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As spring worked its green magic around us during our recovery from the attack by the bear, our situation didn't seem all that bad. Sure, we were both sore and limited in what we were able to do but we were still alive and the healing process had begun.

The biggest problem facing us was that there was an absolute ton of work that had to be done despite the banged up state that we had both been reduced to. I had brought back enough food to last us for quite some time but it would not stay good for long in the warmer temperatures that May had brought to us. I wasn't quite sure what to do with all that meat. Finding a way to smoke it somehow seemed to be my best bet but I wasn't entirely sure how to go about accomplishing that. It was Sharra that gave me some good ideas. She had told me at one point that her people dried their meat over fires in the warmer months. The smoke kept the bugs away and the heat dried the meat out, preserving it for quite some time. The result was something that had the texture, consistency, and taste of an old boot sole but it would sustain us until fresher food could be found.

Over the next few days, I worked myself nearly to exhaustion in an effort to preserve the meat that I had somehow managed to bring back to the cabin and I suspect that overexertion played a role in what happened to me in the days ahead.

The first day was a long one, most of it spent trying to figure out just how exactly to build racks on which to hang the meat to dry. Sharra had shown me how to make rawhide several weeks ago and with a few ideas in mind I soaked the hide from the deer she had killed in the creek for several hours. When the hide had finally softened I began the laborious process of scraping the hair from the skin and carving the slippery, wet hide into long, thin strips of rawhide. It was annoying, sloppy work having to use only my left hand. I was more than ready for a change when I finally finished messing with the hide. After standing and working the kinks out of my sore back, I headed into the trees. I limped through the forest a hatchet clenched in one hand, looking for suitably thin trees and branches that would form the frames of the drying racks. I worked for hours, wrestling with rough and resinous branches and dragging them back into the clearing. With a pile of wood and an old pot full off soggy rawhide strips before me I sat and thought about how exactly to build the racks. I finally settled on lashing two sets of poles together at their ends and making an A-frame with horizontal rungs like a ladder. I wrestled with those damned racks for several hours, lashing joints together with slimy pieces of rawhide. My hands were numb and shaking and the fingers on my good left hand were worn raw by the time the racks were done and in place. The sun had neared the horizon by that time and twilight was slowly setting in. I built a fire under the drying racks and sat in the gathering gloom, slicing meat with an uncertain left hand until exhaustion felled me and I collapsed into a deep, dreamless sleep. When I jerked awake into bright morning light, I breathed life back into the fire and got right back to work. I was working against time. Had any of that meat spoiled, it would have been a very bad thing.

Somehow, I got it all done, the meat all sliced and drying on racks over a smouldering fire. Evening had set in again, the sun sinking into the northwest in a slow arc. I wasn't exactly sure what time it was as my watch was right out to lunch on that fact but I guessed it was close to nine or ten p.m. The days were very long this time of year as the world rolled toward the summer solstice. Night lasted barely a few hours and the glow of twilight never really left the northern sky. A small smile came to my face as I remembered days like this out on camping trips. Those were fun, happy evenings of sitting around the fire with my friends, cooking a fish or two, laughing and telling stories and enjoying a few cold beers as the sun sank behind the mountains. Some small bit of hope grew out of those old memories as I sat there, weary to the bone, watching the smoke curl up mesmerizingly around the racks before it was stolen away by the breeze. There was hope that there would be enough food there that Sharra and I would be able to recover and regain our strength before we had to go hunting again, and there was hope that those fun and happy times might return someday. Despite the possibility of a bright future, there was darkness and worry in my thoughts that I couldn't shake off. The wound on the back of my right hand was showing signs of getting infected and I knew there was little I could do to prevent the infection from growing.

Two days later I realized something was very wrong. My right hand and fingers began to swell and the edges of the wound inflicted by Sharra's teeth turned an angry red as infection burrowed into my torn flesh. My fingers became very stiff and unresponsive and I began to get very worried. Despite repeated attempts at cleaning and draining my torn hand, the pain soon became near unendurable. Pus began to ooze from the ragged edges of the wound as it festered and burned and soon I began to feel the effects of the infection invading my body.

Those were tense times for both Sharra and I and we both realized that my future had suddenly become uncertain at best. Worry became my constant companion. I wasn't exactly cut out for the situation I found myself in and as the infection grew worse I knew with cold understanding that without the aid of modern medicine and technology my prognosis was not good. I'd heard about blood poisoning and septic shock and what they did to people before the advent of modern antibiotics and suddenly the future held nothing but fear for me. There were times that I nearly gave in to the despair that grew to become my ever present companion. Had I been all alone in that wilderness, I doubt I would have been able keep my head above the water and pull through those hard times. Having Sharra to talk to as she did her best to take care of me gave me the strength and the reasons I needed to keep going and do what had to be done.

Sharra did her best to help me though it turned out that there was little she could do. Her own wounds were still healing and the two broken ribs she had suffered when the bear attacked her limited her mobility enough to make her life painfully difficult. Still, She overcame the pain and left the cabin, heading out into the forests and putting her own safety at risk to search among the trees and the meadows for medicinal plants she thought might help. She tried everything she could think of, salves, healing potions and strange teas, anything she remembered from her experience as a Healer in her village in an attempt to ward off the infection that was slowly overpowering me. We both grew more and more worried when nothing worked.

The link between us had calmed down somewhat since the original flurry of activity brought on by the stress of our encounter with the bear. It is a difficult thing to describe what it felt like at the time. No longer did we share a precise understanding of each others thoughts and an unbelievably intimate understanding of what the person on the other end of the link was feeling. The emotional connection between the two of us still remained but it was rather subdued compared its earlier intensity. The closest I can come to describing it in words is that it was empathic; I was closely in tune with Sharra's moods and she with mine. Sharra tried to reassure me that this was normal for a Linked pair at this stage but as I grew weaker and more feverish, such things escaped me. I feel sorry for what I put her through those hellish few weeks.

What I do remember of those dark times is broken and faded and mixed in with such strange fever induced dreams that I'm not quite sure what is real and what is not. It was a long slide down a steep and slippery hill towards a dark pit of demons and nightmares that waited eagerly below. There was nothing I could do about it and it scared the hell out of me.

I had strange, warped visions of Sharra's face looming large over me. Her worry washed over my senses, fighting with the fever within my head and I pulled away from her, mumbling and crying out in fear. There were times that she tried smearing a greasy, paste like substance over my wounds and I remember screaming in pain and lashing out at her. One moment I was so cold that I recall being buried under a pile of skins and shivering in a cold sweat while next to me the old wood stove pumped out a volcanic heat. Day blended into night and nightmarish visions hounded me.

In my screwed up, feverish state of mind, Sharra terrified me. She appeared as a demon out of my darkest nightmares. I screamed at her and pushed her away whenever she came near. I had fever twisted visions of when she bit me, a werewolf face with jagged white teeth flashing bright as blood spurted out of my shredded hand. The feelings from the Link were strangely muted and twisted and the wolf that kept hovering nearby freaked me out to no end. I couldn't wrap my brain around why such strange feelings kept coming from this terrifying creature. Once, I was trapped in a corner of the cabin, the air cold against my sweaty skin. A shadow fell across me and I screamed as I felt alien hands grip my shoulders and I wondered why I felt such strange feelings of reassurance and compassion coming from such a nightmarish animal.

Another time, stifling heat crushed me and I recall weakly pushing the skins that covered me aside and crawling towards the door of the cabin in a desperate attempt to get some cool air into my lungs. I heard whispers from the gloomy corners of the cabin and the darkness seemed to move, following me, clutching at my sweaty skin as I crawled away. I barely remember fumbling with the door and managing to weakly push it open. The cool draft that caressed my burning skin sent a shudder of relief through my body and I collapsed halfway through the door. I don't remember how long I lay there but I remember feeling sudden surprise wash over me as a shadow moved across the porch. There are vague memories of rough hands helping me back into the cabin.

One dark day the wolf loomed over me like a monster and I felt a red hot lance of pain stab into my hand. I shrieked in agony and tried to get away but a strong grip held my arm fast. Sympathy flooded my mind as I fought against the pain. I lashed out with my left hand and landed a weak blow on Sharra's shoulder. I felt despair from my partner as she tried her best to help me, lancing my infected wound and draining the pressure. Her sorrow over causing me pain was strong and fluid and I felt its gentle ebb and flow wash over me as I sank into unconsciousness.

For several days I sank deeper into the fever despite Sharra's best efforts to help me. I saw strange things in the ceiling and was sure that the stove was trying to crawl away whenever I wasn't looking directly at it. I heard voices of old friends long gone and whispers from the dark corners of the cabin. Disconnected from the world around me I floated adrift in a sea of dark nightmares. In one of them I was back home watching a hockey game with several of my friends. Without warning my house began to fall apart around me. The ground rumbled and trees burst up through the floor. Higher and higher they grew, thrusting upwards to push of the roof. The walls fell away and the streets and the other houses outside slowly crumbled to dust. My friends remained but one by one they turned their backs on me. I called out to them, desperately seeking their help but they remained silent and immobile. One after another, they slowly grew translucent and faded into nothingness and I was left all alone in a forest of towering trees that grew darker and darker as each moment passed. The ground began to shake and rumble and suddenly the trees began to fall away into a dark abyss, the jagged edges of the cliff approaching me on all sides. Before long I was standing on a narrow pinnacle of rock, feeling heat and smoke rise around me as great fires burned in the depths. The ground under my feet crumbled away and suddenly I was falling, falling into the abyss, the angry red glow from the fires below growing larger and larger as the air shrieked and whistled around me...

Another time I found myself lying on a hard and cold surface bathed in a shaft of light from an unseen source somewhere above my head. Impenetrable darkness lurked beyond my small circle of light and I was unable to move any part of my body. Suddenly the table I lay on began to move, pivoting, one end rising and the other lowering until my feet were almost on the floor. I thought I heard the hum and click of hidden machinery as the table moved. Whispers trickled out of the darkness and the suggestion of hurried footsteps on a hard floor echoed gently around me. I thought I saw shapes moving in the surrounding blackness but I couldn't make them out. The whispers suddenly grew in intensity and the light above me began to fade. I could feel the unseen shapes move closer and closer as the light died away. When the last rays of light winked out I felt several pairs of strong hands grip my limbs and tingling fire began to spread out from their fingertips, crawling slowly up my limbs. I shrieked as the fire possessed me but the room closed in and drowned my screams in a hellishly dark pit...

There were other nightmares too, dark and horrid things spawned from the fever and recent memories. I fought with the bear over and over in my head and visions of Sharra soaked in blood haunted me to no end. Unable to escape such horrible visions, I sank deeper and deeper into the visions. Sharra grew more and more desperate as I slipped further and further from her into sickness. She tried to give me water but often as not I'd spit it out. When she tried to feed me a few small pieces of meat, I pushed her away, mumbling incoherently as the demons fought a terrifying battle inside my head.

I found out later that Sharra didn't expect me to survive much longer. Those were rough times for her. I was slowly slipping away from her and there was nothing she could do about it. Her own wounds began to get infected and the pain she endured slowly drained her strength. Her despair occasionally broke through my nightmare visions and I remember the feeling of absolute helplessness that had overtaken her. She understood with a Healer's certainty that there was nothing more she could do. It was only a matter of time before I would slip away from her and begin 'Walking the Twilight Trail'.

I had a brief moment of clarity during those final stages of feverish madness and it remains permanently stuck in my mind, even after the many years that have passed since that day. I remember hearing singing in a beautiful but incredibly sad and lonely voice. I don't remember all of the words but it was Sharra's voice that washed over me as I lay quietly on the floor, buried under a mound of hides. I slowly realized that she was singing my Deathsong, calling out to her Gods to help me and guide me along the trail that was opening before me even though I wasn't of her people. She made strange motions over me and sweet smelling smoke washed over my senses as she said her goodbyes in the only way she knew how. I felt her gentle touch on my forehead, my chest and my arms as the world slowly slipped away.

****************

Sharra quietly stood up beside the human. There was nothing else she could do now but wait for the inevitable. She did not know of John's beliefs, if any, concerning death and what lay afterwards so she had called upon the Watcher Above to guide him on the journey he would soon take. Even though her friend was not of her own kind she had pleaded with the Watcher Above to take the human under his wing and protect him through the twists and turns of the Twilight Trail. John may not be Tokran, but he had shown bravery, strength, and compassion in hard times and he had been a good friend to her and she thought him deserving of such protection. Sharra looked down at her friend where he lay upon the floor. He appeared to be resting peacefully now, the demons that had plagued him over the last week at last finally held at bay. She let out a worried sigh and limped to the door, opening it with barely a creak from the old hinges. She paused as she passed through the doorway and looked back over her shoulder at John. It wouldn't be long now, she understood that. As much as it hurt her to know that she was going to lose the only friend she had left to her, she understood that soon he would be out of reach of the pain that had tormented him for so long. It was small comfort. She shut the door quietly and limped out onto the porch. Ancient timbers creaked under her feet as she slowly moved away from the cabin and into the clearing. Evening had grown over the land and the surrounding forest was still and quiet as the overcast sky slowly darkened. She walked slowly and with her head down, trying not to think of the future.

The pain in her side had slowly been growing over the past few days and the ragged wound there had begun to ooze and fester. She had taken great pains to keep the wound clean but she now held little hope that it would heal anytime soon. Soon enough, she thought, she would be joining her friend on that dark trail that led from this life to the next one. Maybe it would be for the better, she thought. After all, the infection that threatened to end John's life had grown in a wound inflicted by her own teeth. The thought of being responsible for his death, even partially, was more than she could bear.

With some effort, Sharra managed to force herself into a cross legged sitting position. There was a small fire that she'd kept burning out in front of the cabin by the drying racks and it was here that she came to reflect on recent events and be alone with her thoughts. She eyed the racks that John had made to dry the meat and wondered what it was that drove the human to accomplish such unbelievable tasks even as injured and as exhausted as he had been at the time. She smiled sadly. A valiant effort on John's part, but all for naught. Soon, Sharra knew, the meat he had laboured so hard to preserve would feed only the crows and ravens. With a sigh, she struggled to relax and quiet her mind but the pain that bubbled and flared in her ribs kept interfering with her thoughts. A sharp grimace distorted her muzzle and she shifted position slightly, trying to find some small bit of comfort but there was none to be had. She sighed and her shoulders sagged, despair overtaking her once again. Why had it been her lot to have everything in her life go so wrong? How could once person endure such pain and survive? All she'd ever wanted was to be happy, to enjoy the company of her friends, to hunt, to run, to have a mate and raise a family. Sharra bowed her head and stared at the ground in front of her. She'd lost such things before she'd even realized how much they meant to her. She raised her muzzle to the overcast sky and a tear crawled down from the corner of her eye. She hadn't even been able to use her healing abilities to save the one friend left to her in the entire world. She shook her head sadly. How differently things would have been if she'd been able to fix his wounds and prevent the evils of infection from invading them. Such things were apparently not meant to be and now the two of them would die, slowly and painfully.

Sharra reached out with her mind, using the Link to check John's condition. Her heart lurched when she could barely reach him. For once he was quiet, resting peacefully, his mind clear of nightmares and tormenting visions. Sharra was able to relax somewhat at that realization. Some of the things he'd endured through over the past week had been terrifying. She'd glimpsed some of his fever twisted visions and had known that at times he didn't recognize her. He'd even been violent towards her on a few occasions, lashing out at her as she tried to help him. It was a good thing that the fever had sapped his strength otherwise he might have hurt her. With a sad sigh and a gentle mental caress, Sharra withdrew from the Link. The thread that bound them together was weak and growing thinner with each passing moment. Though it brought deep pain to think about it, Sharra doubted that her friend would live through the night. She felt empty as she wondered if she would have the strength to endure the anguish that would grip her when the Link was severed. The last time it had happened the backlash had nearly killed her. She'd survived but had been left an empty shell, unable to think, unable to feel and wandering aimlessly through the wilderness, only doing what was necessary to keep the spark within her barely alive. She shook her head sadly, knowing deep down that she didn't have the strength to go through that again. When that final and terrible moment seized her this time, she would end things by her own hand and save herself the pain she would go through. Once John was gone, there was little else for her to live for. There was a high cliff down near the river that she remembered. She would make her way there once John had started out on the Twilight Trail. One step from the edge and she'd enjoy a few brief seconds of freedom before a sudden and final meeting with the rocks below. It was doubtful whether she'd even feel that fatal impact. Sharra choked back a sob. This life had been so full of anguish, perhaps the next one would be better.

Evening deepened and Sharra still hadn't moved from in front of her small fire. She could feel John slipping away from her and she dreaded what the night would bring. With little else she could do, she offered up a few silent prayers to the Gods, asking the Watcher Above for a respite from pain for both her and John and for forgiveness for her lack of faith. A solitary tear crept down from the corner of her eye as she asked for forgiveness for what she would do once her friend was gone. Stiffly pushing herself to her feet, Sharra limped her way back to the cabin. She silently moved in through the door and stood quietly beside her friend for a few moments. The look on his face was peaceful, almost as if he looked forward to the end of his pain and suffering. Barely able to hold back the tears, Sharra lay down beside her friend and curled her body up against his. As the night took over the land and the cabin grew dark, Sharra began to cry as she thought about what might have been. Once again the small bit of happiness she'd come to know had been torn from her grasp. For a long time she lay beside John, her body wracked with grief. When the tears finally dried up and she drifted towards sleep, she grabbed one of the human's huge hands and gripped it tightly, knowing that this was the last chance she would have to feel the warmth and comfort of her close friend at her side.

*****************

Strange dreams came to Sharra that night, incredibly powerful and vivid visions that reached deep into her soul and asked difficult questions.

A fat red sun rose behind a fog of mist and smoke as Sharra's feet wove a trail through a shattered forest of chcarcoal and charred stumps. The blackened earth and ashes that covered the ground were still warm under her feet. As the light grew, burnt and twisted remains of homes could be seen looming out of the mist that surrounded her. Wisps of smoke rose from the ruins and Sharra stopped in her tracks.

It was no surprise to her that this dream should come to her now. As she stood on the edge of losing everything she held dear in her life for a second time, she had suspected that as soon as she closed her eyes she would once again be returned to the place and time where she had lost everything the first time. This was the place where her life had ended and all of her pain had begun.

There was something was different this time though. She knew she should be feeling something, seeing her old home like this as she had hundreds of times before but something was holding her emotions at bay. This dream had been such a constant source of pain and sadness for her yet this time she felt nothing but a deep emptiness. She resumed her slow walk through the remains of her home village, barely looking up from the ground at her feet. A charred corpse blocked her way, its fur burnt completely away and smoke still rising from its blackened and blistered skin. The scents of burnt fur and charred meat were nearly overpowering. Arms and paws curled up grotesquely as if reaching out for help as the end came, its muzzle gaped open, the last scream before death took him frozen forever in time and memory. Sharra turned away from the hideous scene and kept walking. So strange and unsettling to walk among these ruins of places and people she knew so well and feel nothing instead of the torment she was so accustomed to. She began to wonder if she'd lost so much of herself over the past year that there was nothing left within her that could feel. Part of her was glad that the pain was gone but another part of her wanted to scream out in anguish, to feel something, anything at all instead of this numbness that had possessed her. She decided that the pain wouldn't be worth it and gave up, surrendering to the numbness, withdrawing from her horrible surroundings and sinking into the emptiness that called out hungrily from within her. Only the faintest echoes of the surrounding world reached Sharra as her unfeeling feet carried her through the ruins of her old home.

When the fog began to lift and the day brightened, Sharra didn't notice the changes at first. Slowly surfacing from the dark depths that lay within her she saw strange things begin to happen to the world around her. The ruins of her village had disappeared but the shattered and burnt forest still remained. The last remnants of the fog and smoke slowly cleared away and the sun shone bright in a cloudless blue sky. Shielding her eyes from the glare with a hand, she turned in a slow circle, surveying the destruction. Everything was burnt and in every direction as far as the eye could see the land was empty and black. She sighed and hung her head, remembering the beautiful, tall trees that had once provided shelter and welcome shade from the sun. Again, no feelings came forth, just empty numbness. Sharra raised her head and glared at the sky above. This place would be years in healing, but the forest would eventually return and the scars would fade. She wouldn't be so lucky.

Suddenly, a shadow blotted out the light from the sun and she heard the piercing cry of an eagle from far overhead. The earth below her feet trembled momentarily before subsiding. Sharra cocked her head to one side and listened intently. Something important had just happened, she could feel it tickling her senses. Motion caught her eye and she craned her head to follow it. A green sprout of grass had poked up from beneath the ashes between her feet. She knelt down and watched in fascination as it slowly grew, crawling up towards the light from the sun. More and more hints of green pushed up from the charred earth, forming a small circle around her. They grew slowly at first but a shadow passed over the land and she heard the eagle cry out again. The ground shook and rumbled powerfully this time and she suddenly felt Power crackle to life. It swirled and gathered around her, flowing in through her limbs, concentrating and condensing in her body before cascading down her legs and into the earth. She was stunned by the sensations that suddenly possessed her and her mouth gaped open in astonishment. Soon she was standing in the center of a small patch of green, a slowly expanding oasis in a land of dry cinders and black ash. Trees began to sprout up from the earth, growing and budding out rapidly, the charred land once again becoming a wealth of green and a haven for life as tendrils of Power raced out from the oasis that had sprung up around her. Again the eagle shrieked and this time Sharra heard the whoosh of its wings as it flew overhead. She flattened her ears and curled into a submissive crouch, trembling as the great bird passed above her. She knew know that it was the Watcher Above that flew overhead and she feared his Power and his judgement. Risking a glance at the cobalt sky, she glimpsed Him as He spiralled high into the blue, riding the thermals that rose up from the sun warmed land below. When she remained untouched and unharmed, Sharra slowly rose to her feet. The blackened land had disappeared, replaced now by a forest as thick and as green as the one she remembered from before that black day nearly two years ago.

With the return of the forest came a return of Sharra's emotions. She could feel them bubbling up from within like the warm spring waters that seeped up from the cracks in the rocks behind the cabin. She felt the joy of rebirth and new life flowing in to her from all sides. Unfamiliar glee took hold of her and she felt a smile grow along her muzzle. A trail stretched out through the new forest in front of her and she ran happily along it while the Watcher Above circled high overhead. For a while she ran through the trees, enjoying the sensations that coursed through her body. She felt as if she had never lost her friends, her family or her home. Here, pain didn't exist. It couldn't exist. The situation back at the cabin seemed worlds away and Sharra remembered what it was like to be happy. Her tongue lolled from her muzzle as she raced through the trees and there was a bright spark in her eyes.

The clearing she suddenly emerged into to took her by surprise and she stopped abruptly, staring at the long green grasses that waved gently in a light breeze. A solitary monument of silent grey stone occupied the center of the clearing.

She knew this place!

It had been many years since she had been here but she remembered it as if she had been here yesterday. The Ancestors had built this place many generations ago as a monument to the Mother, the Healer, the Goddess from which all of the Tokran were born. Sharra jogged forward and stood before the pillar of stone, her eyes roving over the ancient and weathered inscriptions that had been chiselled into the granite by hands long dead. Carefully, she reached out and touched the monolith. The stone was cool and quiescent under the pads of her fingers but she felt the Power that lay silently within it. Memory sprang to life at that first touch of stone and Sharra's mind drifted back to her youth.

She had been brought here before this monument when she had shown the first signs of the talents that marked her as a potential healer. Sharra smiled as the memories overtook her. She'd been barely more than a pup when the talent had first surfaced. She remembered the circumstances clearly now. Her older brother had been injured during a hunt and she had heard his cries of pain when his friends had carried back to the village. A Healer had been sent for but Sharra had suddenly known that she could help. She had begun healing her brother's fractured ankle just as the Healer had arrived. Though surprised at what she was doing, the older male had helped her in her task, guiding her, lending her the strength she needed to repair the broken bones. When they were done, he had regarded her with a knowing look and then had spent several minutes talking in low tones with her parents. The next day, two more elders came to her family's hut and took her away with them. They had brought her before this monument at the crack of dawn the next day. Those two Elders, one a male and the other a female, had performed a short and strange ceremony that had ended with her having to sit motionless before the monolith, searching for a vision that she was told she must seek to understand the truth within herself. The Elders had then departed, leaving her with only a small piece of dried meat and a small container of water, telling her that in two days time they would return. If a vision had not come to her within that time it meant that her talents as a healer would soon fade and would never again surface. If she had a vision, then she would be accepted into a very old order and begin her training as a Healer, eventually earning a place as a highly respected member of her people.

For many long hours Sharra had sat motionless in front of that pillar of stone. Insects flitted and buzzed around her and she had developed a cramp at the base of her tail that wouldn't go away. Boredom grew upon her and her meagre amounts of food and water were soon gone. The sun faded away behind the trees and she didn't even remember falling asleep.

The vision she had sought found her that night, an astoundingly powerful thing that left her in awe of the energies and Power that flowed through the world and all living things. The Mother of her people had appeared before her and Sharra had awoken with the certain knowledge that she had a definite purpose in life. Five years of hard training had begun two days after that vision came to her. So strange that she should find herself in front of this same pillar of grey stone after so many years and so many things gone wrong. Her fingers slowly traced the strange inscriptions and the Power within the stone suddenly surged to life. The sensation took her breath away and she staggered back from the monolith, eyes wide and ears back. Her muzzle hung open as the inscriptions in the stone before her began to glow brightly, each character chiselled into the stone coming to life in a brilliant flare of blue. She cowered and covered her eyes as Power spun around her in a tightening circle. Suddenly the surge in Power abated and all became eerily quiet. She blinked surprised eyes at the monolith and backed away slowly, not sure what had just happened. The Watcher Above shrieked loudly behind her and glided in to land on top of the stone pillar. The huge bird craned its neck to look at her curiously and Sharra submissively averted her eyes and flattened her ears. Before her was a being of such supreme wisdom and Power and she was at a complete loss as to what to do next. The Watcher's cold yellow eyes bored right through her, judging her, weighing the measure of her soul to see if she was worthy of His presence. Her entire being wanted to turn and run but she slowly lowered herself to her knees and stayed motionless, her head bowed, ears back and tail tucked beneath her. A tense moment passed as Sharra wondered what her fate would be. Her faith had dried up long ago and she didn't hold out much hope of redemption. She had strayed far from the teachings of her Elders over the last year, too far perhaps, to avoid being judged unworthy. She held her breath and stayed motionless and silent, all of her senses on edge as she awaited her fate.

A sudden wind sprang up around her, stirring the grasses and the trees in and around the clearing before it abated as quickly as it had appeared. The Watcher screeched loudly and flew from His perch atop the monolith, gliding above the trees, seeking a thermal upon which to rise up into the cool skies. Sharra watched the eagle fly away, knowing she had been judged and found lacking. She sighed and was about to stand up when she heard quiet footsteps behind her. Power washed gently over her senses and she slowly turned her head to see who had come up behind her. She was completely unprepared for what her eyes revealed to her.

A stunningly beautiful female stood a few short paces behind her. A soft smile graced her muzzle and a warm light shone in her ice blue eyes. Her immaculately groomed white pelt was as pure as fresh winter snow and it gleamed brightly in the sunlight. She stood there silently, clad in nothing but her fur and stared at Sharra with those deep blue eyes. Her long and beautiful white tail waved gently behind her. A gold pendant hung from a chain fastened around her neck, the sacred spiral, a rendition in glittering gold of the truth of the unending circle of life. A ring of blood red marked the pristine white fur on her forehead, the mark of a Healer. This was no ordinary healer though, this was the Mother, the first Healer and the one from whom the first Tokran had sprung. Sharra saw great Power in her vivid blue eyes and she stared at the white female in wonder. She was at a total and complete loss as to what to do. It wasn't everyday that one was confronted with one of their Gods.

"Hello Sharra." The Mother's voice was as ancient as the mountains and the rocks yet young and full of life. Sharra's entire body began to tremble, a deep fear gripping her as the Mother's piercing blue eyes cut through to her core. She remained on her knees, her body the picture of total submission. The tip of her tail wagged nervously between her knees and she was at a total and complete loss as to what to say.

The Mother smiled gently and moved to stand in front of Sharra. "Do not fear me child," she said in a kind voice as she placed a gentle hand under Sharra's chin, raising her muzzle to look into her eyes. "I am not here to do you any harm."

Sharra held the Mother's gaze for only the briefest of moments. She could feel those eyes probing, questioning, and she knew the darkness they would find. She quickly looked away and bowed her head, unbearable sadness overtaking her. When she finally found her voice it was quiet, almost a whisper.

"I am sorry, Mother of my people. I have failed you."

The expression that crossed the Mother's face was one of deep sadness.

"Please Sharra, stand and walk with me." Sharra looked at the proffered hand disbelievingly for a moment. It was not without some trepidation that she slowly reached out and took it, rising numbly to her feet. The Mother smiled warmly at her before turning away and approaching the monument that had been erected in her name. She lovingly caressed the stone and turned to face Sharra, a strange light gleaming in her eyes.

"You have been through so much my child, so much pain, so much suffering. But know this: you have not failed me. On the contrary, you have made me very proud. You have shown amazing strength in the face of such despair. You held onto what little hope was left to you and struggled through the dark times, succeeding and surviving where almost all others would have failed."

Sharra bowed her head and stared at the ground, trying to control the emotions that brewed up within her.

The Mother continued talking. "I know you are afraid of what lurks deep within your soul. It is only natural that you have questioned your faith through such anguish and suffering. As the end you have feared so much approached closer and closer, I have seen your strength begin to fail and you have started to stray from your path. Please understand that I am not angry with you for those transgressions. There is only so much pain one person can take and you have endured far more in two short years than most people will in their entire lives. I see it in your heart that you are ashamed of what you intended to do once John had gone from you. Fear not Sharra, for I and a few others have heard your prayers." The Mother smiled gently and Sharra felt compassion and warmth flow from the white female and soothe the raw wounds on her soul.

"You are forgiven for the darkness that lies in your heart my child. There are few indeed that do not have such things buried deep within them."

With a wave of her hand, the scene around them changed and Sharra gasped at what she saw. She was standing right beside her old home, the hut she and Mallek had shared in the Clan's village. It was hard to choke back the feelings that suddenly welled up.

The Mother walked gracefully through the deserted village and Sharra followed quietly and submissively at her heels. The white one came to a halt at side of the stone hearth that lay in the center of the gathering area. She regarded the blackened stone silently for a moment before turning to Sharra. Her tail began to wag and a warm smile grew on her muzzle.

"I chose you for a reason Sharra. You may not realize it but you are a rare and unique individual. You are so good at caring for others even at cost to yourself and you have compassion and depth to your soul that are matched by few others indeed. I have watched your life closely and there have been many times that I have wished that I could have helped you in ways that are forbidden to me." The Mother's tone of voice suddenly grew sad and the look in her eyes haunted Sharra. She gestured to the silent and deserted village that surrounded them.

"So many of my children died here in this village. I can still hear their screams of anguish as their souls were ripped from their bodies." She shook her head sadly. "There was no way to save them. Unfortunate events like what happened here must be left to happen because that is the way the world works. Expending Power to halt such events almost always creates more problems than it solves."

The white wolf paused for a moment, a long sigh escaping her muzzle as she gazed a the scene that surrounded her. "It may surprise you to know that I am not all-seeing, all-knowing or all-powerful. There are rules that even I must abide by. I helped you as much as I was allowed, making sure that you were out of harm's way when this village came to its fiery end. Unfortunately, by doing so I also ensured that your life was ripped away from you and for that I ask your forgiveness. I searched desperately for another way but all the other paths that I might have taken led to far worse outcomes in the long run. There was nothing else I could do but watch and it pained me greatly to do so." The white one shook her head sadly and stared down at the ground. There was a hopeful note to her voice when she spoke again.

"You have to understand that changingwhat might be is a difficult matter and a very difficult decision. The future is always in motion and the slightest change now, the tiniest of nudges may have disastrous consequences in the years ahead. Most of the time our hands are tied and we are able to do little but watch and occasionally ease the world along with the slightest and gentlest of touches."

The White One looked Sharra directly in the eyes and she saw hard determination there.

"Only now, as things hang precariously on the edge have I been given a temporary ability to instil some measure of change and appear before you in this manner." The white female drew in a deep breath and for a moment her expression became troubled.

"Know this Sharra, even though such knowledge may bring pain. There are reasons behind everything that has happened to you. The anguish, the pain, the suffering you have been through, all has had its purpose in the grand scheme of things, for we are all tempered in the forge of our life's experiences."

Sharra stared at the Mother in shock. She opened her mouth to say something but couldn't find the words.

"I am truly sorry about everything that you have been forced to endure. If I could have done something about it I would have but such things were beyond my control." She smiled weakly. "It was all I could do to make sure you found your way to the cabin that had been so carefully prepared for you, and see to it that you would be able to communicate with the human when he was finally brought here. Everything else we had to leave up to you." The White One's voice trailed away and she stood silently for several moments. She suddenly looked smaller, frail, almost vulnerable.

It took several moments but Sharra finally found her voice. "I do not understand..." She shook her head in confusion. Her legs suddenly grew weak and she sat down hard on the ground. She had been intentionally put through such pain and anguish?

The Mother moved over to Sharra and knelt beside her, a pained look on her face. "I know, my child. It is not easy to understand the greater picture. There are forces at work around us that our people will not be able to understand for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years. Your human friend might understand some of them but we are not sure. His people had learned many things during their time..." The cry of an eagle suddenly rang out from high above them and the Mother tilted her head up to the skies, a frown suddenly appearing on her muzzle. Her ears flicked back a bit and she sighed.

"Come Sharra, time grows short and there is work that must be done." She rose to her feet and gently pulled Sharra up with her. The Watcher Above swooped down, circling over their heads, the whoosh of air through his wings loud in the silent and deserted village.

The Mother closed her eyes and raised her arms out in front of her. She began a low chant and Sharra felt the pulse and flow of Power envelope her. The hearth at the center of the gathering area disappeared and a new shape began to grow in its place. A short stone altar materialized and a glowing mass slowly took shape on its broad flat surface. The glow soon faded and a pale form coalesced on the grey stone as the Mother's chant faded into nothingness. Sharra drew in a sharp breath as the Watcher Above spiralled down to land on a corner of the altar. He crooked His neck at the motionless figure that lay on the cool stone and hopped over to take a closer look. The huge bird leaned over the pale figure and craned His head from side to side, pale eyes piercing to the heart of the human's soul. The great bird remained motionless for a moment and then suddenly voiced a piercing shriek and unfolded His wings. The Watcher took off from the altar, wings flapping noisily as He climbed into the sky.

The Mother nodded sagely and moved forward. "Come." She held out a hand to Sharra. "There is still time to change what might be."

The two females approached the altar and Sharra choked back a sob when she looked upon the face of her human friend. He was so pale and lay so motionless that for a moment she thought he was dead. She searched her mind, following the fraying strands of the Link, feeling only a very faint connection that was fading quickly. The Mother's pale blue eyes bored into Sharra as she searched the Link. She saw the tears well up and she saw how Sharra took one of the human's hands in hers, knowing how deeply this lost and forlorn child of hers had come to care for the human. The Mother nodded to herself. Perhaps the others had been right about these two after all. She drew in a deep breath and composed herself. What had to be done would be difficult and would sap nearly all of the Power that had been placed at her disposal. She placed a gentle hand on the human's forehead and closed her eyes. Sharra watched curiously as the Mother searched for the human's faint thread of life.

_So weak. The ties that bind this one's soul to his body have nearly all been broken. The Twilight Trail lies before him and he has already taken the first step down it. No one yet has shown up to guide him through the twists and turns of the Trail and he is lost and frightened. This will be more difficult than I had thought._The Mother's eyes snapped open and pierced Sharra with a penetrating gaze.

"Something can still be done, but I will require your help to accomplish it. The human is weak, very weak and he has one foot already on the Trail. To call him back will take great effort."

Sharra gulped and nodded but didn't move her eyes from John's face. "I understand." She said quietly.

The Mother frowned. "Sharra my child, look at me." Her voice was quiet but commanding. Sharra turned to her slowly and the Mother could see the wetness in the corners of her eyes. "I do not think you truly comprehend what we are about to do. Great amounts of Power must be used to effect any changes and it is possible that the human will be changed in some way if he survives. We will be using the Power within ourselves and of the living world around us in an attempt to heal him. John is different, an unknown. He is not of our kind and it is very difficult to predict how such a large dose of Power will affect him."

Sharra looked down at the pale face of the only friend she had left and squeezed his hand tighter. Her sorrowful gaze wrenched at the Mother's heart and she smiled sadly. You are such a rare and precious find young one. Your emotions are true and pure yet you so easily see what lies beneath the surface. You do not judge those that are different from you and you have always tried to help those who need it. You do not know it but you embody nearly all that our people believe about The Mother. You truly are one of my children and I hate to see you endure such pain.

In a voice thick with emotion Sharra finally spoke. "I have come to learn that the only constant in this life is change. If John changes in some way, so be it. I will take that chance and learn to live with the consequences. He and I are bound by the Link, for some reason we are meant to be together." She looked up to the Mother and a tear rolled down her cheek, slowly soaking into her fur. Her eyes pleaded with the Mother and the white female nodded in acquiescence.

"So be it." The Mother closed her eyes and began her song. In an astonishingly beautiful voice she began calling out to the world around her, asking for Power to help her in her task. Her voice slowly rose in volume and she raised her arms up to the sky. With every word, every note she sang, the entire world reverberated in tune. The Watcher Above cried out from high in the blue sky, his eerie voice blending with the Mother's hauntingly beautiful song. Slowly at first, the Power began to flow. Sharra felt it swirl around her and she began her own song, calling forth every shred of Power from the trees, the grass, the earth, the very air itself. There was so much of it! Never before had she felt this much Power in one place. She felt it flow into her from all sides and she wrestled with it, seeking to channel it into John and use it to drive the infection from his body. Before she could do that, the Mother reached out to her and the sudden jolt when they joined hands took her breath away. The Mother was absolutely saturated with Power! It crackled and swirled around her in a huge blue firestorm. Unspoken words passed between them and Sharra channelled the power she had collected into the Mother. The swarm of power surged and changed colour as the Mother harnessed and changed it. Crackling blue gave way to an eerie deep red and the Mother reached out to the human and placed both hands on his infected arm. She spoke a single word that echoed and reverberated through everything around them and the earth itself began to tremble. The red aura of power around the Mother narrowed and condensed and then suddenly blasted down her arms and into the human in a wave of light. A deep red glow suffused John's body and his every muscle suddenly went rigid as iron. His eyes snapped open and he bellowed loud and long as the red fire burned throughout his body. After a moment, the glow slowly faded and his muscles relaxed. His eyes closed and the expression on his face became peaceful as he relaxed into deep sleep. Sharra felt sudden renewed strength in the Link and she breathed a huge sigh of relief. A happy grin split her muzzle and her tail began to wag. She turned to thank the Mother and the smile suddenly melted from her face. The white female gripped the edge of the altar with trembling hands. The lustre had gone from her pelt and she looked so old and frail. She looked at Sharra with faded eyes and smiled weakly. Sharra rushed forward and caught the white female just as she was about to topple over. Sharra gently eased her to the ground.

"What happened?" She questioned in a small, worried voice. The Mother smiled wanly at her.

"I have expended all of my Power child. Soon I will fade from this place." The Mother's voice had lost its youthful vim and vigour and her raspy voice sounded as old as the hills. "You understand how it is Sharra, how healing drains the strength of the body. I have insulated you from the worst effects of it because you need to maintain your strength. Your still have some injuries to recover from and it will take some time for you to get back on your feet."

Sharra was momentarily at a loss for words and she bowed her head. "Thank you, Mother of my people, for everything you have done. I owe you a debt of gratitude and I am not sure how to repay you."

"You have already paid a heavy price Sharra. All of your debts to me have been fulfilled." The white female's words trailed off and her eyes became clouded and unfocussed as she looked past Sharra to something only she could see. A knowing grin split her muzzle and she had a peaceful expression on her face. "You have some interesting times ahead of you, young one. Remember to keep an open mind in the days ahead and just be yourself. You are long overdue for a little happiness in your life and if things go right you just might find what you have been looking for."

Sharra cocked her head and gave the Mother a confused look. The white female chuckled at the look on her face. "Your Linkmate is an interesting one too, an unusual case. He may have a strange and ugly exterior but he is a good person at heart and the two of you match in ways that are not coincidence. The Link between you has awakened something that has lain deeply buried within him, I know you have felt it stir and begin its long crawl to the surface." The tone of the Mother's voice suddenly changed, growing more serious.

"Know these things Sharra: There is a Power within the human but it is a different Power than the one we are used to dealing with. His is a power of knowledge, of machines and of the intimate workings of the world around us. Understand that he may use this Power in surprising and unusual ways and that with it, he may contradict some of our oldest and most dearly held beliefs. Know that John has long suspected that he is different from most of his kind but he does not understand how or why. He is out of place and time here but he is not as different from our people as you might think. His people were also children of this world. You do not know of them but they inhabited this world ages ago, long before the time of the everlasting winter that saw the birth of our people. The story of his people is a sad one and some of the relics left by their race can still be found if one looks in the right places. John has stumbled across such signs and he is beginning to understand some of what has happened to him and where he has ended up. He even has suspicions about what happened to his entire race. He is smart, that one, and sees things in a different way than we do." The Mother smiled weakly at her and Sharra smiled sadly in return.

The white female gripped Sharra's hand tightly in both of hers and Sharra felt that she was weakening, her Power fading. Sharra felt a deep sadness take hold of her as the Mother slipped away.

"Will I ever see you again?" She asked in a sad voice.

"Perhaps one day you will, but for now my Power is spent and I must leave this place. Remember that I will be watching you and that I am proud of you and the strength you have shown through hard times." The Mother smiled one last time. "Goodbye my child and farewell." She lay back on the ground and closed her eyes, falling into a deep and peaceful slumber. Sharra slowly released the Mother's hand and placed it gently across her breast. She rose to her feet and stood silently beside the still form of the white female and offered a prayer of thanks to the Mother of her people and the Watcher Above. A sudden breeze stirred the clearing around Sharra and the gentle fingers of Power brushed through her pelt. The wind suddenly died down and when Sharra looked up another figure stood a short distance away. It was a male this time, a large, powerfully built and unbelievably handsome male with a pelt of the densest, darkest black fur she had ever seen. He wore a leather belt around his waist upon which a sheathed knife hung. The mark of the Hunter, a set of deer antlers over a short spear, showed in white across black fur in the center of his chest. His piercing yellow eyes regarded Sharra in a calculating manner. She gulped nervously and flattened her ears as the male approached. This was the Father, the God of the Hunt, mate to the Mother and the Father of all of her people, come to claim his mate and bring her home as her Power faded. Sharra backed up a couple of hurried steps and averted her eyes as the male approached. The black male halted beside the altar and his yellow eyes searched the human's pale face. He cocked his head questioningly to the side, a frown coming to his muzzle. He remained silent and motionless for a moment. He appeared to come to a decision and reached out and placed a hand on John's chest for a moment. Sharra's ears unconsciously perked up as she felt something pass between them. The Father nodded to himself and withdrew his hand. He turned towards his mate and bent down to take her in his arms. Sharra kept her gaze averted and her tail tucked in the presence of beings of such Power. The Father straightened up, the Mother's white fur contrasting starkly against his black pelt. The Father caught Sharra's gaze for a moment and the look in his eyes softened. A gentle smile grew on his muzzle and he acknowledged her presence with a brief inclination of his head and a wag of his tail before he turned and walked away from her. Sharra watched as he left, his body and the Mother's slowly fading into translucence as he carried his mate through the empty village. When they had both completely disappeared from view, Sharra felt empty and alone as she stood in the deserted heart of her old home.

A sudden warm sensation in the palm of her right hand made Sharra look down in surprise, unaware that she'd clenched her hands into fists. She uncurled her fingers and was astonished to see the Mother's golden spiral pendant and chain resting in her palm. She closed her fingers over it and held it tightly to her chest and whispered a short prayer to the Mother and Father of her people. She almost immediately felt better and she stepped over to the altar where John rested peacefully. Colour had returned to his skin and he slept deeply, peacefully. Sharra watched the slow rise and fall of his chest with a happy smile on her face. She placed a hand on his chest and felt the steady and strong pulse of his heart. She raised her muzzle and stared up into the sky.

"Thank you Mother, Father and Watcher Above. You have given me hope beyond my wildest dreams and have made me feel alive again." She called out to the skies, her voice cracking with joy. The distant cry of an eagle reached her ears and Sharra felt at peace for the first time in ages. She opened her hand and stared at the pendant that the Mother had left her. It began to glow, softly at first, but rapidly growing in intensity until the light was almost blinding and the world around her disappeared.

*************

Sharra jerked awake in the gloom of early morning, wondering just what exactly had happened during the night. Her heart fluttered uncertainly as she looked around her. Nothing seemed to have changed and she began to wonder if it had all been some wild dream. She yawned and blinked a few times, feeling the last tendrils of sleep slowly recede from her mind. She uncurled and stretched and a strange look suddenly came over her face.

There was no pain. Her hand went to her side. The ragged wound inflicted by the bear's claws was still there but the infection had been purged from it. It would heal cleanly now and soon only a scar would remain under a growth of new fur. Her broken ribs had apparently been healed too. She stopped motionless when she saw glittering gold nestled in the thick fur on her chest. The Mother's golden pendant hung around her neck. Stunned, Sharra picked it from her pelt with a shaking hand and held it up in front if her face. She heard a voice in her head as she stared in shock at the golden spiral.

One last gift to you my child. You have earned it. Wear it with pride.

Sharra spun around rapidly to where John lay on the floor. He rested quietly and had one bare arm crossed over his chest, his wounded and infected arm. Sharra stepped quickly over and knelt down beside him. The horribly infected wound on the back of his right hand had been purged and healed. An ugly scar remained, a reminder of deeds done and pain endured. The claw slashes on his forearm had been healed as well, nothing remained of them except pale scars on tanned skin.

Sharra's heart soared into the heights. He would live! It was all she could do hold back the tears of joy. She wanted to dance around the cabin and sing her happiness to the skies. It was hard for her to contain her exuberance and she had a feeling that the smile that was on her muzzle would be there for a long time. For the first time in a very long time, something had gone right in her life.

She was about to stand up and leave John to his rest but sudden and strange movement caught her attention. Her eyes were drawn to John's shoulder as something slithered strangely on the skin there. Fear blossomed and Sharra's breath caught in her throat. A black speck had appeared on pale skin and she watched in fascination as it spun dizzyingly into a black spiral, an eerily exact copy of the sacred one that hung on the chain around her neck. After a brief pause a straight black line slowly appeared below the spiral. Slowly, unnervingly, it moved and twisted to become the outline of the head of a Tokran. A ring of red flashed to life in the exact center of the forehead and glowed momentarily before the inner light faded and the ring remained permanently burned into the skin. For a moment nothing more happened and Sharra was about to release the breath that she'd been holding when something else suddenly began crawling across pale skin. A straight brown line appeared above the spiral, a sharp point appearing at one end. Slowly, powerfully, images took shape above the pointed line. A twin pair of antlers coalesced there and Sharra's eyes widened. The Mark of the Hunter. She finally released the breath she'd been holding. Eyes wide, she leaned back and nodded. Great Power was at work here and Sharra was almost able to feel strange forces grinding into motion. John had been marked by the Mother, a very great honour, and by the Father, something that had been totally unexpected. Any who saw those marks would understand that something very special indeed had happened to this stranger who wasn't even Tokran. Sharra stood up and stepped away from her friend. She didn't want to disturb him. He needed to rest and recover from his ordeal. She wasn't worried about him anymore. She felt his renewed strength through the Link and knew that the John would soon wake up. There was much they had to talk about when he regained consciousness.

Sharra stepped towards the door of the cabin and as she moved she caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror and stopped cold. She had been marked as well. A ring of pure white fur now occupied the exact center of her forehead, right above the grey bar than ran down her muzzle, a mark of great honour. It showed to all that she had been touched by the Mother and was worthy of respect. Sharra licked suddenly dry lips and swallowed nervously. She stepped out the door of the cabin and into bright sunshine. She wandered numbly in the general direction of the creek, all the while wondering what was going to happen next. She barely even felt the ground underneath her feet. It seemed like the Mother was right. There were definitely going to be some interesting times ahead.