The Raven Moon
The Dream
It was a strange dream.....Not strange like weird, Willowhawk had plenty of those, strange like..... real. Willowhawk had been out running in the woods as he usually did most mornings. Communing with his favorite four footed friends, playing hide and seek with the Kit Fox, and wrestling with Sonji the newest member of the local black bear family. Momma looked on with a bemused calm knowing the day would come when baby Sonji would toss Willowhawk around like a rag doll. After a grueling morning of wrestling, teaching the kits to find hidden treasures carefully placed by Willowhawk in and around the burro, and a quick climb up the Great Bristle cone Tree, he would head off to find his favorite Cherry grove.
That was his intended purpose after all. The elders had given Willowhawk the great responsibility of look out for the village. Every morning his duty was to climb the ancient sentinel to assure that the enemies of the lands of Atria had not snuck in under cover of darkness. In truth, there were always scouts and lookouts on every border of their lands, but it was a great honor for the young Willowhawk to take part in the caring of the village. And everyone knew Willowhawk spent half of his time up in the old tree anyway, talking and playing with the Ravens and Squirrels. So having fulfilled his obligation and duty, he headed off to the Cherry Grove.
Of course this time of year the trees were full and ripe with fruit, a feast at any king's banquet. Chuckling aloud as he remembered the time he taught Acorn, a little Chipmunk that liked to follow him around everywhere, to pick Cherries and bring them to him. He ate so many Cherries that day he swore he would never eat another Cherry as long as he lived. Well that was last year and here he was once again. He continued on his way, carefully making sure not to miss any opportunity to greet any of his many woodland friends along the way. Teaching each a new trick or two when possible. He soon arrived at the Cherry Grove. Since Acorn finally got smart and decided she could just as easily carry the cherries to here own nest, rather than hand them over to this excessively large playmate with an equally large appetite, Willowhawk was on his own. Sure enough, after no short length of time, he ate so many Cherries that he couldn't help notice that his trousers had somehow became a few sizes too small. Well the only logical thing to do at this point would be to take a nap and sleep it off. It was only a moment before Willowhawk fell fast asleep....
In the dream Willowhawk was a grown man, or at least that was the impression he got because of the beautiful women that was with him. He felt that he knew her like he had known her his entire life, and yet somehow he didn't know her at all. Her features were Elven, and yet not. At least she certainly was not a Dwarf or Gnome, and what else was there? Her eyes were the same sky blue as Willow's, and her long blonde hair with multiple braids were very common among his people. Her ears appeared to be a bit too small, in fact he could see no ears at all. And she appeared a bit taller than most of the Elf women Willowhawk had know. She also wore garments that did not look like anything he had ever seen before. She wore a finely stitched dress of lavender with Sun yellow flowers and a beautiful broche in the shape of an obelisk pinned to her breast. No he realized he had never seen anyone quite like her before. Yet he still had the feeling that he knew her. She reminded him a bit of his great grandmother in many ways yet much younger. She had a regal way about her, and it was apparent in the eyes of all the others that were also there among them. They too looked upon her with the same fascination that he himself felt, and the same way he saw other people react when his Grandmother walked into a room. Willowhawk was raised by his great grandmother Seljiane O'Seyiko from the time he was two years old. Both his mother and father had been killed by the Sharptooth that lived deep in the Atrian forest. His great grandmother was one of the elders of the tribe. In fact she was the oldest. It has been rumored that Seljiane O'Seyiko was even alive when Raven Cloud the first of the Tree Cloud clan had died in the great Demon wars. Of course that was impossible since that was almost a thousand years ago. But no one would venture to guess her true age for one no one really knew, and two, you never want to upset Seljiane O'Seyiko or Seljia as many knew her. That was her given Elven name which meant the White Raven. The significance of great grandmothers name did not occur to Willowhawk until much later in his life. No this women in his dream was not someone he knew, but someone he was destined to know.
In the dream they were some kind of teachers or leaders, for there were others like them. Clansmen or followers perhaps because they all lived as a clan much like Willowhawks own clan. There were the familiar huts he knew well. The tribal colors and common dress that the Tree Cloud clan wore as well as others. And there was the sacred Oaks that all the tribes worshipped and protected. There was even a Raven perched on the eve of the largest hut near the center of the village. But then the dream faded and Willowhawk was next faced with the nightmares of war. And in this dream it was Willows father and mother who he now stood with. And in their eyes were tears of great sorrow. As he followed his fathers gaze he saw in the distance a great army, and with it came disease and pestilence. As he turned to look back at his mother and father, he saw them changing. They were becoming sick and old. Their skin began to wrinkle and crack away from their very bones. Then even their bones began turning to dust. His father turned to him and said something which Willow could only hear some do to the noise and clamber of the war. "Do not give... ere is .hope... time is Find ... Raven Moon.... There .. hope! Panicked Willow pleaded "Wait... what is the Raven Moon? Please don't go...." But he was already moving from this dream place to yet another. Willowhawk next found himself back in the strange village again and this time he was standing before a great host of people all looking to him for something. In there eyes he saw a mixture of fear and hope. He also noticed that in is hands he was holding an old leather bound book. And on the cover embossed in very intricately designed gold lettering read..... The Raven Moon.
When he awoke to the midday sun he was relieved to discover it had only been a dream, and that he was lying underneath his favorite Cherry tree once again. However as he looked up from his now very prickly sleeping place to the branches over head, he saw a great Raven looking down upon him from his lofty perch. He knew all the Ravens in the area, at least he thought he did. With a soulful croak that almost sounded as if it had said the word "Book" the great bird took to wing, swung down and almost hit Willowhawk before souring upward again and vanishing into the distant sky. A bit amused and even a little shaken by this old bird's behavior Willowhawk levered himself up off his elbows and stopped mid way as he saw for the first time the great volume that lay not a foot from his elbow entitled "The Raven Moon"
Upon returning to his clans village, Willowhawk went straight to his great grandmother to show her the book the Raven had given him, and to ask her what it all meant. Great grandmother was not one to show emotions of any kind, however on this day Seljiane O'Seyiko cried many tears..........
Seljiane O'Seyiko informed Willowhawk that a great task lies before him, that the Raven is the clans spirit guide. And that only a few chosen in all their history have ever been visited by the Great Raven. She herself was one of them. When she was born, the great Raven came to the village and left a rare gem that was said to hold the most powerful of magic. Later, when she was not much older than Willow the Great Raven Spirit again visited her. Great Grandmother then turned to a small Cedar chest and after removing some blankets and a few other items, pulled out a book and laid it on the table before Willowhawk. It was titled Keeper of the Raven Moon. This book was smaller, yet portrayed the same fine gold writing that the book Willowhawk had received. With that Great Grandmother also produced from around her neck a gold chain and on the chain was a beautiful gem carved in the shape of a crescent moon. And on this crescent moon was intricately carved the likeness of a Raven. What was even more astounding was the glow that emanated from the stone. An azure prism of sparkling light that looked to be the stars themselves trapped beneath the surface of the small gem. Willowhawk was at once filled with awe and wonder and marveled at what he knew in his heart was something much more than a mere gem. He knew at once that this object that was held before him, also knew who he was.
Great Grandmother then proceeded to place the chain around Willowhawks neck, then stepped back with the look of a proud parent eyeing their child after taking it's first step and said. "Now you are "Aimeya O'Seyiko Tiani " With a sense of profound calm Willowhawk looked down at the new adornment now hanging low upon his chest. The stone began to glow with the steady pulse of a heartbeat that got brighter with each interval until it almost lit the room with it's radiant rainbow of colors. Then with a final flare the light went out like a blown out candle and Willowhawk heard, or rather he felt a single word come to him. And that word was; Home.
.
Here ends the introduction to :The Raven Moon" More to come soon!