The Lexters relaxed for a few days, and they all tried to put the thought of the journey away from their minds. The winter was cold enough, and the thought of travelling to the North Point was not something that any of them looked forward to with any great joy.
The wind was cold enough, and they shivered in their homes as the winter wind howled with anger through the Black Forest, and through their little village. It seemed more severe than normal, a reminder of the journey that they had to embark on.
Four days after the announcement by Sindar The Elder, they gathered round at Brindar's home, eating and drinking slowly. The fire burned in the fireplace, and cast warm shadows around the room. The mood was sombre, though they tried to liven it up by singing a few of the old traditional songs, and by dancing a few jigs.
Finally, the fire started to go down, and the warm shadows were steadily being replaced by darker ones; dark shadows that seemed to reflect the dark mood that pervaded all of them.
The door suddenly creaked open, and Sindar The Elder was standing outside. He was cloaked in thick furs, and his faced seemed impassive in the howling wind that raged outside.
"We need to leave", he announced abruptly. "We have the furs for all of you, but there is no time to lose. We will leave within the hour".
Brindar stumbled outside, and found Lextra, Sindar The Elder's wife standing outside. She was standing by a cart that was piled high with thick furs.
The time for the journey had come upon them, and they all set out within the hour, as had been commanded to them.
It was the middle of the night, and they all set off, in the raging wind. The night was dark, and they all found the going tough. The wind blew strongly against them. Every step was difficult, and there were times when thin pine needles were blown into their faces. Sindar The Elder did not pause, however, and they walked through the night.
Finally, day arrived, and they crawled into a cave to sleep. The cave was dark, and damp. Rats scurried around them and competed with them for the food that they were carrying.
"Nasty, horrible things" , grumbled Sindar as a big, furry fellow threatened to take a big bite out of his finger.
Finally, they slept. Sleep, however, was not peaceful. They were troubled by dreams, and by the rats crawling over their faces.
They walked on through the night again, and the pattern was repeated for the next few days. On the fourth day, their food had run out, and they caught, bar-be-cued and ate the rats for food.
Eventually, they arrived at the North Point. Here, it was dark and cold. The air itself seemed to be frozen, and the winds even more fierce and vengeful. The ground was icy, and the cold seeped through their boots.
As they hugged their bodies to themselves, and huddled together, they suddely heard Sindat The Elder utter the dreaded words, "Now, we strip to the bone. We shall meditate upon The Four Winds, and we shall await their mercy".
They all groaned with the agony of the thought, but there was no other recourse, but to strip. Men and women alike were naked in their skins, and they sat close to each other on the icy ground.
The ground, the iced over grass, seemed to stick to their skins. Sindar The Elder commanded them to sit cross legged on the ground, and to fold their hands to their chests. They closed their eyes.
Sindar The Elder, and Lextra chanted a mantra. Their tone was soft, soothing, as they slowly chanted and swayed. After a while, Lextra got up, and held out her hand to Uma, as pulled her gently towards her.
Uma smiled, and chanted a song of the Moon. Lextra chanted a song of the SUn. Soon, chants of the Moon, the Sun intermingled with chants of the winds, and for four days and nights the three of them chanted.
As they chanted, warmth seemed to flow through the bodies of the Lexters, and the rhythm flowed through their bodies. The men seemed to have more of the wind chants in them, and the women seemed to have more of the moon chants. The Sun chants pervaded all of them
Finally, and no one knew when, four men and two women stood before them. They looked on at the Lexters, then at Sindar The Elder, and at Lextra and Uma.
"Speak", they commanded in unison. "What is it you want?"
The Lexters stood up, in wonder, and looked at the five.
They were all tall.
One was white, with silvery hair, and an icy look in his eyes. He was The North Wind.
The other was more brown, with warmer eyes, eyes that could easily blow hot. He was the South Wind.
The Third was fair, with yellow hair, and blue eyes. He blew the sea, and could create storms. Yet, he could blow a gentle breeze that sent a song through the grasses. He was the West Wind.
The Fourth was also brown and swarthy. He could conjure up dust storms in the desert, yet he could also send a calming breeze through the lands. He was the East Wind.
The First Lady, was silvery and shimmering. She was the Moon, and she smiled at Uma.
The Second Lady was golden in colour, and she was the Sun.
Sindar The Elder spoke. He spoke of the trials and tribulations of the Lexters, the machinations of Threye, and their fears of the impending changes in the world.
The six listened impassively, and then said, "We are forces of Nature, and we do not interfere in the ways of those who live upon this earth. It is not our nature to take sides in any battle. We cannot help you at all."
The Lexters, inexplicably, seemed crushed by it all.
Sindar The Elder looked on, and merely said. "We understand, My Ladies, and My Lords. We do not wish for you to take our side against any one. We merely ask you to protect the Natural Order of the World, when called upon to do so. I fear that the time will come when the Natural Order will be threatened. When this happens, it is possible that someone with extraordinary powers, or someone who has unleashed something terrible, will come forward. We know not who, we know not how, but we know this in our bones. It will happend, and when this happens, we will hope that you will come to the rescue of this land."
The North Wind looked at Sindar The Elder, and said. "Come, we shall talk."
Lextra and Uma accompanied the Four Winds, The Sun and The Moon into the dark night, and the Lexters were left to their own devices.
The ground seemed to be even more icy, the winds even more vengeful. Icy winds, hot winds, dusty storms, and shards of ice seemed to flow around them in whorls, and they felt as if they were being torn to pieces. They screamed in agony, and they called out for mercy. They swore to be strong, they wanted to die. Yet, the desire to live was stronger than anything else, and they finally held on to the tenacity of hope.
Finally, the winds died down, the grass softened, and a gentle sun rose in the sky. Naked they were, yet they were thankful for their nakedness, as the warm sun, and the warm sun gave them comfort, a comfort that they had forgotten.
In the distance, they saw Sindar The Elder, Lextra and Uma approaching. They were smiling...



