Six Seasons
"In the time before the Nighteater there was no brightness other than the glitter in the akh sky. There was no time of cold, and no time of heat. There was only the akh sky, and the small brightnesses clinging to the sky - there was only the fur of the Great Wolf to be seen. The Green things were all silent. There was no change.
Change came with the Nighteater. Akh'khair'lar was devoured. But Akh'khair'lar was stronger than the Nighteater, and climbed out of its belly, unharmed. Always Nighteater arose in fury and devoured Akh'khair'lar, but each time Akh'khair'lar escaped and returned. Since then, there is change. Nighteater awoke the Green things, and Akh'khair'lar tried to send them back to silence again. And with the fight going back and forth between Akh'khair'lar and Nighteater, Change made the seasons. When Nighteater is strong and keeps the sky all to itself Akh'khair'lar must hide, and only escapes from Nighteater briefly. Nighteater then tries to make all the world its own, and burns blinding bright in the sky. That is the time of the Green things, and also the time when shadows are smallest but darkest.
But when Nighteater has burned itself out, and grows weak, Akh'khair'lar returns ever longer, and fights Nighteater. Akh'khair'lar then keeps the sky to itself, and the blinding bright light of Nighteater is bound, and falls white from the sky. There are no shadows then, only frozen light, and the Green things hide or die. That is the time when there is the greatest change. Leaves fall from the trees like the light falls from the sky.
The time before the falling light is when Akh'khair'lar is strongest. It keeps the sky to itself then longer than Nighteater can. When Nighteater is gone, it is like there has been no change ever. There is only the akh sky and the small brightnesses clinging to it. Then Akh'khair'lar seizes and binds Nighteater's brightness, and it falls to the earth. The Green things are hidden beneath it then. But brown leaves cover the ground even when the Green Things are alive, and also when they are dead. They are there all Nighteater's course round, from its victory to its defeat. The brown leaves that fell when Akh'khair'lar bound Nighteater's brightness are always there, through all other seasons. The time when they are all fallen from the Green Things begins the circle. It is the time we now call khai'khanshe imaire, snow and leaf-less. (bound-light falling)
When Nighteater fights Akh'khair'lar again, it takes back its light from the ground, and the Green things awake again. Akh'khair'lar and Nighteater are swift fighters. But Shech'khai is slower, and cannot undo what Akh'khair'lar and Nighteater do, so it must endure their fight. Shech'khai changes as the two fight, and the leaves change as the brightness of Nighteater changes. When Nighteater begins to fight Akh'khair'lar its light is thin and bright, and the Green things put out leaves small and bright. That is the time we now call khai'khanshe kelare, Thaw and First Green. (bound-light rising)
While Nighteater gains strength again, the Green things grow, and they speak to Wind how much they like this time. This time we now call khai'osha, Flowering and Wild Winds (bright wind).
Even in the time when Nighteater is strongest, Akh'khair'lar stirs in its belly. The leaves of the Green things are like the brightness of Nighteater then, swaying before Wind that tells them of Akh'khair'lar's rising. This time we now call khai'shin'akh, Brightness and Big Clouds. (bright-storm-dark)
After that, Akh'khair'lar fights Nighteater, and Nighteater gives way and lets it go. The Green things are afraid of the time when Akh'khair'lar will rule, and warn all those who live off them. Nighteater gives them something of its brightness before he must give all to Akh'khair'lar, who will bind it. The Green Things ask Wind to help them, and since Wind knows that never Akh'khair'lar or Nighteater alone will rule, and knows that many live off the Green ones, it obliges. So this time became called osha'sa, Leaf-turning and Berries. (blazing wind)
When Akh'khair'lar slowly escapes Nighteater and lives in the sky, when Nighteater's light becomes bound, the Green things hide away so Akh'khair'lar will not find them and make them silent again. For a while Nighteater's light defies Akh'khair'lar as it shines at it from the boughs of the Green ones, but the time for those living off them has ended. The Green ones hide, and they become hunted. It is the time when the Great Wolf watches his world, and his eye shines, and even Akh'khair'lar must give way before him. So this time became called koth'nakira, Hunting Time and Leaf-falling. (stalking death)
This is the time Ashi'kha live best, and hunt well, and the fight of Nighteater and Akh'khair'lar brings good to us. The Green ones hide, and they who lived off them now give life to those who do not live in light, live off leaves. This is the time when the Great Circle pays off for us, and gives us strength to live through the time when light falls bound from the sky and covers everything, and when Nighteater is present even when Akh'khair'lar rules"
Chapter Notes:
The ancient Ashi'kha myths can only be retold in newer words from the time of the Nighteater. The meanings of the older words from the time of the Starlit Dark have been lost or transformed.
Roch'ir – Nighteater, sun
Akh'khair'lar - the Starlit Dark; akh refers to the black nightsky between the stars. The pronoun 'it' refers to an entity, a creature. Roch'ir and Akh'khair'lar are not thought of as he or she. Ashi'kha has a general pronoun which is neutral, and uses gender-pronouns only for special reference.
Shech'khai - world under the sky, the earth
Wind as an actor is bound to the world until he becomes Hawk and flies through the shadow at the edge of the world.
2