1 comments/ 12464 views/ 7 favorites Trallis: Summer Storm Dancer By: xelliebabex Authors Note: Thank you to the wonderful people who helped me edit this story, BillT, JBJ ans RK Moreland. It is my summer entry this year and I hope you all enjoy it. A map for the realm of Trallis will be made available in the Literotica forum. Twins of Trallis: Legend of the Summer Storm Dancer The nine realms of Trallis co-existed under a tentative pact that saw a council of nine come together on a central wooded ridge each year just before the harvest season. Over time the council meeting had become a wondrous festival that spanned the waxing and waning of a summer moon. All items could be traded at the fair, richly-crafted materials, exotic foods and wines, and, although frowned upon by some of the realms, a small slave trade flourished on the outskirts of the fair each year. It was here that the bounty hunters from the nine realms brought runaways and wanted criminals for justice and to receive their rewards. During the final days of the council two disgruntled bounty hunters dragged in two young women in shackles. The man sitting behind the Horse Lord Haef choked and spluttered, seizing the handle of his sabre before leaning forward to whisper urgently in his Lords ear. Haef stood and spoke with considered words, "These two women are from the horse people of Cavalia, a small village far to the south, what could they have possibly done to be presented here in chains. I demand you release them to my keeping immediately, lest there be a fracture in this council that cannot be repaired." "Let the man speak before throwing your accusations at any realm about broken pacts and fracturing the council." Ragnar stood and glared at Haef. The hostility between their realms had a long and complicated history. "I took them for sea witches. Despite their clothing one of them is said to be a storm-dancer, but I have not had a globe to test her," The bounty hunter said quickly trying to diffuse the tension. Toka quickly looked at Haef, who leaned back in his chair as his second began whispering urgently again. Toka then murmured to his second who produced two dimly lit balls of light and took them to the girls placing them in their hands. The ball given to Dana remained at a steady dim glow but the ball given to Kerys glowed brightly and, as if sensing the power of the storm within her, it began to throb in time with her heartbeat. A loud rumble of voices erupted from the gathered council members and with a look of horror, Dana knocked the ball from Kerys' hands even though she knew it was too late and everyone had seen which of them held the power of the summer storm within them. Iken stood on his chair and made a strange sounding call that was high pitched and undulating causing the others to cease their arguments and look toward him. The call reverberated around the tent until he was sure he had everyone's undivided attention before ceasing the sound and smiling. "Let us all take our seats and consider the two beautiful young women at hand. Do we not owe it to them to hear the version of events that lead them here before we start making assumptions and accusations?" Iken was a new member of council having succeeded the elderly Sand Lord who could no longer travel or remain in such a position of power. Haef nodded, his steel gaze on Ragnar, "Yes I think I would like to know how they became separated from their family. Three formidable men, if I recollect, would have been protecting these girls from slave raiders at the very least, their father and two older brothers." He looked around making sure the council realised they were not runaways by adding, "Their mother was from the sea realm and given in reparation for an attempt to cheat the horse people of that clan." Toka was about to bluster when Ekeynui of the rainforest people laughed uproariously, "I told you your cheating would end in disaster Toka. Enough of this, let the girls speak for themselves." It was Dana who began to speak. She was not so much scared for herself since there was nothing special about her that these people wanted to hear or know about. Her sister, however, who held the power of the summer storm within her was shaking with abject terror beside her. Taking a deep breath Dana took herself back to four years earlier, the summer of their fifteenth year. In a slow and slightly melodic voice she began to recount her memories of that fateful day that the first of the really big storms rolled across the sky. They had been sitting in a tree awaiting their father's return from the hunt with the other young people of the clan. Lightning buzzed the air and her sister's eyes had glowed brilliant blue -- it was as if she caught the light in her hands thrusting it from the tree and the screaming children. They had helped all of the younger children down from the tree and ran with them toward the long house, her sister stopping often to seemingly push the lightning away from their group as they trailed behind with the smallest children. The memories replayed before her eyes as she told their story of summer storm dancing. In her mind she relived it and tears sprung to her eyes as she saw once again the heavy burden her sister and family had endured to keep the secret and help the clan. ***** Four Years Earlier: The heat of the summer's day had taken its toll on the land and the people of the grasslands. Mowana looked up at the darkening sky and breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of the storm that rushed over the eastern horizon. She gathered her basket, now full of the sweet tuberous roots she been gathering, and turned to call to her children before turning toward home. Mowana smiled at the routine way of seasons here on the grasslands. The winters were mild and waterless; it neither rained nor snowed unlike the countries far to the south and east. The summers though, baked the earth and its peoples during the days, brought afternoon storms filled with rolling thunder and blinding flashes of white hot light. These storms were milder than the ones she had endured during her childhood with the people of the sea, in the realm of Solaris, but still held some power. Returning to their small village the children ran to the small clump of trees to hide in the branches and await the return of their fathers from the hunt. Mowana turned toward the long house with her basket, meeting with the other women of her clan as they came back from gathering stores. Life in the small village suited Mowana who had been brought to this clan by her husband many moons ago. She had met him at the markets of the cliff bound sea clan she had been born into. She had been one of the lucky ones not to be born with storm-dancer magic and therefore able to choose her own path until the arrival of her husband in the markets that day. Her sister though had not been so lucky. Mowana took a last look over her shoulder at the approaching storm, it would have hit the east coast by now and her sister would be out on the rocks in the driving rain gathering the force of the storm into her and directing the bright flashes of hot light to the beach where in the instant of its contact it would form the sand into a brilliant glowing sphere of light. Summer was the time of storms, the heat of the summer sun combined with the electric atmosphere to create wild storms each balmy afternoon on the coast and the storm dancers would be worked to exhaustion harnessing the power before it blew itself out and dissipated to reform the following afternoon. Mowana had been lost in her own reminiscing as she entered the long house where they shared communal food and clan stories by the great fire pit in the evenings. Zira the clan chief wife had surveyed Mowana's basket as she entered and given a small snort of acceptance allowing the woman to pass without rebuke. Mowana had learned early on that no matter how much she tried to become one of the clan she never would be fully accepted by the other women. If she gathered too much she would be berated for being wasteful and boastful, too little and she would be branded as lazy, It had taken many years to understand what was acceptable to Zira, first woman of the clan. Mowanna had married the man who had claimed her rather than living as his servant and a servant of the clan. He had given her children and as such they required the respect of the clan even if she did not. With so few storm-dancers being born into the sea clans, once discovered, they were immediately placed into servitude to the Lord of the people of the sea. They were then worked to exhaustion to create the valuable spheres of light that lit the cities of stone throughout the nine realms. Akaton brought his men and the valuable stores of fresh produce, from the grasslands to trade for the glowing spheres of light. The sea people, always in need of fresh produce, were eager for the trade but the globes production had diminished with the number of storm-dancers being bound into servitude. The clan chief of the sea village had tried to cheat the horse lords. Shrewdly though, sensing the unease of his host, Akaton had inspected the whole of the consignment. He noticed some of the spheres were dim and the number of spheres was low by 10 percent. Incensed the horse lords took not only the remains of produce they had traded back but also several of the noble women of the sea clan including Mowana. She smiled at the memory of Haydar appearing at her home and taking her from her family. She had kicked and fought but secretly she had been thrilled that the handsome horseman had come for her after their short dalliance at the market. She had been helping her mother in the kitchen when the door had been hammered upon and a deep voice had demanded entry. Mowanna had walked out to the main room of the home she had grown up in as her father rose with an angry expression and opened the door. Haydar and his brother had swept the man aside and as Akaton stood threateningly over the sea clan man Haydar had picked up Mowanna slinging her over his shoulder and exited the building. She had not heard what Akaton had said to her father but there had been no immediate pursuit of her abductors. Both terrified and thrilled Mowanna did not make a sound as she was strapped to the saddle of of a horse and large muscular arms circled her waist holding her in place as they galloped from the only home she had ever known. They rode hard catching up with the rest of the trade party just before they crossed the border into Glean, the land of rainforest jungle. The wide and well used trade route through the jungle offered some protection for travellers but as the day grew dark with the coming night the men took out spheres of light rather than set up camp in the dangerous lands. The men slowed their travel during the long night, watchful of the jungle that crowded the edges of the trade route. Mowanna had the time to look at the party more carefully. Two other women had been taken along with her. She recognised one as the daughter of a high ranking palace official the other she did not recall and guess that she was probably of a high born family that rarely came to the markets or her part of the city. Mowanna knew that in theory the Horse Lords did not condone slavery and she felt that the man who held her within his strong arms meant her no harm apart from separating her from her family. She found him very attractive, his deeply tanned skin and straight long dark hair highlighted by brilliant green eyes that matched the grass of his homeland and she found herself half wishing for him to ravish her and take her as his own. Throughout the night his hold had around her waist had become less tense and more of a comfortable sense of riding as a couple. She had not dared to look back at him staring straight ahead or to the side on occasion as they rode at the rear of the party. The sun had risen high in the sky before they breached the dense jungle route and come out onto the open grasslands of the horse people. Needing to rest the horses and men alike they rode a small way from the edge of the rainforest and began to set up a camp in a sheltered lea. Mowanna was unceremoniously dumped in the centre of the circle of activity as the men worked to build a comfortable camp to spend the night in and relax. Although in their homeland, the men remained vigilant and set a watch on the trade route they had veered from. The two other women she sat with had cried at their fate, trembling in feat as they watched the men build small shelters and create a fire to cook upon. The sun was setting for the second night after leaving Solaris, and the city by the sea when the men who had taken the women hostage sudden stood and took up defensive positions within their camp. Three riders had split off from a larger group that had been travelling the trade route and approached as Akaton and Haydar moved forward to meet them. From where Mowanna sat she could see that three sacks were thrown to the ground at the horse lords feet and she realised that this was a ransom for the return of the women. Other horse men grabbed the women and brought them forward including Mowanna and she found she was disappointed in a way to be returning to her home and she looked at the handsome horseman who had taken her as she approached him. He put a hand out to stop her progress and softly said, "I give you the choice, return home or ride with me." He stared at her intently as she looked between him and the men of the sea now helping the two other women to their horses. She knew that leaving would mean returning to the safe secure life she had always known, married to a man of her parents choosing hoping that she too would breed storm-dancers but the pull to the man looking at her so intently was a force she could not resist. Embracing the unknown danger of her actions she met his intense stare and nodded whispering, "I choose to ride with you and you alone." Haydar grunted, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips, he bent to pick up one of the bags and gold and threw it back to the sea men before picking Mowana up and carrying her back to his horse. He quickly mounted and they rode away to the southwest. They arrived at a small rock pool hidden amongst large boulders and high willowy grass and flowering shrubs. Mowanna was enchanted and looked up at the man she had so recently given herself to with her words, she knew now that he would take her in mind and body as well and a thrill ran through her. Haydar was surprisingly gentle as he undressed her. She did not resit him at all and revelled in his slow purposeful movements as he kissed each new area of flesh he uncovered and slowly stroked her his eyes drinking her in and making her feel desirable and adored. Her fingers trailed over his skin as he disrobed, marvelling at the contours of the muscles that played under the skin in his chest and rippled over his abdomen. Taking a rolled skin from his horse he lay it over the long, soft grass and drew her down beside him, rolling and pinning her to the soft skin. Their lips met in a first tentative kiss. Haydar seemed to be holding back still gaging her responses but Mowanna had given herself over to the feelings this man gave her. Wrapping her arms around his body kissed him harder and pulling him closer inviting him to enjoy her as a lover and make her his own. She felt an amazing power fill her as she lay there with him as if the earth itself sung to her. Having grown up with only sand at her feet and the hard rock of the sandstone cliffs on which the city of her home was built, the soft earth and green grass she lay on now seemed to energise her. Haydar moved over her, his arms moving to hold her still as he manoeuvred between her legs and thrust forward. Mowanna cried out as the barrier to her inner most depth put up a struggle to deter the intrusion but it was soon gone and the slow gentle movements of her lover eased the feel of losing her innocence to such a large and virile man. In time she began to move with him urging him, faster and deeper, wanting to feel all of it and marvelling that joining with another could feel so wonderful. Haydar too was full of wonderment. Rather than tiring or spilling his seed all too soon as he had with the earth maidens who welcomed young horsemen to their beds he seemed to gain energy from the woman below him. It was if the glass and the very air about them were charged with energy. Shining with perspiration and breathing raggedly it seemed like an age before Haydar groaned deeply and stiffened, thrusting hard into her and filling her with his seed. Haydar rolled from her but continued to hold Mowanna in a tight embrace. They lay spent in each other's arms, comfortable in the silence until sleep pulled them down into its murky darkness. In the morning they had woken and made love again as the sun crested the horizon. It was when they moved to the stream to bathe that it became apparent that the grasses around where they had laid down had flowered overnight. Surprised and pleased, Mowanna had gathered the flowers into a bouquet and as they rode back to his clan she threaded them into a circlet for her head and a lei for his neck. Happy in their own company they had ridden slowly, wanting to make these first moments together last. Mowana brought herself back from her memories and looked out of the door once more towards her small home. She smiled at the wild flowers that grew there; the buds from the flowers of that long ago time. Turning her face once more toward the trees and satisfied that the children were safe she turned back into the long house taking her basket to the store room keeping half of what she had gathered for the shared evening meal. Sitting alone to the side of the fire pit she began the preparation of the roots she had gathered, thinking once again of her husband and that first night of passion they had shared. ***** Akaton rode at the head of the column of hunters, his brother and second at his side. The hunt had been successful and they would not have to range far for some time. He did not like to trade with other realms since the incident with the sea people and he frowned remembering how the Lord of the sea people had thought them foolish enough to fall for his lies. There was little available wood for fires in the grasslands and raiding the forests of the southern and eastern realms had become fraught with danger. His clan had wanted the light spheres to conserve what little timber they had and to guide night travellers. "The storm comes too fast," Haydar muttered from beside the clan chief. Akaton grunted and spurred his horse forward to a gallop, the men in column behind matching his pace. The storms, he noted, had been getting worse each summer, without the greater numbers of storm-dancers to harness the power of the storms there was not much to stop them as they rolled in from the sea across the grasslands. The village came into sight as the storm hit and in the distance the men could see the children of the clan flee toward the long house as lightening lit the sky followed by the loud crack of thunder. It seemed as if the lightening was being drawn to the small of group children when it suddenly veered at a strange angle mid-air and crashed to earth with deafening noise and blinding light some way away. The men stood in the saddles and urged their horses to run as the children screamed in terror, frozen where they stood. The lone figure of a woman emerged from the long house and ran toward the children, separating the group she sent several running to the safety of the longhouse inspecting the ones she had in a small huddled group. Making quick decisions she sent them one by one back toward the long house. Left only with her own twin daughters and unable to separate them she ran with them to the shore of the small lake beside the village yelling instructions to them. Trallis: Summer Storm Dancer It seemed only yesterday that Mowana herself was a small girl standing with her feet buried in sand and willing her body to absorb the electricity of the storm and send it to the sand at her feet. She knew the process as she had been instructed along with her sister and she bent to help her girls remove their shoes as the lightning crashed around them. "Do not be frightened," she soothed, "Sometimes someone special comes along that calls to the bright hot light, it is special and it is a gift, nothing to be frightened of." She tried to reassure the trembling girls. The rain began to fall as Mowana instructed the girls in how to dance with the storm pulling the energy to them and directing it to the sand at their feet. Mowana's movements were graceful, learned from her early years of training and her daughters easily gained confidence mimicking the dance. The eyes of only one of the girls grew a vibrant blue, each loud crack of lightning seemed came from her hands as she clapped in time to the movements of the storm-dance sending large sparks of white hot light into the sand. The rain pelted down onto the grasslands and the lake distorting the image of the woman and the girls as they danced with the storm, but the flashes of light were unmistakable as the men rode down to the small lake. Issuing orders most of the men were sent to protect the clan, caring for the frightened horses, women and children. The storm was fast and furious, as quickly as it had hit, it seemed to be over. Within less than an hour it had petered out to a small rainy drizzle. Wet and exhausted Mowana and her daughters sank to the sand surrounded by a dozen small glowing balls of light. Boots crunched on the sand behind them and Mowana gathered her daughters protectively against her and looked fearfully at the clan chief and her husband. The chief bent over to pick up a ball, but the intense heat it radiated stopped him and he stood again looking back at the woman and the fearful girls. "Do not fear sea-witch we will not be sending you or your daughters back to your people," Akaton smiled. "This will be a blessing for our clan and open up a market for riches we have only dreamed of. I will have Jaen and Ahern gather the balls and bury them until the morn, they can be trusted." Haydar grunted and nodded his assent. "Take care of your family Haydar, I will send food to your home this evening. We will talk more of this, later." Akaton walked toward the long house without looking back. Haydar said nothing helping his wife to her feet and picking up Kerys who had slumped weakly in her mother's arms. Mowana helped Dana, the second of the twins, walk back up through the village to their home. Haydar settled the nearly unconscious girl into her bed and stroked the hair from her face, looking at her in wonder before bending his head to place a soft kiss on her forehead then standing and letting his wife see to the child. Picking up his other daughter he looked into her face noting the tiredness there but it was nothing like the near catatonic exhaustion that had seized the other. "How do you feel sweet child?" Haydar murmured as he pulled Dana close to his body in a fierce embrace. "I am fine father," the girl answered in a small voice, her head moving to view her sister as she lay in the bed they shared. "I don't know what happened," she whispered, "Why is Kerys not moving?" "It takes a lot of energy to dance like you did perhaps she used more. Did you feel the power of the storm when you danced Dana?" Haydar probed gently. "It was like Kerys had the storm lights in her hands when she clapped," Dana whispered, knowing that her hands had lacked the light and sparks of her sisters. "We mustn't tell anyone about your sister's hands or what happened. Not until we have talked about it. Do you understand me Dana?" Haydar looked at her seriously. "Yes father," the girl looked up at him equally seriously. "Good girl now look after your sister while I talk with mother," Haydar placed her on the bed beside her twin and smiled reassuringly as he took his wife's hand and moved away to the other side of the room. While silent and gruff when out in the village, Haydar was in fact a most attentive husband and father within their small home. He adored his wife and each of their children and had wanted nothing more than for the village to accept them as equals. He was at a loss tonight as to how to deal with this latest development. He had never imagined it possible that one of his own children could be a storm-dancer and he gathered his worried wife into his arms wanting to soothe her but at a loss himself. "You need to explain to me. I do not understand how this is possible," Haydar said quietly trying to keep the anxiousness from his voice. "The girls have come of age this summer. The storm was wild and called to Kerys, we could not have known or foretold that she would have a Storm-dancer's power. It is only in the summer storms that come from the sea that it manifests." Mowana looked up at her husband with tears in her eyes, "Don't let them take her away, Haydar. Please, don't let them, my baby." The door burst open and the couples older children rushed in. Rhys had run from the long house on hearing the news with his brother Baden hot on his heels. They looked around and saw Kerys lying unmoving on the bed and turned to their parents, "Is it true that she was hit by the storm light?" Rhys the younger of the two brothers had fear etched in his face. "Yes," Haydar replied, "She will live but will need her rest now." Mowana had looked up at her husband acknowledging that she realised this was the story Akaton had told the clan to explain their absence during the storm and from the evening meal in the long house. The brothers both carried baskets containing food from the shared meal of clan for their family and having been satisfied by their parents calmness in the face of such a terrifying occurrence went about setting the meal out. ***** As time went on, the storms that came from the sea grew in ferocity and the power of the storm-dance that Kerys held within her was, it seemed, the only thing that saved the village from destruction at times. Fact-finding parties had been sent out to the coast to discover the reason for the increased intensity in the storms that reached the grasslands. The news that returned was not well received by any, not only in their own realm but in the other realms as well. The lord of the sea people, Toka, had not treated the Storm-dancers with the respect they deserved working them to exhaustion so that their powers waned or worse, they expired and left this world for a better place. Children born with the power were being hidden by their parents or sent inland away from the cruelty that would be their fate if they came forward to be trained in how to use the power of the storm. Branded as runaways, rewards were offered for the return of the families who had left the coastal regions and Lord Toka continued to work those storm dancers he did have in his control to exhaustion. There were few left who could hold back the storms and create the artificial light so highly prized and valuable. Without out the pressures that the coastal storm-dancers lived with, Kerys grew into a beautiful young woman who took her place in the clan as a healer might. She did not think herself above any of the other women and her sweet nature ensured that any jealousies that arose within the village girls were soon quashed, usually with the help of the overprotective Dana. In fact it was easy for the clan to forget that there was anything special about the girl for most of the year, until the summer storms began again. Likewise, Dana grew into a sweet natured young woman who was happy for her sisters' successes and fiercely protective of her when out of spite and jealousy the other girls would tease and spread rumours about Kerys and generally about both twins. Like the people of the grassland both girls had long rich dark hair but rather than the deep brown tresses of the others, their hair, thanks to their mothers heritage, glinted with auburn hues which made them stand out from the other girls even more. Dana joined her sister down on the sand each summer evening and went through the motions of the dance with her even though she could not hold the power of the storm. The boys of the village avoided them, believing that both held the power to obliterate them with the power of the storm. It was the eighteenth summer for the girls, a time when they should be wedding a husband but none were brave enough to court the twins. Kerys turned to Dana and sighed, "Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live in a place where no one knew about the storm-dance, where I didn't live half the year fighting storms and taking to my bed." "But it is what makes you so special," Dana disagreed, "There is nothing special about me and still I am treated like a leper. At least you know you are valued, I am just... a lesser version of you." Kerys was horrified. Dana had always been her rock. She had always been there with a smile or a shoulder to cry on, so sensible, so caring so... Dana. Guilt crept over Kerys that she had never considered her sisters feelings about not having the power of the storm, so wrapped up in her own world she was. How had she not seen the lack of self-esteem so evident at this moment in her sister's face? This is the fourth summer we have been dancing in the storms why didn't you tell me you felt like this?" Kerys asked carefully. "There was always so much to do and learn and then summer would be here again and you would be exhausted and you needed me, didn't you?" Dana looked at her sister, "You do need me to help you right?" Kerys could see what little self-esteem Dana held tightly to, fading in her eyes as she realised Kerys could do it all alone if she needed to. "Oh Dana," Kerys hugged her quickly. "I couldn't survive without you to confide in and look after me and dance with and well, everything!" Pushing her sister away from her Kerys spoke seriously, "Have I honestly been such a bad sister that you don't know that? Have I truly never asked you how you felt before about everything? I am such a bitch that I never once considered you felt any different to me?" "You have had a lot to deal with," Dana said with a lop-sided smile. "I like doing all the things I do with you, truly I do, but you are the special one. It's you that has the power. I could disappear to explore other lands where there are no storms and no one would really mind. If you disappeared there would be a riot!" "Well I would riot if you went anywhere believe me, I need you. I don't care about anyone else and what they want or think, I love you and couldn't live without you," once again Kerys gathered her sister to her. "I'd miss you too," a deep voice sounded behind them and the girls turned in unison to see their brother walking toward them. "Hope you're not planning on disappearing on us, Dana, who else would make my bed the way I like it." He teased her with the chore she hated most. She imagined that during the early hours of the morning he purposely pulled all the sheets and blankets around so as to create the biggest tangle he could before getting up and leaving the mess for her to deal with. "Mother wants you back. A storm is brewing early today," he said glibly but the creases in his forehead told of his worry for the girls. Like his father, Rhys was a quiet gruff young man in the village. He rarely spoke outside of their family but he adored his little sisters and often found the time to spend teasing and talking with them. Their oldest brother Baden on the other hand was easy going and quite popular in the village despite his mixed heritage. He was loud and fun and enjoyed the typically boyish pursuits of hunting game and the clan girls. While their personalities were chalk and cheese they had been mistaken for twins themselves from time to time. Both very tall with dark curly hair their features resembled that of their father almost to a mirror aside of their hair. Dana stood and helped Kerys to her feet reminding her that she really had no right to complain as it was Kerys who worked so hard during the storm season. Rhys swooped down and picked up Kerys starting off at a light jog calling, "Race you home squeaker!" As if on cue Dana squeaked in surprise and ran after them. Looking up at the sky as she ran Dana could see the dark cloud racing over the horizon with brilliant flashes within. She wondered if her father would get back from the hunt before the storm hit and worried for him as finally out of breath she followed her siblings into their small home. Mowana had prepared two small plates of fruit and cheese with a sweet treat for dessert and they sat happily eating knowing they would probably miss dinner again tonight. Several merchants frequented the village in late summer and early winter now and the girls were not keen on being in the long house where they would fall under curious eyes. Their occasional appearances after previous absence made them conspicuous when suspicion about the extra light spheres the clan sold discreetly was always the source of rumour and debate. It was better to stay home and remain protected somewhat by their family which of course was why Rhys was not out on the hunt with his father and brother. Baden did not enjoy babysitting duty as he called it but Rhys knew how serious the safety of his sisters was. Raiding parties out of the coast looking for runaways had been spotted within a few leagues of the village and the perpetual slaver raids that occurred in every village from time to time were not to be taken lightly. While Rhys enjoyed the hunt, he would be lost without the girls and heart broken by the grief it would cause his parents, so more often than not it was he that stayed behind as Baden was unreliable at best. ***** The hunting party had strayed past the edge of the grasslands into the heavily forested hillside that marked the border between the horse lords and the mountain warriors. As if the mountain warriors of Stolle had known they were coming that way the horsemen had been ambushed and all but slaughtered. Baden and two of his friends had been at the rear of the pack and watched in stunned immobility as their clan was attacked. Haydar fought his way free and found his son screaming at him, "Run, return home! Protect the clan and your sisters!" Baden and his friends saw the arrow pierce Haydar's skull and protrude through his eye a moment before they wheeled their horses and rode from the forest at a run. They did not look back at the horror that had befallen the other men of their village hoping beyond hope that others would escape and make their way home. Arrows had whizzed past them, one collecting Joaquin who was slumped in his saddle and another hitting Baden in the shoulder. The horses ran as if they knew their own way slowing only when the storm hit and with terrified whinnies reared up at the crash of thunder that rolled over the grasslands unhindered. Seeing his companions fighting their horses as he was Baden rode close to Joaquin and took the reins of his horse signalling to Hohepa to follow. He found a small mound covered in scrubby grasses and low brush to shelter behind and pulled Joaquin from his saddle. An arrow had pierced his lower back and he had lost a lot of blood. With practised patience Hohepa removed the arrow and staunched the bleeding. Once they had settled their unconscious friend to a sheltered position, Hohepa went about removing the arrow from Baden's shoulder. Baden screamed out into the howling wind as the barbed shaft tore at his flesh and ripped the wound wider. The storm seemed to be easing, Baden said through gritted teeth, "Stay with Joaquin I need to make sure the girls survived the storm." "Rhys is there remember, he is the best of all of us at training. There is nothing more you can do tonight. Rest and we will tell our sad tale to the clan in the morning, when the three of us ride home together," Hohepa held Baden's blood covered shirt in an effort to restrain him. "Rest for a while at least, you are injured." In truth, Hohepa needed Baden to stay, he was scared, more so than he had ever been in his life and the tall lanky Baden like his father and brother was the warrior that Hohepa could only dream of being. Hohepa spent the rest of the storm-tossed night tending the wounds on his friends. His mother was a healer and he knew the ways of the body and wounds inflicted in battle. As a child he had learned his mother's craft as he had played around her feet. She was a strong-minded woman, refusing to let her son join the warriors and end up as one of the wounded she tended. She had held him back from starting his training and his friends had out-stripped him by the time the village chief had intervened on his behalf. It wouldn't have mattered Hohepa thought, he was not of the warrior breed, his thoughts did not tend to hunting and women. He looked over at Baden again who was fidgeting at his painful shoulder, he loved Baden in a way that warriors should not love one another. He was handsome and strong, the image of his friend working out at training came to Hohepa's mind and he sighed at the amount of times he had had to leave training to assuage his longing. He had built up over time the self-control required to be Baden's friend without embarrassing himself with the pubescent longing he endured. He felt guilt at keeping his friend from his family but surely Rhys who was stronger and tougher would handle any problems that came to light. Though the guilt at keeping his friend close crushed him and at the end of the storm he relented and agreed to try to make the way home in the dark. Baden grimaced and produced one of the spheres of light his sister created from his saddle bag he lit the path home for them. They rode into the village amongst wails of anguish from the crowd that had set a watch and turned to the long house to lament their loss. What the returning warriors could not have known was that the loss was greater than they ever imagined. Zira the spiteful wife of the village chief had been promised a new sphere from the girl's night's work in the storm which she had yet to receive. She had grown angry with each passing minute that the storm had raged for an extraordinarily long time and that the hunters had not returned to serve her needs. "Go see what those stupid bitches are doing down at the lake," she ordered two of the older men who acted as sentries on nights that the hunters returned late. A small time later thinking that the beautiful sea witch Mowana had kept the men dallying with her charm and grace, Zira had sent two more men to retrieve her prize and rebuke the women who made it possible. Moments later one of the men struggled back through the door gasping and clutching at his blood soaked jerkin, "Their dead, everyone is dead." The old hunters had rushed for their weapons and set up guards around the long house eventually fanning out to protect the village. So it was that the three young and injured hunters entered the long house to tell their tale of treachery and ambush. ***** Kerys and Dana had headed to the beach as soon as the storm announced its approach with a loud clap of thunder. Mowana and Rhys had followed shortly after. Removing their shoes and sinking into the sand the girls began to dance together oblivious the large band of mercenaries lining the lake shores to the north and south. The lightning sizzled across the sky and Kerys gathered it to her and pointed to a spot in the sand, the white hot sparks shot from her fingers and melded the sand into a ball of glowing light. Though focused on the storm Kerys laughed as Dana always threw strange movements into their dance that Kerys would be at peril to follow but delighted to see. The girls whirled into another movement as their mother joined them and Rhys sat upon the lake shore sand close by watching the entertainment and the obvious joy on the faces of his family as each ball presented itself. Trallis: Summer Storm Dancer It took him more time than it should have to notice the mercenaries and he cursed leaping to his feet trying to signal his mother but it was too late. At his startled movements the mercenaries screamed and charged. Rhys held himself ready trying to get into that place of peacefulness that was his ally in battle but his eyes held to his terrified sisters. Suddenly Kerys moved her hands directing the lightning at the attackers and Rhys found his peace in knowing she and she alone could protect her sister and mother better than he. When the fight came to him it was just as he had always practised in the training yard, over and over again, their swords were long and he stepped close to use his sabre and tire them with his quick movements, he felt that rare joy in battle of besting his enemy a moment before a sword sliced through his side. Still he fought on determinedly, uncaring of the world, unseeing of it outside the small circle he had created around him. One by one they fell as the lifeblood ebbed from him and he found he was on his knees unable to bear his own weight. Lightning crashed to the sand nearby and he looked up into the face of a madman and cried out to the wind that he had not been enough to protect them. He heard the anguished cries of his sister before all went black. Lightning sizzled the air and the man dealing the death stroke to the horse warrior was fried in an instant. Kerys screamed her rage and lightning rained down around the body of her fearless brother. She and Dana rushed to his side but it was too late; his eyes had glazed over and he was barely breathing. Standing defiantly back to back the girls looked for their mother, abandoned as Kerys had tried to save her brother, Mowana was being held with a blade to her throat. Kerys was grief stricken, Rhys lay dead at her feet and she knew that was her mother's fate as well. She could not save anyone and she took a different tack. Kerys yelled above the storm and looked to the man who had stepped forward showing that he was the one in charge. "Kill my mother as you killed my brother and you will seal your fate. We know it is me and my sister you want. We can do the storm-dance. We can bring you riches. She is nothing to you, kill her and I will never cooperate. Kill her and every storm out there has your name written on it in light. Kill my mother and you are doomed!" Dana was surprised. It was normally she that spoke out not Kerys but all she could see was Rhys lying in the sand beside her looking sightlessly up into the sky. It had not occurred to her that the storm had passed its peak and no more flashes of lightning lit the sky. Reaching behind her she clutched at Kerys hand giving her support as she spoke up again. "It may not be tonight but your face is written there and if you do not let me and my family go, you can be sure this summer's storms will be your last," her voice was hard and brittle and she squeezed Dana's hand hard enough to make her squeak in protest. A very low whisper, as if carried on the winds came to Dana's ears, "Squeaker, do not worry I will find you." Tears falling to her cheeks Dana looked down at her brother who had fought so valiantly against so many, believing him dead she wondered how he would never find her again. Kerys for once was glad that she was not as caught up in the emotions that plagued Dana and she calculated that of the man holding a knife to her mother's throat. He seemed uncertain and looked to his leader who had closed the gap between himself and the twins. "Kill her," the leader growled to the man holding Mowana, "and let's get out of here quickly, the storm has passed." In shocked silence the girl's watched their mother crumple to the sand and the remaining few men surround them. They were quickly subdued, bound to the bounty hunters mounts and taken from their clan. Several of the older guards had tried to stop the riders from leaving the village but they had been mown down and all the girls could do was close their eyes to block out the horror of the night. ***** Horrified by the news of the ambush, the evil Zira had blurted in her selfish anger, "Idiots! They were only supposed to kill Haydar and his brats." The village as one turned on her then and she was imprisoned within her own home, bruised and battered, to await the return of her husband and son from the Council of the Nine Realms. Baden, upon hearing the tale of what had happened in the village, had rushed out of the long house to the lake shore finding his mother murdered and his brother barely clinging to life, with no sign of his sisters he scoured the sand for evidence of their escape. He followed the trail realising they had been captured probably by slavers. Hohepa had followed him and knelt beside Rhys trying to staunch the bleeding knowing it was far too late to save the man but trying none the less. Baden carried his brother back from the beach and laid him in the long house, "Zira's petty jealousies have cost me my family tonight, my sisters have been taken, my mother and father are dead and my brother lies clinging to life. Should I ever return to this clan..." He left it hanging in the air with a pregnant pause, "Trust me it will be with retribution if I do not find my brother alive!" Baden stormed from the longhouse and took up the reigns of his horse following the wide trail left by the bounty hunters. Hohepa's mother rushed to where he knelt beside Rhys and looked at them both with worried eyes, "Bring him to our home, I will do what is needed." The woman hurried ahead of her son entering the home and banking up the fire pit that sat in the middle of the main room floor. She gathered together a variety of jars and bunches of dried herbs and she began to paint her face with ritualistic symbols. As Hohepa entered he realised she meant to dance with the spirits and turned pale. The old dark earth magic of the healers dance was rarely practised anymore as the toll it took on its practitioners was great and the peril to the one being healed was greater. "I will go get a kid," Hohepa mumbled after looking down at Rhys again. He knew his mother was taking the only path that could possibly save the man and he left the house looking in the direction he had seen Baden riding briefly before opening the goat pen and lifting a small kid from where it lay with its mother. The dance would be long and costly to more than just this kid, but he prayed they could save Rhys if for no other reason than his love of Baden and his hope that he would return soon to the village. He looked again in the direction Baden had gone and wished he had been brave enough to go with him. Baden meanwhile, raced with the moon, he had no idea how far behind the men who had abducted his sisters he was but he was determined to find them. "And then what?" He asked himself out loud acknowledging that Rhys was the better fighter of them and look what had happened to him. He needed to get to the council of the nine realms before the bounty hunters did and speak with Akaton or Lord Haef and gather the horsemen there. The grasslands were flat and for the most part treeless and Baden gave his horse free reign. As if sensing the urgency in his rider the large roan sped toward the wooded ridge at the edge of that bordered four of the nine realms of Trallis. Before the setting of the sun the following day Baden rode into the fair and sought out the tents of the horse lords. Finding only the guards there he ranted and raged in his need to find them and explain the situation but the guards took him into the tent and sent a runner to the council deliberations with the boy's message. Unable to be held back Baden burst from the tent and ran with the messenger into the council. Seeing his sisters chained and terrified he cried out, and leapt at the bounty hunter, "Is it not enough you killed my mother and brother now you must sell my sisters in chains?" The many men at arms in the tent rushed forward and prised Baden from the bounty hunters and held them apart while Ragnar stood and roared, "Barbarians! The horsemen continue to insult us with their lack of respect in council deliberations." "Sit down Ragnar," Iken said softly, "I for one would be genuinely interested to hear why this young man has seen fit to interrupt us and add to the story the girls have been weaving for us. Sit down Horse Lord," Iken appealed to Haef who had stood with his hand on his sabre ready to defend the young man and the honour of his clan. Camille the softly spoken Lady of the forest people spoke up, "I too would like to hear the boy's story. Release the boy so he can talk, he will make no more threats will you?" She smiled at Baden. Baden shrugged off his captors and took a step forward acknowledging Lady Camille with a slight tilt to his head before looking sadly at his sisters and moving to them before turning to address the assembled Lords and Ladies of the nine realms. In a steady unemotional voice he told his tale of treachery and betrayal leading to the ambush and slaughter of the men of his clan by the mountain warriors, of the bounty hunters equally callous slaughter of his mother and old men as they kidnapped his sisters and left his brother, the best of all of them, barely clinging to life. As more information came forth adding to the tale the girls had told there were gasps and cries from those gathered. Akaton looked ill, as he heard of his wife's treachery, he had known she was mean spirited and wracked with spiteful jealousy despite her rank within the clan but to do this, to plot his brothers murder in such a way as to cost them all of the warriors of the clan was just unfathomable in his mind, it could not possibly be true. Haef had listened intently, the boy had not raged at the mountain men but rather firmly laid the blame for what had happened at the feet of Zira and Akaton. He considered the young man and what the telling of that story as he did without crying for vengeance must have cost him internally but he had stayed to the facts and left his own great loss for all who heard it to judge for themselves. He found it difficult to blame the mountain warriors for his people had encroached into their forest and he knew what he must do. He stood and noticed Ragnar surge to his feet in readiness for his attack but he held up his hand and stilled the man. "I put no blame before you Ragnar," he said his voice steady, "The men were in your realm albeit only just, but the treachery for that ambush came from our own people and will be dealt with accordingly." Akaton had paled visibly, and although he wanted to rage at the Mountain Lord for the loss of his people he stayed silent plotting to seek his own revenge on the perpetrators of this massacre. Ragnar huffed and sat down conceding the floor of the council deliberations to the Horse Lord. "I feel in light of all of the events that we have heard tonight that to deprive this boy of his only living kin would be a travesty. The bounty hunters have done a mischief in killing their mother, an unarmed woman alone without her husband and their brother, a boy younger than the one sitting before us and their bounty in that light should be forfeit." "Killing unarmed women and young boys with practice swords is in itself a crime that should set a bounty upon your own heads," Lord Gabriel agreed in his deep rumbling voice. The people of stone were known to live strictly by the code of conduct that had brought about this council in its early days. The bounty hunters looked less sure of their own welcome within the council at that point and took a step backwards finding the exit guarded. "Perhaps Lord Gabriel , as your tent is closest to the council you could offer this small family some refreshment and rest while we deliberate on their stories. I am sure no one would object to his knights of stone guarding the trio?" It was once again Camille who spoke softly and looked around the room to gauge the assent. Haef had agreed but he stood and approached Baden and his sisters as they were being herded away, "Do not let your youthful rashness take hold, should you run they will take the girls for sure, but give me time and I will do my best to see you are all returned home, together." Baden said nothing, just nodding and walking away under armed escort the two girls clinging to him. The debate had raged through the night with the leaders of each clan expressing their own views. Rather than receiving a reward the bounty hunters were freed on the understanding that should they ever be found in the grasslands again their lives would be forfeit. As to what would be best for the storm-dancer and her sister, the leaders could not agree. It was the mischievous and perpetually bored Lord Nadra who finally grumbled, "Let her spend the summer with Toka and the rest of the year at home on the grasslands. Now can I have another drink before I lose what's left of my mind listening to you all grumble about one scrawny woman?" He waved his empty goblet about hoping to catch the attention of one of the attendants holding the wine that came from the people of the Great Lakes Realm. "That might actually work," Iken said rubbing his brow, "and satisfy both the Storm-dancers Pact we have and the moral compass some of us have that is inclined to keep what is left of the small family together." ***** The summer of their twenty-first year Dana had travelled with Rhys and Hohepa to escort Kerys back to their clan. Dana was helping Kerys organise her few belongings when she noticed, Kerys sitting on the bed watching her with an odd melancholy expression. Going to sit with her Dana took her hand, "Tell me what it is, you know I can tell when something is not right with you." "I am not coming home with you," Kerys said suddenly. "I am happy here, I have a place here. I am not treated like a freak here." There was sorrow in her eyes again as she looked at Dana's shocked expression. Dana said nothing her emotions tumbling. Her whole life had been about looking after Kerys what would she do if Kerys left her. "I want you and Rhys and Baden to have the lives you deserve, get married and have babies," she grinned at Dana knowing that was a dream of hers. "I know you want to move away from the nasty whispers of the village idiots, go with Baden to Lord Haef's clan where you can just be a normal girl and find a husband who loves your sweetness and beauty." She hugged Dana fiercely, "I want that for you and I think I have found that here... For me." "You're in love?" Dana looked up at her sister who had produced a goofy smile with her admission and nodded. Despite her concerns for her own future Dana was truly happy for Kerys and hugged her in return. "Can I meet him before I have to leave?" "You know him silly," Kerys grinned and Dana's eyes widened, Keharn, her friend from the storm-dancer's guild had almost been inseparable from Kerys all summer and the summer before, yet it had never occurred to her until now that he may look at Kerys any differently from the men of their own village, who looked at her with worried eyes that she might blow them up if they got close to her, like she did to the men on the beach the night her mother died. Dana put on a brave face, since the council became involved in the hunting of storm-dancers that night three years before, questions were raised about the treatment of the storm-dancers and what they would be sending the girl to if they gave her to the Lord of the seas. Several diplomats from four of the nine realms had set up residence in the main coastal town and helped the dancers to create the storm-dancers guild. This helped to end the bondage that storm-dancers were forced into and they began to live as the other people of the sea clan. They worked hard but were just as equally cared for by physicians and trainers, so that the frequent loss of life from exhaustion and mistreatment no longer occurred. Dana wanted Kerys to be happy and she laughed with her as she spoke about the man she had fallen in love with during her summers here. "You could stay here too if you wanted, you know," Kerys said softly, "I won't ask you to because I know you are not happy here, but you could grow to like it." "You will be well looked after I am sure. You don't need me anymore to watch over you. I will go home with Rhys, he is healed but I feel he still needs someone who will let him look after them," Dana smiled. "Oh, Dana. Find what you want to do, what will make you happy! Do not worry about me or Rhys or Baden anymore. What is it you want?" Kerys took her sister by the shoulders and looked into her eyes seeing the lost look there. Rhys walked into the room and smiled, "Unpack again squeaker, seems we will be staying another week or two to watch the princess get married." Kerys squealed in delight and jumped on Rhys hugging him tightly. "I don't know that Baden would approve," Rhys said thoughtfully, "But he isn't here to disapprove." His grin was infectious. Baden had fast become a valuable member of Lord Haef's inner circle and was often away from the clan so it had fallen to Rhys, who had over time regained his health and strength under the watchful eyes and medicines of both Hohepa and his mother, to accompany his sisters to the coast. He hoped he was doing the right thing for everybody but as he looked at Dana's face as he hugged Kerys back he could see the pain this separation would cause her floating just under the surface. He loved his sister's sweet disposition, Dana could have been jealous and spiteful towards Kerys but instead she was protective and considerate, she could have been self-pitying and sullen but she smiled and danced with her sister for the joy of dancing. She was the most beautiful of women inside and out. The following days went by too fast for Dana who had been swept up into the frenzied planning of Kerys's wedding. Keharn as it turned out was the nephew of Lord Toka and the wedding itself became a big affair with dignitaries from several realms all making the journey to the coastal realm of Solaris. There were numerous banquets and occasions to attend and by the fourth day Dana, who was more at home in their small clan, needed to escape the festivities and wandered from the banquet hall out onto the great sea wall. It was here, that Dana had spent many summer nights watching her sister dance below on the sand with the other storm-dancers wishing once again that she could join them as she used to join her sister and mother down by the lake. Everything she had known from the age of fifteen was being taken from her and she once again found herself wondering what would become of her. A figure appeared beside her and she squeaked in fright, backing away slightly. "No need to be afraid of me little mouse," the mountain warrior smiled. "I just came out of the stuffy hall to get some fresh air and thought you may have felt the same need. Perhaps we could walk together, my intentions are honourable I assure you. There is nothing to be afraid of." They walked and talked in the fresh sea breeze, he had thought to find a kindred spirit in the sister of Kerys. But she was not resentful at being the lesser of two siblings like himself, instead she spoke with love and deep affection for her sister and her well known brothers. Since the council of the nine realms three years earlier tales of the brothers heroism and the girls plight had been told over and over again. The tale eventually picked up by minstrels until it was distorted all out of reality, or so some thought. Dana herself became not more than a footnote in the tale as the sister of a storm-dancer, not even her beauty was added to the tales and as he looked at her it shone from her that she was as graceful as a swan princess from fables themselves. Trallis: Summer Storm Dancer "I am Gerahn of Stolle, second and most unimportant son of Lord Ragnar," He introduced himself formally. Dana stepped further away from him knowing the fate of her father and so many of the men of her clan at the hands of Warriors from Stolle. He saw her step back and almost cringe from him and even though he knew the tales the true reason of her dislike did not occur to him rather he took it as rejection and a slight to him personally. Looking around for others party-goers walking on the wall and seeing none his hand lashed out to grab the girl by the arm and pull her close to him. She did not scream as others might have but rather squeaked in surprise and that angered him all the more. "So a second son is not good enough to walk with the sister of a storm-dancer," he snarled. "Without her you are nothing but the daughter of a criminal executed for poaching on Stolle lands," his low voice rang in her ears though it was hardly above a whisper. She inwardly cringed at his version of the fate of her father, but she knew that he was right about her being a nobody now and tears formed unbidden in her eyes as she looked away from him turning her head as much as she could in the strong grip that held her to him. Seeing what he believed was yet another sign of her rejection of him by the beautiful girl he pushed her from him and started toward her in a menacing way ready to make her show him the proper respect due to the son of a lord, when he noticed a shadowy figure moving towards their place upon the wall. Leaning over her to help her back to her feet he growled in her ear and turned her to the wall where they stood side by side his arm seemingly supporting her but in reality holding her in place. Baden jogged down the walkway smiling. "Dana! I arrive in town and you are nowhere to be seen. We have been looking for you. Rhys was worried, come back inside and join the festivities," he encouraged Dana, all but ignoring Gerahn whom he had already met and disliked immensely. Trying to not let it show he turned to the man and inquired, "You don't mind if Dana returns to her sister's festivities do you?" "Of course and I shall walk back with you," Gerahn said magnanimously to Dana equally ignoring the horseman. Dana smiled brightly having practiced the forced smile all week and walked silently between the two men back to the banquet hall. Once inside Dana hugged Baden tightly. She told him how very glad she was that he had made it in time and when she looked around Gerahn was gone. Dana stayed close to her family for the rest of the evening and allowed herself to be escorted back to the house of her aunt at the end of the evenings events. She had no wish to encounter Gerahn of Stolle again. Kerys was in heaven, so in love and enamoured of her new husband she believed that all the world was as happy as she and danced her way through the week up until her wedding. She chose to believe the bright smile on Dana's face as she excitedly spoke of her wedding day plans and the feast to follow and after years of dancing in secret she could finally embrace who she truly was. "It was," she told Dana, "the most remarkable summer in the entire history of the world!" Dana had hidden her sadness and fears dancing and laughing with her sister as they had when they were younger. For her though, the last several summers had been the worst of the seasons for they took her sister from her and now they would be separated forever. She wondered how her mother had coped with leaving her sister but remembered the story of how deeply in love she had fallen with the horseman she had eventually married. She sighed deeply, no one would ever lover her like that, she was nobody without Kerys, there would be no great romance in her life. The wedding was as beautiful as Kerys had wished it to be and Dana had let herself cry, smiling crookedly at anyone who inquired and waving it off as tears of joy for her sister. It was their final parting and Dana felt as though half of her being was being ripped away. After the feast the happy couple had rowed out to a small islet to enjoy their first nights together alone and Dana had returned to the small room that she had been given in her aunt's house and thrown herself on the bed weeping silently for her loss knowing that the summer sun would never shine as brightly for her again. ***** Dana had cried herself to sleep and believing Rhys or Baden had come to check on her she barely opened her eyes when she heard footsteps enter her room. It wasn't until a hand wrapped around her mouth and another pulled one arm behind her back that her eyes flared open seeing only a dark figure behind her in the dim moonlight. Blindfolded and gagged Dana tried to struggle but the man sat straddling her legs as he bound her hands and feet. Picking her up he carried her from the house and all she could do was make muffled cries in an attempt to help herself. "If you continue with that noise you will not only harm yourself but kill any would-be rescuers," a voice she knew whispered in her ear and she froze into stunned silence. Outside of the house she was dumped unceremoniously into a market cart and covered with rough hessian sacks. She was hauled to another section of the city and finally pulled from the cart into a windowless room and thrown to a small bed still bound, gagged and blindfolded, the voice spoke in anger at her. "Still think you are too good for the second son of a lord?" The voice sneered. "No one noticed or cared about you tonight, it was almost too easy to find you and take you from the people who are meant to protect you. You are just like me, the second borne useless and overlooked by those you love." Dana curled into a ball and shook her head, she knew it wasn't true. Rhys would come look for her in the morning, Baden would ask where she was, Kerys........ was gone now. Once again Dana let herself cry and admit the truth of his words. He took the blindfold for her letting her confirm his identity and stood over her smiling as she blinked tears from her eyes. Gerahn of Stolle, gloated that he had taken what he desired with no difficulty or need for fighting. The girl crying on the bed was one of the most beautiful he had ever seen, so different from the pale girls of his own realm she seemed so colourful and full of life. His desire for the young woman over came and he advanced on her as she flinched away making him snarl, "You are mine now. You don't have to love me but you will realise that I am your better, your lord and master." Rolling Dana to her stomach, Gerahn raised her hips and pulled her back towards the edge of the bed. Pushing the dress up over her hips he tore at the flimsy underwear she wore and began to thrust into her battering at the thin membrane that marked her as a virgin. Rather than disturbing him the muffled cries excited him and he dug his fingers into her flesh as he held her bound body in place before him forcing her to give way to his dark desire. On the small islet in the bay Kerys was embraced by the arms of her new husband and cried out in joy, tears staining her face as she gave her husband what was rightfully his. For each of the twins in that moment the pain of the first sexual experience exploded into a howl that was carried on the wind blowing in from the sea and echoing around the sandstone city. Rhys roused from his sleep with a sense of foreboding he couldn't name and stood going to the window to look out into the night. Dawn was still hours away, unsettled he went back to bed to toss restlessly until the morning. The morning sun broke the horizon and as the sky lit up Rhys had woken Badon early, still unsettled from the howling wind that had woken him through the night and together they went to find Dana and begin preparations for their journey home. The home of their aunt stood empty with the door wide open. Confused they began to search the small city inquiring of the street merchants and eventually finding their aunt on the sea wall. Grief was etched in her face as an officer of the watch spoke with her. The brothers stood immobile with frozen looks of horror on their faces as they were informed a young woman matching Dana's description had fallen from the wall just prior to dawn. As no other women had been reported as missing and the body having been washed out to sea had not been recovered they had no choice to assume it was indeed their sister. Kerys smiled into the face of the man she loved and kissed him lightly as he continued to sleep. She was truly happy but a she shivered with a sense that all was not right and was not surprised when sand crunched under the feet of an approaching interloper. She shook Keharn awake and pulled the light cover up to hide her own nakedness and a voice called to alert them of an urgent message. Keharn had met with the messenger briefly before returning to their shelter and held his new wife tightly as he delivered the news of Dana's fate. "No!" Kerys had said in denial, "I would know, I would feel it. I would..." her voice trailed off. "It isn't true Keharn, we must go back and find her. I know it's not true!" Dana had not slept at all. She had suffered multiple attacks from Gerahn both physically and verbally and as the morning dawn she found herself packed into a large crate cocooned by blankets. The gag had been partially loosened so she could drink from a straw and she gratefully sucked down the clear cool water before the lid of her prison was nailed shut. Her thoughts stretched out to her sister wishing for the comfort of her closeness as she had had the last time they had been taken from their family by force. The tears began to roll down her face knowing she would never see Kerys again. The warriors of Stolle moved through the city gates at a slow pace, the wagons were checked over and Dana lay in her soft prison unable to make enough noise to alert anyone that she was within the crate. She could hear snippets of the muffled conversation, there was a funeral, someone important , the newlywed couple, Gerahn laughing that the Horse lords would not want the mountain warriors at their funeral procession. Dana froze. "Funeral for who?" she asked herself and struggled harder in her bondage to alert someone she was there. A moment later the wagon rolled out from the city and she cried hard until she finally slept, giving herself over to her fate. She knew she would be taken to the snow-capped mountains of the south and never again enjoy the hot summer sun and dancing in the summer storms with her sister. For her only cold dark winters awaited her. Her dreams were full of horrifying images of snow beasts and members of her family frozen in death and no matter how often her dream-self looked up at the sky the summer sun was nowhere to be seen.