Island Spirits page | Timeline Children page
Segue / TC Prologue | Chapter 16 / TC 1.2

By the time Uacro got to the chief’s hut, the morning was well and truly dawned, and the chief seemed none too pleased to see him.

“What do you want, boy?” Chief Guar grumped, almost tripping over a toddler.

Island Spirits page | Timeline Children page
Chapter Fourteen | Chapter Fifteen / TC 1.1

Uacro fell asleep that night as alone as he’d ever been. With Saelua gone, all the work was left to him – and it was exhausting. Having Saazul’s heart was the only thing that kept him from breaking down, and he prayed her love was as true as it seemed.

Drifting deeper into sleep, he was unaware, at first, of the pictures coming to him, but it didn’t take long for them to take on a life of their own…

Chapter Thirteen | Island Spirits page | Segue / TC Prologue

Utel had not been the only miserable tribe member recently, and yet another night on the hard ground in a tent had left Nork tossing and turning. He missed his bed. He missed his children. He missed .. yes, he had to admit.. he missed Utel. So, with his heart on his sleeve, he packed up his things yet again, and miserably trudged across the village to try to apologize to Utel.

He arrived mid-morning, and, predictably, found Utel out in the garden by herself. He cleared his throat as he passed the initial trees, noticing to his chagrin that someone had made raised beds for the rest of the plants.

“Utel?”

Chapter Twelve | Island Spirits Welcome page | Chapter Fourteen

Oblivious to all the rest of the fuss in the town, Utel was out in her garden, communing with her bees. She was proud that she had finally managed to get all of her plants in raised beds on her own, and was up early cooking for her large family and getting the gardening chores done.

In fact, she had managed to finally get her aspiration completed, as well, so the news that she would be able to learn more healing from Uacro was more than welcomed. It would give her something else to do to help contribute to the village’s well-being.

Chapter Eleven | Island Spirits Welcome page | Chapter Thirteen

The news that Saelua had died quickly spread in the growing village, and a feast ceremony was ordered for everyone to get together and mourn the all-important Village Mystic. Uacro, her son, was, quite obviously, next in line, because he was the only one with any training to do so, but he was still too young, so there was a sense of uneasiness in the village. What were they to do without their healer?

Utel showed up at the Temple early, and started the feast pit going, so that there would be plenty for everyone. Before long, the Temple was a buzzing hive of activity and everyone seemed to be thrilled for a day of celebration instead of the daily grind of surviving. Chief Guar showed up, and Utel brought him a plate of food near the large bonfire.

Chapter Ten | Island Spirits page | Chapter Twelve

Utel was getting along far worse than Nork. Instead of spending all their time fishing, she had a huge garden to tend, kids to watch, and meals to cook. Now, with Nork gone, all the handiness tasks also fell to her. Which included the broken toilet. After Nork had discovered how to make one, everyone had decided they were too good to use the bush, so the toilet seemed to break all the time.

Chapter Nine | Island Spirits page | Chapter Eleven

Of course, the first people Nork contacted in his newly homeless state were his fishing buddies. All of them had mates, and had scattered to different homes except for Dhok. He and his mate, Makkaen, immediately offered some tent space for Nork, to Nork’s eternal gratitude. His first night away from home passed slowly, but the sun still came up the next day, and – with nothing else to do, Nork headed out with the fishing club to get resources for the still-growing village.

Chapter Eight | Island Spirits Welcome page | Chapter Ten

Having Nork back home was a blessing Utel wasn’t about to overlook. He was now determined to master the Gardening skill, and was planting everything in sight.

Utel also asked him to make some new Garden Planters, but he was so busy gardening, she wasn’t sure he’d even heard her request. On the other hand, Gnaar had finally gotten out of his toddler pants, and was learning to be helpful around camp.

Chapter Seven | Island Spirits Welcome page | Chapter Nine

Nork was determined to finish his aspiration, so his stay back at the village was a short one. Before Utel could even protest, Nork had packed up and was heading back out on another long journey. This time, he was headed to a mysterious forest glade that supposedly had some other rare fish he was looking for.

After communing with the tree spirit (yeah, I know it sounds weird, but that’s apparently the only way to get there per the legends.) – which seemed receptive to his approach, Nork was rewarded with a gaping hole in the base of this massive tree. Tentatively, Nork stepped inside… and after a few wrong turns, he came out into the light of a mysterious meadow.

Chapter Six | Island Spirits Welcome page | Chapter Eight

Nork was getting so close to finishing his life-long goal of becoming a master angler. All he needed to do was collect some more types of fish to be considered a true master. He’s heard all the stories about where to find these fish, and one morning, he decided it was past time to start hunting them down. Packing some food – mostly herbs and spices to cook whatever fish he caught, and a small package in case of.. well, whatever might happen.. Nork waved goodbye to a bewildered Utel and headed off.

Much of the journey was one he’d already undertaken, so he remembered the way and where to stop for food and rest. Granted, he was going the opposite way, but at least it was mostly familiar territory.

Finally, he returned to the land of his birth. The hot, dusty, inhospitable desert Utel and he had come from. He briefly considered going back to their old settlement area, but decided against it. Who knew what had ultimately happened, and seeing the bones of the ruined settlement didn’t sound like something he really wanted to do.