Tci the Seer/the Quicksilver Egg

There is a certain place, far from here and a long time ago, where this happened. In this place and time, a powerful witch sailed from across the horizon. This witch went by the name of Tci - though this was not his name before, nor was it his name after - he answered to Tci, and this was all he would say.
Tci's witch-skill was that of a visionary, who saw the future as clear as a fish in still water. Parents would call to ask him the future of this or that chick while she was still in the shell or belly, and he would sit with them and see the future by rushlight and, always, whatever Tci spoke came to pass.
This made Tci unpopular.
He told large families of good standing that their children would be snake-eaten, feckless, or selfish. He told small families of poor status that their children would be beloved, brilliant, or skilled. And, always, whatever Tci spoke came to pass.
The great families believed Tci made the future in his visions. They said that he told people what he wanted to happen and enchanted them to make it so - reknowned teachers would clamour to tutor a child Tci had decreed to be brilliant, and nobody would dilligently guard a child Tci had said would be snake-eaten. And so one was brilliant and the other was mourned, and Tci was unpopular.
The chief of the village was 'Deka, her husband was He'bo and her grand-husband was 'Doça. 'Doça had come from far away and, though he was grey-eyed and thin, his mind was sharp as a tooth. He remembered a time from his youth when another witch had come from across the horizon to 'Doça's childhood village and woven spells and enchantments against them. They had brought her down with tricks and charms and sent her back across the horizon in three boats. This, 'Doça decreed, was what they would to to Tci.
'Deka had an egg made of clay and left it in the nonday sun to dry. Inside the egg was a hollow filled with quicksilver so that, when Tci scried the eggs, he would instead read his own future. This, 'Doça said, would prove Tci's spell was a fraud. When 'Deka had laid her clutch, she hid the false egg amongst them before passing them into He'bo's care, and He'bo called Tci to scry them. Tci pronounced his visions over each egg in turn - this one would found a new village, that one would be a skilled beadsmith, the third would die in battle - until he came to the quicksilver egg. Tci scried it like the others and a dark shadow crossed his face. He scratched the shell with his claw and placed it back into the nest. Then Tci rose wordlessly and left the nesting-hall. After Tci left, He'bo was unable to find the clay egg - all the eggs smelled warm and vital, all the eggs responded to his egg-calls - and he settled back on the nest, reasoning that the quicksilver egg would simply not hatch in time.
Tci went straght from the nesting-hall to the shore. Without returning home, without speaking to anyone at all, he took a boat and he sailed away, never to return. The village was furious with 'Deka, He'bo, and 'Doça for sending Tci away. They were cast down and a new chief was appointed. He'bo, though shamed and scorned, incubated his eggs.
The time came that the eggs hatched. The founder, the beadsmith, the warrior, and the quicksilver child.
The chicks grew into the roles Tci had foretold. The founder roamed far and wide, exploring the village and beyond. The beadsmith was crafty with her claws and clever with colours and adornment. The warrior was brave, strong and just. But the quicksilver chick was quiet and strange and spent too long on her own.
Time passed and the chicks fledged, but still the quicksilver chick remained strange and aloof. She spoke rarely and sang never. She played strange games alone and knew things she should not. When the quicksilver fledgeling spoke, she did so sure and certain.
And, always, whatever she spoke came to pass.
She spoke of rain and storms while the sky was clear, and hurricanes descended on the islands. She spoke of attacks from an allied village and they broke treaties and came sneaking in the night. She spoke of bountiful harvests in bays where there had never been fish before, but when fisherfolk went there the sea shone silver with scales. Adults feared her and fledgelings bullied her, but her parents loved her for her strangeness and fought often with those who would not protected her as they should.
And then the fathers came to her, asking the fates of the eggs they brooded. And she looked at each egg in turn and she spoke their futures.
She told large families of good standing that their children would be snake-eaten, feckless, or selfish.  She told small families of poor status that their children would be beloved, brilliant, or skilled.
'Deka, He'ba, and 'Doça did not need witch-sight to know then that their quicksilver chick would not be permitted to stay. That the new chief would drive her from their flock as surely as they had driven out Tci and for the same reasons. So they built her a boat with a sail and a net, and gave her gifts of beads and shells and bright fabrics. And, though  the quicksilver chick must have known all this would happen, she said nothing but bowed low to her mother and father and grandfather and took the boat and sail and net and left her home forever.
Soon after, in a certain place far from there, a powerful witch came from across the horizon. This witch went by the name of Tci - though this was not her name before, nor was it her name after - she answered to Tci, and this was all she would say.

Variations & Mutation

Variants of the story of Tci the Seer/the Quicksilver Egg are found all over the southern island chains and find an original source has proved impossible. In other versions, the mirrored object hidden inside the egg may be a mirrored shell or scale, quicksilver, a black glass bead, or a piece of polished or refective metal. In versions where Tci is female, the egg may be her own, stolen and mixed into another's nest.

Cultural Reception

This story references the ancient belief that a witch must never use their powers for personal gain (referenced here in 'Doça's home village killing the witch who plagued them), and scrying their own future or that of their children falls under that restriction.
The story follows a cyclical pattern traditional in kana'ohna folktales. This format is common in cautionary tales or fairy-stories, and helps differentiate them from historical and expositional mythology.

Related Species

• Kana'ōnah

Related Locations

• Aeho'ai