Maiden Verse
Birthed in the purest of waters, a great eagle took flight upon celestial wings, and perched itself atop a tree that stood, solitary and bare, at the gates of Mind. In a realm submerged in darkness, the all-seeing spirit of self, having awoken from lethargy and slumber, took the form of this noble creature, and sought to illuminate itself. For it felt that it had long allowed itself to be taken, by fleeting thoughts not of its own making; too long to be out of touch with its own origins, and its own childlike wonder forsaken. The time it knew had come, for the greatest change was needed, as the world outside was chaos, and the world within receded.
An everlasting, moonless and starless night had the realm enchanted for an age no longer remembered. But once the all-seeing spirit set its vision upon the land, it henceforth illuminated all like the sun, and no longer were its residents hidden from sight.
Among ancient ruins and forgotten nature, formless shades skittered back and forth unchallenged, tossing seeds into the currents of uncontrolled winds that scattered them all over ripe and fertile soil.
The shades and their seed were not birthed of the purest of waters, like the spirit of self that took flight, so the light that shone on them burned them to ash, as the spirit proclaimed its rightful place as ruler of the land.
“Behold my kingdom so long forgotten; to it my rule has returned. In the image of my maker it shall now be forged, and to my soul’s divine music, it shall now be tuned.”
The great eagle turned towards the gates as it spoke, seeking to consider those who wished to pass through, and what seeds they brought with them; to judge them before the courts of virtue and the highest of moral value.
But beyond the gates there was turmoil, for the darkness that had reigned within Mind had bled into the world beyond it.
There were many that attempted to enter into the kingdom unwarranted. There were many shades that carried seeds not of the purest of waters. And there were many seeds that had been scattered into the winds before them; and many seeds that had fallen into the ripe and fertile soil, that had grown into poisonous weeds, and ripened into putrid trees bearing rotten fruit of all kind.
“The past shall be forgotten. I shall heed not the vileness that had come before me. In its place, I envision purity. And those who wish to enter into my kingdom shall henceforth be judged.”
The great eagle looked away from the poisonous weeds and putrid trees, and faced the gates of Mind once more. Its light shone brightly upon them, and the shades who wished to enter from the outside were now forced to possess their true form, so that they could be granted permission to set forth into the kingdom of the pure.
The first came forward through a gaping hole that appeared like a great crevice within a stone wall; a formless being morphed into a robed and hooded figure, whose hidden visage, the beast’s prying eye, could not discern. His body was worn and crooked, and he carried himself with an illness upon his spiritual form.
“It is my wish to bring these seeds into your great and pure kingdom; for them to be sown upon your holy land,” said he, as he bowed his head, and shakenly stretched out his hand, opening it to reveal seeds that writhed like worms.
The eagle looked upon him, then at his open palm, “And what shall they beget?”
The man lifted his head, and though his face was worn by age, it was age transformed by darkness into an abomination.
“It shall be wisdom of the world. For what can one learn of himself, if not that which has been seen through the eyes of another.”
The eagle squawked, and its soft and playful gaze turned to that of judgment.
“I can see, behind your words there is foulness. Your name I shall know.”
The man shuddered, falling weak upon his knees. Hacking and coughing, he grasped his throat.
“I cannot help but doubt your claim!”
The eagle tilted its head, “Doubt?” and spread its celestial wings.
Their gargantuan feathers gathered air as they began to move back and forth, creating a deafening sound, and furious gusts of wind as the eagle flew up into the air upon them.
“Son of Pakhadh; what your wisdom has wrought is naught but vanity and want,” it circled above the man, before landing in front of him, quaking the earth, and digging its sharp talons deep into the ground.
The man trembled, “...is not knowledge to be cherished under your reign?”
But his words had no power, and were truly in vain. For Pakhadh was this man’s father, and He was the most vile of them all.
Thus the creature judged him, and approached; and brought its sharp talons upon him, and tore him apart.
“You shall not tread upon these lands and spread your poison. For that which does not come from the pure spirit that birthed me, purged and removed from my kingdom shall be.”
A river’s chime filled the air as the creature spoke. The sound brought a calm upon it. And when it turned its head, it noticed a stream twist and turn, making its way through swaying reeds, a little ways from where it stood.
All the pristine nature of the world seemed to gather in this place, where all attention was met; the wind, joyous and blithe blew, and the grass at the creature’s talons grew. Flowers bloomed, and small insects began their orchestral suite; it all seemed an ode to the one whom the eagle was to meet.
Amid the blossoming world, a child’s laughter could be heard. The sweet song seemed so naturally to add itself among the others. The eagle became entranced by it, and approached the riverbank’s rustling reeds; leaving behind the robed man, all but forgotten; meeting soon a young girl, dressed in a white gown, whose golden locks, like an angel’s, swirled, and whose gaze, the eagle found, it could not help but mirror: so serene, so innocent, yet so confident a gleam.
She stretched out her arm towards the great beast, and smiled at it from ear to ear, balancing gently in her tiny palm a river lily.
The eagle towered above her, inspecting her closely, “And, from whence do you hail?”
The child tilted its head under the eagle’s shadow; her smile, for a moment, turned to confusion. But when she glimpsed the great and bare tree behind the eagle, she placed the lily at its bloodied talons, before she walked past nonchalantly.
“Hmm?” the eagle watched in awe as she walked by. And what it saw further inspired it with curiosity.
Wherever the child stood, nature appeared as one law. Wherever she stepped, she awoke the earth’s grass beneath her feet. And when she placed her palm lovingly upon the tree’s tired trunk, the moss upon it shivered, and the child laughed as if it spoke to her. The world seemed to be as one joyful choir in her presence, and the eagle could not help but sense it reverberating in its being.
“Ohr speaks through her. Hmm, so be it.”
Thus it decided that the child was to grow, and that the world she was to fashion according to the poetry of her soul. Though when the eagle took to the air again, and sought to bring its attention back upon the gate once more, in its mind there was still vigour towards that subject from before.
“Daughter of Ohr...”
Upon a powerful vortex of wind, the winged beast was carried as it thought of the child. High up and above the realm, it was taken, where it was left to float thoughtlessly captivated only by the child’s purity, until a soft voice spoke to it from within the void.
“The realm must be reborn. To begin, the gates must be shut.”
And with these words, the eagle placed its eye upon the gates, like a predator on its prey, before diving towards them with the speed and ferocity of a thunderbolt.
The very fabric of the world was shaken as the celestial being crashed against the stone wall, collapsing its entirety beneath roaring rocks that quickly buried both, the eagle and the gate, among shattering cries. And the celestial beast’s pure light, which had shone so briefly upon the realm, suddenly graced the land no more. But it would make way for another; one who was sent to change the world forever.
