Sword Dream

Kearst the albino kiwi looked at the chick at her feet. It was sick with fever and was coughing up sticky mucus stained with blood. The disease raging in the Skywater tribe was getting worse. Kiwis were getting sick all over the place, and some were even too ill to eat. From all her reading, Kearst, the official peacekeeper and messenger of Skywater knew that the only thing that could save her tribe was a potion made from the feathers of Garunsen, the last archaeopteryx.
On the first day of spring the year after the cardinals and the blue jays defeated Lord Turnatt by summoning Swordbird, Kearst turned the responsibility of being the medicine bird of Skywater to her assistant, Greshnur. Then Kearst left for the Castlewood ruins to retrieve the feathers of Garunsen.


Kearst was tense as she walked towards the ocean. She was in Stone-Run and heading for the south shore. The kiwi didn’t know why she felt like the south shore would be the best place to go, she just did. She had once heard from an old traveler wood duck who had been visiting Skywater that the sea was more docile near the south.
Kearst flew higher, and Stone-Run looked like a fuzzy green blanket underneath her. Kearst had never before actually visited Stone-Run, but from the kiwis that had, Kearst learned that it was a nice place. Their Bright Moon Celebration was always a great festivity, and the kiwis of Skywater could hear their laughter from the lake.
Kearst looked around as the forest setting began to wane into stony cliffs and the sun began to set. Though she had not walked very fast, Kearst had walked very far and Bright-Water Lake was far behind her.


Reyniquet the swallow-tailed kite flew towards the Quintien-Major tribe camp in his disguise. He had stolen one of Minguen’s robes. Minguen was another swallow-tailed kite, but she was from the Quintien-Major tribe and Reyniquet was from the Quintien-Minor tribe.
Reyniquet clutched his cutlass as he flew closer, spotting his victim, an old kite by the name of Silrist. Silrist was the head librarian in the Quintien-Major tribe. Reyniquet grasped Silrist’s neck and was about to lower his cutlass upon it when Silrist screeched, “Geinturen, help me!”
Reyniquet loosened his grip and turned around but saw nothing. By the time the kite turned around, Silrist was gone. It had been a trick. At least I looked almost exactly like Minguen, thought Reyniquet. That way the old coot won’t be able to tell that it was really me.


Wishul the shearwater stared towards the forest as a white kiwi came into view. He thought of this as odd, because the kiwis lived very far up north. The kiwi paused for a moment and waddled over to Wishul.
“Hello,” Said the Kiwi, “I’m Kearst from Skywater. I need a place to rest for the night; I’ve walked a long way.”
“I am Wishul. This is the Longwillow tribe. You’re welcome to stay here for a while,” said the shearwater. “I don’t mean to pry, but may I ask why you are so far from Bright-Water?”
Kearst was reluctant to reply, in case there was a disease in Longwillow as well. Then there may not be enough feathers for Skywater. However, Wishul did not seem sick or worried, and the birds around him also seemed to be worry-free and healthy, so she said, “I am on my way to the Castlewood ruins to find the feathers of the last archaeopteryx. A potion made from those feathers is the only thing that can stop the disease that is killing Skywater.
“I came to the south shore because I’ve heard from a traveler that the weather is easier down here. Even with the good currents, my lack of wings will be a large handicap in getting me to Kauria, where I plan to rest for three days before journeying on to Castlewood.”
Wishul paused for a moment, taking in everything that Kearst had said. After a minute, he said, “You can get to Kauria with my help! The shearwaters of Longwillow are expert shipbuilders, and as the youngest son of the leader of this tribe I admit I’m a bit spoiled. I have many, many boats. You may have one if you allow me to come with you. I don’t want to stay here, seeing nothing but rocks and water all day.”

And so, by the end of the day, Kearst had come to be the skipper of a rather large boat called the Stormbreeze. Wishul had taught her how to hoist the anchor and spread the sails. Kearst found she rather liked sailing, and Wishul seemed glad to be away from the rocks.
The two birds were headed for Kauria.


Minguen the swallow-tailed kite’s beak dropped open when she flew into her tribe’s camp. Two very strong Mississippian kites grabbed her legs and another swallow-tailed kite grabbed hold of both her wings. Completely against her own will, Minguen was escorted to the leader’s study, where many kites of both the Quintien-Major and the Quintien-Minor tribes were there. Two females were comforting a rather shaken up Silrist, who was muttering, “She tried to kill me. Minguen tried to kill me and she would have done it if I hadn’t fooled her….She tried to kill me with a cutlass. She was wearing that very same robe…Minguen tried to kill me.”
None of this of course, was true. Minguen had never touched a cutlass or any other weapon in her life and would never think of harming Silrist, who was in fact, Minguen’s great-uncle. As for the robe, Minguen had returned for her morning flight to find it missing, (it was Minguen’s favorite robe too, a teal one with silver lining) and had only just discovered it lying on a tree branch while returning from her mid-day flight.
“Is it true, Minguen?” asked Ttrilifore, the Quintien-Major leader, “Did you really attempt to kill Silrist with a cutlass?”
“No! I would never touch any weapon if my life depended on it!” Minguen protested.
Reyniquet, the kite who had really tried to kill Silrist, and who was also among the council, spoke up, saying, “I can vouch for Silrist. I was flying overhead when it happened. I would have told you if Silrist hadn’t gotten here first. But since we all know, I do suppose it doesn’t matter who told Ttrilifore.”
This, of course, was a huge, blatant, lie. Reyniquet had made the entire thing up to make himself look as if he was innocent which he was, of course, not.
A few kites murmured that Minguen was a pacifist and would never touch a weapon but even more said that Minguen was a bully and a robber. The real bully and robber was Reyniquet, dressed in Minguen’s favorite robe. Ttrilifore heard what the kites were saying about Minguen robbing and bullying and said, “Alright Minguen. You can admit your guilt and have a lesser punishment, but if you say you are innocent once more, you will be exiled.”
Minguen wasn’t going to admit she was guilty if it wasn’t true, which it wasn’t. So she said, “I am innocent. I do not know how these rumors of me bullying and robbing came about nor do I know who tried to kill Silrist. I am innocent.”
And so, without having to be told to, Minguen flew away from the Quintien-Major tribe and away from the forest. As she was leaving, Minguen saw Reyniquet beak the words, ‘You’re dead, pacifist. I’ll find you.’ Minguen flew on and on, stricken with fear and not knowing or caring where she went. But that night, while Minguen was about to doze while still in the air, a storm came and swept her out towards the ocean.


Kearst and Wishul didn’t even try to duck for cover beneath the deck of the Stormbreeze. The two birds welcomed the rain like you would welcome an old friend. They laughed and talked as if the rain wasn’t even falling, though Kearst was knocked over by the wind a few times.
Then, as unexpected as a pond in a desert, a swallow-tailed kite fell onto the deck of the Stormbreeze. It was wearing a teal robe with a silver lining, and it looked as if it had a broken wing from the impact of falling onto the boat.
The bird’s shimmering robe flapped in the wind. It was almost torn away from its wearer, but the storm stopped before it fell into the sea. As Kearst looked closer, she could see that the robe had the word ‘believe’ written on the inside bottom right corner.

It was at least two hours until the kite came to. Wishul had helped Kearst carry her underneath the deck of the Stormbreeze. They had started a small fire in the pumice fireplace that Kearst was so thankful for then. It helped them make some soup and to warm up the poor swallow-tailed kite.
The kite, of course, had no idea where she was when she woke up. She tried to stand up but fell over and started coughing up sticky seawater. After she had fully regained consciousness and stopped coughing, she asked, “Where am I, and who are you?”
Both Kearst and Wishul hesitated to answer, in case the kite was hostile. Wishul, who was more accustomed to speaking to strangers than Kearst was, spoke first.
“I am Wishul of Longwillow, and my friend is Kearst of Skywater. We are headed towards Kauria, and after that, towards the Castlewood ruins.”
The kite didn’t speak for a moment, but then said, “I am Minguen, free flier. I used to be of the Quintien-Major tribe, but I was exiled due to unfair reasoning. Please, you must let me come with you to Kauria. He won’t find me there…”
Kearst and Wishul looked at each other, thinking that Minguen must still be groggy from the hard fall. Kearst slowly began to ask her, “Who won’t find you there?”
“Reyniquet. He framed me with attempted murder and that’s why I was exiled. Now he wants to kill me.”


Reyniquet lifted into the air the day after Minguen’s trial and left to find and kill her. He had seen Minguen fly southwest, towards Stone-Run forest. However, he had no idea how far she had gone, so he would just have to question a few birds to find out, and maybe pinch some food off them.
It was a far trip even just to Stone-Run, so when Reyniquet spotted a family of goldfinches sharing a large pot of bean stew, he lighted down. At first Reyniquet hid among the leaves of the willow tree that the finches were perched on. Then, just as one of them was lifting a spoon to its beak, the large kite jumped out, making the bird drop its spoon and jump back.
Reyniquet chuckled softly, for he loved making others miserable. Then just as a bold female goldfinch was about to tell Reyniquet to go away, he grabbed her and held the unfortunate bird up to his face.
“Yesterday, a few hours before the storm, did you happen to see a kite like me fly by, wearing a teal robe?”
The goldfinch screamed, “No!” and reached up to gouge out Reyniquet’s eye. She almost succeeded, but the kite’s eye was left hanging by a thread.
Reyniquet, steaming with anger, threw the small bird against the tree, grabbed the pot of stew and flew towards an elm tree not too far from where the goldfinches were eating.
As he ate, Reyniquet began to think of every place Minguen might be. There was Stone-Run, Bright-Water, and any of the countless shores. What he did not think of, however, was on a boat headed for Kauria.


It was almost evening the next day before Wishul, who was flying above the Stormbreeze, spotted the shore of Kauria. It didn’t take the small boat long to get to land because the water was very calm, as if it was waiting for something.
It took a while to haul the boat onto the sand, with only two birds to do it. Minguen’s broken wing made it rather hard for her to do any physical activity besides walking. After the Stormbreeze was hauled ashore, Kearst lead the way into the forest.
The odd trio walked for awhile until they fell into a burrow of sorts. A strange, green and yellow bird greeted them by shouting, “Oh, great! Not again! Every time I get close to finishing a very important order, somebird falls into my burrow!”
Naturally, the three birds were startled. And on top of getting yelled at, the bird that was yelling was a type that none of them had ever seen before.
“Oh, excuse me. You three look like visitors. The birds on this island are usually brightly colored. I am Shrelletler, and in case you were wondering, I am a canary-winged parakeet,” said the strange bird.
Wishul, who had been trying to observe everything in the room at once, noticed that the bird was wearing a strange wooden pendant that looked like a sun with tiny bronze hinges on one side and an equally tiny bronze latch on the other side. He was torn from his thoughts by Minguen, who was saying, “We should get going now..,” but Shrelletler insisted that they stay.

The birds were having tea when Shrelletler looked intently at Kearst, started to take off his pendant and said, “I have a feeling you’ll need this,” and before he handed Kearst the sun pendent he undid the latch a showed her a light blue gem inside.
“The gem can be put to great use in a time of need,” Shrelletler whispered to Kearst as he put in around the kiwi’s neck.
Before Minguen, Wishul, and Kearst left, Shrelletler told them the legend of Swordbird and the Leasorn gems.


Reyniquet was terribly angry. He had questioned many woodbirds and none of them had seen Minguen. It was only when he stumbled upon the Longwillow tribe of shearwaters did he realize that he had to act as if he came in peace.
So, when he landed among the birds, he politely asked a female shearwater where the leader of Longwillow stayed. The bird directed him towards a medium sized-cavern in the rocks. Reyniquet entered quietly and bowed with the uttermost respect.
“I have come here to ask,” Reyniquet began, “If you have seen a kite like me fly by here. She is my sister, and I have to get her home soon.”
The old shearwater was very happy to oblige this polite bird’s wish, and replied
“I did see a kite pass through here, though she was not flying. She was being carried by the wind, and she was unconscious. The direction she was being blown is the same way that my son went with one of his boats. He also had an albino kiwi with him.”
“And did your son say where and why he was going? You never know what might be helpful,” said Reyniquet.
“He told me that he was headed for the Castlewood ruins to help Kearst – that’s the white kiwi I mentioned – find the ancient feathers of Garunsen, the last archaeopteryx, for their magical powers. The kiwi needs to make a special potion from the feathers to stop the disease that is killing her tribe.”
“Do these feathers have any other powers that you know of? I mean, if, say, a very old bird were to drink a different potion made from the feathers, would he get stronger?”
“I am not sure,” the Longwillow leader said, “but I have heard that before somewhere, yes.”
“Thank you sir, you have been most helpful. Now I must and go find my sister.”
Reyniquet said and then flew towards Kauria.


Wishul was the only one who worked during the three days that the shearwater, kiwi, and kite spent at Kauria. Minguen slept, but her dreams were filled with visions of Reyniquet finding her. Kearst was equally worried, but not about Reyniquet. The white kiwi worried about her tribe dying; that she was taking too much time in finding Garunsen’s feathers.
Wishul spent the three days making very slight modifications and repairs to the Stormbreeze. He had carved a leafy design in the pumice fireplace and used driftwood to make shelves for books, teacups and pots.

As Wishul was scraping barnacles from the bow of the Stormbreeze, he saw a kite that looked similar to Minguen flying in the clouds. At first he assumed it was Minguen, but when the bird flew closer, he saw that this bird had one good eye and the other eye was hanging out of its socket.
The bird landed and held Wishul against the sand. It spoke loudly, “Where are you friends, bird? I know they’re here. There’s a white kiwi and a kite like me. I don’t care for the kiwi. She can live for all I care. Where’s the kite? I will not stop till her blood drenches the sand that you’re sittin’ on right this moment.”
“Wh-what kiwi? What k-kite? I’m a-alone here,” sputtered Wishul, who was trying hard to breathe.
The bird holding him down became angry and screeched loudly, waking Minguen and Kearst up. Kearst, who slept on the ground, ran to the shore to see what was going on. Minguen’s wing was still broken, so she followed Kearst on the ground. Kearst held her friend back when she saw what was happening.
“Stay back,” whispered the kiwi. “I think it’s Reyniquet out there.”

Reyniquet, who was becoming even angrier with the shearwater, was now holding Wishul against the bow of the Stormbreeze.
“I’ll kill you! If you don’t tell me where they are, I’ll kill you,” screamed Reyniquet. Wishul, who was gasping for air now, only muttered, “So kill me then.”
Reyniquet was all too happy to oblige.


Sailing to Castlewood was misery for the two remaining birds for two reasons. The first was that Wishul was dead and they hadn’t had a chance to bury him, and the second was that they knew Reyniquet was waiting for them at the Castlewood ruins.
Another setback was that the two birds were pacifists, and they knew Reyniquet would have weapons. Of course there was the small chance that Reyniquet would only be armed with a staff or a club, but it was always more likely that he would have his cutlass.

Just before they reached land, Minguen began to whisper to Kearst.
“Please don’t make me fight, Kearst. I’m a pacifist. I mean, I know you are too, but I can’t make anybird go through what I have. Not even Reyniquet.”
“It’s alright, Minguen. I know how you feel. I’ll do what I can to get rid of Reyniquet.”


Kearst slowly walked towards where Reyniquet was sitting on a pile on stones and rubble. The swallow-tailed kite was laughing.
“So, kiwi, it appears that I shall kill you first. In case you haven’t been told by your cowardly friend, I am-,”
“Reyniquet. Yes, Minguen told me. And in case you didn’t realize, she is not a coward. She told me about how she was framed by you and would not admit false guilt. If that’s not bravery, I don’t know what is.”
“Whatever,” spat Reyniquet, “I don’t have time for small talk. How about I just kill you and get it over with?”
Kearst would not be spoken to that way. “I swear by Swordbird that you won’t kill me, or Minguen.”
Reyniquet chuckled, flew down, and pinned Kearst against the ground.
“Where’s Swordbird now?” he asked mockingly. It was only then that Kearst remembered what Shrelletler had said. The light blue Leasorn gem was missing from its original home, the Illagoo tribe. The jewel in the pendant Shrelletler gave her was light blue! Kearst could almost hear the parakeet’s words repeat in her head.
‘I have a feeling you’ll need this’ he had said. He knew! He had known all along that Kearst would need to summon Swordbird!
Luckily for Kearst, Reyniquet was armed only with a small club. The albino kiwi turned around and let the swallow-tailed kite beat her all he wanted to. Kearst had to shake her head vigorously to get the wooden sun pendant off of her neck because her legs were too short to reach up to her neck. Soon, the pendant clattered onto the floor. She quickly opened the latch and tore out the light blue gem. She held it in her foot and began to sing,


Then, a blinding white light filled the sky, and Swordbird appeared. His feathers were the same color as Kearst’s; a beautiful white like the full moon.
“Let the world be ridden of your treachery, demon.” Swordbird said in a calm tone that was almost melodic.
“Never!” screeched Reyniquet, who flew with his club towards the great white dove. Swordbird’s reaction was very swift, and it was almost as if Reyniquet had simply flown into the sword.
After Reyniquet had dropped to the ground, dead, Swordbird flew down to Kearst. He latched the wooden sun pendant closed again and put it around the kiwi’s neck.
“Are you alright, young one?”
Kearst nodded slowly.
“What you sang in your song was true, my friend. A bird is not measured by the length of their wings but by the size of their spirit.”
Kearst was amazed that Swordbird had not disappeared yet. He was staying by Kearst’s side.
“Why aren’t you leaving yet? From all the stories I’ve read, from all the tales I’ve heard, you left as soon as the evil had.”
“But my child, the evil is not gone yet. You tribe is still in danger. I present you with the Brikumi potion, made from the feathers of Garunsen. Give some of it to every bird in you tribe, even if they are not sick. And don’t forget yourself.”


All of a sudden, Kearst found herself among her tribe again, and Minguen was beside her, along with the chick she had been tending to when she left. The wooden sun pendant was still around the white kiwi’s neck, and the Brikumi potion was held in her claws. She gently opened the chick’s beak and poured in some of the potion.

It wasn’t long until every bird in the tribe had had some of the potion. It was only about ten minutes after that when the last bird had been full rid of the disease. And so, as it was, all in the Skywater tribe was perfect, at least for the time being.


It has been many years since Kearst returned to Skywater with the Brikumi potion. She is the hero of many of Skywater’s younger birds. My father, Jikuweq, is now the leader of my tribe, and my younger sister, Misherigo, has become a well respected warrior.
Wishul’s body was recovered by Shrelletler who brought back some of his feather’s for Kearst to bury. I don’t think my mother has ever forgotten how much both Wishul and Shrelletler helped her to save her tribe.
Minguen now has a husband, named Kavrig and a daughter named Shirae. I think it would be an understatement to say that Minguen has turned out to be the happiest of us all, thanks to Kearst. Now the kite doesn’t have to worry about Reyniquet sneaking up behind her.
And of course, the only reason all is well now is Swordbird. My mother’s heroic tale has been told many times, and everybird from Kauria to Bright-Water has near memorized it.

GAAH!!! It was correct on MS word, but I forgot to italic it on here.
Reyniquet took me forever to think up. I was about to blow up when I had the best idea. I'm actually reusing some of the names in the book i'm writing. (so far I've only reused Silrist's name)

of course you can use the same format for Sword Shard!

I just realized that none of my paragraphs indented. MUSHROOMS!