The young boy climbed the last flight of stairs to the attic in the house where he had lived for the past year. The occupant heard his footsteps and greeted him with words in a strange language, but words that he understood.
He had been a toddler in the car with his parents when they were killed in a horrific crash. The fire fighter who pulled him from the burning wreckage saved his life. There was nothing to identify the child except for a bracelet on the child's wrist engraved with the words, "One of the forest".
For several years the child lived in an orphanage. The administrator, a kind woman, named him Francis, after the saint, as he was very gentle, had special connections to the birds and animals, and seemingly possessed knowledge and a wisdom well beyond his years. News of this orphan boy, now six years old, spread. A man whom the locals called "The Hermit" lived several miles away in a remote area close to a forest and when he learned of the lad's circumstance came to visit Francis and decided he would adopt him and raise him as his own. He would provide food, a good home, and teach him how to be a citizen of the world with knowledge that no others had.
Francis was amazed when they arrived at the hermit's home. It was four stories, each with its own separate roofline, like a Scandinavian stave church. The rooms on each story had casement windows which opened to the rolling landscape and forest beyond. The house was encircled with split log fences that enclosed a large pasture with sheep, goats, several llamas and other small animals, all grazing together. On entering the house the hermit said..."well, Francis, this is your home now. My name is Merlin and I want you to be yourself here. I will show you things you never dreamed of, and teach you the art of magic for the human good. You will want for nothing, and we shall learn from each other, as we both have been given special gifts."
Merlin had a secret. On his usual walk in the woods six months earlier, he heard a raven calling to him in a human voice, not the usual barking sound of these birds. He followed the sound and came across a female raven that had been caught in a poacher's snare. It was very unusual that it had been trapped in this way, as ravens are very suspicious and wary creatures, but this snare had been cleverly concealed in the undergrowth and the poacher had dropped a shiny object next to the snare that drew the raven close. A wire had torqued around her left foot and almost severed it.
The raven could not stand and lay on the ground on her side, with terror in her eyes, but when Merlin approached she breathed "help me". Her life force was ebbing so the bird must have been there for some time. Slowly Merlin released the wire, and lifted the beautiful bird on to his cloak, wrapped her in it and carried her home. On inspection the raven's left foot had been severed and he carefully detached the foot and laid it in preservatives. He then called upon his powers to heal her. He concocted a brew of herbs and made a poultice to apply to the damaged leg without the foot. All the while he spoke to her in an unusual language that became a communion with each other. He brought her grubs, snails, even eggs from his hens, which she hastily consumed. He had amazing carpentry skills, and crafted a cradle device that she could rest in and elevate her body until she gained enough strength to stand on the one good leg. Day by day she improved and they developed a strange dialogue wherein they shared stories of other worlds. Merlin saw that she would live and he took it upon himself to make her fully functional as a raven once more. He named her Nike, after the winged goddess of victory.
Merlin had another secret. Not only was he a mystic, but he had working knowledge of a 3-D printer that could be programmed to fabricate three-dimensional objects. There were already successes in the medical field not only with the production of internal organ parts but other objects as well. One story of his house contained a clean room, laboratory, computers and a 3-D printer. He knew it was his destiny to create a new foot for Nike, one that would be more than a prosthetic device, but a fully functional raven's foot.
When Francis came to live with them he bonded immediately with Nike, and communicated in the same almost-but-not-really language that Merlin and she spoke. Francis had the task of helping Nike with the more mundane tasks of personal grooming and she developed soft crooning vocals when he stroked her glossy feathers. Francis already had a sixth-sense that Merlin would somehow mend Nike's foot. Merlin showed him how he would fabricate a new foot for her; Francis was excited to be part of the plan. The computer model of the foot had been designed, and now it was time to execute the program. It had been a challenge to replicate a fully-articulated foot that would grow on to a leg but all was in place and the project was completed in four days. Because of Francis' special connection to Nike he was the one to soothe the raven and gently tell her that when she woke from the anesthetic she would have a new foot and live up to her name. He also told her that he would be the one to tend to her recovery.
Nike was waiting in her top floor attic room when Francis climbed the stairs that day. When he opened the door, she said, "I was the one who told Merlin of your plight and that he should bring you here. You and Merlin have given me my life, just as Merlin has given you yours. We will be connected as a triad forever more." She hopped off her cradle on two legs, waddled over to Francis, spread magnificent wings, and flew out the open window.
March 2014
To view Robyn's biography click on AUTHOR'S BIOGRAPHIES in side panel.
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