friends, especially Lee. Linis searched the area for signs of what had become of his seekers, but returned disappointed.
When the time came, they made their way across the field in front of the pavilion. Most of the elves had already assembled. Aaliyah, Nehrutu, and Mohanisi, were standing on a small platform and facing away from the pavilion. The beds of those who could be moved had been pulled close to the edge so they could hear.
Aaliyah had changed back into her red dress. She spotted Gewey as he approached and smiled. Gewey smiled back in spite of himself. Theopolou, Chiron, Bellisia, and the other elders stood just in front of the platform.
“I'd rather stay to the back,” said Gewey.
“You can't,” said Kaylia. “I have a feeling that whatever they say will concern you.”
Gewey opened his mouth to speak, but Kaylia took his hand and half dragged him through the crowd, urging him to stand next to Theopolou. Linis stood just behind him.
The moment he arrived, Aaliyah nodded to her companions and stepped forward. “Brothers and sisters.” Her voice echoed over the field with such tremendous volume that the gathering jumped. “By now you have heard of our arrival and from where we have come. Some may have doubt. Those who do not may question our motives. To this I can only say that I speak truth, and that there is no deception in my words.” She paused and looked over the crowd. Her eyes bore the look of intense sadness.
“Many lifetimes ago, our people journeyed across the Great Sureshi, or what you know as the Western Abyss, and settled this land. We lived and prospered for generations, and for generations we came to see this land as our own. But this was not so. For this land belonged to another people. This land first belonged to the humans.”
This caused the elves to stir.
Aaliyah held out her hand to still the crowd. “I know how many of you feel about the humans. And I know that many believe you have reason to hate them. But what you do not know is that it was we who first sinned against them. The humans were already here when we arrived. But they were not as you know them today. Mere children they were. Savage children, nomadic hunters and gatherers. We brought to them our ways, and our learning. We taught them to build, to farm, to live as a community. But in the end we did these things for our own purposes.
“In the end we subjugated the humans. We turned them into little more than a slave race, born to serve our needs.” She stepped down from the platform and stood in front of Gewey, staring deeply into his eyes. “It was not until the Gods showed us the error of our ways, did we realize what we had done. But by then, it was too late.”
She broke her gaze and looked back at her friends then back to the gathering. “The Gods created the Great Barrier, and destroyed any hope to contact our people beyond. Any who tried to cross perished. For thousands of years we have kept watch, praying for the day we could return to you. Nineteen years ago the Great Barrier disappeared, and now we have come.” She stepped back onto the platform. “My brothers and I have lived our lives with the knowledge of the sins of the elves, and the price we have paid...the price you have paid. But now, we are here to help you regain what you have lost...and to undo the wrongs of our forefathers.” She closed her eyes and bowed her head. The only sound was a soft breeze stirring the tents and pavilion.
Theopolou was the first to speak. “You say that you have been able to come here for nearly twenty years. Why have you waited so long? Why have you not revealed yourselves before now?”
Aaliyah opened her eyes and sighed. “We could not know what had become of you. The humans had clearly taken control of this land. We sent scouts to gain information. What we found was that you had become...different. You have changed from the people you once were. To us, you had become more like the humans. We were uncertain what to do.”
This caused angry shouts and curses.
“Then why now?” asked Bellisia.
“Because of him.” She pointed dramatically at Gewey. “When we discovered the coming of Shivis Mol, we knew we must act.” She said this as though it