"No one knows, Highness."

She nodded, but wasn't pleased. "Anything else?"

"They prepare for battle against that other human town of Apien."

She shivered at the mention of the town. "As they should. A vile place. I should have ordered them all dead long prior. Does she go?"

"No, Highness. Their Sea Captain has taken over this battle."

"Ah, yes. I forget that they travel in such a fashion. Is this captain a good warrior?"

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"Most capable, my Queen."

"Have you learned more of her companions?"

"A warrior named Keddi is most excellent. Her skills with the bow and arrow are exceptional, perhaps more than ours. She has been one of their scouts, and has just returned from being gone for many cycles. She is the sister of The Highest's long-dead companion."

"They all seem overly connected in that small place. Were they all born in Woden?"

"Know one seems to know where her lover was born, Highness."

"The one who seems different than the rest of them?"

"Yes, my Queen. The one all the animals and children wish to be near."

"And you say she is beautiful?"

"Forgive me, my Queen, but she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, in all The Realm."

"Really? Such as this?"

"She takes my breath away, Highness."

She smiled softly at her, "A rare compliment from you. What else of her?"

She blushed, "She is The Second of Woden, as they call her, Highness."

"The Second? As The Highest was just prior?"

"Yes, my Queen."

"And now a Highest and Second live together, as lovers?"

"So it would seem, my Queen."

"Thank you. You have My leave."

"Highness? There is one more item."

The High Queen looked at her, just waiting.

"Her relationship seems to be troubling her, my Queen. She seems to desire more freedom."

The High Queen raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. She placed a hand upon her messenger's cheek, "You have done well, Force Leader.

Keep Me informed."

As she left, the messenger bowed her head, "Yes, my Queen."

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- 270 -.

Chapter VI.

The Green Stones Sam went to Nodda and Sumi after the group left, "We take our leave now. Many thanks."

They both bowed, "Our pleasure. Please return soon. We gave your floor fur to one of the guards to take back for you."

Sam hugged both and then mounted. The other five were ready.

Keddi asked, "Which way do we head, Highest?"

"To the southern boundary, then east along the sea" as Sam motioned the direction. "Meera, you but lead. We look for a site for Woden's third community."

Meera nodded and began to ride. They rode without speaking, with Rundle running alongside Keddi. They arrived at the sea at early eve, just prior to the sun's setting. Meera kept them moving, riding their horses slowly on the beach.

When Meera found a sheltered cove, she halted and dismounted. "Let us camp here for the eve. It has been a long turn and we need the rest."

She had Anicia and Margeria check out the site for safety, Sam to make the fire, and Keddi to catch some fish. Meera tended to the horses, while Rundle remained in camp near Sam. After Sam got the fire started, she helped Meera undo the bedding, then brought in five stumps and logs for them to sit on around the fire. Meera had retrieved the food bags and began preparing some of the dried food they had brought with them, as Anicia returned with no sightings of others. Keddi returned with two large wild fowl, and Margeria finally returned with another report of no sightings.

They all sat around the fire while Keddi first scalded the fowls, and then plucked off their feathers. Margeria prepared the spit for the turning and roasting.

As they sat around the fire, waiting for their food, Sam retrieved her sword and turned to Meera. "Practice with me, Meera."

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Meera unsheathed her sword and ran to Sam as if attacking. Sam countered and they practiced until they could no longer hold their swords.

When they were done, they returned to the fire, re-sheathing their swords.

Sam turned to Keddi, "In the morn, you will teach us this fine two-arrow trick of yours."

Keddi nodded and reached over to pet Rundle, who looked exhausted from the turn's journey. Margeria sat on the other side of Rundle, also petting him. As they sat around the fire, finally able to eat their meal, Sam told them the stories of the diaries. They all listened intently, amazed at how similar the story of the First Ones resembled what was now occurring in Apien.

Anyst replied, "I think it be but men. Every moment they are in control, this type of abuse occurs."

Keddi laughed, "Oh, Anyst. And what do you know of men? But perhaps you be close. They could be from those same first ones."

Margeria asked, "Highest, where did these First Ones but come from?

Do the diaries make mention of this?"

"No. It just mentions something about Settlement Two. The diary writer refers to their community as a failed experiment. And she seems to miss what she refers to as home. There are many words that I recognize not." Sam looked to the stars, "I think they came here from elsewhere.

Out there somewhere."

Anicia shook her head, "Highest, forgive me, but how do you but think this? They did not fly, as we cannot."

Sam smiled, "I know not, Anicia. You speak truly. I only know that if they be, in truth, the first ones here, then it but makes me wonder how they got here."

"I know not these ideas, Highest, but as you say, they had to come from somewhere. Could they have come from somewhere else in our realm that we have not yet explored?"

"It be a possibility, Meera. I too know this not, and I guess it to be a large realm, indeed. It is but a guess on my part."

Anicia braved herself to ask, "Highest, can you but read us a part from the diaries? I would like to hear their language, as you mention it to have strange words and words we use or know not."

Sam nodded, "Place another log on the fire so that I can see. It be overly dark to read much, but I can read one entry."

Sam opened the diary to the section she had finished and began reading from the next.

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Entry #15 still at sea We've been at sea now for 5 days. Most of the women are still seasick, but some improve. We lost Mary. She was just too sick and couldn't deliver her baby. The death I've seen since coming to this place is almost too much for me to bear at times.

Back home, I would watch the daily news every night at 10:00 p.m., but was never this close to it before. I've never delivered a baby before we came here. I never killed an animal, either. I just bought my meat at the store. Now I can catch and clean fish without a wince. My mother would be amazed. Me? I'm just sickened at all this death. If we had a decent medic, Mary wouldn't have died.

We think we've lost Burn. We watch carefully for him and sail well out of our way so as to lose him. What I wouldn't give for a pair of binoculars or a scope of some type. Speaking of scopes, eyeglasses have become a major problem. I wonder what we'll do about people's failing eyesight. We need to learn to make glass and lenses. And do metallurgy. And mine some minerals. It just never ends, the list of what we need to do. I spent 12 years getting my Ph.D. Twelve years of specializing in solar engineering. Geeezzz. How's that supposed to help now?

Why didn't I take basket weaving instead? At least it would've come in handy. We don't even know how to make bowls or flat wear. We're having to eat with our fingers. We've become barbarians! It's so depressing. And yet, much of it's exciting. I some-times feel what I think Columbus must have felt like: an explorer. It's exciting in a weird way. It's a new land. Some new plant life. Some new kinds of animals to us. And we're like the explorers of old times, before motors, before technology. I feel like I'm back in the middle ages. Some of us even begin to name our children from that era.

I remember watching some sci-fi flicks about some space explorers that went to a new planet to build a whole new civiliza-tion. At the time, I thought it sounded like the perfect life. I wish I'd taken it more to heart and learned more basic survival skills. But if nothing else, we're sure learning them now. It's just sad we have to learn them at the expense of some lives.

The coastline is beautiful. We've just passed a section yes-terday that looks just like the inland passage of Alaska. But I don't want to live in a rain forest. And I hope we go to a place with little or no snow. I feel like I have been cold my entire life.

Our settlement was encased in fog more days than not.

As we sail, mammals swim with us. Some look like dolphins and whales, yet have different markings and different fin structures. The whales don't seem as large as our own big ones.

They all seem around the size of the killer whales. I have seen no sign of seals or puffins, or sea lions. I remember the first - 273 -.

animal I saw when we arrived, and had to laugh. It was a sea gull. They seem to be everywhere, even here.

Elaine tells me that we now head toward our destination.

She's been teaching me to sail. I'm finding myself attracted to her. Funny, back home I was attracted to men, but here, I find Elaine very exciting. The women on my boat are thinking that Elaine may be a natural leader for us. I tend to agree. Back home, she was a microbiologist, but here, she seems to be a natural born explorer and do-it-all person.

"That is the end of this entry, and it be overly dark to read further. It be interesting, is it not to you?" They had listened intently, enraptured with the story.

Meera nodded, "They do, as you say, use language strangely. They used those words that you spoke of - don't; didn't; wouldn't; I've. And there are many words I recognize not. What be solar engineering?"

Sam shook her head, "I know not, and most these words be not in our pitiful dictionary."

Anicia was confused, "So these be the women that began Woden? I but thought it all different than what this says."

"Karan has told me that Woden's first Highest went by the name of Elaine. Elaine the Wise. So this must be but the same person the diary writer mentions."

Keddi said, "Highest, have you thought that we should try to retrieve these original diaries?"

"I have. I think that the very first diaries would tell us how the First Ones arrived here and where they came from."

Anyst sat up suddenly, "Something just came to me. Do you think it coincidence in names with this Burn of the first community and King Buron?"

Sam and Meera both nodded. Meera responded, "I thought as much, also. It could be but a coincidence."

Sam added, "Possibly. It but seems he had enough progeny."

With the thoughts of the First Ones on their minds, they went to sleep. Sam wanted to rise early to begin the check of the boundary. Meera woke with the sun's rise and woke the rest. After they ate their morn meal and broke camp, they rode east along their southern sea boundary. They moved the horses slower on the beach, and Rundle ran alongside, going in and out of the water, playing. The weather was perfect and they enjoyed the peace of the ride. As they neared the southeastern boundary, the terrain began to change to that of rocky cliffs. Keddi, Anyst, Margeria, and Anicia had never seen this side of Woden prior, and were amazed at the quantity of landmass that Woden took. They noticed that the forest also changed - 274 -.

from seasonal trees to more evergreens the higher they went. So far, they had seen no sign of any one else having landed within the Woden boundary.

As they rested their horses, Keddi looked down the cliff, far below to the sea, "I had no notion that we rode so high. If we fell, we could recite a full poem prior to hitting the rocks below."

Anicia laughed, "Cheerful thought, Keddi."

Meera looked at Sam, "Those are dangerous tides on this point."

Sam nodded, "Indeed. Ships would most likely go aground. Oisin could probably tell us much about this point. I know that when she heads this way, she goes far out to sea to avoid it."

Keddi noticed some different sorts of trees that she hadn't yet seen.

"Look at these trees. They have a reddish bark on them, and look how tall they be."

They all looked straight up into the sky toward the tops of the trees.

Sam said, "Tell Oisin not of these, or she will be over here cutting them down for her masts."

Meera laughed, "That be most correct. I hear her always grumbling about the lack of straight enough trees for her masts. She will be most interested in these."