Spectral Shadows

Serial No. 1

Children of the Ommadawn

Episode No. 4

The Storm

Angelis turned his gaze forward again and continued his march down the pathway until he reached the other end and disappeared into the forest.

Then the lines of bucks began to break up. Some bucks were disappointed, others dejected. But a few were angry. Raelian had stolen their thunder, and they gathered around him, the scent of their hostility filling the air.

But suddenly Praline was by his side, and Raelian observed that her eyes glowed with the same ghostly aura Angelis had displayed. She had powers she was prepared to invoke to defend her son, and none of the bucks were brave enough to test those powers. They stomped the ground to show their irritation, but then departed.

Jonathan and Clarice soon rejoined them. Clarice seemed in great distress. She still shivered in a fearful, neurotic fashion, and Jonathan and Raelian showed great concern.

“It’s ok, Claire,” said Jonathan. “They’re all gone. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

Jonathan moved to touch her in a comforting way, but she shied away from him.

Clarice looked at Praline, then at Raelian, then at her mother standing not too far away. Which one should she run to for comforting? Which one could she trust never to hurt her? She did not feel safe with any of them. She laid down on the ground, covered her face with her fore legs and wept.

“What’s wrong with her, mother?” asked Jonathan.

“I’m afraid she’s being raised by a neurotic fool who teaches her to fear everything and doesn’t give her the love she needs to grow strong,” said Praline. “You must be especially kind to your cousin. Love her unconditionally and lend her whatever strength she’ll take from you. Otherwise I fear she won’t live to reach maturity.”

Jonathan and Raelian were shocked to hear this. They did not want to face a future that their beautiful cousin wouldn’t be a part of. So they laid down, one on each side of her, and nuzzled her consolingly.

Gradually Clarice began to accept the reassurance they offered her, and she nuzzled them back appreciatively, drinking in the love of her cousins like a parched and dusty flower on the desert drinking in a rare and sudden shower of life saving nourishment.

Meanwhile, Candice kept her distance. Obviously she wanted Clarice to get what she needed, but for herself she wanted no part of any such familial nonsense. Eventually, she left the meadow without alerting Clarice to her departure.

“What an irresponsible thing to do,” thought Praline.

Not long after that the sky became overcast and deep rumblings were heard in the distance.

“We should go home now,” said Praline.

Clarice looked around for her mother and panicked anew when there was no sign of her.

“Apparently your mother has left you in my care,” said Praline. “Please come home with us.”

Reluctantly Clarice agreed to trust Praline. And just at that moment a huge ear splitting crash shattered the peace of the forest.

Clarice buried her face under her forelegs again, bleating frantically. And Jonathan and Raelian pressed close to her to assure her that they would protect her, even though the loud bang had terrified them as well.

“No time for that now, children,” said Praline. “The meadow is not safe anymore. We must go.”

Praline led the three children off the meadow and back into the shelter of the forest. And they noticed that the normally peaceful atmosphere of the forest had changed. The air was filled with agitation and fear. Everywhere small animals were racing about and complaining loudly as they tried to reach the shelter of their homes before the storm could release its full fury on them.

They reached Praline’s glade just as the rain began to fall. They could hear it smacking the leaves of the trees above them, but it would take some time before the water would be able to reach the ground.

Praline herded the children into her little sanctuary. Then she laid down and invited the children to huddle close to her for whatever protection she could offer.

Jonathan and Raelian huddled close to their mother, but Clarice hesitated.

“What’s the matter, Clarice?” asked Praline.

“My mother would kick me if I did that,” said Clarice.

“I won’t kick you,” said Praline, reassuringly. “I promise.”

“My mother won’t be mad at me?” asked Clarice, fearfully.

“She left you with me,” said Praline. “She must want me to take care of you. So why should she be mad?”

Just then another ear piercing crash split the air, and the terrified Clarice tried to burrow herself underneath Praline as she wailed out her fear.

Praline finally got the little doe settled and began trying to calm her with reassurance that she was protected, loved and safe.

Meanwhile, Jonathan and Raelian did not share Clarice’s fear. They knew they were safe with Praline. Still they wondered at the strange sounds they were hearing, and they could not fathom why such a disturbing event was happening in their peaceful forest.

Individual drops of rain were settling on the uppermost leaves in the roof of the forest and accumulating until their weight caused them to be spilled down onto the leaves below. This process had to be repeated thousands of times before the water could penetrate the thickly tangled growth that formed the ceiling and walls of Praline’s glade.

Raelian focused his attention on the slight sound of the water making its way downward. He stood up and regarded the ceiling curiously, straining his ears to study the sound. All the others noticed how serious he seemed in his contemplation.

The sound now seemed to be moving through the walls. And as Raelian moved close to the wall to listen, a leaf full of water suddenly emptied itself into his eyes.

Praline tried hard not to laugh as Raelian shook the water away, but she was not successful at containing her amusement. Jonathan and Clarice were equally amused. But Raelian did not seem to mind being laughed at. He was far too pleased to see a smile on Clarice’s face again, even if it did only last a moment.

Outside, the wind began to howl as it picked up force, singing a ghostly melody played against the percussion of the thunder, which grew progressively louder and more painful to the sensitive ears of the deer.

Suddenly the darkened glade was lit by a momentary flash of light, followed almost instantly by the sound of an explosion that seemed to come from directly over the glade. It was so loud it left the children’s’ ears ringing. And now even Jonathan and Raelian clung to their mother in fear.

Clarice whimpered softly and shivered. She was beyond fear now, and Praline worried that the little doe might go into a state of catatonic shock.

Praline concentrated and tuned up her psychic powers, as Clarice’s mind was especially vulnerable to psychic control.

Praline hummed a soothing melody, which quickly caught Clarice’s fascination. Soon the sound of Praline’s voice was the only thing Clarice could hear. Praline had hypnotized the little doe so that she would be unaware of the commotion outside. She would feel only the sense of peace and safety that Praline was projecting.

Clarice became quiet and still. All nervousness seemed to leave her. And she leaned her head against Praline and rested peacefully throughout what remained of the ordeal.

But Praline provided no such peace for Jonathan and Raelian. They were not weak and needed no such coddling.

By this time water was streaming into the glade, and the deer had no protection from it. The ground beneath them became soggy and matted their fur, which was not a pleasant sensation. Nor was the chill in the air, which seemed all the worse because they were soaked to their skin.

Outside it sounded as if the forest was being torn up by its roots. The trees could be heard groaning in their valiant efforts against the onslaught of the wind. And often there were frightening snapping sounds as branches broke off.

Then, from nearby, there came a fearful conglomeration of animal screams and snapping wood as an entire tree was toppled, taking many branches from neighboring trees down with it as it made its way to the ground, placing all the animals that lived in the affected area in mortal danger.

Praline, being sensitive, could feel the dying tree, as well as the animals who had been hurt. But she could not help them now. She prayed that the storm would pass quickly so that she could go to them before it was too late.

Sometime later, as Jonathan and Raelian clung to their mother fearing the end of the world had come, the storm passed over them and rolled off into the distance. The rain had stopped. But water would continue to trickle into the glade for some time.

Praline said that they could go out now, and Clarice stretched herself contentedly, as if awakening from the most pleasant sleep she’d ever had. Though she had not really been asleep for a moment.

Emerging from the glade, the deer found the forest still dark and looking as if it had just fought a great battle that had taken all of its strength to survive. All the leaves that remained on the trees hung heavy with moisture. The ground was soft and difficult to maintain footing on. And fallen leaves and branches were strewn about everywhere.

Jonathan wanted to ask a question, but Praline had no time for that. She took off in the direction of the fallen tree, and the children followed her.

As they arrived on the scene they beheld a great tragedy. Many animals were hurt. Some had already died. Others stood by helplessly, weeping for their lost and injured loved ones.

As the priestess of the Omman faith, it was Praline’s job to administer healing to the wounded, and speak the rites for the dead. She launched into her work without hesitation.

Some had injuries that were within the scope of her power to heal. She tended to their needs first. Then she offered blessings, reassurances and whatever relief from pain was possible to those who were doomed to die. And finally she said the rites over the dead and offered her sympathies to their loved ones.

All the while, Lord Death was there, observing Praline’s efforts as he went about his own work. And he knew she could see him. Sometimes when she passed close to him she would bow respectfully. And he, likewise, showed respect for her.

Meanwhile, Jonathan and Raelian waited at the edge of the tragic scene, caring for Clarice who was quite distressed by this vision of life’s fragility. But not nearly so distressed as she had been during the storm. She seemed a bit stronger now, and she had no further reservations about her aunt or her cousins.

Raelian watched his mother at work with great admiration. It was his greatest ambition to be just like her, a healer who cared for the needs of others.

As he looked on, Raelian could see his mother praying over the body of a dead squirrel. But then he realized she was not praying. She was talking to someone – someone who was invisible. He tuned into her senses to see what she saw. And through Praline’s eyes he clearly beheld Rinne Le Ciel, the raven winged Omman Lord of Death.

“What a pleasant fellow he seems,” Raelian remarked to himself. “And he seems to like my mother very much. What is he saying? I can almost hear it. Something about his successor.”

“What are you staring at?” said Clarice, giving Raelian a little shove that broke his concentration. “Pay attention to me.”

Eventually Praline finished her work and prepared to depart. The grateful animals thanked her for her kindness, and then she rejoined the children.

Praline led the children back to the meadow to dry out in the warm rays of the sun, which would soon be returning.

Looking up at the sky, the children saw streaks of light appear through tiny, pinprick holes in the clouds. These holes became bigger as the light increased, until the clouds dissolved all together. And the light of the sun was once again free to shine its life giving force down upon Shinrin.

Other animals began to gather on the meadow.

Most of them, especially the very small, had been quite frightened by the storm. So Praline was asked to explain the storm with one of her stories. She agreed to do this, and all manner of animals gathered round to hear the tale the priestess would tell.

As they did so, they attuned themselves to her mind. They would not only hear her story, but also see the vivid illustrations she held in her memory from when the story was passed down to her. They would not need to ask her the definitions of words they had never heard or things they had never seen. They would instantly share all the knowledge she had about such things.

This was the psychic nature of animal communication. They did not really speak to each other in a manner in anyway comparable to the human words this story has been translated into.

The Omman Legends of Creation and the Storm as Told by Praline

Long, long ago, before the world was born, young Taiyo Kami Sama attended his teachers, and they instructed him and his fellow starlings on how to create worlds.

“Take these pieces of paper,” the teacher instructed the little stars. “Upon them write in poetic verse a song that reflects the kind of world you want to create. If you believe strongly in the world you have dreamed, these runes that you write shall become the seeds of life. Then take the paper containing the seeds and roll it into a ball. Cast it into the universe that lies beyond The Realm of Fantasy, and shine the light of your being upon it to nurture its life.”

All the other children wrote very simple ideas on their pieces of paper. Most wrote only one dream down to cast into the material universe. And their dreams quickly bloomed under their loving care to become realities.

But Taiyo Kami Sama was an ambitious and foolish little star. He could not be satisfied with just one dream, as he had so many, and they were all precious and dear to him. Carefully, lovingly, he wrote them all down and rolled them into a gigantic ball of paper that was so large he could not even lift it without help.

And so he called upon his friend, The Spirit of the Wind, who was strong. “Please dear Wind Spirit,” he entreated. “Help me to pitch this ball of paper out into the universe that lies beyond The Realm of Fantasy, that my dreams may become reality.”

The Wind Spirit laughed. “What a foolish little star you are, Taiyo Kami Sama. Would all the light of your entire being be enough to sustain such a big world?”

“I know not,” said Taiyo Kami Sama. “But I love my dreams. And if necessary, I will give all of my being to make them live. But I am only a little star, and I cannot move this big ball of paper by myself. Will you not help me?”

“I will help you,” said The Wind Spirit. “For a price. This shall be a very large world. It would be fun to have such a large world to run freely across. Will you promise me that I may have your world for my playground, there to test my speed and enjoy myself as I please?”

“Gladly I shall promise this,” said Taiyo Kami Sama. “So much greater shall be my joy to share my dreams with my friend.”

And so The Wind Spirit picked up the huge ball of paper in his strong arms and carried it to The Great Gate at The Point of Know Return.

Taiyo Kami Sama went out through The Gate first and settled himself in a place that was comfortable and empty. Then he called to The Wind Spirit, and The Wind Spirit pitched the ball of paper towards Taiyo Kami Sama with as much force as he could gather.

Taiyo Kami Sama caught the ball of paper within the force of his gravity, but it was very heavy and took all of his strength to hold it from flying away from him.

Now he did as he was instructed and shown the light of his being on the ball of paper. It absorbed the energy for its life force and gradually became solid. Then the seeds of his dreams began to grow.

But, because the ball of paper had been so large, it took much longer for things to take shape there than was the case with the dreams of all the other little stars. Eventually many other stars passed Taiyo Kami Sama on their way home. Their dreams had already bloomed, lived, and passed. Now they had time to learn how to do other fun things. But Taiyo Kami Sama’s world had not even begun to bloom yet.

The little stars laughed at Taiyo Kami Sama as they passed. “What a foolish star to try creating such a large world,” they said. “It will take the whole of his life to fulfill such grand ambitions.” Then they left Taiyo Kami Sama alone with his dreams and went home to play.

Taiyo Kami Sama felt sad to have been laughed at. He did not understand why the other stars didn’t see the value in his dreams. But The Wind Spirit came to him and said, “Cheer up, Taiyo Kami Sama. I have changed my mind and now share your love for your dreams. I will stay with you and help speed the growth of your world. Yet it shall be lonely with just the two of us here. May I not invite my friend, The Water Spirit, to join us? With her help your dreams would grow even faster.”

“It should be lovely to have the company of the beautiful Water Spirit,” said Taiyo Kami Sama. “Please go and invite her to join us.”

And so The Wind Spirit flew back to The Realm of Fantasy, soon returning with the beautiful Water Spirit in tow. She looked upon Taiyo Kami Sama’s world and instantly fell in love with it. She spread herself across the surface, and nourished the seeds of Taiyo Kami Sama’s dreams with her life.

For many long years the three companions knew only each other. Both Taiyo Kami Sama and The Wind Spirit grew to love The Water Spirit, and they became her mates. Taiyo Kami Sama would make love to The Water Spirit by shining his radiance across her surface, so that she would give birth to clouds. And the wind spirit would play among the clouds, scattering them across the world, and blowing upon them so that they would grow and fill with water that would rain down over the entire surface of the world. Thus not one of the seeds of Taiyo Kami Sama’s dreams remained untouched by the nourishment of The Water Spirit. And they grew strong and became life.

Taiyo Kami Sama’s world grew green and lovely. Its beauty could be seen from far away. And the little stars who had mocked him before now admired Taiyo Kami Sama and his dreams. They acknowledged that he was special. And they wished that they too had the power and strength to form such grand ambitions and see them through.

But there was one star who was very unhappy that Taiyo Kami Sama was realizing his dreams. His name was Salocin, and he was a Dark Star who lacked the power to create worlds. He would look out at Taiyo Kami Sama’s world from behind The Great Gate, and he would feel very jealous. He did not see why such a foolish little star should be able to fulfill his dreams and gain such respect, when Salocin thought himself much more worthy of that glorification, though he could not attain it.

And so Salocin set his own ambition. He would try to steal Taiyo Kami Sama’s world for his own. And if he could not steal it, then he would corrupt it, and eventually destroy it. He would show everyone that Taiyo Kami Sama was nothing special by demonstrating the flaws in his creation.

Meanwhile, the dreams of Taiyo Kami Sama grew and became living beings. And because Taiyo Kami Sama had dreamed that these beings should be free to dream and create as he did, his children chose the environments they wanted to live in and adapted themselves to them.

Some chose to live in the sea to be ever near The Water Spirit. Others learned to fly and took to the sky to play with The Wind Spirit. But most chose to walk the land and be forever bathed in the light of Taiyo Kami Sama’s love.

According to Taiyo Kami Sama’s plan, he contentedly watched to see how his children would reshape their world through the power of their own dreams. And when the other stars saw this aspect of Taiyo Kami Sama’s plan some marveled at the genius he had shown in creating an entirely self-shaped and self-perpetuating world. But others expressed concern that Taiyo Kami Sama had given the power of creation to mortal beings. They felt that such knowledge was too dangerous to be held by anyone but the stars.

Salocin listened to this criticism and rejoiced. Therein he saw the fatal flaw in Taiyo Kami Sama’s plan that would be the undoing of his world. All he needed to do was find a dreamer among the children of Taiyo Kami Sama whom he could influence, and he would be able to change Taiyo Kami Sama’s world in any way he desired.

So, without being invited, Salocin flew to Taiyo Kami Sama’s world and searched about, looking for a strong dreamer whom he could influence. He found one such dreamer whose name was Akuma Mao. And Akuma Mao was a very creative dreamer who caused many realities to come about in the material world.

So Salocin invaded the dreams of Akuma Mao and persuaded him to believe that he was bored.

“This world Taiyo Kami Sama has created has no danger or adventure. Nothing to give excitement or uncertainty to life,” said Salocin.

“What are these things you speak of?” said Akuma Mao. “I have not imagined them.”

And so Akuma Mao attuned his mind to that of Salocin, and he beheld the nightmares that Salocin imagined.

“I cannot bring excitement and adventure to this world. But you can,” said Salocin. “For there to be adversity there must first be a villain. And you shall be this world’s first villain. Behold this emotion I have imagined which does not yet exist in your world. It is called greed. And behold the iniquitous joy I imagine in holding power over others. Through greed you can attain such power. You shall usurp the rule of Ra and become the master of this planet.”

At first Akuma Mao paid little heed to these dreams. He did not want them to become reality. But he did not understand that he had already dreamed them, and in doing so, planted the seeds of evil into Taiyo Kami Sama’s world.

In time the seeds of evil grew and became great monsters that roamed the land and terrorized the helpless children of Taiyo Kami Sama. And the high priest of Ra prayed to Taiyo Kami Sama for deliverance. But Taiyo Kami Sama said to him, “I have no rune that will dispel anything from this world that my children have created. It was not my plan that I should manage your lives. If my children have dreamed of evil, they must dream of great good to counter it.”

But instead of dreaming of great good, the children dreamed of possessing the strength to defend themselves. They grew larger and more powerful. Some developed claws and sharp teeth, while others grew horns and various other defenses. And they gathered together in groups to protect each other, eventually dividing themselves into tribes, each of which became a different kind of animal.

Akuma Mao’s tribe was the most imaginative and creative tribe. They thought themselves so superior to the other tribes that they called themselves “human beings,” rather than taking a regular name like the other tribes. Then they built fortresses to protect themselves from the monsters. And they built weapons they could use to slay the monsters. They were not happy until they had rid the world of all dangers to themselves.

At first the other tribes respected and admired the humans, for they were just as happy to be rid of the monsters. But the humans continued to live in their fortress, even when there was no more danger. And when they came out, they turned their weapons on the other tribes and enslaved them.

Life became very unpleasant for the children of Taiyo Kami Sama. For the humans now ruled the world without compassion. They thought only of their own tribe and worked the children of the other tribes to death in the creation of foul machines that polluted the air and the sea.

The Wind Spirit choked on the pollution. And The Water Spirit fell ill from all the poison the humans had poured into the sea. They entreated Taiyo Kami Sama to do something about the arrogant tribe of humans. But he said that he could not, lest his plan be revealed a failure. Yet The Wind Spirit and The Water Spirit were under no such obligation.

The Water Spirit made special clouds, which The Wind Spirit gathered together. Then he blew hard upon them until they became heavy with water and electricity. He pushed these clouds over the fortress of the humans. And together The Wind Spirit and The Water Spirit rained down their anger until the fortress crumbled under their wrath, and all the humans were in danger of their lives.

The Wind Spirit and The Water Spirit pursued the human tribe without mercy, hoping to destroy them completely so that the world might be peaceful again. But Taiyo Kami Sama could not bear to see the humans perish. For no matter how cruel and unworthy they had shown themselves to be, they would always be the children of Ra. They were part of him, made from his dreams and nourished with his light. He wanted them to be saved from themselves – not destroyed.

So Taiyo Kami Sama called out to The Wind Spirit and The Water Spirit that they had done enough, and they should stop. But they did not want to stop, and continued to storm their fury on the humans in spite of Ra’s pleading.

And so Taiyo Kami Sama showed his full brilliance on the storm clouds, drying them up and depleting them of their power. And once the human tribe was saved Taiyo Kami Sama admonished The Wind Spirit and The Water Spirit for giving in to the desire for revenge. It was bad enough that Ra’s children were becoming corrupted by unloving thoughts. But if the elemental spirits themselves should be corrupted, all hope for the world would surely be lost.

The spirits apologized to Taiyo Kami Sama, promising that they would never again try to destroy an entire tribe, no matter how serious their crimes. But to this day, the human tribe remains arrogant and eager to respond to the evil dreams that Salocin plants within them. And The Wind Spirit and The Water Spirit continue to be angered by the atrocities that the humans commit. So they continue to create storms to vent their fury. Not anything as bad as that first storm, but bad enough to remind all of Ra’s children how fragile their lives are, and how easily those who gave them life could take it away.

And just like that first time, Ra stops the storms when he feels they have made their point. And he sends the rainbow along with his light to remind us that we must all survive adversity if we wish our lives to be filled with beauty.

When Praline had finished her story, she bowed to her listeners and blessed them, as she always did after sharing her religious teachings.

Everyone received her blessing gratefully. Everyone, that is, except for a group of rabbits who acted disrespectfully and mocked her loudly, making sure that all could hear their disapproval.

“False prophet,” they jeered. “Heretic priestess. We know of your lies. We follow the true Rah. You will not deceive us.”

Jonathan and Raelian were quite shocked by this. They had never seen anyone show disrespect for their mother, and they wondered what she would do about it.

Praline simply pretended not to hear, as if their words meant nothing to her. She went to rest under her favorite tree, ignoring the rabbits, much as Angelis had ignored the bucks.

Then these rabbits were joined by another rabbit. He was old and quite large, walking with lumbering footsteps that he hoped would convey great power, the way Angelis had done. And the other rabbits treated him as though he was their most respected elder.

“Poor little fools,” thought Praline. “You’d think they’d be able to tell the difference between muscle and fat.”

The old rabbit approached Praline and looked at her crossly.

“Still spreading your Omman lies, Praline?” said the rabbit in his elderly haggard voice. “We have warned you before, but you continue to ignore us. We won’t stand for it any longer. Either tell the stories according to the new religion or keep silent.”

“I will tell my stories as they were told to me,” said Praline flatly. “If you don’t like them you don’t have to listen.”

“But others will listen,” said the rabbit. “And they will become confused so that I cannot lead them to the new path. If we are to have change we cannot allow your opposition to the new ways.”

“Your new path is leading nowhere, Sel,” said Praline. “You teach your people to be violent, rude and intolerant. It saddens me to see how you mislead them. What makes you think you have any power to tell me what I should do, or that I would even consider helping you?”

“You dare talk that way to me?” demanded the rabbit. “I am The Great Sel. The true Rah has shown me how to give my people power. And if you oppose us, I will use my power to punish you. Behold.”

Praline looked up and saw that while Sel had been speaking, a number of menacing looking rabbits had gathered around Jonathan, Raelian and Clarice.

“Promise to support the new religion,” Sel demanded of Praline. “Or I will order my soldiers to hurt your children.”

“The only promise I’ll give you is that you will be very sorry should you give any such order,” said Praline, knowingly.

“You dare threaten me?” said Sel, indignantly. “I see we shall have to teach you a lesson.”

But as Sel prepared to give the order to attack, there came the sound of trampling hooves and the squeals of rabbits being injured. Candice had seen the rabbits threatening her fawn and had attacked them from behind. The rabbits fled in terror before her flashing hooves that could so easily crush or kick them to death, knowing that even in great numbers the rabbits could do little to stop a fully grown deer who was prepared to kill.

“Run, you little vermin!” shouted Candice. “I’ll trample every last one of you!”

“Don’t run!” Sel yelled at the fleeing rabbits. “Attack!” But the rabbits were too terrified of facing this full-grown doe who was anything but passive like Praline, and would be all too happy to kill them for threatening her child.

“Poor Sel,” said Praline. “You have so much power when attacking the innocent and bullying your friends. But that power turns to ashes when you face a real enemy, doesn’t it? Don’t be afraid of me, Sel. I won’t ever hurt you, or try to stop you from spreading your hateful ideas. And I won’t defend myself if you attack me. But I can’t stop anyone else from defending me if they want to. And every time one of my friends defeats you, your people will see that the power you promise them is the true lie. Now please leave my presence. The sight of your obesity offends me.”

Enraged by Praline’s unwillingness to respect his power, Sel hissed at her threateningly. Then he launched himself at her, taking her by surprise. He sank his teeth into her shoulder and raked deep bloody furrows in her flesh with his claws. Then he leapt back to the ground and hissed at her again, this time with Praline’s blood staining his face.

“May you get infected and die,” he hissed. Then he ran away as fast as his oversized body could travel, which was shamefully slow for a rabbit.

Candice, the children and several other animals gathered round Praline showing great concern, as she was bleeding rather profusely. It seemed that Sel had managed to cut a vein or two. And everyone was horrified to realize the extent of Sel’s hatred for Praline.

Praline also seemed to be in shock. Sel had actually managed to hurt her to an extent she had not thought possible. And she wondered what would happen if he thought all the rabbits to be that vicious. They could conceivably become a tribe of predators, swarming over larger animals like Piranha.

A buck who had been watching stepped forward to say, “We shall avenge you, Priestess. I shall gather my fighting team and lead them against Sel’s followers for this sacrilege.”

“Please don’t do that,” said Praline. “That’s just what Sel wants you to do. He’s willing to sacrifice the lives of his followers to increase his power by making his people hate us. We must not play his game. As violent and vicious as Sel may be, he is still too small to seriously hurt me. Please do not start a pointless war to avenge my wounds. They’re my wounds. Let me handle them in my way.”

“But Priestess, this is unbearable,” protested the buck. “You are the last. You are precious to us. We cannot just stand still and allow you to be mocked and injured.”

“If you attack the rabbits you do so for your own reasons,” said Praline. “You do it to avenge your own wounded feelings. If you must do this, I cannot stop you. But I forbid you to do it in my name. I am The Priestess of Peace. Do not let Sel use me to start a war.”

The buck bowed respectfully and said, “As you wish, Priestess. But I fear we shall regret that we did not stamp Sel out while we had the chance.”

“We shall regret it even more if the next tribe to need stamping out is ours,” warned Praline.

Then she closed her eyes, as if going into a trance. And as the others watched they saw that Praline’s bleeding stopped, her wounds closed themselves, and before a very few minutes had passed her injuries were completely healed over.

And all the animals then bowed their heads, in awe of Praline’s power.

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