Soul Song ~ Book One

Chapter Eighteen

In the years that came to be known as "The Great Change of the Elders," Healers were hunted to the point of near extinction. It was unknown to the Elders exactly how many Healers remained after the purge. The most resilient of them headed up into the surrounding mountains, leaving behind their friends and their way of life.

One Healer managed to escape against all odds, thanks in large part to a young Elder. The Magiks saw the greatness the two of them possessed and matched them together when things were a little more possible. While it was easier, it was still too difficult to be open with their relationship, and they ended up covenanting in secret.

The young Elder kept his Healer wife hidden from the village and the eyes of the other Elders. It wasn't long before her belly swelled with the joy of motherhood. Not even the dangerous times they lived in could squelch their happiness.

When the time came, the Healers helped their sister bring a beautiful baby girl into the world. With the proper naming ceremony, the child was given the name Mirabella. While in the womb, Mirabella's Magiks had been awakened by her mother, so that when she opened her green eyes for the first time, power sparked from them, filling those present with delight. A child born of Elder and Healer union hadn't happened in so long, the youngest being twelve, and a faint hope that this new child could somehow heal the two sides grew into a wistful dream.

Long before the Change, the Healers and Elder were at odds. Somewhere, in a forgotten past, the Elders lost the use of their Magiks. Both were long lived, both powerful, and both willful, and for far too long, the Healers 'made do' with what they could. Children born of an immortal couple were rare. Klellen was the only one who took a mortal to wife, openly defying the law of the Magiks. The Healers wouldn't dare. Other Elders hadn't followed suit, yet, but it looked more like it was a possibility.

A year after Mirabella's birth, her father was found to be fraternizing with the Healers, and upon his refusal to expose their whereabouts, was brought before the Elder court. Being that he was low rank, he had not Changed yet, and therefore, had no standing to defend himself with. His death was swift and public, showing the villagers that even Elders had to uphold the new laws.

After his death, Mirabella's mother went further into hiding; deeper into the forest on the mountains than the Elders knew existed. There, she and her daughter lived in relative peace for a time. The few surviving Healers dotted through the forest in small huts. There was no need to meet often as they were able to stay in communication through the Magiks, so the distance was not a difficult one.

It was here, deep within the safety of the forest, that Mirabella learned the Healer's Magiks from her mother. Grief pushed Mirabella's mother to push her daughter to learn, to grow, to become strong in the Magiks. She never wanted her precious child to become a victim of the Elder's cruelty.

So, for only a few years, Mirabella learned herbs, meditation, how to reign in her own powers and set them loose within another creature, and most importantly, how to repel and Elder's power. While she learned quickly and was adept with the Magiks, she was still young and the strength of her power ran in conjunction with her strength as a child. Her Magiks were an extension of a very small body. If attacked, she would be virtually helpless. Knowing this, her mother continued to teach her, for one day, she would a woman and she would be strong.

On one crisp morning, a light breeze brought the wisp of fall with it as it blew through a small window of the hut where Mirabella and her mother had resided for several years. Like the other Healers, their hut was round, with one room acting as many. A small, protected fire pit was against one wall with a washbasin against the opposing wall. As they built it, Mirabella's mother insisted there be a window above her washbasin so she could look out into the forest as she cleaned dishes and clothes.