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Witnessing a Rebirth
By Sentharn and Eukara
(For those who are just joining us ...Color is key. Blue = Talvan, the dragon. Bold Black is Chrysa, Talvan's rider. Bold Red is Diren, Chrysa's friend and Namaran's rider.)
"Talvan, oh Talvan! I have an awesome proposition for you!"
*Talvan rolls over on her sleeping pallet and cracks one eye open, taking care not to bend her wings in the wrong direction. She glares at Chrysa, purple eyes glowing.*
"C'mon, I'm trying to sleep here ... I'm still exhausted from your last 'proposition'...."
"Tut, tut, get up lazy bones. Don't think I don't hurt either. One wing was nearly broken, I will have you know, and it still hurts. Besides, Namaran is going to take us to where we need to go. Come on!"
"Fine, fine ... but it's not going to be my fault if I'm grumpy because my sleep was interrupted."
*She stands and shakes like a herdbeast, unfolding her wings and stretching them carefully before retracting them again.* "So, what trouble are we getting into today?"
"There is a rumor that a Phoenix is returning to India! I bet if we can get there, we will see something spectacular! There are several places it could be heading, so we'd better get a move on."
"It'd be spectacular if one of us could get a full night's sleep."
*sigh* "Yes, I am sure it would be. But the chocolate on your snout tells me that your lack of sleep has nothing to do with your injuries, soreness or other adventure related ailments. Get up! Have you no idea what we will miss if you don't GET UP?"
"Fine, fine, I'm moving ..."
*Talvan rubs her snout as she follows Chrysa, trying to remove the offending material. She only manages to spread it around more.* Blazes, I knew I forgot something before I snuck back into bed ...
"Anyway, I realize that this will be a lot to assimilate, but we are on our way to see something of the most spectacular nature. Very few will see it, it is so rare. Like I said, there have been reports that a Phoenix is on its way to India. The reason this is so significant is that this trip only happens every 500 years! Talvan, think about it ... 500 years. And we could be the only ones that get to see it! So, I decided--"
"I thought Phoenixes were just fiery, arrogant, underhanded birds?"
"--to get us to India to witness the rebirth of one of these majestic creatures. To think that we would be privy to such an event ... It makes an adventurer like myself tremble with excitement. Of course, I have already packed everything we would need for the journey while you slept. No need to bother you with that detail. And Namaran has been up readying himself for the trip. Did you know he is excited about this also? And his rider--"
"Of course, he's excited ... because he got his sleep tonight--"
"--Diren has told me that he is looking forward to this too. It's nice that I will have company of human nature and you will have dragon company."
"Hmph. As if the company of a dragon isn't enough for a human."
"Sometimes it is nice to have the company of a human. It does good for the spirit. And Diren is a very nice guy who happens to like what we are studying. Anyway ... I am trying to convey to you the importance of the day! The rebirth of a Phoenix is a special event. I even packed an offering!"
"An offering? What for?"
"When a Phoenix feels that its time has come to die, it returns to the land of its birth and builds a nest of cinnamon twigs. So, I thought that we could bring some of the best cinnamon twigs from the local gardens. I packed a lot of them, so that the Phoenix could have a spectacular nest."
"I'm sure the Gardener was thrilled that you picked her valued bushes bare. You remember how well she reacted when you borrowed all of those berries, and then managed to drop the bag into the Counselor's--"
"Well, well, well, will you look at that. You must be awake, because your tact has finally gone to sleep. And no, she wasn't upset. While you were in training the other day, I got rid of a few creatures that had been devouring her lettuce rows."
"Of course you did. Oh, just leave the poor dragon to suffer through extra courses while the rider enjoys an afternoon of smiting creatures that nibble a few ears of lettuce!"
"Waaah ... Cry me a river, Talvan. Believe it or not, I do have the right to do things alone, especially given the circumstances behind those extra training sessions. I believe that your mouth got you into trouble again ..."
"It's not my fault that I was graced with a rapier wit and a will to use it. I believe that came from my father ..."
"Hmmm, a rapier wit, aye? So ... putting on a drama to show the trainer's assistant that you could do 90 percent of his work blindfolded, newly transformed into a human all the while telling Master Trystan where he can stick his training--"
"I may have been exaggerating just a little bit. But it was just a joke!"
"You would think you have learned that Master Trystan does not 'joke.' Anyway, back to the item at hand ... Namaran! Your crimson hide is gorgeous this morning!"
*Chrysa jogs up to the massive adult dragon and scritches him behind the eyeridges. An audible rumble is heard, slowly increasing in strength. He lightly headbutts Chrysa, nuzzling her gently.*
"Oh, ignore the pygmy, pulchritudinous dragon, will you? Hello, Namaran. Your hide shines almost as brightly as mine in this morning light."
*Namaran grunts and nuzzles Chrysa more. Diren walks from behind his dragon and smiles at Chrysa.*
"Good morning, Chrysa. Namaran told me that you came to him and spoke of a trip to India for today. I figured you would get your hands on the news regarding the Phoenix. I checked with Coralan, Fireh's dragon. The Phoenix is heading straight there. Must be in dire straits to fly directly. Namaran wishes me to tell you that he is honoured you thought of him for this."
"Is everyone ignoring me this morning?"*
*Chrysa rolls her eyes* "Diren, Talvan would like to tell you that she is need of affection. Apparently, your gentlemanly dragon has made her jealous."
"What?! That's not what I said!"
*Chrysa grins at Talvan as Diren makes his way to the dragonet. Displaying proper etiquette**, although not without some reservations, he greets Talvan before returning to secure the straps of his riding saddle on Namaran's neckridge.*
"Well, if everyone is ready, we should head out. Namaran says the he will help Talvan up if she doesn't want to fly to her spot. You, Chrysa, he will lift with his forepaw - if that is okay with you. He says your wings still seem a bit sore. "
*Talvan "Hmmph!"s and flies up onto her perch on Namaran's back, trying not to reveal the soreness of her wings, a remnant of the last escapade the juvenile dragon and her rider attempted.*
"I must say, Diren, Namaran is such a gentleman. I mean, look how smoothly he lifted me up to the saddle." *Chrysa pats the dragon's crimson hide.* "Talvan, are you okay back there? Do you need anything? If not, then we should head to India. I cannot wait to see this event!"
"Show-off."
*Namaran snorts and lifts into the air. After he clears the town's outskirts, Diren gives the command to travel through innerspace, a place where time does not exist. After a few seconds of sensory deprivation, Namaran appears over the rainforests of India.*
"Everyone okay?"
"I am fine. Namaran, you're getting soft! That timeslip was misalligned somewhat."
"Though Talvan says she is fine, I assume from Namaran's current reactions that he already knows what the grumpus-of-a-dragonet just said. Do not worry Namaran, you were fine. Do not let Talvan's irritation with me get under your beautiful sunset hide. Now if we are to go on the last report, the Phoenix may be headed for--"
"His beautiful hide? What about mine?"
"--the Western Ghats, which is along the southwest coast of the subcontinent. I assume that the flat-topped hills would make a beautiful and suitable place to build a nest. But the hills are so huge and extend for so long. Unless the Phoenix is flaming currently, I don't know how we are going to spot it."
"Maybe we can smell that cinnamon you were talking about."
"Talvan, love, if we smell cinnamon in the air, it means that the Phoenix has already rebirthed. Besides, we are carrying quite a bit ourselves."
"Oh. So how are we going to find it?"
"Maybe it is just me, but don't you think the Phoenix would want the most secure site for a nest ... perhaps the highest peak? If you can call these huge hills 'peaks.'"
"Good assumption, Diren. Hmmm, according to the map, it looks like we should maybe head towards Anamudi, in the south. I bet that is where the Phoenix headed."
"That seems right. Let's go look!"
*As the quartet nears Anamundi, the distant flicker of fire in the sky attracts their attention. Namaran descends a bit to stay out of the Phoenix's sight, landing on the far edge of Anamundi. Diren helps Chrysa dismount, while Namaran assists Talvan. As they watch, the Phoenix flies back and forth carrying what they assume are twigs of cinnamon.*
"Can't we just fly there? Do we have to walk?"
"We have to walk! Do you want us interfering with anything the Phoenix has to do? Perhaps the enormous red dragon walking with us will scare it away and then we will disrupt everything. I certainly don't want to be responsible for causing the only Phoenix in the world to miss its chance to be reborn ..."
"Well, when you put it that way ... I suppose we have to walk, then ..." **Talvan sighs.*
*Chrysa pulls the pack with the cinnamon twigs off of the hook on Namaran's saddle and throws it over her back. The four begin to walk towards what they have hypothesized to be location of the nest based on the Phoenix's flight patterns. They stay as quiet as possible, trying not to bother the creature as it builds the nest. Once the nest is in sight, Diren lets out a low whistle as he gazes at the size of the nest.*
"How big is this bird? If that nest tells us anything, the Phoenix has got to be half the size of Namaran!"
"I think Diren is exaggerating just a little bit. But it does look (gulp) a bit bigger than I am ..."
"Guys, it is just the nest. The Phoenix, upon settling down in the nest, will actually ignite it, engulfing itself and the nest in flames. Of course the nest is big - it has to be able to burn the firebird itself."
*Chrysa, Talvan, Diren and Namaran halted 10 feet from the nest, which rose above the heads of the humans easily, dwarfing them. Chrysa pulled her pack from her back and opened it up. Pulling the densely packed cinnamon out she laid it on the ground. A sudden call, indicating the Phoenix's return, reverberated through their bodies.*
"I do believe that is our cue to get away from the nest. I hope our offering is sufficient."
"I should hope so. You only picked the entire bush bare of cinnamon."
"Well, this is special! I wanted to make sure that we were able to stay and witness a once-in-a-few-lifetimes event. But considering you hate to look at mountains ..."
"It's not like we don't get to see enough of them."
"Ladies? I think we want to step back a lot faster. That Phoenix is coming in very fast!"
*As everyone stepped backwards, the movement of air caused by the great bird's wings hit them, blowing bits of sand and rock around. They shielded their eyes and tried to watch the magnificent bird land. Startling, however, was the manner in which the creature landed. The poor thing nearly crash-landed on their side of the nest.*
"That was rather undignified."
"Oh, the poor thing. Oh shush, Talvan, you have no idea why the Phoenix crashed. The bird is about to die. I don't think you should expect the poor creature to be graceful and alight on the ground. That takes a lot of energy it doesn't have. I am going to approach it quietly and offer to help the bird build her nest with our cinnamon offering. YOU stay here!"
"Fine. Can I have your chocolate if you don't come back?"
"Sure, oh my lovable companion of the heart, you can have all that you want." *Chrysa approaches slowly and the Phoenix looks up at her. She slowly reaches for the cinnamon, keeping her eyes on the bird as it watches her every move. She lightly tosses the cinnamon on the nest and bows to the creature. The Phoenix struggles to its feet and climbs the nest, eventually settling atop the cinnamon and bark mountain.*
"So what happens now? This is getting boring. I want to go sleep."
*Diren smiles to himself as Namaran relays Talvan's comments to him* "Hey, why not? Be my guest, Talvan. Sleep all you want. ALL you want."
"What? You agreed to that far too easily. Are you trying to hide something from me? Did you bring chocolate as an offering too?! Where is it? I'm hungry!"
*Diren rolls his eyes as Namaran passes on Talvan's questions.* "I brought nothing of the sort, as if I would give you anything remotely close to chocolate, you beast. Chrysa is far too nice to you sometimes." *Looks to Chrysa* "Are you OK?"
"Chrysa! Did you hear that? He called me a 'beast'! How can you let him get away with that?"
*The Phoenix called out and ignited, flames bursting from every inch of its body. It spread its majestic wings, alight with flames of orange and yellow, and lowered them over the edges of the nest. Slowly, the wood and cinnamin began to crackle. Small motes of fire sparked from the pile towards Chrysa, but she didn't flinch. As the flames engulfed the nest, the Phoenix looked at her once more and bowed its head, succumbing to its fate.* "I ... I am fine. Even though I know the outcome, this is still so sad."
"What's going to happen to it now?"
"Well, if all goes according to plan, the nest will burn down to a small pile of embers and there will be an egg in the middle of it." *The fire suddenly roars, flaring out violently, throwing Chrysa back several feet and slamming her head on the hard stone surface.*
"Chrysa! Are you okay?" *Talvan runs to Chrysa and looks into her face, concerned.* "Can you hear me? Can you understand me? How many wings do I have? Where is your stash of chocolate--"
"Talvan! There is a difference between being helpful and being a nuisance. Smothering her is not going to make her feel better. No! No ... don't sit on her!" *Diren rushes to Chrysa and wrestles with Talvan, trying to help Chrysa up. As he does, the nest begins to collapse. A shadow passes over them and something in the sky dives for the nest.*
"Sorry. Hmph, just trying to help. I'm concerned, after all, what would I do without Chrysa? Where would I get my chocolate if something happ--Hey, what's that shadow?"
*Diren gives Talvan a funny look, and then turns to Namaran for a translation. Namaran nods towards the sky and all four watch as something large crashes into the nest, sending debris flying in all directions. Large claws grip the sides, and monstrous wings flare out, as the creature looks on, triumphant.*
"That's a Rukh***! I don't understand. Why would a magical creature try to destroy the nest? The Phoenix is a vital part of the magical world ..."
"Namaran! Can't you do something?"
*Namaran leaned back and looked at the enormous bird before him. The Rukh stamped its mighty legs, further quenching the fire, and seemingly smiled at the grown dragon. Small flames licked the air here and there, but the roar was gone. Namaran gathered himself and lunged at the Rukh, taking the creature by surprise; for no creature, not even the large Ice Wyms of the northern ice, ever challenged it. Namaran, plowing into the creature, fell over the side of the mountain, claws dug into its flesh.*
"While the Rukh is distracted by Namaran, Talvan suddenly leaps forward and collects scattered pieces of the nest in her talons. Hastilly throwing them back onto the nest, she ducks as Namaran streaks overhead, and replaces more nest material. The fire grows higher and higher, roaring with power and released energy.*
"The smell of cinnamon is so strong, I can hardly breathe. But that means Talvan did it right. The nest is restored!" *scritches Talvan's eyeridge* "Now, I just hope we didn't lose the Phoenix's essence."
*At first, the breeze was gentle, but as it moved towards the egg it began to swirl and dance, as if there were living beings in the wind. It wrapped around the embers that now sat where once a grand nest was built. In a suspended moment of time, the wind spun, until all dust and ash was removed, leaving a pristine, jeweled egg.*
"Talvan approaches the egg, which is rocking slightly. It glitters in a resplendent, chromatic rainbow as she approaches it. Curious, she nuzzles it--*
*The rocking became more pronounced, when suddenly the egg split in half. The halves fell, rocking at the feet of a small, golden feathered bird. It stretched its tiny wings and and tested them out. As it rose into the air, a roar of hate came from off the mountain. The Rukh, with Namaran on his tail, swooped over the party and roared again, before retreating from its failed mission. The newly reborn Phoenix flew over Talvan, then the rest of the party after Namaran landed, gently brushing them with its wings. Blessing given, the Phoenix flew towards Africa, where it would begin to strengthen and grow once more.*
"We got to see it! I bet we are only part of a handful of people from the dawn of time to witness this event. Wow! And look, it left the shell for us! A blessing and the remnant of its shell." **Watches Talvan stare at the eggshells* "You know Talvan, you were very brave. Despite the fact that an enormous, larger than life Rukh was trying to destroy all of this, you jumped in and restored the nest. Well done, Heart-sister."
"Hah! You didn't think you had it in me, did you? Did you see me? Did you see how I swooped in there, narrowly missing the Rukh's talons as I scrambled between the rocks, single-handledly rebuilding the destroyed nest from the ground up? Did you see it? I was amazing!"
*pats Talvan on the head* "Yes, Love, we saw your bravery out there. Why, if you hadn't done what you did, the Phoenix may never have had the chance to hatch and the world would have been robbed of the Phoenix's magic."
*Diren looks at Chrysa in disbelief.* "Chrysa?"
*draws in a deep breath and shakes her head at Diren* "Now, how about we go home. I am exhausted and I am sure Namaran would like to go home. Why don't you run up ahead and see if he wants to hear about your exploits."
"See? I'm not always focusing on sleep and food, as some say. Why, I am more active than some of my 'heroic' counterparts! How many other dragons can say they've single-handedly saved a phoenix's nest, pitted against a bird that's twice as big -- no, three times as big as an average dragon!" *Talvan natters on as she flies ahead, surely to irritate the ever-patient Namaran.*
"How could you encourage her like that?! She is already self-absorbed, but now you gave her a reason to be. We are never going to hear the end of this!"
"I know, I know." *Chrysa looks at Diren and then at Talvan excitedly retelling her heroism to Namaran.* "But something isn't right here. What on earth was that Rukh doing? I need to know what prompted that creature to do what he did. But more than that, I want to know why he took it so personally that we were there."
"You think there is more to this?"
"This was supposed to be a trip full of wonder, excitement and magic. Yet .. it was nearly a disaster. What if it is our fault the Rukh found the nest? That it followed us here?"
*Diren puts his arm around Chrysa's shoulder* "Chrysa, thinking like that will only bring you more heartache. Look, the rebirth was successful. Not graceful, but successful. Worrying will only make you upset, which is something I don't want to see."
"Maybe you are right. But what if you're not?"
______________________________
*Just a note. Though you have read the exchange between Chrysa and Talvan in all these articles, dragons cannot actually be heard by anyone except their riders. If a dragon wishes to speak to another human, the rider must convey their thoughts to each other. Master Trystan is an exception. She can hear all dragons, which makes her exceptionally adept at being a dragon trainer.
**Because dragons are rather vain creatures, proper etiquette is extremely important. Even if you do not like the dragon, you must still pay your respects. Usually, this display includes a rubbing of the eyeridges, a kind word or two regarding the beauty of said dragon and, if on hand, a treat. Depending on the dragon's service record, bowing is also recommended.
***We used the Persian spelling here. A Rukh is a Roc.
< Message edited by Eukara -- 4/7/2009 11:48:47 >
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