Legionnaires: Dawnstar

Vision Quest

by Libbylawrence

Greybird scrambled up a rocky slope with the careless ease of the small boy he was. He didn’t look back except to notice the loose gravel and small pebbles dislodged by his movements. He was a small boy even for his age; however, he was smart and daring. His bright eyes darted back and forth and while he truly had few reservations or inhibitions, he did take in his environment without thinking about what he saw.

In truth, the native of Starhaven didn’t need to be overly careful as he made his way up the steep slope since like all of the genetically altered natives of the former colony world, he possessed working wings that would have allowed him to turn any fall from the slope into a graceful flight through the air. Flight was new to him since he had only recently passed the age of passage in which the Amerind natives of Starhaven were first allowed to soar over their beautiful home.

“The Rite of First Flight is not to be taken lightly nor is it to be forgotten since like the very breath we take, it is a gift from the Great Spirit!” Those words echoed in Greybird’s mind even as he tried to find his way up the almost overgrown paths up the mountain.

Greybird knew that he had a good reason not to fly to the summit in spite of the fact that he had earned the right of flight weeks before. If the daring child flew to the top, he might be seen by those he was planning to spy upon. He knew that a meeting of the Council of Elders was to be held on the top of the mountain that day and he wanted to see and hear all that occurred. He was too young to witness such a momentous event but he was curious and he justified his deceitful practice with the sure and certain if childish conclusion that he should see it because…he wanted to see it!

Greybird smiled as he thought of his little brother Greatfire back home with their mother Moonwalker. How jealous the child would be and how much he would envy and admire his brave older brother when he heard of Greybird’s bold action! The two brothers were very close; however, neither of them really knew their older sister Dawnstar very well since she had been off planet since the boys were little more than toddlers. She was a heroine and the pride of her family. As a Legionnaire she was famous and they took a real pride in what their big sister had accomplished; however, she was still as distant and remote from their daily lives as the shining star that gave the young woman her birth name long ago.

Greybird heard the sound of drums and he knew that meant the Council of Elders was convening. He had to hurry in order to get within sight of the leaders of Starhaven. He soon reached the nearly flat summit of the mountain and he smiled as he saw the bright colors and decorative garments worn by these respected and often feared Elders. They wore ceremonial finery and they spoke only in the customary if stilted words of ritual and tradition.

“We gather together in the sight of the Great Spirit and we give thanks to him for his bounty. We ask his mercy and his guidance as we draw near to the sky that is his face in order to seek his wisdom in our time of strife and confusion!” The words came from a very tall man who stood proudly although age and infirmity had robbed him of much of his former strength. He still possessed a nobility of manner that led the other Elders to show him an obvious deference.

“I am known to you all. I am Windsinger and I open this Council without fear that I have dishonored any among us. I am beyond any hurtful vice and this purity gives me courage. It is more than courage that we need now. It is wisdom. It is faith. It is mercy. What gifts we have may not suffice when we are faced with such a terrible ordeal!” He passed a gnarled feathered staff to a younger man who stood before the old man and accepted the token with humility.

Greybird strained to hear the words this man said since he was the boy’s father. This strong man with the quiet dignity of manner was called Mistrider. He had achieved a place of honor in the Council of Elders at a remarkably young age. Mistrider said, “Windsinger, we bow to your wisdom. The ages have touched you with knowledge and discretion. Now, however, we are faced with a crisis beyond the experience of any who had soared the skies of Starhaven or walked its rich and wholesome soil. We are faced with a natural disaster that seems to strike without rhyme or reason!”

A slender man with long black hair that was braided with ceremonial beads stood up and spoke without being given the staff. This breech of etiquette was shocking; however, no one challenged him since it was well-known to all that in spite of his youth and his abruptness, Nightwalker the Shaman was held dear to the Great Spirit. The other young man faced Mistrider and waved the staff in his face. “You mince words when you know the truth. The great quakes do not strike without rhyme or reason. They strike as the Great Spirit wills them to do. They punish us as signs of his thunderous wraith since we have fallen short of his will. His word and his way are whispered in my ears as I sojourn through the dark hours. He has told me plainly that he will rip our world apart if we do not appease his anger by making a Ritual Passage beyond this planet!”

Mistrider said, “Nightwalker, earth quakes or tremors are unknown here on Starhaven. I admit this much. Still, I feel the answer lies in something less drastic than leaving the home our ancestors founded 700 years ago!”

Nightwalker shook his head and cried out in anger. “You defy me? You do so. Still, I will not allow you to mock the Great Spirit and he speaks through me. I tell you that if we do not make a Passage from Starhaven and show our remorse for our sins, this planet will be torn asunder and all of us will die!”

Greybird gasped as he listened in surprise. He was afraid now. He was sorry that he had dared to come where no child should have ventured. “If the great quakes continue then we’ll all die! If we do leave our world then where we will go?” These questions raced through the boy’s mind and in spite of his youth, Greybird had summarized the exact fears and concerns that now plagued the Council of Elders.

As he listened, Greybird shuddered as he felt a vague tremor pass through the ground. He yelled in concern as the entire mountain suddenly shook with a force that brought down trees and sent boulders roaring down the slopes in an avalanche.

The Council of Elders felt the nightmarish quakes and reacted as one. They abandoned their tribal meeting place and flew away from the avalanche of rock and dirt. The roar of the cascading rocks shook the ground below and stones and dust filled the skies until young Greybird could barely find his way to safety. He was scared and he wanted nothing more than to find safety with his father.

Mistrider saw the child and swiftly flew to his side. He would be punished later but for now Mistrider only cared about getting his son away from the powerful quake and the terrible devastation made by a falling mountainside!

Finally, the dust cleared and the Council of Elders looked down on a scene of loss and madness. “The mountain that once touched the very skies now is broken! It was humbled by the Great Spirit. Let its loss be a warning to us all. We too must leave Starhaven! What greater proof may I offer?” shrieked Nightwalker.

The wise old man named Windsinger said, “I suggest we follow Nightwalker’s lead in this matter! I mourn for the loss of the only home I have known for longer than any of you have lived but I no longer doubt the truth of his words. Starhaven will die if we do not leave it and appease our maker!”

Mistrider scowled and remained silent as he placed one strong arm around his son’s shoulders. “Perhaps, he is right but unlike the others I have heard of miracles wrought by men and women that match this horror in scope. I have heard much from my daughter and it is to Dawnstar that I will look for answers before I take my family away!” These thoughts came to Mistrider along with an unspoken determination that he would not leave his home until his heroic daughter Dawnstar had tried to end the deadly quakes!
***

 

Spee Han grinned as he piloted his small star ship through a dazzling series of spins and dives and loops that left his pursuers far behind. The smuggler from Corellia smiled in a cocky manner as he thought about the credits he would make for completing this run. He would turn over guns taken from the United Planets armory and he would be paid handsomely by his employer when he reached their hidden lair on Dagoba! He knew that the best efforts of the Science Police would not be enough to catch him. His ship was just too fast and his piloting skills were almost legendary.

“No sentient can catch Spee Han!” he said with an easy familiarity since he loved nothing more than to boast about his talent. He steered his ship toward a tightly congested area of space known colloquially as the Meteor Maze because of the hundreds of meteors that sailed madly through the region. The planet called Angtu once occupied that region before it was shattered by the lethal touch of one of its criminal natives. The rogue called Mano had given birth to the Meteor Maze when his destructive touch had sealed the death of his planet.

Now, no one lightly traveled in such a perilous region except for someone with Han’s bold and audacious ways. “That’s right, Sci Coppers! Keep your nice little ships away from the bad old space rocks!” he said in a taunting tone that faded into an expletive of shock as he saw something beyond even his expectations.

A beautiful woman in a revealing yellow costume with a cross-laced bodice and fringed trim and boots, soared alongside of his ship. She had long flowing black hair, dark eyes, and a nobility of manner. She smiled coldly as her broad wing wings carried her by his ship and allowed her to pace his craft effortlessly. She flew gracefully through space without any type of artificial protection.

Han said, “I know her kind! She’s one of those flying freaks from Starhaven but why’s she chasing me?” He adjusted a few controls and plunged directly into the heart of the Meteor Maze. “I don’t care if she is able to track me like some kind of space hound. She won’t be more than a once sexy smear when the rocks hit her!”

Dawnstar of the Legion of Super Heroes saw his evasive action and she rolled her eyes with contempt. The Amerind heroine from Starhaven had locked her mutant tracking powers on Spee Han and she knew she would not lose him. He could pull off any number of daring moves but she could not follow him with her eyes closed.

In fact she did exactly that. She closed her eyes and allowed her every movement to be guided by a more subtle sense beyond vision or hearing or touch. She veered through the meteors with an unerring speed that enabled her to dodge every speeding object no matter how abruptly her open path turned into a possible collision course. She knew that nothing would hit her since she did not wish to be hit. She knew no one could escape from her once she had locked on to their trail. Dawnstar had no doubt that she would capture the elusive smuggler and she even believed that few other beings could do so as well.

Many people considered her to be cold, arrogant, and distant but in truth the young woman merely rested her actions on an unshaken certainty that her abilities and training would allow her to rise to any possible challenge. This belief rested on more than confidence in herself. She also possessed a strong faith in the Great Spirit and that gave her added strength of will and purpose. Dawnstar decided to end the chase so she swooped down in the path of the space ship and posed defiantly in its wake.

Han hit a weapons consul and sent a blinding array of energy beams from his ship in her direction. “I’ll blast that cocky witch to ashes!” he cried. However, all he did was shatter a meteor as Dawnstar dodged every beam with amazing agility and left his energy bolts to create a blinding cloud of dust and ash from the broken rocks.

Han yelled in horror as he lost all vision and slammed into a meteor. His ship reeled madly and he scrambled to fight his plunge as he veered from one impact to another.

Dawnstar flew through a narrow portal and reached his side in seconds. She snatched him up and carried him out of the ship as it whirled upside down and finally exploded seconds after the Winged Beauty cleared the maze with her captive in tow. The Science Police indicated that Han was wearing his customary space suit when they chased him away from the United Planets Fleet Armory. That’s why I knew I could just pull him into space without any problem! she thought.

She gave the beaten smuggler to the Science Police and started to depart from their cruiser when an officer in the black and gray uniform stopped her. “Dawnstar, we’re glad you brought Han in since he has been a thorn in our side for years but couldn’t you have recovered the stolen guns? We’ve lost them all in the explosion!” he said.

Dawnstar raised her arched eyebrow and said, “The U.P. will make more weapons. Be content that those guns won’t fall into enemy hands. I brought you your smuggler but I won’t lose sleep over the loss of additional ways for petty men to take lives! Life is far too precious for that. I know better than most!” She left the bridge of the S.P. Fleet cruiser and soared into space.

The officer shrugged and said, “Did you see the way that stuck up princess flounced out of here? She acted like some kind of higher being! I prefer Phantom Girl any day. She’s so friendly and down to earth!”

His aide nodded and said, “Yes sir. Still, you have to admit Dawnstar made us all look pretty bad. She’s very, very good at what she does and she knows it!”

The officer said, “I know! I know! You have to envy a woman who combines that face and figure with her skill and courage. She must not have a care in the universe!”
***

 

Little did he know that beneath her haughty façade Dawnstar was troubled by many emotions. She had meant what she had said to the officer about the value of all living beings. In addition to the values her training as a child on Starhaven had given her by teaching her to cherish all life, she also honored the Legion Code against killing. That devotion to higher ideals had pained her terribly when she had been placed in a seemingly hopeless plight a while back. That conflict had ended only with the death of an enemy and her own feelings of guilt and sorrow.

She also waged an inner war as she struggled to reconcile her romantic feelings for a teammate with the limitations his unique nature placed upon any possible relationship. She had grown to love Wildfire (Drake Burroughs) but due to an accident years before the fiery Legionnaire only existed as a disembodied cloud of anti-energy within a containment suit that was more mockery of true humanoid life than a representation of it.

She loved a man she could never touch. She could never kiss him nor could she ever feel his caress. In times of crisis, he could offer her words of love and support. He could be by her side but he could never truly offer her any physical signs of love or affection. Dawnstar’s people had a strong sense of communion with nature. The Starhaven natives felt closer to the Great Spirit when they were in contact with nature or with the tactile parts of their environment. This made the passionate young woman yearn for something she could touch. Wildfire could never offer her that.

She had once considered herself to be resigned to life with a companion or soul mate who truly was only her mate in a spiritual way but then the same case that had cost her what she called her blood innocence had also made her consider love with a man who could give her a physical relationship.

Now, she shrugged off her concerns and tried to lose herself in duty. She had also attempted to distance herself from Wildfire of late and knowing that her actions had hurt him had only brought her more pain. She hid that pain as she reached Earth and her Legion flight ring’s code signal allowed her to pass through the Polymer Shield that enveloped Earth protectively like the embrace of the Great Spirit.

She soon reached Legion of Super Heroes HQ in Metropolis and she ignored a group of autograph hungry tourists as she sped through the plaza that led to their base. She frowned as she encountered the newest Legionnaire Andromeda. The girl from Rokyn had taken the heroic name at the same moment she had been sworn into the team and now the young blonde in blue and red smiled as Dawnstar drew closer.

“Dawnstar! I’m glad to see you. Blok was showing me the basics about the communications system when Computo chimed in with an urgent message for you from your father. He says they need you on Starhaven immediately but he gave no details.”

Dawnstar nodded and said, ” Such taciturnity is Mistrider’s nature. No doubt Computo refrained from projecting its normal holo display directly to me in order to avoid distracting me while I was engaged in my mission. I’ll go at once! Please, have the Mission Monitor Board indicate that fact!”

Andromeda said, “Would you like some company? So much about this universe is new to me since Rokyn was a phase world that spent time in another realm!”

Dawnstar saw the young girl’s eager interest and silenced her with an abrupt but polite reply. “No thank you. Where I travel, I travel alone!” She turned on one heel and hurried away.

Andromeda watched her go and then returned to study the communications system. She knew the Legion was composed of many different personality types. Some were as perky and warm as Phantom Girl while others carried a more abrasive manner like the regal Sensor Girl, the slightly catty Dream Girl, or the fiery Wildfire. She hoped to get to know them all in time.

Dawnstar soared through the ocean of space with her usual speed. She was deeply worried about her family since in truth she knew their generally undemonstrative manner had led to rather infrequent contact since she left Starhaven. I pray to the Great Spirit that they are well. If something has happened to my parents or the little boys, I’ll never forgive myself! she thought.

She reached Starhaven in record time since her natural speed, agility, and sense of direction put even the expert navigating skills of Sun Boy to shame. Dawnstar inhaled as she dropped down to the natural splendor of Starhaven. “The scent of the flowers fills me with a sense of home. May the reality be as welcoming as it is in my dreams!”

She noticed the altered landscape as she drew closer to home and she began to fear for what she might find. The small tippee that served as home to Mistrider and his family looked largely unchanged except for the fact that a few trees had fallen down as if struck by a sudden storm.

As her boots touched the ground, she was greeted by a woman who looked much like Dawnstar herself except for the fact that her hair was lighter and she was older. “Dawnstar! You are as welcome as the Great Spirit’s refreshing touch!” she said as she came forward to embrace her daughter.

Dawnstar allowed the embrace to linger for a moment before she stepped back and gazed at her mother’s tired face. “Mother, what is wrong? Why have you summoned me here?” she asked. She stopped and bent down on her knees as a small boy peered around the corner of the home and stared at her. “Greatfire! Don’t you remember me? It’s Dawnstar!” she said.

The boy came forward slowly and then impulsively flung himself into her arms. She held him close and then let him sit on her lap as she said, “Is Mistrider well? Where is Greybird?”

“I am as well as a man may be who finds his world at war with itself! Daughter, I have summoned you here because great quakes threaten to destroy Starhaven. The Elders have decided that we should depart from our home and make a passage of appeasement to beg the Great Spirit to forgive us for the wrongs we have committed! I hoped your Legion experience might give us another answer! As for young Greybird, he is inside because of misconduct. He will see you soon enough.”

The words came rapidly and rather impassively from the big man who came up and placed one hand on Dawnstar’s cheek. “My child, I rejoice in your beauty and your strength. I wish we were together under better conditions!” he said.

Dawnstar gently placed Greatfire in Moonwalker’s arms as she stood up and gazed at her father with interest and worry. “Earthquakes are merely a natural phenomenon not a sign of divine displeasure! I know my ally Brainiac 5 could possibly calm such a fault line if he was here!” she said.

“You know we do not welcome Outworlders! This sacred ground has been defiled as it is! I tell you that your willful interference will only bring down greater wraith upon us!” cried Nightwalker as the wild Shaman leaped into view.

Dawnstar frowned as she faced the other man. He was trembling with barely concealed emotion and his hands clinched and unclenched in swift succession. “Nightwalker, you have lost none of your violent ways in the years since last we met!” she said with a sneer.

Nightwalker said, “I am more than I once was. I am touched by the Great Spirit. I am his tongue and no woman may doubt me or my holy power!”

Mistrider said, “He is still our Shaman and is due respect. He does speak the truth. I see your conduct toward him as changed little since he sought your hand in marriage when you were but a child!”

Dawnstar shuddered as she remembered how the previously angry and eccentric Nightwalker had asked Mistrider to give him the then 13 year old Dawnstar in wedlock. The offer had been refused since his older age and his slightly strange manner had repelled the strong-willed girl.

“You rejected me once and now I must tell you Proud and Haughty One that the Creator rejects us all for our sins. We must flee or all life on Starhaven will end!” he said.

Dawnstar said, “This is madness and blasphemy. How could one as angry and out of touch with the natural world become the voice of our Maker?”

Moonwalker said, “Nightwalker has always had a divine link. We can’t deny the fact that anyone so intimately connected with the Great Spirit might seem mad to ordinary beings!”

Nightwaker said, “Do not believe me. Merely look at the destruction caused by the quakes. The quakes speak for me. They prove my words!”

Mistrider said, “Daughter, I had hoped you might stop the quakes. Your time as a Legionnaire has given you much wisdom beyond our own bounds!”

Dawnstar said, “I am no scientist. I could summon my friends should you allow it!”

Nightwalker said, “We have no need of foreigners. I will offer you this hope. Perhaps, Dawnstar alone may appease the Maker by finding out what even my own efforts can not reveal. She might seek his will through a vision quest. I feel as if she might have been guided here for a reason beyond any you conceived of when you summoned her!”

Dawnstar nodded slowly and said, “If that is what I must do, so shall I do it!”

That evening Dawnstar began the preparations for the ritual of Seeing or the Vision Quest. She had little trouble fasting since she had never been the type of woman to center her activities around meals. She also was not unduly modest in the physical sense and thus, had no problem shedding her traditional costume for a more revealing two piece outfit of white-gray fur. The top was basically a halter while the breechcloth was not much briefer than some bikini bottoms. She remained still and meditated as the Shaman applied a chalky white clay to her face and body until certain ancient glyphs had taken form. She knew that the Shaman Nightwalker was respected by her peers but she did not like the man and she did fight to resist the urge to twist away from his touch as he painted her with the clay.

Dawnstar exchanged a silent farewell to her family as she flew high above their village and followed the Shaman to an isolated glade near the top of the twin mountain range that ran nearby the one shattered by the quakes.

“It is here among the solitude of the mountains that you will find your way. Should the visions come to you they will tell you all you need to know although your own senses and your own wisdom might refuse to accept their instructions. Such was always your proud way, Dawnstar, daughter of Mistrider!” said Nightwalker.

Dawnstar bit back her heated reply and merely lowered her eyes demurely. She would have to try to see beyond Nightwalker’s lecherous and stern manner in order to embrace that part of the Shaman that was holy and devout. He was to be her guide and she had no choice but to try to work with the man.

She helped him built a strange wooden structure that consisted of a tall central post with certain offerings looped or laced to its ends. The post was one of four and together they formed a crude pathway or shelter with two on each side. They met at the top where stout rope bound them together.

Dawnstar crawled beneath the poles and reclined on her back with her wings flattened to her body. She drank from a small flask that Nightwalker handed her and she tried to ignore the now noxious odor of the dried clay on her body. “You will rest and your mind will be led as the Spirits will!” whispered Nightwalker as he bounded away from sight.

She closed her eyes tightly and inhaled slowly as the potion began to take effect. If her thoughts returned to Wildfire and the Legion it was only reasonable since her friend and her team had occupied so much of her life since she first joined them.

However, the image of the heroic Drake Burroughs faded as she heard the sound of something coming closer. She waited a moment until she located the source of the noise. The rumble grew louder and louder until she saw a huge animal charging toward her. She gasped and tried to fly away from it but it struck her and sent her rolling across the mud until she managed to stop herself.

By the Great Spirit! I’m unharmed! That creature must be some type of wraith! It passed through me but left me unscathed! It has to be a sending of some type. I’ll follow it to where it leads! she thought.

The charging animal was unknown to Dawnstar but a student of ancient natural history might have known it as a buffalo. She did notice how the thunder of its hooves echoed like the rumble of a quake!

She soared across the mountain top until she came to a shocking sight. The strange animal passed through what appeared to be a solid embankment. Its passage brushed aside the thick moss until it revealed an opening that led into a clearing surrounded by brush.

“The buffalo is a symbol of intellect and wisdom!” The voice seemed to echo in Dawnstar’s mind as she drew closer. She had not known the nature of the animal nor its meaning. The awareness just came to her mind.

The spirit buffalo had vanished and in its place stood two men. The distant rumble that made the ground shake came from the shorter man. She did not know him but she quickly realized that vibrations from his hands were creating the tremors. She certainly knew his companion all too well.

Nightwalker stood beside the man in purple and looked intently at him. The other man was bald and wore tinted goggles. “Vibrax, do not fear the Legionnaire! She can not oppose us!” he said.

Vibrax scowled and said, “I told you that if we could drive your people away, my employer McCauley would reward us both. He wants time to plunder the untapped minerals and natural resources of this place. I assumed your status as a holy man would enable you to make my vibrations seem like a divine omen to the natives! I didn’t wager on fighting a Legionnaire!”

Nightwalker said, “Our plan will work and I relish having little Dawnstar in my power. You see, she is the reason I lost my faith. Her rejection of me led to baser emotions and those dark feelings separated me from the Great Spirit. I will help you and enrich myself but I will also gladly make that proud temptress suffer!”

Dawnstar frowned as she hid behind thick trees. She had solved the mystery easily enough yet she was rocked by the revelation that she was the cause of Nightwalker’s fall from grace. I was ready to place the blame for this on his shoulders. He’s greedy and profane. Still, now I wonder if his words were true? I have been overly proud. I need to rethink my behavior. The Vision Quest promises to bring wisdom and now I know both why the quakes started and how to stop them. I also feel as if my conceit and vanity ruined another person! she thought.

She started to attack the two men when she heard a small sound and felt something brush against her bare feet. She glanced down and saw a tiny rodent scurry by. I didn’t recognize the buffalo but I know the mouse is associated with parts of a Vision Quest. I wonder what I’m to learn from him? she thought.

She heard Vibrax say, “My vibrations will drive your people out or bury them alive!”

Dawnstar realized she could no longer afford to wait. She swooped down at the odd pair and gasped as her body bounced away from Vibrax and crashed into Nightwalker.

“My vibrations shield me from physical attacks!” cried the bald villain. Dawnstar reeled back as the rogue raised his arms and sent waves of powerful vibrations sailing toward her. “I can turn that shapely body into pulp!” he cried.

Can’t fly above those waves! Got to try to get beneath them! thought the heroine as she struggled to break free from Nightwalker. She twisted free as Nightwalker clutched at her and then she flipped him over her shoulders. She swiftly hurled herself face down into the mud and dirt and crawled beneath the attack as she ignored the grime and soil.

Nightwalker landed in the path of Vibrax’s blast and his screams echoed across the mountain as the crushing impact hit. His wings were wrenched from his back and he fell off the side of the slope before Dawnstar could do more than flatten herself deeper into the mud.

“I can’t soar but maybe I can crawl!” she mused as she inched her way forward like a serpent. Finally, the woman who took such pride in her aerial speed and grace, managed to draw closer to her foe by crawling through the wet mud. She rose up and hurled dirt at Vibrax’s face.

He deflected her efforts and yet the vibrations scattered the dirt into the air and blinded him for a moment. She took the opportunity to soar skyward and dart past the waves of vibrations. Dawnstar dodged the deadly impulses and fought the winds as she tried to catch the falling Shaman.

She gritted her teeth as she managed to grab his belt and carry his struggling form to safety. The mouse is a symbol of humility and compassion! she thought as the words seemed to ring out in her mind.

She left the injured Shaman in the brush and then flew back to find Vibrax. Instead of seeing the man in purple, Dawnstar saw another strange animal. An eagle screeched and sailed over and she matched it in flight. “The bird is a symbol of illumination!” she said slowly. Again, she did not know where the knowledge came from but she embraced it.

She saw Vibrax as he raced out of the embankment and glanced over his shoulder as he fled. A memory of Wildfire’s words came to her and she saw her friend as he paced the floor of the Legion Academy. He said, “You have to make the maximum use of what powers you possess! Any ability can be used for offense or defense if you apply thought and plan ahead!” Dawnstar’s mental image of Wildfire faded and she knew what to do.

She smiled grimly and then flew ever higher until she was far above the fleeing rogue. She changed direction and plunged downward at him in a swift and certain arch. Dawnstar grabbed his arms and carried him high into the air even as he struggled in her grasp. “You can’t use your powers against me while I hold your arms away from my body!” she said.

Vibrax scowled and said, “I don’t need to touch you to shake free!” He generated an internal vibration that tore his body out of her grasp.

She waited in mid air as he fell to the ground far below. As she had hoped, the fall was enough to stun him even after he slowed his descent and cushioned the impact with vibrations. Dawnstar checked on him and then sighed in relief. He’ll recover but not before I can restrain him properly. As for Nightwalker, I’d say his days as Shaman are over and I doubt he’ll ever fly again either! she thought.

She returned to where the injured Shaman lay and he struggled for breath. “How did you find us in the hidden valley? I thought the potion I gave you would have left you sleeping for days. I never meant for you to truly have a Vision Quest. I did not give you the proper potion of seeing.”

Dawnstar lifted his head and his breathing became more regular. “By the Great Spirit! What you meant to be nothing more than a means of getting me out of the way, turned into a divinely sent Vision Quest!” she said. She made sure the Shaman was stable and then she flew down to bring her family and friends to secure the villains. She knew the quakes were merely Vibrax’s powers at work and there was no need to leave Starhaven.

She also smiled as her flight carried her over a wooded area where a bear roamed through the forest. “A bear is a sign of introspection! That means my Vision Quest is ending!”

After, making sure the two villains had been properly treated and secured, the Winged Beauty washed away the clay and regained her costume. She turned to offer her farewells to her family after Windsinger promised to seek a new Shaman and explained the truth about the quakes to the others.

Mistrider said, “My daughter, you have made me proud. You have saved our home. Yet, you seem pensive.”

She nodded and said, “I truly did experience a Vision Quest in spite of Nightwalker’s tricks. The Great Spirit showed me my own vanity. I also saw my own responsibility for the madness of Nightwalker. This in turn led me to see the need for compassion for a foe. I showed that compassion and for the first time I feel better about the man who died fighting me not long ago!”

Mistrider said, “Your friends ruled the death to be an accident or a matter of self –defense. His heavy armor caused him to fall upon your sword. You were ill and wounded and had only raised it in defense!”

She smiled and said, “And yet I blamed myself in spite of the Legionnaires’ support! I now see that that loss does not rob me of future chances to save lives and live my own!”

Mistrider said, “And what else did you learn from this vision?”

She said, “Father, I also gained illumination about my own feelings. I need to be more open to others. I need to form friendships that go beyond simple unity with those in my group.”

Mistrider said, “And, what of your heart?”

Dawnstar said, “I found the way to defeat Vibrax when I recalled Wildfire. He gave me that lesson and I now believe more than ever that he and I are meant to be together. He may not have a way to touch me and yet he does touch me more than anyone else! His care, his love, and his personality are always with me. My doubts have faded away.”

Mistrider embraced her and then watched her fly off into space. “Go in peace, Dawnstar! You have found your inner peace and I am thankful!” he whispered.
***

 

Later, back at Legion HQ Dawnstar knocked at the door of Lesla Vol-Lar’s room and waited as the pretty blonde from Rokyn opened the door. “Andromeda, Lesla…I would be pleased if you would join me. I would be happy to show you some of my favorite places here in the city,” she said.

Lesla smiled and said, “I’d like that! Thanks so much!”

The two women walked down the hall and Dawnstar took the first step in forging a new way of life for herself. She would slowly try to become closer to her friends and she would accept Wildfire as he was. Her trip to Starhaven had taught her many things.