Ó is a Pattern Keeper living in a world called Kempúa. Before the war that started seven years ago, Ó conceived a child with Jaggúa, a Sol Gatherer. When Mikra was born, she became their second child, their son Jaiku being the first. Ó tells her daughter, now seven years old, about Jaggúa, her other mother whom she has never met. Before Mikra's birth, Jaggúa left with the other Sol Gatherers to make their regular journey to the Sun to bring back pieces of sunlight to fill Kempúa's sky. The elder Sol Gatherers have not been seen since, and the sky has been dark for all of Mikra's life. Of the remaining Sol Gatherers, those who were too young for the journey, over thirteen hundred have been killed or captured by the humans during the war. Jaiku has been sent by his mother Ó to join the Okanike tribe in helping the last of the Sol Gatherers, now only one hundred in total. Before he leaves, Ó teaches Jaiku the art of delivery, so that he can one day become a master messenger like herself. When Jaiku first finds the Sol Gatherers in their hiding place with the Okanike tribe, he meets Tet who tells him about their time in hiding, and the boys quickly become best friends. Tet and the other members of the Okanike tribe have the ability to camouflage, so they have sent scouts to sneak onto the humans' ships to gather information. One of the scouts, Zaza, has just returned. She tells Jaiku and Tet about the humans' drawings of the Sol Gatherers and their maps of Kempúa and its three sacred peaks. She also explains that the humans' world, which they call Earth, is being destroyed by something called pollution. The Sun normally gives their world light even without Sol Gatherers, but the pollution is blocking its power. So, now that the humans have discovered the Sol Gatherers while studying space, they want to capture them for their own use. Some time later, the tribe sees humans in the distance, approaching their hiding place. It is nighttime, but the Sol Gatherers' skin glows when they are afraid, so when the humans get nearer they will surely see them. Jaiku and the others quickly devise a plan to have the Okanike tribe camouflage themselves to the forest floor and cover the Sol Gatherers so that they blend in with their surroundings. Jaiku climbs a tree to hide and watches the humans below. As they get nearer, a red light flashes in the humans' headgear, alerting them that they will soon run out of oxygen, and they turn back. Back home, Ó notices while Mikra is asleep that her daughter has a high fever, and she soon realizes that she is having a vision. Mikra does not wake until seven days later. In her vision, Mikra sees the three sacred peaks on fire and Jaiku flying above them, awaking thousands of spirits. That night, Ó sends a message telling Jaiku that he must now return home.