Goodbye, Red Tail The True Story of why the Mated pair of Red Tail Hawks moved from that Pine Tree in my backyard !

                                                      GOODBYE ,  RED TAIL
                   

   Whenever I saw Red Tail, it seemed as though he was happy. Even when he wasn't soaring so high he was just a speck in the sky. Wheeling about drifting with the winds and circling back to where he started. He seemed happy doing what came naturally , flying high in search of his next dinner.
   It is said that when you see a Hawk in the sky alone it is a message from Spirits and if you believe in Spirits and Divine messages, then this is a story for you.
   My living in the country, farm life if you will, started my Senior year in High School. Moving from the Silver City to Durham and getting a ride back and forth my Senior year certainly made it easier to skip class and go else where, but I did graduate by the fine hairs that my face wasn't ready for yet.  So now I was a country boy, from the big city. Yeah the farm we lived on had all the things you could expect on a farm , cows , pigs , chickens , roosters, Guinea Hens, with the loudest most awful cry that even a loud rooster would be proud of. Geese that made the patrol rounds , that routed the entire 14 acres , only to do it again with the same route the next day and the next, probably several generations later but still the same path.
   I have always been fascinated by Birds of Prey, birds that hunted from on high, diving at incredible speeds and taking there prey in one swift motion, if that motion was going down at 70 m.p.h. or more. Eagles , Hawks, and Falcons had a strange effect on me. I don't know how my brother knew of this fascination and certainly didn't know how he managed to get me  Peregrine Falcon. All I knew before this happened , he told me to come down below the deck and help him build an enclosure. Chicken wire , several branches for perches , a watering and feeding niche, an entrance within an entrance, so that I could go in close the door behind me and then go into the enclosure. Several days later, Malcolm my brother came to me with a split face grin and said follow me. The absolute last thing in the world I would have thought he was going to show me was a Beautiful Blue Grey Peregrine Falcon ( Falco Peregrinus ) sitting on the perch in the enclosure , Mal and I, had built just a few days ago, I was literally speechless, which made my brother laugh to no end. I had never seen my brother happier, there was my Bird of Prey , She had a hood on and a tether loosely  tied to the perch. I couldn't take my eyes off of her but my brother dragged me away telling me I had lots to learn before next week when Mr. Hawk ( that's right, Mr. Hawk ) came here to inspect the enclosure and the Falcon and me. " Me " I asked, "Yeah , you, they have to know you know what your doing to be able to handle a Bird Of Prey properly", " well ain't that something, okay " with that he handed me a manila envelope with the Birth Certificate , its lineage, proper feeding and the proper food, proper handling, he looked at me and gave me one more surprise, a Leather Glove that went clear up to my elbow. We both went down and admired my bird, I was so excited I couldn't think of a name, not just yet. Sleep didn't come easy and when it finally did, I had a dream of hunting with a Falcon. My brother was gone doing what it is brothers do when they are 4 years younger and the older brother doesn't pay much attention, there was a letter from him to me telling me he would see me in a couple of days and to enjoy the moment. I took fresh water and brought a mouse with me to feed , oh I still didn't have a name, well when I see her I'll know. Downstairs and outside , looking at the enclosure, something is wrong, both doors to the enclosure are open. The tether and hood are tangled on the perch, holy shit my Bird is gone !
   Its been many years since I have thought of the Bird, my Peregrine Falcon , I never did figure out what had happened. Now with the sight of Red Tail my Fascination begins again.
 A Red Tail Hawk is a born killer, not for sport , certainly not , but for life, his life and now the life of his mated partner. Red Tail Hawks mate for life and are very family oriented which you can see mostly when building their nest, special care is taken from both the male and female. The Male hawk shares the incubation period with the female, taking turns hunting and caring for the egg or eggs .
   I don't know why Red Tail took the big Pine that was on the border of the yard behind mine. The last really big ice storm left holes in the trees making a clear view of where the Hawks nest was, you couldn't make out the nest , even with a pair of binoculars but you could see then take off and land in the tree , then climb into the branches, disappearing in the camouflage of pine.
   The way the trees were lined up from north to south gave me a perfect view of the pair coming and going, one time especially. I was in the bedroom that lines up perfectly enabling me to see the bushes running north to south, a literal runway coming from the Pine tree in the back yard . I happen to be installing new wooden blinds in the window facing out towards that runway, when I spot the Male, Red Tail swooping down out of the pine tree over the shed and down to about tree feet off of the ground, still gliding from the initial take off he went past the window where I got a first hand look at his wings out stretched ( about 5" across ) while he silently slipped by , in between the house and the 4" tall, meticulously  trimmed ever green shrubs. Then just as effortlessly flapped once twice, then thrice and was going up into the sky without a prey knowing there was a killer coming to find them.
   I had other moments with the pair, sitting on the front peak of my shed, flying over the house dipping down and coming into close view as if just for me to see, but not another moment like that in time and beauty with Red Tail.
   Spring had come and was inching its way towards summer, the days were warmer and getting longer. Most of the Spring born animals were finding their foot holds and learning survival skills in the open world from Momma as it is the usual way in Nature.I am very lucky to have a special spot in this neighborhood , being so close to a wooded area that runs for miles . There is an abundance of wild animals that cross from the wooded area to a well used path that ends up at water and then an open field to more wooded land. I often see baby deer or young fox or hare coming and going but my favorite is my feeder in the big Bay Window at the front of my house. I have a Humming bird sugar feeder and a four section bird feeder. I get many , finches, woodpeckers and occasional Cardinal but for the most part its Sparrows. There are sparrow nests in the Red Maple in the front yard  but the closest and easiest to see a new born hatching is in , one or the two shaped evergreen shrub. The decorative bush to the left side of the entrance to the house has had a nest in it every season as long as I can remember. I had been watching with interest this particular Sparrow family because of the opening that got just big enough to see almost the entire nest after the last winter.
   On one morning not different from any other morning, I looked into the nest hoping to catch a glimpse of newly hatched birds , but to my shock I saw something that didn't  register as anything I could recognize. I kept looking and looking again, then a picture was shaping into what I was truly seeing. I didn't want to believe what I was seeing until Red Tail moved a wing as a Sparrow tried to enter the nest and Red Tail with all the new born Sparrows clutched in its talons and trapped in its beak came flushing out of the small hole to the nest, all wings and  talons showing front, then extending those wings out like a pair of pointed hands separating the opening and blasting out at full speed, up and into the front yard, escaping the shrub with every single baby Sparrow, clutched and biting. As I watched in horrible shock, and amazement while still holding my breath, not truly understanding what it was that i just saw, but seeing and believing all in that terrible instant that it actually took for the whole sequence of escape and flight. Red Tail had waited patiently while the parents went somewhere leaving the nest unguarded for a moment, then like a shadow with no noise or fuss, stole into that seemingly small space and took the lives of a Sparrow family, to feed his own. That is the life of a Hunter
   Now you may think that was the end of the story, I thought so until about two weeks later.
   What I failed to notice or even realize the Red Tail or his mate had not been seen in the skies or anywhere for that matter. Which , all in all isn't something you notice at first. What did happen was that Red Tails mate had had just one egg, which is not something unusual , at times a Hawk may have more than one , but varied from season to season . Some seasons no egg mat come. So seeing either Hawk really didn't register until an extremely fast and hard rain. So hard in fact that the gutters were over flowing down the back of the gutter and coming down the house. Seeing the rain running down the house worried me enough to bring out the aluminum ladder and bring it up to see what is happening. From right to left I checked, the gutter was full, backed up and nothing coming out of the down spout. Moving my ladder so I could reach in and find out what was blocking the down spout. I reached in and to my surprise I pulled out a Hawks egg. It seems a squirrel stole the Hawks egg from the Pine tree and was carrying it back to his Drey ( Nest ) when he lost hold of it as it rolled down the roof landing in the gutter, he was not able to retrieve it so it was left there until this rain and my discovery.. What I believe is that a squirrel saw his chance just like Red Tail, took the chance and ran. The life of a hunter is always hard, every day you must face the fact that if you don't kill , you don't eat and if you don't eat long enough , you will die.
   So this is my Goodbye to Red Tail and his mate, I hope they have a family now but I guess I'll never know, I will miss him in his tree and especially gliding through my yard.
THE WRITER   July 25th, 2020
 

Humility of Passion, by me, J.P. Sarno AKA... THE WRITER

                                       Humility of Passion


   It is sad , that such great men, come of late and dark. That great arguments have been settled by Humility of Passion. I have searched far and wide throughout my life and found few. OH ! you can be glad that they are not all gone, but it seems that their voice gets lost through Petulance and Arrogance of Contenders. Men who spoke of speaking softly and carrying a big stick, would have a stern warning of cooperation between lines, for the leaders of today. No grievance  would stay untouched, not contrary or indulgent, rather, passion of a higher truth, between what a man wants and what a men would be willing to give up to see a balance that all can abide.
   Please know I have a strong love of all men who are created from Star Dust and will return so. Our time is so brief that to squander it on, " I AM , So I say, to be sure, I am right and there is no other way " , is just unbelieving in self realization . Look closely at yourself, to your neighbors, to those you love the most, they all seek a truth, a safe and warmer world for your children and your children's children. So think on these people or better yet, a close friend to argue with, even if no cure can be found, just two friends knowing and trusting that each others heart and soul is sound .

HORROR ; I started this story a couple of years back and there is a good start . Demons are a great source of Horror !

   In the clear cold, I breathe the air. All is frozen, even my care. Neither dark nor light , but still I see a cloud of vapor rising  when I breath. I am laid out on " Christ a slab but nothing else comes to view. I am naked but not cold, I want to scream to end this... dream ? I think I am dead but can't be sure so I scream instead !
   I am awake, I think, I am not sure. Dark. Night sweats stain my pillow, startled awake, my dreams need a cure.
   Thick fingers rake my scalp, combing my hair. I don't know whats worse, awake with dreams of torture or asleep, living the dream.
   No torn sheets, just ragged night clothes knotted tight against my chest, I'd run screaming out into the night but there is no explanation only dark. I rip the buttons and tear the sleeve of my night shirt as I try to untangle myself from this make shift noose, it ends up at the foot on my bed. I lay back down , now on my stomach and flip my stained pillow to the other side... can't breath, I wake with a groan, " Christ , is it morning already ! "
   His phone was vibrating and lighting up at the same time, " yeah, I see ya and I know its you Roxie, just no rest for the weary or wicked, I guess " Jax said to no one in particular. He had already decided not to answer it right now and pay the price later, when an image come into his head, his head on a silver platter, so very vivid it could only be on thing, Roxie giving me a subtle hint that if I didn't pick up and start the day in a Roxie way I would certainly pay the price later, maybe even an hour or two posed with my head on a platter with my body somewhere I didn't want to think about.
   Roxie was a Demon or more precisely  " The Demon "  she was the head demon with all the powers granted to am earthly Demon and you really didn't want to know even the half of it when it came to Roxie's power.
   I picked up the phone and caught her conversation with someone who was going to find out real quick you don't fool with Roxie. " Tortured souls my ass, its not just another party, get it done !  Good morning , Jax "
   Okay , so here is a small taste of this story , no name for it yet that will come later, questions , comments , yeah I bet, fire away and I'll try to do my best, hope you liked it, more to came, thanks
   So here we are again, this story is a hard one for me. I only have some lines written in a notebook that I thought would be a good story , maybe a Horror , with Demons, so I hope that I can grow a good story for you.
   " Good Morning , Roxie, I hear your already hard at work for the next party, its your annual , so your a Satanist now, party, isn't it ? " " Yes of course". Roxie rattled on, " but this year we have something special, something even you haven't seen". " Really?  , come on I've seen everything". " Not this, and something else, but I can't say just yet, so you'll have to wait just like everyone else, I'll need you to go to the Airport and make some pick-ups, alright, I'll send you the times , you'll have a couple of hours yet so there is something I want you to do before you go out to Kennedy, I want you to go to Bearder's and cut that son of a bitch's head off for me and bring it here , you understand !". " Okay, Roxie, you don't have to blow a fuse, I'll get right over there and as soon as I have his head I'll come to you, any special place or at the club ?" " I'll get right back to you on that, call me from Bearder's and I'll let you know where, and don't give me any shit , blow a fuse, your an asshole". And the line went dead. Wow, if she weren't a Demon disguised as a woman, a woman yeah and Shakira is just another Pin-up girl, Roxie is all woman , slightly reddish hair when it suits her, along with her eyes, her hair and sometimes even facial features change with her mood, whether on the chase for sex with one two or three men at once or forming a league of evil assassins to take care of her little chores that took to much time away from her real passion, seducing any and all to the call of Satan. I wonder what Bearder did to deserve being beheaded and brought before the Queen of evil, Roxie. Jax was already thinking to the beheading, how messy it was going to be and how much of a pain in the ass was Bearder going to be, he wouldn't die not right away at least, I think its a couple of months with a sort of holy water brine he would need to soak in with some special words thrown in just for safe measure so he wouldn't return until the end of days, but I know Bearder he is going to throw a hissy fit and I don't even know the reason why Roxie wants his head, all I do know is if I show up without his head in a Stetson Hat Box, Christ that means I've got to run down to J.J's. Hat Center and pick up another fifty Boxes , boy was last year a year for beheading, Human and Demon alike but unlike a Demon creation, humans didn't survive the process.
  Okay, so here is a bit more, I will try to keep up on this story, now I do have just one revision, like I said a story grows and with it things change right before your eyes or my eyes , so when Roxie is over heard saying , "Tortured souls my ass in just another party" I needed to change that to " not just another party " because as I wrote I needed a party that was more important, so now the party is an annual party with something special planned, and if the story works out the way I want everyone will appreciate the surprise, thanks for reading , more to come !
   Well another day and another dollar spent, certainly not saved. Okay, I want you to know how very hard this is, the other stories are basically done , I am just rewriting it , this story is coming out as I think and I think for shit , I really need to write something then fix it as I go, not go as I write. Oh well, I guess I shouldn't cry over not written words.
   Ashantae , or Shana to her friends and every one else, is a simple girl, a young beautiful girl not aware that she is a stunning light brown skin girl with some what high cheek bones and a small mostly upturned nose, but her most stunning feature was her gray eyes. Her eyes captured the light of day and brought it into focus so others that saw her would say she has a sort of light to her. Not to tall but certainly not short she always wore flats when she went out because she thought she was to tall. Her first class didn't start until 8 this morning but as usual she was up at dawn ran her 5 miles came back showered and studies her days lessons before her class. Theology is her Major but she thought being an Atheist made her studies easier. Her Father a Minister at Harlem Episcopal thought she would grow out of it, but even 15 years later after her Mom died she was more Atheist now than ever.
   Okay a new character this gives me a little time to create something that might work, hope you like her, I think shes pretty nice !
   Paul Standard is the T.A. for Religious Studies and lives in the same dorm as Ashantae. Almost every day he would leave notes for extra credit projects and what the next class will be studying. Ashantae knew he liked her and she definitely liked him but she had a problem with what everyone would say even if there was nothing to it. The one thing that Paul did have a problem with was Chuck Wrang the student program Manager. Chuck had a serious problem with the female student on Campus, he wanted to have sex with every single one of them by themselves or with others he didn't care . Paul just thought of him as a pig and had no qualms about telling him so, but Chuck had another problem , he didn't care what any one said about him. Chuck was a good looking young man, and he knew it. At times his heart was in the right place but his head would go towards getting a reward for him self if he could. He and Linda, Ashantae's room mate had , had a thing for a while until Linda found out he had taken an invite for a club that Linda wanted to go to , but it was by invite only and Chuck had taken it and took another girl , that was the end of Linda and Chuck. Linda knew the invitation was for Ashantae and Ashantae never knew about the invite. Linda knew Ashantae would never go to a club at all even if it weren't on a school night. So she had to come up with an excuse to get back at Chuck without Ashantae finding out it was about the invitation to the best club in town.
   Paul know about the club and not taking Linda, but taking an older woman who was certainly not a student. What Paul didn't know was that there had been other invitations to the same club for Ashantae, someone really wanted Ashantae to come to the club, Club Hell is the name and the owner is none other than Roxie. So Linda's plan to get back at Chuck through Paul, she didn't know how yet but she thought to herself she was good at screwing with people, she would come up with something, but for now she would keep her eyes open for another invitation. She knew that most of the time the mail would be in and waiting to be out into each mailbox while Ashantae was on her daily morning run. The problem was how many mornings would she have to be up early to see if an invitation had come. This was her lucky day, or so she thought. The Invitation was right there on top of the NYU paper and schedules of classes being held and those being canceled. She took her chance and hoped the person on the front desk wouldn't remember the invite, she grabbed it and hurried back to her and Ashantae's room before Ashantae came back from her run. Now Linda knew what she was going to do to punish Chuck. She would show the invite to Chuck right before hopping into a cab and going to the club all by herself.
   Okay for now , I've started to bring this around to where some people who are in Ashantae's life get in trouble and she will make some new friends that may or may not be true friends, we will find out together more to come !
 

A New Story : Working on a Title, but this story has Adventure, Evil against Good , Magic, Hero's, Minor Gods and Demons

I wrote this story sometime after, Little Paddle. It is very raw. Raw meaning , it has not been edited for anything, punctuation, quotation marks for conversation , I am glad for spell check. When you read, I will try to edit as best as possible. I would ask if you like the story or something particular , you tell me , the same as if you don't like something. Of course this story is not going to be for every one, if you have a certain story you would like to read , again, just tell me. If you think it sucks, just tell me , all I ask is that you tell me how and why and any other descriptive adjective about this story sucking so I can learn how to write and not suck. I will post more each day, I do not know if it will be 1000 words or 100 words as I go I will be fixing this story that I wrote and kind of lost it inside an old Lap Top and until recently I could not get the computer to work. I do hope you like the story. A working Title is... Akeega, the God of the Crystal Caves.

 
   My name is Akeega I am the whipping winds that blow through the Mountains, I am the soft sweet sound of the sea coming to land. I am one of many minor Gods and yet powerful, and have been a power in these mountains since before time has been recorded. I was put here for an eternity for having interest in the stories of Humans. Like the human Wizards , Merlin, Roland, Seimei, just to put a name to some. They all had power to play amongst the  lesser Gods but not quite powerful enough to deal with the many Demons which still roam this plane on earth.
   My curiosity began at the beginning of time and will continue until Man is either no more or finds a way to become one with his environs.
   I have been commanded to tell this story by those who command me. This is a story  has happened before and will undoubtedly happen again, maybe in this time and place, maybe in another. This is more than a story of one mans quest for love, and his place in time.
   Okay , this is the start , I hope you like it , and of course if you like it there will be more tomorrow. Well its tomorrow and I have a bit more for this story. I don't see any comments or even if someone ,anyone read this story, oh well after all it is only a story.
   This story takes place on a seemingly familiar Island, some many long centuries ago. The Gods like this Island for the very fact that it is an and can be watched without any outside influence, unless of course some outside influence is what the Gods deem, it needs to be, and who better than the Gods to influence the outcome.
   Countless Centuries have gone into the making of this story, from a time when small groups of peoples would stare up into the night sky and wonder. Would the sun would return the next day, what are those small lights up so high. Hunters and gatherers around a fire. The strongest making the rules. The strongest were not always the brightest, smartest,or the cleverest, sometimes not even the best thinkers, most could not even think past today and the food that would be eaten tomorrow, let alone a future where a man who could think about his  people's need's and the best way to achieve it. A smart man who with a small group of men that were loyal could rule over many, a Kingdom in the making. No, those kinds of men that would be rulers, leaders , their time has not come yet.
   One thing these first men did have in common with future rulers was a need to know what other's were doing, tribes that traded and bartered, tribes that would rather fight, kill and take. Learning new things, which in those days mostly meant killing with greater ease, killing was mostly for predators, hunting bigger game and being able to feed more. Later those predators became other tribes.
   As time went on and tribes grew , hunting alone was not enough to feed every one. So a need grew and farming was developed and at first raiding was the easiest way to get food for your growing tribe. Survival made for hunting predators whether those predators were human or animal became a time of discovery and how to protect your people and grow crops at the same time.
   Each year brought more people and more people meant more tribes and those bigger tribes were being rules by smarter men, the Elders, men that had enough bravery and sense to last longer than those who had bravery but not much sense. Smarter did not always mean nicer it just meant those men knew how to raid and kill those who got in his way. To his own people he was a leader and those who wanted to live followed him. Soon there were tribes and all were pretty equal in hunting and killing that it became necessary for the tribe elders, Shamans or Medicine men , men with not only sense but wisdom. Those men came together once a year . At first it was the elders and the strongest of their tribe to protect their elder, Then it became a test of strength with the strongest getting to decide what would happen the next year. Until the one year the very strongest and his elder asked if one man should rule all the other tribes. It was chaos , Brant and the elder Elon barely escaped. It took Brant with the aid of Elon four years to bring all the tribes into one. The Elders agreed to a Council, three Elders ,three of the strongest tribes leaders would be tested with trials of bravery and sense, the elders would then judge each from first to third to be on that council, the elders knew that being the strongest was good but without knowledge no man could be a  true leader and as long as they had that knowledge and shared it with each other there was really no need to worry what elder was on the council, because they had sense enough to rely on each other and kept that knowledge to themselves to be able to keep the strongest in line.
   It was decided that every year there would be a gathering. Bringing people together, all the people the elders and  the strongest. Contests were created and it was a matter of pride for the people of that tribe to have the strongest or the faster in their tribe.
   So every year after  Harvest every tribe small and large would come together and share what was grown what was caught and new discoveries . Plans were made for the next year as to who would host it and how it would go. Peoples were moving back and forth from village to village men and women were making families, moving from where they were born to a whole new village and a whole new way of life.Animals were being domesticated for work and for eating. Each new thing brought about new ways to make life easier . A system of monies was created and that is when things really changed. The crafts began from simple ones like farming and all things involved in farming. From irrigation to be able to bring water to needed areas to waste removal of human and animal waste. Banking was the highest of all the trades and to be able to be a banker you needed a special training , a banking school. Soon there were schools for everything and the bank had their fingers in every single one of them.
   The Guilds were created, Mining for gems for the very affluent , the Masters of those Guilds had there apprentices and it was money that helped you become an apprentice. Unless you were especially gifted in one or another Guild you were meant for hard labor and a special Guild was created for just that use. The Militia was created by the Bankers Guild and the Militia grew very large very fast. It did not take long for the Banking Guild to take advantage of the power they had created.
   Okay enough for now, I must go and do some work or else no one else will do it, be back later to write more, really hope you are enjoying this, I certainly am.
   Back again, really hope you are liking, but that's okay if you don't, after this one or maybe sooner I'll start another and maybe that one will be your cup of tea !
   So all these Guilds had power and wanted more and the way to do that was to create a system that help all knowledge to its founders. Guilds were the foundation of many small towns and although those Guilds brought the knowledge that each Guild had, that was as far as it went. A Guild Elder would elect only those members who were family or related to those in power, that way no new enterprise could go very far without the actual Guild recommendation. Eventually the Guilds became so powerful and wealthy off the backs of those who did all the actual work and no one could complain or they would end up discredited in the field they were supposed to be all knowing in, leading to forfeiture of everything they had worked all their life for.
 The first Guild made King was a puppet to the Guilds and from then on the Guilds made law to enforce the power of the Guilds and with the Militia now a governed entity became the Guilds army. Over the years each guild built schools to teach reading and writing for all those who were Guild born all others were subject to learning through their dealing with the Guilds and became a class system of who you were born to and what you had given to you, if you had nothing or a family that had nothing you were a worker and everything you had was subject to the Realms pleasure, the King saw to that.
   The very first King saw to it that the farmers , fishermen and all the lower trades which included everything that brought the realm monies to the Guilds. Land was the realms to be used as it saw fit, each parcel of land was barely big enough to bring food for the realm and the family that farmed the land. and
   Herald was young, he was a small boy with big bright blue eyes that seemed to get him in trouble when ever he watched the army take his families food and leave the last renderings of that years crop. His mother and father were not good farmers, many years he tried to get into the Iron Works Guild , his father before him was a Blacksmith as was his fathers father. Sten , Heralds father had no money to become a Guild apprentice. When he brought his claim to the local magistrate , which was realm government, he didn't stand a chance he never got to have his say in court and when he tried he was told either prison for not working for the realm or take a small parcel of land and farm it. At the time his wife was pregnant with Herald so he had no choice, he took what was offered and tried his best. The first years were hard but he managed to keep his head and stay out of prison and kept his family fed by hiding food so he and his small family could keep on living. When Herald was walking and talking but yet no use to the farm or his father , his mother Beth was going to have another baby. Herald didn't understand why the baby never cried when it was born. From then on the farm which barely fed them and with what they had to give each year was worse than ever. Herald saw things the way they were and no matter how sad or poor you were you still had longing for you and your family. He did not know why the army came and took away their land, it was so small but it was all they had. Herald's  Mother and Father dies in service to the realm and that was and saw no need to do anything different for this family when so many other families were able to give to the realm year after year, so why change for just one meaningless family.
   Protection from small bands of the army were available if you had something that could be traded, a wife willing to share her bed with a soldier a father willing to give himself for combat training. The realm would give the widow a pension when ever a husband dies in the service of the realm. It was to late for any of that for Heralds parents . Like many before and many after his parents were useful as long as they could give something to the realm , the Guilds, but now he had nothing. No parents , no land or house to live in and no relatives he knew of, only his dreams of the far away mountains. He had often dreamed of the mountains and what it might be like. Once he told his mother of his dreams of the mountain and how they seemed to call to him. His mother went white with fright and told him " what ever he did he should never ever go to the mountains, they hold demons and those who go there never come back".Now Herald thought , I have nothing so what can I lose ?  Nothing ?
   Herald knew this was the probably the end of everything he knew but what else was there, he could thing of nothing. In his dreams he knew there was something better, better for him or better for all, he was young yet and years before he would be called a man but the idea of being on his own with no one calling him to do others work, no master is what drove him on , on to the mountain and his end , probably be eaten by a demon .
   Many eyes watched the Isle of Calion.
Okay this is it for tonight. When I start tomorrow the story starts to get going. With Herald going to the Mountains , what will happen to him . Keep reading , Herald is just beginning when we start tomorrow. thanks for reading.
   Once again I am here writing a story, it is for the most part a readers story that enjoys action adventure with Demons and Gods. Sure there is more but behind the words of this story is meaning. It makes one think about how certain elements can be seen now as things are written about power and money and such. There will be more things that are in this story that are easily  recognizable as to whats happening now.
   So many eyes are watching Calion, one in particular. Akeega watched this young boy as he headed towards his mountain. Herald didn't seem to care that these mountains might be the end of him or that he might not even make it to the mountain. Herald was very young for this sort of trek. it was miles before he would get to the base of the mountain and to climb was not the sort of thing a young boy would normally do.
   Akeega could only sense these feelings from Herald he was still to far away to be able to clearly read his mind but Akeega knew for sure that Herald was coming and short of death nothing was going to stop him. Akeega might not be able to read Heralds mind yet but he could aid in his getting here. Helpg him choose the right path that would lead him to a good place to stop for sleep and also find a spot that had berries and such so Herald could keep his strength up as he traveled. When he did cross paths with people , they seemed quite eager to help young Herald even to the point of asking him if he had any living parents and telling him that he was far enough away from the reach of the realm and need be he could stay and work the farm for his keep. The Mountain was calling and Herald was listening , he heard the offers and thanked them kindly but he knew he must keep going, he didn't understand it all but knew something lie ahead for him , whether good or bad he was going all the way to the mountains. After what seemed like months on the road on small paths along a stream of small tributary of the river that flowed from Calion Mountain to the sea he was finally at the base of the mountain. From where he was right now , looking up and wondering the best way to get to the top put a bit of fear in Heralds heart, he never thought about what he would do when he actually got here , now that he was , and looking up seeing how big this mountain really was made Herald long for home and his parents. Night was quickly coming and the need of food and shelter brought Herald out of his reverie and back to the real world. Once again Akeegas help was there in the form  of a rabbit warren and not much later he had a brace of rabbits on a spit over a warm and inviting fire. Along the way he had been given a water carrier for his back, water was plentiful but to search for it would slow his progress and Akeega didn't know how much this boy actually had in him so any help was good help.
   Herald was full and warm and the spot he had taken to make his fire and have his meal was fast approaching his sleeping quarters. Once he was sure the fire was banked just right for the evening he lay out his blanket another gift from a passing stranger, he fell into a long strong sleep and had the most vivid dream he had ever had in his young life.
  Okay for now , I must get some chores done and check on my car and the new engine being built and then put in after the old engine is taken out, I am really stoked about this, see you later my wonderful readers.
   Dreams for Herald were a constant reminder that there is something more than just what is seen, and a man must be the master of his own domain, the ruler of his destiny. In this dream, Herald was a grown man with others at his command. People were following him as if he were a leader of some kind, everywhere he looked outstretched arms and hands reached for him as he went along. As he looked up ahead he saw roads leading to grand city. A Castle the likes he had never seen or imagined anywhere in his young life, Knights and men of Honor lined the road leading up towards the highest point in the Castle. As he went forward he saw Thrones , one was bigger than the other but both were the most beautiful chairs that were adorned with jewels , gold and silver. Now he was in a room with those very same Thrones and men and women all around. Knights in Armor ladies in silk and satin everything was as if he could have imagined sneaking a look at the inside of a Castle and what might be going on. Even in the largest city of Calion there was no Castle. There were large estates with even larger that life houses but no Castles. As dreams go and weirdness follows , he was now seated in the bigger throne and beside him a woman of such beauty that he could scarcely believe his eyes as to what he was seeing in his dream, as he looked at her she only stared straight ahead but in her profile he swore he would remember this face forever.
   The room was big enough for Tables that were filled with every kind of food he had ever dreamed of in real life, Deer, all kinds of Fowl, roasted Pig what seemed like Snake or Eel , so much food he had never that amount all in one place before. Looking about he saw men and women watching him, and waiting . In an alcove just next to him to the right of his Throne set into the alcove was a smaller niche and in that niche was  a Septer. The Septer was about six feet tall, at about five feet , red, blue and green jewels started at the bottom of the golden handle and etching up the rest of the handle until it stopped at an incredible sight. A crystal globe, eight inches in diameter with gold filigree highlighting a scene. Inside the globe was a blue inlay with a huge ruby that was flat on its top as if it had been perfectly cut off , maybe to make another grand trophy of the other left over piece. The scene on the globe encompassed the whole of the globe starting with an engraved crest with two horses facing each other, a man on a magnificent white steed holding a sword in one hand and the scepter in the other, on the other horse a beautiful black stallion, was a woman holding a sword in one hand and a hawk on the wrist of the other hand. The rest that followed was something of a blur but seemed like  scenes from battles with fire and water and such that he could not begin to understand it.
   The scepter seemed to grow in importance in his dream, it was gaining strength and started to glow with an awesome power. The power and glowing became one and into a gold glowing emblem of the crest on the globe, then the dream and the mountain became one with great ships crossing an ocean to the isle of Caleon. As he stood on the prow of the first ship he knew his destiny was to become the King of Caleon.
   Well I hope I have your attention, I have to stop now but will be back tonight. No rest for the weary. I don't know which is better , staying home no moving trying to deal with pain , or getting out moving and doing but being tired all the time and of coarse sore and hurting, but writing this story. I really do hope someone is reading it is MY DREAM to be read .
   So I see that three people have come to my Blog and maybe read the story or not, thank you so much for checking out my story. I will continue to write this story and watch to see if the number of people grows or shrinks or just stays the same, either way this story will continue, I will write just for me and go till the story ends. I know this type of story is not a cup of tea for many , so I will look through my many years of back logged writings and find other stories to write until I get one that draw a crowd, until then , here is more Akeega the God of this Mountain, the Mountain has a name that goes far in this story but I will not reveal it yet, that would be a spoiler !
   The King of Caleon ( changed the spelling so it would read  ( Cal - le - on ) not ( Cal - li - on ) , yet this is just a dream, Herald thought. It all seems so real , but I am a boy who would follow a boy. If I was a King no man woman or child would go through what I did and I am sure I am not the only one that has had misery and pain in their young life. All these leaders , all they want is to keep everything for themselves. Petty leaders using the weak as fodder and their own glory. If those same leaders could unite the people and let everyone have schooling to teach not only a trade but the knowledge of what life has to offer , not just work but the enjoyment of what can be built by people having a shared dream something that brings them together instead of pitting them against each other, one by one taking them apart until they feel as thought they are nothing, nothing to live for nothing for their children , to better themselves, to want to be better and help each other, bring together man and the land . All this and more was going through Heralds head as he dreamed, he now understood there was more but how to get it, he only knew he had to keep going until he found his answers. He needed to go further up the mountain .
   Now comes the test, I shall see what this boy is made of, Akeega gave a short laugh , it has been so very long since I have seen someone come and want to know if there is more to life. We shall see, Akeega knew others were watching as well !
 Okay for now , must go do some work and earn my keep , see you later !
   Back again, I am not sure how long I can keep up with writing two stories every day, I will try for a while, at least this story, Akeega is already written and all I am doing is fixing the text so the story flows better and of course the grammar needs to be edited for easier reading, so here goes, my first foray into writing two stories in one day, maybe one story one day and the other story the next, I just hope no one wants more Little Paddle the Platypus, the First story , not that I ever wrote , that would be the Whirlpool, I wrote in High School, but Little Paddle is the first story I ever completed and tried to get it sold through self publishing, if you ever want a hard lesson in publishing then self publish something you wrote, holy hell its a lesson and a half plus quite a bit of money. Let me start before I go on another rant !
   Herald woke with a start and didn't know where he was at first, but hat cleared when he saw the peak of the Mountain, he now knew this mountain was called Crystal Mountain, he had no idea how he knew that. What he did know was that he was going to the peak whatever it took he was going to the top and find out what was calling him .
   This will surely test this young boy, to come to the top of the mountain as high as any man has been before him and further still, to the very edge of the heavens and what mortal man knew of its boundaries.
   Herald climbed for hours and hours, that turned into days, days that stretched into weeks, living on roots bugs and small rodents, a Hare, here and there, with only a small knife that was his fathers he used every skill at his command, a small nook at night to stay out out the cold wind. After weeks he had a small cloak made from the skins of the animals that helped Herald survive this trek , and still the top looked ever so far away. There were no more dreams only the hard stone of the Mountain to bring sleep.
   When Herald had reached the very edge of his strength and endurance, Akeega gave the boy a present. A small cave where a bear had had a fight with another animal, the bear was freshly dead and Herald knew this to be a boon sent from some god just for him, he was grateful and prayed so. First he made a fire and took the bears heart and ate it roasted, the blood dripping down his chin and chest. Herald thought he never had a better meal and that thought made him cry, he was still a boy and missed his parents, even though the trials he had been through made him more of a man than many others. With a full belly comes sleep, a dreamless sleep.
   It was very hard work to skin a bear, yet with determination and help from a granite block he could keep his knife sharp. For the next three days he ate well slept well and at the end he had a coat that would keep him warm even in the highest regions of this mountain.
   With a full belly and a warm heart, Herald knew this was right for what ever would come will come and he will weather through, he knew he was on the right path , he just didn't know where that path was taking him, but for now he was alright and that much was good.
   Alright so that's it for tonight, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I have writing it now and before.