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summer was still a few months away and the fields were a springy green cushion. Sora took a brief rest in the fields while her horse rummaged for fresh grass. It was about mid-afternoon... she had to find her direction.
    She lay down on her back, obscured by the tall strands, breathing in the moist air; she felt sheltered from the larger world, momentarily invisible. She reached up to touch her necklace, running her fingers across its warm, smooth surface. It had always felt more like skin covered by a thin film rather than a rock.
    Her mind wandered to her friends: the dark assassin who had kidnapped her so long ago, and Burn, the Wolfy mercenary, a giant warrior and one of the last of a dying race. She could clearly remember their faces, their specific traits and features.
    She meditated on their images for a while, attempting to communicate with the Cat's Eye, to  describe what she needed. Something stirred deep in her mind, like the beginnings of a dream. A dull noise reached her ears—the jingling of sleighbells. That was the same sound the necklace always made, the gem's subtle way of communicating with her. She didn't know if all bearers heard the same sound, but her Cat's Eye had a certain way of alerting her—the bells.
    Sora received a clear impression that the necklace had already decided the course of her journey. She had never used the necklace like this before, and was a little disconcerted at having to read its nudges and impressions. She sank into a deeper meditation, her breathing slowing, her limbs growing heavy. Over time, the world slipped away. She was floating in a black space, with no sensation of the wind or grass beneath her, as though she had entered a dark tunnel.
    Then, vaguely, she felt like she was standing on rocks or sand—and a long, deep corridor stretched before her. Where do we go from here? she asked silently. The words echoed in the deep emptiness, as if she was talking in a void. Had she been heard?
    After countless minutes, perhaps even an hour, she felt the necklace nudge back at her, like a hand resting on her shoulder. She was startled back to consciousness.
    She climbed to her feet without a second thought, as though directed by a clear voice and turned southwest, across the plains. That way.
    Her horse grazed a few dozen yards to her left; he saw her and trotted over, bumping her with his nose, eager for attention, even slobbering on her shirt. She gave the mare a handful of oats so it wouldn’t set its attentions on her hair, grinning wryly at its antics. All of her mother's horses had distinct personalities and were excellently trained. Sometimes, they seemed close to human. She wondered if Healers had a certain affinity with animals.
    Sora mounted, then looked around. West. She could feel the Cat's Eye urging her in that direction, like a finger poking into the back of her head. Who knew how long she would have to travel to find her friends—it could be another six months. No, it would be sooner than that. She wasn't sure where that thought came from, but it crossed her mind with the slight chiming of a bell.
    She shook her head, her thoughts swimming with this strange, new communication from the necklace. For so long, it had been silent... but now, it was wide awake.
    After only a bit of hesitation, she started off across the fields.
     
    * * *
     
    Days passed—she had been traveling a week or more. Sora grew accustomed to sleeping under the stars, although she had to admit that the trek was a bit lonely. Sometimes she talked to her horse out of sheer boredom. At night, she was never certain if she should light a fire, since the plains were large and flat and any sort of light was easily visible. She saw ground squirrels, rabbits, foxes and owls; luckily, nothing bigger than a deer. She didn't waste time trying to hunt; that was one skill she had never learned. She ate from her rations instead, something that she was very good at.
    Finally a shape appeared, an oblong