| In the distance, my falcon flies, circling above a clearing in the
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| forest. |
| Suddenly, I hear its cries as it falls to the ground to its
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| death. |
| Leaving Destiny, I rush in the direction of its final cry. |
| I
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| enter the clearing and stop in sudden horror as I view an
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| unnatural spectacle of ancient fallen trees.
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| This is a fossilised forest, silent and calm, with no sign of
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| movement save for the stain of my form. |
| The spell of age has
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| woven its evil intent upon this hallowed ground as beneath the
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| grey clouds the forest was rent. |
| Moving slowly, in deliberation
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| and respect for the dead, I am revulsed by the scene played out
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| before me. |
| How these giants have fallen. |
| Their majesty, their
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| power, and all that they were are as dust to the soil and returned
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| to the earth. |
| I know not why.
|
| I plead with Destiny for an answer as she arrives and she explains
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| it thus; |
| «It pays tribute to the accursed rains for of all that was,
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| little remains. |
| These grey flowers you see are but a poor
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| reflection of what’s left of humanity. |
| They spoke the laws of old
|
| yet chose to disoblige the Ancient, holding such decrees in
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| contempt by their works. |
| The bane of mankind is that all that he
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| is until the day that he dies is a pawn that’s expected to live by the
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| lies of tradition. |
| The human condition, it seems, is to reduce all to
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| tradition.»
|
| I wander amongst the fallen trunks as though drawn, and find my
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| fallen friend, my falcon forlorn. |
| Lifeless, I hold his body hoping in
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| some way he’s free. |
| Whilst clutching him, I notice something, now
|
| what can this be?
|
| Embedded in chalcedony within an aged oak is the semblance of
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| an ancient warrior sword. |
| To suggest that this had aught to do
|
| with the legend was a dream but to ignore the possibility I could
|
| not afford. |
| I grabbed a nearby rock and began to smash away
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| the quartz as crystal shards, they flew and cut into my flesh. |
| The
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| golden sword hilt exposed, I pulled with all my might as it was
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| loosed at last from its chalcedonic grave. |
| And I held the sword |