There were two mountains, one in the north and one in the south. There was a wide valley between them and a great river running east to west. There were ponds full of fish and forests full of game.
A dragon built her nest on the mountain in the north and an eagle built her nest on the mountain to the south. They were content to ignore each other and as the valley was wide and game was plentiful. Neither had cause to trespass on the territory of the other.
The eggs the eagle had laid hatched before those of the dragon. They left their nest and roved across the valley, enjoying all the Lords had given them. They loved the rich forests and the clear waters of the river. They took only what they needed from the game.
Meanwhile, the dragon’s eggs hatched and they explored the valley too. But they had no love for the Lords. They burnt the forests with their breath and boiled the waters of the ponds on their side of the river. They devoured all the game, whether they were hungry or not.
Though the dragons had arrived later than the eagles, they spread faster and further and they soon crossed the great river. The children of the eagle saw the dragons and wondered what they were. They had seen bright fires in the night and columns of smoke during the day but they had never seen the cause until this moment.
Are first both sides were shy and wouldn’t come closer.
But then the dragons noticed the bright gold feathers of the eagles and they began to covet them. They saw the eagles’ eyes shone brighter and they grew jealous. They thought the eagles’ wings were better even though theirs were just as good. In short, they began to hate the eagles for no reason than the fact they were different.
They also looked at the territory of the eagles and said to each other, “Why did the Lords give us the worst side of the valley? Why are our lands so inferior? Why is their game so plentiful when we have nothing but bones to chew?”
The eagles, hearing their complaints, replied, “Your lands were no different to ours but we have seen the fires in the forests and if you made them and now there’s no game, then the fault is all yours.”
“You must share what you have,” said the dragons. “It’s what the Lords would want.”
“If we share our game with you,” the eagles retorted, “There will be none left for us. It’s quite obvious you are greedy and foolish and should change your ways. Go back to your side of the river and think about your stupidity.”
The dragons thought the eagles were being selfish and cruel. They began to believe they were deliberately trying to starve them. They also noticed, though their feathers were gold, their eyes shone and their wings were more beautiful, their claws were not as strong, their beaks looked weak and they didn’t breathe fire.
“You cannot force us to leave,” the dragons laughed. “We will take what we want and there is nothing you can do to stop us.”
There was truth in this but the eagles tried anyway. They attacked the dragons and the dragons used their fire to burn the eagles’ feathers and blind their shining eyes. They tore the wings from their bodies and snapped their beaks in their teeth. It was a terrible slaughter.
The mother eagle, seeing her children being devoured by the dragons, grew furious and came down from the top of the southern mountain. With a great cry, she snatched the dragons up in her enormous talons and dashed them on the rocks. She ripped their heads from their bodies and scattered their parts across the valley. They screamed and begged for mercy but she was deaf to their pleas.
Hearing their cries, the mother dragon rose from the top of the mountain in the north and saw the mother eagle killing her children. With a great roar, she descended on the scene and the two parents became locked in battle. It was a terrible fight. It lasted all day and then continued into the night but by the next morning the surviving dragons could see their mother was winning.
The surviving eagles were dismayed. Their mother’s wings were missing many feathers and it would not be long before she was too exhausted to fight.
In a pause in the battle, the mother eagle rallied her children. “You must fly,” she told them. “You must go as far south from the dragons as you can and find a new home without me.”
“We will not leave you,” they cried. “We will help you fight.” But they knew the mother dragon was bigger and stronger and they could see her surviving children gathering by her side, breathing fire and flexing their powerful wings. They knew they were no match and would surely die.
The mother eagle said, “I will hold them back for as long as I’m able; there is nothing you can do to help me now.”
They knew she was right but they didn’t want to leave her. Though they were not as powerful as the dragons, they were still brave and didn’t want to be called cowards.
“If you do not go,” she said. “We will all die – that is not bravery but foolishness. It is not always easy to walk away from a fight but often it’s the best way. One day, you will return and I will rise again.”
Reluctantly and with great sorrow, her children turned from the valley. As they passed the summit of the southern mountain, they looked back and saw their mother shielding them with her wings, beating back the dragons even as her feathers caught fire and her body was consumed in flames.
They heard a great scream as she fell and the crash of her body shook the world. By then they were far to the south and to this day, they have not returned. But every generation of the eagle’s children swears to avenge her death and to reclaim the valley between the mountains. And as for the dragons, they fear that moment and they cower behind their walls in terrible anticipation.
Philip Hamm © 2021
This story was first published in Panadawn Commonwealth: The Traders
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