KindredJournal1

Journal One

The Fires have been lit and the people dance around them, celebrating the new Spring and the
fertility of field and womb. I can see their faces shining in the dancing light. So many new children, so
many new acres sown. I must go down soon and join them in their welcome of the new Spring. I am
more mentor than King to them but they are my family, and I would not disappoint them on this
special day. It was not always so, before we came to this valley they viewed the King with suspicion
and were wary of the presence of anyone from the palace.

After the death of Margaret, The King, my Noble Brother, seemed even more afraid of my
influence over the people. He wished to be rid of me. And so one morning, not long after the
funeral, called me to his throne room. He looked at me with his sour eyes as I stood there before him.
He could not understand my calmness in his presence and always wondered when I should strike out
for revenge.

“I have decide that you may take your rebels and go, you have three days to get you gone before I
set my guards on any who do not accept my word as LAW in this land.”

“You may rest assured that we shall be gone before your generous deadline, we have made all the
preparations long since and only awaited your gracious permission to go, for we are not rebels
though we wish to be quit of your merciful leadership that has brought us such joy.” I spoke with
irony knowing that if I was harmed now the people would rise one and all, my following as well as the
loyal peasants.

“GO!” He cried, “And if I see you again I shall treat you as the ungrateful rebel you are though you
be twice brother to me!!”

I could see his control slipping and so made my haste to remove from his presence, he had been
increasingly unstable and I did not wish to pass his limits and endanger my followers as well as myself
and my son.

It was a column of 500 that left the next day, Peasants, craftsmen, my guard and all their families. My
brother’s guards saw us on our way with barely concealed contempt. The road to our valley took
three days, When the straggling column topped the last hill we saw the valley spread out before us,
green and lush under the Spring sun. We made camp and decided to rest the night before setting up
our permanent camp beside the site for the village and manor house. I had picked a rounded hill in the
middle of the village site to build and burrow into for the manor. It was to be in strong contrast to the
stone palace of my Father and Brother. When completed it would appear as though the manor had
grown from the hill in harmony with the land instead of imposed on it by the hand of Man.

Not long before midnight, when all the camp was asleep, the sound of singing came from the forest
by the river. Everyone, young and old, found themselves awakened and alert, they looked out from
their tents and saw flickering torches approaching. A large group of Elves, lead by Nerdaniel,
stopped at the edge of the camp and The Elven Queen dismounted and came to me.

“My Lord Mithel,” She said in a loud but gentle voice that could be heard by all. “We come to
welcome you to your new home, to feast with you and to begin to teach you that which you have
come to learn.”

Then the other Elves dismounted and came forward in pairs, male and female. Each couple selected
a group of 11 Humans and led them aside to form a circle around fires that they lit with wondrous
speed. Nerdaniel and her consort came to my household party, She then led us into the forest to a
small clearing not far inside. Nerdaniel struck a flame from her staff and lit the stack of fragrant wood
already laid. At her command we all joined hand, man to woman, woman to man, and our first lesson in
the Elven path began.

As the firelight danced around the circle of faces, Nerdaniel began to chant in a clear ringing voice.
She told of the Goddess and her beginnings, of the Horned God who gave balance and harmony
to her life. As the ancient tale rolled over us we became aware of a presence, the presence of the
Gods in our circle. I do not know if the God’s are real as you and I are real, but that night the Lady
and Lord came to us and we felt their Love and Understanding. We felt all the life around us tied
together into a dance of life and death, beginnings and endings. We could feel the other circles in
the wood and them us. We saw clearly for the first time our connection with all that lives and moves
under the sun and moon. We saw the paths we needed to tred to form a greater harmony than
Humans had ever known before. We felt our births and we felt our deaths, and we felt most keenly
the potential in the seeds we were here planting; potential for glory and potential for defeat. We
chose to follow the glory, and accepted the possibility of defeat. I saw my death more clearly then
ever before, and also the great danger to the colony after I was gone. The seed was planted, the
crop must grow or die, as my death approaches and the doubts gnaw at my heart in the night, I know
that I must pass on and leave the child to mature or wither: So be it! My son, I give you my blessings
and dreams to carry forward. I hope you forgive Nerdaniel and me for what we have done to you and
understand the purpose of the restrictions we have laid upon you. You will have your own trials and
labors, and I hope that your future is as bright when you read this as it was when we came to this
beautiful valley. I look into my silver mirror, my face seems so like the young man’s who said farewell to
Margaret so long ago. I am coming love, it will not be long now.

Copyright 2005 by Guy R. Whitney All Rights Reserved