"Desert Rose - Chapter IV" by Lindsay Verde

Epona watched, fascinated, as the beginning beats of the dance reverberated through the cooling night air, calling the gypsy women to their places around the bonfire. The triumphal opening chords of a lute sang out, hovering like a small desert piper before being swept away on the breeze. A wooden flute trilled out the melody with a crystalline voice, each note clear and poignant. The pressure of the song built as the musicians wove an ascending scale of notes that almost seemed to shimmer in the air, wrapping around the dancers and bending them to their will as the first fluttering steps were performed.

The dance was light and airy, the dancers' feet barely leaving a print in the sand as they wove their way through the intricate steps that required precision and grace that Epona certainly didn't have. She admired the women as they fluttered their gauzy etahs and spun, looking as insubstantial as the moonlight that bathed them and just as ethereal.

Epona had spent the better part of the week scornfully listening to the giggling flock of women and girls chosen to dance. She had refused the opportunity, if that's what it could really be called, to learn the steps of the dance, saying that she would rather travel to the festival as a common spectator. Though they did look hauntingly beautiful, Epona couldn't imagine feeling comfortable dancing in front of everyone in the traditional dancing garments. The pilah was the only article of clothing that she had recognized when the flock of excited women descended on her innocent inquiry of what they wore with hound-like intensity. She had learned that the small cloth-like piece that covered the chest was called a bitra and it was worn underneath a sheer, gauzy, sutah-looking top called a coroni. The gobi was a long rectangular piece of cloth made of the same fabric as the bitra and was worn about the lower half of the face to cover the dancer's nose and mouth. The final article was an etah, a shawl-like cloth made of a brightly dyed fabric and decorated with tassels and beads of various colors. It was used as a tool of the dance that the dancers used to extend their movements, making them look even more ethereal.

Epona turned her attention back to the dance as the rhythm intensified and the fire leapt, casting shadows over the dancer's figures. Special silver engraved bracelets worn on their wrists just for this dance started to glow with a soft white light for some of the dancers.

There was a flicker in the fire that caught Epona's eye and as she watched the flames doing a sultry dance all their own, she swore she saw something moving in their heat. Glancing about, she realized none of the other spectators had noticed. They were too busy watching the dancing.

She wasn't entirely sure of what she saw so she shuffled closer for a better look. The fire leapt as she approached, distracting her from the thing in the flames as she looked up. When she searched for it again she saw the impossible. Standing just out of reach of the blaze was a taurin stag made entirely out of orange and yellow fire. The flames of his horns rose out of his miniature head, forming a crown of grandeur that Epona knew could belong to no other. Impossible as it seemed, the taurin standing before her could be no other than Dalgeth, God of the Taurin and he was staring right at her, small ears pricked.

Gasps and murmurs flickered about the camp as others saw and ran over to watch. Epona didn't know when the drums and dancing stopped but was vaguely aware of their silence as she stared into a hypnotizing pair of liquid dark eyes.

Somewhere she heard someone whisper, "He has blessed his hunt day and honored us with his presence."

As if those words were the key, the fire lashed out like a hungry whip, cracking over the animal's back with a loud snap that sent it cantering through all those assembled. It made several passes as everyone stared in awed silence and on its last, the fire leapt to impossible heights and the taurin, with strength no creature that size could possibly own, leapt into its depths over the top of the crowd and disappeared.

Epona felt as if she were coming out of a trance as she woke to found herself on her hands and knees, leaning with one hand stretched toward the fire. Time seemed to pause for a split second as everyone gathered their wits about them before a great roar built as everyone started talking at once. Glancing down, Epona was startled to find that the simple copper bracelet she had placed on her wrist that morning was glowing with a muted white light. She quickly smothered her hand in the folds of her sutah, checking to make sure no one had seen. She hadn't been dancing or playing one of the instruments, which were the only reasons the bracelets were supposed to glow. If you had pleased the Gods enough, they chose you to perform for them at the festival; but why had hers lit up?

Cautiously getting to her feet on legs that felt as solid as pudding, she hurried as fast as she dared to the cover of her tent, careful to keep her arm buried in her clothes. The bracelet was still glowing with moon-like radiance when, with a sharp pang of the heart she didn't want to try and puzzle out, she slipped it off her arm and hid it underneath her sleeping blankets.

When nothing catastrophic happened after several minutes had passed, she breathed a sigh of relief and her gasping breaths slowed though the anxiety and that dull ache were still there. All she knew was that she couldn't tell a soul about this, not even Matin. She already stuck out enough; she didn't need the Gods making her any more visible than she already was.

Across the desert, two girls giggled as they put the final touches on their hair and clothes. Rhiannon was to sing that night and dressed in her best pilah and sutah outfit, a dark pink trimmed with gold that complimented her rosy complexion. Etain had curled and pinned her hair artfully on top of her head, letting a few stray curls hang down so they framed her face.

Etain had chosen to leave her hair down, securing it back from her face with a gold net that dazzled the eyes as it caught the flickering candlelight. Alori had given it to Etain that afternoon, as the girls got ready; telling her it would bring her luck on her first dance. Etain had chosen a coroni that she had dyed specially herself. It started as a deep midnight blue near her neck and faded to a muted gray at the bottom with silver colored trim. Her etah and gobi were of the same design but she chose silver-gray pilah and a matching bitra to go underneath. The gray tones complimented her eyes and she hoped they would make her look even more diaphanous in the moon's glow. She wanted to be as graceful and ethereal as the fairies that haunted these lands.

They both made sure their bracelets were in place as the horn sounded before racing out to the square with the other women. Long poles with torches atop them had been buried in the sand to make a square of flickering firelight in the oncoming darkness. The drums throbbed as voices filled the night sky, painting it a brilliant rainbow of colors while the dancers took their places. With the third beat of the drums, the women who had formed two circles, one within the other, dipped and swirled, exchanging places with the person in the other circle before each circle began to move in opposite directions.

Rhiannon stood with the other singers, on the other side of the dancers from those watching. She crooned the harmony, her soprano gliding in amongst the baritones and bases before soaring to join the altos in their exultant praise to the Gods. Eyes closed, she threw back her head and let the pure notes fly from her throat to join the twinkling stars in the Heavens. The music consumed her, evoking feelings that welled from somewhere deep within her and produced such a strong longing for what, she did not know. She only wished that every moment in life could be this beautiful. If she hadn't been concentrating on how the entire compilation flowed together like a river with just the right amount from each party she might have cried at the beauty of it.

Rhiannon opened her eyes as the first aria came to a close and the bases and tenors took up the melody in an answering chorus that caused the very ground to tremble in rapture. When she glanced down she was shocked to find her bracelet aglow. Turning, she searched among the dancers for Etain. She caught sight of her as she twirled, her face bathed in the moon's luminescence. She shimmered under its cool rays as she planted her feet and swung her hips to the rhythm of the drums. Her features, which most called plain in normal daylight, shone with a translucent beauty as she let the music overtake her and lead her body's movements. Rhiannon could see that she was, by far, one of the best dancers there. So why had her bracelet not lit up? As if her thoughts had directed Geisa, the Goddess of Dance's eyes toward her, Etain's wrist lit up as the bracelets took on a silver glow.

When the dance ended Etain ran up and threw her arms around Rhiannon, laughing and out of breath. All around everyone was applauding and hugging the dancers, singers, and musicians. Refreshments were handed out as the initial furor died down and both girls gratefully accepted a cup and gulped it down, smiling at each other all the while.

"I was so worried I wouldn't be picked. I could see so many bracelets lighting up around me but every time I looked at my arm my bracelet was dark."

"I hadn't a doubt!" Rhiannon said proudly, squeezing Etain's arm. "You were one of the best dancers out there." Rhiannon paused and gave Etain a sly glance before continuing, "it's too bad Timo wasn't able to get a better seat."

Laughing, Etain threw her empty cup at her, which she easily dodged. "Would that you had an unrequited love that I could tease you in return!"

"Perhaps I may oblige you in a few years." Rhiannon said while bending to retrieve the cup.

The celebration lasted well into the middle of the night. There were many toasts and well wishes for those who would be performing at the Samhain. As the fires died down, Halek made the closing prayer to the Gods for guidance and safe travel before they all went in search of their beds.