It's a leathery creature, with wings, like a mix between a giant bat and a pterodactyl.
It must be one of the Alatien. It looks more like a warrior than a storyteller, though. I hope it speaks English...I mean, Alltongue.
It's an Alatien.
There's no way down now that the rope is gone.
It's a village with dozens of brick houses clinging to the interior of the volcano. It looks old, and slightly dilapidated, but inhabited.
I've got a job to do up here. Turning back is for wimps.
There's a village inside the volcano.
Dust and dry leaves caught in a strong updraft.
Oh God, I think I'm gonna throw up. That was so not appetizing.
Weirdest thing, though... I do feel lighter, like I lost ninety pounds. I can't even imagine what people would pay for this stuff back home.
Whoa! I'm flyyyyy--
Aaaaah!
That's the last of it, unfortunately.
Not. I guess I still weigh too much to be carried on that slight updraft.
(grunts)
There's a slight updraft here.
The wind is channeled through that chasm down there, and blown out and up here.
There's a major updraft here.
Can you help me across?
What's up this road?
Is there another way to get into the volcano?
You are human, and we don't allow human strangers into our village. If you wish to trade, let us know where your ship is anchored, and we will send traders to you with our merchandise.
I don't have a ship, and I didn't come here to trade. I came to talk to your leaders.
I'm sorry, but we don't allow strangers into our village.
The Alatien village of Tama'a.
No, this pass is the only way.
Thank you.
Yes, but you must leave now.
Actually, I am a trader.
Where is your ship anchored?
In, um, Coconut Grove?
There is no "Coconut Grove" on Alais.
So I'm not a trader, but I am a friend of the Alatien people.
We don't know you. There is no friendship between strangers, human.
Don't your people have a prophecy about a stranger who comes without a ship, or something like that?
I don't know of any prophecies, human.
What kind of prophecies do you know about?
We don't tell our stories to strangers.
Where's the Alatien village of Tama'a?
Up this road, and into the volcano.
Isn't it dangerous to live inside a volcano?
This volcano has not erupted for thousands of years, and the gods protect us. We are safe here.
I'm sure there's a secret cave somewhere that leads into the volcano.
No, there isn't.
There's always a secret cave.
Not here.
Are you absolutely sure there's no secret cave?
Human, you talk too much, even for an Alatien.
(gasps) Human, you flew across the chasm! You don't have wings, but still you fly like the Alatien!
Believe me, I'm as shocked as you are.
Are you the Windbringer?
What's the Windbringer?
Yes I am.
I know who you are, but what am I?
It's a prophecy amongst my people.
Of course. There's no escaping the prophecies.
This is an exciting day!
Me? No, I'm just a guardsman. I only have one story, and my wings do not yet support me for more than a day's flight. You are the Windbringer.
Uh, remind me again who the Windbringer is?
It's said that someone not of the Alatien shall come among us to float on the wind like an Alatien, to learn our stories, to bring the wind back to us and to bring us into a new and happier age.
Is that all? You know, I'm starting to forget how simple my life used to be... Family, friends, grades, boys -- no prophecies, nobody looking to me for salvation...
I don't understand, Windbringer. You should speak with our Teller, up in the city. She'll be wanting to see you, I'm sure. We've waited for the Windbringer for a very long time.
The Teller? Thanks.
No, Windbringer -- thank you.
You should go see the Teller. She'll want to speak with you.
Do you know one of the four tales of Winds, Stars, Sea and Homecoming?
Mine is the Tale of Winds, Windbringer. Do you wish to hear it?
Thanks for your help.
So...Isam... That's your name, isn't it?
Yes. Isam of Tama'a.
A good-looking guy like you must get a lot attention from the girls, right?
Are you asking me for courtship?
Me? No. Wings don't do anything for me. No, I was just thinking...maybe you had your eye out for somebody special?
I'm without a mate. The women of Tama'a are cold and unfriendly, and whenever I try to talk to one of them, she ignores me.
Huh. Even Neema?
Neema? No, she's too pretty for me. She won't appreciate my attention.
This is like high-school. Trust me, Isam -- you go talk to her one of these days, and I'm sure you'll find you have a lot in common. Just...be yourself, okay?
You think so? Perhaps you are right. I will do as you say, Windbringer. Thank you.
Very much.
Then I shall tell it. This is the Tale of Winds, my Tale, and I pledge to tell it in my own words, as told in turn by my teacher.
In the village of Kar'aan, in the Mountains of Tall Winds, there lived a young Alatien woman named Iuana. Iuana had one desire above all others -- to soar higher and farther than anyone else...
...and even though her wings were no broader, nor her body sleeker than anyone else's, she pursued this foolish desire without rest. And as time passed, she did soar higher and she did fly farther...
...than the other young Alatien in her village. And her name became known far and wide amongst the tribes of the Mountains of Tall Winds. But still Iuana was not happy.
She was not happy because, in her vanity -- even though she was a better flyer than almost everyone else -- and to her eyes, she was still not good enough.
She wanted to be so much better than anyone else that she would be remembered for all time as the best flyer amongst all the Alatien.
And so one day, Iuana decided to climb to the top of Mount Bak'ta'ana, the Tower of Light, and to soar from those giddy heights to the ends of the world.
Her friends and her family pleaded with her not to, because every Alatien knew that to soar from such heights was dangerous -- that, at such heights, the air was thin and the winds treacherous.
But Iuana would not listen, and on a cold and clear morning, she climbed up the Tower of Light, to the rock and the ice at the very top. From there, she could see to the ends of the world...
..and it brought tears to her eyes to know that now, finally, she would be greater and better than any Alatien before her. And so Iuana spread her wings and leaped off the mountain...
Those who watched her from far below said that, for a split moment, Iuana soared, and she soared higher and farther than any Alatien before or since. But then the treacherous winds caught a hold of her...
...and the thin air made her plummet towards the ground, and to fall to her death amongst the rocks at the base of the mountain. In her vanity, Iuana could not see beyond her desire to be the best...
That was the Tale of Winds, my tale, and I told it in my own words as told to me in turn by my teacher.
...and vanity always stands to fall.
Thanks for your help.
