9. The Magic of Birds

You must understand, dear reader, that these gods weren’t all-knowing. They were children, suddenly placed on a world they had to lead. No one knew Cosmo was secretly gathering eggs of all kinds and storing them here, except for a few birds who eventually found out. And on that day of the Final Flight, he faced a choice. He decided to choose the Egg Cave and give up his life.

“We’ll seal it off and pretend we never saw this,” said Claes.

“Is there … is there really no way to bring these birds back to life? The dodo could return!”

“Probably,” said Claes. “But not by us and not now.”

Dust fell from the ceiling again. Boar feet searched for an entrance to the blue cave above. The place Cosmo had given up to keep the Egg Cave secret.

“What’s up there, Claes?”

Meogg looked at him intently. Her body was in unbelievable pain. Her ears picked up a buzzing, hissing sound, like a thousand angry trapped bees. She felt she had the right to know everything. “What are we going to do?”

“What Cosmo couldn’t do alone.”

Claes turned into a roaring cheetah. “We protect both the Egg Cave and the Blue Stone, also known as Cosmo’s Soul.”

Claes’ cheetah was so big and lifelike that the boars didn’t know what was coming at them. He had leapt from tree to tree, without looking down, until he reached the cave. They battered the door, but hadn’t get in yet.

Two boars immediately fell asleep. One was just helping another climb up, when he dozed off. Together, they slid back down the slope like a sled. The rest could still resist him, but were weakened to the extent that they could only drag themselves over the ground on two legs, or were awake but with eyes closed.

The husk of a Sigriplant lay empty on the ground.

At the edge of the cliff, a fox quickly looked around and then subtly kicked a boar over the edge with her hind leg. The beast rolled down the slope, like a brown grunting barrel, in a straight line headed for the beach.

Claes raced towards the foxes, and they towards him, but they did their best not to touch each other. He still accidentally put two foxes to sleep, just by coming near.

So they didn’t take any of the Sigri, said the voice. Then we must be even more careful.

Arcing high above each fox, he leapt towards Olombos. With his mighty tusks, befitting his large size, he repeatedly struck the rock. The opening had reached its breaking point.

A crack appeared with a thunderous sound. Not much later, the crack split into three cracks. When Claes reached Olombos, the opening shattered into dozens of fragments.

He grabbed the boar’s legs, but Olombos was too heavy for his sand hands and easily stayed upright. His eyes closed briefly, but he remained awake.

He stepped inside.

Claes jumped up and changed back into a solid square. Gravity brought him down hard on Olombos’ head, who roared loudly and could no longer walk straight. He swung his tusks and pierced Claes. A pile of sand fell into the cave opening like spilled tea.

The foxes! They have to help now! cried the voice.

“Foxes, it’s time,” said Claes with difficulty. He shoved Olombos aside, in his regular form, but it was barely a threatening blow.

The foxes ran at Olombos like spears. Claes quickly climbed over the cave wall to prevent putting them all to sleep. They surrounded Olombos, took away any retreat, and simultaneously battered his sides.

His front legs slid out from under him and he tilted. But he found his balance just in time. He shook the sand from his head, threw two foxes off the cliff, and yelled: “I will punish this betrayal!”

He stood in the glowing blue cave. Claes followed.

As soon as he touched the opening, he was blasted away, as if a geyser went off that specifically targeted him.

“So gods really can’t go in,” said Claes sadly.

Cosmo’s Soul lay at the end of the cave. Large, glowing blue shards were scattered roughly in the shape of a bird, though parts seemed missing.

Olombos ran for it. If the boars gained any of the Soul’s power, the world will never be the same.

“What now!?”

I think … this is where we say goodbye, mumbled the voice.

Before Claes could respond, it felt like his sand body had lost all energy. Like his head and heart were emptied. For the first time.

It felt free.

It felt lonely.

He turned back into a cheetah and ran through the opening, successfully, surrounded by angry foxes.

Meogg cursed Olombos again. Why did he have to be a huge boar? Each of his steps shook the whole cave and teetered eggs on the edge. It couldn’t continue any longer.

A white egg with red dots fell. Meogg jumped against the wall and shot out her tongue, just far enough to stick the egg to it. Holog jumped twice as far and put his soft feet under a falling blue egg. The impact was hard, but the egg stayed intact.

Her father and mother hopped over the ceiling. Three small eggs, all yellow and shiny, bounced off each other and flew into the air at the next boar stomp. Two meter-long frog tongues shot like arrows at the eggs.

But because of that, they missed the third.

Meogg again summoned strength in her broken legs and jumped underneath the egg. It bounced aside gently and came to a stop against the wall.

A loud bang sounded above them. Meogg thought a thunderstorm had broken out, but the sun shone warmly.

Even more eggs fell from the top shelf. Holog, Meogg and her parents all shot out their tongues and formed a sticky spiderweb across the entire cave, all equally spaced apart, which caught the eggs like a pouch.

With each egg, however, the web of tongues had to carry a heavier load. Their legs trembled, Meogg’s the most.

She couldn’t take it anymore. Her tongue came loose.

She already closed her eyes for the splattering eggs that would follow.

But none fell.

Parog had stuck out his tongue and held up the entire web, standing on the cave floor. His eyes were closed and relaxed, but Meogg saw his body trembling.

Carefully, they lowered the web until the eggs could roll over the ground without damage.

Where a boar foot blocked them. Two pitch-black hairy legs led to two grinning faces.

“Look what we found here.”

“Tasty snacks, laid out just for us.”

Meogg’s whole family jumped at the first boar. Their web of sticky legs and tongues held his mouth and eyes shut, but the second boar saw no issue with fiercely slapping his friend’s face to get it free.

His tusk took a bite from Parog’s hind leg and Meogg’s tongue. The family flew against the cold stone, defeated. The boars licked their lips at the sight of the Egg Cave.

Until two orange tails grabbed their hind legs.

Soon after, these boars paid a visit to the beach.

Meogg heard Claes yell above her. “Don’t touch it!”

Sand scoured across the ceiling, often followed by a pounding tusk or Olombos’ shifting weight. They’re in the cave. I have to help, she thought. Claes can’t do this alone.

While the foxes leapt up again, gracefully along the rivers and ivy as if they defied gravity, Meogg clung to them. She closed her eyes. Her body couldn’t do it anymore. Her skin had split open in many places. Her legs moved randomly, no longer under her control. If she could still open her eyes, she would only see black specks and blurry rocks anyway.

But she precisely heard the moment they reached the top and the wind blew more fiercely. The moment they entered the cave and all sounds echoed.

And so she guessed the moment they were close to Olombos, thanks to his panting and grunting.

With her last bit of strength, she roared deafeningly loud. As only bullfrogs could.

Any boars still standing were held back by foxes. Olombos startled and froze—not for long, but long enough.

Claes shapeshifted into a very flat salamander, crawled over the rock wall out of Olombos’ reach, and landed next to Cosmo’s Soul. There should have been ten shards, but there were five. Claes hoped it was enough.

He touched it.

His sand grains exploded and filled the entire air, like endless snowflakes that never fell down, like a sandy haze covering the island.

Meogg heard a muffled thud. She opened one eye a crack.

Olombos had fallen asleep.

The foxes fell asleep one by one. She looked outside. His sand mist spread over the entire island.

A swarm of birds approached on the horizon, but they lost consciousness in the air and clumsily landed in a treetop.

The grains carried her dying body outside, where she saw the Apra land on the coast, only to immediately collapse and start snoring.

Until she herself, as the very first bullfrog ever, the last remaining animal to ward off the Sand King since the dawn of time, fell asleep.