The Great Sky Drake and the Plains Hunter
Common Version:
"Once, the skies were rife with wing and claw and wrath, and all the earth was prey. The Great Drakes roamed, stirring the clouds, at their whim choosing either to bear down or to stay their talons. It was soon that they came into conflict with Chepryth, the Plains Hunter, the last of his kind on Icalar and its protector, as the only being that stood between them and their prey.
So it was that five drakes confronted Chepryth, and though he fought valiantly for his wards, he was wounded gravely and retreated to the crown of the world [the Creqira]. Somil'feth, the most merciless of the five, was sent there to finish him, but instead Chepryth convinced her to pause, and the two held council: Chepryth explained to her his task and the value of his wards, not as prey but as tenders of the land, and accused the drakes of upsetting a holy balance that would ultimately bring them harm.
Somil'feth was at first unconvinced, even amused, until some of the First People -- having seen his retreat -- came to the crown to aid and defend him. Moved by this demonstration, Somil'feth had paused; she thought it was a fatal error on her part, but found that the people then welcomed and praised her for her apparent attempt at diplomacy. Compelled still, she and Chepryth hold further council such that she became convinced of his beliefs and task, and became fond of one another. As he lay dying, Somil'feth vowed to serve as Icalar's new protector."
- The story introduces an early romantic element, in that Chepryth and Somil'feth regard one another as mates -- something kept secret from the other drakes and, if present, other plains hunters -- prior to the five drakes' assault, and that following his death she is driven into a protective madness over the tuya, now his resting place.
- Chepryth is in fact another drake, if earthbound. (In this variation his name is usually Tilmahcotles.)
- Somil'feth is instead named Icnouadaefarse.
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