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Entry 1:
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Gather round the sacred fire
Hear its ancient song
For while we may see newcomers here
It doesn’t forget who’s gone.
Every year we call upon
The spirits with a prayer
That someday we may see our friends
Who have travelled to elsewhere.
But those who are with us now
Those who dream the tribe
Are bound together by more than flesh
We are bound by the will to survive.
Together we stand the chill of winter
We brave the forces unknown
For although one day we may be apart
We know we’re never alone.
And even then, the friends who’ve left
To follow their heart’s will
We know that they are of the tribe
And of the same heart still.
So gather round the sacred fire
Sing with those who dream the tribe
We are together, one, wherever we are
We are the fire that never dies.
Entry 2:
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A long time ago, when there was much strife in the world, there was a special place where all living beings lived in harmony with one another. In this place, all regarded one another as brothers and sisters where anywhere else they would be fighting against one another for survival. Eagle did not chase and kill Rabbit here, for they were friends. Deer did not have to run from Puma, for they were sisters. Fox and Pheasant would play games of chase for fun instead of racing for life or death. Porcupine had no need to threaten with his quills for no one wished to do him any harm. Bear would watch Coyote’s pups for her and she could trust him with no doubt in her heart.
It did not take long for this place to come to the attention of the Evil Spirits in the world, and these spirits grew angry and jealous of its existence. They determined that they would do all they could to ruin this place and to turn the beings against one another. The spirits did not think that this task would be difficult, for all the beings they had run across had hearts and minds that were easy to corrupt and cast doubt upon. It was certain it would be the same with these beings.
The Evil Spirits started out with simple but devious methods of trying to break the harmonious tribe apart. They would make Mouse dream that Owl was going to eat him in his sleep. At first mouse would shake it off as a simple bad dream, but as it came back night after night he did begin to worry. The Evil Spirits cackled with glee to themselves, ready to enact the same on the rest of beings, but to their surprise, Mouse went to Owl and told him of his dream. Owl found the message appalling and told Mouse that he would never do such a thing and that the dream was likely the work of bad spirits. Mouse was comforted by his brother’s words and ceased to worry about the bad dream. The Evil Spirits snarled at their failure.
Their first attempt having failed, the Evil Spirits devised all sorts of nasty tricks and pranks to try and tear the beings of the tribe apart and to turn them against one another. They would disguise themselves as the beings of the tribe and tried to cause strife, but each time the tribe would band closer together and say they knew that evil spirits were trying to break them apart and would stand strong together, never doubting their brothers and sisters for a moment. The anger of the Evil Spirits began to grow and so did the danger to the beings that lived in harmony.
It was clear now to the Evil Spirits that they would have to use larger methods to pull this tribe apart and they combined their powers to bring forth awful sickness from the bowels of the earth and they brought that sickness to the tribe. Many, but not all, of the beings fell sick and could no longer care for themselves. The sickness was highly contagious and so any being who was around one with the sickness risked getting the sickness themselves. The Evil Spirits were certain that the healthy among the tribe would run away, wishing to preserve their own health over assisting their friends. It did not take long for the Evil Spirits’ hopes to be dashed. Not a healthy being among the tribe abandoned their brothers and sisters, but all worked to help tend to the sick and make them well again. The Evil Spirits did not give up so easily this time, and the sickness lasted for many moons and many lives were lost, but still the tribe stayed strong and loyal to one another. Finally the Evil Spirits gave up their plot and the sickness went away, but it would not be the final test of the tribe.
Moons passed and the tribe recovered from the horrible sickness that had been brought upon them. For some time the beings of the tribe thought that their troubles with the Evil Spirits were over, but soon it came to be found that food was becoming harder and harder to find. Within days no one at all could find food and their bellies began to growl and be painful from the lack of food to fill them. This was the Evil Spirits’ greatest and most awful attempt to turn the beings of the tribe against each other. They had taken away the food and they were sure that when the tribe’s hunger became great enough, the beings would turn on one another for food instead. They were certain that Bear and Eagle and Puma and Owl and Fox would all turn on Deer and Mouse and Porcupine and Rabbit and Pheasant and devour them to save their own lives. Even if they did not, they would all starve and the tribe would be destroyed, one way or another.
The tribe was worried, and each member was wasting away to nothing. All their ribs could be seen and they appeared more as skeletons than flesh and blood. The tribe huddled together in the cold night and they prayed for help. They refused to harm one another, but all was on the brink of death and without help they would all perish. The Evil Spirits watched, mocking the tribe, but their days had come to an end. The goodness of the tribe and their perseverance through all these trials had called to the good and pure spirits of the earth. The Good Spirits came and chased the Evil Spirits away, banishing them from the place of harmony forever. The Good Spirits then brought a great feast to the tribe and saved the tribe from starvation. The tribe thanked the Good Spirits and the Good Spirits in turn thanked them for their unwavering commitment to one another. The Good Spirits protected the tribe, and helped them prosper, and the Evil Spirits were never able to harm them again.
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Entry 3:
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Left to right: J'adore, Ralla, Dawali, Sanuye, Nayati, Liliana
Click for larger
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