Chapter 163 Wings and Fire
In the mountains.
The pregnant Pegasus thought to Lupita: I see the two males in the western sky. One of them brings the magic and memories for my daughter.
Lupita: Do you have any fears regarding her birth?
The Pegasus: No. For too many suns, I have tried to be something I am not. I guided my family without the magic of the future or the memories of the hundreds of All-Mothers from the past. I was a false All-Mother. It will be a relief to pass the burden on to my daughter. If, to my family, I was nothing more than a vessel for the next All-Mother, that is fine.
Lupita: You think exactly like my mother. She believed that because she was a whore, my birth was something terrible that she had done to me. But I saw a Pegasus in the sky when I was five years old, and I realized that there are goodness and beauty in the world. Now I know that she was you. When a mother gives life, it is the most profound magic. I feel your pain as if it were my own. You sacrifice so much for your daughter and for your family.
The Pegasus began to descend through the air, searching for an area where she could land safely. The male, Beautiful Boy, flew ahead of her and beat his wings to signal a spot he had immediately spotted. The Bad Feathers had neither nests nor families; they were always on the lookout for good places to land and spend the night. His life of insecurity and fear served to help the All-Mother during a difficult time. The two landed carefully on the slope of a mountain with a small plateau. Half an hour later, the two males arrived with their riders and landed as well.
The three males lay down beside the Pegasus to keep her warm. They could see the pain in her eyes and the weariness in her body. The bipeds sat together, amidst the large feathers of the enormous Pegasus. The cold and the wind felt like dagger points against their exposed skin. They consumed the last of the food they had. They saw a mountain taller than the others, with columns of smoke rising from small openings.
Volker: I think I am mad. It looks like that mountain is breathing.
Chara: No, you are correct. The upper part moves like a chest breathing.
Kerstin: What does that mean?
The Pegasus: An All-Mother must be born in a place of renewal: within a forest that burned following a lightning strike, giving way to new, robust trees; near a river that flooded the surrounding lands, destroying much of the life there, yet in turn creating an area brimming with new vitality; or a mountain that is going to erupt in flames and spew ash and soil over a wide area. That mountain will create much new land, land where plants and animals will live for hundreds of suns before the mountain is ready to create once again.
Lupita: We are going to die, are we not?
The Pegasus: It is possible. No one knows everything about the magic that creates an All-Mother.
Volker: The scrolls say that it is a combination of the magic of the Goddess and the God, a great sacrifice, and the magic of the world itself.
Kerstin: I wish I had seen Yegor before this. I would have liked to tell him something important.
Lupita: Yes. I would also like to say something to a young man.
Chara and Volker embraced more tightly and looked at the smoke over the mountain.
A valley of trees.
The sentries were cold because of the morning dew. The sun was still new and offered no help in that regard. Many of them stuffed their armor with dry leaves to gain a little insulation. In the morning, they looked in many directions, seeking to spot the great wings of a Pegasus. The first shout came from a man situated on the southeast side of the small ridge that formed one of the sides of the valley. A shout from another man, further to the west, followed seconds later.
In the valley, Tomás began shouting: Two Pegasi! One is approaching from the east, and the other from the west. I want one machine ready to fire at each of them. The other two must prepare to fire, but they must not open fire without my order. Maintain your cover until the very last moment. They have very sharp eyesight.
The engineers aimed the machines toward the Pegasi. Two were directed toward White Stockings, in the east, and the other two toward Snowfall, in the west. The men, even Captain Tomás, were clad in cloaks coated with resinous gum and fallen leaves. Not even a Pegasus, with eyes like those of an eagle, could have spotted them from a safe distance.
Tomás spoke more to himself than to the engineers: A little closer. Come here, my little ducklings.
High in the sky, above the valley.
Grey Wing was flying at an altitude dangerous for her rider, amidst the cold weather of mid-autumn. She began to descend in a gentle circle over the trees the man envisioned in her mind.
She saw some leaves move in a way that was not caused by the wind. She sent the image to the mind of her rider and received a sensation of excitement.
Néstor: Yes, I think it is them. I want to drop the first one right in the center of this zone to show the others the area.
The man carefully untied a rope from the saddle and held it away from his body and his mount.
The rider: Ready.
Grey Wing traced another semicircle and thought: Now!
The man opened his hand and then began to untie another rope.
White Stockings looked at the thing falling from the position of his matriarch and immediately flew higher. On the other side, Snowfall did the same. Each rider untied their own ropes and held them in a manner similar to that of the Master Rider.
The clay vessel was slightly larger than a human head. It fell for nine seconds and landed near the corner of one of the machines. The clay shattered into twenty pieces, and the liquid inside encountered the air. An explosion of fire erupted in all directions, spreading beyond the length of the body of a horse. The machine was covered with resin coated fabric and dry leaves. Beneath this, every surface was smeared with oil or animal fat to ensure easy movement. The men wore similar coverings. Both the machine and the men burst into flames in less than a second. Hernando dropped the next vessel. Floriano did the same two seconds later.
Over the course of about three minutes, they dropped twelve vessels into the valley, near the machines and the forest. Seven lookouts, fourteen engineers, and Captain Tomás perished in agony in the valley. Many others suffered severe burns. The four machines burned without firing. The machines, similar to those that killed the All-Mother with Clemente in the saddle, were destroyed by her daughters.