Chapter 21: A Storm on the Steppes

I watched Andy begin his journey to Whitecliffs with some trepidation. It was strange to see him close himself off behind the magic and transform himself into Slant the mercenary. I worried that something could happen to him in the weeks that we would be apart. My concern for him allowed me to ignore any concerns over my own trip. I was not going to have to use subterfuge to make my journey. I just had to fully become The Wind of Arbor.

I had thought the first step in my quest to find the southern clans would have taken me to the Zadrain steppes, perhaps to my Temple of the Winds. Instead, it took me to SharHom. I saw my first Shar. Rough, craggy skin and deep, deep red eyes with thick-clawed hands as big as roasting pans and claws like clubs, thick, knotted and roughly pointed. Short, thick legs below a surprisingly tapered waist and a back like a ridge of rock rising out of the plains.

There was little I could find in the fabric of what I was to connect me to the Shar. So much of them was connected only to the inner Arbor, the deep rock and cavernous depths. Just the bits like the upthrust peaks of the Spine of the World that felt the wind sing though their stony passes. Just that tiny little bit of the Shar knew me and I them. But that little bit could only know the part of me that was The Wind, and never any of the me that was Cor, so in looking for them in me, I distilled myself out, and the girl from Earth subsided and the namesake of the Arborim grew.

We left, Grendel and I, astride the wind, running into it until once again we were of it instead of in it. East off the Spine and over the steppes, I took myself to my temple on the steppes. It was the middle of the night, and I had brought thunder and lightning and the storm with me off the mountains. I let the thunder and the rain rake me and the lightning sing through me for a moment, and in the midst of it I sent out a call.

I took the time to make sure Grendel was taken care of, then I let the wind die a little both inside and out and found the furs in the temple and went to sleep.

I woke in the pre-dawn light of early morning, and there was much more of Cor and much less of The Wind in me than there had been when I went to sleep. I set about being a person, making myself a cooking fire and roasting a few apples for an early meal. I wasn't so adept at jumping things from place to place as Andy was, but I was learning. I gave a couple leftover apples to Grendel and got her ready to ride. The saddle she wore was no longer the one Andy and I had painstakingly devised, but one of Magic that I formed when I needed it. Fast, painless, perfectly matched to Grendel's new frame and pure blinding white!

In the light glow of breaking day, the steppes were far different than I remembered them. The spring rains had left them dotted with green in dozens of shades, and the green was home to splashes of color. The perfume of flowering plants in the air lent what had been a desolate, dry wasteland a patina of promise and reward. Grendel nickered, but I had already smelled it on the wind. My call was being answered. The wind wives were coming.

We met them in the air, and we danced together in the howling song of them as they painted a picture for me of the southern steppes. The Copper Canyon Clan was nearby, only thirty miles away as the wind went. They would be my beginning. But I would have to make it a modest one. We made our bargains then and they would gather their kind, and remain ready but hidden, waiting for my call. Three of them remained with me but at a distance, high in the air.

Tak sat sentry on a small outcrop of rock south of the Clan's camp site. His eyes were good, and Kel, his Clan leader often set him as sentry. His post gave him a good view of the southern ridge and the entrance to the small draw where they were camped. He recited the litany of his ancestors and their spirits under his breath as he watched. It kept him alert and focused to have something to do with his active mind while his watcher's mind protected the camp.

Both minds felt the sudden gust of breeze, and stirred him to a more conscious state of watchfulness. It was only a moment before something made him look to his right and see the young woman sitting on the rock ten feet from him, wearing gray leathers and carrying a staff. She had dark hair and blue eyes and was not of the Clan, though she seemed familiar for some reason.

"Take me to your leader," The woman said. For some reason she seemed to find her own words humorous.

"I must raise the alarm!" Tak said, more to remind himself than to inform her.

"Do your duty then, Tak of the Copper Canyon Clan," she said.

Tak stood then and shouted the alarm for an intruder back into the draw. An answering shout came immediately. A dozen warriors would be arriving to support his post in minutes.

The woman stood and turned towards the camp, in the direction the men would come from.

"Be sure to tell them immediately that I have made no threats or attempted to harm you in any way. They may mistake your call and believe you are under attack."

The woman seemed so calm, even knowing men were approaching! She kept her staff planted on the ground as if it was a walking stick and not a weapon. He heard the sound of men running and called out.

"Come slowly, there is no attack!" His watcher's mind did a quick replay in his head of the area of his watchfulness. There was no sign of this being a ruse. He had remained alert and detected no attempt to use the woman as a distraction. It was the sentries pride and years of discipline that kept his eyes on his assigned lines, even when startled or distracted. He was glad to see Kel at the front of the group who came, walking now, around the bend of rock behind his post. Of course they saw the lone woman, and some of their caution eased.

"Good morning Kel, I have come to have a little chat with you, if it is not too much of an imposition," The woman said.

"Good morning to you as well." Kel answered. "I would be honored for any time I spend with the Wind of Arbor. The statue of you in the new temple does you justice."

The dress was almost exactly as I envisioned it, and probably as close as it was going to be possible to come towards matching her vision of it, outside of Arbor. My mom and Andy's mom were both very pleased with the dress and the bridesmaid's gowns, which were going to be what the dressmaker called 'minor reflections' of the bridal gown and lovely gowns in themselves, more than suitable for wear at a ball.

The shoes were soft and comfortable. White leather moccasins that wrapped up the ankle. A cross between ballet shoes and the camp 'slippers' that most of the Clanswomen of the southern steppes wore within their tents and around their camp. Of course my wedding planner and dressmaker didn't know that and thought of me as a clever girl for designing my own footwear.

The wedding itself was going to be held in Crown Point, on my parent's farm. This was the decision that I had thought might have the biggest chance of producing conflict between the two mothers, but surprisingly, Ginny McKesson had seen it as an ideal solution.

"Dave and I were married on a golf course in Angel's Camp, dear. I see this as a step up from that," she had said in response to my surprise.

There were a ton of provisions to be made in case of bad weather, but the entire event would be held under tents if it had to be, I declared this with a nice foot-stamp for effect. Once the giggles had died down over my attempt at pretend melodrama, I called Constantine and asked him to work one of his miracles.

With the location decided early, we had called the city fathers of Crown Point and gave them a heads up on the event. With the depressed economy of the area in general, notice that there would be a brief but major influx of guests, media and gawkers would allow the local businesses and citizenry to be prepared.

Mom had given up on the idea of being my wedding planner very early in the process, especially when Jeni Parkin pointed out to her that if she was busy being my wedding planner she would miss all the fun of being mother of the bride!

Jeni's own wedding had been only a month before, and if anyone had a fresh perspective on the realities of it, she did. Not being in the public eye like Andy and I were, Jeni and Trevor had even managed to have something of a 'Legion Wedding', on a small Caribbean island with just family and the Legionnaires, along with the rest of the Children of the Light as they referred to themselves. Such an interesting bunch they were! The stuff with the Dream World as they called it would have been freakishly weird if I hadn't already adjusted to so much that would have seemed impossible in my old life.

Since we were going to have three separate ceremonies, one on Arbor, one on Meadow and one on Earth, Mom was happy to let Ginny worry about the details on Meadow. Trough Farelly was handling everything that needed handling on Arbor. Bonding ceremonies there were quite private affairs. The happy couple and someone to act as Agent for the Spirits were the only people present. The Celebration afterward was another story, and that was the part that Trough had well in hand. Bridal responsibilities there were minimal for me. I was getting married as The Wind of Arbor, the dress took care of itself, and while there was a tradition of gift giving associated with it, most gifts were more along the strict housewarming variety. What do you get someone who lives in a Magic tower? We put the word out that we would prefer people make a donation to the 'Red Flag Performance Hall' Construction Fund. Ash Vanoc had even offered to administer any funds donated for us!

I would have never heard the end of it if I hadn't asked T.C. To be my maid of honor. I had the luxury of being able to give her the honor on Earth and Serenity the same honor on Meadow. For once the axiom of having one's cake and eating it too came through as a good thing. Andy was doing something similar, picking Thistle as his Best Man for the Meadow ceremony and Trevor Parkin the same for the one on Earth.

Food, flowers, invitations, colors, music – the detailed list of things one needed to sign off on to make the wedding planner happy was intimidating. I was happy to have some filters in place, able to winnow the 'unanswerable-by-anyone-but-me' questions from out of the 'you-know-what-i-like-just-pick-something' chaff. Amazingly, T.C. Came through for me now like never before. She was a take-charge kind of person anyway, and she did! When the process was still in its early stages there were a lot of gut-check moments where Mom would say 'T.C. Picked this for you' and 'T.C. Picked that for you', but by the time things were getting close Mom had switched to saying 'We picked this for you' and meant it. I only overruled one call, and that was on flowers for the reception. I insisted that everything be centered around forget-me-nots. Of course I had to re-tell that story a dozen times in the process!

Our honeymoon destination was going to be a surprise from Andy's Dad, so I wasn't sure if we were getting a trip to a vacation spot or a trip to an uncharted facet off in the wild blue universe somewhere. We let Grandma McKesson and Maia Poole arrange all the music for the Earth ceremony. Thistle and Starlight got to arrange all the music for Arbor. Thistle, Starlight and Eru Jehn put their heads together for the ceremony on Meadow.

The sound of music seemed ever-present in the Copper Canyon camp. This was close to their semi-permanent wintering grounds and the flush of spring had spirits high and the mood light. I regretted having to raise a somber subject.

"There have been too many years without The Wind of Arbor being among us. The Clan welcomes you," Were the words I heard repeatedly around the campfire.

We spoke of only generalities as we shared the morning meal. Thank the Spirits I had eaten only lightly that morning! We ate wheat biscuits and bacon with a sweet bit of raisins and honey stuffed into the bread. We ate in the open among the entire camp, save those on sentry duty. Kel and his senior clansmen met with me in his tent afterward.

"what brings the Wind of Arbor to the Copper Canyon clan, and on the wings of Rain and Thunder?" Were the words I heard inside the tent. I considered what I knew and what I felt.

"The Princess Redstone of Beletara has told me of an ancestor of hers, who according to family history, lost herself in her duties as The Wind of Arbor because she couldn't separate out the work the Spirits chose for her from the work the leaders of men chose. It is considered a truth in her family that this false demand to serve the needs of man as well as Spirit is the reason there has been no one Named as I am for many generations."

"And what voices do you listen to?" One of the older men asked.

"As the Wind of Arbor, I listen to only two voices. I listen to the Spirits and I listen to my heart. On the issue that brings me here today they speak as one."

I got a few nods on that, indicating at least a willingness to listen.

"I have come from a meeting between King Esterhal of Midhal, Prince Verity of Lamin, Princess Redstone of Beletara and a Shar representative." Mention of the Shar produced an audible murmur among the clansmen. "They were shown evidence confirming an ancient device being used to spy across the border into the Valley of the Wind. They were shown evidence strongly suggesting that Queen Golden Deleste of Norhal is planning war, first with Midhal, but eventually to spread across all the lands of the north."

The clan leader was quiet for a while as he and his men digested my words. One of the younger men whispered something in his ear and he smiled and spoke.

"Even here in the southern steppes we hear rumors and whispers. What might you know that can confirm the whispers?"

"We have heard from the Shar that there is a great deal of traffic across their northern borders. The Red Spear Clan have been identified as among those crossing through into Norhal."

"Yes, this is what we have heard as well. There is talk of stirrings in the UtterIce as well."

That was news! The UtterIce was clanspeak for the Northern Wastes. There were a few small tribes of ice dwellers, but for the most part the ice fields of the Northern Waste were home to cold modified Ur of one type or another.

"We thought the Ice Queen would hold off on calling the Ur until just before she strikes," I said.

"We hear of gatherings on the ice, but the Ur are not moving south." Kel said. "It is difficult getting information from many of the northern clans now, but there are a few among them who would oppose the Red Spear. They will not be seen standing with us, but they will share knowledge and perhaps let word reach the Entu, the Seal People, who would be our allies on the ice."

"I had hoped to come and rally the southern clans. I do not think I should be going north, at least not just yet."

"No, you are right. Your place is with the southern clans for now." Kel said. We shall send Reek to find the Entu."

"We must call an ingathering at Spirit Sands," One of the oldest of the elders spoke.

"Ayal speaks wise and the clan hears!" Kel spoke immediately. He nodded to one of his young lieutenants, who left the tent immediately and shouted to those still gathered around the campfire.

"We run to the Spirit Sands!"

Run, I soon learned was exactly what they meant. The clan had horses, but only the very old, the very young, pregnant women and the ill or injured rode them. Everyone else ran!

The first to go was Reek. He was one of the Transformed, and when he invoked his Magic he was ... odd. He moved like solder melted, if I can attempt to describe it. From utterly still to flowing in an instant. He flowed when he moved, but at the same time he blended into the landscape he covered. Not like a chameleon, but like for each instant when your eyes saw him it was as if he had always been a part of that particular piece of landscape. It was as strange to watch as it was to describe.

Camp was broken and we were on the move within two hours. We moved slowly for the first hour, making sure loads were secure and those for whom the trip would be a physical hardship were as cared for as possible.

I asked for a moment and ran off to stand in an open spot for a moment and called my three watchful wind wives down. As they swirled about me I let them see our direction of travel and asked them to scout the path we traveled.

Thank the Spirits for the Light enhancements Andy and I had so diligently applied during our time on the road to Beletara! These people could run!

I'm sure that in some ways they saw my running with them as a test, especially that first day. I carried my moonstone staff easily as we ran across the rock and sand of the steppes. I at least was not one of the runners who actually circled the perimeter of our entire group of riders and runners as we went!

Our camp at the end of the first day was little more than a fire and a few furs. The tents did not get unpacked, though the horses who carried them had their burdens eased for the night. We had eaten figs and jerky and drank water rather than wine as our midday meal, and we had that while we ran. The evening meal was a stew and campfire biscuits of some kind. The stew was heavily spiced and the wine was a bit bitter, but spicy as well.

There was very little in the way of gender bias in this society. The women ran and fought alongside their men. Everyone cooked and cleaned and gathered wood. Morning meal was served to me by a young warrior who had a grease-stained cloth tied around his waist as he moved among us ladling out a heavy porridge laced with cinnamon and clove. Neu, one of the women I had run with that day, was passing out small wooden bowls alongside him.

The most obvious difference I saw was something I noticed on the second day. The women carried bows as they ran, while the men carried spears or staves, as I did. I asked Kel about it as we ran together at one point.

"The bow is our primary weapon, but we find that our women are more accurate on the run than the men are, particularly after a long run, so we leave the bow to them when we run and let the men guard against the occasional beast who gets flushed out from under our feet."

That night, after we had our evening meal I called Grendel to me. She flew down out of the night sky and into camp and I replaced my staff with bow and quiver of arrows that she carried. I had been practicing both the staff and bow, just as everyone in the valley had, but like the children, had been getting Master Jo's lessons privately. Grendel got a few apples and some serious attention from the clansmen, especially the children.

On the third day I carried my bow as I ran. There had been some initial good-natured teasing from the women around me, as my bow was quite a bit larger than theirs. I took a 'sandman', as the clan called it, a large gopher-like creature with a running shot from several hundred yards away and that got the teasing to stop as well as a lot of run-by examinations of my bow.

My demonstration caused an impromptu competition that evening when we made camp. I was nowhere near as good as their best marksmen, but I was better than most. My ability to accurately hit targets at twice their normal range caused some serious thinking among the elders around the campfire that night. They saw the possibilities of that extra range.

Runners had left the main path at midday on our third day of travel, one headed south and one north. They rejoined us late on the fifth day. The Blue Scorpion Clan and the Flat Rock Clan had been contacted and were also making for the Spirit Sands. They promised to send runners to contact the clans nearest them as well. We camped on the eve of our seventh day of travel within sight of Spirit Rock.

In the last month leading up to our wedding, we spent a lot of time in the company of Andy's parents and the other members of the Legion of Light. I heard a lot of the stories from their common childhood adventures. I also got some serious time in with Andy's mom, getting a thorough education in Light-based healing. There were great chunks of medical knowledge which were helpful in using the Light to heal. I had seen it when Andy had worked on the Shavrom family in the Steppes, and he had made sure to show me more as we went along, but Doctor McKesson was like the Rosetta stone of healing.

The easy camaraderie of the Legionnaires was inspiring in a way, but I had to suppress a sense of regret that I hadn't been able to form those kinds of childhood friendships when I was young and growing up in Crown Point. It did make their lives and the events that transpired around my future father-in-law seem even more incredible and magical.

It occurred to me that the reason there were Legionnaires around all the time was that I was being protected. I couldn't quite pull off the full-blown wind of Arbor gig here on Earth, but I could still tap the Magic. With some resistance I discovered, but it was still there.