Echoes of a Shattered Age by R. J. Terrell

different world would be intriguing, but not as much of a shock as it would have been in times earlier. It was five years after his arrival on Earth that the Ilanyan traveler met his future student and closest friend Mira, to whom he had spent the passing years teaching the ways of the Gods; the Daunyans.
    Mira was born in a village on the smallest of the islands that were once known as Hawaii. After the End of Technology, the island had undergone many changes, and its inhabitants, having never completely abandoned the old ways, easily reverted back to the way things were done prior to “modern” times. Mira was born to a family of four living in a village along the coastline. While giving birth, her mother felt little pain in comparison with the average childbirth, and once born, the infant did not utter a sound. Initially, the family believed her to have been born mute, but after looking closer, they noticed that her little eyes were scanning her surroundings as if she fully comprehended everything she saw.
    As each member of the family of now five looked at the new arrival, the child’s eyes fixed upon their own as if to return the greeting. As she grew older, Mira began to discover just how different she was. As a child, she’d found that she could manipulate things with her mind. As she grew older, her abilities sharpened as she learned control. By young adulthood, she was able to not only manipulate physical objects, but also alter them. Even in the difficult years of adolescence, her heart remained pure and good natured. Mira would never be found harming any form of life, whether large as an ox or small as an insect.
    She’d first encountered Iel while tending her orchard. The disconcerting experience of a voice speaking into her mind told her that a friend would soon visit. Panicked but having no one to talk to about it—she’d learned quickly that others questioned her wits when she spoke of her experiences—Mira had tried to shut out the voice, and for a time, it ceased.
    Once she’d begun to let her guard down, Mira started receiving visions. A being from a world very different from her own would find his way close to her homeland. He needed her help. The message had been filled with so much love that her fear evaporated, and she knew that the voices did not originate in her own mind, or from something that meant her harm. Amid tearful pleas to change her mind, Mira—who was now at the beginning of womanhood—said good-bye to her family and departed on her quest to meet the friend she had never seen.
    Mira cherished the memory of their first meeting. The Ilanyan had encountered a beautiful short-tailed albatross, and was intrigued by the bird. As soon as she’d laid eyes upon him admiring the bird, she knew he was the one who’d spoken into her mind. She had contentedly watched as the bird, equally curious, watched the strange man. She’d never seen an albatross let anyone come so close before. Sensing her presence, the visitor turned and looked into her eyes and smiled. Thus was the friendship born.
    Mira regarded her teacher and friend. He was a bit shorter than she, about halfway between five and six feet tall. His skin was a marble gray and black color that gave him a statue-like appearance, and he had kind, green eyes filled with the firmness of experience, but the softness of wisdom.
    “Do you think they’ll be able to reach us?” Mira asked, a bit of concern in her voice.
    “I do not doubt it,” Iel answered.
    “That’s why you are calling to the Children of The Gene?” Mira moved to stand beside him, looking out at the surrounding hills. “Do you think they will be enough? So few to defend Takashaniel against a Drek, a major demon general, and most likely a hoard at its command.”
    “That is not for us to know. The only future that is absolute is that when we leave these vessels we inhabit, we are rejoined with Daunyans, the loving Gods.”
    Mira frowned. “Why would they allow this