by Ann Durand
Mikolen worked with the villagers to create a fair government. They offered to invent a new position for him as head elder, but Mikolen insisted that an elected mayor and staff was needed to balance the power of the elders, who still held their traditional positions as judges. Mikolen asked the villagers to vote for a mayor, but they refused, insisting that he take the job. In the end, Mikolen gave in and appointed subordinates to assist him in his duties. He reasoned that as the end of his term as mayor approached, he would manage the first elections to replace himself and his staff. Perhaps Parallon's new government would evolve into a democratic one.
The elders tried the Kastaks in the new courthouse, who took input from the villagers. One by one, they convicted each Kastak and had them burned at the stake with the exception of an even dozen, who had never harmed any Parallonians. These, the elders assigned to assist them in the study of medicinal healing herbs, where the former Kastaks quickly became proficient. Shamana fell head over heals in love with one of them, and they were married the following year.
Kastak Morchison was the first former Kastak taken to the stake in the center of the village. Every villager turned out to watch him die. No one cheered as he disappeared into flames. Only sighs of relief marked the moment as the Parallonians turned to leave after the deed was done.
Mikolen and several men from the village exhumed the communal gravesite of the murdered scientists, including Greg and Felipa. They moved the remains to Tikesh Fields, where they were reburied and given headstones in the Parallonian cemetery. They placed a special marker in the family plot for Adrella, next to a small headstone that read simply 'Baby'. Katera visited the site with her family once a month under the full moon for many years, asking for and accepting the blessings of Lupana.
Mikolen and Katera settled into a hosta of their own with Rorken. Nine months after their wedding, Katera birthed a set of twin baby girls, who they named Adrellina and Kata. Rorken proudly adopted the duties of older brother and followed them everywhere. Once in while, Mikolen and Katera stole into the future to avail themselves of the amenities there, which usually included a flight around the moon in an AeroCar.
As the years passed, their daughters grew into beautiful young women and Rorken, as a young adult, became a just and powerful leader of Parallon. Eventually, all of them accompanied their parents on excursions into the future with Gryphon. During one of these treks, Kata met and fell in love with a young man from 2295 AD. All was well until a war with a neighboring world interfered…but that's another story.
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