Tales of the Raven: The Pilgrimage

I was journeying to see the Emperor,
(At that time of year, we all were)
On a bright, sunny spring day, when
I happened across a group of ten
Of the strangest pilgrims I ever did see.
I introduced myself, and they invited me
To journey with them. Well, I was a bit lonely,
So I accepted their offer, but said I could only
Stay with them awhile, so I would not intrude
And stay past my welcome, and be thought of as rude.
So I got to know each and every one
Of that strange group before the day was done,
And then, at dusk, we were joined by two more
And our party was like none ever seen before.

At the head strode a wolf and his wife,
He, whiter than snow, and on my life,
She was as black as the darkest night,
And they led the way, the black and the white.
His name was Arin, her name was Nilea,
And while he was curt and civil with me,
She was kind and quite good-natured,
And seemed to enjoy the company of a bird.

Next came a lynx, his name Garvin Lo,
His coat sleek and full, his eyes seemed to glow.
His claws were well-kept, his teeth were all fine,
His fur so immaculate, it would sparkle and shine.
His smile seemed sincere, but I kept my distance,
Though we talked about many things, for instance,
The way the sea crashes, and the way that the snow
Falls in the mountains, and the way the winds blow.
He was quite friendly, but a cat is a cat,
And for right now, I’ll leave it at that.

A sprightly young hare was next in our group,
He told me he was part of an acrobat troupe.
As a wandering performer, he told many a tale
Of his adventures and tours, over hill and dale.
His name was Jax, he was dark like sable
And he entertained us all at night with a fable
Or two. His ears were long, his nose was twitchy,
And he couldn’t sit still, as if he was itchy.
His bright black eyes were always merry
And his puff of a tail was brown as a berry.

The came a mouse by the name of Scollin,
Who, though rather tiny, was by no means small in
Courage and charm, and with him was his wife,
A pretty, young thing, the love of his life.
Her name was Tremai, a good mousewife she was,
Quiet and thoughtful and loving because
Her husband was good and exceedingly brave,
And always received just as good as he gave.
Together they traveled, every step of the way,
And they slept paw in paw at the end of the day.

Then a joker, a thief, was next in our party,
Miodriskin, the raccoon was good at his part, he
Asked that in friendship I call him just Mio
And he told me some tales of the raccoon thief trio.
In all of the forest, they were the best
At thievery and prank, at cunning and jest.
His mask was black, his coat was gray,
His paws were quick and I kept away
Lest he make off with a feather of mine,
For I kept them neat and I let them shine.

Next came a toad, one of the warty sort,
With a blue striped skink as his consort.
The toad was Ric’rio, as said in toad tongue,
He was boastful and arrogant, but he was young.
His eyes were gold and they bulged from his head,
His skin was green, and spotted with red.
He waddled and hopped in a comical way
And puffed up his throat when he’d something to say.
The skink was far quieter, her name was Sillik,
She was rather cynical, but moved rather quick,
And although her eyes looked to be dead,
She could catch any bug with a flick of her head.

And last of our party, as I met them that day,
Was a diamond-backed snake, all brown and gray.
His name was Icasius, he spoke well and seemed nice,
But all kept their distance, especially the mice,
And only I spoke at length with the snake,
Though I kept well away, not a chance did I take
And not once did I look in those beady snake eyes,
For a bird who does that very soon dies,
Lost in the trance snakes only can weave.

And now, I think, yes I do believe
That we had stopped for the night in a shadowy dell
When two small birds appeared and, well,
It was too late to turn them away,
They were sweet and polite, so we said they could stay.
They were both chickadees, Deedee and Feebee,
And they were the only birds, other than me.
They were merry and bright, and flitted about,
They chirped and they chattered, and we had no doubt
That they were the happiest of our motley crew.

And now I will introduce myself to you.
I am a raven, my name is Carrak,
My claws are sharp, my feathers are black,
My eyes are bright, I tell no lies,
And although this may come as quite a surprise,
This story I tell is entirely true,
So now I will tell my tale to you.

We were all in the woods, and climbing the rise
That leads out of the forest, when two, great, green eyes
Flashed in the shadows, and then disappeared.
Arin assured us it was not what we feared,
But we all watched the shadows, and jumped at the sound
Of a twig snapping somewhere, and we all spun around
When an ear splitting scream came from behind us.
We ran and we hoped that it would not find us,
But our hopes were in vain, for it gained every pace
Until we could see its malevolent face.

She was a cougar, wiry and thin,
Long-boned and scarred, and evil as sin.
One ear stood in tatters, one eye was no more,
Her fangs were like sabers, her claws ripped and tore
At the earth as she chased us and as we ran
I searched for a safe place for our caravan.
Then I saw it ahead, a cave in a hill that
Seemed enough for us all, but too small for the cat.

As I led them to safety, I looked back and saw
Both the skink and the toad fall under her claw.
The rest of us made it to the cave safe and sound,
We could hear her outside, tearing at the ground.
Then she spoke to us, her voice like smooth slate,
And what that cat said, I shall now relate.

“Do you know who I am? You fools,” said she.
“I am the lion of the mountain, the great Lyrani.
You cannot escape, this cave will be your tomb,
You will all die, you have met your doom.”
Her long paw snaked in, all tawny and white,
And her long claws extended made a fearsome sight.
The mice squeaked in terror, the hare quaked in fear,
White Arin whispered, “It’s all right, my dear.”
To hi wife as she wept, and even I thought
That the way things were going, there really was not
Any chance we would live, or that someone would save
All of us from her and an early grave.

She must’ve had a thought that made her pause
For she withdrew her paw and retracted her claws,
And she said as she bent and peered into our cave:
“I wonder if you would accept if I gave
You a chance to escape, something quite fair.
One of you has to face me, the wolf or the hare,
The mouse or the raven, it does not matter to me.
Whether they fight or they run, the rest can go free.
A sporting chance for one, freedom for the rest,
If you accept my offer, then send out your best!”

Well, Garvin Lo quickly said, “I say we agree,
Let’s send out Arin to face Lyrani.”
But Nilea cried, “Oh, no! Don’t take him away.
He’s all that I have, with me he must stay.”
Then she turned her eyes on the cat, Garvin Lo.
“You’re a cat, just like her. Why don’t you go?”
“She won’t care what I am,” he said. “And she will
Not pause for a moment, for she likes to kill.
Hey, let’s send the raven, he’s swift and can fly.
When she tries to attack, he can take to the sky.”
They all liked the idea, but I’m not very brave
So I had to decline, and I stayed in the cave.

The hare said the mouse was the one who should go,
But Scollin had a wife and stoutly said no.
Mio said that Jax was the best of our lot,
And should go, but said the hare, “You’d have thought
A thief like our Mio would hesitate
To do this great deed, so he can relate
His tale far and wide. Why I’d jump at the chance,
But my paw has gone lame, and I can’t even dance.
Let’s send old Deedee to do this great thing,
But let us decide, for time does take wing.”

And they argued like this, back and forth, over who
Would be sent to the cat, to do what they must do,
When a soft, gentle voice, silent ‘till then
Was heard above all and listened to when
It said, “I will go.” And everyone stared
As Icasius the snake, though shaking and scared,
Slithered from the cave to face the great foe,
And we all agreed, It was he who should go.
I mean, after all, who cared if he died,
He just like all snakes, must have cheated and lied,
Though he wasn’t the one, specifically, who
Tricked Eve in the garden, all of us knew
Of the evil inherent in every snake’s heart,
So who really cared if he was torn apart?

We watched as the cat looked at him in disdain
And said, ”Poor, simple creature, let me make it plain
That nothing can save you from certain death.”
Icasius said nothing, just took a deep breath
And struck at Lyrani, his fangs sinking deep
Injecting his venom and trying to keep
His hold on the cat as she clawed at his body
‘Till he bled from the spots where she had clawed. He
Was growing weak, But he did not let go
And soon the cougar was weakened and slow.
She fell in a heap and gave one last cry,
And the snake and the cougar together did die.

Well, we journeyed on, no longer afraid
Having left the bodies where they were laid.
No tears, of course, were shed for the snake
Who defeated our foe and died for our sake,
For the truth, after all is said and done,
Is that snakes are evil, and you cannot miss one
Just because of one deed that they happened to do.
A snake is a snake, and no matter who
You may ask on the matter, the answer’s the same;
No matter what the crime, the snake is to blame.

At length we reached the mountain peak.
All of us sore, weary and weak
As we made our way through the ice and snow
To a palace of ice that seemed to glow.
Inside we found upon his throne
Of blue crystal and polished stone,
Our mighty Emperor, a beast and a bird
In one awesome creature, just as we’d heard.
A great golden eagle and a tiger so white
That his fur shone like diamonds in the ice blue light.
The front of an eagle, the rear of a cat,
But when he looked at us, his eyes were flat,
Not bright like an eagle’s, as they should be,
But cold, and the look sent a shiver through me.

He spoke to us, his voice rich and deep,
And our surprise we tried in vain to keep
Hidden from him as he asked after the toad,
And the skink and the snake that we’d lost on the road
To find his palace. Then he said, in a cool and dignified way,
“Did you honor the snake at all on that day,
When he gave up his life, so that you all would live?
When he gave to you all the greatest gift one can give?”
“Oh, Emperor,” said Arin. “He was only a snake,
A low, evil creature and we did not take
One single moment out of our day
To honor his death in any way.”

Then spoke the Emperor to us all in
A strange, dark voice. “You have fallen
And you cannot see beyond the skin,
You cannot see what lies within.
Whether beast or bird, fish or reptile,
The species does not determine if vile
Or good is the creature’s truest intent
For many a savior in rags had been sent,
And many a well-dressed demon has come,
And judge not them all by the actions of some.”

Then he spread his great wings and with royal grace
He climbed into the sky and away from that place.
We had nothing to do but to return to our homes,
Except for the lynx, who continually roams.
We left the palace and said our good-byes
And with heavy hearts, (and a few teary eyes,)
We went our own ways, and I was alone
Once again on a journey that was my own.

When I reached the place where the snake had died,
(His name was Icasius!) I stood and I cried
For at last I had realized what I had done.
I had put the sins of all onto this one,
A far braver creature than any I knew,
And still to this day what I said holds true.
I have not met one, of any species or breed,
Who has acted as noble, in word or in deed.

What, you may ask, is the point of my tale?
Only that sometimes we all can fail,
And sometimes we only see fur and skin
And we are blind to the beauty and goodness within.
So judge not a book by it’s cover, lest ye
Be judged as unfairly by what others may see,
The actions of one need not condemn all,
Or into the darkness of hate we will fall.

Carrak the Raven