[The White Raven, Chapter 1, Paths in the Sand] Shadows from the flickering candles dance across the cold stones as the two hatchlings scurry about my chamber straightening the blankets on my bed, picking up clothing, and collecting the used dishes from my previous meal. I do not eat with the other Ravens. I am not welcome in the Dining Hall, nor am I truly welcome anywhere in the Temple. The hatchlings go about their tasks without speaking, or acknowledgement that I am sitting at my desk setting ink to a scroll. I do not exist, I have never existed, and I will never exist. I am the White Raven, and currently the only living member of my unique race. I am not an albino, I am the rarest of the many thousands of Daraian races. My eyes are black, as any Raven's eyes are, but my skin is as white as the snow that falls in the mountains. The wings I wear are also white, and though the leather clothing I wear is similar to that of other Ravens, it has been dyed white. I sprinkle pounce across the parchment to dry the ink, and then stand and shake the fine powder from the parchment before rolling and sealing it with wax. The hatchlings cringe and drop the dishes they are carrying. They run for the door at the sound of my movement, and will hide in the shadows of the tunnels outside my chamber until I have left before returning to complete their chores. I am used to this, it has been like this since my earliest memory. Soon I will be able to leave the Raven Temple, my fourth year is complete. I should rather call it my eighteenth year, I have lived here since I was hatched. The thick wooden door has no lock on it, nobody other than the hatchlings that had the bad fortune to be assigned to clean this room would enter the chamber of a White Raven. I am not receiving preferred treatment having hatchlings clean my room. All the senior students have their rooms cleaned by hatchlings; the hatchlings need chores to do and it does keep them from mischief. A White Raven is not necessarily the hatchling of another White Raven. I was a very normal egg, and it was not known until I emerged that a White Raven was again on Darai. The tunnel is dimly lit from torches resting in scones at random intervals along the walls. This is the deepest and oldest of the tunnels under the Raven Temple. The tunnels above are lit with more modern lighting fixtures, though not any brighter than this tunnel, but still, there is pleasant stillness in these most ancient of catacombs. I climb the narrow stairs to the higher levels, the scroll clutched in my hand. White Ravens only appear when there are an unusual amount of paths converging in the prophecy. The scroll I am carrying up to the library is my interpretation of one of the more mysterious lines in the prophecy; 'the least among us will become the greatest among us'. The prophecy is not contained in just one book. You would have to read a hundred tombs to gain even a glimpse of the whole of the prophecy. The line I have just finished an interpretation of comes from the Corvus Mallori, the Little Raven. That could possibly mean someone from any of three Houses--the Rooks, the Crows, or the Jackdaws. And 'the least among us' could be singular, or plural. We could be looking at one person carrying the next part of the prophecy, or many persons. I do not bother hopping from protection circle to protection circle as other Ravens do in the tunnels. There is none that would attack me. I am exempt from natural selection. Even if I wished to hide, there is not a shadow in existence that could conceal my presence. I reach the main tunnel that most Raven students use and find the way blocked by a vicious melee in process. The Malai Alliance and the Tolin Alliance are doing their very best to kill each other. I spread my wings and shout an order to cease the fighting. The two Alliances immediately separate, leaving a mortally wounded Raven lying on the ground, her mate kneeling beside her. I think it likely he may bleed to death as well, he has taken many wounds trying to protect her from the final blow. I should walk on and leave them to natural selection, I only further add to the layers of superstition and confusion of the prophecy every time I interfere. I am just about to turn away and leave when a stone Guardian-Raven sitting above a door watching caws it's annoyance at me, and that is enough to set my rebellious nature in motion. I kneel next to the dying Raven and place my hand over her wound. I feel the damage the Talon Dagger has done; the torn flesh, the damaged tissues beneath, a severed artery, and…poison; the dagger used had been dipped in night shade. First I must alter the poison, that is easy enough, two molecules removed and the poison becomes harmless. The artery is next and I fuse the severed ends back together. The tissue, the flesh, the torn muscle, I pull those together and the wound closes. I can do nothing about the loss of blood, I can't create, only heal. All White Ravens are given the same healing gift from the Goddess. I repeat the procedure with the male, his eyes roll back into his head and he falls over his mate and is still. Tolin is turned away refusing to watch. I do not exist, and Tolin will not acknowledge me. "Tolin, they will sleep for a day and night before waking," I speak softly and patiently, but Tolin makes no indication that I have healed his people, or makes any indication to retrieve them. Malai however is watching me with an amused expression. "Malai, this contest is over, move away so that I may continue my tasks of the day without concern that you will undo what I have done." Malai flourishes a bow to me and backs away, taking his Alliance with him. That disgusting and evil mate of his, Soa, follows, as does the rest of his Alliance, and two Chirps follow as well. I find the practice of Senior Alliances accepting First Eggs into their midst a perversion of the worst sort. More often than not, First Eggs that attach themselves to Senior Alliances in hopes of survival on Blood Day are the first to fall under the blades of those they have sought protection from. "Tolin, I will not leave until you give me some sign you will not leave these two here alone and unprotected." Tolin walks away with his Alliance. I doubt seriously the prophecy was written or inspired by the Goddess. The volumes of Tomes that speak of the prophecy were written by Daraians that all too well know our destructive nature. I wonder whether we deserve to survive. I glance up at the stone bird still watching. "Come here, bird." The bird flutters down from it's perch and lands atop the sleeping male, it's stone eye glaring at me. "Remain here and guard them until they wake," I hold my hands out and motion the bird to stay. The bird will or will not guard them, there is nothing else I can do for these two. Raven teams flee from me as I walk through the ancient tunnels. Though, there are a few of the braver ones that stand hesitantly close as I pass, those are the ones asking for a winter blessing. I allow my wings to brush against them in my passing. Every year I have to travel around the Province giving my winter blessing to towns and villages. I have checked the snow-fall records and do not see any difference in the severity or length of the winters in villages I have given the winter blessing to and the ones I have not. I have long since arrived at the conclusion that we are a superstitious people full of nonsense legends and tales. The High Priestess is waiting in the library for me when I arrive. I hand her the scroll and she immediately breaks the seal and begins reading. I imagine the Commonwealth Senate will be reading the scroll within the hour. "Is this correct?" asks the High Priestess. "It is my interpretation," I reply. The High Priestess glances over the top of the scroll at me. "But, a human?" "The passage clearly says, 'the least among us'," I explain. "Daraians cherish and value love and intelligence above all things. That could be a reference to an orphaned and unschooled Daraian, but, the humans are among us now. Even the least of Daraians by age four can perform basic mathematics, while a human is still trying to remember not to soil itself." "There is truth in that. What is your recommendation?" "We send someone in search of a human," I reply. "A human that has been abandoned, neglected, unloved, and not very intelligent, but with potential." "You have described nearly all humans, how can we find the one we search for?" The High Priestess narrows her eyes. "I see, you already have someone in mind?" "I suggest we send 'the least among us'. There is a Jackdaw male sitting in the Chair waiting his punishment. He is desperate, and that desperation will draw him to the one we search for." "I agree, this could solve several problems." The High Priestess rolls the parchment and hands it to a lower Priestess before turning to her mate. "Gar, do not maim him, but hurt the Jackdaw enough to drive him into a frenzy of fear that will ensure his compliance." "Where do I send him?" asks Gar. "Contact the new Marshal General, he can prepare a path for the Jackdaw to follow, we will need the Marshal General's support to ensure the Jackdaw has unlimited access to a group of humans to choose from." "I will terrify the Jackdaw sufficiently," says Gar grinning evilly. I feel ill knowing what Gar will do to the Jackdaw, but it is necessary to give the Jackdaw the motivation to find this particular prophecy bearer. "This matter is settled, now what of you?" asks the High Priestess. "I am eighteen now." "I realize that I can no longer hold you in the Temple." "I wish to leave." "Where will you go?" "I will search for the Eagle." "It has been six years and no sightings." "Nobody is searching anymore." "I will pass the word that you are leaving the Raven Temple. All Temples on Darai will be open to you, of course." "Of course." "You know something you are not telling me." "I found an obscure reference in one scroll. I believe it likely we are searching for an evolutionary jump from an existing race of Daraians." "I see, you are heading to the Hawk Temple." "Yes, we may be searching for the mythological Eagle Hawk." "Is there anything you will need from us?" "I do not need them yet, but I would like the Moeth Alliance to be available to me if I require their assistance." "I will assign them to you permanently, have the Com-Center prepare two Com-links. They are yours to call when you wish." ***** "Pesa, where in the name of the ancestors are you girl?" "I'm outside, Papa." "We're at TDS, what do you think you're doing?" "I'm fixing the antenna, don't worry Papa, I'll be fine." "Well, hurry it up, your mother wants you to be at the table for dinner." "I'll hurry Papa." A lot of people would be scared to go outside while trans-dimensional skipping, but I'm not. Without all the stars to distract you, I think it's easier to get things done. I like it outside. The antenna is mangled, but it's been mangled before. I salvaged a few parts from the cargo bays and built a new antenna. I'll keep the old antenna and rebuild it when I can find some parts, and then that'll go in storage to replace this one when it gets mangled. Nothing is wasted, not ever. The antenna job takes another forty-five minutes, and then I notice a loose hull plate, another fifteen minutes there, then… "Papa, I see a shimmer just below the zero plane horizon." "I see it, Pesa. I need you to wrap yourself around something now!" "Yes, Papa. I'm secure." The TDS envelope is destabilizing, we're going to hit the top of the universe. People caught outside during a sludge-drag have become insane before. I think I should be scared, but… okay, maybe I'm a little scared. "Pesa, close your eyes now!" shouts Papa. I should, I know I should, but I don't. I watch the ship hit the top of the universe, and then I'm upside down, and right-side up, and upside-down. We are in the sludge. "Oh Papa, the colors…" "Pesa, turn your head away, close your eyes, for the love of the ancestors, close your eyes." I can see the entire universe. Past, present, future. I watch the beginning of creation, and the end. I see the answer to every question ever asked. All color and no color swirls around me. Our cargo ship decays and is gone, my spacesuit is gone and I'm standing on infinity. Nothing is real anymore. Then there is a little girl skipping along beside me. I would know her anywhere, any Sparrow would, she's the Sparrow Goddess. "Are you real?" I ask. "No, child," says the Sparrow Goddess. "None of this is real. This is the place where the entire universe is compressed into one point. You are only seeing what your mind can create." "It's beautiful." I lift my hand and a billion fireflies drift past me. "This place is something different for each person," says the Goddess. "For some, this is a terrifying hell, and for others it is heaven. You have a unique mind that you can experience it as you are." Mathematical equations are drifting by now. I see the equation for TDS, but the equation is different than what I've been taught. We have it wrong. There is more than what we know. I see the foundation for technologies that haven't even been dreamed of yet. "How are you here, Goddess?" I ask. "We are on the other side of the galaxy from Darai." "I am not here, this is only a memory of me that I have placed in every Sparrow's mind. I need you to remember this equation and bring it to me." The Goddess holds her arms apart and pushes one of the equations in front of me, and it is burned into my memory. I know what it is, and I know what the Goddess is now, and why she wants it. I see the Goddess's home world, and I know everything. "I will never give this to you," I shout. The Goddess disappears into a cloud of butterflies and floats away. I see the eyes of creature so terrible the visions around me become flames and everything is burned away. "Pesa…Pesa…we're coming to get you," shouts Papa. "No Papa, I'm fine, I'm coming in," I reply. I'm floating at the end of my tether line, we have re-entered normal space, and the stars are visible. I pull myself hand-over-hand back towards the ship and stop half-way to look at the tether. The tether-line is almost severed at one point, only a few wire strands were holding me to the ship. The only thing that could have done this is if I were outside the TDS envelope for the smallest fraction of a second. The ship must have re-entered normal space before the tether could be cut in half. Papa is at the airlock when it recycles. He leaps inside and scoops me up into a hug. "I thought we had lost you when you went through the envelope," cries Papa. "I'm safe, Papa, no worries." "You are never going outside again." "Don't be silly, Papa, who's going to fix the ship when it breaks." I give Papa a tight hug. "You don't know which end of a screwdriver to use." "Well, just don't tell your mother what happened." I think mother already knew. She told me that I have to wear two tethers from now on while I'm outside. I want to get started on repairing the engines, there must have been an imbalance somewhere to have caused us to fall out of TDS, but mother insists on dinner first. Mother says dinner is very important to maintain normalcy during long space flights. Before I was hatched, mother had the living quarters re-decorated to look like we are in a house planet-side--a very small house. I've spent my entire life in space, but I don't suffer from any bone deficiencies that occur often with hatchlings, or anyone, that lives long periods in space. Our ship has grav-plates installed, it was more expensive but worth it. And mother makes me spend two hours every day running on the treadmill. Our Grav-plates are set at Cormon Grav-Standard, and that's the heaviest available setting. We landed on a mining world called Sanon Minor once, I felt like I could jump off the planet because the gravity was so light. I like landing on different worlds. I have a collection of tiny vials with a sample of dirt from every world we've been too. I'm lying on the floor now watching an old Vid-movie I've seen a hundred times. I'm not really watching, I'm writing in a journal I keep. I should have closed the book when mother walked over, and then none of my troubles would have started. "That's the Ulanai Equation on dark matter fuel," says mother. "Were did you learn that, we don't have any books onboard about it?" "I…umm…saw it on that last world we stopped at," I lie. "Really, copper miners interested in dark matter?" says mother. Mother knows I'm lying, and kneels down to read my notes. "It looks like you are attempting to solve the equation." I can't tell mother I'm not trying to solve it, I have solved it. I saw the answer when we sludged out of TDS while I was outside. "This looks like a very probable answer," observes mother. "Though I am uncertain what this section means. If this is correct and could be put into a practical application then…it can't be…" Mother stands and looks at father. "Dear, set a course for Raunu Major, there is a Falcon Base there that can administer the Sparrow Academy exam." "Mother, I don't want to go to the Sparrow Academy." "I attended when I was your age, we begin studying for the exam right now, it's time you get a proper education." says Mother. "Do you have that equation memorized?" "Yes." "Then burn that notebook, and don't tell anyone about what you have discovered until you are old enough to understand what you have discovered and can protect your intellectual property. You're a Sparrow, dear, never forget that, and never forget that another Sparrow will steal your ideas without a second thought." I get up and take my notebook over to the incinerator and toss it in. I already know I can pass the Sparrow Academy entrance exam. The problem, is can I survive four years at the Sparrow Academy. They don't have pass or fail, only pass or die.