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  Dascha had not said much of anything while the two older familiars were discussing her presence and what she knew. To herself, she admitted it was intimidating. Even living in the clowder of her birth, she had never seen or been part of something that was this chaotic. The little black cat crouched down slightly and just tried to watch everything at once. She felt overwhelmed, and it must have shown.

  The badger rushed into speech, trying to comfort her, <>

  Dascha simply nodded in thanks and retreated so that she was closer to where Glenfrey was perched.

  <> the large eagle asked.

  <>

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  <<<>>>

  Dascha soon realized that she and Glenfrey had cut their trip very close to the deadline. They hadn’t been there more than another ten minutes when the milling animals started to drift away from a pile of rocks in the approximate center of the area.

  The sounds of movement stilled, and the cacophony of mental conversations died out. Everyone was staring at the rock, so Dascha thought that perhaps she should also. Without that focus, the black familiar would have missed what happened next.

  The surface of the rock appeared to melt and flow until it formed a caricature of a human face with indented holes for eyes and a gash for a mouth. Dascha could feel every hair on her body puff out in her back begin to arch. Adrenaline slammed through her body, readying her for fight or flight.

  The rocks in the pile seemed to shift and fall but in the act of falling began to form piles that mimicked arms and legs. A grating sound felt more than heard, preceded a creature of assembled rock rising from the ground. The huge monster stretched arms into the sky before allowing them to drop to his side.

  Never had Dascha felt so small. The rock being was over 20 feet tall. It’s aura of enduring age, and restrained power had more than Dascha crouched down in caution and fear. Glancing around her quickly, the cat saw many other animals with flattened ears and tucked tails. At least she wasn’t alone in her surprise and reaction.

  <>

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  Dascha could feel Glenfrey’s amusement over their connection. He didn’t say anything to her about that, instead, he said, <>

  The rock creature took two steps from where he had arisen and once more stretched his arms toward the sky and place them together. Twisting slightly to the right, the shape of his body formed a curve. The clashing of stone that marked his movement quieted, and the creature held motionlessly.

  The singing tension of anticipation that rose from the waiting group was setting Dascha’s fur on end. She felt her back unconsciously arching again as she prepared for motion.

  There was only enough time to take two breaths before a swirling flame of fire appeared to fall from the sky and land to the right of the earth elemental. The flames unfolded until the shape of a giant fire lizard could be seen. Stretching up so that his tail touched the rock giant’s outstretched hands, the essential creature of fire formed the other half of an arched doorway.

  The heat was intense. Dascha could feel the almost painful heat against her fur and against her whiskers. She wasn’t in the front of the group and knew that the effects of the fire would even worse were she not protected by others’ bodies. Some of the other familiars had to be in more pain than she was, but nobody moved.

  Once again, there was only a brief moment before another elemental entered the picture. A narrow spray of water gushed up from the ground between the earth and fire creatures. Widening the top of the liquid spire, the plume appeared to bathe both the fire and the earth elementals in fresh-smelling water. Although there was a slight hissing as the water touched the fire salamander, there was no sign of steam. Instead, the water formed a road-like surface that led between the rock giant on the one side and the fire salamander on the other. The appearance reminded Dascha of cobblestones of glass, slightly shiny and reflective.

  It was no longer possible to see through the arch. Until the water had entered the picture, Dascha could see through the opening to the rock pile and meadow beyond. The advent of the liquid element had changed that.

  A sinuous shape formed out of the bubbling water and moved to rest beside the rock elemental. Its form was half woman, half fish. Her long, flowing, blue-green hair trailed down her body and merge seamlessly with the road that ran between the two halves of the arch. Dascha could see how the creature’s hair actually was the substance of the road and held the water element in a fluid and tenuous grip.

  For yet a third time all action paused. This one was a bit longer than the previous ones as if the entire world had just taken one long deep breath of preparation.

  An explosion of air swirled around the waiting familiars in the gathering area. The wind tossed leaves, dust, and particles high in the air forming them into dancing spinners and swirling clouds. It tickled Dascha’s nose, ruffled the fur on her head, and whipped her tail back and forth. The sheer exuberance of the wind teased a smile from the small cat and invited her to share its joy.

  Crying out in a loud voice, Glenfrey joined the other birds in a chorus of welcome to the essential elemental for those that flew. All around the staging area, other flyers joined in. In response to the welcoming course, the movement of air intensified, rushing against the legs and bodies of the waiting familiars. Lifting them up slightly from the ground, as if in an insubstantial hand, it invited them to move freely with it. One more time, air swirled around the area and then blasted through the archway, clearing the last of the clouds from the passageway.

  It was it was as if a veil had been ripped open and they could see again. The sight that met their eyes was totally different than what Dascha had expected. Instead of the meadow and rock pile that had been behind the arch when this process had started, there now was a scene of mass confusion and milling crowds. It made the waiting group seem small by comparison.

  <> said Frank.

  Glenfrey added, <>

  Chapter 3 – Gathering Time

  Dascha would forever remember her introduction to this gathering by the massive confusion. There were animals charging, crawling, and flying in constant motion and in varying directions. The cacophony of sound was incredible. Barking, hissing, roars, and the quieter soft sounds of animals navigating the same space created a tapestry of noise that could only be appreciated as an entirety.

  The small cat was totally lost. The press of animals was so strong that she couldn’t get a sense of perspective. Dascha longed for wings so that she could fly above the crowd and try to see the shape and landmarks of the area. The longing was so great that she almost didn’t notice how the crowd cleared away from her in all directions right before the angled slam of Glenfrey’s pounce took her by surprise.

  The huge eagle’s wings pumped only a few times before she was high enough above the crowd to see. The feeling of claustrophobic restriction disappeared, and she could breathe again.

  <>

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  < areas so that it will be easier to find your way around? >>

  Suiting his actions to his words, Glenfrey began to fly around the area, explaining to the fascinated cat the features of the Familiar Trials gathering location.

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  Dascha was silent, thinking about the ramifications. She didn’t know what questions to ask at this point, but she would keep all the curious little bits and pieces until she did. Perhaps, later on, she could ask useful questions and understand the answers.

  Glenfrey went back to his tour guide role. <>

  <>

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  Dascha looked down on the ground and noticed that there were three areas that looked very similar. Each of them had a rock platform in the center of a rough circle. Radiating out from the center were arms of what looked like some sort of honeycombed rock in tendrils that extended from the center platform to a distance almost 40 feet away.

  She had no idea what those were. The fact that there were three of them made it look like they had been created on purpose. Deciding that she had looked enough like an idiot with her questions that she was not going to ask anymore, Dascha resolved to hold her own counsel and listen for the answers.

  <> Their questioner was a huge black bird with large talons and a wicked beak.

  <>

  <>

  Dascha responded, <>

  A ripping sound of amusement issued from George’s throat. The harsh caw of his cry shook Dascha’s bones and assaulted her ears. Wheeling in mid-air, the giant raven dove back toward the ground.

  Glenfrey flew for a few more seconds before he added, <>

  <<<>>>

  Glenfrey and Dascha had done their aerial tour for close to an hour when Glenfrey made an odd chirp of approval. <>

  The giant eagle dove for the ground, pulling up just short of crashing. His maneuver let him hover for a split second, and he gently released Dascha’s harness.

  She found herself positioned at the end of a short line. She had only an instant to catch her bearings before other animals came hurriedly to stand behind her. Within a few seconds more there were 20 behind her, then 30, then 50.

  Once again, the tension of facing the unknown without a clue of what to do started to affect Dascha. Understanding that she was in the right place and knowing what to do when she got to the head of the line was different. Hopefully, by the time she got to that position, there would be some clue to what she was supposed to do.

  The line moved forward pretty rapidly. It seemed like just a few moments before she was coming up to the front of the line. When the small cat finally got a look at what she would be facing, she lost all ability to move. Staring in disbelief, all she could do was stand there and stare. Finally, the person directly behind her gave her a gentle nudge with the tip of his horn, <>

  Numbly, Dascha moved forward until she was standing in front of the three registrants. The center of the table was occupied by a deer-like creature with a massive rack of horns. Dascha felt pinned to the earth by the weight of his brown-eyed stare. His gaze seemed to stare deeply into her, far too deep for the familiar’s peace of mind. He was so overwhelming that initially, she hadn’t even glanced at the other two creatures.

  Ripping her eyes away from the center registrant, Dascha looked first to the left and then to the right. The left-hand registrant was the biggest wolf that Dascha had ever seen. His mottled gray and black fur, coupled with the scar that ran down his muzzle, made him a frightening sight. He watched her with the unforgiving eye of a predator, an apex predator. His awareness of her location and immediate categorization of her ability to fight left her feeling vulnerable and helpless.

  That was not how Dascha was willing to feel. A spark of cleansing anger started to grow inside of her chest. When she noticed that he was obviously scenting her by the widening and narrowing of his nostrils, that realization fanned the spark into a towering flame.

  <>

  There is no erase button for mental communications. After her outburst, Dascha felt like an absolute idiot. She wondered if she would actually live through the trials. Perhaps embarrassment would kill her before she got to the first one. She had thought Frank’s comment at the beginning was a joke, but now she was not sure.

  A snort of amusement from the right snapped her eyes to the other side of the elk. The sturdily-built short horse that occupied the third place on the registration panel was shaking its mane in both amusement and pleasure. Turning his head to stare at the wolf, the horse took time to deliberately wink at Dascha. The embarrassed familiar thought to herself, At least there is one friendly registrant on this panel!

  The horse continued talking to the wolf, <>

  <>

  Dascha responded, <>

  The wolf lifted one side of his lip in something that could have been called either a snarl or a grin before continuing, <>

  There was an echoing repeat of registered from both the elk and the small horse. Silence stretched until Dascha roused herself enough to answer, <>

  <>

  Obviously dismissed, Dascha moved blindly to the left, giving the wolf a wide margin. She still didn’t understand what it was she was supposed to do.

  Glenfrey’s voice sounded in her head, <>

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  Dascha nodded her head, confident that Glenfrey would see her.

  <>

  Once again Dascha was alone in her thoughts. Lacking anything better to do, she moved toward the monkey.

  Chapter 4 - Orientation

  The monkey, who went by the name of Chipper, had been very helpful. He had given her a good general orientation to what she should expect and how should she go about joining the various activities. One of the other first-time attendees had asked him why there wasn’t any organized set of instructions for the new people. His response had been enlightening to Dascha.

  <>

  Another of the listeners, a pampered-looking, luxuriously-coated white Persian cat had asked, <>

  Chipper chuckled in amusement, <>

  It was a sobering realization for Dascha. No one was going to try to make sure she learned, and if she chose not to pay attention, she might not ever have the opportunity of that knowledge again.

  Then and there the little black familiar resolved that she would absorb as much as she could. Everything that she could learn would be used for any benefit possible for her beloved witch.

  The subdued sounds and tightened posture of those around her let Dascha know that she was not the only one who had come to those conclusions. The new familiars now knew that this was serious and that they needed to really work at their craft. Many of them were just learning that they had skills that could be improved, rather than just abilities that they were born with. It was a different view on their world, and Dascha was not alone in her examination of what was thought to be “common” knowledge.