The Egret Warriors
When Wakboth the Devil came to the world, everyone wanted to hide. Tada hid Eiritha in the earth, and many herds of animals tried to hide with their mother, but few succeeded. The Egret Woman had always been great friends of Eiritha and her animals, and she was on Eiritha's shoulder when Tada hid the Herd Mother. But the Egret Warriors were not with their mother, and needed to find her where she hid. Though they hated being away from the sky, the Egret Warriors followed the herd beasts as they rode toward their mother Eiritha.
By various ways now secret or cursed, they made their way back to hidden Eiritha while the world died above them.
But the world was more broken than anyone knew. The place where Tada had hidden Eiritha was not as safe as everyone thought, and also had magics to keep strangers away. Where the Five and Lesser Beasts were safe, the Egret Warriors were often confused, attacked, sickened or eaten by monsters or the ghosts of those Tada killed. Their white feathers made them easy targets in the darkness.
The Egret Warriors had eyes sharper than any herd beast, (though the High Llama was almost as good) found the Great Impala Mother (though millions of her lesser animals surrounded her) showed great cunning (equal to the Sable Mother,) flew very high, (higher than Bison's horns could reach,) ate something vile (which even the Morokanth would not) and had long practice ridding Eiritha's children of pests. When they met Eiritha, they saw they could do the same for her, trapped and hidden, unable to move as she was.
The Egret Warriors removed a pest that bothered Eiritha, so she blessed them and their weddings to daughters of the Egret Woman. But above the world was worsening, and Egret Woman and the Mother of Herds told the Egret Warriors that they should go out to help their other friends who were not hidden. Later, this was important because the Egret Warriors knew the way to where Waha had to go.
The Egret Warriors left with Eiritha's blessing, but some of the Dark Things hated their white feathers and chased them as they left. Back on the surface, the world was more broken than before, with chaos and ice and darkness harming everyone.
The Egret Warriors tried to stop at an oasis for water, but when they arrived they found blood dripping from the sky. The tainted water frightened and worried the Egret Warriors, who left there still thirsty and suffering.
The Egret Warriors went to one of their old nesting places, but it was filled with broken shells and monsters who had enslaved those who lived there before the Darkness. The Egret Warriors surprised the monsters and slew them with their spears, freeing the slaves and making a place for their children.
The Egret Warriors heard the call to the great battle against Chaos occurring in Genert's Garden, and they went as fast as they could to aid Genert. They arrived behind the Devil and attacked his forces from the rear, leaping onto the devil's backs and striking with their spears. But their spears had little effect, and they flew off when they saw Genert fall. This is why egrets ride on the backs of creatures, and why they cannot kill anything big."
Mike Dawson
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