A long time ago in a land far away, there lived a prideful shepherd. He was a common man. He had no riches, he had no fame, and he had no talents. He lived a simple life. Although he never had trouble in his life he often dreamt of leaving his farm and flying far away. One day he cried out to the god of nature. He cried out for fame and fortune. “Give me riches.” He cried out, “Give me fame and glory. Let me soar the skies as all the birds do.” The god of nature was listening. He answers prayers with greedy intents. He always gives you what you asked for, but only if you return the favor to society. If one doesn’t take his miracle and help change lives as his was changed, the god of nature will make sure you pay your dues. The very next morning a giant egg appeared in front of his home. He was confused as to who left it there for him and considered eating the egg before it hatched. A large eagle popped out. He could tell it was only a baby, but it was the size of an adult eagle. He kept it, and the next day it doubled in size. The next day after that it doubled again and so on to the point where it was now bigger than his hut. The eagle was frightening to him at first but he quickly befriended the it. That day he got on it and it took to the skies. He finally touched the clouds as he dreamt. He flew over villages and called for the people to follow him. By the time he came back to his home a crowd was starting to form.
Kings from all around the globe heard about this man and traveled great distances to see him. He gained riches from shows he’d set up so people can spectate this great beast. This was everything he ever dreamt of. But as time progressed, greed started to impair him. He would start doubling the costs to see the eagle, and quickly started demanding land from the villages around him with the threat of the eagle. The people gave up their lands to him for the fear for their lives. One morning he got back on the eagle. He realized he wasn’t the one in control this time. He didn’t know where it was taking him, nor did he care. The Eagle soared to lands and valleys the shepherd had never seen. He finally arrived at a large palace. The palace was made out of pure gold. He stared from above in awe. He has met every king on every corner of the globe. He has seen castles that amazed him. But he has never seen anything that came close to this. “Who could possibly own such a thing?” he mumbled to himself. What struck him was that there was a palace, but no kingdom in sight. The eagle landed in front of the palace and he took a step inside. When he made it past the door he was startled by a line of unmoving guards. They stood in a single file line on both sides of the main hall. What was interesting was the fact that they all were missing an eye, and that eye was in a gar they had in their left hands. They also stood with a spear in their right hands. They reminded him of a strange royal guard. The strange thing was that they didn’t seem to care he was walking in. They were completely unfazed by his seemingly unprecedented attendance. Finally a gray-bearded old man came out to meet him. He referred to himself as the god of nature and he told him that the eagle was an answer to the shepherd’s prayers. But the shepherd wasn’t convinced yet. “Why would a god of nature live in a castle of gold instead of the nature?” the shepherd asked.
“Where else do you find gold other than nature itself?” the god asked back. The shepherd wasn’t happy to see someone who claimed to be on a higher pedestal than him. He has gotten used to being the most respected and feared man on earth. His life has become what he dreamed it would be. All that greed has poisoned his mind without his knowing. “Take my gift and spread joy,” the god told him, “change your greedy mindset and improve lives and nature. Heed my warnings, for the punishment of ignorance is severe”. The shepherd became enraged by the god. “You dare lecture me about greed whilst you sit in a palace made of gold? I am every bit as godly as you are!” the shepherd screamed, “I have kings begging to see me, entire villages praying to me, I touch the sky every single night.”
“Silly mortal,” the god responded back, “ you were far closer to a god when u were herding cows.”
A wave of pure rage washed over him. His pride was tainted. Without saying another word turned his back to the god and walked out. “I am a god,” he mumbled to himself through his clenched teeth. “I’ll show him. Next time he sees me the whole world will kneel and extend their arms in prayer. And they will be praying towards me.”
Weeks went by as he obliterated towns with is eagle. He would rain down giant boulders on homes and shops. He had his eagle stomp on anyone who would resist. Entire armies were wiped out by him. The world finally gave in to his tyranny, and he had achieved his vision at last.
He stood at a mountain top gazing upon his newly conquered land. He took in a deep breath of all the sorrows and destruction that lay in his wake. “It’s all mine,” he said cheerfully to himself. “I own the world.”
“Nature owns the world,” the god of nature said as materialized in front of the Shepherd. “You are only a temporary parasite I will soon exterminate.” The shepherd smirked. “Do you think I fear you?”
“Only the intelligent fear me.” the god replied.
“Why do you look down on me like I’m the monster?” the shepherd asked, “I’ve seen what you truly are. I’ve seen entire villages completely wiped out by floods or fires. I’ve seen children mauled to death by lions. I’ve seen peaceful sailors swallowed whole by the sea, leaving their children fatherless. We constantly watch our backs because we know you won’t protect us. If I’m the monster, what does that make you? I think nature would be better off without you. I think that we need a new God of Nature.”
“Your ignorance and lack of judgement continues to amaze me,” the god replied, “A feeble mind such as yours can’t possibly comprehend what nature truly is. But no matter, I will end your suffering.” The shepherd put both of his pointer fingers to his mouth and whistled. The eagle flew up the mountain top and landed behind the shepherd and faced the god. “No, God of Nature,” the shepherd said victoriously, “I will end your suffering.”
The two stare at each other with bloodlust in both of their eyes. The wind howled across the mountain top, but as it swept over his face he heard whispers. “You have failed”, the wind said “your time is nigh.”
“Stop it!” the shepherd cried out. The tree to the left of him grew a face and turned to him. “Your time is nigh”, it uttered at him in a sad voice. He started backing away frightened by what he was seeing. The god stood still, his expression unchanged. The shepherd felt a wave of fear sweep over him. He felt helpless. He felt like an animal in a slaughterhouse. He was on a mountaintop but somehow felt trapped in a small cage. He felt like he couldn’t catch his breath, as if his lungs were leaking the air he put in.
“Eagle!” the shepherd cried out, “kill him.” he pointed at the god with a growing wicked smile. He started giggling with enthusiasm at the thought of the god being torn to shreds. This was where he would end him and take this title. And he would be a just god. He would end all suffering humanity is facing. Droughts would be a distant memory along with famine. All of the people would rest knowing that he was protecting them along with their crops.
The eagle, however, did not move. He stood towering over the shepherd, his eyes glowing with the fires of hell itself. The shepherd turned towards the eagle knowing he had lost all control over it. “Go!” he ordered still pointing towards the god. “Kill him now.”
His tone was getting desperate. He had foreseen this happening. He had thoughts of what he’d do if the eagle ever turned against him. Instead of figuring out how to counter such an event he instead chose to fixate his mind on greed and power, leaving no thought for a back up plan.
“Karura,” the god called out, “show him who you are.” with that the eagle erupted off the ground with a single thundering flap of his wings, the power of such a stroke causing a sandstorm on the mountaintop. He was out of sight in an instance. Two heartbeats past and the eagle struck the ground like lightening with an impact so powerful it sent shockwaves through the valleys. The shepherd shielded his eyes from the blast of debre. When he found the courage to look back up he was horrified by the sight. The eagle was now engulfed in a golden fire. Its feathers replaced with flames outshining the sun itself.
The shepherd’s knees gave out due to the immense fear he felt, and he fell on all fours. He has never seen such a beast. The eagle eyes locked eyes with the shepherd making him feels as if his soul had been chained up. He felt his body temperature rise as if he was being cooked from the inside. He attempted to stand, but he only managed to sit up. The god slowly walked passed the fiery giant towards the shepherd. “This is Karura.” he said as he approached the frightened man. “He is a deity of the highest honor. He slays dragons and demons. Entire mountains crumble from the sound of his screech. He wipes out entire kingdoms with his breath of hellfire.”
He stood right next to the shepherd overlooking the valley below. “You called me a monster,” the god began, “this is how I know you do not understand nature. The essence of nature is never to benefit one species, nor is it to be fair. Rather nature is a scale that needs constant balancing. I keep that balance. Sometimes due to this a human may have to pay the price. Other times it will be an ant. But i do not see you demanding justice for an ant. This is because you are a human being, and humans are selfish.”
“I would create a perfect world.” the shepherd managed, “one where every being is satisfied. One where death is no longer a limitation for anything. I would make nature fair and balanced.”
“That is impossible by definition,” the god replied, “nature needs death to keep balance. Without death chaos would prevail. The lion needs to eat the gazelle. How would that occur in a death-free world? Nature should never be a paradox. It may seem cruel when the lion kills a gazelle, but that lioness is going to bring that food back home tired and hungry so her cubs can eat. If not for that gazelle they would all starve. Does that not sound much more gruesome? This is the principle of nature. It may not be perfect, but it is always balanced.”
The shepherd was in awe of how much he didn’t understand. He was finally, after all this time, starting to see the error of his ways. But he knew it was far too late now.
“Then why have you given me the power to rule if absolute power of mankind upsets the balance?” asked the shepherd.
“You were given a chance to make a positive impact on the people and help nature prosper. You chose to rule with an iron fist instead. You are an example of a long list of reasons why I distrust humanity. You had good intentions wrapped in greed and pride. Such a shame. If you weren’t so misguided you would’ve made a great leader. ”
“Take my life if you want,” the shepherd with a sour face, “but I have accomplished what conquerors only dreamt of. With that I will happily die. Because at the end of the day I became a god. Maybe not to you, but to the thousands that prayed towards me and feared the sight of my eagle in the sky. People tremble from the sound of my name. I am a god. And I will die with that pride because it is simply the only thing I will always have.”
“You have disgraced the God of Nature. For that the punishment will be severe. You have unbalanced nature and I must bring back order.”
The shepherd stood on both legs making eye contact with the deity. A wave of anger washed over him. There he stood, in his final moments of life, and the last thing he sees is the one man he hated more than anything.
“Farewell,” the god said as he dissolved into light. Before the shepherd could utter a single word he spotted Karura approaching him in the direction the god was standing. Before he could register what was happening the eagle struck the right side of his face. With that blow his soul left his body and so did his right eye. His body collapsed to the ground. The god rematerialized with a glass jar. He calmly picked the eyeball up and placed it in the jar and tightened it shut. He then snapped his fingers and the lifeless body of the shepherd stood up. He looked at the god with a single eye and an expressionless face. The shepherds body made its way to the god, and they both dissolved into mist.
They reappeared back at the golden palace. Once they entered the shepherds body quietly got in the second row of the stationary guards. He stood there with a jar that contained his eye, and a spear in his right hand. Just like the other men. And also like them, he will remain there for all eternity.
Fairy Tales
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This is beautiful and talently written. Interesting concepts and symbols.
Only a couple stumblings worth editing.
Will read again, and I think there were a few valuable lessons.