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Although it seemed to Sabino her mother was confident and in control,
Remera felt as though her world was being torn apart.
Why Canana, she thought, does your fathers rash blood flow so strong in
you.
Telling Sabino to remain calm and eat some of the food, she once more
took to the air. As she swept down
in the same direction Canana had fallen, anger welled up inside her.
Some of this anger was directed at herself for not returning sooner, even
though her instincts had given her ample warning.
Most of all, her anger was directed at the humans.
If they had not killed her mate, she could have remained home and
protected her family.
As Remera descended, her eyes were constantly searching all around for
signs. Her course took her onto the Silbido pass.
If Sabino had been correct, Canana should have fallen here.
For twenty minutes she searched in vain, among the rocks and boulders of
the pass. She spotted a human child
from the travelling people, but was unable to locate any sign of her missing
Eaglet. Finally convinced he was not there she changed to a new course
Knowing the tricks that the wind can play when emerging from the pass,
she used her skill and knowledge to calculate the directions the wind could have
swept him.
A further hour she searched but no sign of feather, blood or eaglet could
be found. With every passing
minute, her hope grew smaller.
What Remera could not know, was that when Canana had tried to stand for
the third time, he had toppled and rolled into the ravine.
He had landed under a ledge formed by boulders and old tree roots. There he still lay, unconscious and undetectable from above.
Twice Remera had flown over the ravine, both times failing to spot the eaglet.
Still
Remera searched on. Over the land
she flew, checking every crack and corner she saw, her anger and frustration
growing ever stronger.
She had not discounted the fact, that Canana may have fallen victim to
some other predator. The Eagles
were not the only hunters left in the valley.
If she discovered this to be true, she would destroy him and all his
family. This she swore by Gwyl, lord of Eagles.
Spreading their pieces over the valley floor as a reminder to all other
creatures, what it is to feel the wrath of the great Eagle.
As Remera spread her search further away from where Canana lay, her eyes
observed everything. She was
looking for any unusual activity, any deviation from natural patterns that could
give her some clue as to the fate of her son.
As the light started to fade, so did her hope.
In desperation she flew to the Gypsy camp.
Over the camp she glided. She
knew these wandering humans to be friends of many wild animals. They, unlike the farmers, were still followers of nature's
way. They respected the land that
fed and clothed them and did not abuse it for their own greed.
She circled over the encampment a few times monitoring the activities of
the people below. The Gypsy children often played around the area where Canana
had fallen. It was possible that one of the children had found Canana and
brought him to the camp.
Below, in the camp, life was continuing as normal.
Nothing about the behavior of the Gypsies indicated to Remera any thing
unusual had occurred.
As she observed these strange people, mindlessly performing their daily
chores below her, Remera recalled the time these creatures had aided her and
thereby saved her life. She was
totally unaware that only a few hours previously they had saved her a second
time.
Although she did not relax her search, she was able to recall with
perfect clarity when she first encountered these folk
It was many years ago, her mother had recently been killed by the burning
flame and Remera was young and inexperienced in the hunt:
This had led her to make a costly mistake.
In curiosity, she had flown over the south mountains and onto the great
plateau beyond. There she had
spotted a young fox who in turn was stalking a rabbit.
Feeling hungry after a hard flight, she decided to take the fox while his
attention was diverted.
The fox is a sly and wily creature to catch, even for the most
experienced of hunters. As Remera
felt her talons make contact, the fox flipped over on his back, causing her to
lose balance and crash into the hard soil.
Consequentially, the fox made of with some deep scratches but
nether-the-less alive; while Remera
suffered a broken leg. Unable to
use her leg, she could not gain the momentum needed for flight, leaving her easy
prey for other hunters.
Near by, a Gypsy who had been out gathering yarrow to treat some
infections, spotted Remera's plight. As
he drew nearer to Remera, he drew some reed pipes from out of his sack. Placing
them to his lips, he then began to create sweet musical tones that filled Remera
with a warm feeling of trust and love. Remera thought there could be no sweeter
sound in the world. For a brief
instant there was a pause in the music, only to be replaced by his voice, which
resonated with harmonic beauty.
The Eagle was enchanted. As the Gypsy continued to sing, he removed a small vial from his
pouch. Taking off the bandanna from
his head, he then poured the oil onto it. Remera
could do no more than watch, hypnotised by his sweet melodious voice.
Slowly the Gypsy approached Remera.
His song told her he was a friend and would do her no harm.
As the Gypsy reached her, he held out the hand containing the oil soaked
bandanna. Remera could but not help
inhaling the sweet and fresh smell of herbs.
As the aroma passed through her scent glands, she slowly felt the pain
from her injury receding. Next, the
Gypsy rubbed the oil over her leg. Then
with gentle and delicate strokes of his hands, he began to massage the break,
slowly moving the broken bone back into its rightful position. When he appeared satisfied with his efforts, he gently
wrapped the headband around the Eagles leg and walked away.
A short time later, Remera had been able to take to the air again, her
injury healing remarkably fast and clean. She
had never really understood, why the man creature had helped her.
Never-the-less, she had been eternally grateful to him.
The name she chose for her offspring Canana, was a direct reference to
her mysterious helper, Canana, being the Eagles term for savior.
With
daylight slowly creeping away from the valley, Remera finally had to admit
defeat. Even her piercing sight
could not hope to find in the dark, that what they had failed to see in light.
Remera realised she must now abandon her search.
As she turned away from the camp, she let out a long piercing cry, which
was both warning to other animals of her wrath, and a final desperate call to
Gwyl `Lord of eagles' for help.
In his high mountain seat, which overlooks all other mountains, Gwyl
heard this plea, as it traveled with the wind.
He looked to see who had called him and why.
Gwyl was `Lord of eagles'. He
was also king and sovereign over all birds that flew the earth.
His realm was vast and his problems were many.
As he had more important matters to deal with then the falling of one
young chick out of his nest, he turned away from the plea.
Remera knowing there would be no help forthcoming, sadly made her way
back to her remaining chick.
On her way back, Remera made a solemn vow.
When Sabino was stronger, she would take her from this valley.
The ancient home of the great Eagles was now accursed.
Here lay only death and grief for her race.
Man had come and man had won. It
was their valley now.
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The Eagle
&
The
Dove 
