Matabele
Journey Man
Early in the year of 2005 the winds of altruism had blown behind the bird and provided it with enough lift to take to the air but it was still faced with a perilous journey towards restoration and survival.
The first foe to confront the bird was a fierce Maori warrior. His face contorted into a terrifying rictus the warrior descended on the bird just as it began its ascent into the heavens. A blow from the spear of the Maori would surely have sent to bird into a dizzying spiral from whence it may not return.
However, paint made the Maori look fiercer than he truly felt. The bird sensed this crisis of confidence in his first foe and exploited it. As the Maori swung his spears at the bird it veered viciously in the air and counterattacked – it’s pincer like beak raking at the left flank of the Maori and exposing a vulnerability of temperament. The Maori sensed the new resolve in the bird and skulked off into the darkest recesses of his cave to re-sharpen his spears for another day. The bird flapped wings that began to carry it over the great seas. It had passed its first test.
After a week long flight the bird descended from the heights and took refuge on a small rock outcrop that reared up from the sea. It was here that the Shark caught up with the bird. The Shark was in desperate straights itself having endured a frightful battle the previous week and several of its most important teeth had been drawn from its skull.
The bird was able to fly up into the air as the Shark flung itself at its former perch. The bird knew that this was an opportunity to put deal early with a weakened foe and decided that fight would be a better policy than flight. The early exchanges confirmed this course of action but after a half hour of battle the bird made a miscalculation.
Rather than sweeping in over the shark and raking it with talons extended, the bird crashed into the head of the Shark. The Shark slashed at the bird and for a terrible moment the bird hovered within the closing jaws of the shark.
A microsecond before they closed the bird dragged itself from this ominous peril and swooped away and high into the sun. The shark rued the lost opportunity and thrashed its head from side to side to sight the bird.
It was then that the bird launched itself. With wings folded it pierced the blue heavens, the sun casting an aura behind it as it continued its dive. It unfolded its wings at the last second, raked out one of the eyes of the shark with sharp claw whilst plunging its beak into the other. The Shark was defeated.
The flight continued over the oceans. Blue skies gave way to black and lightning fizzled around the bird and sparked blue from the waters as thunder crashed overhead. There was nowhere for the bird to go but through the eye of the storm, but would it have the resources to come out the other side?
The Storm struck again and again, one lightning bolt searing the bird’s feathers and extracting a shriek of pain from its throbbing throat. The bird plunged deep into the storm and battled gamely on. The winds buffeted its wings and threatened to tear them from its body. Hailstones rained down and drummed into the bird’s body.
Still the bird set its head forward and kept its wings flapping, urging its bruised and battered body to greater endeavour. For fifteen dreadful minutes the Storm raged at its peak and unleashed everything in its powers in a bid to overcome the bird.
It was to no avail. Finally the bird emerged on the far side of the Storm with body intact and found a beautiful green island vista spread before it. Gratefully it skimmed over a sandy beach before alighting on the edge of a small forest. There it found a place to restore its battered body and find sustenance.
Unbeknownst it had come a long way in three short weeks. It had endured the worst that three vicious foes could throw at it and had done more than survive. It had regained the ability to fight and to endure. New muscle had appeared in its body, a vicious glint had returned to its eye and a new confidence was emerging. Word spread to the other foes of the land and they began to gather their resources to thwart the bird.
How will the bird journey continue now that it had lost the element of surprise?
To be continued ……………….
The first foe to confront the bird was a fierce Maori warrior. His face contorted into a terrifying rictus the warrior descended on the bird just as it began its ascent into the heavens. A blow from the spear of the Maori would surely have sent to bird into a dizzying spiral from whence it may not return.
However, paint made the Maori look fiercer than he truly felt. The bird sensed this crisis of confidence in his first foe and exploited it. As the Maori swung his spears at the bird it veered viciously in the air and counterattacked – it’s pincer like beak raking at the left flank of the Maori and exposing a vulnerability of temperament. The Maori sensed the new resolve in the bird and skulked off into the darkest recesses of his cave to re-sharpen his spears for another day. The bird flapped wings that began to carry it over the great seas. It had passed its first test.
After a week long flight the bird descended from the heights and took refuge on a small rock outcrop that reared up from the sea. It was here that the Shark caught up with the bird. The Shark was in desperate straights itself having endured a frightful battle the previous week and several of its most important teeth had been drawn from its skull.
The bird was able to fly up into the air as the Shark flung itself at its former perch. The bird knew that this was an opportunity to put deal early with a weakened foe and decided that fight would be a better policy than flight. The early exchanges confirmed this course of action but after a half hour of battle the bird made a miscalculation.
Rather than sweeping in over the shark and raking it with talons extended, the bird crashed into the head of the Shark. The Shark slashed at the bird and for a terrible moment the bird hovered within the closing jaws of the shark.
A microsecond before they closed the bird dragged itself from this ominous peril and swooped away and high into the sun. The shark rued the lost opportunity and thrashed its head from side to side to sight the bird.
It was then that the bird launched itself. With wings folded it pierced the blue heavens, the sun casting an aura behind it as it continued its dive. It unfolded its wings at the last second, raked out one of the eyes of the shark with sharp claw whilst plunging its beak into the other. The Shark was defeated.
The flight continued over the oceans. Blue skies gave way to black and lightning fizzled around the bird and sparked blue from the waters as thunder crashed overhead. There was nowhere for the bird to go but through the eye of the storm, but would it have the resources to come out the other side?
The Storm struck again and again, one lightning bolt searing the bird’s feathers and extracting a shriek of pain from its throbbing throat. The bird plunged deep into the storm and battled gamely on. The winds buffeted its wings and threatened to tear them from its body. Hailstones rained down and drummed into the bird’s body.
Still the bird set its head forward and kept its wings flapping, urging its bruised and battered body to greater endeavour. For fifteen dreadful minutes the Storm raged at its peak and unleashed everything in its powers in a bid to overcome the bird.
It was to no avail. Finally the bird emerged on the far side of the Storm with body intact and found a beautiful green island vista spread before it. Gratefully it skimmed over a sandy beach before alighting on the edge of a small forest. There it found a place to restore its battered body and find sustenance.
Unbeknownst it had come a long way in three short weeks. It had endured the worst that three vicious foes could throw at it and had done more than survive. It had regained the ability to fight and to endure. New muscle had appeared in its body, a vicious glint had returned to its eye and a new confidence was emerging. Word spread to the other foes of the land and they began to gather their resources to thwart the bird.
How will the bird journey continue now that it had lost the element of surprise?
To be continued ……………….
I keep hearing rumours that they're going to make the series in the sale vein as LOTR - should be something to see.
