[The White Raven, Chapter 5, Threads and Intersections] [Noon, Sparrow Province, Planet Darai Major] The boy's perception of the world was limited to what he could immediately touch, taste, hear, smell, or see, and sight is limited to what he could understand. Dart ships moved passed them, just above the level of the street, and leave gusts of warm air pushing against his face as he is pulled along by the woman. The ships moving through the busy city means nothing to the boy, they are just another frightening object that have invaded his small world. He is six-years old. A Daraian at his age should be well advanced in his education, but not him. The woman had been instructed to keep him out of sight, and he lacked formal schooling because of it. She tried to teach him best she could, but she was only a nanny, and not a very good one. The boy runs next to the woman to keep from falling, though he has done that several times already. The woman pulls at his arm to lift him up each time he falls. She is agitated, more than usual. He had learned to sense when she was mad and would stay in the small room that was his sanctuary and play with his toys. The woman always seemed to be mad and he didn't know what he was doing wrong to make her mad all the time. He would play with his toys and wait until he thought the woman wasn't mad any longer, then inch his way out to the kitchen where she would be sitting at the table they ate their meals at and lay his head in her lap. "It's not your fault," she would say and give him a hug and the world was right again for a short time. The world never stayed right for very long and the woman would be mad again and he would wait in his room and play with his toys. This time the woman didn't hug him when he put his head in her lap. Instead, she threw a pile of paper and envelopes on the floor and got up to pace back and forth in the kitchen. The boy waited under the table, sitting and watching the woman. Something was different this time and he didn't know what to do. The woman was crying and talking to herself about things the boy couldn't understand. The woman reached a decision and pulled him out from under the table. She put his shoes on and tied them, then his coat, and grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door. She placed her hand on the doorknob and paused for a moment. "You stay right here," the woman instructed him and went down the hall to his room and returned a moment later. She pushed his favorite stuffed toy into his arms and opened the door. He held tightly to his treasured stuffed animal, an old ragged stuffed eagle the woman had gotten for him from a second-hand store. The boy would hold the eagle's wings out and run around the room making cawing sounds, but now he just held on to his dearest toy. Something wasn't right, he sensed it. The woman tugged at his arm and he ran to keep up with her pace. The woman pulled him along streets he had never seen before. She would often take him with her to the store to get the food she would make for dinner, but this wasn't the way they would usually walk. The boy didn't know where they were. His legs were tired and he was afraid he would fall down again when she finally stopped at a corner. He thought they were waiting to go across the street. The traffic was heavy and ground vehicles moved beneath the air vehicles that crowded the skies above. The boy wondered why the air vehicles in the sky didn't fall down. The woman knelt in front of him, she was crying. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said. "It wasn't supposed to be like this, they died in that stupid war and there is no money, I'm sorry.” The woman hugged him and adjusted his coat, zipping it up and pulling the collar further up around his neck. She pulled his arms tight around his stuffed toy and looked him in the eyes. "You stay right here," she said. "Do you understand? Do not move from this spot, someone will help you." The boy was crying but didn't know why, only because she was crying. He nodded and she stood up and without looking at him again she walked away and disappeared around the corner of a building. He stood there and didn't move. He was crying and waited but she didn't come back. Where did the woman go? What did he do wrong? The people walking by stared at him and everyone was a blur through the tears in his eyes. He waited. ***** [Earlier that day, Clapper Province, Planet Darai Major] "Can you tell me your name, hatchling?" The girl looks up at the Marshal before answering. "Cassie." "Odd, she pronounces her name with the long double-e sound instead of the short-i as would be the Daraian pronunciation. Raen, you say you named her Cassi, correct?" "Yes, White Raven," says Raen. "It is strange to hear a Daraian with the twang accent of the Corvus human's dialect." "Well, I am from Corvus," adds the Marshal stroking his adopted daughters hair. "She was bound to pick up some of my speech patterns." "I believe I also detected the sharp-c of the Cormon dialect. I think she is pronouncing her name Kassee." "Her nanny is a Cormon Tarlock Priest," says the Marshal. I record my observations in a notebook for further study later. I wonder if there has been a language shift in the Daraian tongue due to our contact with the humans. I will have to make a point to interview other Daraians that have grown-up off-world. "Cassie, do you know where the Eagle is?" "No, but Pa says I'll know him when I see him," replies Cassie. "Is the Eagle here, on Darai?" Cassie stares at a spot beyond me before answering. "Yes, he's here." I turn around to look at the spot Cassie was staring, there is only trees. "She does that sometimes," explains the Marshal. "I've even heard her having conversations in an empty room before." "Daraians are able to project, Marshal, it is likely she may be seeing someone." "I am aware of that," says the Marshal almost angrily. There is a tone in his voice, I am certain this is subject the Marshal does not wish to pursue, but I must know more just a little more. "Cassie, can you tell me who you are talking with?" "No, he says it would upset Pa." "Alright, that's enough," declares the Marshal. "Marshal, the scholar in me would like to know more, but I agree, we must not push the hatchling, the prophecy cannot be forced." "I have a meeting with Lord Sparrow in an hour, and then we will be leaving for Raunu," says the Marshal. "Of course, the matter with the Jackdaw. I would ask that you keep a close eye on him, he will be carrying a portion of the prophecy with another for a very long time." "Good Day, White Raven," says the Marshal bowing slightly. "I would ask you use discretion concerning Cassie." "I represent the Temple, Marshal, but I do not agree with all of their methods. I will say nothing of The Herald, or of this wonderful place Raen has built." The Marshal picks up his daughter and walks towards a waiting ship. "I'm sorry you didn't learn anything useful," says Moeth. "I underestimated your wisdom and intuition, Master Raven," I bow deeply to Moeth. "I have learned a great deal, thanks to you. The Eagle is an orphan, and likely his hatching parents were killed during the Demonian-Kitsune war, and they are someone that was close to the Marshal. I also have learned that the Eagle is indeed here on Darai, and currently in the Sparrow Province; Cassie will Herald him today within two hours. The Eagle is being protected and hidden by his father from The Land of the Ancestors, for reason I do not yet know. And, it is likely that though we try, something will happen to prevent us from locating him." "How did you arrive at all that?" asks Raen. "You only asked her four questions." "I only needed to ask four questions," I explain. "She had a third very distinctive speech dialect; a very slight Sparrow accent. Yet, the Marshal General has no Sparrows on his staff. A Sparrow has been speaking to her for a very long time. Someone has been projecting to her, but no living being could expend that much life energy and remain alive, it has to be someone from The Land of the Ancestors that has a strong emotional tie to her; the Eagles hatching father, whom I think is a Sparrow, and the hatching mother will be a Hawk." I scratch notes in my notebook while I'm speaking, I don't want to forget any details of my interview of the Herald. "White Raven, I know you want to find the Eagle, we all do," says Moeth. "But, I think you are jumping at strings." "No, the Marshal General hasn't visited Darai since the end of the Demonian-Kitsune war, but here he is, just for a day, and he brings the Herald with him. The Prophecy has conspired to bring him here today, and then to Sparrow Province." "Perhaps he just wanted Cassie to see her hatching parents," offers Raen. "Did she show any emotion towards you, or you her?" I know my words sound cruel, but too much is at stake to be anything but blunt. "No, you didn't, and neither did she. We are Avian, and though you may have felt a deep love once, you have severed the ties to your egg, and the love faded." "She's right," sighs Raen. "I felt pride that she is healthy and intelligent, but I felt no love. Are we such horrible species that we can't expand our love beyond one person." "Not at all, we are still chained to our primal instincts," I explain. "But, it will not always be so, if I have interpreted another part of Prophecy correctly, a human is going to teach us to love unconditionally. I have already put that part of the Prophecy in motion, now we only wait and see what happens." "Okay, what do you want to do, White Raven?" asks Moeth. "I don't want to betray the Marshal's trust he has given us. Once Cassie heralds the Eagle, it will only take a few minutes for the planet to lock down. We will not be able to conceal her presence, and then the Marshal will be arrested as a criminal, and you two as traitors." I close my notebook and think for a moment. I need to be the best of Ravens and manipulate this event properly. I may not have any real world experience, but I have read more history of Darai, and more plots that have occurred, then any other Daraian. I am certain that nobody can match me in scholarly pursuit. "Tear, you and Rip follow the Marshal. Cassie will herald the Eagle by telling the Marshal. The Marshal will contact you, Moeth. At that moment Tear and Rip will take the Marshal and Cassie in their Dart Ship and leave the planet for Raunu. If anyone tries to stop you, tell them you are transporting an egg to Demonia for emergency medical treatment, no Daraian would even question a Demonian saying that. Most Daraians think all Demonians are Tarlocks. Raen, you contact the Marshal's ship and tell his people to launch right now. Tell them there is a situation developing and they need to get out now, and that we have a plan to smuggle the Marshal off the planet." "That won't work," says Raen. "Weston forgave us, but after what we did to Colton Cyness's team during the war, no other Gunslinger team will ever trust the Moeth Alliance." "That's why you and Moeth will turn yourselves over as hostages until the Marshal arrives safely at Raunu." "How do we get back?" asks Moeth. "Assuming they don't execute me, I still have a warrant on my head from Colton Cyness." "I don't think we have to worry about that," says Raen. "Weston won't turn us over to that murderer." "They are brothers," says Moeth. "Yea, but they hate each other now," says Raen. "Hmm... I think we can solve another problem as well," says the White Raven. "I sent a young Raven on a very important mission, but Gar probably didn't give him any support. I think Moeth and Raen could assist him while they are on Raunu." "Alright, hold on," says Clap. "Has everyone completely lost their minds. I thought the High Priestess was a master manipulator, but this little Missy takes the cake." "Clap, what are you doing!" shouts Moeth shocked. "Mind your tongue, Clap," warns Raen. I freeze, my mouth open. I've never been talked to like that before. "I will not mind my tongue," says Clap. "She wants to send Tear and Rip to Raunu for ancestors knows how long, likely months. And she wants you two to turn yourselves over as hostages, and then do a mission on the other side of the galaxy. What in the blazes is any of you thinking? You're all ready to jump just because she's the White Raven." "I'm with Clap on this," adds Vas. "This is insane, I'm here to guard her, not be her personal staff." "Yea, us too," says Ring. "I'll keep her safe, but I'm not jumping her silly little hoops." "This is treason," I shout, almost in tears. "I'm sorry, Hun," says Mergan. "You've read too many scrolls and books. And, I'm a little shocked you are even considering this, Moeth." "I'm not doing this loopy plan," says Caedon. "We have no income because of her, all these orphans will starve or freeze to death before you get back, Raen." They've all turned on me, how could they? I can't stop crying. I don't know what just happened. Everything was coming together so perfectly. "SILENCE!" roars Rip striding forward, his hooves pounding tremors through the ground. Hatchlings run for the trees screaming in terror. Rip scoops the White Raven up in his arms and glares around menacingly, daring anyone to speak another word. Tear joins her partner at his side, more calmly, but still, her eyes are blazing red with the fires of Demonia, and then baring her fangs she hisses at everyone. "There will be no more words of disrespect," warns Tear. "She is the White Raven and will be treated properly." Tear looks at the White Raven and strokes her face. "Darling, you're plan is not a bad plan, but not practical. And my Alliance has obviously lost their own senses." "How could they talk to me like that?" I cry. "Shush, darling child," says Tear. "You are without a doubt the most intelligent person I have ever met, but you lack experience and have made a very common mistake all young Priestesses make at least once. You foolishly tried to order Master Ravens as if they were your servants." "I'm only trying to do what I'm supposed to do," I cry. "What should I have done?" "Compose yourself, child," says Tear. "This is how you do it." Tear turns her gaze to Moeth. "Master Raven Moeth, you are aware of all the conditions and predictions of the day, and the intent of what the White Raven needs to accomplish. Will you devise a plan, please." "Of course," says Moeth nodding. "First, we apologize for speaking disrespectfully. Now, if Cassie does herald the Eagle today, the Marshal General will not inform us immediately. He will be fully aware of the danger to his daughter and flee the planet with all haste before contacting us. By then the Eagle, regardless of whether he is receiving help from The Land of the Ancestors or not, will be long gone from where ever he was spotted. We will not sound the alarm. To do so would plunge the planet into chaos and rekindle the riots that occurred when he first trumpeted his arrival into the universe, and all to no avail as we wouldn't find him anyway. However, if he is an orphan as you say, this place is a magnet for all orphans, he will come to us. We wait here. And as for the Raven you sent to Raunu on mission, there is nothing further you can do for him. Once you release a Raven on mission, you cannot interfere." "That's it? We do nothing?" "Not nothing, my sweet White Angel," says Tear pleasantly. "We end your pampered existence today and toughen that skin of yours up so that you never again melt under a few harsh words. And it will never happen again. I don't think I could hold Rip back again if it did." Tear glares at each person in the circle, her eyes flaring red. The warning is very clear. I can't help but notice that my hatchlings, Kata and Cala, are now clinging to Rip's leg and glaring equally at everyone with Tear. I think I'm starting to love my two hatchlings. "How do I toughen up?" I ask. "You need a cabin for yourself and those hatchlings, but I'm not evicting any orphans from their cabins just so you can have a dry place to sleep," explains Tear. "Go find yourself a hammer, we will help, but you will start by building a cabin. Once you get a little dirt under those pretty white finger-talons, people will be more inclined to listen to you." "I can do that, yes. I read a book once on how to build a house, and I can build a library for all the hatchlings to use while we wait for the Eagle to show up." I notice Vas is rolling his eyes, but I'm not going to get upset. I'm going to 'toughen up'. ***** [Noon, Sparrow Province, Planet Darai Major] "Look at the buildings, Pa, they are so tall." "Yes, Cassie, we don't have any buildings this tall back home, do we?" "Pa, what's that?" says Cassie pointing at the sky. "That is called a Blimp." "Are there any oceans, Pa?" "Yes, a few very large ones, but the Daraians don't build any cities near them." "Why, Pa?" "Daraians are terrified of oceans, they don't swim." "I'm Daraian, Pa, I swim." "You're a very special little Daraian, my little Starfish." The little hatchling giggles and skips along next to her human father. There are more than a few stares from people walking past, but it's not completely unknown for a human to have mated with a Daraian, and have a hatchling. The man knew the crowds wouldn't be so accepting if he had come dressed in his Gunslinger uniform. No, he wisely chose to dress in a suit and tie as if he were just another business man. "What's happening there, Pa?" A crowd has gathered on a corner and is watching something. The father and daughter push in with the rest of the crowd to see what's happening. A woman is knelt down and trying to talk to a crying little boy. "Where's your mother, dear?" asks the woman. "Just another abandoned orphan," says a man in the crowd. "Crying shame, there are so many of them, nothing to be done about it." A bright orange police vehicle with flashing lights pulls up to the curb and a police officer gets out and kneels down to the boy. "Pa, he's scared." "I know, Cassie, the police will take care of him." The police officer takes the boy's hand and pulls him toward the car with the flashing lights. The boy tries pull away, but the police officer drags him to the flashing car, the boy drops a stuffed animal and tries to pick it up but the policeman doesn't noticed and pulls him away. "Pa, he dropped his toy, help him." "Cassie, we can't get involved." The little hatchling girl pulls away from her father's hand and runs over to the dropped stuffed toy. She grabs the stuffed animal and runs to the police officer and tugs on his leg. The police officer stops and looks down at the little girl, and she hands the stuffed toy to the boy. The little boy hugs his dear stuffed animal tightly. "Thank you," sniffles the boy. "Come Cassie, we'll be late," says the father picking the girl up and putting her on his shoulders. The girl twists on her father's shoulders and watches the police car pull away, and then they around the corner and away from the commotion of the crowd. The little girl wraps her arms around her fathers neck. "He was so scared, Pa." "I know, Cassie." "He had nice wings, huh Pa?" "Who had nice wings?" "The Eagle, Pa." "What?" the father lifts his daughter down from his shoulders and stares her in the eyes. "Cassie, I didn't see anyone with wings, where did you see them?" "The little scared boy, Pa." "The little boy wasn't wearing wings, Cassie." "Yes he was, Pa, they were black and white and he had them wrapped around him because he was scared." "Oh Ancestors, are you certain, Cassie?" asks the father. "Are you absolutely certain that boy was the Eagle?" "Yes, Pa," says the girl. "You were right, I knew him right away." The father lifts the girl into his arms and quickly runs back to the corner. The police vehicle is gone and the crowd is moving on. "Where are we going now, Pa?" "Back to the Space Port, we have to get off this planet, right now."