[Child of the 7th Age]

Aiwendil hurried to the edge of camp and then pushed on across the desert towards a hilly ridge located a short distance away where the sentries sometimes maintained a watch. This night the hill was still and empty except for one lone presence he could feel tugging at the fringes of his mind. Yet even this far from the settlment, he could still hear the mournful voices of the Eagles who had massed about the funeral bier to carry out the traditional rituals. Heavily weighed down with grief and longing, their songs echoed through the cool night air, adding a note of sadness to an already somber scene.

Coming to the base of the ridge, Aiwendil glimpsed Ráma about half-way up the slope, half hidden by a massive outcrop of jagged brown boulders; she was staring off vacantly towards the horizon. As Aiwendil began the climb upward, she turned a scowling face in his direction, making it clear that she had neither expected or wanted visitors. The old man ignored the warning and kept climbing until he reached the ledge. Walking closer, he could see that the woman's eyes were rimmed in red but that her face remained distant and blank, a pallid mask giving little hint of the feelings underneath.

"They have sent you to bring me back?" she asked in some surprise.

He turned and shook his head. "No one has sent me. I have come to speak with you on my own." The istar hesitated for a moment gathering his wits, wishing that he had Gandalf's gift with words.

"Old man, you are good at finding people. I had thought to have found a quiet spot where no one could disturb me. I spent all day in camp tending my mother's body while my sister and Thorn went off to speak with the Elders. After Naraika's return, when the shadows lengthened, I went off on my own to think."

"But they will be missing you?" he queried.

"I do not think so. The songs of the first night are always led by the new clan leaders. It is their part to push back the shadows and make certain that my mother departs on her journey."

Aiwendil glanced shyly at Ráma. "It must be hard, standing and waiting, while your sister takes on her new duties."

"I begrudge her nothing....nothing," the young woman responded. There was a quiet certainty in Ráma's voice that did not sound feigned. "It is not even my mother's death that weighs on my head. She is free now. But I made promises to her as she lay dying, and it is my duty to find a way to do what she asked."

For a moment, Ráma hesitated and stared off in the distance. Then she looked back at Aiwendil, "I do not know why, but she said you might help me. Old man, today while I tended the bier and most of the others were inside for their mid-day meal, I saw something in the sky. Something, I had never seen before. There was a great Eagle, larger than any I have seen in these parts. It flew in circles above my mother's body as if wishing her goodbye and then suddenly departed. Do you know anything of this bird, or where he comes from? I must speak with him."

Aiwendil stared down stubbornly at the ground and did not reply.

"Please," Ráma pleaded. "I can tell you do not wish to speak of this, but my request is for my people. Many have suffered at Wyrma's hands, and more will surely die unless we do something to stop it. My mother said these mighty creatures had dealings with our clan in the past and promised to aid us should we ever find ourselves in great peril. She urged me to travel south to the dwelling of an old wisewoman and collect a tallisman of power that I should then present to the Eagle Lord. But even this wisewoman may not know where to find these mighty birds. If you could just take me to this creature, I could ask him for help."

"I cannot." Aiwendil shook his head. "For that was no true Eagle: only an old fellow with some mastery of shapes who wished to honor your mother's memory and bid her farewell. Ráma, you know I have some skill in shifting. That was only me."

The young woman's eyes widened in surprise. "Can you do such things? You must wield great power to be able to take on such form." She glanced at him increduously. "Perhaps you are one of these creatures yourself?"

He said with embarassment, "No, I am sorry. I have some skills in shifting, but it comes and goes. What I did this afternoon, I have not done in years. And whether I would do it again, I am not sure."

"You will not help me then?"

"I did not say that. Only that it will do you no good to track down that bird. But I have thought carefully on what you said earlier today. If you would like my help to retrieve this talisman and journey to the Eagles, I will give it to you. I am still not sure if this is wise. The Eagle Lord and those whom the Eagles serve may have little wish to see me or to listen to anything I say. But I am through with sitting and doing nothing. If my staff or arm can be of any use, you may have them to help you to fill these promises that you made to your mother."

"And now," he added, gathering up his staff and preparing to leave, "I believe I have bothered you enough for one evening. You will want to think more on this. There is one more thing. I believe the Eagle Sorona may have some part to play in all this. I have caught glimpses of her on the edge of my dreams. She has no reason to speak with me kindly after what I said today. Still, she might take more kindly to a request from Ayar's daughter. You may want to ask her to join us. That is, if you would like the two of us to go together." After offering to help, Aiwendil turned and disappeared into the night, leaving Ráma to sit on the slope and mull over the words that had just passed between them.