Page 10

The shimmering cloak she wore, was a strange and wondrous garment. It seemed to conceal nothing, and yet it concealed all. Legend said that it actually held and concealed treasures that most mortals could never comprehend. The other adornments were a simple gold locket and a World Ring upon her finger. It was almost hard to believe that such a slight form could ever have struck fear into anyone, but then the child remembered that moment she'd seen, when the power had rippled through that slight form. It did seem though that it would be easier to love this lady than hate her.

Kayal's voice eventually broke the silence as she continued the story.

The Globe did bring some joy to the Clan. But the loss of Freak made us realize how easily things could change. We worked quite hard over that period to develop the clan quests. We began to try and make them reflect the clan level itself, to try and make them help the young shapers learn more about the World and World's ways. At that time, the young earth were taught to explore and they were given the task of finding items that were at the far ends of the known world. Since we had also progressed in our knowledge of World's power, we were able to reward them with new spells.

Page 11

Their reward for proving that they could explore alone and on foot became the power to ride the wind. Our knowledge was imperfect though. For many years our spells were not powerful and we had to use our wits to survive. Perhaps that was good for us. I think it was about then that we first started to evolve our philosophy. Some might say we weakened, but we convinced ourselves that using wands and scrolls was a skill that it was wrong to deny.

I don't think I was ever a great leader. I was too forgiving. It showed me that it was important to have more than one. Carmon was the great fighter and general and World would never have made it through without his firm hand at the helm. Braveheart was a strange mix. Perhaps his name truly reflected him. He was brave and determined to be strong to protect the clan. He hated being too weak to protect the young. I used to laugh at his belief that he was weak. I often fought at his side and know that he was far stronger than I. He was a great warrior. I think he felt guilty when the time came for him to leave us, but it was fitting, since our belief was so strongly that we strive to reach our full potential. I was honored when he showed me what he had built and I was proud that he came from World.

Page 12

In a sense it was a great compliment. He had traveled the path of World as far as it could take him and there was no other clan that could give him what was missing, so he built Music. He built it with Ulf. Perhaps Ulf can tell you more of him because they must have dreamed together to manage to build such a lasting monument. In a way, he surpassed us all. He equaled Freak. He became more than a Shaper. He became a creator.

Kayal sighed again and said almost in a whisper "So many of them, and they are all gone. Sometimes, you can get too old....see too much" then she chuckled softly "I did try to get them to record themselves for posterity. But when you are young you believe you will never forget."