Sargon nodded and watched the captain retreat to a safe distance. The healer sat with his back against the shaft of the main mast and focused on the bone scroll tube that rested in his hands. He removed the parchment on which were written the mystical words of calling on the air elementals. He read the summons aloud, his voice carrying far beyond the waves and high into the atmosphere. Since time began We breathed your kin Our blood relies on air within Our destinies are yours Oh brothers of the unseen air Come to our aid this day Cleanse the way with your trust Make haste and hear our plea Always you remain in us The wind forever free He repeated the strange plea, the inflection of his voice changing with each recitation. The summons echoed as if the wind would not allow the words to dissipate into silence. From a high-pitched shriek to a soft whisper, the healer�s calling reverberated until it seemed that many men spoke at once, the voices overlapping and complementing each other. The ancient pact that Sargon had invoked now called the strange creatures from their homes behind the clouds and above the highest mountains. The healer held the parchment above his head, skin flaking from his decayed hands, and allowed the wind to pull it from his grasp. The scroll flew above the rigging and vanished.