As battle wanes and the celebrations begin Herra is faced with a decision to join the Moon Hunter tribe. She knows they will allow her to continue her work with the Tomorrow Legion, but she also is aware they will call on her in time of need or to serve on the council of elders. Yet, despite the potential conflicts the decision is an easy one and she agrees readily enough.
Soon the whole tribe is gathered in a wide set of concentric circles, the elders are seated in the smallest circle at the centre, surrounded by the warriors, then those in training, the final ring is made up of the men, children, and uninitiated. The ritual begins with Herra standing outside the first ring. An outsider looking in.
Alone in the world
Standing outside the circle brings Herra flashes of her home. Splugorth slavers riding across the plains of Serra herding families like wild animals into pens and blind warrior women with void faces firing into the fleeing crowds. To stand outside the first circle is to be homeless, alone, and terrified. As she stands, isolated, a voice goes up from the first circle.
”We welcome Herra into friendship with our people.”
The circle widens slight as people shift to make room for one more person to stand shoulder to shoulder with them. With some trepidation she steps into the place made for her. Homeless no more, she has a people, she has a place. To mark her place, she receives the tattoo of the moon. When she was a slave owners often branded their stock with a mark to indicate ownership. Here she was not property but family. She was marked, yes, but in solidarity not slavery.
With the crescent moon marking still stinging her face, the circle of warrior initiates stands before her. The next level of tribal society. Those chosen to train as warriors, only woman, only the bravest and strongest. Again the circle widens and she is called forward. A warrior woman recounts Herra’s fight against the Xiticix warriors, her acts to save the members of the tribe, and her descent into the hive, the death of the queen, and freeing of the captured. A small tear wells up in her eyes at the story as she recalls the sacrifice of Zakael and her own failures as well as triumphs. Undeterred, she steps forward into the ring of warriors. A group of warriors dress her in an ornate armor while another recites the code of the Moon Hunter. Herra listens to make the code her own.
Finally, only the inner circle of the elders remains. No words are spoken as this circle widens. To an outsider it would like like a silent choreography is taking place. However, the powerful psychics are communicating on a level deeper than words, and even deeper than thought. For a brief moment all those assembled speak with one mind and one voice. The history and experience of the tribe flashes before Herra in an instant. Wordlessly she steps into the inner circle. One of the elders steps forward and inscribes her with two stars near her left eye.
As the ritual proceeds, Herra is taken to the deep recesses of her mind and of her history. She stands before an endless pool of water, turbulent and raging. She can hear the voices of the elders whisper around her, the sounds passing over the waters and calming them. Stepping to the edge of the pool she watches as the water clams, revealing her reflection. Looking deep into the pool she sees deep into herself uncovering an inner strength she did not know she had welling up inside her.
As her strength swells the pond recedes and is replaced with the noise of the slave pens on Atlantis. At first she recoils, the vision more vivid than the real thing. Herra walks freely among the pens, the salvers unable to cow her or control her. Instead, as she walks she opens the pens of others releasing them from captivity. The joy of helping others escape surges through her and emboldens her. For the first time since leaving captivity her captors hold no sway. She is free at last, and free to help others who may be imprisoned or enslaved in body or spirit.
Strengthened and freed, Herra slowly comes back to the circle of tribal elders. Looking around at each of them she smiles and finally speaks.
”I am home, and I am free.”