scroll02

Ch’thyr’kahh R’ Hirogen
Translated (Starfleet Standard [SFS]): Scroll of the Hirogen

Renarr?
Translated (SFS): Anuloxx

Having seen with their own eyes?
The danger,?
The damage,?
The bloodshed?
Inflicted upon the K’rta Beasts by?
Remoor, one of their own,?
The Irro had escaped into the Wild.

Having heard the words of Gratta,?
He Who Governs,?
They knew that they were the next?
To fall victim to the Powerful One’s?
Joyful wishes.

Having breathed the winds of Etutheria and?
Having found an appreciation for their?
Own existence,?
The Irro fled deeper and deeper into the Wild,?
Farther than any of the beasts had ever been.?
They passed the plains of Fyrntl, and?
They climbed the rocks of Wasterbrook, and?
They crossed the rivers at Podderym.?
For many risings and settings of Etu,?
They continued their journey until?
They, at last, came to the Shanklands,?
Where the trees grew thickest and?
The grass grew taller than in all of Etutheria.

For, in the Shanklands,?
The Irro believed they would find peace.?
They believed they would find happiness?
In the shape of a new Garden.?
They believed they were out of reach of?
Remoor, the Hirogen.

However, He Who Governs saw everything, and?
He shared what he had seen with Remoor.

‘You must brave the Shanklands,’?
Gratta said.?
‘I have looked upon the world, and?
I have seen the beasts hiding,?
Hiding in fear of your hand,?
Hiding in fear of what you must do?
Should you and your true brethren?
Wish to survive.?
Go, Remoor,?
Go and now hunt the Irro.’

In the days that the Irro traveled,?
Remoor spent his efforts training the Hirogen?
To make weapons from that which the Wild provided,?
To use the lances in speechless acts of tyranny,?
To hunt any and all types of Prey?
Living on Etutheria.

He did not do so without a conscience.?
Remoor hated Himself for what He had already done?
To the K’rta Beasts for the Courage in their blood?
Flowed in his own.

However,?
Remoor knew that He could not best Gratta?
In any match of wits nor?
Any match of strength.?
After all,?
Gratta governed all things, and?
Remoor was a lowly freakling.?
How could a Hirogen stand against a God??
He couldn’t, and?
Remoor couldn’t risk His demise?
When a new people, the race of Hirogen,?
Needed Him most.

Hunting Irro He would go,?
But He would not risk His life alone.

From his new brethren,?
He chose Hunters.

Remoor named and chose Thurn?
For the strength of the trees.?
‘You have the strength of many, and?
You will join me on the Hunt,’?
He said.

Next, Remoor named and chose Taxiss?
For the rage of the river of the same.?
‘You have the power to shape rock, and?
You will join me on the Hunt,’?
He said.

Next, Remoor named and chose Skousen?
For the swiftness of the wind.?
‘You will be our speed, and?
You will join me on the Hunt,’?
He said.

Next, Remoor named and chose Sachar?
For his skillful handling of his lance.?
‘You will be our weapon, and?
You will join me on the Hunt,’?
He said.

Next, Remoor named and chose Kuhn?
For his hearing, as nothing escaped?
The Hirogen’s ears.?
‘You will find the Irro where they lay, and?
You will join me on the Hunt,’?
He said.

Next, Remoor named and chose Averell?
For the width of his back.?
‘You will carry the dead back to N’noka, and?
You will join me on the Hunt,’?
He said.

Last, Remoor named and chose Barent?
For his skepticism.?
‘We have been given this quest by Gratta,?
He Who Governs.?
I do not trust the Powerful One, and,?
For that reason, I would like a strong Hirogen?
Taking up the rear as we march into the Wild.?
As you question all things,?
You are perfectly suited for this task.?
You will guard our rear, and?
You will join me on the Hunt,’?
He said.

Finished, Remoor lifted Thunder, and?
He gouged a mighty line in Etutheria’s?
Thick soil.

‘Today, I wound the very world that gave me life?
For the last time,’?
Remoor said.?
‘I was given life by each and all of the beasts?
As well as each and all of the plants?
As well as each and every thing growing?
In the Garden of Etutheria.?
I have already rid the world of the K’rta, and?
I fear this hunt will rid the world of the Irro.’

Remoor glanced around at the race Gratta,?
He Who Governs,?
Had given Him.

‘Let this wound stand as the last?
I will inflict on this world,’?
The Hirogen said.?
‘Should I be tasked to inflict any other?
Beyond destroying the Irro,?
I demand that you, my new brothers,?
Rise up and stop me.?
I demand that no more of Etutheria?
Be taken by the hand of any Hirogen.?
Should Gratta,?
He Who Governs,?
Ask more of me,?
Then I demand that all of you?
Rise up and?
Take my life as penance for?
Such a deed.’

Slowly, the Hirogen agreed, and?
Thus began the Final Hunt of Remoor.

Ch’thyr’kahh R’ Hirogen?
Translated (Starfleet Standard [SFS]): Scroll of the Hirogen

Remett?
Translated (SFS): Seven

Into the Wild,?
Remoor the First led His council.

They had spoken after leaving N’noka, and?
They had agreed that, at the words of Taxiss,?
The Hunters would be known throughout?
All of Etutheria as?
The ‘Brotherhood of Remoor.’

Time was short,?
As Gratta was waiting.

Remoor was most interested in two?
Of His brethren,?
Thurn and Taxiss.

In Thurn,?
Remoor saw the strength of many Hirogen.?
Thurn was cunning?
For Remoor could see it in his eyes?
When he looked into the Wild.?
Thurn was agile?
For Remoor could see it in his movement.?
In so few risings alive,?
Remoor knew that Thurn had already smelled?
The Scent of Prey in the Hunt.

In Taxiss,?
Remoor saw the leadership of coming days.?
Taxiss was intelligent?
For Remoor had heard it in his words.?
In so few risings alive,?
Taxiss knew all of the names of?
Etutheria’s places, beasts, and growths.?
Taxiss was outspoken?
For Remoor had seen him keeping the peace?
Amongst the Hirogen.

In the Wild,?
Remoor guided the two to a secret place,?
The Grove of Portellion?
(A red flower heavily populating the stretch),?
And He spoke to His special brethren?
Under the quiet trees.

‘Brothers,’?
He said.?
‘You must hear my words privately?
In the Grove, and?
They must become your own?
For the days after today,?
And the days long beyond tomorrow,?
Will belong to the likes of?
Thurn and Taxiss.’

‘The Hirogen have spoken, and?
Remoor the First will ever preside?
Over the Brotherhood,’?
Taxiss said.

Remoor’s heart was heavy.?
‘The people Hirogen were given to me?
By Gratta,?
But I have no desire to possess?
A world of Hunters.’

‘Remoor shall lead us into tomorrow,’?
Thurn insisted.

‘My days with the Brotherhood will be few,’?
Remoor said.?
‘Hear me, and know that it is the wish?
Of Remoor the First that these words?
Become your own counsel.?
My days will be few, but?
They will serve purpose.?
Beginning,?
I will guide the two of you?
In the Ways of the Hunt?
As, even today, the two of you?
Are showing greater understanding?
Than so many of your brethren.’

‘I will not hear this,’?
Thurn insisted.?
‘Remoor will always lead the Brotherhood.’

‘My days will the Brotherhood will be short,’?
He said.?
‘Mighty Thurn, still your tongue?
For I have no doubt that?
Gratta, He Who Governs,?
Will see to my death,?
As I have no intention of Hunting?
All of the Irro.’

‘The Hirogen will not allow?
The Way of Gratta?
To bring harm to Remoor the First,’?
Thurn said.?
‘The Brotherhood of Remoor?
Will stand in His way.?
He will find no land to govern here.’

‘But, Remoor,’?
Taxiss reasoned, as he had shown the skills,?
‘Gratta has demanded the Irro of you.?
What He Who Governs asks of Remoor,?
He Who Governs asks of the Hirogen.’

Remoor agreed.?
‘What would you do, thoughtful Taxiss,?
Should Gratta ask that you?
Hunt your brethren until they are no more?’

Silence fell over Thurn and Taxiss.

‘To defy He Who Governs was never in my mind,’?
Remoor said.?
‘An Irro will be hunted.?
Thoughtful Taxiss, each of us has a path?
Placed before him?
In the Wild.?
Each must study the road before traveling.?
Each must see the turns in the route.?
Each must caution the rise and fall of the soil?
So that he knows whether or not he can pass.?
In the end, each must choose whether to?
Enter the path?
Or to stay his feet.’

Enraged, Thurn turned away.?
‘You have chosen to stay your feet,’?
The Hirogen said.?
‘You ignore the Hunt.’

‘I ignore He Who Governs,’?
Remoor said.?
‘Mighty Thurn,?
Gratta did not breath life unto my mouth.?
Still,?
I have granted him penance for the deed.?
Gratta did not embrace all of the Wild,?
But I have given my allegiance to Him?
As if N’noka itself were His idea.?
In My haste,?
I have forsaken Etutheria,?
My Lifebringer and yours.’

‘In doing so, you must ignore the Hunt,’?
Thurn said.?
‘There is no other way.’

‘As I have said,?
The Wild has many paths.?
Brother, I am Hirogen,’?
Remoor said, His words stronger this time,?
Causing His brethren to face Him.?
‘In my nose, I smell the Prey.?
In my mind, I see the path.?
In my blood flows the Hunt.’

A stillness came from the Wild,?
As Etutheria itself?
Was shaken.

‘Mighty Thurn, stay your feet,’?
Remoor ordered.?
‘I give you my word.?
I will not ignore the call,?
But I will not Hunt the Irro.?
You shall,?
And you will stay your hand after a single kill.’

‘Remoor, you must teach us the way,’?
Taxiss said.

‘We have many risings of Etu,’?
He said.?
Remoor smiled,?
The heaviness of His thought?
Finally lifted from His breast.

‘First, we must discuss?
The fate of Gratta.’

Hidden away in the?
Grove of Portellion,?
Secreted away from the rest?
Of the Brethren,?
Remoor the First,?
Thurn and Taxiss?
Spoke at length?
Of the events yet to come.

‘As sure as blood flows?
Through all of me,?
I fear that?
Etutheria will find no lasting peace?
So long has Gratta lives,’?
Remoor said.

Their heads bowed,?
Thurn and Taxiss agreed.

‘He Who Governs did not create Etutheria,’?
Remoor said.?
‘Nor did he create the K’rta,?
The loving K’rta,?
That he had me destroy.?
Nor did he create the Irro,?
The graceful Irro,?
That He would have us?
Feast upon?
Until the very last drop of blood?
From the very last Irro alive?
Was spilled in the Shanklands.’

Their heads bowed,?
Thurn and Taxiss agreed.

‘My brothers,?
Ours is a world without blessing,’?
Remoor concluded.?
‘Through a darkness so foul,?
So dense,?
We must together find our way.’

‘What would you have us do?’?
Thurn asked,?
His head raised,?
His eyes fixed.?
‘Remoor,?
What would have of me?’

Pleased,?
Remoor nodded.?
He knew that his choice?
To trust Thurn,?
To trust Taxiss,?
Was full of the wisdom?
Granted and?
Blessed?
By Etutheria’s light,?
Etu itself.

‘Mighty Thurn,?
Your part in this Hunt will be simple,’?
Remoor said.?
‘Of it,?
I have already spoken.?
When Etu is fixed?
At the precise moment?
In the sky,?
You will kill?
A single Irro.?
No more,?
No less,?
But a single Irro.’

‘Remoor the First,?
Have you lost your?
Scent for the Hunt?’?
Taxiss asked.

‘My intentions are plain,?
Thoughtful Taxiss,?
As I have already?
Made them so.?
The same desire for freedom?
That flows in?
Your Hirogen blood?
Flows in mine,’?
Remoor said.?
‘As for this Hunt,?
I will take one life.?
Be it my own,?
I accept the Cruel Fates.?
Be it another,?
I accept the leadership?
Of the Brethren.’

Remoor saw?
That Taxiss and Thurn?
Looked at him?
With their eyes?
Full of curiosity.

‘Thoughtful Taxiss,’?
Remoor said,?
‘This Hunt may cost?
Nothing less,?
Nothing more?
Than my very breath.’

Rising from his perch?
On a stone in the?
Grove of Portellion,?
Thurn placed his hand?
On Remoor’s shoulder.?
‘By my blood,?
I will not allow it,’?
He said.

Remoor touched Thurn’s hand, and?
He nodded.?
‘You speak with force,?
Mighty Thurn,?
But a choice in this Hunt?
You may not have.?
Indeed,?
My thoughts tell me?
That I have little choice,’?
Remoor said.

Thurn’s gaze turned?
From anger to hopeful.?
‘Then, Remoor the First,?
That is the Hunt for me!?
You have witnessed my strength!?
You have seen me yield?
A weapon?
Such as Your Thunder,?
Unyielding Thunder,?
With the same grace!?
The same ease!?
The same desire!?
This Hunt you speak of?
Is mine!?
One Hunt that defies my success?
Is all a Hunter can ever hope for?
In the length of his risings!’

‘This Hunt,?
Mighty Thurn,?
Is not your concern,’?
Remoor said.

‘Instead, you would have me?
Waste a swing at a halfling Irro?’

‘No, Thurn,’?
Remoor said.?
‘As I have proclaimed,?
The part you are to play?
In the Hunt?
Has already been decided.’?
The Hirogen leader turned?
To face the second brother?
Gathered at the secret meeting.?
‘It is Taxiss who now desires to know?
What role?
He will play in this Hunt.’

‘It have been in my thoughts,?
Remoor the First,’?
Taxiss agreed.

Remoor sighed,?
As he had grown weary.?
The scent of Portellion?
Eased his pain, and?
He found the strength to?
Continue.

‘Mighty Thurn and Thoughtful Taxiss,?
What I confess to you today?
In the Grove of Portellion?
I do so of my own freedom,’?
Remoor said.?
‘I share it with you freely, and?
I only ask of you to keep your tongue?
About that which I am to share.?
For …?
I fear I am nearing?
The last of my days?
On Etutheria.?
I have disgraced her.?
I have abandoned her.?
I have dishonored her.?
She owes me no allegiance, and?
I have wrongfully?
And mistakenly?
Pledged mine to?
He Who Governs.?
If this Hunt is to be my last,?
Then I,?
With heavy heart but bright hope,?
Do bequeath?
The Leadership of the Brethren?
To you, Thoughtful Taxiss,?
And I would have Thurn?
Serve?
As the master to your counsel.?
You are but two halves of a whole,?
The whole of the Hirogen, and?
The Brethren will need your spirit?
To survive,?
To understand,?
To endure?
The long days to come.’

‘To me?’?
Taxiss asked,?
His hand trembling?
On his breast.?
‘Remoor, you would have me?
Lead our Brethren??
What know I of running a world?’

Remoor the First had anticipated?
Taxiss’s fear, as He realized?
That,?
In the beginning,?
Remoor himself had felt the same?
Disease.

‘As the Cruel Fates would have it,?
Thoughtful Taxiss,?
You know as much as I?
When I inherited the position from?
Etutheria herself, no less,’?
Remoor said.?
‘Mind you, that is not a curse.?
It is a gift, and?
I give it to you freely.?
To question oneself is?
To question life itself.?
To doubt oneself is?
To doubt only your worthiness.?
But,?
Thoughtful Taxiss,?
I have seen your thoughts?
Placed into actions, and?
I know of no Hirogen?
Finer suited?
For the challenge?
Of what lay ahead.?
Fear and doubt?
Are the ways of all good Hirogen,?
Ones who will one day?
Inherit the role of the First?
From you?
In the days to come.’

Thurn took his hand from Remoor, and?
He placed it on Taxiss.?
‘Thoughtful Taxiss,?
I would be honored?
To serve you?
In my life and,?
If need be,?
By my death.’

‘It is decided,’?
Remoor the First concluded.?
‘Now,?
We must speak of darker affairs.’

After many long words?
With Remoor the First and Thurn,?
Taxiss agreed that it was he?
Who should take the message?
For peace?
To the Irro.

So,?
Remoor sent word?
Into the wild that?
Counsel would take place?
Between Taxiss and Bandur,?
The head of the Irro,?
Near the edge of the Shanklands.

When the time was right and?
Etu was high in the sky,?
Taxiss stepped into the clearing?
And saw the lone creature?
Awaiting his arrival.

Bandur of the Irro?
Met Taxiss, the Hirogen,?
On the border of the Shanklands.

‘As you well know,?
The Irro have nothing?
To say to you?
Or your Brethren,’?
Bandur said.

Trying to appear at ease?
For his own sake?
And for Bandur,?
Taxiss sat upon a rock.

‘I would still?
Have words with you, Bandur,’?
He said.?
‘If we do not,?
You and your kind?
May face a doom?
Greater than that which befell the K’rta.’

Bandur reared its head,?
Its six limbs clutching?
The soil?
Under their nails.?
‘A fate crueler than the K’rta?’?
It asked,?
The fur on its neck quivering.?
‘What trickery is this, Taxiss??
Do you jest for only my ears??
As Etu rises in the sky,?
The K’rta are no more, and?
As Etu rests on the ground,?
The Hirogen are to blame.?
Still,?
You would call me into counsel?
With the threat of a greater evil??
I can only laugh as I ask?
What greater evil there may be?
Than the death of an entire kind?’

‘You are wise, Bandur,’?
Taxiss reasoned,?
As he had shown the skill.?
‘In truth,?
There can be only?
One greater evil, and that,?
My wise friend,?
Would be the death of Etutheria,?
Herself.’

Bundar raised his head,?
The mane of his strong neck?
Trembling even greater?
Than before.

‘You think me a rock!’?
It shouted.?
‘You think me the lifeless stone?
If you expect I would believe the words?
Of the betraying Hirogen!?
Your Brethren are mighty, but?
You are not mightier than a world itself!’

‘Bandur,?
You are wrong in thinking?
That the Hirogen feel?
Less of you?
Than we do of ourselves?
Or for our world,’?
Taxiss said,?
Showing his open hand?
To the Irro?
As a sign of kinship.?
‘Remoor the First was of the same blood, and?
I am of the Blood of Remoor,?
Meaning that you and the First?
Are bound.?
So am I bound to you.?
Still,?
There is a greater evil,?
One the Cruel Fates have?
Set for Etutheria.’

‘What is worse than?
The death of a kind?’

‘The death of Etutheria,’?
Taxiss said again.?
‘If Etutheria were to die,?
Then all of us would follow.?
But,?
It is not the Hirogen?
Who would make this happen.?
It is no less than Gratta,?
He Who Governs.’

The Irro clutched the ground, and?
Taxiss opened his second hand as a?
Greater sign of kinship.

‘Hear me,?
Gracious Bandur,?
And then I will let you?
And your kind?
Reason for yourselves,’?
Taxiss insisted.?
‘You know Remoor.?
Indeed,?
The First tells me that you were present?
On his Birthing Day.?
That would mean that you,?
The Irro,?
Know him far long than I,?
Know him far better than I,?
Know him far greater than I.?
Think with your blood,?
Gracious Bandur,?
Not with your mind!?
Would Remoor have willingly?
Hunted the K’rta to death??
Would Remoor have willingly?
Slain those who were his first brethren??
That which I know of him?
Tells me that it could not happen,?
It would not happen.?
As the First has spoken plain?
To me and to Thurn, the Mighty,?
He was given no other choice?
But to commit the deed.?
It was Gratta’s command.?
If Remoor failed or if Remoor refused,?
He Who Governs?
Would have demanded even greater?
Sacrifices from Etutheria herself!’

The Irro eased his talons?
From loving Etu’s soil.

‘And now?’?
Bandur asked.

‘Now,?
He Who Governs would have?
Remoor and the Brotherhood?
Slay?
Every last Irro as food,’?
Taxiss said.

‘Am I to be the first?’?
Bandur asked.

Taxiss breathed,?
Knowing that the?
Fate of a world?
Had been placed in his hands.

‘You are to be the only,’?
He reasoned,?
As he had shown the skill.

‘The only?’

‘If you would have it so,?
Remoor is willing to present Gratta,?
He Who Governs,?
With a single slain Irro,’?
Taxiss said.

‘The God will be incensed!’

‘If the Cruel Fates agree,?
There is little that Remoor?
Or you?
Or I?
Or any of the kinds of Etutheria?
Can do to stop Gratta,’?
Taxiss said.?
‘Even now, I feel it in my blood.’

‘Then why would I agree?’?
Bandur asked.

‘Remoor wishes it to be a challenge to Gratta,’?
Taxiss explained.?
‘The weight that would come from the challenge?
Would be mighty if the single slain creature were?
A dead Bandur, leader of the Irro,?
Brother to Remoor the First.?
The weight of the challenge?
Might sway He Who Governs to hear our reason.’

‘If not?’?
Bandur asked.

‘In the words of Remoor,?
So long as Gratta governs,?
Etutheria will never be free,’?
Taxiss said.?
He looked around the plains?
And deep into the Shanklands,?
Wondering how such beauty could be?
Lost?
At the whim of an angry God.?
‘In the fire that is the galaxy,?
Dousing the flame of a single star?
Would mean nothing?
Unless the Galaxy itself?
Is willing to risk all stars,?
Large and small,?
In growing cold.?
If you would be our star,?
Gracious Bandur,?
Etutheria may become its own galaxy.’

In the calm of the Shanklands,?
Bandur felt the winds of Etu?
Lift the hairs on the back of his neck.?
Peacefully,?
Quietly,?
Bandur stretched, its mind in thought, and?
It sat on the rock beside Taxiss, the Hirogen.

‘Thoughtful Taxiss,?
Let me ask a single question of you,’?
It said.?
‘You are indeed a reasoning creature, and?
Your wisdom will lead me down the path?
Into the Wild?
Should you choose your words wisely.’

Bandur looked at the Hirogen.

‘Should you not choose your words wisely?
As you have done this far,?
I will lead the Irro further?
Into the Shanklands,?
Further into the Great Beyond.?
I will lead them so far that?
None of your Hirogen brothers?
Will ever scent them again.?
You and your kind will be left?
To deal with the vengeful wrath?
Of an angry Gratta, and?
He Who Governs will punish you?
For your disobedience.?
For, if you are here?
With the blessings of Remoor,?
Then you will choose?
Your words?
Wisely.’

The Hirogen lowered his hands and?
Sat firmly on the rock.

‘I await your question, Bandur,’?
Taxiss said.

‘If I allow my end?
To come at the hands of a Hirogen,?
Who will protect the Irro?’?
It asked.?
‘They will be without leadership.?
They will be without so much that?
Has come before.?
They will be stranded in the Shanklands?
With no idea of the slaughter that?
Is yet to come.’

Taxiss breathed.?
He looked up at the sky,?
Thinking for a time?
Before venturing to speak.

‘Bandur,’?
He finally said.?
‘I will speak plain.?
I have no desire?
To mislead you?
Or any of the Irro.?
I am here, in your counsel,?
For peace, not the Hunt.?
Remoor the First has confided in me that,?
Should he fail or should he succeed?
In this endeavor,?
He is doomed.’

‘Doomed?’?
It asked.

Taxiss looked at the Irro?
Instead of the blue sky.?
‘While you might escape?
The Cold of Death now,?
It would only arrive later?
By Gratta’s hand,?
In an act of anger,?
As Remoor believes will be his Fate.?
Whether you consent or decline,?
Remoor believes he is doomed.?
His challenge to Gratta will?
Spell it clean.?
One death today?
May mean life for the Irro,?
The Hirogen, and?
All of Etutheria tomorrow,?
But I fear this affair?
Will end in more than?
A single freakling growing cold.’

‘You fear?’?
It asked.?
‘You are Hirogen.?
You know no fear.’

‘You have said yourself,?
Bandur,?
That I choose my words wisely,’?
Taxiss said.?
‘Fear is not beyond?
My being.?
Fear is part of my Blood.?
It is part of the Brotherhood.?
It is part of the Hunt.?
It will forever be, sadly,?
A part of life,?
With or without the governance of?
Gratta.?
Still,?
A road is safer traveled?
Than merely tested,?
For without the journey?
We will neither know nor speak?
Of the evil?
That awaits us.’

Bandur rose.

‘Remoor is plain,’?
It said.?
‘He is the Irro Salvin.’

Confused,?
Taxiss looked to the creature.?
‘I do not know this word, Salvin.’

It walked in a small circle,?
Considering whether an answer?
Was safe.?
‘Since our brethren, the K’rta,?
Were slaughtered,?
My kind have taken to following?
A call other than the one?
From Etutheria.?
Some choose to name the call nothing, but?
Others have called it Salvin.?
Remoor has earned the title?
Of Salvin for the Irro?
In my mind.’

‘Thank you, Bandur,’?
Taxiss said.?
‘Remoor the First will be pleased?
To learn that he still holds your respect.’

‘Gratta will be displeased,’?
It said.?
‘My only happiness in the Cold?
Will come from knowing that the?
Expression on Gratta’s face?
As he looks upon?
My flesh growing to dust was?
The fate I chose,?
Not He Who Governs.’

Bandur looked to the nearby hills.?
‘What of the Irro?’

‘Remoor has said?
That they are to head?
Upwards of the Path of Etu in the Sky,?
Into the lands of Woolenly,’?
Taxiss explained.

‘Ah, Woolenly,’?
It said.?
‘The ground is green at Woolenly,?
I have heard it said?
Among my brothers.’

‘There,?
The Irro will be protected by myself, and?
Thurn, and the Brotherhood of Remoor,’?
Taxiss said.?
‘By my Blood,?
I give you my oath that?
No harm will come of them.’

‘Then bring your lance,’?
Bandur said,?
Sitting on the ground,?
His claws relaxed.?
‘I wish to rid?
Myself of this news.?
I wish to rid myself?
Of this burden?
At once.?
If this is the role I am to play,?
Then I wish it to begin at once.’

Taxiss rose, and?
He opened both palms in a show?
Of kinship.?
‘I will summon Thurn,?
Brave Bandur, and?
I give you my word?
That he will be swift.’