Chapter 132

"I told you I would stay, Filann," Luke said quietly while he looked at the young Quelan adult. "You said you wanted another talk with me."

"I would love to talk about a lot of things, Ben, but everything I say or do becomes a disaster. I wouldn't be surprised if you would also turn your back on me." Filann said cynically.

"You have confided a number of very personal thoughts to me, Filann. For me that's a sign that you want help. Or rather, that you need help so that you can look at your life, feeling less despair and disillusionment," Luke answered.

"I don't know if you could change my life for the good." Filann sighed.

"Is there anything you want to change, for I can't change your life. I can listen to you and we can talk about many things that are bothering you, but it has to be you to set a change in motion." Luke said calmly.

Filann laughed resignedly.

"Of course, you can't change my life, so I will feel better. I'm the one in trouble. I'm the one who causes the trouble, right?"

"Talking about your most recent troubles I can say, yes, you have caused a lot of trouble, together with your brother."

"Not really, Cemall only joined me because he agreed with me, but I'm not sure if he really thinks the same way, because he often has a different opinion than I do. I proposed to hand that old harvester's jacket I bought on the market to Lorann to make him scared of the Urams. Cemall and I have similar jackets, but we have never wore them to join our father into the nut woods. To get Lorann scared of the Urams he had to wear a jacket the Urams would recognize, because they remembered the look or the smell of it."

"Luckily two of my friends accompanied Lorann that day and they have told me that nothing dangerous has happened to him." Luke said more sternly.

Filann nodded and his olive green skin had turned to a shameful red green.

"I just asked you if there's anything you would like to change, Filann?" Luke said, sensing the turmoil in Filann's mind.

"Yes, Ben, there is. I don't know if you have heard it. You probably have, but during my talk with my father and my grandfather I have said that I wouldn't have mourned him if my grandfather would have died after the Urams had attacked him. That was mean, but my father kept insisting that he wanted to know why we had decided that Lorann had to wear an old harvest coat to become afraid of the Urams, as if he didn't know that himself.

I became annoyed and said that my grandfather had worn his jacket when he was attacked and I added that he'd better would have died, for his tales about the Jedi had infected Lorann's mind. My father became furious and hit me, and he certainly would have hit me much harder if my grandfather hadn't grabbed him by the arm. The Wookiee heard the brawl as my father's chair fell when he jumped up, and entered the room. He brought me back to my cell to calm down. My grandfather probably calmed down my father. My grandfather always keeps his composure."

"He might have kept his composure, Filann, but your words have hurt him deeply." Luke said. "Anyway this is one of the troubles you have caused which you can undo, for I sense that you still feel much affection for Manall."

"Absolutely, Ben. My grandfather has vision. It was he who started this water project, probably he already made plans before I was born. I have only seen the progress that has been made since my father Cemall allowed me to return to Myr with the harvest men to help you and your friends free Ribana. I can imagine how proud my grandfather felt when he arrived here unexpectedly and saw our progress. Therefore, I am very happy for him that he has seen his vision become reality."

"What you're are telling me, Filann, you should tell to your grandfather in a private talk, just the two of you. Manall will be glad that you feel so much respect for him. I'm sure he will forgive you your harsh words."

"If I will be back in Ribana or on Tyr I hope I can tell him. After all, I know how much effort it took to devise a feasible plan. The underground river and the cave system that once supplied water for the river west of Ribana had dried up long before my grandfather's birth. The earthquake that caused the change in the water flow took place more than a thousand years ago, perhaps even longer. My grandfather found the cause of the change in old archives, thanks to some members of the Quelan community who lived at the time. It must have been those eyewitness accounts that helped him with all the plans."

"Remember him about what he has done to help the community, Filann." Luke answered kindly after he had listened to Filann.

He also sensed that the young Quelan harvest man cherish a great respect for his grandfather.

"Are there other troubles you would like to see from a different point of view?" Luke asked. "Yesterday you said you felt humiliated, because you never had been able to see the nut forest and the Urams yourself, right?"

"Humiliated is too strong to describe how I felt after the Council of the Elder forbade any Quelan to enter the nut woods. I was not yet seventeen, so I wasn't allowed to join the harvest men for at least a year. I felt disappointed, because I realized that my chances to proof myself to be as good a harvest man as my father, were diminished. The announcement the Council of the Elders came after several Quelans from Ribana had gone into the nut woods on their own initiative. It became a disaster. The Urams attacked them, despite the group was only gathering nuts from the forest floor. Among the dead was a Quelan girl I liked. During our journey through the wild lands I had several nice talks with her and we had become friends, despite she wasn't a harvest Quelan girl. After her death I realize how dangerous the nut forest had become under the leadership of my father and Wollin."

"So, you agree with the announcement of the Council?"

"More or less. On the one hand it was good, because no more Quelans would perish unnecessarily; on the other hand, I was disappointed because I was Cornell's eldest son."

"Did you consider it a privilege, because you are Cornell's eldest son? " Luke asked.

"Yes, Ben. The other young harvest boys of my age looked up to Cemall and me."

"What was the reaction of those boys and their harvest men's families on the announcement of the Council?"

"Acceptance. Announcements of the Council are considered to be a rule which shouldn't be violated."

"Then I do not understand why you and your brother prided yourselves on the fact that you were Cornell's sons. Did your father disagree with the Council's decision?"

"No, my father had advised the Council to forbade all the Quelans to enter the nut woods." Filann said.

"So, your father gave a solid advise to the Council of the Elders. Master Kamalin as the chair of the Council agreed, after which the Council issued the announcement that no Quelan, whether a harvest man, or from Ribana should enter the nut forest, but you and Cemall still opposed that announcement."

"Not openly, but we had heated discussions about it with my father, and he remained adamant: the announcement applied to us too. I know this sounds crazy, Ben, and now that I think about it again, after about eight years, it is incomprehensible and sounds ridiculous, like stubborn behavior from two immature Quelan boys."

"You're right, Filann, but still I sense that you want to see the nut forest and the Urams yourself, don't you?"

Filann nodded.

"I'm not denying that, Ben. Especially since Lorann apparently runs in and out of the nut forest and meets the Urams without being attacked." Filann admitted.

"So, you're jealous, because your younger brother does something you see as your privilege, because you're older than he is? Filann was that one of the reasons you and Cemall handed Lorann that jacket. You knew that a former harvest man had worn it under your father's leadership. He had been chopping nut trees. So, if Lorann would wear the jacket, the Urams would regard him as an enemy, attack him, and scare him, so he would never go the nut forest again. "

Filann looked at Luke, nodded reluctantly and bowed his head.

"It's so difficult to understand, Ben, that Lorann has so many experiences of the wonder of the nut forest, while it's still forbidden to enter the nut forest, but I understand that master Kamalin has given him permission. Yet, he and Chati Fonaldris are violating a rule which still applies to all Quelans. It feels unfair. I always wanted to see the nut forest and I wasn't allowed. It feel so difficult accept that Lorann has seen more of the nut forest than I do, and at a very young age." Filann said with bowed head.

"How old are you, Filann?" Luke asked sternly.

Filann looked up.

"Twenty-four."

"So, you're an adult. Don't you think it's time to look at what Lorann can do from a more adult point of view? Have you ever asked yourself why Lorann is doing things you never have done, and you never will do." Luke asked still sternly.

"Lorann seems to be a Force-user. I'm not, for I don't believe in the Force." Filann said grumpy.

"Lorann's slumbering Force skills are indeed the reason why he and Chati probably have got permission from master Kamalin to go to the nut forest to meet the Urams, but Chati's Jedi master Antilles and Tama-Hin Kenobi are always accompanying him. I'm not sure, if those two Jedi have asked permission from the chairman of the Council too.

It feel unfair to you and, maybe also to Cemall, that those two Quelans youngsters go to the nut forest, while it is prohibed to any other, right?"

"Ben, you don't understand, what it means to have dream that will never become reality.

While I grew up on Myr I listened to the stories the harvest men told, after they had been on Tyr for the nut harvest. Cemall and I heard the harvest men tell about the strange experiences in the forest, as if the forest was part of another reality, a reality outside the Quelan whay of living. Something completely different from what us young boys couldn't imagine. Oh, yes, we also heard about the Urams that attacked the men, but among the men there always where voices that opposed the violence of the Urams. They told that in the past the Urams never had attacked while they had been gathering nuts and have walked around in the forest without problems. Cemall and I wanted to see for ourselves what was true, what was really going on in the nut forest."

"I fully understand, what you mean, Filann. The secret desire of you and Cemall aren't uncommon. I once had such a desire myself, before I became a Jedi Knight. I grew up with my uncle and aunt on their moisture farm on Tatooine. I dreamt of becoming a space pilot, but my uncle didn't want me to enroll in the Academy, where several of my friends had already gone. It felt unfair and disappointing. Like you and Cemall I had heated discussion with my uncle, but he never gave in. He wanted me to become a moisture farmer too to succeed him. I felt very dissatisfied, especially when old friends came home with stories about the Academy, so I can imagine what you and Cemall must have felt.

"Ben, Tyr always has been the continent of the harvest men. No, other Quelans ever joined them during the the nut harvest. The continent was the harvest men's territory. I often dreamt that I was walking among the nut trees and felt the beauty of the forest. I didn't gather nuts. I just felt part of the nut forest; I was a harvest man who feels one with the trees, see the diffused light through the tree, and had an unexpected encounter with an Uram."

"In your dreams you experienced the spell, the wonder and the magic of it," Luke said softly.

Filann looked at Luke.

"Yes, Ben, those are the right words: the spell, the wonder, the magic. the mystery of walking in that dense forest and feeling connected with it."

"You will probably enter the nut forest as part of your grandfather's new leadership. That's what the Harvest Council decided and what the governors have confirmed." Luke said.

"That's not how I want to get in the nut forest, and I also wonder if the continent of Tyr will ever be exclusively again for the harvest men to live on.

Cantamaga has become a Quelan town. There will be much more hustle and bustle there, and not the tranquillity when only the harvest men lived there temporarily under primitive circumstances due to the harsh milieu. What was, Ben, is gone: the silence between the trees, the wind among the leaves. It must be so great to be alone there, just me, all by myself, looking at the trees, the fallen nuts and watching the Urams."

"At this moment the Urams might attack you, the moment you will enter the nut forest, Filann. They haven't forgotten what has been done to the nut trees."

"If they would attack me, I would ot fight them, for I realize that they are as dependent of the nuts as the Quelans are. I would find a way to make peace with them. Ben, I have listened to what Shaayla-Car Kenobi has told what might happened to the nut forest and the Urams, if the harvest men continue chopping the nut trees. I should have listened to my grandfather when he told Cemall and me about the Urams he often has meet, and luckily meets again in the forest, but the ruling of the Council forbids me to have a look at the forest myself. Alone, without any one else."

Luke watched Filann and sensed the great desire the young harvest man had been expressing. He nodded.

"Filann, get your belongings and come with me. You're going to Tyr with me and you will see the nut forest yourself. Alone, almost alone, for Shaayla-Car and I will be with you to protect you in case the Urams won't welcome you, " He said. "But first we're going to the vineyard building to pick up Shaayla-Car, for I need her Force skills to communicate with the Urams. Then the three of us will lift off with the Astræga and we will reach Tyr late this afternoon."

Looking at Luke in disbelieve Filann slowly got up, and suddenly he realized what Luke was telling him.

"I'm ready, Ben. I haven't brought anything with me. My father only brought the food rations. I only have to close up here."

Within minutes Filann and Luke left the community tree house and walked down the steep path to the clearing where Luke had left his speeder.

Before they left Luke made contact through Jedi telepathy with Liane who immediately understood what he was up to.

'We'll meet on our common rendez-vous point at the southern hills, Luke. Cemall has gone to Ribana to have a shared meal with Manall, his father and Wollin and Roshann. Han and master Manall arrived early this afternoon and has left immediately. I will use Altus sopor to leave the vineyard unseen, and avoid an explanation to Udine and Carmona.'

Luke set course to the western plains, but made a large detour to reach the southern hills. It took him three hours to reach the point he and Liane had agreed on. Liane was waiting for them. She greeted Filann who sat on passenger's seat of the speeder still wondering about what he was up to Liane jumped at the back seat. Luke followed the southern hills back to the gap and entered the hidden valley.

Amazed Filann looked at the Astræga when Luke deactivated the ship's cloaking and lowered the ramp. Liane took Filann up the ramp, while Luke put the speeder in the cargo hold.

Once in the control room Luke explained to Liane what Filann wanted. She nodded as Luke told Filann to stay in the control room while he and Liane would put on their Jedi outfit. Within minutes they reappeared in their ceremonial Jedi outfits. Filann looked at them with respect when they took him to the cockpit and told him to fix the safety straps. Luke started the sub light engines and Liane sat herself in the co-pilot seat. The Astræga started to leave the hidden valley, gained speed and vanished in the sky above Myr.

Once high above Palomintar Four Luke activate the autopilot and turned to Filann.

"We will reach Tyr in about an hour. By that time it will be near sunset, but we will wait until twilight has fallen, before we head to path, using the speeder, that leads to the nut forest. Only the three of us will enter the nut woods, and I want you to stay with Shaayla-Car and me, before I will allow you walk around on your own. If we have encounter with a Uram Shaayla-Car can communicate with it and explain why you have come."

Filann looked at Liane.

"I've heard that you mentioned at the Harvest Council that you have met with the leader of the Urams."

"That's right, Filann. It's my believe that Oltomyran will welcome you and let you experience what the nut forest means for the harvest men and for the Urams."

Cemall entered the harvest men's tent reluctantly, but Manall took his arm and lead him to a corner that had been separated from the center of the tent. Surprised Cemall looked at a table laden with several dishes including the harvest stew.

"Sit down, Cemall. Your father, Wollin and Roshann will come shortly.

Still feeling unsure Cemall sat on the chair next to his grandfather. He looked up to him inquisitively.

"Why do you want me to join you and the leaders of the harvest men, grandfather?" He whispered.

"Because, Cemall, I want you to become the leader of a group of young harvest men. Those that never have been allowed to enter the nut woods." Manall answered.

"Grandfather, I haven't entered the nut forest myself. I was to young." Cemall objected.

"That's right, and after all the Quelans came to Cantamaga the entrance to the nut woods became prohibited, right? Oh, there are your father and the others. Take a seat, men, and help yourself. Take what you want." Manal said and pointed to the three empty seat.

Cornell, Wollin and Roshann greeted Cemall with a nod.

"I have just told my grandson Cemall why I have invited him to join us. I can imagine that he doesn't understand the scope of my intentions, but I hope that it will become clear to him while we're discussing the future work the harvest men have to do. Of course we will continue harvesting the nut in the nut woods, like we have done before, for the nuts are an important part of our food supply. However, once Ribana and its surrounding area will be the town of the Quelans and the harvest men again, I want to divide the work the harvest men will do. In the future there will be three groups of harvest men, each with there own leader. Each group will go to Tyr for about one month to harvest the fallen nuts. The yield of the harvest will be brought back to Myr, once the group has done its duty. Back on Myr the nuts will be stored like we have always done, but there one difference. Once a leader and his men has return, the following group will prepare itself to go Tyr and work for a similar period as that first group. After their return to Myr with their yield the third group will leave and spend a month on Tyr."

"Manall, that will mean that we will do the harvest in about three months?" Roshann asked.

"Three or four months in the good season. The other seven months the harvest men will live on Myr as we always have done and help with all kinds of necessary work the Quelans can't do themselves. The oncoming years a lot of work has to be done so I don't expect that the harvest men will be idle, for while we're living on Myr, I want the same three groups to go to the campsite and keep our water project in good order. We are warned that we should neglect the maintenance that is needed to keep the water flow up and running. Staying at the campsite can be limited to two weeks. Two weeks after a group has come back to Ribana the following group goes to the campsite and so on."

"Father, I haven't heard what Cemall's task will be." Cornell remarked.

"My grandson will lead a group of seven young harvest men, all between seventeen and twenty years old. The age on which they were taken with the harvest men for the first time to work in the nut forest. When the group of Wollin goes to Tyr, Cemall and his seven harvest boys will join him and Wollin and his assistant Cemall will teach the young ones what behavior will be expected of the harvest men once they are gathering nuts in the forest."

"Grandpa, I'm sorry to interrupt, but how can I be master Wollin assistant when I don't know anything about harvesting nuts. I have never been in the nut forest." Cemall protested softly.

"Before you will go with the group you will get a special training on Tyr from Wollin. He will go with you to Tyr and show you what he expects of you. Once you're back on Myr to can instruct your seven young harvest men, but that's not all Cemall. You have done a lot of work on the water project, therefore I want you to instruct your group what kind of maintenance is needed. You will join Wollin and his men when they go to the campsite, but instead of two weeks you will stay with your group another two weeks until the group of your father or Roshann will come to take over the maintenance task. Being on your own with your group will be challenging, but as you know what we have done to make our project a success I'm sure that you will be able to carry the needed maintenance. In the beginning we surely will get support from Yarnick and his brothers, but they have a more important task to fulfill in the future."

Cemall looked surprised, but felt more and more enthusiastic. Manall looked at his grandson and sensed his exultation.

"Master Thai and Yarnick warned us to look after the water flow during the colder season, father," Cornell said.

"That right, son, and it will be your task and that of your group to be on the campsite then. The men in your group should be the toughest of all the harvest men, those who already know what's expected of a harvest men. That's why your group will hold more harvest men than the other two groups." Manall said, before he turned to Roshann.

"I haven't overlooked your group, Roshann. You too will have an assistant, my other grandson Filann who will be made responsible for a similar group as his brother Cemall and Filann and his group will also stay on the campsite for a month, before they will return."

Roshann nodded in agreement.

"I have worked with Filann at the campsite. He is a hard worker. I was getting along with him pretty well." He said.

"That's what I have heard, Roshann, that's the reason why I decided to make Filann your assistant. Like Wollin, you will go with Filann to Tyr and show him how the nuts have to be gathered. Filann isn't here at the moment, but when he will be back here I will talk to him and tell him what I expect of him. I'm sure he will be as enthusiastic as Cemall is."

"Father, what will be your task?"

"As I told the three of you before I will coordinate all the tasks the harvest men have to carry out. I will not interfere with your leadership, but I will occasionally join a group to check if everything is going well. I will work alongside our men, but the leadership lies with the three of you. I am also there to discuss problems, because although I may have drawn up new plans, things can always turn out differently in practice."

Manall looked at his companions.

"And now we're going to enjoy these special dishes I have ordered. We do no more talking about the work that's expected of each of us. I just want to enjoy being in the company of the most trusted harvest men." He said.

The Astræga landed on the plains near Cantamaga. Luke activated the cloaking and sought contact with Wedge Antilles.

'Wedge, where are you and Chati at the moment? Where is Lorann and where is Tama-Hin?"

'Welcome on Tyr again, master Skywalker. You can't arrived without being noticed by our two Force-users. They both mentioned that they were certain that you and Shaayla-Car were on your way to Tyr." Wedge answered.

'So the four of you are together at the moment.' Luke concluded.

'We have just left the nut forest to feed the younger Urams.'

'Good, for Shaayla-Car and me are going to nut forest with a young harvest man who wants to see the nut forest, but never was allowed to enter it.

'One of master Cornell's son?'

'Lorann's eldest brother.'

'We will keep my padawan and her Force-user friend with us, Luke.'

'Thanks, Wedge. Maybe Shaayla-Car and I will join you later on, but that depends on what's happening in the forest. I'll let you know.'

Luke left his Force connection with his friend and went back to the control room. Shaayla-Car was talking with Filann who was telling her about the images he had seen after she had told the members of the Harvest Council what might happened to the nut forest in the future. She listened attentively to him.

"Have you also seen the other images, Filann. Those that showed how the Quelans, the harvest men and the Urams can live in harmony and respect each others dependency of the nuts."

Filann shook his head.

"I haven't, miss Kenobi. I only saw a desolate, barren land, where once the nut forest was. I saw the hills behind Cantamaga and I realized that I was looking at what once had been covered with trees. The nut trees. It was a scary view, and I felt that I didn't want to let happen what I saw, for I want the nut trees to remain on Tyr."

"What you saw, Filann, where images of a possible future. It might not go the way the Force has shown me, but it depends on how the Quelans will gather the necessary notes under the renewed leadership of your grandfather."

"I told Ben ... I mean master Skywalker, that my grandfather is a wise man, with a better vision than my father. It's not that I condemn my father's leadership," Filann said carefully.

"You shouldn't Filann, for your father's intentions were good. What he decided he didn't do for his own good. He wanted the whole community to profit from a better yield of the surplus of the nut harvest," Liane said.

"Yes, I know, but my father should have listened to what some of the harvest men were telling him, after the Urams began to attack the harvest men. They knew that under my grandfather's leadership there weren't any Urams that attacked us. I also fervently hope that the Urams will understand that we will no longer harvest the nuts, as we have done."

"You're going to be the harvest men's envoy, Filann. If we meet the Urams' leader Oltomyran I will tell him that you never has been in the nut forest before, and that you want to see the nut forest yourself, for you want there has to be a good understanding between the Quelans and the Urams. Like your grandfather master Manall is a wise harvest man, Oltomyran is a wise Uram." Liane said and nodded encouragingly at Cornell's eldest son.

"I can only hope that the Urams' leader will understand that I mean him no harm." Filann said and Liane sensed some nervousness in him.

"Luke and I will ensure your safety, Filann, and Oltomyran and I have spoken each other before." She said.

Meanwhile Luke had joined them and served some food. He asked Filann what kind of drink he wanted, while he handed Liane her favorite herbal tea. Filann chose cave and Luke prepared a choc for himself. Filann asked Liane who his brother was doing pruning the grapes vines. Liane answered that Cemall and she were getting along well. After some moment of silence Filann looked at Luke.

"Are we going back to Myr, after I have seen the nut forest, Ben?" He suddenly asked.

"We probably will, Filann, for I have to bring you back to the campsite."

Filann nodded.

"If my father would come back to the campsite unexpectedly, he would be wondering where I have gone. he probably might think that I'm trying to reach Ribana on foot."

"If you're worried about that I can ask my sister or Yarmod Martan to tell him that Shaayla-Car and I have gone to Tyr with you." Luke said, as he walked over to the cockpit.

Filann started to laugh.

"I begin to realize that being a Jedi Knight has many advantages, for you can easily communicate with each other," He said.

"We also make use of standard communication system, like infocoms, but using our Force skills is sometimes faster." Liane said as she looked at Luke who came back.

"I'm going to get the speeder ready. Palomintar has set. It's getting darker and time to leave." He said.

Liane rose and beckoned Filann to follow her to the exit. Luke lowered the ramp, after having deactivated the cloaking and brought the speeder outside. Liane raised the cargo ramp and activated the cloaking again, before she took the passenger's seat and told Filann to get in the back of the speeder. Luke started the engine and the speeder drove in the direction of Cantamage, but before he reached the outskirts Luke changed the direction, left Cantamaga to right. He followed the rural area to reach the path that went straight to the nut wood. Half way the path he stopped and all three of them followed the path to the beginning of the nut wood.

Meanwhile it had become darker and as they reached the entrance the path became more difficult to follow. For a moment Luke held Filann, while Liane made walked on with a calm composure. She turned and beckoned Luke and Filann to follow her. She pointed to the soft glowing around the contours and the edge of the vegetation, the trees and the leaves. Filann stood rooted to the spot.

"What is this?" He whispered.

"Luminous mildew and fungi," Liane said. "On Morantan we called it the Lighting of the Woods. The moisture has created miniature droplets along the edges of every plant. During the day the mildew and the fungi which are growing in those droplets gather daylight which lights up during darkness. It's not always happening, but it's nice to see it in the nut wood tonight."

"It makes the nut woods more magical than I thought it could be," Filann said still whispering, while he walked over to Liane.

Their eyes were now adjusted to the darkness and more and more they could detect the different silhouettes of the trees around them. Slowly they walked on. Filann looked around in amazement while Luke and Liane reached out to the Force to become aware of the Living Force.

They reached the clearing where around the tree stumps the luminous light lit up the contours of the stumps.

"What happened here?" Filann asked, pointing at the tree stumps.

A rustle was heard and from between the canopy of nut tree on the other end of the clearing a large birds flew down. Liane raised her hand to stop Filann.

'We appreciate you're welcoming me again, Oltomyran' She said connecting herself through the Force with the Uram leader.

'We didn't expect you, Jedi healer, but we heard the question of your Quelan companion. We haven't seen him before. Why is he here?' The large bird answered.

'I want you to meet Filann. He is the eldest son of the harvest men's leader master Cornell.'

Oltomyran flapped his wings to show his displeasure.

'A son of our enemy.' He said and Liane heard the anger in his voice.

'A son of your former enemy, Oltomyran. On our previous encounter I told you that no more chopping of nut tree will occur in the future.' Liane said using her Jedi voice to reassure the bird. 'Filann wants to see the nut forest himself. He has never been allowed to go into the forest these last years.'

'We don't sense his relation with the trees, like with you, Jedi healer, your other companion and the other two Force-users and their Force companions.'

'Not of all Quelans who will come here again to gather fallen nuts, will you sense the relation with the trees, Oltomyran, but they want to be part of the forest, for they feel the forest's magic and mystery.' Liane said with emphasis.

Oltomyran bowed his head.

'In a time long gone we have seen many of those men. They only gathered fallen nuts. Will they come back?'

'Yes, they will come back, but among them the Urams will certainly notice that some of them has mistreated the forest and didn't pay respect to the Urams.'

'We don't know if we want them them to enter the forest again.' Oltomyran said.

'Oltomyrian, all of those who did harm to the nut trees have been convinced by the Quelan authorities that only fallen nuts are allowed to be gathered. You and the other Urams never objected against gathering fallen nuts, as they left you the nuts in the trees.' Liane said.

'That was a good time, Jedi healer, a good time for both of us, for they only took what we can't eat and they left us the nuts in the trees. One day they came again and began chopping down our tree friends. Our friends fell, we felt their pain, we heard them moaned. We tried to save them, but we couldn't, Jedi healer, and the men, who had been gathering fallen nuts before, began to take the nuts which were still hanging between the leaves of our fallen friends. We got angry and the next time the men came we attacked them. For years we tried to protect our tree friends that way.'

'Those men were mistaken, Oltomyran, and they know now and understand why you and the Urams have attacked them.' Liane said.

'The last time they came here is long ago.' Oltomyran said.

'Oltomyran, it has been a mistake to chop down the nut trees, but years ago the Urams once took revenge on a group of Quelans who were innocent and didn't know what had been done to your tree friends. They entered the forest looking for fallen nuts, they were hungry, upset and desperate. Most of those who entered were Quelan females who had been driven out of the town on the other continent behind the large water. They had fled for dangerous men who had killed several of them. They fled through wild lands to reach the boats that brought them here. They had to leave their way of peaceful life and had no other choice than going into exile here. On their arrival those females saw the nut forest and hoped to find some fallen nuts to have some food supply for their families. I understand, that the Urams thought that more enemies of the forest were entering the forest. The Urams attacked the female Quelans who couldn't defend themselves. They got injured, severely injured and all of them died, Oltomyran. After the Urams' attack you and other Urams haven't seen any harvest man coming to the forest to gather fallen nuts, or chopping down one of your tree friends, for the Quelan leaders forbade all the Quelans and the harvest men to enter the nut woods.'

'You know, Jedi healer, what the Urams have done. We never knew that we killed innocent females. We regret what happened then' Oltomyran said and Liane sense how much worry her story had brought in the bird's mind.

'Oltomyran, the harvest men who chopped down your tree friends did something wrong, but the Urams who attacked and wounded a group of hungry, innocent female Quelans, causing them all to die, also made a wrong decision.'

'We understand, Jedi healer. We should have done otherwise. How can we make the leaders of the harvest men believe that we only attacked because we wanted to protect our tree friends and that we are very sorry for what we did to an innocent group who only wanted to gather some fallen nuts?' Oltomyran said.

'That's why we are accompanying Filann, the son of your former enemy, Oltomyran. He was sixteen when he arrived on Tyr and has witnessed the killing of the innocent female Quelans. For years he also wasn't allowed to see the nut wood himself, while he always has dreamt of becoming a harvest man, while he grew up. He feels attached to the nut forest and he wants the forest to survive. We brought him here so he might experience the spell, the magic and mystery of the forest himself. He has heard many stories about the nut forest about the chopping of the tree, but also about how in the past the Urams weren't violent when the harvest men gathered the fallen nuts. He wants that only gathering of fallen nuts will the rule and he will speak out to his fellows that no more chopping will be done in the future. It would be good, Oltomyran, if you would be willing to show your trust in him, so he feels that the Urams aren't no longer the enemies of the Quelans, nor of the harvest men who chose the wrong way to harvest nuts.' Liane said again using her Jedi voice.

'Tell him what we have been talking about, Jedi healer, for he hasn't heard us.'Oltomyran said.

'My companion has told him what you have said, Oltomyran.'

'Then let him step forward, so I will better see him and meet him.' Oltomyran said.

Liane turned to Filann and beckoned him to step forward and meet the leader of the Urams. She guided him until they both stood before the big birds. Filann looked nervously in the fierce, yellow eyes and made a deep bow. He took a deep breath.

"My fellow harvest men have done wrong to the nut forest, master Uram," He said. "I understand that the Quelans and the Urams both need the nuts for their food supply. I will tell my fellow Quelans that we should be satisfied with the fallen nuts and that the nuts in the trees are the food of the Urams."

Oltomyran gave a deep voiced answer which Liane translated.

"Filann, Oltomyran apologizes for what the Urams have done wrong." She said. "For he fears that the Quelans will seek revenge for what happened."

Filann shook his head.

"I don't want that my fellow Quelans will seek revenge for that terrible incident. The Quelans should forgive the understandable attack of the Urams, because the Quelan harvest men had chosen the wrong way to gather nuts in the nut forest. Since the devastating incident the Urams have only attacked one harvest man by accident, my grandfather Manall Radilan, because he wore a jacket that belong to my father. He has forgiven you that you injured him and his wounds have healed. Recently the Urams have also accepted that my younger brother Lorann and the daughter of the Quelan's governors Chati have entered the nut forest. They have become friends with the Urams by feeding them the fallen nuts. This new relationship between the Urams and the Quelans should be an example for how Urmas and Quelans will live together in respect for each others needs. I came here, master Uram, to see the nut forest for myself. Alone, because I wanted to feel and experience the spell and the mystery of the nut trees. I want to walk along the trees and feel that I'm part of this forest and that I have to protect as a responsible harvest man. "

Again Oltomyran gave a deep voiced answer, while he stretched out one of his wings.

"Filann, Oltomyran believes your words. He wants you to touch his wing for he wants to show you the wonder of the nut forest." Liane translate and she added. "Don't be afraid. Your words have convinced the Uram leader that you are sincere about what you have said. As a token of his gratitude he wants to take you deeper into the forest so you will experience what the nut forest for both of you mean. Luke and I will follow you and Oltomyran at a distance, for he understands that his invitation might be frightening for you, but he wants to show you the forest while you are alone with him."

Filann nodded and walked over to Oltomyran who lowered his left wing. Filann put his hand on the feathers. For a moment he looked at Liane and Luke who both nodded encouragingly at him. He turned to the Uram leader and walked away with the large bird among the nut trees. Luke and Liane waited until the young Quelan harvest man and Oltomyran were no longer visible in the darkness of the forest, before they followed Filann and his host which presence they clearly felt through the Force. Oltomyran seemed to follow a well trodden path through the forest, for Luke and Liane sensed that the Urams leader was heading straight to a specific place. The dense canopy of the nut trees let through only a diffuse light from the two moons of Palomintar Four. Through the Force, Luke and Liane regularly tried to gauge Filann's certainty and sense of safety, while he continued to follow Oltomyran. The trees grew denser in the deeper part of the forest, until suddenly a clearing appeared with a large lake. In the trees surrounding the clearing, Luke and Liane sensed the presence of hundreds of Urams: adults, young adults, and juvenile Urams. Upon Oltomyran's arrival, they flew down past the trees and gathered on all sides of the lake. Oltomyran led Filann until they were both surrounded by dozens of adult Urams. Liane sensed some unease in Filann, but the young harvester remained calm and looked at the large group of Urams. For a moment, Oltomyran turned his head and looked back along the path that had led to the clearing, as if waiting for Luke and Liane to join him and Filann. The two Jedi stepped forward but remained standing at the edge of the clearing. Then Oltomyran’s deep voice echoed throughout the clearing, and Liane told Luke that he had explained what she had been telling him all this time about the attack on the innocent Quelan women. He had apologized for the accident and the Uram’s wrong decision. The adult Uram seemed to agree with Oltomyran, especially when their leader told them that Filann, the son of their former enemy, had assured him that none of their former enemies would ever cut down a nut tree again. The Quelan would return to their old custom of gathering only fallen nuts. A loud cheer erupted among the assembled Uram, and Luke and Liane saw all the adult Uram pay their respects to Filann, who in turn tried to repeat what he had promised their leader. Oltomyran spread his two wings toward Filann, and the young harvester instinctively understood what was expected of him. He placed both hands on the wings to seal the agreement between the Urams and the harvesters. Again, a loud sound of approval rang out, while Filann still kept his hands on Oltomyran's wings. Then the leader of the Urams bowed his head, and to Luke and Liane's surprise, Filann gently stroked the feathers on the head and neck of the large bird. Next, Oltomyran stroked Filann's hair and laid his wings on the shoulders of the young harvester. When Filann looked into Oltomyran's eyes, he understood that the old conflicts between the Urams and the harvesters had been settled. Oltomyran pointed to Luke and Liane and beckoned them to walk toward the Urams and join them. Liane looked at Oltomyran with admiration and appreciation.

'You are a great leader, Oltomyran.' She said.

'I should say the same of Filann, Jedi healer. Now will tell your how to get back to clearing, so Filann can feel the wonder of the forest for himself and you can leave the nut forest together. We are grateful to your effort, Jedi healer, and we are sure that a new period of understanding between the Urams and the Quelans had begun.' The large bird said.

He made a gesture with his wings and with a loud rustling of numerous wings all the Urams disappeared.

'You will easily find the clearing if you keep the light of our guardians of the night to your left. We greet you, Jedi healer. Don't forget to watch the tree stumps on the clearing, for what you said that would happened, was true. The tree stumps are growing leaves, one stump already has small branches. You made us happy, for we know that our tree friend wasn't dead.'

He made a deep bow and Liane and Luke brought a Jedi salutation while Filann answered with a deep bow himself. Oltomyran spread his wings and disappeared to the trees at the far end of the clearing.

Filann looked at his two companions. Liane smiled at him.

"One day, Filann, you will be one of the greatest leaders the harvest men will have. You did will as the ambassador of your people." She said.

Luke looked at the young adult harvest men and saw the miraculous change in the young man's face. This event had not only fulfilled a dream it had changed the obstinate hothead he had met into a matured responsible adult.

"Filann, go ahead and feel the wonder, the spell, the magic of this forest while you walk back to the clearing. We'll stay not far behind, but you still will fulfill your wish to walk in this forest on your own." Luke said.

"Thanks, Ben, I'll see you two on the clearing," He said and disappeared between the nut trees. Luke and Liane watched him go. Luke turned to Liane.

"He will have a lot to explain, once he is back on Myr, but I'm sure that master Manall will turn his eldest grandson into a harvest men's leader, together with his brother Cemall."