Chapter 1 - A Special Child

Jalen was worried. Never before, with any of her previous pregnancies, had she felt this bad. She leaned over the side of her bed and threw up again. She pushed her dark strawberry hair away from her face.

What is happening? she thought. The pregnancy sickness that occurs in the morning has long passed.

She laid back on her wooden bed. She gently stroked her vast, swollen stomach. She could feel the little one inside her pushing and kicking. This never happened with her other children. Her two boys had each been an easy birth.

Suddenly, she groaned as she felt another brutal kick. This one was much harder than the last one. She began softly rubbing her belly again. It seemed to calm her and possibly the babe inside.

She lay there thinking, “Why was this pregnancy so much different?” She closed her eyes and began the breathing ritual that her Shaman teacher, Runa, had taught her. It appeared to be working as she had become more relaxed.

In her mind’s eye, she seemed to be able to see the babe floating in the womb. Jalen could see that this one was female. She looked so pretty. The baby's eyes suddenly opened and looked straight at Jalen, surprising her with their intensity.

She is going to be a special child, Jalen thought.

She sat up, looking around the darkened room. The flickering candle gave the room a different feel somehow. She wished her husband, Lans, hadn’t died in battle and was with her now. She could use his strong support, which he had given her with the birth of their two boys. She hoped Runa would be here soon. She would be able to give her the support and strength she needed at this moment…

Runa hurried across the gathering place on her way to the hut Jalen called home.

Reaching Jalen’s hut, she pulled aside the deer hide that served to keep the cold from venturing inside. She stepped inside but was having difficulty adjusting to the dim light. Her old eyes finally acclimated to the darkness, and she could see the room.

She was taken aback by the appearance of her apprentice. Jalen was sweating profusely and throwing up. She couldn’t tell if what she was seeing was real or one of her visions. It was real.

This is not good, she thought.

She rushed to her apprentice's side and felt the large bulge of Jalen's stomach. Runa could feel the pulsing and saw a glow that was forming around her large stomach. This was something she had never before seen in all of her long years of healing the people of her tribe.

Suddenly, Jalen's water broke, soaking the bed that Jalen was lying on. Jalen was already pushing harder than Runa had seen any woman push. This was a difficult birth, and Runa called for help from her healer assistants. They arrived with blankets and warm water they carried in large clay pots.

Entering the hut, the gazes of the two women immediately went to Jalen in her bed, and they both stepped back in shock. The site of her belly glowing and pulsating frightened them beyond belief.

Runa snapped at them, “Get over here and help! You will never be successful if you are afraid of your patient!”

Cautiously, they drew closer, placing the warm blanket over Jalen.

Opening her eyes, she looked at Runa and her assistants. “Thank you, that feels better.”

Jalen then sat up and cried out again, giving another mighty push. With that push, a baby came forth covered in the ‘Milk of Birthing’.

Jalen fell back onto her wet bed, relieved and exhausted.

As Runa leaned over the newborn, she watched as the baby inhaled the glow that encompassed the little one. The baby then gave out a loud, strong wail. Runa signaled to her assistants to tend to Jalen as she washed the newborn with warm water and enveloped her in a warm blanket.

Runa glanced at the woman assisting her. They were crying. Holding the baby, Runa stood up and walked to Jalen's side. Jalen was not breathing.

Quickly, Runa handed the newborn to an assistant and started shaking Jalen.

“Wake up, Jalen! Do not go to the beyond! You must be here for your new infant!”

She shook Jalen again. This time, Jalen moved and took a deep breath in the child's glow.

“Thank the gods. She lives,” Runa whispered with relief.

Her hands cradled the tiny, warm bundle, and she gazed down at the new babe resting against her chest. The child was breathtaking, a vision unlike any newborn she had ever delivered. Her skin was smooth and flawless, without the telltale wrinkles and creases most babies bore when they first entered the world. It was as if she had been crafted by divine hands, untouched by the rawness of birth.

Runa’s heart swelled as she thought of the countless babies she had helped bring into the world over the years. Each one had been special, each life a gift, but this one… this one was different. She couldn’t quite place why, but the feeling was undeniable. A strange energy seemed to radiate from the child, tingled through Runa’s fingertips, and spread like fire through her veins. It was as though the babe carried an ancient power within her.

Suddenly, the baby’s eyes fluttered open, startlingly bright and clear. Her gaze locked onto Runa’s, unblinking and intent. There was something otherworldly about her, something extraordinary.

“This child is special,” Runa murmured.