Mailee sat on a small rock overlooking the flocks. The sun had just gone down, and the stars devoured the sky. The moon was full but hanging strangely low. She always felt uneasy when the moon was full, and not just because of the ferociousness of the wolves, but disasters always seemed to happen when the moon was full. She found herself humming to break the deafening silence.

The young Octavian was barely of age, and looked much more childlike than a girl of fourteen. Her brown hair had been cut short like many shepherdesses of her tribe. It made work much easier when dealing with the herds. She wore loose robes sheared from sheep and hand-made sandals of leather.

Her appearance was not that of a grand sight, not compared to the dignitaries of the neighboring villages, but grand clothes and position of power was not the Octavian way. They were the favored people of the Omni, nature’s children. The mark carried upon their hands indicated them to be so. They were commanders of the elements and keepers of the ultimate truth, and they would remain so as long as the sacred pact would be kept. To honor the land and not abuse it and never take without giving, this was the way of Octavia.

Mailee smiled up at the sky, humming an old Octavian folk song. A shadow fell behind her, and she knew she wasn’t alone. She stood up and turned to see who or what it was. She held her spear in hand.

“Mailee, calm down. It’s just me.”

“Sorry, Shara, I thought you were a wolf.” The two friends smiled at each other. “Did my mother send you to check on me?”

“Not exactly. She did send me, but not to check on you.” Shara hesitated for a moment. “She’s dying, Mailee.”

“Dying? But she was just fine when I left this morning. How can she be dying?”

“Mailee, you know she’s been sick for a long tome. You have to go to her.”

“Of course.”

She embraced Shara quickly and made her way back to camp. Worry and panic consumed her. She couldn’t remember a time when her mother wasn’t around. Aria was the leader of their tribe. Even when her husband was alive Aria had been the authority in the Tribe of Novah. Now it seemed that she would soon be leaving them. Mailee could guess what this meeting was going to be about.