Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 19:16:47 -0800 (PST)
Title Ways Part
Author Stana

 Stacey stood in a whirl of confusion as the princess placed
 the gold and bloodstone pendant around her neck. Looking into the
 polished surface she could see the forest and the beasts that lived in
 there reflected back at her.
            Then suddenly the four were enveloped in a world not their
 own

 A large white-domed building ornamented with mosaic trim in blue and
silver and gold in patterns of dolphins and waves.  She  entered
through the main doors along with the other petitioners...and then
stopped short as one of the priestesses cried out.
          "She has come! The child of prophecy has come!" shouted the
woman, and  the other priestesses ran to catch her.
           "There shall come a young woman to Jiran in the nation  of
Alari from a land far beyond distance, and she shall neither enter by
 nor by river nor from the air...but by the need of the land and the
power  of her true heart. Others of her land shall  also come into the
world, and with them and their chosen companions they shall save the
world, but the foundations of the world shall shake with their coming.
And what she shall require shall be granted her, and she shall come to
the Temple of the Lady of Waters and what she shall ask must be
granted her."

A horse...a rapier...a girl with worshipping eyes...

 "I'm no hero, not yet."  The prophesied one started to laugh
suddenly. She raised her  voice so that it rang off the high marble
walls of the temple. "Not yet, but I will  be!"  she swung neatly into
the gray stallion's saddle.
    "Wait, take this!" said someone behind her, and she turned to
look.  The woman held  out a blue and gold medallion.  "with this you
can get help from any of Our Lady's  temples."
                                       Estela bent down and the  woman
hung it around her neck.

  Twelve figures,
varying heights and shapes and colors, sat in various statue-esque
positions in
a circle. . Red light flickered on
marble-smooth faces, wrinkles long past worn off with the time.
Uncurling from their kneeling- or lotus positions, the twelve raised
themselves in their own time and edged closer to the warmth of the
ember.


a pause-
a stillness of air-
falling-
sense of falling-
cries from the ancients-
the seventh burned by the ember-
the ember losing color
going
stone-
dark-
and then the shattering.
The ember split in a flash of fire and the red-liquid heart of the stone
sloshed onto the feet of the few Ancients remaining. Five of them. Of
the
twelve. Five sets of feet annointed by the dying blood of the Ember,
five
Ancients reborn to the world in a time of peril.

The eldest waded through the pulpy sea to the split, remaining shell of
the
once-Ember.  He felt a flicker of warmth and plunged his fingers down,
downward into the still-spurting wound, reaching into the heart of
Reiki.

His fist closed around the pendant, pulled it, dripping, forth.

     Like that it was over. Stacey was thrown back into her own mind,
her body, shuddering from the buffeting images. She looked
around,wondering if she was the only one to have experienced
...whatever she had just gone through.  Glancing at the other faces
ringed in the moonlight around her she did not doubt.  All of them,
even the normally composed Sullam were reflecting dazed expressions.
     "What..." She began "was that...?"
     "The beginning." Clip translated for his princess. "The end."
     "That isn't really an answer." Sullam commented. "More like the
riddles used by the unknowing to deceive those that know less."
     "You would know." Clip answered for the princess "Gadari."
     There was no reaction save a minute widening of the human's eyes.
Then he nodded. "Of course."
     "Gadari?" Stana asked.
     "The mortal's religious mantel." Clip stated. "He was a leader of
men, an icon for humans."
     "A figure head." Sullam stated. "Something that was used to
manipulate the ignorant." He looked to Stacey "we discussed my part in
the deception briefly."
     She nodded, remembering the time in the forest when he told her
about his past.
     Davora held out her hands and Sullam scooped her out of Clips
arms. She whispered in his ear.
     "We part here it seems." Sullam said for her. "The princess asks
I bring her home now. Clip and you are needed elsewhere."
     "Huh?" she said, praising herself for the quick reply. Clip
transformed into his natural form and snorted. It appeared he was as
much at a loss as she. That helped...somewhat.
     "The amulet will guide you to the destination." Sullam continued
" Clip is going as your protector. There is alot more to this story
then perhaps any of us realize." he shook his head "I wouldn't wish to
be you, sister."
     "What does _that_ mean?" she demanded.  Things were moving way to
fast again."Wait. Let's take this down a notch. What is all this talk
about me and Clip going off, and you taking the Princess back alone?"
     "The prophecy." Was there a hint of disgust shading his voice? "
We all saw the beginning of it, when the amulet activated at your
touch. Now you are following it through to its conclusion."
     "What prophecy?" she asked "the one in that ...vision, or
whatever it was?" She was confused "uh uh...no way...not in your life.
I don't do prophecies, man. Not in least because  Prophets tend to die
in really nasty normally bloody ways."
     "I don't see this as a choice." Clip answered uneasily "verily I
like this not."
     "You crossed wires somewhere and the wrong person has been
nominated saviour. Recheck the divine directory." Stana  insisted
rhetorically. "You can't seriously mean me...I mean LOOK at me,  no
divine flames, brimstone nil, havent swung on any Chariots of
fire...nada, if I walked on water, or saw anyone else do it...I'd want
to check the boots afterwards!"
     "You've seen a mythic beast that only legends speak of. A breed
that has not emerged, save sporadically, in thousands of years/"
Sullam pointed out. "As well as rescuing the princess of said mythical
animals.  You are not of here, that is apparent by your mode of speech
and clothing. I have not seen such in my travels. There is within you
the natural ability to heal hurts, as well as a great capacity to
care. I say this all  puts you slightly above "normal". I will speak
no more, as you crave hearing such things too much. I instead leave
you with this thought; most prophets did not go willingly to their
fates...yet go they did."
     "Can't fight Fate with a macaroni duck huh?" Extremely unhappy,
he shook her head to forestall an answer. "Nevermind.  I think this is
a biiig mistake, but the Unicorn speaks truth, what choice do I have?
 Where do we go and how?"
     "The where is for you to find." Sullam repeated.  "The how is
apparent."
     Clip whinnied from behind and nudged her with his nose. She
stared in amazement for a moment.  He shimmered in and out of equine.
     "You're kidding?"
     "I never knew a mortal to be so dense." Clip reproached in human
form "How can I  protect you if you are not astride?"
     "You never knew a mortal, period." she shot back tartly. "And how
would I know how you could "gaurd me?" Wwhat I know about Unicorns is
mixed in with so much imagination that I can t believe any of it." She
looked to Sullam "you're bringing her home?  Shouldn't Clip and I do
that?"
     "Normally. This is not a normal time." he grinned. "I'll serve in
this mission. It will be interesting to be the first human to enter
the Valley of the Unicorns in over an eon. I'll make sure she gets
there safely, and  I'll  be seeing  you there."
     He was gone before she could ask what that meant. Not that she
would have gotten an answer, she was sure.
     "Now what?"she had to ask.
     Sighing impatiently he dipped his Alicorn to her chest and
flipped the amulet up into her face. She fumbled it for a moment and
touched the surface. An image of the area they were in flashed in her
mind.  Like a bright Red "X" there was marked the destination. The
name ... S'Kae.
      Apparently Clip saw it too, for he kneeled down and indicated
she mount. Heart hammering in her chest she scrambled on, and he was
off like a dream. After the first few steps she knew she could never
have rode him had he not allowed for it. He was actually holding her
astride by will and by modifying his strides to accomodate a rider. It
was rough at first, as he was as unused to being rode upon as she was
in riding, but they soon settled down into a moderate gate.
       The ground and the trees flashed by in a blur.  Sometimes she
got glimpses and sensations from the area around her. Like she could
tell if the forest was content, or angry. She could tell if there had
been blood spilt into the earth, like if a battle had recently been
fought there. She didn't know what was happening to her. She had had
these sensations before, but they were getting clearer and more
disturbing.
       There was a haunting melody growing in the air. She looked
around and realized after a moment that it was emanating from Clip's
Alicorn. After a moment she realized he was "singing." It was as if
her ears perked up as the forest around them grew aware of the sound.
Without thinking she dropped into an impromptu harmonization. She
wished her voice was as good as it used to be. Lack of practice as
well as physical changes had rendered it rusty. Still she tried. After
a while her throat loosened out and she began get a little bolder in
her singing. She didn't notice that they were both glowing steadily,
or that the forest around them was growing greener. Clip did, and was
quietly content.
        The melody broke off swiftly as he slowed to a walk. His ears
flickered uneasily forward and back.  He lifted his nose to the air
and bared his teeth.
        "What is it?" she asked in a hushed voice. "Clip?"
        Impatiently he indicated she get down. She obeyed.
        "Humans." he said warningly. "I sense many of them in this
area. The very air is  saturated." His eyes were roving the area
ceaselessly.
        "Still here then?" she asked tensly.
        "Still Here!" Annouced a voice from behind as they both
wheeled.  Stana found herself looking down the edge of a sword she was
sure wasnt fake. "You're in protected forest, outlanders. I am the
commander of  Army of Steel, and you are in big  trouble. Any
questions?"