• The beginning

    Long before the people were born, before the beasts and the plants that covered the lands, there was nothing.
    There was no sky no earth no wind or rain, only an endless void where nothing lived.
    Into this void there came into being one who understood all things, he was not one of the people, he was more than that, more than can ever be imagined in the minds of beings like us, and he took a fancy to making a world.
    He made a land which was green and good, with territories for all beings to live peacefully. He gave the land fertile soil, boiling deserts, roaring oceans and beautiful skies, into this sky he threw a shining silver jewel and it stayed up in the sky to give light to all below it.
    Once the land itself had been completed, the belong took two of each beast and placed tem onto the land, in whatever space they belonged, for it was the beings will that there should be people to enjoy this new land.
    The beasts were made, the jack-birds, the hedgepigs and even the tiny scatter-moles with their strange fur, which could detach itself from the mole and run a short distance to divert the attention of predators.
    Then the being looked to the larger creatures, those of a higher knowledge who could understand the ways of the smaller beasts, first of all he made the Amut, these were beings with long reptilian snouts and frills behind their head, they had clawed, webbed feet with striped running up them in differing shades of green and broad backs which humped up at the shoulder to give the strongest bite of any animal, they also had strong swinging tails which could break bones if used correctly and lastly, a pair of draconian wings which were fine-boned and delicate. These beasts were made to give order to the land and dole out punishments if they were needed.
    After these strange beasts had left, hissing at their new kingdom, the being turned his attention to what would cover the land, what would bring the most life and joy to it, so he bent to his work again and made a creature with four hoofs, delicate, fine-boned legs, a strong rounded body, a curving neck with an elegant head attached. Bright eyes, pricked up ears and a mane and tail that hung gracefully down the creatures body. The being saw the creature and decided it needed more than this, for although it was beautiful there was something more that was required. Then he thought of the newly made Amut and he knew what was needed.
    He took some beautiful feathers and fashioned them into a pair of wings that were as white as a cloud, this was because he had put every colour imaginable into the wings, that the creatures may become more varied and handsome over time and all the colours together shone with a gentle radiance, when the creature saw itself for the first time it delighted in its body and skipped, pranced and bucked along the new grass and praised he who had made it.
    The being was pleased with his work and after a while of watching the newly made world and its inhabitants frolicking beneath him he decided it was time for him to take his leave and see to other worlds. Before he did so however the Amut came to him.
    “What displeases you my children?” asked the being. “Are you not pleased with the land I have given you?”
    “With all respect my lord my people and I love your lands and all upon it, but there is a problem lord. For you have given us wings yet the air does not move in your lands, we can barely glide and as such cannot keep up with those who are unjust, how then can we protect the lands of the land my lord?”
    The being became troubled then, he had not yet given the creatures on the land the secret of wind because it had not occurred to him that they needed it for their happiness to continue.
    However, the Amut had come to him in good faith and the being couldn’t see how it would cause great harm to the world not to have the secret, so he gave the secret to the Amut and told them how to use it, then he was gone on his many errands and the world was on its own.
    The Amut took the secret back to his people, but they did not share the secret, upon finding themselves with this power they used it to give themselves power over the skies, at first this only meant that punishment for misdeeds was quicker in coming, but then it became clear that the Amut had ideas beyond their station.
    An age of horror began on the land, with the Amut attacking all beasts, even the innocent, to be devoured by the growing population. The hooved creatures were the most sought-after as they were well muscled and although they could run as fast as anything on the land, their wings were all but useless.
    For a long time this went on, the Amut devouring the land and its people as if they were the owners of it, until one day, within a small village, one of the creatures stepped forth and determined to defeat this menace once and for all.
    He was a great stallion with hair of gold like the burning desert sands and a mane and tail as white as clouds, like the feathers of the wings on his back, who had only recently come of age, he should have been going to look for a herd of his own but he had stayed with his birth-herd to help protect his family from the terrible Amut.
    Because he was well-liked within the herd, being brave and selfless, may begged for him not to go on his fool’s-quest but to spend the remaining time he had left on the land with his herd. But he could not be persuaded and although it grieved her terribly, his mother understood this and took him aside before he set off.
    “I know that you will go despite what I or any of us say,” she said mournfully. “But please, take this fruit with you, its taste is like none other, to us it is indigestible and strange, but to an Amut it is heaven itself. If you also take this sleeping draught you may be able to escape with the secret without having to fight, for I fear if you are forced to fight the Amut you will not come back to me.”
    The stallion stepped forwards and nuzzled his mother. He was touched by the gifts but did not know how to comfort her, he himself had already accepted he may not be coming back to his homelands.
    The journey was long and arduous, for although the Amut were spreading, their home territory was deep in one of the forests, close to a rocky mountain range that had claimed many lives.
    The forest provided cover for the stallion to pass by relatively unseen but he had some close calls, until eventually he reached the bottom of the mountain.
    Looking up he spied, far above him, a cave deep in the rock. From here flew several Amut on their own, diabolical errands, whilst two larger specimens stood watch.
    Even from here the stallion could see that the situation was dangerously perilous and he settled down in the cool grass, lost in his own feelings of defeat.
    A short while later he felt a breath stirring his mane, he opened his eyes and looked up to see three females of his kind standing before him and watching him with expressions of interest.
    “Why are you her, so close to our enemies stronghold?” asked the youngest of the three, her coat and wings all grey and shining with youth.
    “I have come to find the secret of wind, that my people can escape the fear of the Amut and live in peace once again.” He replied.
    “But why come here my treasure? This place holds only death for you. Surely it is better to be glad of what you have and accept death when he comes to claim you sweet one.” Said the second, a bay mare old enough to be his mother with the gentlest look in her eye as she spoke.
    “Either way,” he said. “It looks as though I will die, rather I die trying to free my people than I die just because these beasts want to fill their bellies.”
    “Turn back!” snorted the third, an old nag whose ribs stared through her patchy coat, the original colour of which could have been anything, but old age had turned it dusty and grey.
    “You have no way of gaining the secret without losing your life and probably more besides. Better to give up while you’re still able!”
    The stallion stood up now and shook his mane. “No. I will not give up while my people still have a chance. That is my final word and if you only try to change my mind then you had best leave now!” he stamped his hoof into the hard ground to emphasise his point.
    “Ooh hark at you!” giggled the youngest. “Brave young thing like you, you’re very determined aren’t you?” the other two smiled secretively to themselves but the stallion just glared at them. Waiting to see what would be coming next.
    “Well as we can’t dissuade you I suppose we’ll have to do our bit too eh girls?” sneered the eldest.
    “How could you help me? And why would you want to?” asked the stallion. Curious now despite himself.
    “Oh we have our reasons ducks,” said the motherly mare. “We always like to take an interest in the old stories dear, we’re not as commonplace as you might think.
    The eldest gave a shrieking whinny and kicked a sapling behind her, which snapped and fell to the ground.
    “Enough nonsense! Do you want our help or not? We have better things to do than whicker on!”
    The stallion thought quickly, these were no ordinary beings like himself, he was becoming sure of that now, perhaps indeed, there was a way they could help?
    He nodded decisively.
    “Wonderful!” cried the motherly one. “We’ll get you up there safe and sound and maybe even back again if you work it right!”
    “We’ll certainly be watching your progress.” Said the youngest, all but purring in her silken voice. She stepped up close and nuzzled under his chin.
    “Could you help me first of all dear hero? There is a twig caught up in my mane and it is most uncomfortable.”
    A little unnerved by her closeness and her sweet scent so near, he carefully plucked the twig form her mane.
    “Keep that close by you hero, for it will be of use when you are being pursued.” And she tripped lightly back to her place.
    “Me next lovey, I’ve got a stone in my hoof that’s annoying me something chronic!” the motherly mare turned her back to the stallion and raised a hind leg for him to inspect.
    True enough there was the stone, he eased it carefully free and put it with the twig.
    “Will this also be for pursuit?” he asked.
    “Ooh you’ve got it in one! You clever boy!” And she returned to the filly’s side.
    He turned to the nag, expecting some other favour before she would help him.
    “Don’t think I want anything from you!” she snarled setting her ears back. “I don’t want anything from no young whippersnapper! You can darn well be on your way and stop bothering us and that’ll be the biggest help!”
    With a snort she stomped up to the mountainside and turned her back to it. Just as with the sapling, she aimed a sharp kick at the base, which immediately split open to reveal a passageway leading upwards, to where the Amut where staying.
    He knew now there really wasn’t anything ordinary about these three.
    “Of course we’re not ordinary!” laughed the motherly mare.
    “We never were!” spat the nag.
    “But we’ll be keeping a close eye on you, you’re at a very interesting beginning now.” Whispered the filly, as her words ended the three females became blurred and then were swept away like fog.
    The stallion stared at the place where they had left him and even sniffed around the area, but there was no scent, no footprints, nothing to prove they were ever there except the hole in the mountainside, a small stone and a twig, which he kept with his mother’s gifts.
    Eventually he tossed back his mane and stepped up to the passageway, it was dark and enclosed but he pressed on, knowing that his people’s salvation was at the top of this awful place.
    He climbed on and on until eventually he reached an area where he would have to pass by a large boulder to see anything. He peeked around the edge of it and saw the two guards, they were looking outwards so did not spot him. Beyond the boulder there was a dark grotto with ropes trailed into it, though what they held he couldn’t yet see.
    One of the guards yawned and snapped angrily at a fly buzzing near him, a few seconds later his stomach answered his snarl.
    This reminded the stallion of the gifts his mother had given him, he broke the fruit into two halves and poured the sleeping draught onto both pieces, then gently tossed them out just behind the guards.
    The one whose stomach had growled sniffed the air, then he sniffed again and turned his head, the second looked round at his partner and turned as well to see what had stirred the other. Both guards spotted the fruit and stepped over to investigate, their long tongues flicking eagerly in the air as they investigated the scents.
    The first guard reached the fruit and let his tongue take a small taste of it, then he pressed his snout into the flesh and devoured it greedily, his companion only moments behind him.
    The stallion stayed pressed into the passageway, hardly daring to breathe in case he was noticed but he had little to fear from the guards. Within minutes the fruit was gone and they were licking at the sandy floor. They hunted for scraps a little while longer then returned to their posts.
    The two beasts started off sitting upright, alert ad wary, then, one by one, they started to droop lower and lower, their legs splaying as they tried to keep their balance, until their eyes closed and both of them toppled over fast asleep.
    The stallion peeked round the boulder to ensure they were under before heading towards the grotto at the back of the cave. The ropes led him onwards right to the back until he came to a beautiful mare, with blue-roan hair and a star over her forehead, with dappled grey wings and a tail and mane that started with white and ended with black.
    Immediately the stallion knew he was in love and he could tell by her eyes that she felt the same way.
    He walked towards her carefully, so as not to frighten her, and bit through the ropes which held at the back of that awful place.
    “Why were they keeping you?” he asked. “Were they going to kill you?”
    “No,” she replied in a voice that sounded sweet as birdsong. “I am the mare of the winds, I was made to protect the secret of the wind ad to use it only when needed. But the Amut kept me here and forced me to work for them.”
    She seemed so very upset by this ill treatment that he determined she should not be used in such a way again.
    “Come back with, to my herd.” He said, feeling suddenly reckless. “We need never tell anyone who you are and you can live in peace with me and my family.”
    She smiled sadly, because she knew that her powers would always be sought after by someone despite what this handsome stranger said, but she nodded and agreed to go with him just the same.
    They trotted down through the passageway the nag had kicked out of the mountain and started to gallop as soon as they were out in the open air once more, the way seemed clear and they could have believed they were free to go until they heard the most terrible shrieks. The Amut had lost the secret and now they were going to try and get it back.
    The stallion and the mare ran as they had never done before, their hearts pounding in their chests and their hooves hammering the ground. They were still deep in the Amut’s forest when they heard the hordes giving chase cooing up close behind them.
    The stallion cursed the beasts for giving chase but did not stop to see how close they were, instead he whinnied encouragement to the mare and they both sped up, but it was still no good. They were going to be caught.
    Just at the edge of the forest the stallion remembered the stone, he took it and threw it over his shoulder at the advancing multitudes, it bounced in front of them then suddenly sprang upwards into a high, savage mountain which brushed the clouds and crushed the leading Amut.
    The stallion reared up and neighed in victory before he and his loved one sped away once more, but the Amut were not defeated yet, some crawled over the mountains and although many were killed on the jagged rocks still more crawled over their lifeless bodies in hot pursuit of the one who had dared to raid their kingdom.
    Racing over the sandy wastes of the desert the stallion thought they might lose the Amut in the shifting sands but no, still they came on, baying for his blood and shrieking their war cries.
    It was then he remembered the young filly, and he threw the twig behind him.
    Immediately it sprang up into a vast, thorny forest which snared the leading beast and crushed them in its wicked vines. The other Amut stepped back, unsure for now what to do as they could not crawl over the bodies of their comrades this time, the forest would just swallow them too.
    The stallion did not pause this time but kept on and on and on, through the deserts and over hill and down dale and all the way back to his homelands, the only place left to cross was the beach which nestled against the roaring sea.
    The stallion thought he was close enough to home to stop for a while, both he and the mare were exhausted and the way home, although now much shorter, was still too far to make it, tired as they were.
    They nestled up close together and shared their warmth. The moon beamed over all, as it had done since the world began. But its silvery light would find itself beaming on a different scene to the tender moment it saw now.
    Back in the desert the Amut had ran around the forest, true this had taken a while and those who strayed too close were snatched and taken in, never to be seen again. But the Amut were numerous and the hordes kept moving, they kept running over the hills and down the dales and all the way to the roaring sea, where they saw their quarry once more.
    The stallion awoke to see a black tide racing towards the two of them. It went over land so it wasn’t the sea, in a moment he remembered what had happened and he leapt up, nudging awake the mare. He had nothing left now to fight the Amut with and he turned for home.
    Then he stopped.
    If he went home, what would stop the Amut following?
    His mother, his herd, all would be slaughtered.
    What could he do?
    He turned to the mare.
    “I know I promised you a better life than the one you’ve had so far, but I think I may have to go back on my word.”
    Her eyes filled with tears as she gazed at him.
    “You didn’t.” she said and nuzzled him lovingly.
    He waited until the Amut were close enough that they could see what he was doing, then he took the mare and threw her into the heavens, where she joined the stars and became one with them, lost to the creatures of the land for ever.
    “She is safe from you now!” he roared at them. “You cannot harm her anymore!”
    The Amut screamed and fell upon the stallion, within moments, he was dead.
    The mare saw all of this and wept bitter tears, she beseeched the moon to do something for him, but the moon turned its pale face from her and said nothing. Then she asked the stars for help, but although she was now one of them they did not have the power to help.
    Then she saw, far below on the beach, the dark form of the stallion who comes to those who have died. The Amut had long since started back for their homeland after venting their frustrations on the stallion’s body, but they couldn’t have seen the dark one anyway.
    The dark one eyed the spirit of the stallion and asked him “Why do you weep so? You with the golden hair, you have been released from this mortal prison.”
    “I weep,” said the stallion. “For she whom I love must stay amongst the stars whilst I must go beneath the earth to follow you my lord, and I would give all that I am to be with her again!”
    The dark one studied his face for a long time. “This land needs governing.” He said.
    “That we might never again see the evil that we have witnessed here, coming forth again. Would you take up that mantle of protection? Would you watch over this land with your beloved?”
    The task was a great one, but the stallion did not need the time to think and agreed immediately.
    The dark one took the stallion’s spirit and moulded it into a large, shining golden ball, which he threw up into the sky with his beloved.
    But the moon was not happy and complained about the cramped space up in the sky so the dark one decreed that the stallion must shine over the land for a time, then let the moon take over after him. And to ensure that they kept moving in this fashion, the dark one bade the mare to strike up her winds once and for all, and blow one or the other of the two across the sky, so that creatures and beasts could see well what they were doing or else have the lights dimmed enough for them to rest.
    And so it was that the day and the night came to pass, and our lady of the winds came to rest up in the sky, just where those stars shine, do you see my children? Now it is bedtime little ones, you’re father will be taking you to see the meadow in the morning, yes I know its exciting now settle down, don’t chew your sisters ears please its not polite. Yes I love you both too now goodnight. What’s that?… oh alright, but you’ll need to stay in your own bed once you’re older dear..yes, goodnight my loves.