"... you think we know of history... We have watched and we have waited for thousands of years, but do you really think we know what the rest of the world is like. Our only real news comes too slowly and passes by too many gossiping mouths for it to be useful to us. Even those peasants in the west villages muddle and confuse everything they tell us." He paused, shadows from the burning torches moving gently across his young face. He looked at his companions... "We have no idea, no idea at all, we are sitting here trying to decide what is going on in the world by talking to birds and peasants. Do you ever think that there might be better ways to find out about the world than by reading birds. We are the eyes, and ears of Jiryal, we bring to him a picture of the world. But friends, our picture is so incomplete we can not show him anything." He shifted his posture slightly, placing his hands on the stone table. "When did our brothers last actually meet those that we tell Jiryal about?" Although the question was clearly hypothetical an outburst came from the other side of the table. "Oh yes indeed Azron, we know the stories of that meeting! The Mir came, and they found us. More than one and a half thousand rains have past since then, but the stories are still known by all. And ironic was it not, that they should have come riding dragons that so resemble Jiryal? There is a reason that we stay hid away here, and it is a reason that history has shown to be sound. The world is not a stable place, our brothers have watched empires rise and fall, we are just grains of sand and the world is a wild ocean." A wry smile pass Azron's face. "Grains of sand you say... in an ocean. If we take to grains of sand do they not look the same? The sea may move them in different patterns but they are the same aren't they? Jiryal has told us we are equal. Equal like the earth is equal to the sky, like fire is equal to the waters of the rain, like the day is equal to the night." His voice flowed on "And brother I ask you are we not equal to the people we watch? I do not propose we rush blindly into any situation. We do well by the methods that have been passed down. All that I have to say is that we can do better still. The world is a broad place and to see more of it our methods too have to be broad. We shall send groups out to the various lands, they will be able to send us back messages directly via birds." Another outburst came from the far side of the table. "Brother how is sending the messages via birds any better than just asking the birds what they have seen, we will still get the same jumbled bird talk back." "Mock neither me nor the way that birds talk." Azron barked. "However, that is not what I meant, I suggest they attach written messages to the birds and then simply ask them to bring the messages here. But there is more to my plan, for the best solution is to expand our watchers into every society rather than to sit and watch it all from afar." === Alan Riddell ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net.
