147
edits
No edit summary  | 
				No edit summary  | 
				||
| Line 9: | Line 9: | ||
Starting [[Statpack]]: Normal  | Starting [[Statpack]]: Normal  | ||
==The Origins of the Atavians==  | |||
As told by Orechnai:  | |||
In the time of ignorance and of harsh lessons we did not think, but to know  | |||
our bodies and our world better, imitated the world around us. Like animals  | |||
did we live, and like animals did we die. In our ten thousand imitations,  | |||
there was one that changed history forever.  | |||
They saw the blue of the sky and could not comprehend it, but could see the  | |||
feathered creatures that wheeled, dark against the sun and moon. Together,  | |||
five sat upon the cliffs, well-fed and well-rested yet dissatisfied. They  | |||
watched the birds of dawn flit and flutter among the clouds, and a longing  | |||
filled them that they could not understand. Without knowing what he did, one  | |||
among them walked to the edge of the cliff, looking down the leagues.  | |||
The most learned of the five came to him and indicated his position was  | |||
precarious, that there was hidden danger in the empty air beyond the cliff.  | |||
She tugged at him, urging him wordlessly to return to safety with the others.  | |||
Yet still he stared, entranced by the sky-wandering birds.  | |||
As he gazed, forlorn without knowing truly the nature of his longing, a  | |||
Divine-borne breeze stirred his hair. He felt the winds, soft and cool, and  | |||
saw it play upon the birds he watched. Without thought or hesitation, he  | |||
moved his arms as if they were wings and leapt daringly from the top of the  | |||
cliff in imitation. The four he had left on the cliff-face were puzzled, but  | |||
they heard the laughter of their companion, rising from where he had fallen.  | |||
We cannot know why the wisest of the five leapt after him, then. She followed  | |||
the sound of his laughter, though she knew it would mean her death. Being the  | |||
creatures of imitation we were then, the final three of the five followed.  | |||
All of the companions threw themselves from the cliff, finding laughter as  | |||
they fell.  | |||
To them all whispered a Divine Voice in the winds. "You have loved Me and My  | |||
creatures, and so too shall I reward you. You may dart among the clouds and  | |||
sing upon the breezes forevermore, for you are the children of the winds.  | |||
You are the flock."  | |||
Painless was the transformation, or so they say. With the grace and splendour  | |||
of a sunrise did they gain plumage and hard, curved beaks, and wings with  | |||
which to soar. The five flew together as one, diving and gliding upon the  | |||
currents and inseparable from them.  | |||
edits