Nahuatl's Story

Intro

In the beginning there was nothing but plants on Earth, a beautiful world with no animal life to fill it with sound and splendor. The Feathered Gods decided to change that, and from the waters of chaos they made the first animals, things to find joy and happiness in this primordial world. Unfortunately, the Feathered Gods were not very good at the whole creating thing, and the first beings were not at all like them. They were scaly, completely lacking feathers like the makers, and needed the warmth of the sun to survive and thrive. These creatures found no joy in life, taking pleasure only in ferality, killing, and bloodshed. Soon Earth itself was full of these things, and the joy the gods had sought out could not be found. It was not in the nature of the Feathered Gods to kill, so they let these cold beings be and tried again.

For the second creation they tried a different element, earth, gathering the flesh of Gaia in their wings to bring forth new life. Their second attempt was closer to what they had imagined. Their newborns were furry, and like the gods themselves needed no sun to be warm. Most even took care of their young, showing the compassion that the scaly firstborns lacked. Still in the eyes of the gods they were missing something. What they could not place, but some element of their grace and endless joy was not within these furry beings. Disappointed, but encouraged by their progress the gods tried one last time.

Leaving the space of the Heavens the Feathered Gods flew on earthly skies, the element closest to their being, churning and changing it to make their best creations yet. They made the birds, beings who sang with joy, who flew on the currents as they did, beautiful and full of joy and grace. Like the gods themselves the birds had no desire to dominate, they only desired to be majestic and fill the world with song. Satisfied the Feathered gods retired to their abode above the heavens to rejoice in their triumph. For untold eons creation went as it would, the creatures the Feathered Gods had made carving their own purpose in the world. Until one species gained too much power.

They were called the featherless, muwoakaz, eerabadi, the destroyers and demons of yore.

Long had they been a plague, a scourge upon the children of the Feathered Gods. As of late it has gotten worse. Their machines poisoned the skies and destroyed the ground, their hunters slaughtered the Feathered Gods favorites, and they changed the makeup of the planet itself. Against this even the Feathered Gods were helpless, unable to save their helpless children. They could only watch as their children got destroyed.

Characters

Nahuatl- Green and yellow Leader of the Brightfeather Flock, favored by the Feathered Gods.

Bembi- Nahuatl’s right wing and friend of many years, best scout in Brightfeather Flock. A beautiful macaw colored blue and yellow.

Izel- Nahuatl’s left wing and a former flame. A red and a green macaw in charge of organizing meetings and religious rituals.

Terminology

Feathered Gods: Creators and Supreme Deities of all birds, failed creation attempts led to all other animals.

Featherless/muwoakaz/eerabadi-Humans

Ornobak-Jaguars

Captured- Birds taken by the Featherless

Featherkin- Other bird species

Nahuatl’s Song

Nahuatl sang a grim melody from in the trees, a song of death, a dirge, a symphony of sorrow. The landscape was ironically happy compared to the song he was now forced to sing. Here was a place of endless sunlight, trees that swayed in the gentle winds, enough fruit to feed an army of macaws, and most importantly that army of macaws.They came to his sad call, birds of every color, blue, green, yellow, purple, and red, their melodies cheerful in contrast to his, speaking of the endless heat, the beauty of their jungle home, the freedom that the sky provided. If only they knew what was to come. Nahuatl’s people were happy, had always been happy, for that was in the nature of parrots, the destiny the feathered Gods had decreed for them.Lets see if they stayed this way after his news.

Two of them came straight to him, a male and a female, Bembi and Izel, landing on the lead branch with him while the rest perched on the other branches shortly after them. The two landed on his left and right side respectively, one a bright blue with yellow highlights and the other a stark red with flecks of green. His number one and number two. Both of them exchanged glances with him, for they already knew the news he had in store for the flock.

Chatter broke out instantly as his brethren cooed and cawed around him, wondering what was going on that required their presence here. Were there predators? Featherless ones afoot! Did the seers sense a drought? Was disease spreading through the flock? Any one of those possibilities was better than what he was about to tell them. Clearing his throat, voice still raspy from the dirge, Nahuatl began to speak somberly.

“ My brothers and sisters in feathers we have a beautiful home. Since time immemorial we have lived long lives, laid many eggs, sang many songs, and seen many wondrous things. We have kept the commands of the feathered Gods, to sing and be happy, to bring joy and add our voices to the chorus of the jungle. I believe we are destined to continue doing that,” Here Nahuatl took a pause, for what he said next would shatter their souls, “ Just not here.”

A chaotic cacophony broke out instantaneously. Caws and squawks of surprise so loud rose in the air that Nahuatl would be shocked if every predator for miles did not show up. All he heard was,

“ Why!? What has happened?"

“ We have lived here for eternity.”

“ I for one will not be going anywhere!”

“ Same with me.”

“Same with me”

“Aye.”

The squawks soon became a unanimous decision. They would not leave their home of ages so easily, and he had not expected them to.That was why Izel and Bembi were here. The two had said nothing during the people’s outburst, but they would say something now. Nahuatl nodded at Izel, the red green female and she flapped her way into the center of the clearing to speak.

“ My friends, we have all seen how the featherless encroach on our land, how they destroy our trees, poison our landscape, and kidnap our brothers and sisters. For a while they kept their distance but recently they have been spotted coming closer and closer to our territory. Bembi, if you would please.”

His bright blue second in command flew to join Izel, tapping his wing to hers. She preened a feather from his neck before returning to the perch. The two had been inseparable from the time they had been met, always finding a way to stick together. It was cowardly of Nahuatl to have them relay the bad news, but perhaps hearing it from the mouth of someone who had experienced it firsthand would do them good.

“ The featherless creep ever closer, “ Bembi started, “ The strange beasts tear through trees like ornobaks, their fires spread wildly, the deaf can hear their chatter resonating in the night. I have even seen some of them take our featherkin captive, toucans, quetzals, hoatzins, and to my horror even some macaws.”

The chittering and arguing soon died down at this somber statement. All had heard the stories of the Captured, those dragged from their beautiful jungle homes to a place unknown never to be seen again. His flock had been lucky,few had met that fate, but the possibility still lingered in everyone’s mind.This was where Nahuatl went in for the kill. He ran a claw along his beak. He hated when he spoke like an ornobak.

“ Where exactly did you see these featherless?” Nahuatl asked.

“ Near the ancestral trees, a few wing lengths from the watering hole where the ornobaks stay and I spotted some near the Playing Branches where the youngsters hang out. They kept their distance, but their kind never does that for very long.”

More silence. Perhaps his scatter-brained brethren were starting to see sense. How long before their trees were felled, their homes burned, and their offspring captured? Right when Nahuatl was about to make his decisive point he heard a strange noise. He had not noticed it before with all the hoopla of the meeting but in the quiet he heard it now. Footsteps, impossibly quiet, stealthier than the most wicked snake and softer than the wingbeats of a harpy eagle. It should not be possible for creatures that big to be so stealthy, for Nahuatl knew exactly what they were. Featherless, creeping into the heart of their territory right as he was trying to make his people leave. After this Nahuatl would make sure to find the greediest anaconda and personally feed it his supposed scouts.

Others were starting to recognize it too and cacaws of warning rang throughout their gathering. It was too late. Nets came from all directions, turning what was once free into slaves. To his horror he saw Bembi and Izel fall prey to a net, being pulled up ungracefully as if grabbed by an eagle's claw. Nahuatl barely dodged a net, leaping off his branch with a mighty cacaw, squawking for his people to follow him, to come to his call. He flew fearlessly, gathering the young and scared under his wings, nudging the elders to safety, getting the able bodied and strong to do their part.

Nahuatl flew as a proud parrot should, wings outstretched, singing and cawing happily as he led his people to safety, away from captivity. Alas he could not save himself. The featherless were not dumb, and soon identified the most impressive of the macaws. Where only a few nets had been aimed at him before now most of them came his way. It got harder and harder to dodge, his turns and swerves grew desperate, his wings ached, and he panted with the effort. A net scraped his wing and he fell, a star of green and yellow descending to the ground, but he would not be given even the dignity of crashing. Another net enveloped him wholesale, and Nahuatl landed on the forest floor unable to move. He struggled and struggled, trying to break the fabric with his beak and claws, to stretch his wings and be free but to no avail. Nahuatl was truly stuck.

The caws and cries had died down. Only those cursed by the feathered Gods remained stuck here, easy pickings for these featherless demons.They dared not show their faces while macaws flew gracefully and proud in the sky, only crawling out of the abyss when they were grounded and helpless.Such ugly things these featherless were. Their skin, the origin of their name, was devoid of feathers, instead having strange coverings that covered their whole bodies save the face and fingers. Their faces were covered in a nasty looking liquid that dripped down, and in strange dull colors, nasty pinks, ghoulish blacks, and pasty whites. To think that such creatures dared enter the abode of colorful macaws almost made him sick.

The beasts went to work, picking up the fallen and putting them in a strange animal that puffed out smoke. Everywhere he heard squawks and coos of despair, and Nahuatl yearned to comfort his distressed kindred. He cacawed out encouragement and blessings but against the backdrop of the featherless he might as well have been singing soft songs in a hurricane. When it was his turn to enter the dark beast no one shouted out encouragement or sang to him. His world of color was reduced to black.

Extra

P.S.-If I am in the top three you may just see what happens to Nahuatl next.