Spring 42, 515 AV
Why had the gods made the world so grey, and the sky so blue? The sky was limitless, beautiful, and filled with wonder, while the world below was hard, dirty, and filled with death. The gods must have made the grey-brown world as some sort of cruel joke, and then dropped everyone in it. Meanwhile, only the birds were allowed to rule the breathtaking skies.
Deyk heard a small bird soar overhead as he drudged through the stone and mud. He do not bother to look up at the bird, instead keeping his eyes focused directly on the ground in front of him. Not that it mattered where he looked. The tears that still stung his eyes altered his vision, making the world around him look like one giant grey blur.
His mentor would not be impressed. The certain trail he was on was fairly even and flat, with hardly any incline or obstacles to slow down Deyk's trek. He had travelled this particular trail several times with Avila, and his feet knew the way. He should be looking up and observing the world around him, alert for potential prey or danger.
It was the sound of a running water that forced Deyk to eventually look up. The melting snows and frequent rains had caused a whole bunch of small creeks and streams to appear all over the mountainside, each one heading down to the sea below. Deyk stopped at one such stream and knelt down to fill his waterskin. Soon the trail would turn into a steep incline, and Deyk would need all the hydration he could get.
Watching the water swiftly flow downhill, Deyk was reminded of the gravity of his situation. Ever since his brother had died nearly thirty days ago, Deyk had found it almost impossible to concentrate on his daily life. While Avila had been lecturing him about how to start a campfire, he had been lost in memories of his dead brother. While Avila had tried to show him the proper way to set a snare, he had been distracted by the memories he and his brothers would never share.
Yesterday, Deyk had not been watching where his feet were going, and he had accidently kicked a rock down the side of the mountain, alerting a hare of his and Avila's presence, and ruining her shot. Avila had been livid. This morning, she had sent him out into the valley for the first time on his own, telling him to return with his weight in game, or not return at all.
"You don't work, you don't eat", she had said, with that scowl on her face. Deyk had soon learned that her scowl was nothing to fear. She always scowled, even when she laughed. The thing he feared was when she started biting the inside of her cheek, she only did that when she was truly angry.
Death was not uncommon in Wind Reach, and many members of the populace were able accept the death of a loved one, but for some reason Deyk was deeply bothered by his brother's death. Perhaps it was the suddeness of it all, or the fact that Falkre was the only family Deyk had ever known. Maybe it was the tragic realization that Falkre had died mere minutes after achieving his life-long goal of becoming an esteemed eagle rider. Whatever it was, Falkre's death seemed unnatural, as if the gods had made some huge mistake in the heavens, and now everything was changed, and not how it was meant to be.
Deyk shook his head, that was the grief talking. Many died in Wind Reach each year because of stupid falling accidents, and Falkre's was not different. Reaching into the stream with both hands, Deyk pulled out two heavy handfuls of mud. He streaked the mud across his bare chest, arms, face and neck. He even put mud in his hair. Camoflague was important during a hunt, especially when one lacked tree cover.
Moving on from the stream, Deyk soon reached the steep incline, and he began his ascent. Eventually the path became more narrow, and more dangerous. It was not too long before he reached another stream. The water from this second stream was colder, and instead of mud, the bottom was covered with smooth round stones. Deyk's careful eye spotted a hidden overhang nearby, which he deducted would make good cover.
Crouching under the overhang, Deyk placed an arrow in his bow, but did not draw it back. It could sometimes take hours for prey to show up, but if Deyk was able to pick the right place, such as a freshwater stream, then eventually game would appear. All he needed to do was wait.
Between the mud hardening and cracking on his skin, and the overhand he was crouched under, Deyk had a solid hiding place, however, it was not until his legs were tired and his back was sore did an animal appear at the stream in search of a drink.
It was a mountain goat, and a fat one as well. If Deyk could bring it down, all he would need was a hare or a couple fish and he would complete his task for Avila. Despite his excitement, and the urgency of the situation, Deyk forced his breath and movements to remain under careful control. Patience was key.
The young hunter slowly drew back his arrow, and aimed it at a spot just under the mountain goat's shoulder, where the heart was located. Slowing his breath led to the slowing of his heartbeat, which would allow Deyk to time his shot between heartbeats for maximum precision and accuracy.
Just before Deyk could fire his shot, a shadow emerged on the ground where the goat was standing, and a mighty cry echoed from above. The goat raised its head and prepared to bolt, but it was far too late for the poor creature. Like a bolt of lightning, a wind eagle swooped down and gripped the goat in its talons while it delivered the killing blow with the sharp point of its beak.
The first thing Deyk noticed about the eagle was its distinct lack of a rider. The second thing he noticed was that this was the same eagle who had dropped Falkre. Anger welled up inside Deyk's belly. First this beast failed to save his brother, and now it was stealing his kill!
Deyk leaped out of his hiding spot and glared at the wind eagle. The beast hardly seemed to notice him, and instead gorged itself on Deyk's goat. Deyk felt his rage growing. "Hey", he called out, scowling, "That was my kill!"
The eagle looked up from its meal and fized its amber eyes on Deyk. Then a voice entered Deyk's mind, completely surprising him. He had never spoken with a wind eagle before, and telepathy was utterly new to him.
What do you mean? I killed the animal, so therefore it is mine. If mud-man is hungry, he ought to find one himself.
Deyk was caught off guard by the raw arrogance in the eagle's voice. He had always imagined wind eagles as having wise voices when they spoke telepathically, but Deyk's bird sounded more cocky than wise.
"I did find one, and then you stole him from me", Deyk shouted back. It was nearing the end of the day, and he stil had nothing to bring back to Avila. He shuddered to think of what she would do if he returned empty-handed.
I cannot steal what is mine by right.
Deyk could do nothing but glare at this oversized eagle. Their eyes met, and locked on to each other. In Deyk's eyes, the eagle saw large amounts of pain and rage. In the eagle's eyes, all Deyk saw was mild amusement. He suddenly realized how much this eagle remined him of his brother.
"Remember the rider you lost?"
Yes. Why?
Deyk sucked in a deep breath. His heart thudded hard against his chest. He did not know what he wanted from this conversation, but he knew he wanted something. "Because he was my brother, and you killed him".
The eagle's wings lifted and fell, almost as if the beast was shrugging. "He fell".
Fury rushed through Deyk's veins. He kicked a rock at the beast, forcing it to dodge to one side to avoid being hit. "Do you even care? You could have saved him!"
The eagle's amber eyes remained fixed on Deyk's green ones, and for the first time, Deyk caught something other than cool confidence in the creatures eyes.
I could have, but should I have? If a man who will do nothing but ride an eagle falls during his first ride, is he worth saving? Should I save him the next day, and the day after that? I could partially save him, let him keep his life but not his legs, let him live on as a crippled glassblower, but he would never be happy. I made a mistake bonding with your brother. Some men are destined for greatness, while others are meant to stay on the ground.
It was several long moments before Deyk could reply, and when he did, his words were cut short by a distant rumble that echoed throughout the entire valley. The rumble was shortly followed by a series of shrill screams. Deyk narrowed his eyes at the eagle.
"That sounded like a rockslide, we need to save whoever survived", Deyk shouted, moving towards the Eagle. The woman's shrieks persisted. "She sounds like she's on the other side of the mountain. Let me ride you over there so we can help her!"
The eagle seemed to sneer at Deyk. If you tried to ride me, you would fall and die. Many of your kind die every day in Wind Reach. Why should we save this one? It's only one less mouth to feed.
"Because it's not up to us to decide who lives and who dies. That's the gods' decision, and if that woman is still screaming, then they they must still want her alive. Are you going to help me or not?"
Deyk turned away from the eagle and started jogging down the path that he hoped would take him to the screamer's position. After a few moments of deliberation, he heard the wind eagle take flight behind him.
Suddenly Deyk found himself lifted off of the ground as something sharp dug into his back. The wind eagle's grip on him was fairly gentle, but still strong enough to keep Deyk safe and secure. As the eagle ascended, Deyk watched the world shrink beneath him. Oddly, Deyk's belly did not twist in knots the way it did when he looked over the edge of a high-placed overhang.
The eagle began circling the mountain, and soon Deyk was able to spot the remains of the rockslide. Luckily, the rockslide had been a small one, and the mountain and its paths were still intact. Focusing on the orgin of the rockslide, Deyk was able to point out the screaming woman, who has gripping onto a small ledge for dear life. Deyk pointed at the woman, and soon the eagle had directed his course towards her.
Some ways above the woman, a single loose rock slipped free. The smooth stone began rolling down the hill, and bouncing straight towards the screaming woman. Deyk anticipated the eagle's reaction a moment before the pain left Deyk's back.
For a single moment, Deyk experienced a freefall. His breath caught in his throat, and the entire world seemed to freeze. It was the single most exhilarating and single most terrifying second of his young life. Then the air rushed past him and Deyk felt a sudden shock shoot through his knees as he landed on the ledge.
Scrambling to his feet, Deyk looked down at the ebony-skinned woman, who upon seeing him, had halted her pleas for help. Deyk forced a grim smile and reached down to take her hand. With a heave, he managed to pull her up on top of the ledge.
Suddenly pulling her close to him, Deyk whispered frantically into her ear.
"We need to jump", he said.
Confusion danced across her face, and her eyes looked at him as though he were a lunatic.
"What?"
Deyk did not need to look back to know how close the rolling boulder was.
"Trust me"
With those words, Deyk held her close and took a leap.
For a long, painful moment, Deyk feared that he had been wrong, and that the eagle was not going to save them. The beast obviously did not care about human life. If it had let Falkre fall, why would it save Deyk?
Deyk's doubts were erased when he felt a familiar sting in his back. His downward momentum began to slow. Struggling to maintain his grip on the woman, Deyk held his breath until they were all the way down to the ground.
The eagle set them down in a large grass clearing, and landed a small distance away from Deyk and the woman, who's eyes were now filled with awe and wonder.
"Thank-you", she exclaimed, out of breath. Her eyes wandered towards the wind eagle, who looked truly magnificient in the sun's golden rays. Turning her attention back to Deyk, she thanked him for saving her life, and began to introduce herself.
The trader's name was Laena, and she had been travelling to Wind Reach to buy some glassware to sell down south. Deyk's wind eagle disappeared shortly after Deyk offered to escort the woman the rest of the way to Wind Reach. Deyk was a little sad to see the wind eagle go. The pair had made a good team, despite the circumstances of their encounter.
The trip back to Wind Reach was boring and uneventful. Deyk said little as Laena spoke endlessly about her travels. As they neared the city's entrance, Deyk remembered Avila's threat to him this morning. What would she do when he returned empty-handed? Perhaps she would kill him, or send him away from Wind Reach. The idea of facing her wrath made Deyk shudder inside.
Just when they were outside the entrance, the air shook and the eagle landed right in front of Deyk. Gesturing for Laena to continue into Wind Reach, Deyk noticed a dead mountain goat gripped in the eagle's large talons.
It's not as large as the other one, but there is enough meat here to feed a family.
The eagle's voice was cheeky in Deyk's mind, but he knew that the beast's offer was true. "Thank-you", he replied, looking down at the carcass. There was plenty of meat on this bear's bones, and the pelt would be useful as well. Maybe Avila would not skin him after all. Grinning, Deyk looked up to see a few other Inartans rushing outside to where he and the eagle were standing. "My name's Deyk", he continued, "What can I call you?"
Varonius, was the eagle's reply. Deyk nodded, and the wind eagle continued. Today, you acted with courage and conviction. It will be an honour to serve with you for years to come.
Disbelief and shock ran up and down Deyk's spine. Was Varonius attempting to bond with him? Deyk had never imagined himself as an Eagle Rider, that had always been his brother's dream. The thought made Deyk pause. He remembered that it had been Varonius who had neglected to save Falkre after the latter had fallen. It would be dishonourable to Falkre for Deyk to bond with Varonius after Falkre's untimely death. Then there was Avila to think about. She hated the Endal, and claimed that they did half the work an Avora hunter did, but got twice the food and twice the glory If Deyk abandoned her to become and eagle rider, she would be livid.
Deyk shook his head. "We worked well together today, but I cannot be your rider. Remember when you said that some men belonged in the sky, and others on the ground? I am one of the men who belongs among the rock and stone".
More were coming out of Wind Reach to observe the situation between Deyk and Varonius, though they could only hear Deyk's half of the conversation.
You are wrong. For a man who claims to belong on the ground, you sure have a large pair of wings..
A small crowd was beginning to gather around Deyk and Varonius. A bonding between and eagle and a potential rider was quite the important event in Wind Reach.
Despite Varonius' claims, Deyk was still not convinced. Being part of the Endal was more than just guts and glory. To strive for greatness, Deyk would need to commit to a whole new world of responsibility. He silently shook his head.
If you will not ride me for your own glory, ride me in your brother's name. He means little to me, but much to you. He would want to see you living his dream.
Deyk considered Varonius' arguement for a moment. The wind eagle was right. It would not dishonour Falkre's memory if Deyk became Varonius' rider. Instead, Deyk could honour Falkre by riding Varonious in Falkre's name.
Without saying a word, Deyk smiled. He took a few steps toward Varonius, who ducked his head. Climbing onto the eagle, Deyk glanced up at the brilliant blue sky. When Varonius took to the air, Deyk could fall, or he could soar. Either way, Deyk was free of the grey world he had been born into, and welcome to visit the majestic heavens any time he liked.
