Though Gewey may have not noticed her beauty before, he certainly did now. She had changed into a white, silk dress, though much the same fashion as the one she wore before. It flowed with her movements, wrapping itself playfully around her obvious curves as she moved. Her hair was tied in a loose braid, intertwined with thin white strands of shimmering cloth.
“I thought this may be a bit more appropriate,” she said. She held her shapely arms wide and spun around. “What would you say?”
He felt his face grow hot with embarrassment. “I…”
“Perhaps not.” With a wry smile, she took another step forward. “I brought nothing else, other than a set of cotton trousers and tunic. The rest of my attire is on my ship.”
“How did you…” he stammered. “I mean…last night.”
“Oh, that was nothing,” she replied, stepping closer. “I only wanted to see your mind for myself. A selfish thing, I admit. But I could not resist the chance to connect with Shivis Mol.”
“Kaylia. She-,”
“Kaylia knows nothing of it,” said Aaliyah. “It was simple to occupy her thoughts. I…encouraged her to dream of you. It was easy. She loves you deeply.”
The mention of Kaylia's love for him, steadied his nerve. “And I love her.”
“Well, of course, you do.” She sounded understanding in the way of a mother to a child. “But then you are quite young. And your bond with her makes your feelings infinitely stronger.” Slowly her face saddened. Gewey suddenly wanted to approach her. To comfort her. But he resisted. “I was bonded once. Long ago.”
Gewey's heart ached to see her pain. “What happened?”
She sighed deeply. “He died.”
“Then how do you still live?” he asked. “I thought that once bonded, your lives are as one.”
This shook her out of her melancholy and she laughed softly. “Perhaps for the elves in this world that is true. They have forgotten how to use their power. The bond between mates is strong, but not unbreakable. One need not lose themselves should the other die.” She glanced behind her. She could see the pavilion. “A pity. The bond makes you stronger. We could have saved more if they all had a mate's strength to share. But I suppose it is to be expected that they do not bond, if the risk is death.” She tilted her head and smiled. “Perhaps that is yet another thing we can teach them.”
Gewey saw Kaylia approaching in the distance. “I should go.” He didn't wait for a response. He edged his way pass her. She did not move to ease his passing, forcing their shoulders to touch.
As he neared Kaylia, he could clearly see that she was not pleased.
“What did she want?” asked Kaylia.
“Nothing,” Gewey replied. “She asked if what she was wearing was appropriate for the funeral rites.”
Kaylia shot a stare at Aaliyah, who was still standing between the tents. “Is that so?” She took Gewey's hand. “Come. We need to eat.”
Gewey allowed Kaylia to lead him back to their bedrolls. A bowl of steaming porridge and a cup of new wine had been place on the ground for him. After he finished, Kaylia, Linis and Theopolou walked with him to the funeral pyres. The gathering was already well underway. The pyres had been encircled by the elves, just as Gewey had seen Linis and his seekers do during the funeral of Berathis. Aaliyah, Nehrutu, and Mohanisi stood beside Kaylia on his right. Linis, Theopolou, and the remaining elders were to his left. Those wounded who could do so, had made their way from the pavilion, unwilling to remain in bed during the rites of their dead brethren. The ceremony was long, lasting well into the afternoon. Elf after elf stood forward to say words about their fallen comrades. After all had spoken the fires were lit. So many that the heat caused Gewey to break into a sweat. Finally, it was over and the crowd solemnly dispersed. Most eyes were still swollen with tears.
Gewey, Linis, and Kaylia returned to their bedrolls, while Theopolou instructed everyone to gather an hour before sundown to hear Aaliyah and her companions speak.
Gewey spent the next few hours in light conversation with Kaylia. He wondered what had become of Lee, Dina, Millet, and Maybell. He missed his friends, especially Lee. Linis searched the area for signs of what had become of his seekers, but returned disappointed.
When the time came, they made their way across the field in front of the pavilion. Most of the elves had already assembled. Aaliyah, Nehrutu, and Mohanisi, were standing on a small platform and facing away from the pavilion. The beds of those who could be moved had been pulled close to the edge so they could hear.
Aaliyah had changed back into her red dress. She spotted Gewey as he approached and smiled. Gewey smiled back in spite of himself. Theopolou, Chiron, Bellisia, and the other elders stood just in front of the platform.
“I'd rather stay to the back,” said Gewey.
“You can't,” said Kaylia. “I have a feeling that whatever they say will concern you.”
Gewey opened his mouth to speak, but Kaylia took his hand and half dragged him through the crowd, urging him to stand next to Theopolou. Linis stood just behind him.
The moment he arrived, Aaliyah nodded to her companions and stepped forward. “Brothers and sisters.” Her voice echoed over the field with such tremendous volume that the gathering jumped. “By now you have heard of our arrival and from where we have come. Some may have doubt. Those who do not may question our motives. To this I can only say that I speak truth, and that there is no deception in my words.” She paused and looked over the crowd. Her eyes bore the look of intense sadness.
“Many lifetimes ago, our people journeyed across the Great Sureshi, or what you know as the Western Abyss, and settled this land. We lived and prospered for generations, and for generations we came to see this land as our own. But this was not so. For this land belonged to another people. This land first belonged to the humans.”
This caused the elves to stir.
Aaliyah held out her hand to still the crowd. “I know how many of you feel about the humans. And I know that many believe you have reason to hate them. But what you do not know is that it was we who first sinned against them. The humans were already here when we arrived. But they were not as you know them today. Mere children they were. Savage children, nomadic hunters and gatherers. We brought to them our ways, and our learning. We taught them to build, to farm, to live as a community. But in the end we did these things for our own purposes.
“In the end we subjugated the humans. We turned them into little more than a slave race, born to serve our needs.” She stepped down from the platform and stood in front of Gewey, staring deeply into his eyes. “It was not until the Gods showed us the error of our ways, did we realize what we had done. But by then, it was too late.”
She broke her gaze and looked back at her friends then back to the gathering. “The Gods created the Great Barrier, and destroyed any hope to contact our people beyond. Any who tried to cross perished. For thousands of years we have kept watch, praying for the day we could return to you. Nineteen years ago the Great Barrier disappeared, and now we have come.” She stepped back onto the platform. “My brothers and I have lived our lives with the knowledge of the sins of the elves, and the price we have paid…the price you have paid. But now, we are here to help you regain what you have lost…and to undo the wrongs of our forefathers.” She closed her eyes and bowed her head. The only sound was a soft breeze stirring the tents and pavilion.
Theopolou was the first to speak. “You say that you have been able to come here for nearly twenty years. Why have you waited so long? Why have you not revealed yourselves before now?”
Aaliyah opened her eyes and sighed. “We could not know what had become of you. The humans had clearly taken control of this land. We sent scouts to gain information. What we found was that you had become…different. You have changed from the people you once were. To us, you had become more like the humans. We were uncertain what to do.”
This caused angry shouts and curses.
“Then why now?” asked Bellisia.
“Because of him.” She pointed dramatically at Gewey. “When we discovered the coming of Shivis Mol, we knew we must act.” She said this as though it was an obvious truth. Her eyes fell on the wounded in the pavilion. “But it is clear we should have acted sooner.”
“How did you know about Gewey?” asked Theopolou. “We have only just discovered it ourselves.”
“We were given a prophecy when the Great Barrier appeared,” Aaliyah replied. “It says that a God bound to earth will come to show us the way to the Creator. He will wash away our sins and reunite us with our people. We
