EpilogueWith several successful harvest seasons behind them, Lina and Arabel found themselves once again seated together in formal business with An Ming. This time it was as visiting dignitaries, as Arabel was invited to officiate the marriage of I and Yasmin on the Island of the Drones.
As the ceremony was concluded, and the first note of the pipes sounded, a small knot of bright-eyed children came running over asking to see the artwork adorning the priestess’s back that they had heard so much about. Arabel shed her robe and lay prone on the soft grass while they gather around. Lina pointed to the image of the Great Tree covering the small of Arabel’s back, and starting in Mother Africa, began to weave the story of their people.
