High up in the mountains of Thrace, next to a huge dark forest, where only birds lived, lay a small peaceful village. Near the village was a mine with precious ore. The village men spent most of their days extracting these ores for the local blacksmith. On this very day, the men were working hard to repair the roof of the blacksmith’s workshop before the next storm comes. Some of the women in the village were looking over the children and the others were preparing a great feast, for today marks the first day of spring. And the kids were running around, chasing butterflies, and playing with handmade flutes, one of them was even flying a kite that resembled an eagle. Life was peaceful for the villagers.
But as in any other community there usually was an outcast. A young man, slim and tall, with unusually long fingers and arms with such long hair it almost looked like he had feathers. His narrow eyes and long beak-like nose were very prominent while he walked around with a hunched back. Since he first arrived at the village violent storms followed until he was cast out. His name was Icarus.
On this very day, the young man was lurking around trying to find some food. As he got near the people wind started to blow. Soon after light rain started to fall. One of the men looked up at the sky to see if a storm is coming. As he was looking around he noticed a weird silhouette near one of the houses. He soon recognized Icarus and started to yell at him. Soon the other men joined. One of them threw a rock that hit the side of Icarus’s head. Icarus stood there, stunned by the blow to the head. They started chasing him. All except one. The blacksmith stood there in his workshop, shocked at the behavior of these men. He didn’t believe that one man could cause such a storm. Icarus fled to the dark forest. Running as fast as he can he knew they wouldn’t dare set a foot in the forest as they believed it was cursed.
He spent most of his time here. His only friends were the birds that lived among the treetops. Icarus took care of the young birds and their nests and in return, they would bring food to him. But on this day not even the birds were in the forest. As he was running away he heard a call from a bird he never heard before. He immediately forgot that he was running away and started running toward the bird. As he came closer and closer it sounded more and more like it was calling him. He stood a the bottom of a steep cliff and listened carefully. The calls were coming from a ledge high above him. As he started to climb the rain got stronger. The closer he got to the voice the stronger the rain became. As he climbed on the ledge, exhausted and soaked to the bone, above him he saw an old bird’s nest. The voice called him.
He carefully approached the nest. Looking at the old nest he couldn’t see anything. Then the wind blew and it started to shake the nest. Icarus could see something glowing beneath it. He reached for the strange rock and lifted it up. It started glowing brighter and brighter. He heard the voice again. This time it was clear. “I’ve watched over you.” said the voice. Lightning struck near Icarus, causing him to lose his footing, and fell down the cliff.
Thirtyfive moons have passed since the last time anyone has seen Icarus. Everyone was going about their lives when a woman’s scream broke the peaceful noon. “Watch out! There’s a giant black eagle!”, the woman screamed while running for cover. The men and women quickly gathered all the livestock, but they were too late. The giant eagle quickly swooped down and grabbed a small lamb and flew off before anyone could react.
The eagle came back in a few days. And then again, and again… The attacks were becoming more and more frequent until the eagle attacked almost every day. The helpless people pleaded for help in the nearest city each day until they agreed to send help in exchange for their ores. They agreed to send Daedalus to help the local blacksmith craft a dreadful weapon so powerful it could stop the eagle. As they arrived in the village Daedalus quickly took control of the blacksmith workshop. They worked together day and night. Rushing to finish a great harpoon before the next attack. Just as they finished a woman’s scream could be heard coming from outside. Daedalus grabbed the harpoon and rushed outside to the dusty road. He raised the harpoon and took the shot. It hit the eagle’s right wing. The eagle fell down and tumbled past Daedalus. A huge dust cloud formed around the eagle and the villagers quickly formed a ring around it. Everyone was quiet, wondering if this was the end of the attacks. As the dust settled they saw it was actually a cloak made of the most beautiful feathers they have ever seen. Two human feet were poking out underneath the cloak. But these were no ordinary feet. They had large eagle talons instead of toes.
When the birdman regained consciousness he quickly stood up. His face was covered. “Stop!” yelled Daedalus as he was aiming at him with his harpoon and preparing another shot. Daedalus wanted him to take off his hood and reveal his face. The birdman quickly started looking around to see if there is any possibility of escape. As the villagers were slowly narrowing the circle around him he tightened his grip under the cloak. He managed to grab ahold of his prey just before he hit the ground. A loud cry was heard coming from underneath the cloak. It was a baby! The villagers stepped back in shock. This was the first time he attacked humans. The baby’s mother recognized the cry and dropped to her knees pleading to him to return her. Daedalus tightened his grip and aimed the harpoon at his head. He knew the birdman was distracted and had to shoot. As the harpoon flew through the air it grazed the birdman’s face and removed his hood. The force from the harpoon was so great it turned the birdman around. Everyone went silent. You could hear the birdman starting to cry. “I never wanted this.” he said in a faint voice. “I just wanted a normal life! And you couldn’t even leave me alone!” he yelled at the people. He sharply turned around to face Daedalus and yelled “YOU NEVER LOVED ME!”. Daedalus just stood there in shock. He recognized his face.
The blacksmith charged the birdman from behind, trying to save his daughter. The birdman sensed the incoming threat and quickly took flight. He flapped his wings with such force everyone was knocked to the floor. A mighty silhouette formed in the sky casting a great shadow over the villagers and as the birdman yelled “I hate you! Humans should not be let to live!”, he tossed the baby in the air and grabbed her with his talons. “Icarus no!” yelled Daedalus as he tore the baby in half and tossed the remains at the villagers. Icarus quickly flew away over the dark forest, far far away.
Daedalus wept on his knees, shocked at what just happened. Shocked that his son could become that thing. “Why? Why Icarus? Why my son?”, he yelled. The blacksmith, horrified by the fact that he worked side by side with the monster’s father, quickly grabbed his hammer and hit Daedalus in the side of the head. Daedalus fell unconscious to the ground as a small puddle of blood formed under his head.