A Tale of the Desert - Part One

Speaking slowly, with her voice falling into a storyteller's lilt, Grand Mistress Melantha, fio Raimuv Cyraeni says, "Long ago, the sun looked down upon the world. Its gaze fell upon the western sands, which it favored over all the rest of the land. The sands thrived under its warmth, and it was pleased."

"There, holed up in the rocks, it found a pair of eagles; those whose feathers are golden brown..." Melantha pauses before flashing a bright grin and continuing, "Much like my own, as a matter of fact." With a brief ruffle of her wings for emphasis, she nods slightly and lets her expression settle once more. "In the midst of the blistering heat, the pair went about the business of simply living. Before very long, the two eagles became six, for they had been guarding a clutch."

Melantha's lips lift in a smile of gentle amusement as she continues, "Though its course soon took it out of sight of the new family, the sun resolved to itself to seek out the nest again, for its curiosity was well and truly caught. The rocks did well in hiding the nest from its sight, you see, and only the eagles' return to it drew the sun's attention to it at all."

Grand Mistress Melantha, fio Raimuv Cyraeni says, "So it was that the next day came, and the sun returned. Then the next, and likewise. This continued for many days, and the sun watched raptly through the gaps in the rocks as the parents cared for their chicks. They were quite helpless, of course, as is the natural way of things. In this way, months passed, and the chicks became fledged."

Grand Mistress Melantha, fio Raimuv Cyraeni says, "Under the watchful gaze of the sun, each tried their wings in turn, with varying degrees of success. Awkward, those first flights were, and dangerous, for none yet quite knew how to land. The rocks were sharp and the fall was long, but under the close guard of their parents, they managed to avoid both."

Her expression sobering, Grand Mistress Melantha, fio Raimuv Cyraeni says, "The second such flight was more of the same, but this time, all was not to go well. The wind snatched at the chicks, and succeeded in blowing two of them into each other. Down they tumbled, the one landing in relative safety, but the other not as fortunate in its efforts to recover. She landed low among the rocks and bounced, their sharp edges tearing cruelly at her body before she came to rest upon the sand, a battered heap."

Grand Mistress Melantha, fio Raimuv Cyraeni says, "For all that, her wounds were not mortal, but more than bad enough. These eagles, now, are not known for strong voices. The sun and her parents both could only look down in dismay as the chick made soft sounds of distress. As fortune would have it, however, her life was not to end there."

Grand Mistress Melantha, fio Raimuv Cyraeni says, "Not all that far away, another family had made camp, some few weeks before the chicks were fledged: A young boy and his parents. In the cool of the evening, as the sun was drawn away from the crown of the heavens and out of sight of the nest, the boy happened upon the rocks in which the eagles made their home. Strong and wiry he was, and not one to be daunted by heights. He found the nest as he clambered up the rocks, and so was taken by the chicks every bit as strongly as the sun had been."

Grand Mistress Melantha, fio Raimuv Cyraeni says, "Wise enough to retreat quickly upon that first meeting, the boy nonetheless became a second spectator to the lives of those within the rocks. So it was that as the sun retreated, regretting now the heat that sapped the strength of the chick, the boy came upon her in her distress. Moved with compassion, he carefully took up the chick and returned with her to camp."

Grand Mistress Melantha, fio Raimuv Cyraeni says, "His parents, naturally, were shocked at what he had brought home with him, but his impassioned plea was enough to convince them to see what could be done for the little one. Fortunately, his mother was skilled in the arts of herbs and healing, and a careful inspection revealed that though the delicate flight muscles had been torn, the wings remained intact."

Grand Mistress Melantha, fio Raimuv Cyraeni says, "Now, you must understand that in the depths of the desert, the herbs we take for granted to heal such wounds in ourselves are scarce and precious. What supplies of them are to be had are used as sparingly as possible. The family's own cache was far from abundant, but what could be spared was spared. The mother concocted doses of restoration and mending salve, putting each to their best use. The chick was out of danger now, but some wounds still remained, and her strength was far from restored."

Grand Mistress Melantha, fio Raimuv Cyraeni says, "Oh, yes. Right, well, in the weeks that followed, the boy threw himself into helping his mother nurse the little one back to health. He christened her Nadya which, being translated, means 'delicate'. Nadya grew stronger with each passing day, though care had to be taken to keep her from reopening her wounds. Meanwhile, the sun had noted her absence and also, to its great relief, the absence of the work of scavengers. So it was that the sun sought where the chick might have gone. The memory of her broken body upon the sands was enough to bank its heat, and so winter came upon the desert."

Grand Mistress Melantha, fio Raimuv Cyraeni says, "There's more, of course. By now, the family had already packed up camp and moved on, taking Nadya with them.The sun's sight is both long and wide, though, and it didn't take long before it spied a little eagle on the wing, with her boy on the ground below. The connection was obvious and instantly drawn, and the sun's joy was great, indeed. It laid its mark upon Nadya and the boy both. Its rays struck a brighter gold in her feathers, and browned the black of the boy's hair. And there, I think, is where I'll stop."