Birdnest
- Location
- Great Khanate of Scotland
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Chapter 23: Birdnest
"Here we are. Not more than a day's trip from the border, by my recollection," Devorah says.
"We made it," Moishe breathes.
"Not yet," his teacher says, "We can't let our guard down, not even - especially - now that we're so close."
The Aliyah is flying up a long, narrow valley somewhere in the south of Afghanistan. At the head of it, nestled among the craggy foothills, is the small city of Birdnest. A bustling pilgrimage site, drawing Jews, Muslims, and Christians from across the world, the city is young, but still vibrant, with thriving industries catering to the travelers.
Sitting in a saddle between two mountain peaks, high above it, is the reason for its existence. A massive structure, made from entire cedar trees, bent into a huge ring, big enough to hold the town itself - the nest of the Ziz, the greatest bird to ever take flight over God's green Earth.
"The bird's not home," Devorah notes, a bit irreverently. The Ziz is one of the Great Creatures set by God upon the Earth as a show of his majesty, meant to awe and humble the mortal races. At most hours the churches, mosques, and synagogues of Birdnest ring with hymns of praise and devotion, for it is this feeling of awe that the pilgrims have come to experience. The luckiest (or most dedicated) will stay long enough to see the bird for themselves, or to hear its haunting song.
"That's good," Sarai says, "I was worried about it seeing us. Ziz is the master of all things in the air."
"And we're not exactly fast," Robert mutters.
"CAPTAIN!" Devorah cries out. Sarai turns on her heel, and sees it.
A great black spot against the clouds, its silhouette recognizable even at this distance. Two great outspread wings, and a fan-shaped tail.
"That's a bird," Moishe says weakly.
"A big bird," adds Menander, whose eyes are better. It's hard to tell the size of something in the air, without anything to scale it against, but it is moving fast.
Sarai hisses through her teeth.
"Damn! Pile on all sail! Shabbar, full speed!"
"Aye, cap'n!" the djinn grunts.
"Put us down if you have to!"
"Aye!"
The Aliyah lurches as everyone grabs the rigging. Menander whimpers and strings his bow.
"You're going to have to be really lucky with that thing," Devorah mutters.
The bird grows in size, getting closer at an alarming rate.
"God be good, its wingspan is as wide as the ship is long..." Robert gasps. Devorah frowns.
"That's..."
"It'll turn the gasbag to ribbons," Robert says darkly, "I suggest we either get closer to the ground or hold on to something."
"Moishe, put us down, fast!"
"AYE, CAPTAIN!" the apprentice says, venting air.
"Maybe both," Robert says, clinging to the rigging. The ship starts to drop rapidly, its nose tilting down towards the stony moors outside of Birdnest. The great bird - it has the shape of an eagle, a very, very large eagle - is now above them.
"Oh, God, it's going to dive," Menander says, clinging to the railing, his bow forgotten.
The giant eagle cries out. Then, a shadow passes over them. Not just the ship, but the eagle and the entire town as well. All are engulfed in a shadow that suddenly appears through the clouds. The clouds are parted by two vast wings, and sunlight pours through the gap, framing the massive silhouette of a bird even greater than the giant eagle which was moments before preparing to stoop on them, but is now flapping its wings hurriedly, trying to wheel in the air.
Then the greater bird's wings flap once, and blot out the sun. A veritable hurricane buffets the ship, tilting it crazily as wind suddenly knocks it aside. The crew yell and cling tight as the Aliyah is moved by what amounts to a force of nature.
A shrill, haunting cry splits the air, echoing from the mountain peaks. The other bird is so big that the crew can only get glimpses. A feathered crest. A long, spearlike beak. Long, stilted legs, ending in talons that close around the eagle's body. It gives a single despairing shriek as the larger bird, its wings seeming to stretch from one end of the valley to another, flaps again, sending the ship veering wildly in the new hurricane-force wind.
A sheer cliff faces looms up suddenly, and Sarai screams and throws herself at the controls. The valve on the tank is thrown wide open, and hot air rushes into the gasbag, and everyone feels lightheaded as the Aliyah suddenly rises a hundred feet in the air, narrowly missing the cliff and the sheer mountain peak behind it.
The crew stumble to their feet, watching the giant bird. It has passed over town and valley, and is now circling the massive nest. Its wings reach from one rim of the nest to the other as it sets down, pinning its quarry to the floor of the nest and, so Menander at least can see, finishing it with a single jab of its lancelike beak. Every bell in Birdnest is ringing, and the crew can even hear the sound of chanting rising from the places of worship.
"What in Hell was that?" Robert gasp.
"Oh, that? That was Ziz," Devorah said, with a nervous smile, "It likes to eat Rocs, like the one it caught just now. Like a hawk after pigeons, it is."
***
In a busy market in Birdnest, Sarai watches Shabbar load gear onto the ship. They've managed to scrounge together just enough supplies that they can make it across the border into Indica. After that...
"We'll have to rely on our host," Devorah says a bit grimly.
"I should hope so," Sarai replies. Robert leans forward.
"They say Prester John knows everything that happens in his realm. They say he's a powerful sorcerer and alchemist in his own right. I would be careful with him, captain. Trust a man like that, who knows what he'll ask in return."
Sarai frowns.
"I thought…well, I hope to impress him. Surely, Prester John, who is so wealthy in gold and gems beyond count, would be generous and not grasping?"
Devorah and Robert exchange a glance.
"In ages past, Prester John's writ extended as far as the Caucuses, and he held the cannibal tribes of Gog and Magog as vassals," Robert says, "And he saw nothing wrong with unleashing them upon his enemies."
"Prester John is a great and powerful king," Devorah adds simply.
Sarai frowns and turns back to her ship. After all this time, questing for the riches of the Kingdom of Prester John, will they prove to be more trouble than they are worth?
