Four Legends of Old Wyld

Four Legends of Old Wyld

The Legend of the Plains

In the beginning of time, all men had wings. They were free to soar across the skies and brush their fingers across the soft cotton clouds and skim along the glassy smooth surface of the waters. The winds rose and fell gently, never raging or tearing at the earth beneath or rippling the calm deep blue of the ocean. Rains fell softly to bring plants nourishment. The sun did not scorch or burn any who dwelt beneath it. Ice and its cold bite only existed at the very heights of the mountains. The race of men lived flying in flocks from one place to the next, taking with them only what they needed.

Then came greed, a lust for power and wealth. Men spent more and more time upon the ground, gathering things that had once been of little or no value to them. They built grand buildings and lit bright lights and rarely looked up to the sky. They forgot about the freedom they had been born with, the freedom of flight, and indulged in petty things they called freedoms.

The Earth and the Heavens could not endure this corruption. An ignored gift fades away. In one night, all men fell mystically into a deep slumber and a great wind tore across the land. This wind snatched the wings from their backs and gave those wings a new life. Thus all birds were born and all mankind was grounded.

So will all men remain grounded until they learn again to free their spirits and their hearts.

Legend of the Shore

Once, long, long ago, all creatures lived under the smooth glass of the deep blue ocean which covered the whole face of the earth like a loving blanket. The mother ocean caressed its children gently, never tossing or storming and never boiling or freezing. All things lived in a free and beautiful balance, never taking more than needed, always dancing freely in the weightlessness of the deep seas.

The race of men lived in family schools, ever journeying through the waters. Men married women and children swam freely, always learning and growing. There never seemed to be conflict, until the ne fateful day.

A whisper came through the ocean, piercing deep into men's hearts. It whispered of ever-lasting beauty. That whisper began to clutch at the hearts of men until all that seemed to matter to them was the appearance of an object or a being.

The ocean, however, is no lover of physical beauty. All things in its grasp ebb and flow, sometimes growing in splendor and others slowly being eaten away and changed. As mankind focused more and more on preserving beauty, it denied the constant change of the ocean. When man first shed blood in an argument over beauty, dying the ocean's pure water crimson, the ocean would take no more of this corruption.

Its waves rose and rippled and its currents churned and the ocean floor rose in plumes of fire. The ocean ebbed and shrank, revealing land. The waves cast all mankind upon the shore and washed away the race's scale-like skin and gills and webbing, leaving men raw pink. From those scales and gills and webs, fish were born.

Other creatures chose to join mankind on the new land and the ocean allowed it. Mankind could not survive alone on the fresh earth but needed other living things to form a life cycle.

And so all men and women of the shore look out across the waters and long to rejoin the constant free change of the ocean, yet the waves toss them cruelly back to the shore just as mankind tossed away change in favor of fleeting beauty.

Legend of the Forest

Once, long, long ago, the people of the forest lived in harmony with their home. They could whisper to the creatures and the trees. They needed no more shelter than the cover of the branches, for when they sang they could shift the wind and rain at will. They spent their lives pursuing the sounds of knowledge that awaited in the air and then repeating those sounds for the next generation.

Then came War into the land. Men learned to forge metals and carve wood to make weapons. They raised their voices in the sounds of that war, a war for which few can recall the cause. The results of that war echo among the people of the forest still. For, when they denied peace and the search for knowledge and turned to cold-hearted killing, roaring like lions instead of singing their wisdom, the air itself snatched sound from their throats.

Many of the People of the Forest were slaughtered, for no longer could they call out for help. Those few who survived learned quickly to withdraw. They grouped together and forsook the ways of war, pledging never to lift a weapon again. In this they were blessed. They learned to make sound through things, turning bows into harps and fashioning metal into pipes and horns. They began to develop a language in hand signs, in dancing, and in song. All this they did in an effort to find a way to bring sound back to their throats.

Still they seek after sound, revere it above all, and dream of the day when it will be given to them to speak once more.

Legend of the Desert, as told by Caleb to Dallale

"My people, we Wyldians who dwell in the desert, you see, are collectors of stories. We keep the myths and legends and histories and prophecies of our world, our wonderful Wyld. Other cultures across our continent know of us. Some of our people have even made their way across the seas to distant shores and collected rare and exotic tales. We do not own much beyond the clothes on our back and the tents in which we sleep, for our most precious possessions we carry in our minds and in our hearts. I give you my words that you might drink from the Oasis. May they nourish your heart.

"It is said that long, long ago, the mother and father of the Wyldians lived in a beautiful oasis. They dwelt beneath the palm trees heavy-laden with fruit and walked the shores of the crystal clear water, lacking nothing. All animals befriended the two, and no creature fought. The only food needed dropped from the trees above. Anyone today would call it peaceful. Anyone today would want to dwell in such a place.

"Yet these two were not happy there. They could not know happiness, for they did not know grief. They could not know love or peace because they did not know hatred or anger. Though they dwelt long in this place, ageless and beautiful, even they knew something was missing. Even they knew that they could not stay. They could not learn or progress in this place. They would simply exist, ever beautiful and ever still."

Caleb paused, took a deep breath, considered his words.

"Would you like me to tell the rest?" Farah whispered.

"No, no," Caleb responded. "These two spoke about this for some time before they came to the conclusion. Beautiful though their home was, they had to leave it and seek more knowledge. The creatures of the oasis cautioned our ancient parents.

" 'If you leave,' they said, 'you may never come back. The world beyond this place is full of thorns. Water and food are scarce. The creatures out there feast upon one another's flesh. You have no defense against this.'

" 'We understand,' our ancient parents said. 'Yet we seek knowledge. We believe that knowledge is beyond our grasp if we stay here. Do not ask us to stay. We do not ask you to leave.'

"The creatures did not hinder our first parents. The two took no food or water with them, only some clothing woven from some of the softest plants. The creatures told them that their pink flesh would not bear the sun well. As the sun sank and the stars began to shine, Father and Mother clasped hands, their fingers entwined, and they left the Oasis forever.

"Many times they regretted that choice. Once they knew hunger and how it gnawed in their gut, they sometimes longed for the sweet fruits of the oasis trees. When they had to kill a desert jackal to save their own life, they missed the peaceful creatures who had been their friends. After their first son was born, their joy and their love reached its heights. When more children came and squabbles broke out, they could not have felt worse. Some of their children even left their family in hatred. Yet, for all that regret, they found more joy and knowledge when they left the paradise home behind.

"In this life, our people now say, we are here to gain knowledge. All the pain, all the grief, serves only to help us better understand joy and love. In this life, I thank all those who have gone before us for their sacrifice that we might have more knowledge, more joy. We carry that beautiful Oasis now in our hearts. I give you my words that you might drink from this Oasis. May they nourish your heart."