“Elder!” Calanway roared, pacing outside the cave. His claws clicked on the hard stone beneath him. His amber eyes glowed. Rain streamed off his lithe body, pooling around his pacing feet as he waited for Elder. His coppery scales glimmered in the firelight; his irritation apparent in his unfurled wings and impatient pacing. Finally, Elder stepped out a little ways from the cave entrance. “Calanway, do not lose your temper while I work. It makes it difficult to collect my thoughts when I hear you lose your patience.” His silver eyes glittered good-naturedly and he nodded his head, beckoning Calanway inside. Calanway followed, wanting to speak immediately, but held his tongue until Elder gave permission to speak. Elder’s tail knocked a small wooden figure towards Calanway, who took it into his foreclaws as he sat down. “You may speak, Calanway.” the Florrani sat by a tome of spellwork and carving designs. “It’s about Flowwing. Her patri will be coming any day. And she’s worried about the female she feels inside. She thinks that it will not be a true Florrani. You know that there will, one day soon, be a Florrani-Speaker in the tribe. Could it be her female patri?” “I cannot say. I only know that, when the time for Birthing Day arrives, we will know for sure.” he stood up and inclined his head for Calanway to follow. “For her, Birthing Day will arrive tonight. Let us go and stay with her to see for ourselves.” It still rained as they walked down the mountainside to the Valley. They couldn’t fly in the rain, for fear of lightning, which lit up the Valley and made it resonate with the thunder. The air smelled of ozone and rain water. “Flowwing of the bearing-mothers, may we enter?” called Elder into the entrance of Flowwing’s cave. “You may enter.” she called out with a tone of pain in her voice. They could hear the group of females who had been volunteered as the year’s birthing-succors. “Don’t come into this chamber yet. Her patri are almost here,” said a blue-scaled female in the entrance of one of the four chambers. An patri’s cry filled the air. It was the male patri. His cry was soon followed by the female’s which sounded much different. The females hushed as they saw the female patri, who didn’t look like a true Florrani. She had small wings, but that was only one of the signs that she was still Florrani-born. Both patris were cleaned up and the female clothed in a gown of violet scales, like her eyes and wings. Elder and Calanway walked into the large chamber, where they saw the patris already sitting upright with their wings unfurled for balance. “Flowwing,” asked Elder, “what do you name these patri?” Flowwing thought for a moment before replying, “The male is Wind-wing, and the female is…” she paused. “Her name is Skylar of the Florrani-Speakers of Olde, both borne of the Tribe of Roaring Waters. Everyone spoke as one, for they all knew the traditions of the Naming Ceremony. “We welcome Wind-wing, borne of the Tribe of Roaring Waters. We welcome Skylar of the Florrani-Speakers of Olde, borne of the Tribe of Roaring Waters. May they find their voices soon.” “Skylar!” called her mother, Flowwing. “Come here!” It wasn’t because she was causing trouble when her mother called, but she already knew that she was going to be lectured on something. “Five years old, and always getting Mommy on her tail,” snickered her brother, Wind-wing, who was playing with his friends. “No wonder Skylar’s always with her.” Skylar ignored his pointed comments. They both knew that he only did it to annoy her. But behind those comments was the fact that he wished that he could have been the Florrani-Speaker instead of her. Wind-wing was jealous of all of the attention she got. And they both knew it. Skylar bounded up to the mountain path, where her mother was waiting for her. They were going to Elder’s cave to speak with him.
The two of them walked up the mountain path, Skylar walking on two legs, supported slightly by her wings because she wasn’t yet used to walking on two legs. She had only started to walk on two legs more often with heach time she had to speak with Elder. Soon, she would be able to walk with her wings folded. “Elder,” Skylar called into the cave. She walked a few circles around her mother to get rid of some of her nervous energy while they waited on the older Florrani. Elder came out of the cave and beckoned them inside. They both sat with him and waited for him to speak. Elder picked up a small flask made of wood with a carved marking on one side and passed it to Skylar. Then he tapped his tail on her shoulder to say that she was needed to follow him. The two of them walked into an alcove in the chamber, where she saw a long staff with countless carvings on it. Skylar reached her small hands towards it, but glanced over at Elder before she touched it. “It’s yours.” He nodded his head, and she picked it up. A new rune formed in one of the blank spaces on the ancient wood, glowing a violet hue as she saw all of the history behind it flash before her eyes. She understood all of the runes on the staff and knew all of the names of the past Florrani-Speakers, seeing each ones’ face. Then she found herself back inside the cave. She felt the energy of the staff through her fingers. Elder called to her from the other chamber. Skylar walked into the chamber, where Elder was waiting, looking at the wall of Elders and Florrani-Speakers from the past. “How long?” she asked “A couple of hours. There is something that we need to do together. Put your rune claw over mine on the wall and watch the rune magic happen.” She did as he instructed. Suddenly, a blinding violet light shone from her hand and shoulder.
