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Chapter One

Owatana came up from his cave for first meal in time to overhear his father and lifemate talking.

"I believe that he is prepared for the academy, his brothers may not have succeeded but so far he is the best of all our offspring." Gamaliel barked with pride.

"You claim he will find glory in the militia but how many have perished on the hunt for this supposed ring?" Erebus quipped, "Of the eighteen children we have had only three survived the academy, two are dead and one is unable to partake in feeding without one of us there to physically assist him, and you would condemn him to the same fate as the others?" Erebus fired back in a mixture of anger and pain.

Gamaliel covered his face with his hand trying to contain his outrage at her speech. "To transcend from the physical in the search for the holy ring should be the goal of everyone in the covenant, besides, those of our offspring that perished were given honorable funerals and were awarded medals for their valor"

Owatana hid in the entrance to the meal area, for long and long he had dreamed of joining the academy, graduating, and in time wearing the white armor and oversized headpiece of his father, symbolic of his council rank within the covenant. He had missed his brothers but knew that they had given the ultimate sacrifice for the good of the cause. Owatana had enjoyed his father's war stories. He was appalled at his `bio-mother`'s disregard for the great journey.

"An "honorable funeral"? We were not even given the luxury of burying them, their bodies were jettisoned into space. The medals were granted post humously and what did we, their mothers recieve? A letter from their teachers and commanding officers thanking us for sending our sons to perish."

"Mind your tongue and remember your position woman, you dishonor this household. You would be wise to remember yourself lest I forget the vows we partook during our joining and report you of heresy to the authorities!"Gamaliel slammed his fist down with force enough to dent the table.

"And allow the media controversy with the family name?" Erebus folded her arms over her chest and glared with a look that would freeze a hunter in its tracks. "You yourself would be placed under investigation. Your career though prestigious would be investigated and would be halted in its tracks. Report me indeed" Erebus laughed at Gamaliel's threat and returned to preparing first meal.

"Send him to the academy if another grave in the family is your wish, but do it and be done with it for I shall bear no more hatchlings for you until his graduation, in this myself and your other lifemates are in agreement as we are all sufferers in the losses you and your beloved "Great Journey" have inflicted on this household.

Gamaliel sighed in frustration. He knew that he had done everything in accordance with the rules of the covenant. In combat, he was a fearsome opponent with many kills, his position was witness enough to that. In ship to ship combat, he made sure that his opponents did not so much as launch an escape pod successfully.At the negotiation table he was shrewd and calculating. He was currently taking leave from his recruitment of two new species to the covenant, the brutes and the drones. He had fought side by side with two arbiters when the hunters had been forced to see their heresy in the covenant and when the grunts had needed to be reminded of their place. When it came to domestic matters he was no more useful than a grunt that had just been weened.

"Speaking of which, where is Owatana?" Gamaliel glanced about curiously seeking to change the topic.

"Last I was aware, YOUR son was still in sleepphase." Erebus stated her voice thick with sarcasm as she slammed down the bowls with force enough to make Gamaliel jump in his seat.

"MY son when he is in trouble eh? You do realize that his lack of discipline comes from your side of the family?" Gamaliel retorted while trying to recover his demeanor.

"Yet your loins were not strong enough to filter it out...interesting....so you tell me who is the "undisciplined one"."

Gamaliel immediatly shook his head thanking the forerunners that he had no grunts to vent his frustration on.

Owatana peered his head around the corner and entered the meal area before things could get any further out of hand. Owatana loved,admired, and respected his father with all his little heart but wished that he left his temper on the Loathed Melancholy when he came home to visit.

Owatana hurriedly clambered up onto his father's lap embracing him tightly. "Good rising father, is it true that today is the day you return to the Loathed Melancholy?"

Gamaliel hugged him tightly, Owatana was undisciplined and prone to outbursts at times but he was the strongest child in the village. A natural candidate for the academy if ever there was one. "Late as always my son?" Gamaliel smiled and scratched Owatana's head causing his son to giggle and kick his leg in the air wildly. "Yes, I must return today, we have much going on and I must be present for the ceremonies."

"And what is my Father doing now that he hasn't seen fit to put me to sleepphase to?"Owatana loved purging Gamaliel of stories to regale his friends with, it not only made him popular but it gave him the feeling of importance knowing all that was going on within the covenant that nooone else had access to.

Gamaliel tilted his head feigning thought, "Hmm what would be worthy of my son's knowledge so that he might spread the information all about the village?" Gamaliel mused.

Owatna squirmed in his Gamaliel's lap anxious to hear any details large or small and gazed into his father's eyes awaiting the stories his father would confer upon him.

"There will be a new prophet announced within the heirarchy, he will be ordained within a week's time and will be replacing the late Prophet of Humility"

"Humility has started the Great Journey then....What is the new heirarchs name?"

"His name is Mercy.He is the youngest prophet to achieve the glory and status of being declared a heirarch. A very studious prophet who is versed like no other in the forerunners, the holy rings and the great journey itself. Many believe that he will be the one to locate the Holy rings and best of all," his father glared at Erebus "beyond accusation of heresy."

Erebus placed a plate in front of him and plopped a serving of live fernils in front of him. "You may continue with your tales as he eats." She glanced down at owatana and clicked her mandibles. "Eat up before they disappear from your plate."

Owatana buried himself facefirst into his food delighting in the screams and crunching of his prey. He wondered in the back of his mind what the hunt had been like in the past, when all an elite had to rely on was his courage and a blade.

Owatana paused in feeding long enough to ask his father "What about the prophets of Sorrow and Conceit?"

"Unless something extremely out of the ordinary happens, I don't foresee any major changes anytime soon."

Owatana finished his meal and pushed his bowl away. "Anything else interesting coming up father?"

Gamaliel nodded," There is a possibility of two new species being added to the covenant,the Brutes and the Drones"

"What are the Brutes? They sound exciting?" Owatana started to squirm in his seat getting into Gamaliel's story.

"The Brutes are tall in height, almost three meters. Extremely muscular with potential for violent outbursts of anger. A `tribal-pack` social structure. They can be stubborn at times but their apparant faith is second only to that of the elites. Preferred ceremonial weapon is what they refer to as a warhammer which to them is sacred and has been passed from father to son for longer than their recorded history. To the brutes the warhammer is symbolic in the force of the tribe, the strength of their leader and the almost unstoppable blow of justice. The warhammer is to be used only for ceremony, never to be swung at a living creature. If done then the person that weilds it is automatically disgraced from the pack. The Brutes live above ground in what they refer to as "huts" in the trees. Their current leader whom they refer to as a "chieftain" is a village elder. The chieftain has always been marked by a single vertical row of fur which is white and is not dissimilar to the comb of a jackal. They call it a ..." Gamaliel snapped his fingers trying to remember. "ah a "mohawk" if memory serves me correctly."

"They sound wonderous father, what is their leaders name and what is he like?"

"The chieftain's name is Katsoowop. He has a lifemate named Mutarday and a son about your age named Tartarus"

"What about his other lifemates father? You forgot about them."

"Not all species have more than one lifemate my son. The Brutes only have one lifemate and if that lifemate perishes before the other then the never rejoin and it is rare that they have more than one child at a time."

"Do they know the sudden decrease in lifespan that goes along with joining the covenant, or have you not told them that little secret yet?" Erebus quipped.

Gamaliel glared at Erebus, "Moving on...The drones are large insects, not much different from those outside except for their size. They are roughly the same height as a jackal and they live in asteroid fields. They have a hive mindset and only a single female in the whole hive who does nothing but lays eggs and is waited on hand and foot by the workers."

Owatana listened to Gamaliel, his interest in his father's words never failing. "And what will be the purpose of the Brutes and the Drones in the Covenant?"

"Let's see the Prophets show us the way to the journey, we protect the Prophets against the heretics and outside threats, the Jackals do pretty much whatever needs doing and the grunts..."

"Are led to slaughter and your father continuously lies to them about being rewarded even though they sacrifice themselves by the millions so that one day they too might be "respected" members of the Covenant" Erebus interrupted

"All that join the covenant serve with the knowledge that if they perish in the service they will be rewarded with being sent instantaneously on The Great Journey"

Owatana shook his head and jumped down from his father's lap. "Why is it twhen father comes home all you want to do is fight? I love both of you very much but had I fought with my brothers the way you two are fighting now you would have fed us to the jackals. Now stop it." Owatana stomped his foot on the floor and placed his hands on his hips.

Gamaliel looked at Erebus, then to Owatana, then repeated the cycle then looked back at Erebus."I told you he was your son" and widened his mandibles in a smile and chuckled to himself.

Erebus smiled and nodded "Yes but remember, his stubbornness comes from you." Your father also has something very important to tell you regarding your future."Erebus looked at Gamaliel worriedly but knowing that he had long had his mind set on a child being successful within the military and did not wish to stir his anger further.

Owatana folded his arms over his chest and looked up at Gamaliel with one eyearch raised. "Have you been holding out on me father? What is it? A new weapon,a new ship, what what what?" Owatana started bouncing up and down and clapping his hands in excitement.

Gamaliel looked to Erebus utterly speechless, suspicious of her seemingly sudden change of course with her stance on the CovenantShe had just dared him to inform Owatana of his choice to enroll him into the Covenant. For a moment Gamaliel debated retracting his statement but would that not make her victorious? What plan had she concocted? Gamaliel shook his head to clear his mind of thoughts. What could a woman possibly put over on him? "Owatana what is it that you desire the most?"

Owatana tilted his head and gazed at Gamaliel and Erebus in confusion. "To become what you are, an officer in the Covenant, to partake in The Great Journey, and to stop making mother mad at me for eating all the squibbles"

Gamaliel stared down in anger and frustration at Owatana "You've been told about eating squibbles. They are bad for you and fill you up before third meal." Owatana hung his head in shame. "However,your mother is correct. I have been holding out on you. You depart with me today aboard the Loathed Melancholy on route to Ceti Alpha Four. I'm having you enrolled in the acacdemy where I hope you will graduate with honors to become a full member of the Covenant. You will be trained in history, science,math,weapons,vehicles,and even hand to hand combat along with diplomacy and politics. Now I ask you again, is this what you desire?"

Owatana looked at Erebus patiently

"What's wrong baby? Isn't this what you've been wanting? To succeed just as your father has?"

The young elite nodded once affirming her question then stated "I'm waiting for you to be mean to father again for saying the "c" word."
""C" word? What "c" word?" Erebus asked.

"Covenant. It seems like anytime he says that word the problems start again."

Owatana turned to Gamaliel and hugged him tightly enough to choke him

"Is it true?"

Gamaliel pointed to his own throat and gasped the word "air". Owatana immediatly released his grip on his father's throat and after Gamaliel caught his breath he replied with a scratchy voice.

"Yes son it is true now make preperations for your departure."

Owatana dashed off to say his farewells to friends and family. Gamaliel turned a cold as ice glare to Erebus. "What game are you playing? Not once have you willingly given me an inch on his attendance and now you mockingly sidestep me. They state that the light from the holy rings is bright but so far you have seemed blind to it."

Erebus merely shrugged "He is in all truth going to go with or without your encouragement, simply because of the path that you have chosen for yourself. Were you not out waging war, conquering galaxies and negotiating treaties such as they are you would see your son running around with his ceremonial council headpiece... my mop bucket. his sword is the sweepstick for the floor and the scrubbrush is his plasma rifle. He slays every manner of creature he can create in his mind then regales his friends with his stories of his his courage and daring. He prays to the forerunners every night before he enters sleepphase. If I fight him I will lose him. If I let him go, he may perish but he will still be mine." Erebus wrung her hands tightly about a cloth.

"You show him such daring and adventure. How might I possibly compete? Everyday that passes I know that I might recieve a visit from the honor guard with another letter stating your passing and a sword with your name, rank, and date of death engraved on it." Erebus turned to face Gamaliel with tears flowing from her eyes profusely to where they dripped off of her mandibles and fell to the floor. Gamaliel stood and tried to comfort her but Erebus would have none of it pushing him forcefully back into his chair.

"This is not something that may be removed with a wave of a wand. Granted no longer need we worry about one visit. Now I must worry about two with Owatana's enlistment. It will just be myself, your other lifemates with just Khavik to see after us. But I won't have a thing to worry about because the Covenant and the foorerunners will look after us just like they looked after the rest of our children. Your love may be ours but your heart and soul belong to the accursed Covenant. You go where they tell you when they tell you without thought of us here at home." Erebus checked her tears and dried her eyes with the towel. She turned and continued weeping while holding her head over the fluid basin.

"You threaten to forget the vows of our joining, yet since our time away to consumate our vows and the vows of your other lifemates, when you return to duty and that headpiece is placed onto your head it seems like we are forgotten and never existed. You realize that you have not so much asked about Khavik since his injury?"

Gamaliel listened and knew that what Erebus had said was the truth. He wanted to admit that she was right but the soldier within would not allow it. Honor and duty were what mattered most. Gamaliel tried to be rational with her. "Of what use would it be to speak with him? The physicians have told us on several occassions that he is little more than a rock. It is pointless and a waste of time. Noone has the ability to heal him."

The sound of Erebus' nails clawing the basin was ear and nerve shattering. but Gamaliel felt that he had to hold his ground. Erebus spun around and Gamaliel could tell that she was fighting an epic battle within herself. Erebus' voice was eerily calm as she stated, "Maybe speaking to him would heal you and bring back the elite that I gave my soul to." Erebus turned back to cleaning as she wept silently to herself.

Gamaliel looked across the room at his injured child. Had he really ignored him to that extent? He had been injured almost six years ago, his health had been in a state of decline ever since the incident. He had made him join the accademy at the standard age of six,graduated in the middle of his class, excelled in every area pertaining to higher brain functions, but had barely gotten passing grades in any area of combat.

Physically he had always been weak and weaponry had not aided his cause any. Khavik could not hit the broad side of a capital ship at close range. Gamaliel had pulled a few strings to place Khavik on the Thrones and Dominations a frontline carrier in the hope that he could make him tougher but on his first mission out of spaceport, he had been critically wounded when a round had entered the cockpit of his Seraph fighter. According to the physicians he had lost most if not all of his voluntary brain functions meaning that the autopilot had to have detected a major problem medically with the pilot and had taken over the controls and flown Khavik back to the Thrones and Dominations.

So many times Gamaliel had wished that Khavik had not returned.Better that he be on the Great Journey than for him to be here being an almost useless sack of meat.

"Aren't you going to say something to him? " Erebus asked "You've been staring at him for over five minutes." Gamaliel stood and went to the hover chair and looked at Khavik's blank eyes and listened to the machines that made him continue living. Just one cord was all that kept him from the Great Journey. There had been many debates within the family as to whether or not to pull the plug or to let him continue living. Gamaliel had had to change his view from pulling the plug to hoping that Khavik could last long enough until the Great Journey started. Gamaliel turned his attention to the entrance of the cave in time to see Owatana return.

Owatana went to Khavik and embraced him then nuzzled his neck. "I'm going to the academy, I'm going to become the best warrior that ever existed. I'm sorry I won't be here to watch the holocron with you anymore or read to you but I'll still be back to visit you. I'll make you and our mothers proud."

Khavik moved his fingers a little and made a small grunt. Had Gamaliel not witnessed it firsthand he would have believed it to be a lie. Yet there it was right there in front of him. Gamaliel needed time to think things over. Gamaliel turned to Owatana. "Prepare your things for departure. The Loathed Melancholy leaves soon and we haven't much time."

Owatana nodded and nudged Khavik once more then dashed off to his room. Upon entry he went to his closet and started grabbing everything that was important to him including his family's medals, his drawings and a holopic of his father, mothers, and himself. The only person missing was his brother who had taken the picture all those years ago. Erebus came in as Owatana was packing and peered over his shoulder.

"I still remember that day " Erebus stated reminiscently," You had just hatched and your father had come in just as you were poking your head out. We were so proud of you." Erebus ran her hand lovingly over Owatana's head. Erebus took a deep breath and kneeled down in front of Owatana. "Owatana, you must be so happy for the events of today but I want you to make a vow for me."

Owatana nodded, "Yes mother just tell me what it is."

"If there ever comes a time when you feel that you can make a difference for good, don't wait. take advantage of the chances that you are given and hold on tightly. Stand up for what is right and just because you believe them to be, not because someone tells you it is. All creatures make mistakes, there is no exception. Do what you are told unless your heart tells you not to."

Owatana looked at the holopic and sincerely replied " I swear to the Forerunners I will do as you ask mother" and embraced Erebus tightly and they wept in each others arms. Erebus for sorrow, Owatana for joy. Ones dream and the other's nightmare were both realized at the same time.

Erebus pulled away from the embrace and lifted Owatana's chin with her forefinger and looked into his eyes. "You will always have a home here my son. Now go finish packing, I have taken enough of your time."

Owatana reached down and sealed his luggage "I'm ready mother"

Erebus took Owatana's hand in hers and walked up the stairs to Gamaliel where she nuzzled them both farewell as Owatana and Gamaliel made their way to the next transport to the Loathed Melancholy where his greatest adventure would begin.

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