Memory Lane

I retreated to my house to rest and grab a bite. My house was actually a cottage beside a stream and a wide plain surrounding it. Unlike most cottages, mine had a forge and a workshop. It was in this very forge that I had created my blade. The blade itself had nothing special, except for the measurements that I had carefully planned so that it was not too heavy or long. I used the highest grade of metal I could find. Most of my materials had come from my exploration of the caves past the plains.

It was impossible for people to find me when I was at home as I had chosen a piece of land far from the city and it was surrounded by mountains. I used a pigeon to have messages delivered to me. She was a beautiful bird and could fly for hours without tiring. I had infused runes into her she had hatched of course, she could fly faster and longer than normal pigeons and any injuries she sustained she would heal on her own. Her name was Eira.

To enter my valley, one would have to scale the mountains but in my case, I just had to fly over them. It was my best kept secret. I had wings of a raven with a wingspan of 10 feet. They were gifted on to me on my 15^th birthday.

As far as I know, I have no parents. The only parents I knew were those that had raised me in the Raven tribe. They had named me Itzel. At 15, I left the tribe to explore the world and I was given my wings.

I built my cottage from scratch and had stolen a pigeon egg from a nest a day before it hatched. At first, I just contented myself with exploring the caves, lugging back whatever materials I deemed useful. It was when I discovered the meadow past the caves, did I think of forging a sword. The meadow held the flowers that I placed on my blade. I called them grave flowers as they survived on nutrients of living things. I went there monthly to collect seeds for my blade.

“Coo-coo,” My pigeon’s coo brought me out of my memory world. I cooked stew for myself and gave Eira some bird seeds. After she was fed, she flew off to the city to wait for messages. I entered my workshop and continued my plans for a long distance weapon. Due to my job in the execution arena, I was often the target of assassins. Once in a few days, I would find arrows whizzing towards me, only to miss thanks to my heightened senses. It would have brought me a sense of satisfaction if I could send a message to the assassin that I was not defenseless against long range attacks.

So far, I came up with ideas of bows inscribed with runes that allowed it to fire arrows of pure energy, although the problem was carrying the bow around. It would be too obvious. Perhaps it was time to create a space I could pull weapons out of, something like a storeroom.

The flapping of wings interrupted my thoughts. “Oh? That fast?” I murmured as I relieved Eira of her message. I heaved a sigh, thinking of how often I was interrupted whenever I wanted to get started on a project. Maybe I could complete the plans for the bow later on.

I unroll the message that was tied to Eira’s leg, expecting the usual order from the nobles to execute yet another criminal. It was curious though, the message had no sender written on it, and the quality of paper was of lower grade than usual. I read the note with a growing feeling of apprehension. By the end of it, I was quivering in fear.

“Its not possible…Someone must have given the note to the wrong pigeon,” I tried to convince myself, but the words sounded false even to myself. “Eira, we’ll be going for a journey. Eat your fill then get ready for a long flight.” I commanded the bird then tossed the note into the hot fire of the forges.

and the stars flew past...
those beautiful stars...