[Windigo I] [Demonia Major, the reptilian home world] [Colvus Major, the human settlers’ world] [Dara Major, the avian home world] [Carina Major, the amphibian home world] “Tell us a story, Blaze.” “A scary story.” “Yea, really scary.” Blaze and his Lounge were taking a course in older child care and had been given an after-school assignment to watch the ninth-year hatchlings for several hours. The assignment was proving more challenging than they first anticipated. The group of ninth-years were bouncing around with endless energy and wanted to be amused. Pyre and Flare were chasing down a few of the more bold ones that had ran off down a tunnel while Char was pinned under a pile of the hatchlings and Flame bandaged a scraped knee. Inferno and Ember were off in another direction searching for several of the hatchlings that were hiding. “Okay,” said Blaze. “Gather around and I’ll tell you the story of...” --- “...the Windigo,” said Pa. Colt stuffed another bisquet in his mouth and poked at the fish they had caught earlier. The fish was sizzling in the cast iron frying pan over the fire. Colt was pretty sure the fish would never finish cooking. “What’s a Windigo, Papa,” asked Colt. “Well, a Windigo is a fierce wolf-like creature with fur that stands on two legs and has fangs...” --- “...and oily feathers that covers it’s body,” said the Priestess. The children gathered around the High Priestess of Dara to hear the story. “Does it have wings, Priestess?” asked one of the smaller children. “Oh yes, it’s...” --- “...fins are made to swim fast so it can catch small Carinian children that swim too far from home,” the Island Chief spread his arms out to demonstrate. “Really, like a shark?” asked the bravest of the children. The group of children sat on a sand bar in the middle of the ocean listening to the Chief tell the story, the moon was bright and shimmered off the calm sea. Several of the children pulled their feet out of the water. “Bigger than a shark, and it’s skin is...” the Chief leaned in closer. --- “...covered in thick scales that click together when it walks,” said Blaze. “There’s no such thing,” said one of the boys, but he pulled his tail in and wrapped it around himself. Pyre and Flare returned with their wayward charges, the boys seeing a story being told, rushed to the circle and pushed their way in to find a place to sit. “It first started when...” said Blaze. --- “...the first Corvus settlers arrived and the wagon trains were spreading across the land,” said Pa. --- “...the first Darians spread their wings and searched for new nesting grounds,” said the Priestess. --- “...the first Carinian walkers left the sea for the new islands,” said the Chief. --- “Some say the Windigo was a warning that we were getting too close to the surface,” Blaze stood and was now acting out parts of the story. “Tell Flame to stop trying to scare me,” said one of the boys. “He keeps tapping me on the back with his tail.” --- “What happened to the settlers, Pa?” Colt pushed another log on the fire. “The settlers would hear strange howling noises at night and in the morning...” --- “...An egg would be missing from the nest,” The Priestess whispered. The fledglings scooted closer toward the Priestess and looked up at the sky in an unconscious gesture to check for the deadly shape of any predator that might be near. --- “The others in the pod would search for hours,” said the Chief. “But they would never find the missing swimmer, and there were other mysterious clues that a Windigo was stalking them. The children moved as far from the water around the sand bar as they could, their eyes wide and they searched the waves for signs of predator wake. “What clues?” asked one small boy. “They would find...” The Chief continued. --- “...claw marks on the sides of the tunnels where the Windigo had sharpened it’s claws,” Blaze curled his fingers like claws and pretended to claw a wall, the barb of his tail scraping on the ground to make the sound of the claws. --- Colt grabbed one of the burning sticks from the fire and held it up to check the nearby trees for signs of claw marks, then tossed two more logs on the fire. “You keep adding wood to that fire, boy,” said Pa. “You gonna burn down the forest.” “Did they ever see the Windigo, Pa?” asked Colt, adding yet another piece of wood to the fire. --- “That’s the strangest part of the story,” said the Priestess. “When the snows melted, a search party went out…” “…and they searched and searched,” said the Chief. “They finally found… --- “…in a deep unused tunnel,” said Blaze. --- “…the wagons in a canyon,” said Pa. “And only one of the settlers were found, a young boy sitting on the ground in the center of the circle of wagons.” --- “…the boy never spoke and nobody knew who he was,” The Priestess held up a finger. --- “…but, a month later during the highest tides,” said the Chief. --- “…the boy disappeared, and they never saw him again,” said Blaze. --- “What happened to the boy, Pa?” asked Colt and another log went on the fire. “Some say the Windigo came back to finish him off…” said Pa. --- “…and some say he turned into the Windigo and wanders….” said the Priestess. --- “…the tunnels in search of careless hatchlings to devour!” Blaze finished the story. “Blaze,” a boy spoke up. “Do you think the Windigo is only here on Demonia or does he travel around to all the planets?” “I wouldn’t be surprised,” answered Blaze.