Lilau fidgeted with the burnished gold sash slung across her shoulder. It was duller than the brilliant golds adorning Haji and Feechi, denoting her new status as his apprentice. The whole idea felt strange. Zulni did not send her here under friendly terms, after all.

I would love to see his reaction to this. Makotae chuffed from the back of the hut.

Me too. Although perhaps he would see reason if it came from Medicine Chief Feechi. I feel he’s well-respected.

We can hope. It will make our stay far more pleasant.

It already is. A full day with no guards, no check-ins, food when we ask? He may well be using me as a tool, but at least he knows how to keep us sharpened.

It is refreshing. I almost feel free.

Lilau gave up trying to get the sash the way she wanted, instead turning to Makotae and the golden ribbons laying next to him. His harness was already on, the leather oiled to a shine. Taking a ribbon in hand, Lilau worked it through the harness straps until it looked gilded.

How’s that, comfortable?

Quite. The cloth is soft, isn’t it?

She smiled, scratching between his shoulder blades. Gold suits you. Shall we find our benefactor now?

I suppose so. Let’s hope his training isn’t too demanding.

As long as he’s fair, I don’t mind a challenge. In fact, she relished it. It felt like home.

They exited the hut. The village spread out before them. The rising sun cast a fiery hue across the many leather domiciles. People and animals were just stirring, their morning greetings breaking the still air.

Lilau sighed in relief. Her path led her away from the growing number of waking people, as Feechi waited for her near the water Sentinel’s lake. Settling onto Makotae’s back, they were off.

The short-cropped grass of the village gave way to the longer blades of the open field as the sky’s red hues brightened to yellow. The breeze told her the same thing her eyes did. There were no animals or Fokla nearby. Odd.

The rest of their journey remained uneventful and lacking in wildlife. By the time they found Feechi and Haji, Lilau’s curiosity had grown into a question that demanded an answer.

“Where are all the animals and Fokla?” She blurted as they stopped.

Confusion crossed Feechi’s face. “Not the greeting I was expecting, but to answer your question, I don’t know where the animals or Fokla are.” He took his hand from Haji’s neck and crossed his arms. “The absence of the Fokla doesn’t surprise me, although the reasons still elude me. However, I intend to figure out why the animals are gone today, which will also be a part of your first bit of training.”

Lilau glanced towards the serene-looking lake with a grimace. “It doesn’t involve the water Sentinel, does it?”

“No, Medicine Apprentice Lilau, it does not.”

She paused, his formal tone reminding her of her less than respectful entrance. She was not Horse Tribe, but if she was to learn from him, Mara’s training demanded proper etiquette.

Sliding down from Makotae, she faced Feechi and bowed her head. “Forgive me for my rudeness, Medicine Chief. I am ready to learn.”

“Good,” his tone held no reprimand. “For now, I want you to watch. I have heard of your gift of learning at great lengths, and now that I wish to see what you can glean from my ritual.”

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He stepped aside, stretching his hand towards a small rock altar a couple of body lengths away, a vein of Earth’s Blood running underneath it. It looked surprisingly similar to the many altars she helped build and disassemble under the Elders’ tutelage. A carving of a hawk set on top, real feathers layered over its wooden wings.

“Where’s the summoning circle?” Lilau asked.

“Hmm? Oh, I’m not calling on the Fokla today. I suspect their answer, or lack thereof, will be the same. No, today I’m calling upon something more reliable.”

Lilau cocked her head, watching as Feechi went up to the altar and knelt. He swayed with his back to her, head bowed. The only sounds were the breathing of those around her and the wind rustling the grasses.

Why wasn’t he chanting? Lilau took a step forward, curiosity getting the better of her as she tried to get a glimpse of something that would show her what he was doing. All the rituals she knew required some sort of channeling, a physical technique that focused the ritualist’s energy in the right direction.

Coming up parallel to Feechi, she looked him up and down. His eyes were shut, his hands clasped loosely in his lap. A sudden gust of wind blew against her back, stirring the hawk statue’s feathers. A piercing cry cut through the air as a silver haze rose from Feechi’s body and shot through the sky.

Lilau jerked away. Had she just seen Feechi’s essence leave his body? In all her training, she had never seen such a thing. To remove one’s essence equaled death, didn’t it? Yet Feechi’s chest still moved, proof breath still moved through him.

Haji’s ears pricked up as he trotted up and curled around Feechi like a she-wolf around her cub. Haji regarded her with his dark eyes, calm and assured.

Unsure of what else to do, Lilau went back to Makotae and sat down to wait.

What do you make of that? She asked.

Makotae lay down, resting his head between his paws. Humans’ need to reach into the spirits’ realm has never made sense to me. This doesn’t either.

When Feechi’s essence finally returned to his body, Lilau’s mind had churned its way through every possibility it could fathom.

Haji pushed up onto his feet as Feechi did the same. She studied Feechi’s movements. They were stiff, as one would expect from the time he spent in one position, but not only that. He moved in odd jerks, almost like his mind didn’t remember how to command his body.

Lilau stood and bowed her head. “Medicine Chief, I hope your ritual was a success.”

He waved his hand. “Feechi is fine between us. I’d rather you focus on the training than the titles. As far as the ritual, it was as successful as it could be. Before I get into that, however, I’m much more interested in knowing what you learned from watching.” He motioned towards the altar. “Come, tell me while I show you how to disassemble the altar.”

They moved to the structure, where Feechi handed her the hawk statue. To Lilau’s surprise, its feathers were warm to the touch. If she didn’t know better, she would think they were still attached to a living bird.

“This is the focus,” she said. “It keeps the ritualist’s goal clear.”

He nodded, staying silent as she continued.

Lilau bent down, copying Feechi’s movements as he broke down one side of the stone altar. “The altar is to pull energy from the Earth’s Blood.”

“Can you sense where the Earth’s Blood is?”

“Yes, this was built directly over a vein.” She left out the fact she could see the blue stream flowing under the ground, tracing its way across the grasslands as it joined with the others.

“Very good. What of the purpose of the ritual?”

Lilau frowned. This part was harder, but she was certain she had figured out at least some of it. “It’s a journey ritual. Although I have never seen a ritual done like this, I think you call upon the spirit of the hawk to aid the ritualist in journeying towards a truth. In your case, I assume it showed you where the animals have gone.”

“You are an adept learner, no exaggeration there.” Feechi chuckled. “One last question before I share what I found. Could you tell how I invoked the hawk’s spirit?”

“No, I couldn’t. I looked, but I saw nor heard any sort of channeling. I have to assume it was within your mind alone. That is something I’m not familiar with.”

“Then perhaps I have a thing or two to teach you after all.”

“I am confused how you called upon the spirits without contacting the Fokla.”

“Piqued your interest, have I? Good. Perhaps that interest will carry you through the tedious days to come. What I did is taught to apprentices at the end of their training.”

Lilau knew she would spend a lot of time trying to figure out how he had accomplished the ritual long before the end of any training. Still, there was another, more pressing matter to attend to. “What about the animals?”

“As I feared, it looks as though they are dying off in greater numbers. Those who still live have concentrated around what little land to the west remains unaffected by the withering.”

“And where is that?”

“Around Guardian Ng’ombe.”

“Do you still think the withering is caused by the Fokla?”

Feechi shrugged. “That is one possibility, but there are others. It would be unwise to draw conclusions just yet.”

The altar broken into pieces, Feechi took the hawk statue from her and deposited it into one of Haji’s saddlebags before turning back to her. “For now, I believe it’s time to start your training.”