by Robert Cely
being warned he swelled with the memory of the dream, with thoughts of power and vengeance and being filled with the strength of the mountain.
One day Oberlain built for himself a house made of stone on the side of the mountain. Inside he stored flour and oil he had acquired from the earth-bound. He made a bed for himself and stored a cache of rocks that he would admire from time to time, running his hands over their rough surface, admiring the power that held them so solidly together.
All this time Oberlain’s body began to change with his attitude. Unaccustomed to so much of the heavy ground food his body quickly added bulk. His unusually heavy frame (by Lethean standards) grew heavier, and at the same time Oberlain discovered a strength he had never known. With the extra weight came an abundance of muscle, and soon Oberlain was easily the strongest Lethe alive.
As Oberlain underwent these changes, the other Lethe began to notice. Curious, for no Lethe had ever built a house before, the others began to visit Oberlain. First to mock him, then eventually to inquire about his strange, new ways.
Oberlain was more than ready to preach the virtues of the ground to any who would listen. He would impress them with his strength and with the abundant food he possessed. He would sway them with his insistent arguments and demonstrations of the strength of rock and ground.
Finally, if any were remained unconvinced of the greater virtues of earth, he would challenge them to a test. Oberlain would remain on the ground while the challenging Lethe would take to the air. Then the challenger would swoop down and try to lift Oberlain off the ground while Oberlain would attempt to throw the challenger to the ground. Whoever won obviously was in the stronger element.
It was a contest to which Oberlain was particularly suited. With the extra weight he had put on and the increase in his strength there was no Lethe who could match him. Each one that took up Oberlain’s Challenge, as he swooped down and tried to lift the powerful man up, was grappled by Oberlain’s strong arms and hurled to the ground. A very impressive lesson indeed.
The example emphasized itself all the more by the bruises and sores produced by contact with the ground. No one could really argue with Oberlain then. The earth certainly did seem stronger than the air. If one doubted he had only to look at the purple bumps rising on his skin, or feel the sore muscles and bones that ached, or see the abrasions opened up by being slung across the dirt. More than one wing feather was even torn free.
Oberlain began to acquire a reputation among the Lethe, a renown he had never experienced before. This had nothing to do with his brother. Others of the wind-borne began to gather around him, wanting to have more of this earth power. They built shelters like his, ate like him, and around him rose the first ever Lethean city. They slept more often and worked with stone so that they too might grow powerful as Oberlain had.
The Rock Lethe, as they began to call themselves, trained constantly and always worked on Oberlain’s Challenge. They called out other Lethe to the challenge and argued with them the virtues of the ground. Soon, a significant portion of them had begun to live in Oberlain’s city.
Many still remained unconvinced despite bruises and being unable to refute Oberlain’s logic. Even if it was obvious that ground was stronger than air, still, these remainder thought, it was obvious that the Lethe belonged in the air. They had wings, after all. Not to even mention the indescribable joy that came from soaring on the wind, a joy so sublime that its only expression was song.
At first the Lethe elders ignored Oberlain. For sure, he was behaving strangely, but they had come to expect that of him, being so different from his brother. Then, one day, the skies felt strangely empty. It was then that they realized that a significant number of the wind-borne had joined Oberlain’s community. The situation was impossible to ignore any longer.
The remaining Lethe called a High Rook, assembled at a high altitude, far out above the deepest ocean. Such was the tradition of the Lethe when they had to discuss matters of great import. Circling high above the ocean waters there existed little danger of them being interrupted or overheard.
At this particular meeting the winged ones debated for many hours what should be done about Oberlain and the Rock Lethe. If a Lethe wasn’t smart enough to see he belonged to the sky what could you say to him? What did it matter that the ground was stronger? It wasn’t made for the Lethe. But neither could they leave the matter alone, for so many were being seduced by Oberlain’s nonsense.
Then there was the matter of the Challenge. They all knew that to confront Oberlain in his test would mean certain defeat. The fact that he had conquered all comers so easily disturbed the Lethe. What could they do if they also challenged him and lost?
Finally, it was Avalain who came forward and settled the matter.
“I will talk to Oberlain and the others,” Avalain said. “I will either convince them of their foolishness or best my brother at his ridiculous challenge.”
The others all excitedly agreed. For who better to put a stop to the schemes of Oberlain than his own brother? And who would fail to listen to the crown and perfection of the Lethe?
They flew off immediately to put the matter to a close.
“Brother! What is this thing you have done?” Avalain cried out as he and the others arrived at the Rock Lethe settlement.
“I have done nothing but discover the source of true strength,” Oberlain answered back in challenge.
“But we are creatures of flight,” Avalain argued. “We are made for the wind and sun, to soar among the starry heights of heaven, to dance among the clouds. Not to scratch in the ground like the flightless ones. The sky is our home.”
“Not anymore,” Oberlain shot back. “We are creatures of the ground now. And for it we have grown in power. We are stronger than you could ever hope to be. We have true substance now, we have weight. Go soar if you want to, continue to be as insubstantial as the air. We have true being now, we have gravity!”
“It is your weight that keeps you from flying in your natural state. We were made for this. Why would you defy the Creator and become one these vulgar ground dwellers? All for power?”
“It is true being brother!” Oberlain screamed. “Reach out and touch the air. Tell me, can you grab hold of it? Can you touch it? No, it just slips between your fingers because it isn’t as real as earth!”
Oberlain reached down and scooped up a fistful of dirt, shaking it at his brother as dust flew around him.
“See this?! It is real! You can touch it! You can see it! You can feel it grind beneath your hand! Can you do that with the wind?!”
“Perhaps not, but the earth cannot bear you up in flight nor can the dust lift your wings,” Avalain answered. “The Creator made us beings of air. We were made to soar and sing. That is why we were given wings, and voices, and the lightness of air.”
“We are our own creators now,” Oberlain sneered. “We will make ourselves, to be more than the Creator would allow us to be. He would keep us from true power, but we have taken it for ourselves and become as real as He is. Why should we let all the earth-bound keep the true might while they snatch our feathers and shoot at us with their arrows. All we do is circle the air and sing. What good is that?”
“True power is being who you were made to be,” Avalain reminded him. “We are guardians of the air. We bless men and strengthen them and guard them from all the dark things that plot evil from the heavenly places, just as the ground-dwellers guard their domain and keep bound the prisoners cast into the pits of the earth.“
”Let us put that to the test,” Oberlain smirked and crossed his arms. “Let us pit your natural air power against my acquired ground power. You soar in the air and I will wait on the ground. If you can lift me off the ground then the air is where we belong, where we are strongest, but if I cast you to the ground, that will prove the earth is stronger, even for us.”
Avalain nodded and lifted off into the air. All the Lethe
held their breath as Avalain flew higher and higher. The waiting Oberlain opened his arms and planted himself firmly on the ground.
When Avalain reached a soaring height he turned over and hovered for a moment, allowing the sun to kiss his face and the wind to fill his bones. He prayed to the Creator to fill him with all the strength of the air. Then, full of power, he turned and dipped, tucked his wings and dove towards his brother.
Oberlain waited with eagerness. His heart thumped and his palms sweat with anticipation. For once he would finally get the best of his brother. For once it would be Oberlain, not Avalain, that everyone would talk about.
As it happened, that very eagerness would be his undoing. Only had he bested his brother, just this once, how the history of the world may have fared differently. Perhaps, if Oberlain had won.... But such speculation only leads to misery. Things happen as they will, and we must accept the consequences of all that has passed.
And what happened here was that Avalain dove for his brother, full of the power and speed of the wind, faster than any of his people had ever flown. Oberlain took a step back and reached out his hands, perhaps a bit too far, perhaps feeling a brief moment of doubt. Avalain flew in faster and faster, hurling like a meteor towards his brother.
Just as Avalain came into reach,