There was a river that roamed the Earth. Rivermen would help those unable to cross the river, for it was trecherous. Only the Rivermen knew, when to cross the river, patiently waiting for the right time. What guided them was something ineffable. A firm belief in the clouds and the way they behaved, mimicing the river, chasing it their entire existences, burning, evaporating, becoming reunited. All is one until the heat takes away our peace.
Daeiru would swim upstream in the river. Twice each day. Once first thing in the morning and again as the sun would rest level with his eyes, he'd plunge beneath the slower current above, and crawl his way into the thicker current below. The water there was always the freshest pure cold water. He filled his belly as he swam. Each day, measuring his distance with his surroundings. Today he made it to the crooked tree that lumbers over a third of the riverbank. He would sleep in a tree nearby. He had created a canopy in a tree and a way to reach it through the inside of the tree. At the base a deep well that he had dug. A large wooden shield would cover the hole of the tree at the base. Keeping out bears and other creeping night creatures. Each day, Daeiru would wake up with the sun and greet the mountain, he called her Wajreuh, and he loved her changing face. The sun showed every mood and each season brought out her best and her worst. He adored Wajreuh and swore to protect her from harm. It was she who cried the river and it was she who gave him a purpose and a home. A place to stand guard for her or himself, he didn't know. There Daeiru stood, rooting his toes daily into the hide of Wajreuh.
A Grey Falcon would hunt nearby, stationed across the river in a large tall pine. Her nest rested at the top, always in her sight. Daeiru would leave her half of his fish he caught. Always helping his neighbors, he was respected by Hajiko the Grey Falcon. When she was particularly healthy, she would leave him the half eaten heads of fish she would catch with greater ease in the winter months. She could endure the environment better than him. She saved his life more times than he ever knew. Daeiru and Hajiko respected each other, like brother (Eebo) and sister (Aeba). In the winter, Daeiru would swim for fifteen minutes at a time. The relationship to the freezing water was needed to deepen the relationship. Daeiru called water Owa. In the winter, when it was freezing it became Uba' Owa and in the summer and fall it was Oba'Owa.
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