THE RETURN

 PRIME

                        “The time is nigh” the old man bellowed. “They are RETURNING!”
        The aerie was filled with people that windless night. The platform rose higher than any other man made structure in Hai and looked down on the entire Mountain Valley. The reason for its construction was lost to myth and legend over the many passing centuries. Now it was used for the most solemn of ceremonies, the most serious of gatherings. There were many oil lanterns on posts around the aerie but the huge star filled sky shined down on them with more than enough light.
        The Prime could see all their faces from his place on a small dais. He could see the faces of the Council; pompous, arrogant and calculating. He could see the faces of the Guardians; always stoic. From his place he could see the faces of the Teachers and their students; wide eyed at this most unique of nights. He could see the faces of select families; honored to be here because their children could be selected to undertake a grave and perilous mission.
        And the Prime could see the tight, solemn face of his daughter; Tunda Kiala. She had already been chosen to lead one mission and would be selecting her team tonight. Her mother, standing with Tunda’s younger sister among the select families, was not too happy about this but Tunda had won the right to lead the mission by a wide margin.
        Finally there were the faces of the Hopefuls; those top ranked apprentices from schools all over the Mountain Valley. Scholar apprentices, Crafter apprentices and of course the Guardian apprentices of which Prime figured his daughter would pick the most.
        The one face the Prime did not see was that of his son. His oldest was nowhere to be seen as usual. A dreamer and always a bit odd it was hard for the Prime not to be disappointed in him. How could he miss a gathering so very important to his sister?
        “We drove them out of the Homelands so very long ago and now they are returning to exact their revenge!” screamed the old man.
        The Prime resisted an urge to chastise the old man. The Seer had a place of honor on the aerie that night, due mostly to tradition. It would be costly, politically, if he denied him a voice tonight. Only three of the Council could be considered allies and twice that were definitely adversaries. So he let the Seer keep bellowing his nonsense. It was time for the choosing anyway.
        “Tunda,” the Prime said loudly for all to hear. “the city of Carth has not sent an envoy for three winters now. Carth has long been the Homelands guardian city on the edge of the Dark Sea. The city of Amzon has fallen silent to us as well, now just this past winter. Amzon lies in the Shadow Valley, between the Gods Wall Mountains. They have been the Gate Keepers for the Deep Green lands. There have been other…” the Prime glance at the old Seer. “…signs of trouble but we must make contact with these two cities again. You have been chosen to lead an expedition; first to the city of Amzon. We need to know what has silenced our friends to the north.”
        There were worried murmurs among the crowd of people on the aerie.
        “They have mastered flame! And they will burn many cities by sending great balls of fire over and through wall!” cried the Seer.
        “You cannot undertake this mission by yourself, Tund Kiala” the Prime continued through the murmurs and the Seers cries. “Whom do you chose to share this burden with you?”
        Tunda stepped forward. She was nearly as tall as her father and had his same strong jaw. Her skin shone soft brown like her mothers and was pulled taught over her dense muscles. Through she had a small frame she had the look of a dangerous Mountain Cat. The Prime had been blind to that before but after seeing her in her trial it was all too apparent now. She would be a far better Guardian than he had been.
        As the Prime called her name there was an angry shift in the Council. It was a huge turn of events when Tunda won the right to lead the mission. For many winters the Council had seen the end of the reign of the Primes family. Clearly his son was not going to take a place of leadership among in the Mountain Valley which meant that the Primes family was going to lose their place on the Council.
        But his daughter had unexpectedly won not only first place among the Guardian apprentices, but her name as well.
        “I have chosen, Prime.” Tunda said with her head low in respect. A wave of nervous excitement rushed throughout all those watching. The Prime looked over the hopefuls. A few of her choices he thought he already knew but his children always had a way of surprising him.
        “Then say their names, Tunda Kiala, and let them join you.”
        Tunda turned and faced the deep group of Hopefuls; all dressed in the long feather colors of the Teachers schools. She looked over the group of them with an appraising eye. The Prime wondered if his daughter had waited to this moment to actually chose her companions.
        “The city of Amzon lies below the clouds,” Tunda began. “across the Deep Green and between the God Walls. There are many dangers between our home and our destination…many known enemies…and many more unknown. The Council and the Guardians have set seven as our number. Seven for this journey.”
        Such a small number but it was necessary. The location of their home in the Mountain Valley was their most important secret. A larger group, it was feared, could be back-tracked. The Mountain Valley had not been invaded since…
        “They are encased in armor as strong as God Metal. Thick plates that cannot be pierced by sword, arrow or spear!” the Seer warned. The Prime spared the old man another glance and saw that, like everyone else here, his eyes were on Tunda.
        “For this journey we will need God’s Heralds” she announced.
        The crowd on the Aerie fell dead silent at this. The Heralds of God were the most revered heroes in the history of the Mountain Valley. Each was said to have had been given a touch of power by God and to have performed miracles. These Heralds were named many years after their deaths and after painstaking research into their feats. It was not an uncommon practice to call on a Herald to help one through difficult challenges.
        “The Journey will be difficult. We will need the Strength of Granai.” Granai was said to be holding up the very Mountain that the Mountain Valley sat atop.
        “Juri Brun, will you join me?” Tunda asked. The Prime and indeed everyone of the aerie looked to the tallest of the Hopefuls. She stood a full head taller than the next tallest Hopeful, her shoulders were broad and strong, her arms and legs full and muscled. Juris head was adorned in her Teachers God Metal band that framed her beautiful face and her Teachers bright red feathers that flowed down the sides of her tunic. She held her big God Metal sword in both hands, pointed down with the tip sunk deep into the floor of the aerie.
        She pulled the sword up, strode forward and knelt before Tunda. “I am honored” she said and then moved to stand behind Tunda.
        The crowd sang their praise of the choice. Shouts of; “Praise the Wisdom” and “Go with God” rang out for a short while.
        “They are intent on destroying us for forcing from this land! And those they do not murder they will enslave for countless generations!” the Seer cried.
        When the shouts died down Tunda turned back to the hopefuls.
        “The Journey will be dark and filled with hard choices. We will need the Wisdom of Solu” Solu the wise, who found the path to the hidden Mountain Valley.
        “Anai Ryd, will you join us?”
        She was small and had big mane of bright red hair, rare for their people. She was taught by Sacen, one of the Mountain Valleys greatest thinkers. Her dark grey feathers were attached to a modest robe of Honey Weave. Prime had read her final analysis of the changing migration of the Longhorns and had been impressed. She had saved them all a lot of time hunting for a new food source.
        The crowd sang praise again as Anai joined Juri and Tunda. The Prime snuck a glance at the Council. Two picks and not one of their “suggestions” yet, but they hid their impatience well…so far.
        “On the Journey we will encounter things that we cannot anticipate. We will need the ingenuity of Jone.” The very architect of the Mountain Valley cities! “Seta, will you join us?”
        This was a surprise. Though certainly another great academic of Hai, Prime would never have picked the awkward girl to undertake such a journey. Her work with the sailing ships would not help them at all since it had been decided not to take one for the mission. They would travel on the ground and Seta was not the sturdiest of the Hopefuls.
        The choice evidently surprised her as well. The long haired girl stood open mouthed for a second and finally after being nudged, walked up, knelt and took her place behind Tunda. The crowd sang out sparsely at first but finished strong.
        “They burn the Homeland with their mastery of fire. Burn everything…our homes our histories…everything… until we no longer even remember ourselves! There is no stopping them!” the Seers cries wound down to a whisper. It seemed he was done.
        Looking back to the small group that Tunda was forming, a thought came to the Prime. A Sisterhood, he whispered, Tunda was forming a Sisterhood. There were several excellent candidates among the young men standing among the hopefuls but the Prime could now see that Tunda was going to recruit only females. A Sisterhood could be a powerful unit the pieces fit well together, but the dangers below the clouds would be doubled. The Prime knew that many of the peoples of the Homelands did give women the same honor as those here in Hai. They would be forced to prove themselves each time they encountered anyone.
        The Council members were murmuring amongst themselves. Baril looked particularly worried. Understandable seeing how his son, Modok, was the Guardian who lost out to Tunda. Now it was looking like not only Modok but none of the students from the male Guardian school were going to be picked.
        Tunda addressed the Hopefuls again. “We will need the cunning mind of Bele. Feyla, will you join us.”
        Feyla was as tall as Tunda. Prime did not know much about the young woman save she was revered by all her Teachers despite the fact that she hardly ever spoke. She and Tunda became very close during the Trials.
        “The Herald Drez first set the Seven Posts of who we are in stone upon Setters Rock. We will need to remain true to who we are despite the influence of the world below the clouds. Hopi, will you join us?”
        Hopi was the daughter of Council Woman Pola; one of the oldest and most experienced of the Mountain Valley leaders. Pola was the most steadfast conservative forces in the Council which put her right smack in the middle of the two dominate progressive sides. Many a time it was Polas vote that decided the course of their people and not the Primes.
        Hopi stood proudly and walked to join the group. The Prime chanced another look to the Council and saw Baril staring daggers at him. Of course he must have been thinking that it was the Prime and not his daughter that had made the selections. This was going to be an interesting Turn of the Seasons…
        “And we will need to be ready to due battle. And for that we will need to be as sharp as the Herald Raim, the Warrior King.” Tunda looked over the Hopefuls until her eyes fell upon one particularly striking woman. Her head was clean shaven and bore cave viper tattoos that trailed down her back, across her shoulders and around her limbs. This woman carried two sheathed God-Metal swords criss-crossed on her back and carried a narrow Warhammer as well.
        “Mara, will you join us.”
        The Prime snuck another look at the Council and saw Barils nasty snake-like grin. Damn it! He almost cursed aloud. What was the girl thinking choosing that killer?