember your promise,’ she said, feeling a little scared that he was just making everything up and would throw her in the ocean as soon as he saw she was blind. She slipped her two thumbs under the hood and pulled it back, wild brown hair spilling from underneath. She turned her face towards him, though her eyes looked straight through him as if he didn’t exist. He said nothing- like Fox, he was too mesmerised by her eyes for some time. He tried looking her straight in the eye, but no matter how hard he tried, she always looked into the distance or off to the side, or everywhere and nowhere at the same time. So that was her secret- she was blind.

‘Ah, I see said the blind man,’ Hawk remarked, looking her over then, stopping at her pointed ears before looking back to her eyes. Erin giggled a little at his remark and that made Hawk smile.

‘So you can laugh!’ he said, beaming to her. She nodded her head a little then said nothing more.

‘You’re very beautiful, Erin. I can see though why you may have been hurt before. It is a cruel world we are in and there are those who despise people who are not made perfectly. But do not worry about me Erin! Gypsies accept anyone and we are some of the most hated people in the world in most cases! Now, I have two questions: You can see somehow, but not with your eyes. Is it the old craft that enables you to do this? And also, where are you going? A blind woman should not be wandering the lands on her own after all,’ he said, smiling warmly, still a little shocked that she was blind but gypsies did accept nearly everyone that they stumbled across.

‘I can see with my mind, but it is not the old craft. It was a gift, I cannot tell you about that. As to where I am going, I donot know yet- I am set to walk my lifepaths where ever they lead,’ she replied, finally beginning to accept that he might be true to his word. Hawk nodded slowly, already forgetting that she could not see gestures such as that.

‘Well Erin, my Da used to know a blind man and that blind man saw differently to you and to us, see, he used touch. If you stay in Leire for a few days I can protect you and teach you to see like that if you want, I can also help you to pretend that you can see which I know you need help on because you make it rather obvious that something is different about you. Da and I spotted that as soon as you came riding past our tents,’ he said, sensing her trust now.

‘Alright, but I shall only stay for a few days, then I must move on again,’ she said, smiling in his direction. Perhaps things had finally begun to improve and she could trust Hawk and there would be no more pain on her lifepath. She smiled at the thought.

‘You’re gonna have to trust me a lot here Erin, because I’m going to touch you and you shied away last time,’ he said, gently taking her hand in his. Instinctively she pulled away then remembered the ring on her finger as his promise, and let him take her hand again.

‘With your touch Erin, you have to imagine what you can feel, you have to imagine what lips look like, and ears and eyes so then you can get the image of a whole face, understand?’ he said, raising her hand to his face and closing his eyes. She nodded her head a little and let him guide her where he would. He placed her fingertips on his lips to start with, then instructed her to trace the outline so she could build a visual picture.

They continued this long through the morning, going each part of his face slowly, and although Erin could never fully understand how everything looked as a normal person would see it, she began to understand and began to be at ease with Hawk. She could now picture him as more than a Thought-Form but as something different, something that had shape and was more real than just a form.

Afternoon came and they stopped, Hawk smiling to her and she could feel it in his Thought-Form and smiled back.

‘Alright, now we’re going to learn to fit in. You can read people’s thoughts right? You’re going to have to learn to become an actor, to be able to pretend. Yesterday on the beach , if you had only quickly read the minds of a few of the people there, you could have told me that the breaking of the Everdawn was more than "beautiful" and I wouldn’t have been so suspicious you see? As I understand it, you can take collective thoughts from people and use them to help influence how you pretend. You need to do this more,’ he said, only barely understanding what he was saying himself- Gadreal was helping him a little without his knowledge, just giving him bumps in the right direction. So slight was Gadreal’s influence that it didn’t leave a mark on Hawk’s Thought-Form and so Erin didn’t notice.

‘Tonight, one of the gypsy bands are doing a fire-dancing show. We shall attend and you shall pretend as though I don’t know you’re blind, and you shall act as though you are amazed at their feats with the fire,’ Hawk said, standing and offering her a hand up. She stood on her own, brushing herself off and letting her mind wander for a moment as a seeing person would let their eyes do. She nodded a little to Hawk’s idea though was somewhat scared that she might get caught out by other people in the crowds. Hawk felt this off her and smiled a little.

‘And I’ll protect you, don’t worry. Now come down to the gypsy tents and meet my Da and have a feel of our silks and listen to our music,’ he said, reaching out to take her hand to lead her down but thinking the better of it.

‘You won’t tell your Da will you? About being blind?’ she asked, a little hesitant to follow in case he gave away her secret. He smiled reassuringly.

‘He will know, probably. He has the old craft but he will pretend he doesn’t know. Do not worry, I will keep you safe,’ he said, smiling, then beginning to walk down the hill with her following behind slowly and carefully.

They entered the gypsy tents and Hawk’s Da poked his head out. He spotted Erin and raised an eyebrow to Hawk, using his old craft to search out her mind, carefully though for he knew she had some kind of talent and would feel him entering if he wasn’t careful. Hawk led Erin inside the tent and she quickly mapped it out: two low beds on the floor to the far corner and a general clutter of things all about.

‘Erin, this is my Da, his name is Danth,’ Hawk said, smiling to both of them.

‘Pleased to meet you, Erin. I’ve seen you out there with Hawk all morning and I was beginning to wonder what you were doing,’ he said slowly, trying to make the words understandable over his thick accent.

‘We were just talking,’ Erin said quietly, smiling just a little to him before turning back to face Hawk and chewing her lip. She had her mind firmly fixed on his Thought-Form for reassurance.

‘So what do you think of our humble gypsy camp Erin?’ Danth asked, stepping up beside her. She quickly searched Hawk’s mind for an answer and as if he knew what she were doing, a smile fluttered across his lips.

‘It’s very cosy and impressive… Your families must have been quite skilled to be able to pass all these trades down through the generations,’ she said, somewhat hesitantly, holding a piece of died purple silk between her fingers. Hawk smiled in pride, she had learned well already. Danth beamed proudly, picking up a golden cup.

‘Well it was said that gypsies first came to the land with skills from across the sea and that they willingly shared with everyone. But then the people became greedy and tried to steal from the gypsies, so in time the gypsies settled down and forgot the skills of their ancestors,’ he said, passing the cup to her.

‘Is it not also said, Danth, that the gypsies were once of royal blood then they became interested in the works of peasants- gold, fabrics and other crafts until eventually they let their throne slip from their fingers to take up a life of craftswork?’ Erin said, spinning the cup around in her fingers. Danth smiled and nodded a little, surprised at how much she knew. She had been actually reading most of it from Hawk though Darrian had taught her something of gypsy law.

‘Pray, Erin, would you stay in our tent tonight and listen to the gypsy stories and gypsy gossip around the fire. Perhaps you shall learn something,’ Danth said, reaching out and taking the cup back. His tone was kind though wary, as if she knew too much of them already.

‘If the other gypsies do not mind an outsider joining their stories tonight, then I shall stay a while,’ she said, a smile fluttering across her lips. Hawk was overjoyed but kept this hidden.

Night came quickly; Erin had gone back to her inn to nap after getting no sleep on the night of the Breaking of the Everdawn. Some parts of her didn’t want to go to the gypsies that night. She didn’t want to get caught out or to be around those who might have the same mind talents as her and start asking questions. She sighed a little and reassured herself with the fact that Hawk would be looking after her and so, taking a deep breath, she forced herself from the bed and down to the gypsy tents.

On nearing the outskirts of Leire, she could already hear the fiddle and tambourine music coming from outside. The gypsy tents were lit up with bright coloured lanterns and there were dancers twirling about erratically. She quickly made for Hawk’s tent, not wanting to be caught outside alone by a group of hostile gypsy people. She tried to find somewhere to knock but, finding no wood or anything solid, tapped feebly on the tent material. She could hear some noises from inside- someone had obviously heard her. Danth cursed aloud and she heard things falling to the ground. Danth growled as he reached the tent entrance and she stepped back timidly as he forced it open violently and barked out:

‘Who’s there and what d’ya want?’ the inside of the tent was lit with a pale yellow lantern and Erin could not find Hawk’s Thought-Form inside. Danth calmed down instantly as soon as he saw that it was Erin outside the tent.

‘I’m sorry Erin, I forgot all about that you were going to be coming!’ he said, pushing aside the flap and motioning for her to come in.

‘Hawk is just off fetching us some town-food, I’m sure his memory is some what better than mine and he will remember to get you some,’ he said, watching her closely. She smiled a little and nodded, then followed him over to some cushions on the floor where he and a few other gypsies were seated.

‘Everyone, this is Erin, she’s going to be watching the storytelling tonight,’ Danth said, sitting himself down once more. There was a round of "hai’s" as the gypsies greeted her, then they began to talk among themselves as if she wasn’t there.

Hawk returned not long after carrying some meat on sticks on a plate. He carefully stepped over the fallen pots and cups that Danth had toppled on his way to the door then sat beside Erin, placing the plate of food in the centre of the circle. Everyone dove on the food, picking up the sticks with their hands and eating somewhat noisily. Erin paused a moment before Hawk offered her a stick which she took somewhat cautiously and began to eat. It was good food and she took a few more sticks after the first. The gypsy circle was quiet for a little while after the last sticks had been finished until, some minutes later, a loud bell tolled from outside.

‘Time for the storytelling,’ Danth said and stood, the other gypsies following his lead. They went outside into the chilly air and reluctantly, Erin let Hawk take her elbow and guide her through the maze of tents. They stopped some time later and Erin could feel the heat of a fire just reaching where she stood. They moved forward slowly as if there was a queue, soon, the fire could be heard, and the low mutterings of the gypsies was all about her.

Each gypsy family assembled around a large fire and told stories like this, the night before they all left to go on their wanderings again. Danth and his group seated themselves and Erin closed her eyes and let her hearing take over for a moment. She found that some gypsies talked in a different language, low and throaty sounding rather guttural at times. Others talked anxiously to one another in a form of Gadrean but with a strong gypsy accent so it could barely be understood. Suddenly, a hush fell over the gypsies and a gnarled old man leaning on a stick stepped forth. In his long hair were shells and bones and he had the wisdom of the ages on his face.

‘Welcome gypsies, to the annual Storytelling of the Everdawn!’ he said, his voice was young and powerful. Then, the aged gypsy began to name the families that were in attendance. After each name, a cheer went up from that gypsy family.

‘…And finally, the Lightfoots,’ he said, and Hawk and Danth and their group cheered. The man raised his arms in the air for silence, and he let his dark eyes glance about the circle, fire dancing upon him.

‘Let us begin with the Lightfoots then,’ he said, and hit his staff to the ground before shuffling back into the shadows and sitting on a seat. Danth and Hawk and a few of the other males of the Lightfoots stood and moved out towards the fire. Hawk (unknown to Erin) was dressed with bands of feathers on his legs and arms and wore a traditional storetelling costume.

‘Tonight, I shall tell to you the story of the Immortals,’ Danth announced, handing two fire-torches to one of the group members who trust them into the fire and lit them. He was dressed in red feathers and had streaks of red ochre across his face and chest in random directions. There were three of them all together, the other, like Hawk, was in white but had no feathers on, just white silks and white streaks of ochre. Erin waited anxiously for Danth to begin telling his tale, focusing all her acute senses into her hearing and her mind, letting it lay atop some random gypsies’ Thought-Forms so as to pick up their reactions to the three dancers.

A drumbeat began, slow and rhythmic from somewhere near where she sat, but the three dancers didn’t move.

‘A long time ago,’ began Danth, his voice ringing clear and sharp above the crackle and hum of the fire and the monotonous drum beats, ‘before even the gypsies had come to this land, three immortals graced the skies.’ At this, the three dancers began to circle the fire, like flashes of red and white and dancing shadows as the silk reflected the fire.

‘These three immortals had a sacred bond to each other, and upon arriving this land, each found their homes as we still know them: Fin, Glora to the west and Gadreal’s Peaks. Gadreal was the first to settle, and it was he that ordered the other immortals to do so, fearing their lives if the humans were to see them.’ At this, the dancers twirled and the drumbeats quickened pace a little. Erin listened attentively, why should Danth have chosen a story about Gadreal?

‘The other two immortals, Gwairoch and Yeata the Phoenix did not wish to settle down yet, but instead to watch the humans and the land. Soon, another StormDragon arrived to Gadreal’s Peaks and settled there with Gadreal, but he was uneasy, he watched the other two as they dangerously taunted humans and strayed with their feet upon the human lands. Gadreal decided to put a stop to this and he left his icy lair upon Gadreal’s Peaks to go talk to the other immortals. Still they did not wish to settle in their homes. Gadreal watched sadly before returning to Gadreal’s Peaks. Some time after, Gwairoch and Yeata were both caught by humans and tied down to the land, and they called to Gadreal to help.’ The dancers were twirling erratically, the dancer being Yeata spun his fire sticks as he danced and then suddenly, they crouched on the ground and spun. The dancer dressed in white silk crouched opposite them and didn’t move as they spun and danced. Hawk was Gwairoch, the SkyHorse and Erin was disappointed that he wasn’t Gadreal.

‘Gadreal came reluctantly, but their wings had been clipped. He freed them from their binds and took them out onto Gadreal’s Peaks where all his StormDragons had now assembled. There he gave them a third of his life and thus enabled them to fly again but now they were bound forever. Should one ever be captured by humans and have their wings clipped, then the others shall not be able to fly and shall be tied to the mortal human world until they die, for once their wings are clipped, they become mortal just like a normal bird or horse or lizard. Quickly after that, Gwairoch settled in Fin and Yeata in Glora, but still Gwairoch is seen dancing amongst the clouds with careless grace and powerful wing beats. They say his hooves clip the edges of the clouds and his whinnies are like bells to any mortal man who chances to hear.’ Danth finished on that note, his voice proud and sharp still, the drumbeats had spiralled into a climax of rhythms and the dances were flipping and twirling about the fire again. Then, the drumbeats ended abruptly and a great cry soared above the gypsies as they clapped and cheered ecstatically.

Soon, the Lightfoot group came and sat back down and Erin smiled across to Hawk, having loved every minute of the story.

‘When I was in my oldhome, my teacher Darrian taught me many stories of the Immortals but I never heard that one,’ she said, speaking to both Hawk and Danth at the same time. The aged gypsy stood again and silence fell as all eyes turned to look at him.

‘Many thanks to the Lightfoots for that long untold tale,’ he said, bowing deeply to them so the feathers and bones in his hair clinked and rattled.

Stories were told all through the night, each one had three or four dancers who whirled about the fire. The gypsies knew stories on almost every subject- how fire came to be, more stories of the Immortals, stories of the first humans or elves, stories of the Everdawn… And so they listened all through the night until the morning broke once more. Finally, the old man stood and stamped his stick against the ground, calling for silence.

‘Another gypsy Everdawn festival has passed. Go back to your tents now, sleep and we shall leave in the afternoon and go our separate ways once more. Until the next Everdawn, I bid you all farewell,’ he shook his staff, the top of which contained bones and shells and beads so that it rattled like a snake. A great cheer went up and the gypsy fiddle music began again as all the gypsies filed back to their tents.

‘Hawk, you’re leaving this afternoon?’ Erin asked as he guided her through the tents.

‘Erin, I’ll meet you on the beach at midday, you’ll be able to find your way there won’t you?’ he asked, pausing a moment where they were. She frowned a little, suddenly suspecting him again.

‘I should be able to…’ she said, chewing her lip and gently slipping her arm from his grip.

‘Good, I will talk with you there, go get some sleep now,’ he smiled reassuringly to her then slipped into his tent, leaving her to navigate her way back to the inn.

She awoke at midday, having always had an excellent body clock. She sat up and stretched then slipped from her bed, dressing quickly then slipping down and out onto the streets. She followed her internal compass eastwards, knowing that she would have to hit the beach eventually if she just kept going this way. Sure enough, the ocean could be heard rumbling ahead and the crisp salty wind of the beach tore at her clothes and threatened to pull back her hood. She stumbled onto the beach and let her mind search for Hawk. He was some distance away down the beach, standing silently and just watching the horizon.

She walked up beside him and there stopped, folding her hands inside her cloak for warmth.

‘Hai, Erin,’ he said quietly, something was on his mind but Erin wasn’t going to intrude on his own thoughts.

‘Do you know where you’re going yet?’ he asked her, squinting as a blast of sea air came at them.

‘South west to Basan, I have already been to Asha and Aidan so that seems like the only logical way to go. From there, I don’t know.’ She replied, shivering a little from the cold wind.

‘Erin I feel like it has become my job to protect you… Would I be able to accompany you on your journey?’ he said, having only a little sleep because this one issue of whether he should stay with his people or help Erin tossing and turning in his mind. Erin was a little shocked and said nothing for a moment. She wanted a travelling companion but it would probably be better if she completed her life path on her own.

‘Please, Erin, I can help you to see when you have no eyes to see with,’ Hawk said, almost pleading with her now. She sighed a little. Perhaps he would only come as far as Basan then go back and join his own people.

‘Alright, Hawk, you may come with me to Basan if you wish,’ she said, smiling on the inside at the thought of having a friend, someone to travel and talk with! Hawk almost went to hug her, but thought that she might panic and so smiled and radiated his feelings of gladness, knowing she would be able to pick them up.

‘I will go tell Da and get a horse from him, we’ll stay the afternoon here then set out on the morrow morning,’ he said excitedly.

‘Go get yourself some proper rest, Erin. I’ll sleep under the stars tonight and meet you outside Leire the way you came in. Until then, Erin,’ he beamed again then jogged off back to the gypsy camp while Erin sat herself on the beach and napped again.

Danth was waiting for Hawk when he returned to the camp. He stood outside the tent looking somewhat cold and angry as Hawk approached. Of course, Danth already knew what his son planned to do and regretted him leaving but showed only coldness towards him.

‘I have prepared you a horse, the grey mare- Hush. She was always your favourite after all. I’ve stocked you up with a bit of food and some travelling supplies as well… Protect that one well, Hawk, she is special and has a task to perform and you shall be a part of her lifepath yet. Don’t ever give up on her, and don’t ever let her give up. Go and enjoy the world Hawk, you will become a man and then one day you may return to us,’ Danth said, trying to avoid eye contact with Hawk as he spoke. Hawk walked up to Danth and gave him a tight hug.

‘Thankyou, Da, I will take good care of her,’ he said, smiling a little before going inside the tent to ready his things for travelling before helping Danth to take the tent down and pack it and all the goods onto pack horses ready for the gypsies to leave. They embraced one more time before Danth headed out to meet up with the rest of the Lightfoots and then ride off onto the open road heading West towards Aidan.

Hawk set up his camp under the large tree where he and Erin first started learning to see by touch and there he slept the night.

Morning came and Erin had slept deeply after returning to the inn for some food and then bed. When she woke, she recalled the events of the previous day and remembered that somehow, she had agreed to Hawk coming with her. Sighing, she slipped from the bed, dressed, packed up her things and went downstairs. She payed her fare and then realised that she was running low on the emergency money. She just hoped that Hawk had some of his own money. She went outside, saddled up Darth and put his pack saddles on then rode out of the inn. Darth was excited to be out of the stable again and on the road and pranced about like a young colt. They reached the outer walls of the city and there Hawk sat upon a slender grey mare. Darth flicked his ears forward and let out a neigh, holding his head high and flaring his nostrils.

‘Hai, Erin,’ Hawk said, chuckling a little at Darth as he moved into a trot in order to reach the mare and sniff at her in the horse-greeting fashion.

‘Good morning Hawk… all the gypsies are gone?’ she said, having let her mind scan the gypsy plot and finding it surprisingly empty. Hawk nodded a little.

‘They have no reason to stay after the stories are told and the Everdawn is broken, so they pack up and leave during the night. They’re long on their way now, most head west or far south,’ he replied, looking about the empty gypsy camp area.

‘Well… let’s go then,’ Erin said, nudging Darth into a walk.

They walked in silence for a time; both were still waking up fully. They had about a two-day journey to reach Basan travelling at a walk with no interruptions.

‘Looks like rain,’ Hawk muttered aloud, looking up at the overcast sky. Erin nodded her head slightly in reply.

‘I felt no sun so I thought it might…’ she fell into silence again, hoping there would be no rain on their way to Basan. Erin found it strange to be travelling with another person, the fact that she couldn’t talk freely with Darth was slightly upsetting as she enjoyed her one way conversations as they walked. They rode up a steep hill, the horses bowing their necks and puffing by the time they reached the top. Here they stopped and stood, the sun at their backs and the fresh cool wind of the west on their faces. The view from here would have been spectacular, had it not been raining just over the next hill.

The stretch of forest that divided Basan from Leire could be seen some way ahead, and World Mountain’s smaller peaks could be seen poking through some low clouds at this level. Turning to face North, Gadreal’s Peaks were just a blue haze in the distance and the forests around Asha were a green smudge against patchwork farmlands. Hawk described everything as best he could for Erin, but of course she could only imagine, having no idea of colours or what trees or mountains actually looked like.

So they rode on again, descending into the shallow valley, the last dry place before the rain would hit.

‘If we can make for the stretch of forest, we can keep dry there until the rain eases off. We still have about a day’s ride left till Basan so there’s no use trying to reach the city before dark. If we’re lucky, we’ll have caught up with a gypsy troupe stopped by the rains and sheltering in the forest,’ Hawk said, pulling a hood over his head as they began to get battered with wind and light rain. Erin somewhat doubted that they would have caught up with a gypsy troupe but said nothing, hanging onto Darth’s mane and letting him pick the best course.

They rounded another hill and the rain picked up. Hawk could see only the faintest green smudge through the haze of the fog and rain and so nudged Hush on. Erin bent her head and hung on tightly to Darth as they trotted on, making quickly for the forest. Erin could instantly tell when they were inside. The horses’ hooves sounded muffled on the damp floor below and it was cooler under the trees, plus, the rain didn’t fall so heavily. Hawk slowed the horses back to a walk and they followed a worn dirt path through the giant trees. This forest was one of the oldest in the lands, originally completely inhabited by the elves until they had moved to Asha after the humans cut down most of the trees and left only a tiny stretch.

They rode on for a time, the going was made slow by fallen trees and the muddy path. There was no way of telling what time of day it was, but by Hawk’s guess it was just after noon when he spotted a flash of colour ahead. He said nothing for a while, keeping his eyes and ears alert. Erin had not been concentrating on searching the forest for Thought-Forms or perhaps she would have noticed the increasing number of them around the trees, closing in on the travellers. Hawk soon pulled the horses to a halt and looked around nervously. Erin snapped out of her daydream and was quickly alert to his anxiousness and the fact that she could feel many sharp eyes on her. She stepped up beside Hawk and let her mind wander to the outskirts of the trail where she instantly found five or so Thought-Forms, their main aim was on hiding and watching.

‘We’re being followed and watched,’ Hawk muttered, slipping his hand down to his leg where he kept a short dagger. Erin then noticed something unusual about the Thought-Forms. They weren’t animal, but they weren’t human… At that moment, a slender figure dropped from a tree and startled both the horses. He held up a bow and pointed the arrow to Hawk.

‘Take your hand away from the knife,’ he said, his voice thick with a strange accent and he stumbled over the words in Gadrean. Erin then figured it out: Elves! More elves dropped from the trees around them, each holding a bow and ready to fire the arrow at the travellers. Darrian had once told her that the elves would not harm a sister or brother kin and so, hoping they would not take her movement as an attack, she rode forward and threw back her hood, the elven ears poking through her wild hair. She slipped off Darth and felt the surprise of the first elf and using this to her advantage, she bowed deeply.

‘We mean you and your forest no harm, brother-kin, we merely wish to pass through and be out of the rain,’ she said in Elven as her father had once taught her and she had studied in her spare time. She kept her eyes pointed towards the floor. The leader elf looked wary but motioned for the others to lower their bows. He let his rest by his side as he looked at her suspiciously.

‘You smell like human, sister-kin. Why do you ride with a humangypsy?’ the leader asked, screwing up his nose as if the human smell was repulsive. Hawk was sitting upon Hush trying to decipher what they were saying.

‘My father sent me away to human schools when I was very young, brother, and I have been with them since, the human has offered to accompany me on my journey,’ she replied, still speaking in Elven. The leader was silent a moment more then took a step towards her.

‘Your eyes are not seeing,’ he said, his brow creasing into a bit of a frown. Erin took a half step back but the leader shook his head, ‘do not fear, Sister, you know the law: we will not harm our own kin, and even with your imperfection you are welcome among us. Come stay in our village for the night and we shall talk and discuss news,’ he said, smiling somewhat warmly. Erin was surprised that he would still offer for them to come to their village even though she was blind. The leader spoke again quickly to Erin:

‘My name is Shyn, will your human friend mind if he is blindfolded for some of the trip until we reach the village?’

‘I am Erin, I will ask him,’ she replied, then turned back to Hawk who was still watching from his horse.

‘We’re going to stay in their village. They don’t much like humans but you will be allowed if I am watching you, do you mind if they blindfold you for just a part of the journey?’ she asked, making her way back to her horse as Shyn barked out orders in elven to the other elves about the place.

‘But then I won’t be able to see! They can’t do that!’ Hawk argued, looking about angrily.

‘Hawk, you are riding with a blind person, at least your blindness is not forever. It is just to protect their location, don’t argue,’ she said, somewhat put off by his arguing about not being able to see. Two elves came over and handed Hawk a blindfold, watching carefully as he tied it over his eyes.

‘Hold on tightly,’ Shyn said, emerging from the woods atop a chestnut horse. They took off at a canter, Erin gripping tightly to Darth’s mane. A group of elves were now around and behind them riding at a canter as well.

Time passed and finally they slowed down and stopped. There was a bubble of activity and many various Thought-Forms gathered about the place. Hawk finally un-blindfolded himself and looked about the elven village. They found themselves in the middle of a grove of huge trees, each containing a platform and a kind of makeshift house. In the centre of the grove was a large fire pit upon which slabs or meat were left cooking in the coals. Hawk glanced about and noticed that all the elves in the camp were men. The rain was finally easing off and night had fallen across the lands as the elves and Hawk slipped from their horses and found some empty stalls which the elves had created out of fallen trees to house their horses in for the night. Shyn, Erin and Hawk all grabbed themselves a helping of the meat and then climbed into Shyn’s tree platform. Erin was rather worried about climbing but Shyn and Hawk helped her up the steps and, being an elf, she had no fear of heights or trees.

They sat on the makeshift chairs within the house and ate in silence.

‘I apologise for startling you on the road back then,’ Shyn said once they had finished. He spoke now in Gadrean and Elven mixed together with his thick accent, so sometimes Erin had to translate for Hawk.

‘Just that a few days past, Gwairoch was stolen from his SkyHome and the thieves have taken him down the mountain and are hiding him somewhere. As Elves, it is out duty to protect the Immortals whether they need protecting or not. So now, we are guarding this road and every other main road, hoping they will come along during the night while no one expects them… except us,’ he said, letting out a bit of a sigh.

‘They stole Gwairoch?’ Erin said, gasping a little in surprise. She quickly thought back to Danth’s story the night before but was interrupted before she could properly gather her thoughts together.

‘They say that these burglars had climbed to the top of Fin and were camping there where Gwairoch’s eyes could not see. As soon as he left his SkyHome, they lassoed his neck and dragged him down to the Mountain and then down onto the mortal soil. If he is not found soon then I fear that it may be the end for the other Immortals as well and then humans will take over the world and there shall be no forests or beautiful places left. But none of us can find Gwairoch, some of us have the old craft but it is not enough…’ Shyn sighed again, looking from Hawk to Erin and then back again.

‘That is why we sprang out on the road like that,’ he added. Hawk began to argue that humans wouldn’t destroy everything beautiful but Erin silenced him.

‘So Gwairoch is on the mortal earth somewhere, you are sure?’ Erin said, things going around and around in her mind, though she was unable to gather her thoughts and was left with just confusion.

‘Yes, some elves in Ama saw them as they caught Gwairoch but they were the only ones to see and by the time they had reached World Mountain, the burglars had disappeared,’ Shyn replied, pulling at his chin with a worried air. Erin nodded her head slightly.

‘I will sleep on it, there is too much to think of now, perhaps by the morning I will have a new idea for you elves,’ she said, running a hand through her hair and chewing her lip.

‘Very well then. Follow the bridge to the right there and you will find a spare platform with blankets and mats,’ Shyn said, waving his arm to a tree to the right of them. Erin stood and bowed then mapped out the trees, found the bridge and carefully, slowly made her way towards it.

She and Hawk lay there in the tree listening to the muttering of the wind for a while before finally Hawk broke the silence.

‘You have an idea don’t you?’

She nodded her head in the darkness and rolled over, clutching the moonstone in her hand.

‘You wouldn’t want to tell me…’ He asked with a smile, knowing she wouldn’t tell. She shook her head then shushed him and closed her eyes tightly. The next thing she knew she was in darkness. She waited for Gadreal to appear but all there was was darkness. She squeezed the moonstone tightly as her dream-self still held it.

‘You know what you must do, Watcher. Follow your heart,’ Gadreal’s voice whispered softer than a breeze into her ear yet he sounded faint and weak and had lost his air of respect.

‘Gadreal, help! I don’t know what I can do,’ she yelled into the darkness, a tear sliding down her cheek to hear the StormDragon sound so empty and hollow. No sound did come, nor did Gadreal. Her dream self curled up on the dark floor and shook, clutching the moonstone.

When she woke, she was curled up tightly and shivering from cold. It was almost dawn and the rest of the camp was asleep. She stood and slipped on her cloak that was laying on the platform. She mapped out the surrounding trees then got on her hands and knees trying to find a ladder. Finally, her hand touched a rung and she climbed over cautiously, moving down one step at a time, her hands gripping the rungs till her knuckles were white. Once her feet touched the ground, she set off to find Darth. She found him soon enough and he whickered quietly when she approached. Taking a clump of his mane in her hand, she kicked open the gate of his pen, climbed up on the fencing and slid on him bareback.

‘Darth, I need you to find me a pile of rocks or a hill or somewhere high where I can focus my thoughts. Hurry though before dawn breaks,’ she said, giving him a nudge so he backed out of the stall and moved off at a trot. Darrian had often told her that dawn and sunset were the best times to focus your thoughts and to do mind work as she was about to do. High places were the best if you wanted an outlook on something.

Darth trotted for a while, going up an incline till, in her map ahead, Erin could picture what looked like a clump of boulders. Stopping Darth at the bottom of the pile, she began the tedious task of climbing, her feet slipping off the rocks or not going where they were meant to. Finally, she came to the top of the boulders, puffed out but fresh from the cool morning air. She sat herself so the sun was on her back and she faced the World Mountain. Then, she closed her eyes and focused all her energy on letting her mind speed towards the mountain, just like a bird would fly if it were swooping along the ground. She let it fly and searched for any sign of Gwairoch. She reached the base of World Mountain with her mind and paused there for a moment. She mapped out the area and focused more closely on the ground. There, almost impossible for her mind-sight to pick up was a pure white feather sitting on the ground somewhere near the base of World Mountain. She called her mind back quickly, suddenly having hope and having a real journey to undertake.

She scurried down the rocks and lead Darth over to a small boulder by his mane, climbing onto the boulder then onto his back before kicking him into a canter.

‘Back to the Elven Village, Darth,’ she whispered, hugging herself to his neck. Once she returned, the village was awake and Hawk was out of his mind that she’d disappeared.

‘Hawk! Hawk we have to go!’ she yelled as they entered the town. She found his Thought-Form quickly and slipped off Darth’s back, calling over an elf to go saddle up both their horses. Hawk was yelling at her for running off without him and lecturing her that she could have been hurt or killed, and pointing out that her hands were all scratched up. She sighed and then called Shyn over.

‘Brother-kin, we thankyou greatly for your hospitality in letting us stay here but I’m afraid we must be off as soon as possible,’ she bowed deeply to Shyn as did Hawk, and they both collected their horses as they were lead over by the elf.

‘You’re leaving already? Did something come up? Where did you go?’ Shyn was confused, utterly bewildered by her rushing in here on the bareback horse then saying they must be off.

‘Yes I’m afraid so, something has come up and it’s most urgent, farewell brother-kin,’ she said again, then climbed upon Darth.

‘I will fetch an escort, your friend must be blindfolded again I’m afraid,’ Shyn said, racing off to get an elf with a ready horse.

They rode for a while then finally the elf bid them farewell and took Hawk’s blindfold back, turning to head towards the elven village again.

‘Mind telling me what’s happening?’ Hawk asked as they jogged on along the forest trail.

‘We’re going to find Gwairoch.’

‘Looks like the cold-season has really set in now,’ Hawk said, breathing warm air onto his hands. Erin nodded and chaffed her upper-arms, her teeth chattering. The horses stood in the drizzle and steam rose from their backs and necks. Hawk and Erin quickly ate a midmeal, having found a fallen tree to sit on. They were just finishing their midmeal when Erin held out a hand in wonder. Drifting down from the sky was tiny flakes of snow. The snow began to speckle over their cloaks until it was plainly visible in the air now.

‘It’s snowing!’ Erin gasped, catching more and more of the snow on her hands.

‘Snowing in Basan? This far east of World Mountain? I can understand it snowing in Ama but never in Basan!’ Hawk exclaimed, jumping to his feet and brushing the snow off himself.

‘Come on Erin we can’t stay here, the town isn’t too far away now I’m sure,’ he said, swinging easily into Hush’s saddle. Erin walked to Darth and struggled up onto his back while he stood and waited patiently. The snow continued to fall.

They left the valley quickly, travelling up a steady hill until sitting in the next valley sat Basan, covered in pure white snow.

‘I can’t believe it, Erin. How can it possibly snow here in Basan?’ Hawk said as the horses picked their way down the hill, careful not to slide in the snow as they went.

‘I don’t know, Hawk but I don’t like it,’ Erin said softly in reply, hanging on tightly to Darth’s mane as he went. By the time they had reached the bottom of the hill the snow had stopped but the clouds still hung overhead as if they were a reminder. Basan was a sad looking town- it had high brush walls and a shadow seemed to hang over the whole village. A huge cemetery stretched out to the side and into the forest on their right as they rode in through the gates. The people of Basan were sometimes known as "the Mourners" for once, many many years ago, a plague had swept through only this town and had killed nearly all its residents and left the rest horribly scared and mutated and most of them sterile. Everyone in Basan knew someone who had died and they always mourned as if they could never let go. The people of Basan all wore black.

As they entered the town, Erin felt a shudder go over her whole body and wished they didn’t have to stay in this colourless place. Once inside the gates, Erin felt the Thought-Form of a small child sitting by herself on the edge of the road. She leant over to Hawk and whispered:

‘There’s a girl there isn’t there… tell me about her.’

Hawk looked down at the girl and cringed away slightly then taking a deep breath he spoke quietly after they had passed:

‘She looks to be about five or six, her hair is all a mess and her clothes are rags. She looks as if she hasn’t eaten in days and she’s sitting in the gutter playing with a small doll and a pile of rocks. She has no hope and no happiness,’ he relayed the emotions he had strongly picked up off her also and then nudged Hush to walk on faster.

They soon found a small tavern and unsaddled their horses themselves. Taking their saddlebags, they entered the tavern and made their way up to their rooms.

‘We’ll get a meal here Erin, don’t worry- I’ll look after you,’ Hawk said, smiling that famous reassuring smile of his. They went down the stairs into the noisy tavern area and found themselves a seat at the back of the room while Hawk went to order. Erin sat nervously and waited, pulling at the sleaves of her cloak. She felt eyes on her and searched some of the nearer Thought-Forms in the room. The eyes soon left again and Hawk returned with their meal and drinks. She ate quickly, thinking about Gwairoch again and deciding to ask the bar tender if he knew anything. Perhaps it was the one drink that had gotten this into her mind- she never drank and this one was made with Elven Wine. She told Hawk that she was going to go ask and he went to object but she shushed him and stood up. She made her way to the bar and called for the barkeep.

‘Excuse me, do you know anything of Gwairoch?’ she asked and at that moment, the eyes bore into her again but she ignored them for the moment.

‘Yeah, he lives out near Ama on World Mountain, everyone knows that,’ the barkeep replied, busily drying a glass.

‘Well I heard he was stolen and I wondered if you knew…’ at that moment, she could say no more and she sank to her knees, the shaft of an arrow pointing out from her shoulder. She felt nothing for a moment and sought only to find the Thought-Form and hurt the mind of its owner. She found it and focused all her energy on ripping its Thought-Form from its mind, before pain took over her body and her MindSight disappeared, leaving her in a world of complete darkness.

She panicked, not caring so much about the arrow but about being completely lost and alone. She lay face down on the tavern floor and all had gone silent as people leaned in to look down at her. The barkeep had called for his daughter and Hawk had rushed over and was sitting her up gently. She panicked again, not knowing who he was but knowing he was a male and they couldn’t be trusted. She slapped him then tried to crawl away, but the pain in her shoulder shot through her. She was lost and alone and afraid in a world of complete darkness. A moment later and gentle female hands were on her shoulder and she relaxed slightly. The hands took hers and she allowed herself to be pulled to her feet and helped to her room where she passed out.

She awoke later, her shoulder was burning but she had her MindSight back. Only a lantern lighted the room and Hawk sat by her bed watching her anxiously. The man who had shot her had collapsed on the floor moments later and now sat like a vegetable and said nothing and looked at no one. Erin saw Hawk’s Thought-Form and whimpered aloud, rolling herself gently onto her side.

‘Erin! You’re awake, you’ve been asleep for hours,’ Hawk said, wanting to take her hand and reassure her but knowing the better for it.

‘Hawk it was terrible…’ Erin whispered, her lips dry and her head hurt.

‘I imagine being shot like that would have been terrible, Erin, but don’t worry, they took the arrow out and cleaned you up and dressed the wound,’ Hawk said, so glad that she hadn’t been killed.

‘No, not that. Being completely blind again was terrible. I was so alone, I had forgotten what it was like,’ she said quietly, shuddering at the memory before attempting to speak again. ‘Hawk, did they catch the man, the one that shot me? He shot me as soon as I mentioned Gwairoch being stolen you know,’ she sat herself up slowly, propping her back up with a pile of pillows.

‘They didn’t need to catch him Erin. A moment after he’d shot you, he collapsed and doesn’t speak or even look at you now. It’s as if his mind died,’ he replied, folding his arms across his chest to stop himself going to help her. Erin looked somewhat shocked, she hadn’t actually meant for her to do anything to him, it had just been a reflex, to want to hurt him back, and yet here was Hawk saying his mind had died. Hawk looked at her strangely, her silence bothering him.

‘I did it Hawk, I did that to him right efore I lost my MindSight. I just wanted to hurt him back I didn’t mean it though… I never thought it would work,’ she said, tears welling up in her eyes as she thought of what she’d done to the man.

‘Erin it’s ok, he deserved it, you’re the one with the arrow in your shoulder after all,’ Hawk said, trying to comfort her empathically as well.

‘But Hawk, I can heal and he never can. I ruined him,’ she said, wanting to cry but Hawk’s empathy was strangely calming.

‘Go back to sleep Erin, we’ll leave this place in the morning and head for Ama. Don't you worry about a thing, you just sleep,’ he said, smiling his smile then slipping into his own bed. He used to last of his energy to empathically calm her and reassure her till she fell asleep.

She awoke with a start while it was still dark. She had heard a scream and so quickly scanned for any immediate Thought-Forms that were awake. Everyone around the town was sleeping and Erin frowned slightly to herself. Maybe it was a dream… but she could have sworn she heard it. Thinking back to what she remembered of the scream, she thought it sounded almost less than human, but it was probably just a dream. On that thought, she closed her eyes and fell back asleep.

Hawk was awoken that morning by blinding sunlight streaming through the window. He shielded his eyes and glanced across at Erin. She still slept. He sighed a little and slipped out of bed, pulling on his clothes before creeping to Erin’s bed. With the back of his hand he touched her gently on the side of the face then remembered her slapping him last night and removed his hand again with a sigh.

‘Erin, wake up, it’s morning,’ he said, moving about to pack his things and get them ready for the trip. Erin woke with a groan and pushed herself up until she was sitting.

‘Hawk, did you hear anyone scream last night?’ she asked, stretching one arm above her head but not daring to move the other. Hawk looked a little confused but shook his head.

‘No, I slept through the whole night,’ he replied, pulling a few silver coins from a pocket in his pack.

‘I must have been dreaming then, just like I thought,’ Erin said, more to make herself believe that she was dreaming than anything else. She swung her legs out of the bed and dressed carefully, not accepting any help from Hawk. She had most of her things already packed and bent to pick them up but Hawk insisted that he carry them down.

The barkeep charged them only half the fare for the night, because of what had happened with Erin. It was a good thing too, as they were down to their last silver pieces. They left quickly and soon found that they wouldn’t need their jackets or snow gear as the weather had turned as if it were the hot-season. The sun bore down with ferocity and the snow had already melted and the road ahead shimmered with the heat.

‘I think I preferred the snow…’ Hawk said, wiping sweat from his forehead. They hadn’t been gone for more than an hour and already they were tired, the heat had gotten to them.

They struggled on through the day until finally they came to the fields of Ama. The fields of Ama was huge stretches of unowned land that was all hilly and bumpy and went for miles and miles until you came to Ama. Once you got onto the fields there were no trees anywhere. They stopped at the very edge and slumped under the last huge tree, leaning up against its bark.

Erin groaned at the heat and fanned herself with a bunch of leaves. They were both exhausted and the heat made them drowsy so they ended up eating a small meal and falling asleep beneath the tree.

She woke with a start as the first drops of water hit her face. She pushed herself up and found that the air had suddenly chilled. She could feel the sun’s warmth through the clouds and guessed that it wasn’t long past when they had fallen asleep. Suddenly, the clouds let their rain go and it poured. Then the rain subsided for a moment, and then it poured again. Hawk woke too, looking around him in shock. The sky was overcast now, showing no signs of having been boiling hot just a few hours before.

‘We’d best move on, we can’t stay here forever, we don’t have enough food for that,’ he said, standing up and untying Hush from a low branch of the tree. Erin stood herself slowly, untied Darth and struggled onto his pack. She took her cloak out of her back again and threw it on, then pulled her hood over her head. Hawk swung easily into Hush’s saddle then looked to Erin.

‘Will you be alright to trot?’ he asked, knowing their journey had been delayed.

‘Maybe, but not for too long,’ she replied, taking a clump of mane in her hands and holding on tightly as Hawk urged Hush into a steady jog. Erin had too many things on her mind- the poor man whose mind she had ruined, Gwairoch, the scream in the night, the crazy weather and the constant pain in her shoulder.

They rode on through the afternoon and night soon fell, clouding the land in darkness. The rain stopped abruptly and a heavy silence fell across the empty fields though a distant crow call was heard every now and then. The night was cool but soon the stars shone through bright and clear. The two travellers had slowed to a walk as the land had been rising and falling steeply now and the horses began to tire. They travelled long through the night, Erin falling asleep on Darth but he wouldn’t let her fall. And then finally Hawk called for them to halt. It was around midnight and he was beginning to nod as well so he slipped off Hush, held Darth still while Erin struggled off his back and then took out a blanket and thin mat from his pack. He bound the horse’s legs with leather hobbles then waited as Erin set up her bed as well before laying down and falling instantly to sleep.

She slept dreamlessly then woke to a cool grey morning. She sat up and stretched her stiff body then stood, her movements waking Hawk as well. He glanced around a moment before standing also and beginning to gather his things.

‘Looks like a nice day today Erin,’ he said, loading up his saddlebags again.

‘It doesn’t feel nice,’ she replied, getting the feeling that it was going to be another drizzly depressing day.

‘Better than scorching heat at least,’ Hawk said, removing the hobbles from both the horses and taking the last of their food from his pack.

‘We should reach Ama by this afternoon,’ he said, handing her the larger half of the food but not letting her know the he was giving her the majority of it. He’d be fine once they ate in Ama.

So they left again, riding out over the fields of Ama with World Mountain rising before them. The going was somewhat easier now, the hills weren’t so steep but were larger and rose more gradually rather than sharply. The pain in Erin’s shoulder had subsided but it still hurt if she moved too quickly. As they rode, she closed her eyes and let her mind fly again. Past Ama, through the woods and to the base of World Mountain where she searched carefully for any new signs of Gwairoch. She was beginning to feel as though she might be too late to save him and the StormDragons as she couldn’t find a Thought-Form as hard as she tried. All around the base of World Mountain appeared dead and devoid of life. She called her mind back and let out a bit of a sigh, causing Hawk to look across at her.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked, not bothering to watch the road as they walked.

‘Nothing, I was just trying to find any sign of Gwairoch and I couldn’t find him anywhere,’ she replied, letting her mind rest against his Thought-Form which had become somewhat of a habit now. Hawk nodded a little and fell silent again.

After a while, he had begun to hum quietly to himself before starting into a gypsy song in their own language. Erin smiled as she listened, wondering what the song was actually about. It was fast paced and Hawk was now tapping his hand against the saddle to keep in beat. The song seemed to go around and around in circles, repeating the same words over and over again. Erin began to join in, just mouthing the words to herself for a time before Hawk made his voice louder which encouraged her to sing out loud. A moment later and they were trotting along the open road singing some gypsy song at the top of their voices while it began to snow again. Hawk was feeding energy and joyfulness into Erin, sensing that she was loosing hope quickly and needed a pick up. The song was a gypsy celebration song that was mainly made up of nonsense. But it worked; Erin was soon singing and laughing along as the snow began to fall heavier on them. Soon they both stopped, laughing out loud despite everything and Hawk smiled across to Erin.

‘Want to learn another one?’ he asked, having another merry song in his mind, a celebration/travelling song.

‘Alright, it makes the snow seem not so cold,’ she replied, smiling also. Hawk nodded then began to sing, knowing she was carefully trying to catch each of the words. In gypsy-song fashion, the song kept on repeating the same verse and chorus so it took her only a little time to learn and soon they were both singing out loud again, clapping their hands along in time. Hawk stopped suddenly and cried out. Ahead atop a hill sat Ama, shrouded by a veil of fog.

‘There lies Ama Erin! Not far now!’ he said, smiling enthusiastically. Both horses picked up their pace now as they could sense their riders eagerness.

They rode into Ama as the smudge of the sun could be seen sinking behind the mountain ranges. Ama was a tiny town as no one had any real reason to go there. It was stuck out to the west and surrounded on the north-west side by mountains which no one ever visited. If you looked, you could see straight down the main street and to the gate at the other end of the town. Lanterns were beginning to be lit within the houses and curtains were being drawn. A thin layer of snow had fallen already and made the cobblestones slippery for the horses’ hooves. Hawk slipped from the back of Hush, took her reins in his hand then led them down the street a way before finding a quiet tavern.

They took their horses around the back, unsaddled them then walked inside. The tavern was practically empty save one shifty-eyed man in the far corner. Erin stuck close to Hawk, her mind quickly picking up the black tinge around the edge of his Thought-Form. They got themselves a room, put their things in and then came back down. The shifty-eyed man watched them closely as they ordered a meal and sat down. Erin stayed as close as she could to Hawk, not liking the shifty man’s mind at all.

‘What’s wrong Erin?’ Hawk asked, noticing how she was hovering about him more than usual.

‘I don’t like that man. He has a bad mind,’ she whispered. Her back was facing towards him but she knew he was watching them both carefully.

‘Don’t worry, he can’t hurt you,’ Hawk said, smiling his reassuring smile once again but casting his eyes anxiously towards the man for just a moment. Their meals and drinks arrived and they sat in silence. The shifty man got up and walked to the bartender, talking to him quietly. Then, Erin jumped. The voice was familiar, too familiar. She Deep-Thought him into his memories and found what she was looking for. She let out a little whimper and hunched herself over her food.

‘Erin, what’s wrong? Are you ok?’ Hawk asked, setting down his knife and fork and looking across the table at her.

‘He’s one of the men that beat me by the lake,’ she whispered, shivering just a little and locking her mind onto Hawk’s Thought-Form for protection.

‘It’s ok Erin, he doesn’t know it’s you. If he tries to hurt you again I’ll kill him, I swear I will,’ Hawk replied, anger bubbling up inside him at the man who had hurt Erin and made her so afraid.

‘Lets just go sleep, I don’t want to be down here any more,’ she said, pushing her food away from her and standing up quickly. Her chair toppled over backwards and the shifty man shot his gaze towards them. Hawk jumped up and came over to help Erin, who was shaking with fear now. Hawk grabbed Erin’s elbow and lead her for the door to their rooms, but it was too late, they’d already made a scene.

‘Hey, did you enjoy your swim?’ the shifty man yelled after Erin, breaking into peals of laughter. Erin stopped and shook a little more, closing her eyes and trying to compose herself. The shifty man strode over and both she and Hawk turned to face him. She didn’t want to do what she’d done to the other man back in the other tavern. She didn’t want to have to. Hawk pulled the small dagger from its sheath and held it out. The shifty man paused then smirked.

‘Hey, I’ve got no quarrel with you, I’m just trying to make the world a better place is all,’ he said, turning his gaze back to Erin.

‘And you think… you think you are perfect, beating up women and leaving them to die? Is that perfection to you?’ Erin asked, her voice trembling and her words sounded hollow. Hawk’s rage was building behind his emotional shield and he accidentally let some of it leak across to Erin.

‘I’m sorry you feel that way, really we’re just trying to rid your kind of mutation from the world and make it a better, healthy place. Did you ever hear that the very first person to have the plague in Basan was deaf? See that’s what we’re worried about, you carry all sorts of diseases and then it kills off us normal people,’ he said, his voice was cold and harsh and he smirked as he spoke, enjoying watching the rage of both of them build up.

‘But at least we will be rid of some mutations, once those StormDragons die, now that Gwairoch is on mortal soil and all,’ he said, not realising that this was the last straw for Erin. Without really realising what she was doing, sent a bolt of enraged energy at his Thought-Form, hoping that she would be able to shock him and not have to resort to ripping his mind and his Thought-Form apart. She was close to Hawk and with their physical contact, fed off his rage and energy. The man slumped to the floor unconscious though his Thought-Form still remained intact. Erin turned and ran then, down to their room and slamming the door and locking it behind her, before throwing herself onto the bed and crying for Gadreal and all the pain that she’d had since she left Edroi.

She covered her head in pillows and there fell asleep, leaving Hawk locked outside. He sat himself down against the wall, having had the man taken away by the barkeep. So there he slept, sitting on the floor and leaned up against the wall of their room. When she woke, Erin searched out Hawk’s familiar Thought-Form, expecting it to be in the bed beside her. She found it empty, and thinking him to have slipped out while she still slept, packed up her things and walked to the door. She turned the knob and found it locked then remembered that she’d locked the door that night. Pushing the door open, she found Hawk sleeping on the floor outside and dropped her things, rushing to crouch beside him.

‘Hawk, I locked you out, I’m so sorry…’ she said, shaking his shoulder slightly to wake him up. Hawk opened an eye at her and smiled sleepily.

‘We gypsies don’t mind the floor, Erin,’ he muttered, stretching then standing up and stretching again, the bones of his back cracking horribly. He hobbled into the room and grabbed his things, all of which were still packed then they headed out into the main tavern area. The two divided the fare between them and paid the barkeep. Sitting in the same spot in the tavern was the shifty-man, and Erin almost rejoiced to find that she hadn’t made him a vegetable. He watched them warily, somewhat afraid of Erin before spitting at her feet as they left.

They counted up their last silver pieces, then went into a mountaineering travelling shop and spent it all there. They bought enough food for a week’s journey and more snow clothes (it had been snowing all night) mounted their horses and rode for World Mountain.

‘So Erin, do you know exactly where Gwairoch is?’ Hawk asked after they had been riding for a little while. A forest loomed before them and the mountain ranges just beyond that.

‘No, I last found him somewhere near the base of World Mountain a day after his capture I think… or I found a feather from him at least,’ she replied, chewing her lip slightly. Why would he still be there now? That was two days ago! That’s even presuming he was still alive. It began to seem like a hopeless quest. She touched at the moonstone and took a deep breath. She would do it for Gadreal if for no one else.

They trotted through the forest. It was covered in a layer of snow and the air was chilly. It had stopped snowing for the moment, but the mountain ranges were covered in clouds.

‘It’ll take us about a day and a half to get anywhere near World Mountain, you know that don’t you?’ Hawk asked, breaking the constant and heavy silence.

‘Well, they say that World Mountain is the pathway to Fin right? He’s not on World Mountain, he’s at the base of the mountain range. So at soon as we come to the bottom of the mountain ranges we’ll know we’re getting close. He’s not on World Mountain because that is the pathway to his Home. He’s on mortal soil,’ she said, keeping her mind sharply tuned to any signs of Gwairoch.

The snow fell on and off as they rode though the forest, and the mountains loomed closer and closer until they knew they were in the shadow. Hawk was beginning to be able to see the forests on the closer mountains, but everything was covered in snow. By afternoon they had reached the base of the mountains.

‘He’s not here. He’s inside the ranges somewhere,’ she said, following her gut feelings more than anything. They set out again, pushing the two horses as much as they could. They stopped at sunset on the ridge of the first small hill. They tied their horses to the one tree that stood upon the ridge then took a short walk up the next hill. There, Hawk looked over the mountains and told Erin everything he could see.

‘There’s two large hills on either side of us, and straight in front is a small range with a lot of ridges and plateaus but the mountains there aren’t very big. Also, we don’t have to go too far down to get to the next ridge. Infact, there’s a razorback straight across from the hill on our right to the one straight ahead. Then there’s a large mountain and a few smaller ones to the side and a larger one at the back of that. There seems to be some kind of huge valley in between all these mountains, and then somewhere behind that is World Mountain…’ he said, standing on tiptoes to get a better look around. Erin held up her hand as he mentioned the valley.

‘That’s it. We have to get in that valley,’ she said, all her instincts telling her to get to that valley as quickly as she could.

‘Erin that’s a long way away…’ Hawk said, somewhat unsure of her chosen direction.

‘Hawk, what have we come all this way for so far? Wherever we go it’ll be a long journey no matter what,’ she said, smiling softly across to him.

‘As the wise man once said: Don’t worry, it’ll be ok,’ she said, starting back down to where the horses were tied. Hawk smiled and followed, picking his way carefully through the snow.

They set out early the next morning, heading across the razorback that Hawk had described to her. They had to round the side of a steep hill, and ended up leading the horses behind them. The razorback had a sharp drop on both sides and the walked carefully, talking reassuringly to the horses who were worried by the strong winds up there. Erin was frustrated by how long it took to travel anywhere in the mountains as she felt time slipping through her fingers and felt that every second became precious. Some of the food they had brought had already gone off, the meat had turned green and they had to leave it behind. Hawk cursed the man who had sold it to them. They rounded the hill that connected to the razorback and descended slowly into a gorge where a huge lake sat. The lake was frozen over though and had a thin layer of snow covering its surface. The mountains rose above them and a chill wind kicked up the snow.

They found a way to avoid crossing the lake, though this wasted an extra hour or so. Then, they began a steep climb up the large mountain that Hawk had described as being just before the valley. The horses and their owners were both exhausted but Erin wouldn’t rest. Not now while they were so close. Night fell and made the going impossible so finally Erin had to admit defeat and settle down for the night. She slept fretfully, tossing and turning and whimpering in her sleep. She was dreaming of that same scream that she’d heard those few nights before and then suddenly, the scream was so loud and so inhuman that she woke up with a start and sat bolt upright, feeling as though she was about to be sick. She was sweaty all over but her hands and feet were cold. She still had the scream ringing in her ears but managed to force herself to lay down and close her eyes again, drifting into a light sleep and no more screams came.

She woke some hours later and stood, slipping her cloak on and packing up her things. Hawk woke also and without a word they packed up the camp, ate a tiny amount of the food and set out again. They began to wind their way around the side of the mountain, following a line of tall trees. Then suddenly, the valley opened out in front of them. It was huge, a huge field that was surrounded by a fence of mountains, not a valley at all. It was a long way down as if all the mountains had grown up around it and the valley still remained at sea level. The very beginning of World Mountain could be seen at the other end of the valley- so perhaps Gwairoch was at the foot of World Mountain after all.

‘We’re nearly there aren’t we?’ Erin said, feeling a change in the wind that blew against her face.

‘Yes, the whole valley is below us and it’s even larger than I thought. Also, you could begin your climb onto World Mountain from there,’ Hawk replied, letting his eyes take in every detail.

‘I wish you could see this place Erin. It’s really not a valley at all, but… it’s like the mountains have grown around the valley, and the valley has stayed at the same level as normal land,’ he said in awe, taking a deep breath of the fresh air.

‘What? It’s the same level as normal land?’ Erin said, her mind kicking into overdrive.

‘Yes, by my reckoning it’s the same level as Ama, and not higher like most of the mountain valleys,’ he replied, a little confused.

‘If it’s the same hight as the rest of the land, then it’s mortal land, mortal soil because it isn’t part of the ranges, it’s part of the land! Don’t you see? This has to be the place, and I’m sure we’ll find him somewhere at the base of World Mountain,’ she said and began Darth again, anxious to get down and look around the valley.

Hawk soon took over and led the way, being able to find an easier path better than Erin could. It took them all morning and some of the afternoon to finally step into the valley. They had zigzagged back and forth, trying to find the least steep route. They stopped at the bottom of the mountain, letting the horses nuzzle under the snow and find some grass to chew on while they pulled out some travelling biscuits and munched on them before melting snow between their hands and drinking that. Then they set off again, trotting and cantering across the field to try and reach the base of World Mountain before night fall. Once they arrived at the base, they found themselves faced with a rock wall and just a pile of boulders and nothing else but snow and a few scrawny trees. They searched around for hours, Hawk was climbing over the boulders and trying to find any sign of life having been there. Night fell and they rested themselves up against a flat wall of rock that had been seemingly worn down by years of harsh wind and sleet.

‘Hawk is it any use? I’ve just led you out here into the freezing wilderness and we haven’t found a thing or any trace of life, just a pile of rocks,’ Erin said, resting her head against the rock face. They had stumbled on this cliff by accident while they were searching. It was hidden within a clump of large boulders and couldn’t be seen from outside.

‘We’ll try again in the morning Erin,’ Hawk said, trying to smile. He tied the horses to a tree nearby and then settled down to sleep. Erin sighed a little and looked to the stars, wondering if there was any point in trying again in the morning. Then, she let exhaustion overcome her and fell asleep also.

At midnight, she and Hawk woke at the same time to the sound of wolves howling and hooves thundering away.

‘The horses!’ Erin cried, leaping to her feet. It was too late. The horses had already bolted in fear for they had never heard wolves before. Hawk cursed aloud and then sat back where they had rested.

‘There’s nothing we can do Erin, we’ll have to let them go and hope they make it back to Ama safely. Go back to sleep now, the wolves have gone- they don’t know we’re here,’ he said, not really caring about the wolves or the horses and wanting only to rest.

Erin awoke as soon as dawn was about to break. She accidentally bumped Hawk and he woke too, muttering to himself as he did. It was a good thing that she woke him though, for as the first rays of dawn shone through a break in the mountains, they lit up faint golden writing on the rock wall where they sat. Hawk gasped and jumped to his feet, trying to make out the words.

‘Erin I can’t read it, I think it’s in a different language,’ he said, squinting. The letters had been chiselled into the rock, but only faintly so the gold could be layed. At least, it looked like gold, but as soon as Hawk blocked the sun, the writing disappeared. Erin stood up, reading his thoughts as he still hadn’t told her what was going on.

‘The only languages are Gadrean and Elven…’ Hawk said, looking back anxiously at Erin.

‘Erin, remember how I taught you how to see with your hands? Since you can’t read the writing yourself, and I can’t read it, you have to see with your fingers to be able to read,’ Hawk said, almost jumping up and down, afraid the sun would rise too much and the words would disappear again. Erin took a deep breath and then touched her fingertips to the writing. She let her hands move along the rock. Darrian had taught her how to write in elven by guiding her hands down each part of the letter, and so she imagined he was guiding her hands again and muttered the words aloud in elven as she went. She paused on the very last symbol and let her eyes flutter open again- for all the difference it made.

‘What? What is it?’ he asked, looking from the writing to her and then back again.

‘Enter now, only those who see the walls of truth,’ she replied quietly, then moved her fingers a little to the side. The rock moved beneath her fingers as a hidden button was pushed and the rock wall slid back to there was a wide crack. Inside, Hawk saw a few fluffy white feathers and drips of blood. Erin stepped in and Hawk followed quickly before the door swung shut behind them.

‘I can’t see a thing Erin, it’s dark in here, but there looks like a light down the passageway but I can’t be sure. I found something on the floor,’ he said, bending down to pick up one of the feathers and placing it in her hand. Erin suddenly had a flare of hope again and they began off down the passage.

Soon the passage was lit by a few flickering torches but nothing more can be seen beyond that save for more passageway. The floor seemed to be sloping downwards. They were heading underground.

They walked on for what seemed an eternity, stumbling through the darkness. Erin tried to find Thought-Forms ahead but all was empty. She began to think Gwairoch was dead. Suddenly Hawk stopped and so Erin stopped beside him, wondering what was happening.

‘There’s a cavern just ahead, can you find any humans?’ he whispered into her ear, being as quiet as he could.

‘There’s no one, no life at all apparently,’ she replied, and followed him as he stepped forward. They emerged in a huge circular cavern. Erin let her Mind-Sight map it out quickly: a table in the centre with a few chairs and bones, another table on one corner and a small bed, and then, a strange form that had no shape but was just a shimmer. Hawk was shocked into silence.

‘What’s that over there?’ she asked, pointing to where the shimmer was.

‘That’s Gwairoch, Erin,’ Hawk said, striding into the cavern and over to the huge white pegasus. Erin followed, wondering why Gwairoch had no Thought-Form and no real form on her Mind-Map either. He nickered as she approached and she let her hands slide over his neck and down to his back.

‘Hawk… his wings, how are his wings?’ she asked, gently stroking his neck.

‘One wing is torn, clipped probably and hanging by his side, the other is fine by the looks. He has blood in a lot of his fur and a halter on his head. Gwairoch shouldn’t be held with a halter,’ he said, looking in pity at the Immortal.

‘He has chains on his legs too,’ Hawk said after another look. He then went over to the far table in search of a key for the chains.

‘We’ve come to get you out Gwairoch, don’t you worry now. I wish you could talk, like Gadreal,’ Erin whispered in Gwairoch’s ear, gently stroking his nose. She got a sense of longing from the pegasus but still he could say nothing. Suddenly, a human Thought-Form, almost black to the centre entered her range at the edge of the cave.

‘Hurry Hawk, someone’s coming,’ she said, fumbling with the halter and slipping it from the pegasus’ head. Hawk searched desperately but couldn’t find any key.

‘I’m going to try and pick the lock, Erin. My life has a gypsy has taught me something of robbing people at least,’ he said, having found a thick wire on the table. He brought it over and set to work, jiggling the wire in one lock until it clicked. Gwairoch threw his head in the air and stamped a hoof. Erin muttered reassuringly to him as Hawk unlocked another hoof.

‘Hurry Hawk,’ Erin said desperately as the Thought-Form came closer and closer down the passageway. Hawk dropped the wire and fumbled around for a moment, before unlocking the third hoof.

‘One more to go Erin,’ he said, gritting his teeth and plunging the wire into the last lock. This one had rusted up badly and he began to panic as it looked as though it wouldn’t open. Just as the man rounded the corner, the lock clicked and fell to the ground. Gwairoch reared onto his hind legs and thrashed his wings while the man yelled and rushed towards them. Gwairoch screamed the same scream that Erin had heard in her sleep, and then came down, thrashing his front legs at the man. The pegusus lowered his head and charged, easily trampling the man beneath massive hooves. Hawk ran for the passage entrance and they filed out, running. Another Thought-Form had entered the cave though, and Gwairoch was stuck behind Erin and Hawk as they almost had a head on collision with the new man. Erin had no time to react, he had already drawn a dagger and so quickly, she did the only thing that was in her power to do: She wrenched his Thought-Form from his mind, sending him like a rag doll to the ground. They ran on, and she silently apologised to him as they passed. Finally they were safe outside again, puffing and exhausted and Gwairoch was leaving specs of pure crimson blood in the snow.

‘We have to take him back to Fin, Hawk,’ Erin said, letting her mind extend beyond her normal range. Another man was coming.

‘But how? We have no food, no horses except for him, and he’s injured and can’t fly,’ Hawk said, pressing his hand against the SkyHorse’s wounded wing in hope that it would stop the blood flow.

‘We have to, Hawk, or Gadreal will die. It’s my destiny,’ she said, stroking Gwairoch again.

‘Alright. We still have a few of those biscuits left, they’ll have to do,’ he said, then began walking, the foot of World Mountain beginning just past the boulders.

They walked on and upwards for hours. Erin fed Gwairoch her biscuits, insisting that she didn’t need any. Finally Gwairoch began to look young and almost healthy again save for the tattered wing hanging by his side. Erin still couldn’t figure out why he had no MindForm of his own, why he was just a shimmer. They went onwards late into the night and didn’t stop. Even when they were all stumbling from exhaustion they didn’t stop. Then finally, Gwairoch layed down in the snow and whickered to them. They came over and sat down too, resting against the huge winged horse and almost instantly falling to an exhausted sleep.

When they woke again, it was snowing lightly. They had rounded to the opposite side of World Mountain and there stood looking over the rest of the ranges and then into the horizon. Hazy and almost invisible in the distance was Gadreal’s Peaks.

They set off, but by midday it was snowing heavily and they struggled into the wind. Gwairoch kept sinking into chest deep snow, and the further up they went, the harder the snow fell. Still they struggled on, Erin was wading through the snow now, shivering and cold through, Hawk was no better, though he pretended he was. They were nearly completely out of food and we all exhausted and cold.

On their third morning of struggle it was nearly blizzard conditions and Erin collapsed in the snow, letting out a weak cry before bursting into tears. Hawk rushed over and knelt beside her, looking at her anxiously. Gwairoch layed down in the snow a little way away and rested his head down.

‘I can’t do it Hawk. Why did I try, I can’t do it and Gwairoch is just going to die out here and so are you and so am I. I was wrong, this isn’t my destiny, maybe it’s someone else’s destiny, but not mine. I can’t go on Hawk, my bones won’t let me and my whole body is telling me to stop. The only thing that's still working right is my mind,’ she said, burying her face in her hands and crying. Hawk thought back to the words of his father: "Don’t ever let her give up" and with that, he gently took Erin into his arms and warmed her like that, before whispering into her ear:

‘Erin, follow your heart. You know this is your destiny. You knew it was your destiny as soon as you heard Gwairoch was stolen. Make your mind control your body and then you’ll be able to go on. It’s not easy and I feel it too, but we have to get Gwairoch but to his home or the world will die. You saw what’s been happening to the weather without him. Gwairoch isn’t going to die. You’re going to take him to the top of World Mountain and into Fin and you’re going to return home to tell your children and your grand children. They won’t believe you, but you’ll always know, and so will I, and so will Gwairoch, and so will Gadreal,’ he said, shivering from the cold with her.

‘Don’t you dare give up Erin, not now, not yet and not here, you force your body to take Gwairoch to the top of this mountain. Do it to show them all what a blind elf woman can do,’ he said, forcing himself to stand and pull her with him. Gwairoch stood then too, and with Erin hanging onto his mane, they continued on again. She could feel nothing in her feet and hands any more, but managed to ignore all pain, focusing only on her mind, and making her mind force her body to go on.

As night fell on the third day of their trek, suddenly the clouds disappeared and the snow stopped and they were on the very highest peak of World Mountain. Gwairoch gave an excited whinny and stepped forward, heading for the opposite side of the peak where the clouds seemed to hang at the very edge as if they formed a platform around the mountain. Gwairoch sped into a trot and Hawk and Erin stumbled after him. He then spread his wing and leaped off the edge. Hawk called out but then stopped as Gwairoch landed easily on the clouds on the other side. Hawk and Erin then stepped carefully towards the clouds but they were stopped. A voice spoke from around them. It had the same commanding air as Gadreal but didn’t sound as old or as wise.

‘Enter only those who have clearer sight than seeing eyes,’ Erin turned back worriedly to Hawk who smiled just a little, his lips blue.

‘Don’t worry about me, Erin. I’ll be ok. It’s your destiny,’ he said, shivering.

‘I won’t be long, I promise. Thankyou Hawk…’ she said, half embracing him for just a moment, before stepping out onto the clouds. Here, Gwairoch was proud and young again, his head held high in the air as he looked down on her with shining eyes. Here, he had a MindForm and a Thought-Form.

‘Come, Erin, walk with me,’ he said, striding forward through the clouds until they were a bit further away from the entrance. Fin was made entirely of clouds but the clouds were hard as if one were walking on the ground.

‘I’d like to thankyou, Watcher,’ Gwairoch said, lowering his head to look at her with intelligent eyes.

‘It was my lifepath, Gwairoch. I had to do it,’ she replied, smiling shyly.

‘Still, I am only half the Immortal now and we shall all pay dearly for that,’ he said, a sigh escaping his lips. They walked on through the clouds.

‘But I knew you would come. I called you during the night and you heard, but that was all I could do. That, and even call Gadreal to help push you in the right directions, even when he had no strength left,’ he said, leaping up one level of clouds. Erin stayed by his side, content with just listening.

‘You know what stories they shall tell from now on, Watcher? They shall forget the fantastic stories of the mighty Gwairoch and his home of clouds. They shall say: "And nevermore shall the mighty Gwairoch glide through the clods with careless grace, and his hooves shall never again clip the clouds and his whinnies be heard like bells to mortal men," they shall say that in their other tales of the Immortals but soon my flight shall be forgotten.’ He sighed again, allowing her to rest her hand against his neck as they walked. Erin still said nothing, allowing herself to take in his mutterings and to get used to the feel of Fin. It made you feel refreshed and not tired or hungry any more.

‘But you know Erin, I have sealed the fate of the other Immortals. Their deaths lay on my head now. They shall be reborn, but once Gadreal and I and Yeata die, there shall be no more of our kind. We shall be humans or elves just like everybody else. But perhaps it is better for us, or for Gadreal at least. He loves you so, it pained him to send you away from Darrian where he could be always watching. He loves you almost like a daughter and he could not bear for you to grow up and die before his eyes while he lives on. Yes, perhaps it is better for us this way,’ he said, still walking. She began to wonder where they were going and how long they were going to be.

‘Watcher, do you know how to see the True Nature of people?’ he asked, turning his head to look down at her again.

‘The True Nature?’ she echoed, feeling his eyes on her.

‘Yes. Bad or evil people have black tinges to their Thought-Forms, things like that,’ he replied.

‘You can see Thought-Forms? I can see the black now, but nothing else,’ she replied, a little surprised that he would be able to see Thought-Forms.

‘Well next time you’re in a crowd, focus on looking at the outside of the Thought-Form, rather than the patterns. You’ll see that everyone has a different shade of grey. The most evil hearted people have pure black. Even some of the ones you’ve seen have only had a very mild tinge of black, and others will have a light grey. You are beginning to grey, Erin,’ he said, nudging her gently. She was shocked, why would she be getting grey around her Thought-Form if they got darker the more evil they were. Then she remembered the two peoples’ minds she had killed and shuddered slightly.

‘You will see that your friend Hawk’s is almost purely white,’ he said, leaping up another level of clouds. They walked on for a while longer, Gwairoch was talking away to her as they went until finally he stopped. They were at the edge of a plateau of clouds and all the land could be seen below. They walked on for a while longer, Gwairoch was talking away to her as they went until finally he stopped. They were at the edge of a plateau of clouds and all the land could be seen below. Erin suddenly felt her MindSight open out before her as if she could "see" a thousand more miles than usual.

‘Erin, be aware that you are not the last Watcher. There is one down there already just waiting for you. You must find her before you return home. You must face your fears in order to find her though,’ he gently nudged her injured shoulder, making her wince and frown at him.

‘Look into the Hearts of your companions, not just their minds,’ he said, as if the concept were simple.

‘How do I do that?’ she asked, sitting at the edge of the cloud plateau.

‘Use all your mind talents, but go deeper. Forget about laws and rules and privacy. Forget reality for just a moment. Seek who they truly are. You’ll get the hang of it,’ he said, chuckling a little.

‘Doesn’t time just slip by up here? Do you realise that by their time down there, five hours would have passed?’ he asked casually, laying himself in the clouds beside her.

‘Five hours!’ Erin exclaimed, not realising they had been talking for that long. She didn’t feel at all tired or hungry any more, and even if she did, she doubted the Pegasus would have any food up here. Gwairoch smiled a little, the edges of his lips curling upwards slightly.

‘Have you seen Hawk’s Heart yet, Watcher, or haven’t you looked?’ he asked, nudging her again gently.

‘I haven’t looked, it’s not my business so I don’t go prying into people’s thoughts,’ she replied.

Gwairoch sighed slightly and shook his large head, ‘Erin, he wants only to help and protect you but you always push him away. He loves you, he loved you the moment he saw you ride past his gypsy carriage. He’s used protection as an excuse to be near you and he wants only to hold your hand and help you through things but is afraid you won’t trust him. You slapped him, that night when you were shot and that hurt him a lot. Not physically, but it cut in deep and he’s so afraid of how you might react, he’s so afraid that he’ll scare you off,’ he said, blowing warm air down Erin’s neck.

‘How would you know? You’re not a StormDragon, you don’t know everything,’ she replied quickly, wishing he wouldn’t tell her such things.

‘Must I be a StormDragon to know things Erin? And anyway, I don’t know everything, I just know people. I wasn’t a completely normal horse all the way up that mountain- I could still read his Thought-Form and his Heart well enough.’

‘And what of your TrueNature, Erin?’ he asked, sitting his nose down in the cloud and watching her with one large black eye.

‘Me? I am who you see me to be,’ she replied, a little confused and stunned at his question.

‘Oh? You who hide your true feelings from the one man who has sworn to protect you and keep you safe, you still can’t trust him, and now you finally do trust him, you leave him out in the snow for five hours,’ he said, a chuckle in his voice.

‘Hawk!’ she gasped, about to send her mind racing back to see if he was ok, but Gwairoch just laughed.

‘Ah, so you do have feelings, Erin,’ he said, smiling again.

‘What do you mean? Of course I do! He saved our lives and I left him out there in the snow!’ she exclaimed, ready to hop to her feet and run but out and save him or die with him, which ever came first. Gwairoch shook his head slightly.

‘I would not let your companion die, Erin. While you are here, time down there ceases to exist. He is simply frozen and won’t move until you come back,’ he said, allowing her to stroke his nose again.

‘But, I should let you head back now. A mortal shouldn’t stay long in an Immortal world or they become too attached. I’m sorry that I don’t have any food for you, but I shall make the weather fine for you on the way down at least. Remember- you must find the other Watcher, and try to remember what I told you about Hawk. Farewell, Kaleanae. I fear we shall not meet again in this lifetime. It has been a joyous occasion indeed to meet you, you are all Gadreal told me that you were. Thankyou again for rescuing me in the cave, perhaps one day I shall pay my debt. You can get back to World Mountain just by stepping off this plateau here if you’d like. Every edge of the clouds leads to the pathway back if you get my meaning. Just close your eyes and don’t be afraid. Farewell, Erin Kaleanae!’ He stood up and she followed, and, as she stepped out off the clouds, he reared into the air and whinnied, his voice sounding like a hundred golden bells.

Then, she was back on the peak of World Mountain, warm and refreshed and alive again. And there stood Hawk, still blue to the lips and hungry. He suddenly snapped out of a dream and looked at her.

‘Erin! You’re back!’ he said, almost a little confused at how she got in there and back so quickly. She smiled and nodded to him, then stepped forward and (somewhat awkwardly) embraced him tightly, if not to warm him then to thank him again. The clouds drifted away from the peak and left them standing alone, Hawk was unsure if he was allowed to hug her too or if he still wasn’t allowed to touch her.

‘It’s ok, Hawk. Gwairoch taught me a lot of things,’ she said, smiling to him.

‘So can I touch you now?’ he asked, almost shyly, slipping her hood off her head and watching her closely. She nodded her head a little and so he slipped a finger under her chin and raised her face towards him then kissed her tenderly upon the lips.

She was a little shocked, but then realised that all that Gwairoch had said about Hawk as true. When he finished the kiss he looked at her again, always amazed by her beauty.

‘Hawk, let’s go home.’

They found a rock to shelter under for the night, and there huddled together for warmth. As soon as Erin fell asleep, she found herself in a place of darkness and then, there beside her was Gadreal. He looked tired and worn down, but smiled as she appeared, opening one emerald eye. Erin threw her arms around the dragon’s neck, overjoyed to finally see him again and to know he was alright.

‘Greetings, Watcher,’ he said, speaking within her mind, though his voice had lost some of its demand for respect.

‘I am proud of you, Erin. I knew you would be able to make it, I always knew,’ he said, blowing on her with warm air.

‘You never gave up on us Erin. I do not wish that you had arrived earlier, it is just that you arrived at all,’ he smiled sadly, ‘I have lived my life well, Erin. I saw your birth, August Eve, sixteen years ago. I gave your father the incentive to take you to us for he never would have made that decision on his own. Why would he choose to come to those who are imperfect as well? Yes, Erin I have watched over you for your whole life until you left Leire. From then, I could watch no more until you returned Gwairoch to Fin. I heard you calling for me and I longed to come to you, so the other dragons helped me, but all we could do was whisper.’

‘Erin, you have saved us for a time, though we shall never be Immortal again, we have a little longer yet to live,’ Gadreal said, not altogether sadly.

‘No, you did what you chose to do. Do you understand how, had you stayed at Edroi with Darrian, you never would have been able to save Gwairoch or meet Hawk?' he said, a smile in his MindVoice. Erin thought for a moment before at last she thought she understood.

‘Exactly. You know what your next task is. Don’t worry, it’s not nearly as dangerous as saving Gwairoch. Then, come home, Erin. Go to Edroi first, perhaps, Darrian misses you terribly. He keeps calling on me asking where you are and if you’re doing alright,’ Gadreal said, chuckling again.

‘I’ll see what I can do. Farewell, Watcher. I shall see you after you return to Edroi,’ he said, then nudged her gently with his snout, smiling.

The weather was fine as they continued down the mountain. Hawk seemed to have extra energy and so they both went on quickly and then into the night. At around midnight, they reached the valley. Hawk was tired again and slumped down as soon as they found somewhere to rest. Erin looked down worriedly at him, and breaking one of her travelling biscuits in half, gave him half of that plus a few of her others. She then settled down beside him and they curled up together and slept deeply.

They were woken by the sounds of crunching beside them and so quickly sprung to their feet. Hawk laughed aloud.

‘It’s Darth and Hush! They made it back here!’ he said, grabbing the reins of both the horses.

‘Gadreal…’ Erin muttered, a smile passing over her lips. She had asked for help and here it was. They climbed onto the horses and began out of the mountain ranges.

It took them another day and a half to reach Ama, but they didn’t stay there long. They grabbed some food from a tavern, slept the night (at a different inn, there they sold a few gypsy things to make up for the fare) and then headed out again. They were soon on the fields of Ama and singing aloud again, the horses were trotting and cantering and everyone’s spirits felt lifted. Two days later and they came to the ridge of the valley where Basan sat.

‘Well, here we are again,’ Hawk muttered, glancing across at Erin.

‘I don’t want to go in,’ she muttered, the pain in her shoulder firing up again, and she remembered the man that she’d made into a vegetable.

‘We could camp at the edge if you’d like,’ Hawk suggested, chewing his lip as he looked down on the gloomy town below.

Erin almost agreed before Gwairoch’s words came back to her: "You must face your fears".

‘No Hawk, we have to go in. We need to find someone,’ she said, gently nudging Darth on so he began to walk down the hill. Hawk thought she must have been trying to find the man who’s mind she’d killed to apologise to him. They rode into the town as sunset fell. All the houses were shut and everything was quiet save for the horse’s hooves ringing off the cobblestone. Erin stopped Darth then let her mind search Basan a moment. Then, from the other end of the town, she heard a quiet humming. She let her mind fly to the source and found the Thought-Form of the little girl that they had seen playing in the gutter the first time they were in Basan. Erin weaved her mind about the girl’s Thought-Form then sank further into her consciousness then tried what the pegasus had told her to: find the Heart. She fixed all her mind talents on finding the Heart of the little girl. It was almost like reading emotions and secrets off people but more complex. The girl was afraid and hungry, cold and scared and alone. She didn’t want anyone to find out again. They’d thrown her on the street and she couldn’t go anywhere on her own, she was too young. They’d all hurt her and she had no one. The world was darkness, and darkness was her only friend.

‘She’s the one,’ Erin gasped, almost feeling the pain of the girl as she read those things.

‘Erin, what’s happening?’ Hawk asked, confused again.

‘I have to find the next Watcher, and it’s that little girl. She’s so alone and afraid… we have to take her back with us,’ Erin said, beginning to move Darth forward again.

‘But Erin, we have no money, I only have a few things left to sell, she’s obviously not going to have anything, the only thing of any worth that I have left is my mother’s ring…’ Hawk sighed, knowing somehow that he’d have to sell the ring.

‘Listen, once we’re in Galachad, we don’t need an inn or food. I used to go to a school there and they never liked me, but they’ll be obligated to feed us and house us if I demand it. And when we get back to Edroi, Darrian will pay you back all that you’ve spent along this trip,’ she said, pleading. She knew she had to get this girl back to Edroi somehow. She opened her saddlebags and searched around in there, trying to find any loose coins. She found one gold and two silver pieces and nothing else.

‘We can do it, all we really need is food and to be able to clean her and dress her. She can ride on the back of Darth, with me,’ Erin said, willing for Hawk to accept her plan. He sighed and finally gave in. Erin rode forward to where the girl sat and slipped off Darth’s back.

‘Hello,’ she said softly, crouching in front of the girl. The girl froze and kept her face towards the floor.

‘I want to take you to somewhere safe. Have you ever heard of Gadreal? He’s a good friend of mine and he wants to meet you,’ she said, smiling warmly.

‘I seen Gadreal in my dreams,’ the girl said, stumbling over words.

‘Don’t be afraid of me,’ Erin said, smiling while Hawk reassured the girl.

‘I’m like you. I’m blind too,’ she said, reaching out and then gently tucking a lock of the matted hair behind the girl’s ear, much as Darrian had done on the first day they had met. The girl turned her face upwards with tears in her eyes.

‘We’ll take you to meet Gadreal, don’t worry any more,’ Erin said, taking the girl’s hand in hers. Slowly, the girl stood and followed Erin.

‘I’m Erin, and this is Hawk, he’ll be your friend too,’ she said, taking Darth’s reins and following Hawk around to a tavern.

‘I’m Shaleesa… is Hawk blind too?’ she replied, gently stroking Darth, taking an instant liking to him.

‘No, Hawk’s not, but you can trust him, he won’t hurt you,’ she said, smiling to Hawk, ‘You can trust him.’

So they began their journey back to Edroi. It took four days in all. The people at Galachad clearly didn’t want to let her stay but she and Hawk both used their talents on their minds until they accepted. Then, they rode into Edroi. Erin breathed in the smell of the place deeply, and when they came to the home, she sought our Darrian’s Thought-Form. He had heard of her arrival from Gadreal and waited every day, hoping to see her coming up the road. He was waiting as they came and as soon as he spotted them, began to run. Erin scrambled off Darth and ran also, embracing Darrian in a tight hug.

‘Oh Darrian, I missed you so,’ she said, tears in both their eyes. Darrian could speak no words. He had raised this girl and taught her everything, and she had gone out and saved the Immortals. After a moment, Darrian released her from the hug and looked to Hawk and Shaleesa who were both still seated upon the horses.

‘This is Hawk, and Shaleesa. Shaleesa is the next Watcher,’ Erin said, motioning to them both. Hawk slid off Hush and bowed to Darrian. Then they made their way into the school and for Erin that was home.

Shaleesa was beautiful once she had been cleaned up. Her eyes, like Erin’s, were exquisite. Hers were violet and blue and green though and constantly changed colour. Sometimes one eye would be blue and the other would be green. She quickly began to trust Darrian and followed him everywhere. She used sound to be able to tell people apart- how they sounded different when they walked. She explained this to Erin as: ‘well when you walk you go swish with your dress, and Hawk walks a lot lighter than Darrian, but takes smaller steps.’

On the night of the full moon, Erin and Hawk were walking through the scented gardens of the school. Hawk stopped and turned Erin to face him. He kissed her softly again and smiled.

‘Erin, marry me,’ he said, taking her hand lightly in his. She waited for the habitual retaliation but none came, she let him hold her land like that, and finally she really trusted him.

‘Yes!’ Erin beamed ‘we’ll marry and then we’ll go to Gadreal’s Peaks,’ she said, smiling brightly. He kissed her again and almost jumped up and down on the spot with excitement.

The marriage was scheduled for that night, so Erin found herself a white dressed and arranged for some of Darrian’s friends (who she’d also met) to come visit. She spend the whole day rushing around and trying to get things set up. Finally, night fell and a hush descended over the home. There were only a few people who had visited, Erin didn’t have any friends and Hawk knew only gypsies, none of whom he could make contact with. Darrian had set out rows of chairs for the guests, and finally, more than half of them were full. Then, Erin walked to Hawk at the front of the aisle. Both of them were beaming with delight and Hawk took Erin’s hand as Darrian recited the wedding vows. Each of them said their lines when the time came and then, Hawk leaned over a kissed Erin. A cheer went up from the crowd and Erin thought she heard golden bells from somewhere but ignored it. They cut the large cake, which the cooks at the house in Edroi had made, and then, the music began. Luckily, a small band of gypsy-type people had been in the town and Darrian called on them to play music. Dancing and celebrating went on long through the night until finally, they stopped. They wandered about the gardens once the celebrations were over, meeting the few guests that had arrived, Erin felt a familiar (and somewhat lost) Thought-Form.

‘Fox!’ she called out, grabbing Hawk and walking over to Fox. He looked up and grinned, holding up a hand, forgetting that Erin couldn’t see it.

‘Fox, what are you doing here?’ she asked, smiling brightly at him.

‘Well I heard about you and Gwairoch so I decided to come up here to see how you were going,’ he replied. His name suited him perfectly, he had a cheeky kind of smile and he always wore it as if he were planning some kind of joke on you.

‘Fox, this is Hawk, Hawk, this is Fox, I met him in Galachad when I first left here,’ she said, smiling happily. Hawk and Fox shook hands, then they moved off again.

A few days passed before Erin decided it was time to go to Gadreal’s Peaks again. She packed her snow gear and found some of Darrian’s old snowshoes. She took poor old Darth and they found a horse for Shaleesa and Hawk rode Hush. They went up to Gadreal’s Peaks a different way to when she had first gone there as they were going in from Edroi. The journey wasn’t as long this way as Edroi was right at the base of the mountains.

They trekked through the snow for four days, and Erin always felt Gadreal watching her as they went, making sure the way was clear and giving them good weather.

Finally they came to the highest plateau and there rose the Spire of the StormDragons. Erin saw this in her MindSight and let out a cry along with Hawk. They galloped across the plateau, laughing and letting all their fear and pain of the past disappear in the wind. They reached the spire and led the horses inside, leaving them to stay there, knowing Gadreal wouldn’t let them go anywhere.

Gadreal’s voice echoed about the spire, much as it had done on the first time she came there. Hawk gently led Erin and Shaleesa down the icy stairs and into the StormDragon’s lair. There lay the four huge StormDragons and Erin let her mind rejoice over their MindForm. Gadreal opened his emerald eye and a smile passed over his scaly lips.

‘Greetings Watchers, and Hawk,’ he said, though his lips never moved. The crimson-eyed dragon opened his eye and lifted his head, sniffing at the air. A slight smile passed over his lips for he knew who Erin was and what she had done. Then, he sat his head back down and listened.

‘Shaleesa, come here,’ Gadreal said, stretching out his neck towards the girl. She walked forward bravely.

‘Touch between my forehead and you’ll be able to see like Erin can. I’m afraid I cannot teach you how to use your MindSight, that will be Darrian’s job. You like Darrian, do you not?’ he asked blowing out some smoke from his nose.

‘Yes, he’s been very nice,’ she replied, standing on tiptoes and stretching out her tiny hand. Then, she placed it on Gadreal’s forehead and thus acquired mind-sight.

‘Very good, now, may I speak to Erin for a moment,’ he asked, then Hawk nodded and led Shaleesa back up the stairs and into the spiral. Erin stepped forward and threw her arms around the dragon’s neck again.

‘Greetings again, Watcher,’ he said out loud, lifting his head slightly.

‘I am glad to see you finally learned how to trust. I am sorry I once told you I might take you flying for alas, now I cannot. I am too tired and I shall die soon, Erin. Yes, even I must die now. Do not worry, my memory and spirit shall live on in every good person left on the land. You saved the Gwairoch and you started the next Watcher on her path, be proud of yourself, and do not cry for me. I am just an old dragon who has lived for too long already,’ he said, smiling slightly and resting his head at her feet.

‘I fear you shall not visit Gadreal’s Peaks again, Erin, I shall miss you. I shall miss watching out for you, I shall miss seeing you grow up,’ he said, letting out a bit of a sigh. Erin could say nothing. She didn’t want to know what the StormDragon was going to die. She didn’t want to be left on her own without Gadreal.

‘I shall miss you, Gadreal, I will never let people forget you,’ she said, hugging the dragon’s neck tightly.

‘You have done well, Erin. I knew you would. You followed your heart,’ Gadreal said, smiling softly to her.

‘So that’s it then? I’ve fulfilled my destiny, my journey is over and now Shaleesa takes up my path where I left off. I go home, have children and hope that they will pass on my story?’ she asked, gently tracing the scales of the dragon like she had done in her dream. Gadreal laughed loudly making the walls of the cavern rumble and the other storm dragons open their eyes.

‘You don’t understand, do you Watcher? Your journey is never over until you die. If you choose to go home now and have children then that shall be your path, just like if you had chosen to stay with Darrian, then that would have been your path. You will always have a LifePath and you shall always be walking it… No matter where it ends up, you shall always be walking it.’