Chapter one

High above the ground was a majestic eagle.Whether he was hungry or not, his keen eyes were always on the lookout for any prey.The eagle is lifted and dragged over the forests, lakes, rivers, and mountains by powerful currents of hot and cold air.The landscapes below were vast, magnificent, and holy.The eagle's range was vast, but he mostly stayed in the northern part of the continent rather than the entire continent.The only time this great hunter moved south was when it was time to mate.He made a huge shadow on the ground as he flew through the air, sending any animals below into a mad dash for their lives.Now that he is mostly flying by himself, the only people he sees in the sky are smaller eagles and occasionally hawks that glide dangerously close to him and put their lives in danger.He let the memory of his mate and their first clutch of eggs fade away with each subsequent winter.

This great eagle was old because mating was no longer a priority for him, and in this land, some animals live longer than one might think.In the land, he was the last of his kind.There were a lot of animals and eagles and similar birds in the land, but this eagle was by far the oldest known.His enormous shadow floated along the land far below as he soared high above Mauch Lake, which was located between two massive buttes.These buttes were organic pillars that rose from the ground and reached the sky.As he flew west, the eagle surveyed the scene.

He had no reason to look up as he soar along the vast northern skies of this land. He never did.He flew through the air with wide wings spread apart.His wingspan of more than eight meters made this eagle as old as he was large.On his belly, he had white feathers, while his back was black.His long, mahogany-brown beak had a sharp point that curved downward at the end and was long.His tail feathers were drawn back up underneath his large taloned feet.He had golden eyes that could see everything and detect movement up to twenty kilometers away.From the ground, he was a stunning sight, prepared to strike at any time but perfectly content to glide on the thermals this day.

He didn't have to hunt while he was flying because he had been hunting all day on the east coast of the land. The fish and sea lions he had eaten filled his gullet.He was returning home when he flew west to his nest in Le'an Forrest, which was far to the north and perched on top of one of the massive buttes.One thousand one hundred twenty-one meters high was the massive butte on which his nest was perched.Except for the animals and birds that live there, no one has ever seen the summit of this natural landmark.Now, all he wanted to do was rest and nest before starting over.Winter always arrived.

The air was clear and the perfect shade of light blue from the ground, and the sky was dotted with large, fluffy white clouds.He didn't pay any attention to any of the smaller birds that were flying around below the eagle.The view below was breathtaking and the sky was calling.This raptor didn't care about the temperature because the pristine land below was far to the south, where the temperature was more bearable for people who lived on land.The eagle's attention was always drawn to a moving deer below that wasn't hungry.

In the northern part of the land, there were three buttes.Because these buttes were so high, only fools or flying creatures could reach the top.These buttes were at least a thousand meters high.The three buttes had flat tops, as if they had been flattened in the past or were raised from the ground in that manner.The geologic forces at work in the land were unknown to this eagle, and neither was his memory old enough to know how they were flattened.The eagle flew west toward a mountain range that the people who lived on land would call the Spine of the World.

The mountain range stretches south from the wildlands in the north all the way to the tip of the continent, ending only eight hundred and twenty-three kilometers away.The west and east halves of the continent are separated by the spine.The only thing that separated the land was a mountain range, and there were no notable changes to the flora or fauna.The plants were the same on both sides, and the animals were not entirely unique.This was just a geological feature of a land that had lost its memory for the time being.The people had no need to cross the Spine of the World at this time; only animals knew how to do so.

The world's spine could be crossed in three ways:Broken Back Pass is the name people will give to a pass in the northwest.Until "The People" moved east, only game used this pass.A pass that will be referred to as Scratch Pass was a little bit further south, a few thousand kilometers away.A traveler noticed the pass and commented, "That looks like something scratched the rock away from the mountain."The only people who could cross this pass in warmer weather were those who wanted to end their lives.Only the largest birds could fly over the spine, making flying the only other option.All animals, except the largest and toughest, have been divided by this mountain range's vastness.With ease, the enormous eagle just flew over the northern part of the Spine of the World.

As the Spine extended from north to south, the extent of it couldn't be perceived from the air.By looking up, it could also be revered from below.From the glaciers in the north, snow covered the tops; the snow covered the spine's tops all the way to the planet's equator.The mountains rise sharply from the ground like they are launching an attack.Nothing appears safe or smooth to climb, with its numerous sharp angles and jagged cliffs.Mountain goats were the main qualified climbers on this mountain range.It looks like the mountains are too sharp to touch.There were a lot of ridges that stood in the way of easy access to some of the land's features;whether it's open land, rivers, or lakes.These ridges remained unwavering throughout history.

The majestic Domea river can be seen to the south and down from this majestic raptor.The river rumbled and churned as it traveled down the world's western flank and toward the ocean.Every year, snow melt and rain fed this enormous river.The Domea river moved quickly, about sixteen kilometers per hour on average, due to the massive snow caps in the north.The rapids were an entirely different story.These areas should be avoided because the rapids can run for dozens of meters to dozens of kilometers at speeds that make it impossible to cross.Creatures and people be careful, these were by all accounts not the only unsafe spots, the stream was hazardous down quite a bit of its length.The low land that will become Cidomea has been cut wide by this current by the powerful Domea, making it an effective border.At its narrowest point, the Domea was two hundred and seventy-five meters wide, making it wide along its entire length (about 350 meters).As the river cut through the lowlands and eventually reached the ocean, grasslands flourished on both sides.

While the thermals were slow, the eagle worked by beating his wings to gain more altitude.West of the Spine, where two of the three buttes and a portion of the spine protected the land, the air was heavier.It's possible that these structures will trap air until the wind came from the east.As the air at higher altitudes stalls and sinks back toward the ground, this area can be difficult to navigate.The eagle flexed the stagnant muscles that flap his wings because it had to fly rather than glide.The eagle could now look out over Cidomea's entire lowland as if he were surveying his kingdom as he flew past the Domea river.To his north, a Forrest rises from between two of the buttes.The low land had grassland for the buffalo to graze on, wooded areas for smaller mammals, and small streams for fish.

The majestic eagle was gazing at the smoke rising from a distant village when a strong easterly wind caught him off guard.Down there, people lived.The elderly eagle recalled a time before the smoke, the fires that produced the smoke, and the people who created the fires.The eagle did remember mating cycles, but he did not use time like The People did.The only people on the land during his first seventy-eight mating cycles were animals—his prey—and his mate.In those recollections he was a pleased dad and watchful spouse.

The eagle shook his head side to side in an effort to forget his partner's single, soft, high-pitched note.She would call him home with it.Their home was incorporated into the tallest, and most extensive, oak tree on top of the biggest butte in the land.Together, they found everything they needed to build the nest.They played together, slept together, and loved each other deeply. They also enjoyed each other's company.a love that humans could not comprehend.

They constructed a nest that was tall enough to accommodate two adults and a clutch of eggs and was big enough to accommodate a family of giant eagles.They would only mate once.The three laid eggs never developed.This was a painful memory for the eagle because it had been more than three thousand mating cycles since his family had left. He let out a rage-filled, sorrowful cry from deep within.His cries for his family echoed throughout the lowlands as they flew out of his mouth.He gave the village smoke one last glance before turning north toward his tree, his nest, and his house.