Part 12: THE SONGBIRD AND THE FLOWER OF DESTRUCTION

Before Kwashoom leapt to the moon he passed by Mount Kabayongi, which means “peaceful giant”, where he saw Aurokoro and Nukitana and thirty men struggling to reach the top and he asked them, whispering, if they needed any help and because Nukitana could not see the giant he was not afraid and answered ‘yes’ so Kwashoom scooped the two princes and their men into his palm and rested them gently upon Kabayongi’s summit before moving on.

The reason why the two princes had been struggling so hard to reach the summit is because Hiriki had sent them to find two items of immense magical power, the songbird and the flower of destruction which, travellers told, were hidden at the top of Mount Kabayongi.

“The evil ones once created them out of ordinary songbirds and ordinary flowers because they wanted man to wreak destruction upon the world but the goddess put them out of man’s reach, at the top of Kabayongi so that no man could wield
their power”, said Aurokoro.

“Is it right for us to wield their power?”, signed Nukitana to his brother.

“When we have used them once we will destroy them. If others wish to use them after us then let them climb the mountain”, answered Aurokoro.

On the top of the mountain they saw two small caves, one of which was as white as alabaster, the other as black as obsidian. “Which one contains the flower and which one the songbird?”, asked Aurokoro.

Nukitana breathed in deeply and pointed to the white cave, “That one smells the most strongly of flowers”, he said.

And so Nukitana entered the white cave which, it is said, contained the flowers so beautiful that all who saw them were overcome by bliss and died. Because Nukitana was blind he couldn’t see the flowers and so he was able to pick one safely and place it in an opaque jar which he sealed so that none of the others could see into it.

Then Aurokoro entered the black cave which, it is said, contained the birds whose song was so beautiful that all who heard them were overcome by bliss and died. Because Aurokoro was deaf he couldn’t hear the song of the birds and so he was
able to catch one and, tying its beak shut, put it into a cage.

“Poor things whose beauty can only kill”, said Aurokoro.

“Lucky men who are killed by them”, signed Nukitana.

But suddenly, one of Nukitanas men, who was called Makshima ran into the black cave shouting, “I want to hear it! I want to hear the singing!” and immediately fell down dead but, when the dead Makshima was lifted out of the cave by
Aurokoro he had a peaceful smile upon his face.