Musical Raven Skulls

[Aveilthé]

"That would be... the last one! Thank you, you can go now."

The distinctive cheerful elderly voice of Kalpana sounded through the clearing of the old-growth redwood forest, dismissing a very disgruntled-looking golden eagle.

"Why are you always so keen on getting rid of me?" he replied through a clicking curved beak, his brown and gold plumage ruffling in spite. With clawed talons, the great bird shifted his weight on the large branch of a young oak tree, curving his neck and peering at the knots he tied on the branches. Hanging by thin pieces of string woven by the hairs of animals were a bunch of dried-out raven skulls. The golden-eagle snorted through his nostrils. Those poor saps. To think their purpose in death was to hang off of an ugly young oak tree as ornaments for some batty old wolf to enjoy.

"Fine, fine, you can stay if you want, stupid bird," said a cheerfully distracted Kalpana as her enormous bulk of a head brushed deliberately past the eagle's branch, making it shudder violently. The bird flapped his wings and cried out, the bird skulls clacking together musically.

"Hey, watch who you're calling stupid. It takes an enormous amount of cleverness to tie those knots, you know! Something you can't do without my--"

Kalpana reared up and snapped at the bird who gave another cry. "ARGH! Fine, see if I ever help you tie your knots again!" He bitterly called down, before flapping off and circling the high canopies once before drifting off into the distance with the wind. When he was sure that the old Ohm couldn't see him, he gave the faintest hint of a smile on his beak.

Giggling like the maniacal thing she is, Kalpana shouted after him, "Come back here, I want your tail feathers to replace the old ones in my hair!" When she received no response, she sighed contentedly. "Oh, Krul... whatever am I going to do with you."

With that, she made her way back to the large cozy cave semi hidden beneath a modestly tall old willow tree. Lots of tantalizing smoke wafted from the crudely-made stone chimney. Herbs, spices, and the raw smell of meat could tell anyone around for miles that Kalpana was doing business today. It was her way of drawing in customers. Whether anyone wanted to listen to her stories or receive fortune-telling, Kalpana was fairly well-loved by the wolf population, save for the younger ones who believed her to be a witch working for the god of death, Manu.

[danarisky]

Skol wandered through the forest, bones clicking as he walked. He paused checking for signs of activity from the pack that owned these lands. Luckily for him, they seemed to be elsewhere, doing other things. However, he picked up the sound of a conversation, not that far away.

Curious, he ran towards the sound. He hid behind a tree, peering around is wide trunk with glowing, purple eyes. He saw the wolf that was making the noise, and the other being that accompanied her. He followed the sound as it wandered away, tracing it to a semi hidden cave.

His curiosity got the better of him, and he wandered silently through the clearing. At least others might not attack him, he thought, what with him being a walking skeleton and all. He wandered up to the entrance, peering in to make sure he would not fall victim to any traps.

[Aveilthé]

Once inside, Kalpana was greeted by a multitude of strange things not normal to be in a wolf's keep. Crude bowls, herbs, beads, feathers, growing plants, talismans, man-made spears, and a pile of arrowheads were just a few things she had on stone shelves on the cavern wall. It was obvious that this particular wolf enjoyed man-made things, and even tried to mimic their ways of creating nifty trinkets. More than half were perhaps already made by humans.

One whole wall was dedicated to bones--various bird skeletons, a wolf's skull, the spine of a raccoon, and many more. It looked oddly creepy, but Kalpana would call it "artwork".

Kalpana herself looked as strange as her bizarre collection, but she was very much a wolf. Standing at about five feet tall, she was on the short side for the dying Ohm breed. Her head looked twice as big, only because the mane on her head was so long and thick, that she had it tied twice with leather bands. Tied to strands of hair were a bunch of antlers from stags and various other types of bones. Tied around her neck was a leather pouch necklace. She was brown and white, a wolf of the earth and proud of it.

There was a fireplace on one side with a caribou leg cooking on a slab of rock. Perhaps this cave belonged to humans at one point until they moved on many, many years ago. It was lucky for Kal to find it. It proved very useful to her.

Busily humming, she rustled her wings which creaked and snapped with age while running about, harnessing quite a bit of energy for such an old wolf.

The scent of something very unreal wafted into her cave, making Kalpana cease waddling about doing her everyday mundane picking-up of fallen spare bones. With a mouthful of leg bones, she tilted her head from side to side while her big old nose wriggled about.

"Guess it can't be helped!" she said, her voice muffled as she spoke. She waddled over to a wall and spat out the bones on the shelf with a clatter. "Ptooey! Alright, alright. Come on in, Strange-One-that-Smells-Like-Roadkill. I know you're there, I can hear your bones a-creakin'! Or it could be mine..."

She had an infuriatingly cheerful voice. It looked like it could be absolutely impossible for anyone to come and ruin her mood, even if the other was of the undead.

[danarisky]

Skol walked in slowly, scanning the surroundings. As he looked at the bones that decorated everywhere, he began to feel anxious. He looked at the recently discarded bones. He felt swarmed with fear.

He looked up nervously, "You collect bones" he said, as if saying it out loud would make things better for him. He looked at the elderly wolf, almost fleeing out of fear. He forced himself to smile, purple glowing eyes glancing at the exit.

The smell of food was overpowering in here,reminding him of when he was able to eat. Skol really missed those days. Now he was just a skeleton, albeit one with glowing orbs for eyes, a glowing sphere where his heart should be and blue markings decorating his bones.

Skol saw the skulls decorating various parts of the room and whimpered, afraid that his skull would join them.

[Aveilthé]

When Kal was able to properly see to see Strange-One-that-Smells-Like-Roadkill (because her eyesight often failed her anyway), she gave an involuntary gasp, but recovered from her shock rather quickly.

"Oh Etanus! I didn't think you'd actually look like buzzard food!"

She sat down in slightly exaggerated movements as she tilted her head at a blank space for a moment and giggled. Clicking her tongue, she turned her attention back to him.

"What, those old dried out things?" She gestured to the piles of bones on the stone shelves. "Oh don't worry, they were already dead when I found them. I think... So, what would you like today?" Both her lips and her eyes were smiling affably, divulging that notorious grandmotherly image.

[danarisky]

Skol hesitated before replying confusedly, "I am Skol, not Etanus. Do I really look like something a buzzard would eat?"
He had never really gotten on with people well before he died, and after wards he rarely met someone who didn't make excuses to leave. He sat down, clearly tired. Skol looked up puzzled again, "I am dead too," he pointed out.

He glanced at the food, clearly tempted. Of course, it would be no use to eat it, but it could be worth a try. He tried to smell the food, but his smell was very weak, so he didn't get the full aroma. He tried to hear the sizzling, but again his hearing was weak too, so he could only just hear it.

So perhaps there would be no point in eating it, he thought, my taste wouldn't work properly either. He let out a whimper of despair. His glowing eyes dimmed and his heart sphere had more of a blue glow about it.

"I cannot eat, nor hear or smell properly. I cannot feel the wind over my skin. I cannot feel alive anymore, because I am not truly alive. Yet I can feel pain. Why is this so?" he whispered, clearly sad despite the strangers generosity, "Do you know why? You look like you might know,"

He tried to pull himself together, as he realized that this was not a good first impression. He drew himself up, and stood at his full height. His eyes lit up again, but his heart remained the same shade. He shivered briefly, and then turned to the elderly wolf. "I am sorry," he said simply.

[Aveilthé]

While Skol talked, Kalpana looked mildly irked at nothing in particular. Then she began attempting to lift her hind leg to her face, attempting but failing to scratch at her ear. Her leg fell weakly back to the ground while she snorted in contempt at the nasty little fleas... gnats... whatever was pestering her ear.

Apparently she had listened, for she gave Skol a wide grin that showed yellowed teeth. One further back was missing.

"Oh, no, I won't have that! You know nothing about Etanus... tsk, tsk... almost every wolf here knows about Etanus, whether they believe in him or not, Mr. Skol. I, Kalpana, have told the story maaaany many times to youngsters." She giggled. "I've got eyes, dear, even though they aren't working as well as they used to..." She paused as she began bumbling about, humming as she did so, biding some time to think in her own quirky way.

"Do I really look like I know everything? My dear, you are way too kind! But whatever rumors others might say, I, in fact, know very little. If you lived longer than I, which I may not doubt considering your unique condition, you might know a tad more than I do. This world is so unusual that I find myself learning something new every day..." She gestured her muzzle at Skol. "Alas! I couldn't tell you why... but I'll wager that you were pretty handsome when you had flesh, fur, and eyeballs." She gave him an exaggerated wink, then started giggling hysterically.

"Sorry? Ahh, Skol, you really need to relax. I think a story is in order. Here, have some food. And go rest your--hee hee--weary bones on the fur carpet over there... I'll teach you a thing or two about Etanus... it's a fascinating tale, even if you are skeptical..."

[danarisky]

"I am always open to listen to stories," Skol said, clearly intrigued. He had forgotten a lot about his old life, and mostly only the memories surrounding his and his family's deaths remained. His glowing eyes fixated on Kalpana, anxiously waiting for her to begin.

"Oh, I doubt that. I have forgotten many things before my death. Perhaps the fact that being killed erases most of your memory. Thankyou for the compliment, but I really don't know. I can't actually remember what I looked like." he said, looking away in slight embarrassment.

He walked over to the fur carpet, saying thankyou as he relaxed. His eyes again fixated on Kalpana.

"I am anxious to hear about Etanus," he said softly, concentration not fading.

[Aveilthé]

"Heheh! Hold your horses, I haven't gotten comfy yet."

Kalpana bustled about still, humming a tune, before settling herself next to the fire. She took the leg and started gnawing and chewing away at the meat with a flourish.

"Our world began with the God of Creation... our Father of the World, the Life-Giver--Etanus, a mighty being said to look like every animal and god he's made." She paused for dramatic effect, glancing at Skol to see how he would react to this daunting prologue. Truly it made Kal shiver. The stories always fascinated her.

"Many have claimed to see him, and for those that did, said that he is taller than the tallest tree, and mightier than the greatest mountain. Oh, how I wish to see him, but I haven't yet... it is a general rule of the gods that they may never be seen by those who live on earth, but they can be felt... all around us. The wind, the earth, the sun, the stars, the moon... everything around us are gifts from the gods, beings who give us our whole world."

Kalpana sighed passionately, staring off into space before shaking out of her reverie.

"Before the world and all its creatures came to be, Etanus was the only one in existence, but as he walked across the universe, the scales he shed became the planet and all its stars. When he visited this new world out of curiosity, his steps created oceans and lakes that became the basis of life and the hairs that fell from his mane became the newborn creatures that would inhabit this world."

It was not obvious that she had memorized this from stories written on ancient cavern walls and old scrolls, for she put a lot of effort into making it dramatic. As old as she was, and a teller of many a great story, she was a fairly decent storyteller.

[danarisky]

Skol watched breathlessly as Kalpana told her story. Pictures of a giant being washed across his brain. His eyes dimmed again, but this time not out of sadness. He thought he could imagine an amused face staring down at the scene. He shivered involuntarily.

"So Etanus created the world. Could he destroy it too?" he asked, sitting up with excitement. The story had made him feel young again.

[Aveilthé]

The wind began to pick up outside, making the various bird skulls clatter together again like normal wind chimes, only the effect was a bit more eerie. Back inside the den, Kalpana broke off a piece of bone and started to chew on it. She tossed the rest to Skol. She didn't eat very much... there was still a lot of meat left. She wouldn't have been much of a storyteller if she hadn't given it to him.

Looking mighty pleased with herself, she smiled at her single audience. "Oh, we'll get to that part in just a moment... with stories like these, you always have to start at the beginning or else it just wouldn't make any sense!"

Clearing her throat, she started again. "The goddess Kital was born, the otter who ruled the bright heavenly bodies that was once the void, and so she became the First Goddess. A flighty otter too, might I add... she is the one said to arrange constellations of famous beasts and gods. Hmm... you think I might become famous one day? Hehehe! It'd be nifty to see my face sparkling in the sky, hahahahaha!" She burst into a fit of giggles again, then quieted down. "Oh, sorry dear, I tend to go off on a tangent. Anyway... Ahem... And so one day when our Creator, Etanus, wandered about, he gave off a brilliant shine from his body. And from this light came a great lion who shone even brighter. And Etanus, seeing this, was very pleased. He said, 'Go into the highest point of the Heavens that is My realm, and shine like a beacon unto the earth that I will make.' And as he said it, it was so. Valo, the lion god, plucked out his eye and lifted it to the sky, and it shone brightest in the Heavens. All the creatures were very happy indeed, and so was the Creator."

[danarisky]

Skol stared at the meat. "I don't think I can eat it," he said, "sorry."
He tried to make sense of the story. It seemed to be about right. He glanced up at Kalpana again.
"Perhaps it might happen," he said quietly. The story fascinated him, and he listened, entranced.

When Kalpana had finished this next bit, he rose to his feet, truly excited. An otter and a lion, he thought, Fantastic! It felt like his heart was rising in his chest, until he remembered the last of her words. It sank again.

"You said all the creatures were happy. What happened next?"

[Aveilthé]

"Well, tryin' to eat it might give your mouth something to do," Kal replied slyly before continuing.

"When Etanus created all the flying things and the crawling things, all beasts large and small, his love for them birthed a god that was a black raven. The black raven's task was to give souls to all that lived, so in that way could they be truly alive. The black raven is called Karasis, and he's an important deity in our beliefs. A statue of him resides somewhere in this forest, along with his brother, Manu, but we'll get to Manu soon..."

She cleared her throat again, criss-crossing her forepaws. "Karasis ruled over Life, Birth, and Rebirth, and is truly a gentle god. And as Karasis flew, things lived, but did not age. The world was still, as was the air, and Etanus saw that the creatures on it were not happy. Shedding a single feather from His wings, Etanus created Epoch the white gyr falcon and asked him to use his wings to move time, and it was so. From that point on, all things aged, and the population swelled vastly. Unfortunately the world became overpopulated, so Etanus bit into his arm and from the wound dripped his blood, and from the blood birthed a white raven. Etanus said to him, 'My children must die in order for others to live.' And Etanus was overwhelmed with sadness as he witnessed his creations fall under the white raven's relentless claws. Manu was this pale bird's name, and he was the god of the afterlife, death, and mortality."

Kalpana sounded solemn as she looked at her own claws, her imagination running away with her.

"But the good news is, when we die, we go to Etanus in his country to live for eternity. His country is a vast, eternally lush and springy place. I hope to go there one day... Ahem... Manu and Karasis evened out the population, but with it came great sadness. A great black lynx sprang from the tears of Etanus, and she was named Asini. With her coming, and as Etanus felt it, so did the world who now knew sorrow and pain that came from death."

[danarisky]

Skol was speechless for the first time in his unlife.
"Really? That didn't seem to work for me. Why didn't I go there?" he asked, truly feeling cheated. He gnawed on the meat, not swallowing but enjoying the faint flavor he could pick up. Well, it was a start.

He thought quickly for a second. Searching for Manu clearly wasn't an option. But if he could somehow bring Manu to him, well that sounded appealing. He tried to dislodge the thought, as because of such thoughts insanity can be created. He glanced helplessly up at Kalpana.

"That was a very good story," he said, the impacts of the story still awash over his thoughts.