"And until then?" Dawn asked, brows drawing together.  The word he used was not one she knew, but his tone said enough: he would not agree.  "Prayer good, yes.  But do not pray for good harvest until /after/ planting seeds.  No seeds, no harvest, no matter how much prayer.  What to do now?"  He must have something in mind, or at least intend to think of something.  Surely he was not stupid enough to think that faith alone was enough.   William had never struck her as stupid.  Strange, perhaps, and selectively blind.  But never stupid.  He wanted his people safe, and he would no more abandon them than the Great Spirit would abandon any of its children.

Whatever his plan, he would need weapons, if they were to drive off or even kill the evil spirits.  "Muskets, axes, arrows, knives -- these things hurt them, but not so well.  Need blessings to be better.  Light and life, to drive out dark and evil."  She fully expected that she would be doing the blessings.  She had seen the leaders of the Christian prayers, and they called upon the Great Spirit, but that was not something they could put in their weapons.  Balance was the way of the world, and the one who oversaw the cycle embodied all parts of it.  The calls they made to light were poorly focused, and their enchantments would not be strong.  Dawn would ask the spirits for what they needed and bind it tightly to musket ball and knife blade, so it would go deep into the evil spirits and do the most damage.