Spirit started out with only the eggs and her water-skin, which was full of water from the Crystal River. She glanced up again at the Great Dragon in the sky, still glowing brightly, and set off down the pass. Those mountains were the most sacred structures known to her people, and how she had not noticed them growing larger she didn't know. It was as though they had just sprung up from the ground once she reached the river. Whatever had happened, her she was, a simple shaman (though she was of the People of the Light, a rather special tribe) heading directly into the Gods' home. She came across many obstacles, once even having to push a great boulder off the path so she could pass. Luckily she was quite strong, and did it without too much struggle. When the Mother Earth told her it was night, and the sun had gone down in the rest of the world, she curled up around the eggs and slipped into the realm of dreams. *** Deep in the Mountains of the Gods, a group of deities held council. Their bodies were muscular, and they rose higher than several men together. The gods of Spirit's people had dark skin, and hair the color of dark earth. They too had many tattoos and markings on their bodies. One of the gods spoke out. "Are you sure this shaman can carry out the mission?" A motherly goddess replied, "Yes, I am certain. She posesses much power, and a great love for her people and creatures of all sorts. She has the keen senses of the wolf; I lay no doubts on her." Another goddess spoke. "But will she be able to send the nahab* out of the Valley of Light?" Now a god, who stood close to the first goddess, answered. "We do not control the fates; none of us can know for certain--But I have layed all my faith in her." "Here is the question we are all having--Was it wise to lead her to our home, where few have ever set foot?" After a pause, a younger looking goddess with the same silvery hair and light skin as Spirit, spoke. "I have watched Spirit many a night. When in the realm of dreams, she has the form of the sacred snow-wolf," she said, "That is right. Not a gray wolf, as most of you may have assumed. Her skin is pale, her hair light. She shows all signs of the people of the stars. And nuntheless she is of the People of the Light, the people who have kept the Old Ways and not accepted the gifts of the nahab. She will not fail." *** A full three--maybe four--days after she entered the pass, Spirit reached again a crystal river, perhaps the same one further down. But she gratefully drank from it, for her water-skin had long since been emptied. And along the shore were fruit trees of all types. She followed the banks, not knowing what she was searching for. Finally something caught her eye: It was the golden fruit of the gods. She dared not touch it, but now she knew that she had reached where she was going. The city of the gods was nearby. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Statistics SilverValley *Foreign peoples