Prologue: New Beginnings.

Lo, children are a heritage of Jehovah; And the fruit of the womb is His reward.

-Psalm 127:3

The birthing room, soon to be the new nursery, was silent. A sudden heave and a loud grunt filled the air.

“Keep it coming. Once more!”

Another grunt. Echo growled softly. Whether it was pain, or merely part of exertion, no one really knew. Four heads poked their way one by one around the corner of the door, anxious to see what was happening. The birth of a child in a were society is a special occasion, one of pride and great joy and were to be celebrated by all.

Leander leaned forward even more, clenching his wife’s hand almost as tightly as she was clenching his.

Her breathing was fast paced and her grip on her husband’s hand was slowly tightening. Wincing, he tried to ignore the pain.

Any tighter, and she’ll break my fingers, he thought.

Suddenly, a loud, yet triumphant roar split the air. The four heads disappeared from sight, and Leander looked on in amazement as a tiny cry followed, loud and angry, or at least it sounded that way. The little creature slid out of the birth canal, squeaking loudly. The midwife gently severed the cord, and deftly tied it off before handing the child over.

“It’s a girl, Echo,” she beamed, face full of pride. “Congratulations.”

The equally proud mother took the baby in her arms, grooming the little coat until it was spotless. Only then did she nuzzle her mate. By then, the child had stopped crying, and snuggled tightly into Echo’s fur. One by one, sure that the moment had passed, the other children filed into the room and came round the bed.

“Look at her Leander,” she whispered, holding the cub tightly beaming with maternal, instinctive pride. “Our daughter.”

“And a beautiful child she is,” he answered, reaching out to touch the newborn. Opening her eyes, the infant looked up at him, and promptly squeaked. A sudden touch of mind to mind filled the room. Every one of them had felt it. The children looked in wonder at their new sibling. And her parents locked gazes in surprise. Mind link at birth was rare. A second look proved even more surprising when a fat blue spark popped in front of the little cub’s nose. She sneezed slightly, and raised her tiny paws to touch this new thing in front of her. The spark leapt to her fingers and began to travel from hand to hand as she “played” with this new discovery, until the spark dissipated in a burst of crackling energy.

She allowed the other children to get closer. They tickled and teased and cuddled their new sister, until, worn out by the attention, nestled against her mother’s fur, and closed her eyes.

“So, whatcha gonna call her?” Jakon asked, still scrabbling a bit at the edge of the bed because of his size.

Echo mulled the thought around a moment. “I think that Tigress is a suitable name. Tigress Felina.”

“I like that.” Lisandra grinned from up on her brother David’s shoulders. “It’s pretty.”

“Yeah, but we should let mom rest a bit now,” David replied, reaching up to tease his little sister’s shock of headfur. “Let’s go.”

The four filed out as quietly as they had come, leaving their parents in the room. They looked down at the sleeping baby.

“Our little Tigress,” Leander said, smiling. “What a remarkable child.”

“Yes.” Echo smiled warmly in agreement. “Remarkable indeed. I think that Our Father has a special plan for this one.”

“Yes. She is gifted. She’ll make a fine mage for sure. Perhaps she will take my place on the council.

“That may be.”

Echo pensively stared down again at her daughter. “But I think she is destined for something far greater.”