Time Immemorable

Balancing the Void

t'ooch'. (Black.) Inky blackness. Thick and velvety. Palpable. a xákwti. (Empty.) Emptiness so thick that you can cut it with... with what? tlél daa sá. (Nothing). A nothing so sharp it would slice through the void and carve landscapes in its path. Not nothing then. Quite decidedly something. Something strong with smooth determined movements. These movements building into a rhythm. gaaw. (A drum). Solid rhythmic drumming so forceful it shatters the velvet ether into shards of deafening wind. Broken slivers of the abyss shredded to fine blades layered upon each other, softening into filaments. lagaaw. (Noise). A yayík. (The noise of something unknown.) This noise is raw and exhilarating, rushes through the beating of ... a wing? a kíji. (It's wing.) dēix.(Two.) ch'u dēix. (Both.) Both wings. Soaring, spiraling, and gliding on these wings. sagú. (Joy.) Joyful chaos breaks the monotony of endless silence. Power and curiosity swirl together. Gleeful boisterous cries erupt from a beak as strong as a spear tip. With mischief gleaming from its onyx eyes, Yéil formed out of the void.

Yéil. Raven. His trickery is renowned across the land. While we might never fully trust our mischievous forebearer, we delight in his tricks and we owe him our respect.

Though time was unmeasured, Yéil found the endlessness of it all to be fiercely oppressive. akaawach'ak'w. (He carved it.) The immense power in each stroke of his wings sliced lines deep into the surrounding void. As he soared through eternity, the waters were cut from the endless sky. éil'. (Ocean). taat . (Night.) All remained in darkness, the only change being the lower was wet, the upper was dry. Cutting away bits of nothing and allowing the dust to fall as it may. Where his carving debris settled it formed into rocky coastlines of jagged islands jutting from the endless sea. x'aat'. (Island). He carved deep gashes in the ethos creating vast towering carvings. shaa. (Mountain.)

aaGáa koowashee. (He looked for it.) His innate curiosity drove him to search. The determined searching of a mind looking for the solution to a riddle. He knew himself to be separate from the darkness ... and his knowledge spurred him onward with an insatiable need to find other beings who had emerged from the void as well. He had no reason to believe there may be another, and yet he searched. tután. (Hope). He searched with hope.

goos' shú. (Horizon). His keen eyes eventually caught a subtle change on the horizon. Something not water and not air, but hovering between the two.Yéil could tell it was solid like himself. It moved strangely. Not the long graceful swooping movements of flight. Rather, softly swaying and bobbing along the surface of the water. daak wilihásh. (It is drifting at sea). Bursting with elated curiosity, Yéil beat his wings furiously to inspect his find. akaawatlaakw. (He investigated it). As he neared the thing, he could see it was another being, similar to himself. Sitting proudly floating atop the water. yaxwch'i yaakw. (A small canoe with high carved prow.) Confidently pulling himself forward atop the water with a smooth wooden paddle. aawaxáa. (He paddled).

"ax káani!" (Brother-in-law ) Yéil called out. "ax káani! ha gu!" (Brother-in-law come to me!").

Upon hearing these calls, Ch'áak' (Eagle) cocked his head and studied the thing in the dark sky soaring closer. Each powerful pull on his paddle shortened the distance between the two. And when the paddling of the canoe caused his shoulders to burn wickedly under his feathers, he found deeper strength in his purpose and rowed even harder. aawaxáa. (He paddled).

As soon as the canoe came within reach, Yéil alighted on the prow of the boat. The face of the other changed from a stern decerning glare to a warm accepting smile. du jiGei. (Crook of the arm. Embrace.) The two embraced. ax xooní. (Friend or Relative) Knowing that they were meant to balance one another. In that moment, between water and air, silence and noise, chaos and void were balanced with Ch'áak' and Yéil. (Eagle and Raven.)

This is how our world emerged from the void. How Ch'áak' and Yéil (Eagle and Raven) found each other despite the flooded world. Where the idea and the word ax káani (Brother-In-Law) originated. And why Ch'áak' and Yéil (Eagle and Raven) always marry someone from the opposite Moiety, to keep balance.