She's the Teller. She must be over a hundred years old.
She's the Teller.
Come closer, human.
Closer. I cannot see your face.
Closer still. Come sit here by me.
There you are. You see, my eyes are not what they used to be. Ages ago, I could spot a ladybug crawling up a straw of grass from fifteen tree-lengths up. Now, I have a hard time seeing my supper.
But my ears! Balance be praised, my ears, they are as good as ever. I could hear you outside, learning the Tales my children tell. You are a good listener, and a fast learner.
They were interesting stories, and your people told them well.
That is what we do. The Alatien are the keepers of the Tales, and I am their Teller, the one who must know all the Tales told since the day we came to this world.
How can you do that? How can you remember every story ever told?
The secret is to tell them often, and to tell them in your own words, not the words of your ancestors.
Doesn't that mean that the stories change with every generation?
Yes, as all Tales must. Change is important, otherwise the Tales will have no meaning to us... They will be just words, and we do not care about the words. We care about what the words tell us.
How long have your people been telling stories?
Since the beginning, human, since we came to this world, a long, long time ago.
I'm the Windbringer.
I know you are. It's strange to me to hear those words spoken. I did not think they would be in my lifetime. But here you are, standing in front of me, as real as the sky is blue.
I'm sorry I have to ask, but...what is it that the Windbringer is supposed to do for you?
I did not expect you to walk in here and have all the answers, child. The Balance has blessed you and cursed you both, and it has sent you here to do what it wills.
I know. You must make peace and be reunited with the Maerum. You share a common ancestry.
I came to you to find answers to some important questions.
Ask, and I will try my best to answer.
The Windbringer is said to be the first sign of the Great Wind that will take us away from here. For a long time, the Alatien have lost the strength they used to have...
The Tales also say that the Windbringer will unite us with our past, and to end the age old strife.
Our bones have become weak, and our wings fragile. Where we used to be able to soar for days on strong winds, we are now using our legs to walk rather than fly. Why this is, we do not know.
You're not from Earth? From Arcadia?
Not according to our Tales. We came on a Great Wind, before the Divide, when the Earth was one and humans had yet to learn of magic, and science.
But we were a different people, then, and the Tales we tell from that time are vague and incomplete. Like myths and legends, the younger Alatien pay little attention to these Tales.
Sometimes, I worry that they will be lost with me, these Tales. And I am getting old. Very old.
Tanyenn!
You know of the reason for this?
I'm just guessing, but it makes sense. Go on.
If you don't, both the Alatien and the Maerum will die out. When war broke out between your people and you were forced to move up into the mountains, it compromised a precarious symbiosis.
I have always thought we did. The Tales were too similar, the signs clear. But my people...they will have a difficult time understanding why, and how, this can be.
A substance called Tanyenn was abundant where the Maerum and the Alatien lived in close proximity. It brought fish, and heat, and light to both your people.
But now, living up in the mountains, your way of life, your diet, your customs and habits, they've all changed. And that's probably the cause of your brittle bones and fragile wings.
Then we must make peace with the Maerum, and restore the balance between us, so as to strengthen us both and prepare us for the journey that will surely come soon.
When our Sitting is over, I will speak to my people, and I will elect one representative from the Alatien to meet with the Maerum, in a place of your choosing, to open a dialogue.
I guess it's time for you to talk to your people, and for me to make arrangements with the Maerum.
Inside, there are remnants of an old Alatien settlement and a Maerum city. It's a good place for your two people to meet, don't you think?
Yes. And could you ask if they would bring their half of the stone?
The stone? You have the other half?
We have held on to it for centuries, knowing that some day, it would be of use to the Windbringer.
You want me to decide? Um, well... I know, send your ambassador down to the ancient caves by the beach...
Where do you wish for our meeting to take place, Windbringer?
It will, trust me.
Then we must make haste and arrangements! It is an important day, so let us not waste light. Go, and wait for my ambassador in the caves...
Have you heard of an ancient god, or dragon, that lives beneath the sea?
Once, long ago, when my people lived in harmony with the Maerum, there were stories of an old god, worshipped by the Maerum, who resided deep in the darkest depths of the ocean.
Thank you. I don't have any more questions.
According to legend, the old god had once brought the Maerum into their realm, into the ocean, and he was now sleeping, resting, before the journey back.
Back where?
To a great ocean amongst the stars. When the time came, he would gather the Maerum and bring them home with him, back to their world, to their ocean.
Strangely enough, we have a similar Tale. It is said that the Great Wind that brought us here will some day return to bring us back to a place where we can soar for ever on warm winds...
Like heaven.
In a way, perhaps, but without the need for any of us to die. The Great Wind will just sweep us up and carry us away. Every evening, before I go to sleep, I recite this Tale to myself. It is a comforting one.
What do you know about the Draic Kin?
The Kin are numbered four, or so our Tales tell. Two in this world, two in the other, the mirror world. The White and the Blue, the Red and the Green.
Do you know where they are?
No, the Tales never say. The Kin are elusive, they keep to themselves. I have never seen one myself, and I doubt any of my kind has.
The Tales do say that our past and our future are tied to the fate of the Kin, but how, I would not pretend to know. This is one Tale that has yet to be told.
Do you know anything about the Guardian's Realm?
This is human business. Would you not know more than I?
Your people are the Keepers of the Tales. You remember more than human kind has forgotten. Please, I need to hear what you know.
That is very little. The Guardian's Realm is home to the Guardian and his tower. No one is permitted within except the Guardian who was, the Guardian who is, and the Guardian who will be.
Have you ever heard of the existence of a hidden entrance to his realm?
Yes. Yes, I have heard tell of such a thing, though I would not know where it is. I gather that one of the Kin may be able to tell you.
And, of course, the Draic Kin who were instrumental in its making.
I am glad I could help you with some answers.
