[After breakfast with Trevor, Katrina, and Lenna]

> Cynthia left the dining hall and walked down the corridor to her
> office.  Ani was waiting inside.
> 
> "Are you ready to go see the Hanan tribe?" Ani asked.
> 
> Cynthia sighed, "Yes, I think so."

Cynthia led the way from her office, outside to where Syren lay gleaming
in the sun.  She mounted the platinum queen and Ani settled herself in
the saddle behind her.

Cynthia turned around as far as she could and asked, "Ready?"

Ani nodded a bit nervously, "This is only my second time on a dragon."

Cynthia smiled, "I understand.  I think teleporting is actually the
hardest thing to get used to and we're not going to do that."

She took a deep breath and hung on tight, "I'm ready."

At Cynthia's silen request Syren sat back on her haunches and sprung
from the rocky ledge.  She gained altitude with a few powerful downbeats
of her wings and leveled out into a gentle glide.  She flew out over the
river and turned back toward the warren.

"Enjoying the view?" Cynthia asked over her shoulder.

"It looks so different from up here," Ani replied.

"I enjoy flying like this.  It lets me put things in the proper
perspective."

Syren turned left and began to decend.  The tight cluster of tents sat
near the river below the warren.  Cynthia had always considered that the
Nomads of the Hanan tribe had stayed in the warren's protective shadow. 
Now it seemed as if Cleft was the shadow of death hanging over them.

Syren's approach was first noticed by two women who were working by the
water's edge.  They watched for a moment before conversing.  One ran
toward the cluster of tents when it became clear that Syren was going to
land.

The queen landed just outside the cluster of tents, and the two women
watched the news of their arrival spread through the encampment.  Men,
women and children emerged from tents and formed a small cluster at the
center of the camp.  

Ani and Cynthia dismounted and walked a few paces toward the tents.  Ani
put her hand on Cynthia's arm to stop her forward progress.  Cynthia
turned to her with a curious look on her face.

"It is not proper to enter another tribe's encampment without
invitation.  At those rare times when tribes meet and there is not
conflict, the rituals involved in meeting can take hours," Ani explained
quietly.

There was some discussion among the nomads, and after a moment the crowd
parted and one man strode forward, outside the cluster of tents.  He
spoke rapidly and Cynthia understood none of what he said.

"His name is Jinam and he represents the Hanan tribe," Ani translated,
"He wants to know what we want."

"He seems hostile."

"A little," Ani agreed.

"Tell him that I am Cynthia and I run the warren.  I have come to talk
with him."

Ani translated, and Cynthia looked around at the assembled members of
the tribe.  She looked across quickly, and then looked back.  There she
saw a young man, she guessed he was about 16 years old, with dragon
affinity.  It was so strong that it surprised her.  Her sercher's
instinct took over and she leaned close to Ani and whispered, "We have
to get that man back to the warren for the hatching."

"This tribe intends to kill itself," Ani replied.

"Then we have to prevent that."

***
[Later that day]

Trevor laid his map out in the center of Cynthia's desk.  She offered
him weights for the corners, but he waved them away.  "This parchment
has not been rolled enough to require weights to hold the corners down. 
Old maps need weights because the parchment curls over time," he
explained.

"I see," Cynthia replied putting the weights away.

Trevor described the technique they had used to make the map and pointed
out some of the key features he'd noted on the sketch.

"So your technique worked well?" Cynthia asked.

"Yes.  Perhaps better than I'd hoped," Trevor replied.

"Then you'd like to continue working with Katrina and Lenna?"

"If that is all right with them," Trevor responded.

Cynthia looked at Lenna and then at Katrina.

"It would be ok with me," Katrina said.

Lenna shot her a telling look.

"Then you should continue your mapping in the morning."

"We will, but one thing would be very helpful," Trevor said, "My compas
was in my saddle bag, and I was wondering if my horse has returned."

<Syren dear, has anyone seen Trevor's horse?>

[No, and no one has eaten it either.]

<Thank you dear,> Cynthia though.  "There has been no sign of your
horse.  I'll let you know if I hear anything."

"There's one other thing," Lenna said, breaking her silence.

"Yes?"

"We found a young nomad girl today and returned her to her mother.  Her
mother has dragon affinity."

"Then you'll have to bring her to be a candidate for joining," Cynthia
said, "Ani or Qedhar and I will join you in the morning to go meet this
tribe."

***
[On the plains]

Two riders sat on horseback as the setting sun cast lengthening shadows
across the plain.  A flock of sheep was gathered loosely a little to the
north of them.  Two young boys were trying to herd the sheep toward the
tents in the distance.  One of Quaryin's younger sons was nominally
supervising their efforts.

The riders watched as the sheep would wander stupidly out of the cluster
and one of the boys would go and chase it back.  The taller of the two
riders threw his head back and laughed heartily.  "Remember when that
was us Queram?  Chasing sheep across the plains and dreaming that we
were warriors chasing down ravenous beasts."

"The reality of what we are is much worse than shepherds, Aryam," the
shorter said, his eyes dark.

"Tell me, brother, what bothers you?" Aryam asked turning his horse to
look at Queram.

"Our father is weak.  The time has long since come for him to put aside
the leadership of this tribe and allow me to take his place."

"Your mother still supports his leadership, and that is sufficient to
keep his leadership solid."

"He thinks like a woman.  He thinks of defense.  He allows strangers to
approach our encampment without taking up arms against them," Queram
hissed.

"Those strangers came from the sky riding dragons, and they returned
Raova to her mother."

"They were within our encampment.  The men should have been armed and
they should have been driven out."

Aryam shook his head, "Father believes that they are different and that
they might not understand.  Their dragons could have killed many men had
they wanted to, and he did not want to provoke them."

"Then they left without any respect for us," Queram shook his head adly,
"This tribe has been shamed, and the time has come for new leadership."

"You are not considering?"

"Maybe I am.  Would you stand with me against our father."

Aryam turned away and looked at the children struggling with the sheep,
yet still making progress toward the encampment.  Then he turned back to
Queram, "We have been together many seasons, brother.  My path has
always been one with yours."

"Then we will ride this one together as well," Queram said, and he
turned his horse toward the tents.

NRPG:

Holly: The first part of this post yields a TAG to you.  I've hears that
Lyn is working on something involving the Hanan tribe, but I don't know
when she expects to have it out.

Barb, Kris, John: Excellent posts.  Does Trevor have a place to stay, or
are the girls up to helping him find one.

James: A bit of a twist for you to chew on.  Also, check your mailing
list, you are missing Barb.

All: Look for an NRPG message to follow.

Respectfully submitted,
Warrenlady Cynthia - Cleft Warren
Alton Reich

-- 
			Alton & Elizabeth Reich
			  alton.reich@snet.net
"Ani l'dodi, v'dodi li - I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine"
--The Song of Songs