As the youths peered over the tree-laden cliff, they looked down into the small valley. Stumpy, short evergreen trees dotted the ledge and sprung out from the cliff’s side. The precipice rose from the ground at a steep, but not quite perpendicular angle. This dimension fostered a greater sense of safety among the travelers. While still just as precarious, the lack of a sheer wall offered the mirage of safety. Daks scooted closer the edge and peered into the chasm below. The others followed his lead and inched closer.
“Is that a …?” started Rose. She paused, unable to finish her now-fleeting thought. The others gasped, not at Rose, but at the enormous creature sitting below them. Willow noticed a glowing turquoise beak big enough to swallow her in a single gulp. Daks’ attention zeroed in on one of two ice-like eyes, an eye that looked to the size of his torso. Talon, appropriately, gaped at the seemingly razor-sharp talons that were at least as long as his lower leg and tapped rhythmically on the ground. The bird – an identification that fails to grasp the enormity of the winged-creature – appeared unaware of its four onlookers. It gazed into the thick evergreen forest, never turning toward the cliff just above its head. The enormous bird extended its wings, as if to stretch out. In the smallish chasm in, the wings could fully extend without colliding with other objects. As the feathers glanced off the surrounding trees and cliff side, the creature bellowed a deafening squawk of resignation at its undersized locale. Upon hearing the booming voice, the four observers instinctually covered their ears and thrust themselves away from the precipice. By the time the short-lived shriek finished, a pang resonated in each of their heads. The noise, almost paralyzing in its magnitude, represented only a smidge of the bird’s power. If the feather-flapper released its full vocal power, its squawk would rip the evergreens from the ground and reduce the rocky cliffs to pebbles.
The youths retreated from the precipice. With the bird no longer in sight, Daks finished Rose’s precious sentence, “Is that a bird? Why, yes, Rose, it is a bird.”
“That is no bird,” said Talon. “It may have looked like a bird, but whatever that thing is, it’s no bird.”
Daks, peeved at the other boy’s assessment, retorted, “If it looks like a bird, squawks like a bird, then it must be a bird. Granted, that thing is the most enormous creature I’ve ever seen, but still, it is just a bird.”
“Not all things are what they seem,” said Willow.
Daks cut a scathing glance toward the younger girl with wispy blonde hair but said nothing to her. Daks muttered inaudibly, “Yep, I am sure the little flesh-weaver is not what she seems. “
“I have an idea,” offered Rose. “Let’s take a vote on whether the creature is a bird. Who believes the winged, beaked, feathered creature is a bird?” She waited for their responses, but all four realized the idiocy of her remark. Talon snickered, but the others failed to appreciate her silliness.
“Now what?” asked Daks. “We need to get blood from the heart of that beast?”
“I thought it was ‘just a bird’,” cracked Willow.
Not amused, the seventeen year-old Daks frightened the younger girl with his bristling glare. She instinctually retreated behind Rose and Talon for protection.
“So how are we supposed to do that?” asked Daks. He paused a moment before continuing. “Can any of you super-gifted ones answer me that? I mean we get this far only to face some impossible task.”
“I think all of these tasks seemed impossible at first …” started Talon.
Daks interrupted, “Save it for the simpletons. This is ridiculous.”
Both of the “simpletons” immediately recognized the older boy’s slight.
“I have an idea,” said Daks. “This task just requires a bit of courage.” He slung on his pack and began to dig through it. He impatiently tossed some items from his pack to expedite his search. I see them, he thought to himself. With a sense of eerie satisfaction, he pulled the glowing ice axes and glowing toe crampons from his bag. He starting strapping the toe picks to his feet, just as he did on the ascent of Five-Point Peak. The other three observed in muted disbelief.
Rose finally put to words their collective thought, “What are you doing?” Daks ignored the questions and continued adjusting the straps on his crampons.
“Isn’t it obvious?” offered Willow. “He wants to attack the bird.”
“Really?” asked an astonished Rose. She looked at Daks astonishment; he ignored her gaping gaze and continued to tighten the straps. “It does not take a bird brain to realize this is a bad idea.”
“Daks, what are you doing?” asked Talon rhetorically.
“Didn’t we just talk about that?” yelped Rose.
Daks continued to tighten the straps around his feet. One foot was finished, and the other was nearing completion. He needed to make a few final adjustments. The glowing ice axes lay next to him – ready for him to wrap the straps around his wrists. “One more adjustment to go,” he murmured to himself.
The haste of Daks efforts dumbfounded Talon. In seemingly an instant, Daks decidedly to attack the red kite. The curly-haired boy knew an attack on the feathered beast was a horrid idea, but how did he know? And how could he stop his impulsive friend?
“Wisdom,” blurted Rose. “Wisdom, wisdom is needed for this test. Remember the sign that hung in the workshop: Courage – Love – Wisdom. You were he one who remembered it, Daks. You knew this test required wisdom.”
“That’s ridiculous,” said Daks. “And I never said these encounter were ‘tests.’ That notion came from your wonder-brother and his Book of Great Fiction.”
Daks yanked the last dangling strap on his glowing crampon. The seventeen year-old boy stood before them, noticeably taller than the other three youths. His eyes glazed over with an intense resolution that frightened his companions. Anyone who opposed Daks looked certain to encounter an aggressive, physical response, and given his advantage in size and strength – not to mention the two glowing ice axes dangling from his wrists – any altercation meant only one possible outcome. Everyone realized the futility of opposing Daks – except someone like Rose.
“What are you doing?” demanded Rose. “Stop this nonsense. You will get all of us killed. What makes you think that swinging ice axes at a defenseless bird is a good idea?”
“We need to get the blood from the kite’s heart, right? Well, I am ready to go home and live a normal life in our village. The only thing standing in the way of me living a normal life back in our fine village is that bird. That, Rose, is an obstacle I can remove. So, stupid girl, get out of my way. I am going kiting.”
“What are you going to do,” asked Rose, who wisely avoided the distraction of his insult. “Are you just going to jump off this cliff and sink your ice axes into that helpless bird? Look.” Rose pointed to the red kite sitting quietly below them. The others instinctually peered over the cliff toward the beautiful bird standing below them. The kite, with its turquoise beak, ice-like eyes, black body, and auburn feathers, appeared completely unaware that a renegade youth plotted its demise. As the group gazed toward the amazing specimen, the bird gently stretched its wings. After a few powerful flaps, the bird quietly re-folded its wings and rested them next to its enormous body.
“How can you think of hurting that bird?” questioned Rose. Daks ignored her plea.
“There is something special about that creature,” muttered Willow. “I cannot tell you what it is, but that is no ordinary bird.”
“Yea, it’s big,” derided Daks. “It’s just a big bird, and the sooner its dead, the sooner I go home. Isn’t that what you all want, to go home? I thought that’s the reason we started this journey. I though that’s why we are called the JRB – the junior rebel brigade.”
“It’s not that simple,” said Talon. “This is not just about returning to our village. If we wanted to go home, we would just go home. I thought you understood that.” While Talon’s comment distracted Daks, Rose tactically positioned herself between the tall boy and cliff’s edge.
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“Get out of my way, Rose,” demanded Daks.
“This is ridiculous,” said Talon. “Are you really just going to launch yourself off this cliff toward the kite? And then what? Slice it to bits with the glowing axes? You can’t be serious? That’s ludicrous. We need to be patient, and an ill-fated plan – I hesitate to use the word ‘plan’ – is beyond stupid.”
“I am so tired of everyone in the group,” said Daks, “disparaging me because I do not have some special power. We all can’t be little sun-sculptors and flesh-weavers, can we? Some people in this world need to work ordinary jobs, like being a tanner, but I guess there aren’t any ancient arts that involve peeling a dead animal’s skin. It’s a job that needs to get done, even if it is not mentioned in the Book of Epiphany. We all can’t all find a living dabbling in the ancient arts, can we?”
“No one is disparaging you,” said Talon
Daks ignored Talon’s response. His gaze fixed upon Talon’s sister, who obstructed his desired route. “Get out of my way, Rose,” demanded Daks. Rose stepped aside, leaving an open path for Daks to leap from the bluff. Rose, generally, acquiesced to no opposition, but as Daks looked upon her with a glowing ice axe in both hands and glowing crampons attached to both boots, even she quivered at his intimidating presence. The steel-faced Daks appeared fearless with his glazed eyes and shimmering tools-turned-weapons. Rose, wisely, realized the futility of physically opposing the lanky, but strong, youth. Only astounding brute force could deter Daks from his intended mission of launching himself from the cliff toward the red kite. Rose stepped away, woefully thinking, Given the force of his fall combined with the razor sharp points of his mountaineering gear, Daks’ fall will inevitably deliver a death blow. Even if the bird were made of solid titanium, a glowing ice axe traveling at that speed would slice through it like over-ripened fruit.
“Patience, patience,” said Talon, hoping to deter the older boy. “Daks, this is not the way.”
“Whatever, Talon,” said Daks. “I think we’ve heard enough of your mysterious instructions. For once, we are going to do things my way.”
“Daks,” said Willow, who now joined the Sunsculptors in their efforts, “listen to Talon. This is not going to turn out well. Like I said, there is something special about that bird. It is no ordinary bird.”
“You’re a weird girl,” countered Daks. “There is something not quite right about you. I knew it from the moment we first met. Every minute since then has confirmed your weirdness. You are an oddity, and not in a good way.” Willow, who generally shielded the others from her emotions, began to cry. For the first time since they met her, she acted like an eleven-year old girl. Rose stepped toward her and gave her a soft hug, which the younger girl gratefully accepted. She whimpered into the other girl’s shoulder.
“Don’t you understand,” screamed Daks in a soft whisper, so as not to alert the red kite, “There is only way to accomplish our goal. We need to retrieve blood from that creature’s heart, and we can stand here for the next two weeks discussing ‘wisdom.’ And after two weeks, we will make the same decision I am making right now, to sneak attack the feathered-idiot. So, do we want to give the Protectorate two more weeks to overrun our village, or do we want to intervene as soon as we can? You think ‘wisdom’ is some noble virtue, but sometimes, ‘wisdom’ justifies doing nothing. Sometimes, like now, the wise choice is for ‘wisdom’ to give way to ‘courage.’”
“What do you mean?” asked Talon. “When did ‘wisdom’ become an excuse to ‘do nothing’?”
“This entire trip,” Daks said, “has moved far too slow. That stops right now.” The crampons upon his feet and the ice axes dangling from his wrists revealed his commitment.
Daks gently move closer to the edge of the cliff and peered into the gulf, making sure to secure each step of his claw-like shoes. Beneath them, the enormous bird stood motionless. Its ice-like eyes never looked toward them, seemingly unaware of the four youths. It slowly fluttered its wings, a howling wind whistled through the valley as the trees swayed to their side. Daks surmised, I can run toward the bluff’s edge and leap from the brink. I’ll land atop the bird with the points of my ice axe and crampons breaking my own fall on the bird’s back. Given the force of my descent coupled with the potency of my weapons, the fall will result in an instantaneous deathblow. Moreover, as I slice through the red kite innards it will slow my descent, just like jumping into water. The bird will die, and I will be safe. From his experience as a leather-worker, he possessed intimate knowledge of the durability of animal hides. Once dead, he could then extract blood from the feathered creature’s heart. While his companions talked of ‘wisdom,’ Daks believed this was a time for action. At times, he thought, Talon and the others are too plodding – always halting, checking maps, making plans, and getting rest. Courage is what the others lack. That is what I climbed Five-Point Peak, and the other just watched. They were too afraid. They quaked when their hearts raced. How could they ever slay this bird? Beside if I am injured, Willow can fix me.
“Don’t do it,” pleaded Talon.
“This is madness,’ said Rose.
“And don’t think I can heal you,” said Willow, anticipating his thoughts. “Some wounds cannot be healed.”
Daks did not believe the blond-haired girl. He assumed she followed the lead of the Sunsculptor siblings. To Daks’ detriment, he failed to recognize the independence of the younger girl. Willow was Willow, and never anyone’s patsy.
“Just stay out of my way,” announced Daks. “My decision is final. This is a time for courage, and there is no point in waiting days, or even weeks, for you to conjure a speck of boldness.”
Daks stepped away from the precipice and directed his thoughts toward the task. “You can do it,” he whispered to himself. “Believe, and it will happen.” Then, he stepped again toward the cliff’s edge, but this time, he move toward a branchy evergreen tree that grew along the precipice. He haltingly edged toward the tree’s lowest hanging branch and leaned against the thick bough. The lanky boy felt secure leaning on the branch, just a couple steps from the ravine’s edge. The stumpy tree with many leafy limbs, somehow, thrived in the stony, but moist, environment. As Daks pushed his chest on the branch and spied from atop the bluff, his feet stumbled upon some loose stones. He began to lose traction, and for an instant, felt himself beginning to tumble feet-first toward the chasm below. His glowing crampons scraped uselessly across the gravel. He continues to slide. Daks wrapped his arms around the branch upon which leaned, but the full weight of his body proved too much for the thick, but brittle, limb to hold.
Snap! Crack! Pop!
The branch broke. Daks fell to the ground and began a slow, feet-first descent toward the cliff’s edge. Instinctually, he twisted and turned upon his stomach, but his slide continued. He slung the glowing ice axe in his left into the gravel – to no avail. Gravity pulled him over the edge, and the last instant, he extended his body toward tree’s trunk and wildly swung the ice axe in his right hand toward the base of the tree. Thud! The glowing ice axe stuck deep into the tree’s trunk. Daks relaxed. He halted the momentum that dragged him downward, and thereby, thwarted a premature fall into the chasm.
Talon rushed to the tree’s trunk and reached toward the hand of his friend. Daks quietly screamed in terror as, once again, he began to drift downward. The power of the glowing ice axe combined his Daks’ weight pulled the tool through the tree’s trunk. As the blade sliced methodically through the wood, Daks’ decent continued, but at a slower rate. He flailed helpless. His feet slid through the last bit of gravel and dangled futilely. Wild swings of the pick in his left hand provided no assistance.
“Stop moving,” screamed Talon. Daks obeyed. Talon leaned toward his companion and grabbed his arm. Once again, the decent halted. “Now pull us back,” instructed Talon to Rose and Willow, both who secured one of his legs. The two girls dragged Talon toward stable ground while Talon clung to Daks. With a few gently tugs, t
he sun-sculptor cleared the danger area and pulled his friend along with him. Daks wiggled the ice axe from the tree trunk, which showed the glowing tool sliced through almost half of the trunk’s diameter. The tree leaned to its side; the glowing ice axe nearly felled the stumpy tree. A creak sound emanated from trunk as the tree leaned slightly over the bluff. After a few creaks and groan, the movement subsided; the tree now leaned a few degrees toward the chasm below.
“I wouldn’t lean on that tree,” offered Rose.
“Yea,” agreed Talon. “I think one stiff breeze and that thing is going to snap.”
“Laghorn,” Rose observed, “was right. The glowing ice axe makes an amazing weapon.”
While the others examined, at a safe distance, the nearly severed tree, Daks refocused his attention on the red kite below them. “Wow,” he muttered to himself. “Even after all the commotion up here and even after all the rubble I knocked over the edge, the bird is still just looking ahead. What a stupid bird. How did something that lame-brained ever survive long enough to get to that size? This is going to be easy.”
Despite nearly tumbling into the gorge below, Daks opted to refocus his efforts toward his previous endeavor – leaping toward and then killing the red kite. Noticing Daks re-engagement with his previous efforts, Talon chided his companion, “Are you really going to try this again? That stumble of yours was a warning.”
“Ridiculous,” said Daks. “That kite never moved, even with all the rocks and stones falling on top of his head. Even with all the commotion just above it, the thing never even twitched. I am more energized than before. Now I know the bird is as stupid as he looks, and quite frankly, that says something.”
With that, Daks peered over the precipice to make certain his feathered-foe still stood beneath them. The seemingly helpless bird continued unawares of the four gazing youths. The bird remained still and looked as aimless as ever.
“Moronic bird,” murmured Daks again as he edged from the ledge. Rose and Talon tacitly agreed with him; the turquoise-beaker seemed a helpless, simple-minded target. Willow, however, looked down upon a magnificent creature. As someone accustomed to feeling the essence of living things, which she felt when healing a living being, Willow felt the essence of the winged-creature. That animal, she knew, is no over-sized ordinary bird. It exudes a majestic presence. Further, she knew any effort to slay the bird was destined for failure and any wound it inflicted would elude her limited healing power. Daks’ only hope, she believed, emerged from the creature’s mercy.
Daks peered over the precipice and then took a few steps backward. “If it moves, let me know,” he whispered. With that, he ran forward to the cliff’s edge. In just a few strides, the long-legged boy accelerated to full speed. He sped forward, and with his last step on solid ground, he leapt into the expanse. As he fell through the air, the red kite did nothing. Daks positioned his glowing crampons toward the creature’s back. He positioned his feet so the picks would strike the creature first. The glowing ice axes would then slam down upon the bird. The helpless, defenseless creature waited impotently below its freefalling assassin. The kite’s deathblow hurled through the sky, and in an instant, its lifeblood would stain the ground.
Daks fell – his courage abounding.
The red kite waited – its death an imminent certainty.
Daks readied his glowing weapons to sever the bird’s head.
Daks fell – his wisdom abandoned.
The kite waited – seemingly unaware of its assassin’s free fall.
With Daks’ razor-sharp crampons just a finger’s width from the bird’s vital organs, an unexpected event occurred: the creature twitched to avoid the careening youth. The speed of the winged-creature defied visual acuity. In much, much less than a blink of the eye, the creature repositioned its body.
With the kite’s effortless shrug toward safety, Daks fell helplessly toward the ground. In an instant, the bird and Daks reversed their fates. Now Daks spiraled toward his inevitable death. He tried to scream but nothing came out. I don’t want to die, he thought as fell toward his demise. Once his body struck the ground, the force from his fall would obliterate his organs. Daks plummeted awkwardly toward the ground; his arm and legs flailed with all the elegance of a newborn calf. With the lack of control, the glowing spikes meant for flying creature now threatened to impale their owner. Daks lacked the ability to prevent the crampons attached to his feet or the ice axes strapped to both wrists from landing beneath him, thereby piercing the boy’s body with a careless ease.
Willow silently shrieked. She realized the inevitable outcome of Dak’s fall. There was no chance of survival – not even with her skills. If Daks managed to use his hands or feet, to break his fall, the glowing points would sever his body. If Daks fell flat, which was not happening, the collision with the ground would liquefy his internal organs. Death lurked as the only outcome.
Then, another unexpected event occurred. The red kite, who so sleekly evaded the red-haired youth’s death jump, raised its talon from the ground. With a flash of movement, the bird ripped his talon through the air toward the falling youth. The razor-sharp nail slid across Daks’ body, thereby greatly slowing his descent, but the slice also opened a gaping wound from his neck to groin. Daks thudded upon the ground. He grunted. Daks lived, but his intestines and organs oozed from his gutted body. The kite saved his assassin’s life by delivering a mortal wound. Daks gurgled; blood streamed from his mouth. His eyes flickered, but they showed no other signs of life. Only a moment earlier, the boy’s death was a certainty. Death remained certain but the bird belayed its arrival.
“Should I try to save him?” asked Willow. “I can try to heal them … but I think he is too far gone.”
“I think the red kite just saved him,” said Rose. “I think the power over Daks’ life now rests with the bird. For some reason, it just saved his life.”
“Yea,” said Talon, “And Daks was going to kill him. The bird knew all along, didn’t it? Daks never stood a chance; his leap was a fool’s endeavor.”
“Now what?” questioned Willow. “Do we just wait for Daks to die? We need to do something. But what? We cannot just wait for Daks to die, can we? Maybe Daks’ plan was foolish, but we cannot just leave him there. He won’t last long. Don’t we need to do something?”
“I don’t think so,” answered Rose. The younger girl looked puzzled at the unexpected response. “Don’t you remember the character of this test? It’s wisdom. We tried to tell Daks, but he just ignored us. Now look at him. Acting hasty did little to help him.” Rose quietly sobbed. Her friend faced an imminent death. She suddenly realized that Daks life ebbed away, and there was nothing to do except to wait and let it happen.
“Wisdom, wisdom, wisdom …” Talon kept saying. Somehow, he thought, they could save Daks from his impending demise if only he knew the wise course of action. How, he wondered, do I intervene with wisdom? What good would wisdom do now? The talon strike from the red kite mortally wounded his friend. With each passing moment, his traveling companion edged closer to death. Additionally, if their speculation were correct that Daks’ wound resisted Willow’s healing touch, what help could they really provide? Even the densest of minds realized the inevitability of their current predicament: Daks was going to die. Talon continued, “Wisdom, wisdom, wisdom …”
“No offense,” interrupted Willow, “but how does saying wisdom over and over help us?”
“It doesn’t, but if I did not say it,” answered Talon, “I’d run down there and try to save our friend, but I think that action only makes things worse.”
“Well, if you are looking for something productive to do,” said Willow, “Why don’t you just ask the red kite to save Daks?”
“Super fantastic advice,” Talon blurted. “Maybe if I pass a Red Whistler or Yellow-Feathered Dipper or a Jagged Percival, I could ask one of those birds instead?”
“Well, that is super fantastically stupid,” snapped Willow, “Maybe one of thos
e birds might just pick you up and fly you home. Do you think that will work, Talon? Sometime I think you have bird brain to match your bird name.”
After taking a long, deep breath, Willow continued. “Now listen, and stop talking like a fool. The kite possesses healing properties. As a flesh-weaver, we learned much of the great bird. Its feathers cured any illness or cinched any cut. Prior to today, however, I always thought the bird was more myth than reality. While I learned of the wing flapper’s healing powers, I never saw one – until today. If you want to heal Daks, that turquoise-beaker is the answer.”
Talon begrudgingly nodded in agreement. The source and solution to Dak’s wounds emerged from the same source. Further, the red kite would outwit whatever scheme he might devise. Talon’s savvies provided no assistance. He needed to place himself at the mercy of the great winged-beast and hope the creature might extend its kindness toward his dying friend. It seemed far too much to ask. Talon envisioned how the conversation might go, “Hello Mr. Bird, I know my friend tried to slay you, but could you save him from his self-inflicted that occurred during his failed effort to snuff out your life?” Talon realized how ludicrous it might sound, but after a months-long journey filled with unbelievable events, anything seemed possible.
Talon shrugged and plodded toward the gigantic bird.
19 wISDOM