Bluejae - A Feline Story
(By Faldu, June 1520)
{About a year ago, the duke himself told us the story of the statue in the center of town and the foundation of our city. I would like to tell you this story again today, but from a different viewpoint. Because we felines have our own version of this story, and it is often heard at our campfires in the jungle. It is the story of Bluejae, the founder of Gahlen.}
The feline woman our story tells about was born in a little village out in the jungles. Her tribe was simple folk, hunters and fisherwomen, maybe a couple of warriors. And as the local custom demanded, some weeks after her birth her mother took her to the local shaman to foretell her future.
The shaman took a long look at the baby and then spoke to the mother - "One day, a bird will determine your child's fate. And she will become a great leader of those around her." She paused for a while and continued. "Well, as a future leader, she should bear an adequate name. What did you call her?"
The mother shuffled about slightly uncomfortable and replied "Well, we thought about Fluff Ears....". The shaman shook her head and named the child Akasa, which means bird of prey in Feline language.
Many years later, when Akasa's fangs had grown longer, she was given as an apprentice to a local bird trapper. Her mother thought dealing with a lot of birds would give a boost to her daughter's career, according to the shaman's prophecy. But the years passed, Akasa had caught many birds, but she still was no leader of any kind. And she started to feel rather like the birds she trapped into cages to sell them on the local market.
Then one day, when she came back from a hunt in the jungle, she found her village burnt down by marauding orcs. Afraid that the attackers might still be around, she fled into the jungle. She ran one day and one night until her exhausted paws couldn't carry her anymore and she sank to the ground.
She woke up when ugly, strong hands pulled on her arms and raised her up on her paws. At first, she thought the orcs had captured her, but then she saw that it was a gang of Trolahk bandits who were rather curious than hostile. And Akasa noticed with astonishment that they were wearing shields with a picture on it, the crudely painted symbol of a bird - a black vulture.
Maybe Akasa didn't know where to go after her village had been destroyed, maybe she was glad for a chance to leave her old life behind her - she didn't try to flee and stayed with the bandits. And the Trolahks - who called themselves Trauks, because they were often too drunk to pronounce "Trolahk" - found out that the feline dexterity of their new slave made her a pretty good scout. Soon Akasa ascended in the group's hierarchy. And after some years, due to her intelligence and tactical skills, she even became their leader.
She had become like them - she spent no thought on the caravans and villages they raided, the people they killed. Her heart was full of hate about the loss of her own tribe, hoping for an opportunity to take revenge some day. She told herself that it was all about the survival of the strongest, that everyone had to care for themselves first. And she had changed her name again - Vukama, which means "Vulture". But the excitement of her new life faded soon - she became tired of all the bloodshed, and deep in her heart, she knew it was terribly wrong what she was doing.
Then one day, the group had planned to raid a little trading post, located near the coast on the road to Surik. There were only some small huts, no walls or armed guards, easy prey. But when they just were going to attack, they saw that someone else had the same idea - a group of orcs was fighting the poor farmers and merchants who desperately tried to defend their life with rods and pitchforks. And suddenly old images raised up in her mind again, images of her burned down village.
Vukama and the Trauks took the orcs by surprise, and soon they had killed all of them. But to her surprise, the killing of the orcs hadn't give her any relief or satisfaction. She still felt the deep hate inside her. And she had not forgotten the original purpose they had come for. Vukama wielded her blood-soaked saber again, this time to attack the villagers.
But suddenly a male feline in a strange robe with star and moon symbols stepped forward out of the crowd. He slowly moved his paws, and a little bird appeared and landed on the feline woman's shoulders.
Vukama looked at the bird in astonishment, it was a little bluejay. And suddenly she understood what went wrong in her life. She looked into the eyes of the villagers, who were thankful for the rescue from the orcs, but still in legitimate fear of what might come. She thought about her own home, which wasn't anymore. And she looked at the little bird and suddenly realized all the beauty of this world.
She spared the little village. She helped the villagers to build up their huts, and fortify them with walls and gates. She instructed them to build a stronghold, which in later days became the castle of Gahlen. And the very last time she changed her name - she was now Bluejae. And many years later, when our kingdom was united, the little trading post had become the gateway to the Southlands, an important center of commerce and the first line of defense against our enemies.
It is said that Bluejae fell in love with the feline mage, and they had children. The gang of Trolahks however found a place to live in a valley in the southern mountains, where they started raising goats and building canoes of rather doubtful quality.
But in later years, Bluejae traveled one last time back to the place in the jungle where her village once stood, where she was born. To her surprise, the old shaman still lived there in a hut among the ruins. Bluejae kneeled to the old woman and asked: "You told me about a bird, but I saw many birds in my life. Why didn't you tell me which was the right one?" And the old shaman smiled and said "There was no right one - it was all up to you which bird you wanted to be."