This is the story one of my (briefly played) OWbN characters told for his Fostern challenge in another game setting (online digichat).
Long ago, when the world was new, Eagle ruled the skies, as he does now. He was more carefree when young, gliding along on thermals, reveling in his ability to scare and frighten all the other creatures of both air and earth. He would delight in drifting lazily around, and with a flick of his wings, dive down on some helpless animal, laughing at that animal's terror. He did eat, as all animals do, but he maintained the delicate balance of Gaia, taking only what he needed.
A proud creature, Eagle did not listen to any of the lesser animals complaints about his behavior, shrugging it off, and telling them that they should be lucky he is only playing, and not targetting them to be his meal for the day. Eagle was eventually humbled, but not in the manner you would expect; this is the story of that humbling.
Eagle was drifting on the wind as he had every day since Gaia birthed the world, his sharp eyes taking in all that the world offered, the whole of it stretched out under his wings in those times. Eventually he came to a tall mountain, the tallest mountain on Gaia, his eyes noting another bird, remarkably similar to himself. With a loud cry he swooped in, to find to his astonishment another Eagle.
"Who are you?!" he shrieked.
"Eagle," came the confident reply.
"But I am Eagle, King and Lord of the Birds!"
"Use your eyes...I am Eagle."
"Impossible," and as he cried this the two great birds of prey began circling and diving back and forth, locking talons on each pass.
"You are Eagle," he eventually conceded, "but how?"
"Every animal needs a mate," came the reply. And Eagle whistled a cry of surprise at this revelation.
Finally the two Eagles merged into a mated pair, as Gaia intended. But Eagle has not shed his frivolous ways, he still drifted, delighting in his power over the rest of Gaia. In doing so he neglected his duties, and the nest for his eggs was incomplete, and several fledglings died as a result, falling out of the nest. When he grudingly attended his duties and completed the nest, still more fledglings died when he pursued his selfish hunting routine, and they starved or were taken by the other predators of Gaia while his mate was hunting herself.
Worse, Eagle had discovered in his journeys that Gaia had populated the whole of Herself with lords of the air of all stripes and hues. Eagle eagerly joined with them also, making them his mates, and continuing on his flights of fancy. When he returned to his original mate, he asked after the fledglings only to discover there were none. Angrily he flew to to next mate, only to find the same thing, no fledglings. This pattern repeated itself with each successive eagle he flew to.
Finally he made it back to his first mate still angry, demanding to know why the fledglings died. When informed that she needed him to help raise them, he replied with more harsh words, and again flew away, only to find the same answer wherever he went. He then appealed to Gaia Herself, unwilling to relinquish his life. Gaia rebuked him, reminding him of the duty of all of Her animals to perpetuate themselves.
Eagle then returned to his first mate, shame faced, committed to holding true to her for the rest of his days. And he did so, raising with her many fledglings. And in Eagle now one can see the echo of the first courting flight, and the years of nest building and strong fledgings striking out on their own.
This is not only a story of commitment to one's mate for the sake of children, but also commitment to one's mate because you cannot ever know the consequences of betraying that commitment once made.
Topic: Fostern Challenge Story (Read 2455 times)