It is a time of the Gathering, where once a millennium a very important meeting takes place. It is a time when the tribes come together and receive the wisdom of the ages once more. The People of the Stone who have nearly forgotten the Rules of Living arrive and begin to form the circles in preparation for the moment of receiving. They are here because they need their wisdom to be reawakened and replenished. They are ancient, and just as the wind and rain erodes their bodies, so too, do their memories erode. Slipping away on the wind, slowly dropping off of their shoulders as grains of sand, shards of their lives left to litter the ground they stand on.

They have come from all over their land, slowly marching in, timing their arrival to be there before the Flare erupts. The elders both male and female form the center circle, their glow slightly lower as their time begins to wane. As a sign of the people’s respect they stand in front of the warriors and their women, who burning brightly, are already anxious to assume their new roles as leaders of the people. Behind them are the latecomers who have had the farthest to travel, but bring the same bright burning glow that is the desire to be reborn in the light of the new cycle.

As they gather they are waiting for the moment when they have collected enough of them so that the heat of their remaining knowledge forms an inner glow. The glow they form, in all its intensity, will summon the light of the ages and infuse them with all the wisdom and knowledge that has been accumulated over millions of years.  When the Moment of Enlightenment occurs, they are reborn. Their memories are sharpened, they are renewed and can return to their own lands and live their lives again until summoned to the next meeting.

This happens on time scale so vast that the only way we humans know it is going on is by seeing the occasional bit of sand sift down to the floor they stand on. Or see them gradually but ever so slowly, emerge from the cliffs and canyons they live in. Some call this erosion but if you look closely you will see that it is the arrival of another person. If we’re fortunate we get the smallest glimpse of the oncoming burst of light that is the Flare as the sun rises each morning and begins to pick up the glow of the elders, highlighting them for the briefest of moments. If this is what the beginning of the flare is like, it is doubtful any of us could with stand the event itself. But there are some who would dare.

Note: To see the assemblage of the People of the Stone go to Bryce Canyon National Park and attend the meeting any morning as the sun comes up. You won’t see the Flare but you might see the briefest glimpse of what it will be like.