PREFACE
Qwana, the last priestess to the Goddess Moon livedon the Nazca Plain in Peru where she serves in the temple of the Moon Goddess. Once, the temple housed many priestesses, but The People have changed, and turned to a brutal worship involving human sacrifice by those who served the Sun. Qwana lives in the temple with A'ruz and Mix'la, who have taught her the secrets of the sisterhood. They taught her as a young girl, and stand beside her as she is initiated into the mysteries of service to The Mother.
But Qwana has no protection in the temple, and she is foully abused by the High Priest Xilpu, who wants total control of The People and their beliefs. As a girl, Qwana escaped to the plain to watch the workers as they inscribed pictographs of strange fish and animals in the yellow-pink dirt, but once she is initiated into the temple she can no longer range about the city and plain as she did when she was a child. She must turn her attention to the needs of her people and service to the Goddess, and while these duties are light, she takes them seriously, for she is the last priestess to the Goddess.
Her initiation became a meaningful journey for Qwana, who mated the condor in the spirit world and raced the jaguar, learning the ways of spirit. Little did she know that one day she would watch a falling star to the east and that she would be sent to learn what magic the descending light carried.
Compelled by the High Priest, Qwana and her elder sisters venture out onto the frigid plain in dark of night to examine this object. She is not afraid to complete this task, but she worries about the older priestesses, who are not used to walking long distances, especially on the frigid plain at night. She fears they will become sick from exposure and hurries to see what has fallen on the plain.
Secretly, the High Priest Xilpu wishes Qwana and her sister priestesses to perish on the plain. He dreams their death from the deadly claws of the jaguar, never guessing that Qwana's power animal would protect her from harm--whether from humans or animals.
Leaving the older women in a safe place when she realizes they cannot continue to walk so far in the cold of the plain, Qwana continues her journey, coming at last to the object that fell from the sky. She is stunned when she realizes that a star had not fallen to Earth at all. A strange covered boat, long and silvery stands on spider legs that straddle the boulders of the plain. Men in shining suits, men with fair hair and blue eyes, scurry about the ship, hammering at rocks, picking up soil samples, busy with inexplicable chores.
Qwana means to back away quietly but she is discovered and led into the interior of the sky boat where she meets Rowlland, commander of an expedition to explore the universe. His father had told Rowlland about Earth and the fair children who lived there, and he knows the moment he meets the young priestess that she is the one he has searched for throughout the galaxies. He has come home at last, and he vows he will help the young woman he loves and take her from the danger that threatens her life.
Slowly, Rowland wins the confidence of the young priestess as they learn each other's language. Slowly, Qwana sees that the stranger from the stars means her no harm, and allows him to escort her back to the older priestesses and then back to the city where the High Priest awaits her report.
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