What has gone before...
     Shandala lives in a world where magic used to be plentiful.  Now only a few small spells are remembered.  She has just come of age and has run away to find the magnificent animal which saved her life.  She has found the Pegasee and has been told of the demons which even now are attacking her people.  The Pegasees urge her to seek out the help of the Others - beings who still practice magical arts.  Pegasees are enchanted horses whose front legs have been turned into wings.  Chondon are their cattle like counterparts, but are unable to fly.

     SHUNMAKI and Bo’Shunmara had chosen a good site for their chondon.  Plenty of water pooled nearby and the grass would see them through the summer.  A few boulders they rolled down the side of the mountain successfully blocked the exit for the chondon.  After a final look around, the men returned to the cave in which they had left their people.
     Bo’Buma had been cutting wood all day.  The sun was as hot in these low altitudes as it had been on the plains, and he was irritable and tired.  He picked up a stack of wood and returned to the cave.  He was very glad to see that his father and Bo’Shunmara were back.
     “Have you thought of what we must do?”  Bo’Shunmara asked the younger man.
     “Yes, I have asked Bo’Kari to stop all his other duties to make arrow heads and spear heads.  The women are making traveling bread and jerky.  The children are looking for arrow and spear shafts.  We will be sufficiently armed in a few days.  As for the chondon, it depends on how long we have to be here.  We may have to slaughter all but few to keep their meat safe.”
     “Very good, Bo’Buma.  You have indeed spent some time thinking.  The chondon will probably have to be killed because the demons will not be leaving soon.  We will not be attacking the demons, we will only protect ourselves.  We do not have enough people to win a war of that sort.”

     SNOWWING and Bandermane offered to carry the two humans a little closer to the home of the Others and Dala quickly accepted.  She was ecstatic to have the opportunity to ride the winged beast again.  Kergo was hesitant, but Shandala quickly calmed his fears by reminding him that she had been near death when she last flew Bandermane and not fallen off.
     “I promise no to drop you, Kergo, I am very good at flying,” Snowwing reassured him and Dala passed the message on.
     Bandermane lowered himself to the ground, and Dala clambered aboard.  She stroked the magnificent neck and waited for Kergo to mount Snowwing.  The mare rose slowly and gracefully and took a few measured steps so that Kergo could get the feel of it.
     “Tell him he may use my mane for a handhold.  The feathers there are strong and it won’t hurt me,” she offered.
     Within a few minutes, Kergo was smiling and had relaxed.  “This isn't so hard.  Much different from a bad tempered chondo.”
     “And flying is much easier,” Dala told him, “there's no sway to tilt you off.”
     Snowwing cautioned them both, “Remember that we are flying from a much greater height than Shandala flew before.  If you do fall, lay flat and spread your arms and legs, it will slow your descent enough for us to catch you.”
     “I thought she said we wouldn't fall,” Kergo protested.
     Snowwing stepped closer to the ledge and answered, “Anything is possible,” as she stepped into space.
     Shandala screamed with excitement as Bandermane followed his Herd mistress over the cliff.  Her heart pounded as the winds rushed past her face, blowing her braids straight out behind them.  They flew for a short time, then the Pegasees settled down in a high valley.  The winds were blowing and the temperature had changed quite a bit since they had left their previous perch.
     The young woman thanked Bandermane for allowing her to ride again, and was delighted to hear a faint ‘welcome’ in reply.  “He said ‘welcome’, Snowwing!”  she cried excitedly.
     “Yes, he is very smart for such a young stallion.  Perhaps when you return, he will be able to talk with you himself.”
     “I hope we aren't gone that long!” Kergo exclaimed.
     “It will take many months to learn the arts of the Others, and besides, winter comes early to the mountains you seek.  You will have to stay with the Others until spring.”  The mare did not add that the Others might not allow them to stay at all.  If that happened, she would know, and she and Bandermane would retrieve the man and woman.
     “How do we find you when we are finished?”  the girl asked.
     “Return to this mountain, we will find you,” Snowwing told her.  The Pegasees launched themselves into the air, and Shandala and Kergo turned toward the mountains to the north.
     The two found the going tougher even than they had expected, they walked in knee high snow, making progress almost impossible.   They reached a stand of birch trees and Kergo called to Shandala to stop.  “Were not going to get anywhere by sinking into the snow, we have to get on top of it.”
     “What do we do?”
     “I need four long, flexible limbs from these trees, some ibindu sap, and one of those chondo hides.”
     Shandala quickly opened her pack and retrieved the glue and her extra hide while Kergo searched for the limbs he needed.  When they had gathered all their materials, the man told her that the project would take a while.  “We may as well camp here tonight.”
     The woman set about making camp, gathering firewood and cleaning the birds they had killed for dinner.  By the time Kergo had taken a break, the stew was simmering and putting out a wonderful aroma.  Dala realized they had eaten nothing since early that morning.  She was shivering now in her light jacket.  She had never owned a real coat before and envied Kergo the fur lined chondo hide parka that he now wore.  Her knee high moccasins had a rabbit fur liner, so her feet were warm, but the bare skin from knee to thigh was cold, too cold.
     “I think we have another problem, Kergo,” she told the man.
     “Which one?”  he laughed.
     “I'm not dressed for the mountains.”
     He studied her for a long moment then agreed, “but I think we can do something about that, too,” he assured her.
     After they had eaten, Kergo worked on his ‘snowshoes’ by the light of the fire while Dala cut leggings from the rest of the spare chondo hide.  She scolded herself for running off to the mountains without proper clothing.  She had made so many mistakes in the last four months that she wondered if she deserved the title of adult.
     Within a short time, Kergo was finished with his snowshoes and set them close to the fire for the night.  Shandala put on her leggings and showed them to him.  Kergo dug a light jacket from his pack and told her to try it on over her own jacket.  “It should fit right over yours.”
     The jacket was huge on the woman and she had to roll the sleeves up to use her hands.  By the time she was finished, she had gotten warmer.  “I feel better already,” she told him.
     She removed all the garments she had just added and retired to her chondo hide to sleep, but thought instead about Bandermane and Snowwing.  The Pegasees were obviously well versed in the history of her own people as well as theirs.  She had meant to ask them if there were still other people in the world, but had been too excited about flying to remember.  With thoughts of Bandermane and flying whirling through her mind, she drifted off to sleep.
     The next morning the companions donned their snowshoes, and Shandala bundled herself up for warmth.  It took her a while to get used to the clumsy snow shoes, but then they were able to walk much faster than the previous day.  The shoes kept them on top of the snow instead of floundering in it.  Dala was amazed that Kergo knew of these snowshoes.
     That evening, they were rounding a rock-strewn mountain, and Kergo told her that a storm was coming.  “How do you know?” she wondered.
     “I'm a shaman, I know these things,” was all he would say.
     They trudged on, looking for suitable shelter against the wind which now came howling out of the northern mountains, threatening to knock them off their feet.  Dala squinted her eyes against the fierce cold and tried to keep her teeth from chattering.  She closed her eyes completely several times for the relief it provided, so that when Kergo suddenly stopped, she ran into him.
     “You're supposed to be watching for a cave,” he growled.
     “I-I-I’m  t-t-too c-c-cold,” she protested.
     Kergo turned and looked at her, and his eyebrows rose in question, “Come on, I think this place will do to get you warm.”
     He pointed to a small opening in the cliff before them, and Dala started forward.  He stopped her and told her to wait.  “I'll check to see if it has other occupants,” he warned.  Dala followed the bulk of the man with her eyes squeezed almost shut.  He dropped to his knees and put his head inside the mountain, then motioned her to him.  They removed their snowshoes and Dala crawled into the cave.
     “I’ll look for some firewood,”  Kergo told her.
     Dala was shivering so hard, she could barely unwrap her pack.  She finally got the leather thongs untied and dumped everything in the floor of the cave.  She crawled to the back of the cave, wrapped the chondo hide around her, and fell asleep waiting to get warm.
     Kergo shook her awake much too soon, but a fire was already burning close to the back wall.  “Come on, get all those clothes off and get close to the fire.”
     Dala did as she was told, and when she had removed the leggings and jackets, she moved to the fire and started to warm up.  “I'm sorry, Kergo, I should have been better prepared.”
     “No, I should apologize to you.  I know the mountains, you don't.  I should have realized that that tunic wouldn't keep you warm out here.  After the storm passes, we'll try again.  It'll be cold, but the wind won't be blowing as hard.  We have to be careful, though.  These storms can blow up quickly up here.”
     “I don't have any food left, either.”
     Kergo smiled and walked back to the cave mouth.  He returned with a white rabbit.  “There's not much here, but we can stew him and keep the broth.  We might have to drink it for breakfast.”
     Once Dala warmed up, her curiosity returned and she began questioning Kergo about magic.  “I don't understand why only some people can do it,” she complained.
     “It has to do with the mind speak,” he answered, “I don't understand either, I just know I see the thing I want to do, say a few words, and it happens.”
     “How do you call fire?”
     “You don't need to know that one until you understand how to control it, you could burn us up, especially if your power is as great as Snowwing seems to think.”
     “How do your people know when a child has the power,” she asked.
     “The village shaman visits each child when it has reached its fourth summer, if the child has the mind speak, he begins to teach the child how to control the power.  He takes the child in its tenth summer and keeps it for two years.
     “In that time, the child is taught the words for the spells, and the shaman instills the rules in him.  Magic cannot be used against another living soul, not even in battles.  Never experiment with spells.  (There is a story about a young boy who tried to change into a bird and wound up with feathers growing from his arms.)  The last is the most important.  Always stay in control of the magic.  If you lose control, the spell may backlash and do terrible things.  Snowwing already told you about that.”
     “If there are so many with the power in your village, why don't the people in my tribe know about it?”
     “There aren't very many.  I am the only one since my grandfather was born.  That is why it was a terrible thing for me to leave my people.  The old shaman is dying and needs a replacement.  My people have grown dependent on magic for many things.”
     “I think you left your village to find me.  I think you heard Bandermane, too.  The call was so strong I think everyone everywhere heard him.  Snowwing said you hide your mind speak.”
     “Not hide, control.  I've been taught to hide my thoughts since my fourth summer.  If I planned on being naughty, Old Bando would hear, and I would be punished.  Maybe I did hear Bandermane, but his mind speak is so alien to me that I didn't recognize it.  And now I think you should sleep,” he hinted.
     “I ask too many questions,” Dala apologized.
     “No, a person can never ask too many questions.  I f you do not ask questions, you can get no answers.”
     “What did you think about the ‘writing’?”
     “Go to sleep, Shandala, save that question for tomorrow night.”
     “How long since your Da’Ghun, Kergo?”
     “Seven years.  Why?”
     “I just wondered how long it would be before my wisdom starts to show,” she yawned.
     Kergo chuckled at that, “Your wisdom is already starting to show, that's why you went searching for Bandermane.  A lesser person would have ignored the call for the safety of home and a warm bed to sleep in.”
     When the two woke again, they didn't know if it was day or night.  The wind still howled outside in the dark, and the temperature had dropped even lower.  They finished off the little bit of broth from the rabbit and Dala wished she had had a bigger pot in which to stew it.  They each went through their packs looking for something to do.  At last Dala realized that the noise of the storm had abated and that a little light was coming through the cave entrance.   She looked out and could see a little better than she had before.
     “I think it's going away,” she told the man.
     “Yes, we can probably go before long,” he agreed.
     They waited a short while longer, then readied themselves to go.  They scattered the wood from the fire and dumped snow on the coals to put them out.  When they were ready, Kergo led as usual.  When night threatened to catch them out again, they began looking for another cave but with no luck.  They were so high on the mountain that snow covered everything.
     “What do we do now?”  Dala asked Kergo.
     “We'll have to sleep out and hope a storm doesn't blow up.”
     When the light had finally faded, and the two had wrapped themselves in their hides to go to sleep hungry, Dala’s thoughts began to wander again.  She looked at the clear, night sky to fix her position, and check each of the constellations to see if they had changed.  Of course they had not.  Then she noticed a faint light emanating from the ground and fading into the night.
     “Kergo, look over there,” she pointed.
     “Is that a light?”
     “I believe it is,” she answered.
     Without a word, the two repacked their belongings and set off again in search of the source of the light.  They soon found it in the form of a small stone house which hugged the side of a rock face.  The two approached the door, and Kergo knocked loudly.  After waiting a few moments, the man used the handle of his knife to rap even more loudly on the door.
     Just as Dala’s hand reached for the latch, the door opened slightly.  An old woman stood on the other side with just half her face showing.  She looked them up and down, then stepped back and swung the door open.  “I thought you were those priests again, they don't like me much.  Come on in, it's too cold to leave the door open.”