Despite their best efforts, the prince became paler and paler as the hours passed . Already ill from the start, the prince continued to fall into the depths of sickness. The doctors were, in all truth, utterly unable to help the young boy as the type of snake venom by which his body was poisoned was virtually unknown to them. Peeping in from outside the prince's window was Garuda, who rested on one of twigs of a small sapling. Upon seeing the doctors shake their heads in dismay, she flew hurriedly to awaken the other birds of the castle to consult them for advice.
"….The King of Birds, who lives between the stars and the clouds, seems to take the form of a handsome man. If memory serves me right, he has the ability to awaken the divine curative powers of the wind Vuychap. This special wind is said to be able to cure any malady-- yet again, this is only a folktale…"
Without waiting for the rather knowledgeable Akbaba to finish his sentence, Garuda tore off into the night sky.
"I want to save the prince I love!" This thought was the only thing that race through her mind as she glided the skies. Before she noticed, Garuda was engulfed in the light of dawn. Peering downwards, she could see the peninsula of the castle and the beautiful sea that surrounded her familiar home. Flapping one wing after another, she became gradually more tired, and in her exhaustion she felt as heavy as lead. Even breathing became a painful ordeal. Re-strengthening her resolve, she again continued to flutter her wings, flying upwards. At the end of the second day, Garuda continued to fly until she reached a place higher than any cloud. There, no matter where one looked, was nothing. It was a realm of pure, absolute sky. Exactly like this, actually...
With nothing in her field of sight, nothing but the sound of her own flapping reached her ears. The King of Birds that the Akbaba talked about was nowhere to be found.
[2/?]
"….The King of Birds, who lives between the stars and the clouds, seems to take the form of a handsome man. If memory serves me right, he has the ability to awaken the divine curative powers of the wind Vuychap. This special wind is said to be able to cure any malady-- yet again, this is only a folktale…"
Without waiting for the rather knowledgeable Akbaba to finish his sentence, Garuda tore off into the night sky.
"I want to save the prince I love!" This thought was the only thing that race through her mind as she glided the skies. Before she noticed, Garuda was engulfed in the light of dawn. Peering downwards, she could see the peninsula of the castle and the beautiful sea that surrounded her familiar home. Flapping one wing after another, she became gradually more tired, and in her exhaustion she felt as heavy as lead. Even breathing became a painful ordeal. Re-strengthening her resolve, she again continued to flutter her wings, flying upwards. At the end of the second day, Garuda continued to fly until she reached a place higher than any cloud. There, no matter where one looked, was nothing. It was a realm of pure, absolute sky. Exactly like this, actually...
With nothing in her field of sight, nothing but the sound of her own flapping reached her ears. The King of Birds that the Akbaba talked about was nowhere to be found.
Despair consumed her.