Page 115 of Sun Warrior

“And that is just the beginning of our changes,” Sora continued. “Mari and I will keep some of the Clan’s traditions, but we also intend to create new ones—traditions that work for the new world we want to create.”

“Clanswomen, you didn’t know who I really was until recently. I had to hide myself from you. That made me miserable. Except for Mama, I was alone. Had Rigel not come into my life I would have had no will to live after Mama died.”

“And we would have no Moon Woman at all,” Sora said. “We all know the consequences of that. We never want that to happen again.”

“I never want anyone to feel as sad, as alone, as I have felt. So, we have decided to encourage each of you to follow your dreams, even if they are secret dreams you think might never be able to come true,” Mari said. “And we hereby name Isabel, Danita, and Jenna apprentice Moon Women.”

“Do you accept our naming?” Sora asked the three girls.

“Yes!” they shouted in unison.

As the girls smiled and were congratulated, Mari and Sora shared a long look. Sora nodded, and Mari raised her hand. The group fell silent.

“The next change we must announce will be more difficult to hear, but even more necessary. As you know, much of the Tribe of the Trees has been destroyed. Sadly, we do not believe their recent tragedy will change them as a people enough that they will stop hunting and enslaving us.”

Sora let the Clanswomen’s murmurs die before she began speaking. “There are good people in the Tribe. You see several of them here, with us now. But there are also dangerous, angry people who do not want change. Those people will not let us live in peace.”

“They especially won’t let Nik and me live in peace,” Mari said. “So, I have decided that we must leave and make a new home, a new Clan, far away from here.”

“I am in agreement with Mari, and I am going to join her as well,” Sora said.

The Clanswomen erupted in frantic shouts and denials. Sora and Mari raised their hands, calling on quiet.

One broken voice lifted from the silenced group. “But what will we do without our Moon Woman?”

“Come with us,” Mari said. “Join us, and you will not be without a Moon Woman—you’ll have two of us!”

“Are the Companions coming, too?” Another Clanswoman shouted the question.

“Some of them are,” Mari said.

“Then what will we be? A Tribe or a Clan?”

“Neither,” Mari said.

“We’ll be a new group, for a new way of living,” Sora said.

“We’ll be a Pack,” Mari said. She nodded at Nik, who stepped forward.

“I have sworn to be part of this Pack,” Nik said, his voice loud and strong. “O’Bryan, Rose, Davis, Sheena, and Antreas have sworn to join me. And I have agreed to follow the Earth Walker tradition of matriarchy.” His eyes searched his group until he found the young sisters Sarah and Lydia. “It is your choice,” he told them. “You may join our Pack if you want to. If you would rather return to the Tribe, I will make sure you get there safely once the Pack is on its way to a new land.”

The two girls clutched hands and put their heads together, whispering. Then Sarah surprised Mari by addressing her, and not Nik, directly. “If we belong to the Pack, does that mean you will cure us if we get the blight?”

“It does,” Mari said.

“Then we will join your Pack,” Sarah said firmly. “We watched our grandmother and grandfather die of blight. It’s a terrible thing. Something we’ve been afraid of for years. We don’t want to fear it anymore.”

“And our parents perished in the fire. We have no family to return to,” Lydia said. “If you accept us, we will make a new family with you.”

“Our Pack accepts you,” Mari said. Then her gaze moved around the clustered Clanswomen. “And now the rest of you have a choice. Join our Pack and leave to make a new world with us, or Sora and I will help you collect enough supplies to reach the Clan of your choice.”

There was a long, pregnant silence. Then Adira stepped forward. “You want us to leave our burrows where we have lived, loved, and raised our children for generations in this forest we know as well as our own bodies?”

“For your safety, yes,” Mari said.

“Mari, I mean no disrespect when I say this, but is it not true that the Tribesmen will be hunting you and Nik specifically?” Adira asked.

“Yes. That’s true,” Mari said.