Incense smoke danced in the air, whirling around the large circular tent with its blue walls woven with cloud designs. In the middle of the room sat an elderly lady, cross-legged and comfortable on her soft cushion. Her hair was mostly white with a hint of sky blue, and she wore a silver circlet with a feather on each side. Her weathered hands rested peacefully in her lap as she sat there breathing slowly, when hurried footsteps shattered the tranquil atmosphere.

  “Feather!” Two younger elderly men burst through the entrance, their faces tight with worry. “The Skywalkers are late. Do you think they ran into trouble? They should have returned by now. It’s been nearly five days. The task should not have taken more than three.”

  “Mmm, the task this time is disturbing. Yet fear not—trust in our Skywalkers you must. As fellow Elders of the tribe, you must keep your composure,” Elder Feather responded with a calm voice.

  She opened one eye, regarding them with patience. “After all, panic serves no one. You two already know this, don’t you, Elder Drifting Cloud and Elder Skydew?” She spoke their names with a gentle reprimand. “The winds will protect them, for they are Sky Children as are we all.”

  “But what if something happened to them? What if—”

  “Elders!” A new voice called from outside. “We’ve returned!”

  Three figures entered the chamber, wearing light and loose robes of white and blue, tied together by magnificent sashes that flowed with each step. Two women flanked a tall man as they entered side by side, each with cloudy white hair and the faces of youthful adults.

  “Breath, Cloud, Skybeat.” Elder Feather rose gracefully, a white wooden cane in hand. “I’m gladdened by your return. If you had taken much longer, I’m afraid that the other elders would have joined the great skies from stress alone.”

  The lead Skywalker, Breath, stepped forward and pulled a sealed scroll from her satchel. “Elders, this is our report. What we witnessed…” She shook her head. “You need to read this immediately. It is as you feared.”

  Elder Feather waved her hand, and a gentle blue breeze wrapped itself around the scroll. The seal broke apart, the parchment unrolled, and winds danced around, showing vague images and symbols, her eyes scanning the contents of this special language used by their tribe. The other elders’ faces grew pale as they finished reading the report, the winds returning to the scroll and the seal magically restoring itself.

  “The signs are unmistakable,” Elder Drifting Cloud whispered. “But how? The old stories told…”

  “It seems they were wrong, or we are. I do hope it is the latter. I mean, after all this time, how could—” Elder Skydew interrupted himself. “How can we possibly—”

  “We must contact the other tribes immediately. Not only the tribes of wind, but of fire, earth, water, thunder—even the Netherquill tribes. Every single one will be needed to stop it. Only with unity can we stand,” Elder Feather said, rolling up the scroll. “If what you’ve witnessed is truly—”

  “I’m home, Grandma!”

  The lad glided into the tent with his sparrow, still slightly damp from his river adventure, Sky Child perched on his shoulder. He stopped short when he noticed the gathered elders, all staring at him with expressions ranging from surprise to annoyance.

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  Elder Feather’s weathered face softened for just a moment. “We will discuss this matter later,” she told the other elders. “In private. Perhaps then my late grandson, Skyheart, will learn to not be late, and to not barge in without looking to see if the meeting flag is up.”

  The elders nodded and left, casting worried glances back at the scroll in Elder Feather’s hands.

  The Skywalkers gave a slight bow before also exiting.

  Skyheart scratched his nose, looking sheepish. “Sorry, Grandma. I didn’t know you were... doing something important.”

  THWACK!

  Elder Feather’s cane found the top of his head. “You’re late, young man. Again. Also, what do you mean you don’t know?”

  “Ow! Sorry, I was just, um, well, the weather was nice, but I tried to get here on time. It’s just that a fish made me late—it jumped out of the water and—”

  THWACK!

  “At this rate, you’ll never become a Skywalker,” she scolded, though her eyes looked at him softly. “Skywalkers are the tribe’s greatest protectors, warning us of trouble before it arrives and holding off enemies while the tribe retreats if necessary. How can you protect anyone if you can’t even arrive on time for your own training? Every moment is important.”

  Skyheart rubbed his head. “Sorry, Grandma. It won’t happen again.”

  THWACK!

  “Don’t lie to me, and make sure that it doesn’t.” Elder Feather sighed as she rubbed his head. Then, with a snap of her finger, a strong wind twirled around him, fully drying his clothes. “We’ll discuss your tardiness after the afternoon meal.”

  “Yes, Grandma.” Skyheart nodded in defeat.

  “And you!” Feather turned her gaze to Sky Child.

  “Chirp?” the sparrow responded in confusion.

  “I told you to keep him out of trouble. You will get your own punishment later, little one.”

  “Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!” Sky Child protested.

  “Hmph, don’t think that…”

  Before Elder Feather could say anything more, rapid footsteps approached the tent. A young woman burst through the entrance, her panicked expression immediately drawing their attention.

  “Elder Feather! Forgive the interruption, but I bring urgent news from the River Kiss tribe!” The messenger was breathing hard, her fingers running through her disheveled sky-blue hair.

  Elder Feather’s expression changed and grew serious. “Speak, Swift Wing.”

  “The Church of Knowledge has moved against them,” Swift Wing gasped, still catching her breath. “They arrived with soldiers, claiming that they would help the River Kiss tribe with proper rules for their Aquaquill. Saying that if they wanted to continue manipulating the waters around them, they should allow the Church to register them! When Elder Flowing Son refused their demands to register all Quill users and submit to Church oversight, they... they arrested him.”

  Skyheart’s eyes widened. “They can’t do that! River Kiss tribe has been friends with us for years, even when we lived on the other side of the islands. On top of that, I thought that the other Eight Churches denied the regulations. Wasn’t it voted on or something?”

  “I see that you have in fact been eavesdropping from time to time after all.” Elder Feather squinted her eyes, giving Skyheart a hard gaze, which caused him to look away and keep his mouth shut.

  Elder Feather’s weathered hands gripped her cane until her knuckles went white. “With that said, he is right. Even the Church of Knowledge wouldn’t act so recklessly... unless it was.”

  “...”

  “And the rest of the tribe?” the Elder asked after a short pause.

  “Surrounded. The Church is demanding complete compliance—every Quill user must report. They’re threatening to take the children if the tribe doesn’t submit by tomorrow’s dawn.”

  Silence overtook the space, silence that lasted but a moment before Elder Feather spoke with stormy rage.

  “Call the Tempest Warriors.”

  Without another word, she strode from the tent, Skyheart following closely.