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There was a time, long before our forefathers, when the wind scoured this land.
Her fiery temper tore the land apart. She burned the life from her plains, her voice crying out every day, and every night. Her anger left the land dry, baked red by the sun, cracked and parched.
She flew across the barren waste she had created, howling, burning those who dared to stand before her. Her temper knew no bounds.
She screamed at the land, all fury and anger.
The peoples of the land all feared her, running when she came, fleeing when she drew near. For if they stood defiantly before her, she would tear them apart without thought.
Powerful was she, and long had she raged through her land. All that dared stay there knew her anger.
She burned out the boundaries of her land, as the places where it met the sea. Beyond this, she did not venture. It was foreign to her. And she hated all she did not control.
Again, on some unknown day, she burned across the plains, blinded by anger.
Tearing at the land, she looked out, and froze.
There before her, was something new.
That could not be. She controlled all that was here, knew every single thing in her land. But this was new.
Such a small thing, but so new, so different. Unlike anything she had seen before.
Her anger flared.
She raced across the desert toward this creature.
Her anger buoyed her along, filling her with fire, until her wailing scream was all that could be heard.
The people of the land for miles around ran for safety. They hid, as best they could, for they knew the wind was angrier than she had ever been.
But even as they hid, this new creature stood defiant.
The being, small as it was, turned to face the wind.
She drew near, screaming in anger at the thing. How dare it she thought. How dare it defy her wrath?
She drew near, ready to strike. And as she did, the creature leapt into the air.
It unfolded it’s arms, and embraced the wind. It sung, in a voice like no other she had heard.
And as she sped through the valley, so she found she carried this creature in her fiery temper.
She threw herself from side to side. Buffeting herself against the hills, running low over the ground, she tried everything to loose this new creature from herself. Her anger boiled. She raged. She flipped and turned, trying to throw the creature.
But nothing worked.
The creature still rode in her fiery grip.
For many moons, the wind bore this creature. And for many moons, she sought to throw it from her with little success. Night after night, week after week she fought. And eventually, she tired of the battle.
And so she slowed. For the first time in millennia, the fiery wind grew tired and slowed.
She rested.
And the creature leapt from her embrace, landing on a rock before her.
The wind stood before this being, and looked down. Even now, tired as she was, she was still a mighty creature, towering over this new thing.
“Who are you to dare to stand before me?” bellowed the woman of the wind.
“I am I. Nothing more. Who are you to question me?” replied the creature.
The wind could not believe it. Never had she been questioned. No one dared. And now this thing believed it could defy her?
“I am the wind. This land is mine. And you dare to come here?” screamed back the wind.
“I am from beyond the sea. You cannot stop me lady of the wind, for this land is not yours.”
She could not believe it. How dare this, this thing, tell her that the land is not hers? But again it spoke.
“Lady of the wind? Why do you rage so? Look around you. See what this land has become. See what you have done.”
How dare it? How dare it be so impudent to her? In disgust, she turned away from it.
And saw her land for the first time.
For years she had raged. Burned the land without remorse.
But not once, had she actually seen what she had done.
And now, before her, lay the land. A mess of charred remains, the life long since dead. Her land was destroyed by her own hand.
With that, she turned back to the creature, her anger gone. For the first time in centuries, she felt something other than rage.
Her voice softened.
“Little creature, why is my land so? Have I done this? Is this my fault?”
“No my lady, you did not realise what you did. Your anger guided you. What you thought was a gentle caress tore at the very land itself. What you thought was your beautiful song bellowed across the plains as a scream. Each time you reached out, a little more of the land died. You are not to blame. You did not know.”
“How could this be? I love my land. It is my gift to the world.” she cried.
“It still can be. Turn and see again.” the creature unfolded its strange arm and pointed beyond the wind.
She turned and saw. A single tree sprouted in the wilderness. A lone trunk, drawn thin from lack of water, burned by the winds caress, arced up to the sun. A few browned leaves still clung to it’s branches.
“It is so beautiful. Is it all thats left?” asked the lady.
“No, there are others. But each will take time to grow. In time, the land will rebuild.”
“It will? And what will be my place in this until then?” questioned the lady.
“‘Tis simple. Your place will be to watch from afar. To guide without a voice. Unable to touch the land for fear of your caress, but still protect it.”
“Yes. Now I see. But what is your place in this, little one?”
“That is simple as well. I will ride with you for the rest of time. You can hold me in your embrace and never let go. I will be your guide in the night, and your partner in all things. Together, we will bring back the beauty of the land.” replied the little one.
“Yes. I would like that.” whispered the lady.
She reached down and swept up the creature in her arms, and leapt into the air. Together, the creature held lovingly in her embrace, they swept through the plains, gently, softly.
As they flew, the wind looked down to her new partner.
“Little one, I do not know your name. Tell me, what do the others call you?”
“I have no name. Beyond the sea, people dislike me, they call me Thief and Fiend. They have no need to call me by any name, and so I have none.”
“That is not right, every creature has to have a name. A name brings completion. I will find you a name. I have travelled this land for millennia, I will find you a name.”
There was a moment of silence, as she thought back to a time beyond history.
“Yes, now I remember. That will do wonderfully. From now, I will call you Magpie”
“Magpie?” replied the little one. “Why Magpie?”
“For in a time before even I roamed this land, the peoples here spoke in an ancient tongue, long since gone. In that tongue, Magpie means Little One Who Has Stolen My Heart. Can you live with that as a name little one? Is that what you want to be?” she asked.
“Indeed lady wind. Indeed I do.”
“So shall it be. You have stolen my heart, and so it will be forever.”
And it was. For the rest of time, the wind flew through the land, careful not to harm it more, the Magpie in her arms.
And slowly, the land regrew.
And even now, the Magpie flies in the winds caress, lovers forever.
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