In the darkness of the moonless night, Amilie lay on a hand woven, multicolored flax mat. Her hair had been fanned out behind her, with slightly wilted wildflowers strewn over it. A circle of rotten smelling plant cuttings whose brown fronds seemed dead lay around her, leaving only about an inch of space all the way around the mat's edges. The brightly painted clay bowl that still smelled of the honey and darkeye mixture sat just to the left of her. On her right, with her right hand placed into it, was a bowl full of swampy mud that a group of adventuring Firebirds brought back from the border of the swamp. Deadriver had requested that they go to the center of the area, but wasn't surprised when they came back sheepishly; he'd simply blessed what they'd brought back, saying it would remind Amilie of her heartland anyway.
On the outside of the circle, Fairwillow, Udala, Snakesoul, and Steeleye- accompanied by his half-Elf partner, Refuge- helped people to arrange themselves in comfortable seating positions around her. Oakarm, his staff held comfortably behind him by a leather holster that he'd made himself, ran to and fro, carrying messages between them and Deadriver, who was busy counting everyone to make sure that everyone had made it. Some of the congregants had already begun chewing herbs, crushing mushrooms, or inhaling various mists while they waited, so that they had to be physically taken hold of and moved wherever they needed to go. Udala rolled her eyes at what seemed to be carelessness to her, but had learned better than to make any snide comments about it.
"Welcome, my brothers and sisters, into this space," Deadriver encouraged as he moved through the edges of the crowd. "A place of trust, of love, of change, and of great joy. You gotta come up outta the valleys, come down outta the mountains; come out from in the forests, come on in from the deeps of the ocean. My brothers and my sisters, you got to get down with your sweet swamp sister, a'layin' here awaitin' your energy, now. I said, reach out to her. You gotta reach out, and radiate. You gotta let her feel her way to us, oh yes; you got to put yourselves here now, here, where you can be found, my brothers and my sisters."
Udala, who had been shepherded toward the front by a focused and patient Snakesoul, looked behind her. Arms- bronzed, pale, slender, muscular, scarred, wrinkled, mottled, and young- all reached up and toward the circle that lay beyond their reach. Snakesoul looked over her shoulder to watch Udala watching the others. Gently, so that her touch was neither resisted nor denied, she placed her hand on the Halfling's upper arm and let it wait there until Udala looked at her.
"Don't be afraid," she whispered, the tips of her fangs showing as she smiled gently. "We put her out there; it's on us to get her back. Isn't that what you would have told us to do, had we warned you beforehand?"
And the Halfling had to nod. That had been exactly what she'd thought of the whole situation.
Meanwhile, Deadriver had worked himself into a tone worthy of an outdoor Pelorian prophet. "Yeah, you got to open your hearts, my brothers and my sisters. Open your hearts and your minds, and let the vibrations of all the planes come on in. Yeah, 'cause when they come in, my brothers and my sisters, when they come on in, yeah, they are gonna pick up our sister here, now, they are gonna wrap her in their embrace now. They are gonna speak from her mouth, oh yeah, I said they are gonna speak to us, and to her now. Right here, my brothers and my sisters; they are gonna make this ground holy. Yeah, I said holy now. Like the sun and the moon, now, the rain and the wind, oh yeah, like the fire and the smoke, yeah now, and the cloud and the thunder."
As Deadriver spoke, he continued his approach toward the circle, along with Fairwillow, who had begun walking just behind him since he caught up to where she had been still seating people. While the pair were still a good distance away from where Snakesoul and Udala had stopped, Steeleye whipped himself around as though he'd been jabbed in the back with a hot poker, thoroughly surprising Refuge.
"Hey, Deadriver, lil' sis is comin' 'round early!" the Dwarf hollered. He turned back to try to make his way toward the circle, only to have Refuge wrap a preventative arm around his waist.
"Let 'er go then; she ain't gonna hurt nobody," the Eladrin replied, using one of his dreadlocks to wrap the others up. "We're gonna hafta catch up, that's all."
Udala, close enough to hear the holler but too far to hear what the hollering was about, grit her teeth in the effort not to continue to appear nervous. She was, however, and had been since she'd discovered that the reason Amilie had not come back to her bedroll the night before was because she'd been left on a what the Firebirds called a "dancing floor"- an extremely fancy term, in her opinion, for a section of open field between the swamp and the Hullack Forest where you leave someone that you drugged, ringed by awful-smelling herbs.
In the silence that Deadriver's pause left, a hum began to arise from Amilie- at first, the tune was awkward and dissonant, but as it continued, it began to gain melody and a recognizable cadence. Those who had already been seated close enough to Amilie to hear it began very quietly patting time.
"She ain't waitin' for us; she's gonna go," Steeleye warned Deadriver again, as Refuge began simply flapping his hands at the people in front of him to indicate that they ought to just seat themselves. "I'm goin' up 'n get 'er, 'fore she just goes on and leaves us, hear?"
"G'wan up," Deadriver laughed. "You're the guide; g'wan up and make sure we're with her."
"Yeah," Steeleye replied gruffly as he made his way to the circle made of plant cuttings. He slowed his steps as he approached it, not wanting to disturb the clearly identifiable verses and refrains to what was rapidly becoming a full-fledged song. Refuge moved carefully behind him, even less willing to disturb the reverie than his beloved. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a few people begin swaying.
"You know," he called down to Deadriver, "Mountain sister's gonna wanna come get her wife."
No one had to tell Udala twice. The Halfling, who'd brought her cane more for the fondness of it than for an actual necessity, easily stepped away from Snakesoul in order to get toward the circle. Refuge caught up to Steeleye, who had stopped just outside the circle, and took hold of his shoulder; upon noticing Udala's approach, he turned and reached out his other hand.
"C'mon; come feel this," he urged. "Your wife's doing something in there."
Udala took a few tentative steps forward, then heard the humming for herself. "It's a spell; she sings all her spells," she replied, although once her voice hit the open evening air, she knew she'd spoken too quietly to be heard. It couldn't have been avoided; the closer she got to the circle, the more she felt pressed by some force she couldn't understand. It wasn't physically uncomfortable, no stronger than the pressure one feels when they are swimming deep underwater; the uncomfortable part was feeling that while moving through nothing thicker than air.
"C'mon mama, you scared?" Steeleye charged suddenly, waking Udala to the realization that she'd stopped moving forward. "Don't hear you walkin' no more; what, you stopped?"
Udala watched Amilie's right hand begin stirring, making the bowl full of swamp earth and water move. Swirls of natural brown and green were joined by an inexplicable, bright ethereal blue, as though whatever spell Amilie was working on was radiating light through her fingertips.
Deadriver, who had by that time moved close enough to the circle to catch the tune of the humming from the others who had begun humming along, immediately turned around to relate the tune and its beat to those farther away. Snakesoul raised an eyebrow at him as he passed by her, but allowed him to go by without remark. A quiet chant of encouragement began arising from the back of the assembly, who could hear the beat more clearly than the tune itself. Deadriver bent at the hips and crouched slightly as he kept moving between the people, flapping his spread arms slowly. Counter-rhythms that complemented the original beat sparked in different places in the gathering.
Udala, who hadn't moved a single step farther forward, closed her eyes. Steeleye turned his head over his shoulder to say something else to her, but, feeling a single finger from Refuge on his lips, decided against it. Snakesoul gave Fairwillow a small beckoning gesture, and with a nod to Deadriver, the latter moved back toward the circle to stand on the opposite side of Udala from Snakesoul. Together, the two began stepping in time to the beat that had been created, sending very slight tremors through the ground under Udala's feet.
"I want to hold her hand- her other hand?" Udala said suddenly. "I just want to hold her hand right now. That's all."
"Okay," Fairwillow soothed easily. "Come with me; I'll take you there."
"Is Snakes coming?"
Snakesoul only answered by putting her cold hand very gently under Udala's left hand. The Halfling closed her hand over the vampire's, then reached out her hand for Fairwillow to take. With the rising tide of sound all around her and the women, who were each over five feet tall, on either side of her, Udala- for once- actually felt small. She took a deep breath, lifted her head, and began moving forward.
"That's better," Steeleye encouraged. "Now watch yourself; she ain't doin' nothin' but gettin' stronger in there. You get close, you gonna feel it, mebbe even through the ground, 'fore you even get here."
"She's already got it," Fairwillow replied. "She had it from where she was; just wants more. Here- pick her hand up- that's right. Now just-"
Udala never heard the end of the sentence. The moment the center palm flesh of Amilie's warm, soft hand hit hers, a song more beautiful than any she'd ever heard crashed over her. Her eyes squeezed shut at once. Behind their lids, she somehow saw slowly rising mist that eddied and swirled in places. From some great distance, Amilie's voice actually gave words to the song that had fully manifested in flutes, pan pipes, and the joined voices of all the Firebirds.
You're the fire all stones must bleed
You're the zephyr under the sea
You are nothing
Nothing
Nothing
If not me
If not me
The persistent Lead on, now sister, lead on, mama; Lead on, now sister; lead on, mama from the Firebirds surrounded Udala completely. Sharp claps somehow manifested as bright flashes of light that illuminated the mist so that the Halfling could see towering trees, and recognizable figures between them.
Your bones roar till my walls come down
My eyes make your heart softer ground
There is no one
No one
No one
But us now
Just us now
Although Udala wasn't conscious of moving anywhere, the trees in the world behind her eyelids had gotten closer and closer, so that she could no longer see their crowns unless she looked up. Between and around the majestic trunks danced identifiable Halfling figures, no longer partially and temporarily outlined by the sudden flashes of light, but instead constantly illuminated by what seemed to be a solid beacon of soft blue glow. Other figures either stood still or swayed, but all seemed fully absorbed in the music and the moment. As soon as Udala had gotten close enough to realize that the beacon had a shape of its own, one of the Halfling figures turned toward Udala.
In the center of the fire
Where the heat's as blue as water
Is the wellspring of your mana
And the song of your foremother.
You can echo back our image
What we started you can finish
You weren't born a pretty princess
But to show these folk what strength is.
Where
You find it breaking, don't you ever bend;
Where
All of the edges are, don't let it end.
Like the flowing of the fountains
From the mightiest of mountains
Just remember your foundations
And your words will shape the nations.
Udala could finally tell that the source of the bioluminescence, which had before seemed like a solid, cylindrical core, was Amilie herself. Just as this realization broke upon her, Amilie turned around and smiled. Looking back toward the Halfling figure, with Amilie's light thrown on its once shadowy form, was like looking into a mirror. In the soft blue light, Udala could identify the wide, high forehead, the snub nose, and the rosy, healthy cheeks. The figure smiled at Udala, then turned to take both of Amilie's hands. Udala got the irresistible urge to back away, but the Halfling who had joined the two women raised an eyebrow at her. Amilie's smile got a bit wider as she leaned forward to take both of Udala's elbows.
My hero, came her thought, as solidly as if she'd actually spoken. I'm glad you're here.
These people- they're Ghostwise, Udala wondered, feeling awed, surprised, and frightened all at once. The Elves drove them all-
They came for you, Amilie replied. These are your spirits. They came with mine- look.
In the natural brightness of Amilie's self, which Udala decided not to question, the entire gathering was illuminated. Udala could recognize friends, family members, and other loved ones as they all danced, swayed, and clapped time. None of them gave any voice to the song- they didn't have to. Beyond and around them swirled mists that flowed as though they were really streams of grey water. From somewhere in the distance, so far and foreign that it seemed as though it were from another plane of existence, the voices of the Firebirds kept the song going. Udala let herself be led by Amilie's warm hands, and slowly moved around the inside of the circle in the opposite direction from everyone else.
I'm the cat's eye behind the moon
I'm the lightning caught in the dew
But I am nothing
Nothing
Nothing
If not you
If not you
Watch me, Amilie said as the song continued around them. She let go of Udala, stepped back, and spun around and around with her arms wide open, showering everyone with shimmering waves of blue. From wherever it was that the Firebirds were, there were some whoops and hollers of delight, as though they too were seeing the ripples of light that traveled beyond the Halfling gathering and disappeared into the distance.
A violet glow edged the inky horizon, mottled by trees and congregants.
Lead on, my sister, lead on, mama; Lead on, my sister, lead on mama.
Lead on, my sister, lead on, mama; Lead on, my sister, lead on mama.
Amilie stopped spinning, lifted her hands higher, and leaned her head back, so that Udala wasn't sure how she was continuing to stand upright. Then, with lower, stronger notes than the other parts of the songs used, she added the sung spell.
Darkness my womb,
Give way to light;
Breath in the tomb,
Grant a new life.
Pierce my eye through
Set me aright
All sight, all truth,
Make void the lie.
A surge of stringed instruments rushed up toward dazzlingly high notes, soaring above the pipes and pan flutes with piercing harmonies that were echoed by some of the higher-voiced Firebirds as though they had been a trained choral society. A glorious sunrise bathed the dancing ground in oranges and reds, making real both the Ghostwise Halfling gathering and the Firebird clan, dancing in and around each other. Joining them from the mists that had previously simply been moving around them were strangely lanky, but powerful looking women. Their hair and the scraps of dresses that clung to them were long, ragged, damp, and dark, as though they'd come up from deep water without bothering to arrange themselves afterward. They too glowed with different shades of bio-luminescence- emerald greens, sapphire blues, saffron yellows, and even eerily brilliant whites. One of them reached out to Amilie, who relaxed her supplicant's pose to reach out her arms in acceptance. The on-looking Halfling was quickly half-horrified to see that the offering passing between them was a long, thick bodied, copper-and-tan scaled snake.
At once, the Halfling who had first put Udala and Amilie's hands together appeared again at Udala's side. Udala turned, and in that instant, knew in her heart that she was looking at her mother, just as certainly as she knew that her mother was no longer living. Turning to look back at Amilie, she sat that the snake had changed, somehow, into a thick, leather-bound grimmoire. As Amilie pulled the book toward herself and pressed it to her chest, it became a snake again, and wound its way lovingly around her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that her mother had made a gesture, so she turned to look at her. Her mother repeated the gesture, accompanied by a few others, and Udala simply nodded.
Beyond them, the lanky witches passed outstretched arms and hands over the Ghostwise, who began to disappear into mists with them. Sunlight, insistent that the day must begin as soon as possible, made their natural lights dimmer and dimmer until they simply looked like strange, living willow trees, retreating from the dancing ground to make the trek back to the marshy lands from which they had come. Two of them lingered for a while longer than the others, tenderly brushing their pale, clawed fingers on Amilie's cheeks. Amilie enjoyed their attentions, then turned over her shoulder to look toward Udala and her mother.
For a moment, all five women stood, looking at each other.
Udala's mother let her go to make a series of gestures toward Amilie and the two witches. Surprisingly for Udala, the witches made completely understandable gestures in reply, then brought Amilie to Udala as though presenting her.
In the very next breath, Udala and Amilie were surrounded by the very real Firebirds, who were still singing, clapping, and dancing all around them. Steeleye stood where Udala's mother had been, and Fairwillow and Snakesoul were where Amilie's mother and grandmother had been.
Before Udala could even begin to voice her confusion, Steeleye smiled at her.
"We all thought I was gonna be the guide, but it was you, mama. We just stood here and made sure you didn't fall out when you called Moondew back to us."
"And," Fairwillow added cheerily, "unsurprisingly, since she was so worried about it, Moondew brought back your name, if you wanna take it."
"Of course I'll take it," Udala croaked, finding that her throat hurt.
"Marrowfire," Fairwillow answered with a nod of approval. "I love it. I think it's very descriptive."
As if on cue, a chorus of Firebirds that were still singing reached the I am nothing, nothing, nothing, if not you part of the song. A variety of explanations, each just as valid as the other, began filtering their way through Udala's logical mind. After a few moments of silence during which she flitted through each one, she consciously put them to the side.
"It is," she said with a firm nod. "What do I do to take it?"
"You're did in already," Steeleye laughed. "Enjoy yourself now, mama- dance around some more. We're gonna. Now, I gotta say, I'm a little jealous- a'fore you two, the closest ones together were me and Refuge. But we ain't danced the same day- he came first, I went after."
"And it's been the other way around ever since," Refuge joked.
Amilie, who still had a few flowers clinging to her hair, picked up the hand that was still laced in Udala's. Udala looked at it, and noticed that at some point, someone had taken the ribbon from her staff and wrapped it around their wrists.
"We really joined the circus, huh?" she asked, feeling herself smirking.
Amilie nodded wordlessly, but with a smile still on her face.
"Did you see all the-"
Amilie nodded again before Udala could even finish her sentence, and held up the hand that had been in the swamp water. The skin there, still slightly damp, gave a very faint blue glow. Without another thought, the Halfling reached her other hand out and slid it just underneath, so that it looked as though the two were about to begin a partnered dance of some sort.
"Yeah!" Refuge encouraged. "Get on down, ladies- c'mon, Steel, get on the good foot, boy."
"How's your foot?" Amilie asked.
Udala looked at Amilie, and really looked. She saw in the flawless face the streetwalker, the herbalist, the hag, and the dedicated lover all at once, and was amazed at her.
"Fine," she answered. "I didn't take off the cloth you bound it with before you left- and I don't think I'll need that much longer. So if you're asking if I can dance on it, then yes."
Amilie curtsied as though she were at Le Lune Silvestre, then pulled Udala close to her and began fearlessly romping around the circle as though she hadn't just been laying completely still for half a day and the better part of a night. Firebirds hooted and hollered, and anyone who was still sitting got up at once. The gathering jumped, turned, and generally made a great deal of noise, and after a few moments, Udala stopped thinking of herself as separate from it. As if she'd heard her partner's thoughts, Amilie squeezed a bit tighter.
"Feeling good, Marrowfire?"
"Like a pig in shit, Moon- you got a few more go-rounds in you, right?"
The Human woman simply laughed, and the two of them swirled with the rest of the Firebirds, disappearing into their frolicking as though they'd always been with them.
