A Whisper of Wings (58 page)

“
There is not enough room for all of us! Fights are breaking out. Let us make a solemn covenant with our neighbours to avoid any further battles. We shall make a dividing line. The black fleas may have everything below the chief’s waist, and the brown fleas everything above.”

To avoid conflict, the fleas separated their two kinds, and for a while their lives proceeded in peace. Finally, however, discontent began to brew. The black fleas started to grumble. Whenever the chief bathed his tired old feet, dozens of fleas were drowned. And they were always in the shade! Where was the sun they used to love? The brown fleas had cheated them!

Above the waist, the brown fleas were also dissatisfied with their lot. The chief had dandruff, and this made their homes a mess. They thought wistfully of warm days spent down in the old chief’s nether regions and slowly filled with spite. The black fleas had tricked them! The best terrain had all been stolen.

Both groups of fleas prepared for battle. They sucked more blood in order to grow big and strong. They bred and multiplied to lend numbers to their armies. The old chief’s spine echoed to the tramp of tiny feet. Gongs and drums rattled in his ears all night. A mighty war raged back and forth across his mangy hide. The chief tossed and turned and scratched and groaned, his skin flaming out in pain. Finally the old man’s heart could take the stress no longer. He kicked up his heels and died at last.

Meanwhile, on a battle ground behind the dead man’s ear, the black fleas were finally victorious. They danced across the bodies of their foes and rubbed their little feet in glee. Finally the whole chief’s hide was theirs!

Alas, it was all to no avail. The villagers made a great funeral pyre and reverently sent their chief into the arms of Mother Rain. And every single flea went with him, right down to the smallest little nit…~

Starshine seemed to hemm and haww as she mulled Shadarii’s tale.

*Quite charming I’m sure, but what is the moral?*

~I suppose the moral is that they should have tended to the old man’s needs. It is a story about our forest, you see. It was dying, and all we could do was steal from one another. The fleas died because they were too stupid to do something positive~

The girl hung her head and gave a miserable sigh.

~Am I doing anything positive? I just don’t know.~

Lady Starshine assumed a matronly air inside Shadarii’s head.

*Thou art a funny creature. Thou’st failed to listen to me all this time, and now thou come’st for help. I must say, it’s high time someone listened to me!*

Staring out across the star-tossed sea, Shadarii felt sharp pangs of despair.

~What? What am I doing wrong? I have healed the sick, my message is spread. Why can no one see? Violence feeds upon itself. Once upon a time I fought to try and win people’s respect. I thought punching Javïra would solve all my pain. I was a fool! Respect is won through love, and not through fear. If I had refused to strike her, even to have asked her for another blow, perhaps I would have shown more strength and won her over as my friend.~

*Oh Shadarii, pacifism was already the creed of your society. Look how weak and corrupt it has become!*

Shadarii gazed out across the darkened skies.

~Non violence requires moral strength. You must believe in it; be ready to die for it! They had forgotten why we had the creed. The elders hid the tales of war, and so our fear and loathing of it died.~

Starshine slowly settled down around Shadarii’s shoulders.

*And what of this ‘Kotaru’ Mrrimïmei so admired. Thou’st said thy pilgrims were nothing until he found them. What did Kotaru teach them?*

Shadarii’s eyes misted over as she unveiled the memory of her love.

~He found the strengths hidden inside each individual. Kotaru taught them to become proud of themselves.~

*Well then, perhaps Mrrimïmei no longer feels proud of herself.*

Shadarii was shocked.

~Why? You’ve seen what Tingtraka has become! She grows stronger in love every day. And Kïtashii, my little acolyte. So serious, so strong!~

*These two are not warriors. Thine other pilgrims are all fighters! They have learned to battle for their beliefs! They are ashamed, my child. Ashamed that they have abandoned the world they love.*

~But there is so much to teach these fisher people!~ Shadarii flung sand into the surf. ~They flock to me in thousands to see my sermons and my tales. My mission is being fulfilled!~

*Fulfilled? You waste thy time! You betray thy people, and still say thy mission is fulfilled!*

~I have told you…~

*Quiet! I shall have my say!*

Starshine seethed in a spiteful temper.

*Thy sister still has power over thee. Thou art afraid of her. Admit it! T’is easier to skulk here than face thy sister in righteous battle!

*Shadarii my love, you waste thy time! You preach of peace to a people who know no war! If thou must do good, then do it where it is needed.

Zhukora grows more powerful, Shadarii. Evil is like a fire; it spreads and spreads as long as there are innocent victims to give it fuel! It is time for us to go. Time to leave this hiding place and face the struggle thou were born for! If left unopposed, Zhukora will drench this continent beneath a wave of blood!*

Shadarii’s temper rose.

~What I did before was wrong! To fight, to hurt, to kill! See all the trouble that it led to? I murdered my own true love! If I hadn’t started all this trouble…~

*The results would have been worse! Stop sniveling. Either fight or turn thy back on everything thy lover died for!*

The Kashra closed her eyes and rigidly faced towards the sea.

~I have told you already that I have a vision. I know what I must do!~

*Oh really? And so this is why thou fly alone at night? How pleasant to indulge oneself when thy people are screaming for thine aid!*

Shadarii gave a hiss, but Starshine lashed relentlessly onwards.

*I have opened up the door to immense powers inside thee! Thy meditations are revealing the very secrets of power itself. You cross barriers thine ancestors never even dared to see! And yet thou do’st nothing to help thy people!*

~Shut up!~
Shadarii wrung her antennae between her hands.
~I order you to shut up!~

Starshine seemed to take a breath of indignation.

*Oppose force with force, evil with good! Sometimes violence must be used. It can be a tool for good as long as we use it for the moral right!*

~Right? How can murder ever be made right? ~

*If we slay a tyrant to prevent her killing thousands, that is right! If we take a man who beats his child and let him taste his own whip, that is right! Morality does not come naturally, girl! Justice is dealt out with the sword. A society needs laws; needs controls! A higher authority must dictate what is right and what is wrong.

*They need a vision. A holy leader! They need thee, girl! Take them! Take them forth and show them the glory of thy will!*

Shadarii reeled, clutching at her skull in agony!

~Shut up! Leave me be!~

*Thou art the ultimate force for good upon this earth. Reject thy destiny and thou’st betrayed everything thy lover fought for! Thou’st betrayed Mother Rain herself!*

Shadarii whirled, her fangs suddenly bared bright.

~You leave Kotaru out of this! He was perfect. He was gentle! Do you think for a moment he would want me to crush these people beneath my will?~

*Crush? No, liberate! Take these little creatures by the hand and rule them as a mother should. It’s what Kotaru would have wanted.*

Shadarii shivered with rage.

~I told you never to mention Kotaru again!~

*He was nothing but a lover! Take another and found a dynasty!*

~Kotaru was my soul mate. I shall never love again. Each moment without him is pure agony!~

*And every moment with him was pure ecstasy?*
The spirit flipped insiolently through the air.
*Ha! I have sampled the pathetic wrigglings Kashra go through when they breed. Take a lover if thy loins are itching for a stretch! Rut to thy heart’s content. Thou’st betrayed Kotaru’s memory, why not betray him once again?*

Shadarii let her power roar out in sudden hate. Starshine screamed and reeled from the blow, ïsha dripping from her wounds like blood. Shadarii gasped in fright, scrabbling for contact with the Ka.

~Oh Starshine! Starshine, forgive me! I’m sorry…~

The spirit drew back from Shadarii’s touch, sullenly sitting back to lick its hurts.

*It seems thy creed of ‘love’ is very thin, my girl. Who hast thou been fooling? Thou’rt as violent as the rest of us.*

Shadarii hesitantly probed at her companion, fearfully searching for any signs of harm.

~You-you aren’t hurt?~

*It will heal. It seems we can still tap thy anger after all.*

Shadarii hung her head in shame and tugged miserably at her fur.

~Please forgive me. I offer my humblest apologies. I have no excuse to offer you. It’s just that-that Kotaru…

~Please don’t mock my memory of him. It is all I have.~

Lady Starshine coiled in the ïsha and heaved a little sigh.

*Of course not, my dear. We shall not speak of it again.*

The sea foam washed slowly back and forth, as serene and timeless as the dancing of the stars. Shadarii watched the ebb and flow of bubbles in the moonlight.

~Forgive me, Starshine. I shall pray that I grow stronger. I shall pray that I become more pure. For you are right, It is time. I feel the death growing slowly in the air.

~I will return to the forest.~

The girl closed her eyes and turned her face into the Wind.

The dawn saw Shadarii trudging up the dunes, her heart still weary from the agony of decision. Tingtraka and Kïtashii walked in silence at her side, their travel packs bulging with their few small scraps of goods. Behind them came the other pilgrims; eleven followers with wise, calm eyes. Mrrimïmei slunk at the rear, glaring hatred at Shadarii’s back.

Shadarii slowly crossed the sharp crest of a dune, gazing across the crowd that she had known would be there waiting for her.

There they were; a hundred fisher-folk. Sister Mouse and Brother Fish knelt next to Fengahïl and her son. There were healers and teachers, grandmothers and fishermen. Those who had been blind or mad, those who had been touched and healed.

At their head sat Lady Zareemah-Kha: She whose son had been raised up from the dead. The noblewoman bowed and held her wings before her eyes.

“Revered one, we know that you are leaving. All these folk have gathered here because of our love for you. We ask nothing but to follow our beloved Silent Lady.”

The woman kept her eyes riveted on the ground, and her wings quivered as she clutched her son tight against her chest.

“If you will have us, we shall follow you to the far ends of the earth! If you will allow it, we shall help you spread your precious Word. Your teachings have meant much to us. The fisher folk will never be the same. You have not failed.”

Shadarii swayed, and a single tear sparkled in in the corner of her eye. She drew a breath, turned on her heel, and launched herself into the desert air. Her little band leapt skywards and followed on the tail of their dream. They bore the word of peace towards the bleeding heart of war.

Chapter Twenty Two

Even through her tears, the girl’s beauty cast a marvellous spell. Namïlii of River-Bend wept before the tribal council and shook with terror. Fifty councellors watched as an inept old nobleman tried to still her fears.

“Oh now now now. Please my dear, don’t cry so. It isn’t really so very bad…”

The council of the Ochitzli tribe were in a state of shock. A world that had stood unchanged for a thousand years had suddenly overturned; the savages had burst out of legend bringing back the plague of war. The nobles stared in horror at the empty seat once held by the Speaker of River-Bend.

Namïlii retched with fright. She clutched herself in agony, her slender body wracked by tears.

“She came for me! The black empress came for me! She-she showed me m-my own dead Mama, then she laughed when she heard me scream! She laughed! The-the witch calls the evil spirits! She-she had one speak to me. It told me it would eat my soul unless I gave you all a message!”

“Hush child. There’s no danger here.”

Namïlii’s eyes rolled white.

“It’ll find me! It said it would find me! It lives in dreams. I have to tell you! I have to…” The girl rocked back and forth, tearing at her hair. “Oh Mama! I want my Mama!”

The handsome young Speaker of Thistle-Field rose from his place and dried Namïlii’s tears. He drew her down beneath his arm and tried to stop her trembling.

“Poor child. How you must have suffered.”

Namïlii snuffled, making a brave show of choking back her tears. She nestled against the nobleman and peered up at him with great soulful eyes.

“The dark Empress lays claim to all the lands of the Ochitzli. She said we are her subjects now. We-we have one week in which to come to River-Bend and pay our homage. We are to follow the orders of her chiefs. Our nobles are to report to her for briefing and assignment.”