It all started when an owl wanted to go on a journey. She was a barn owl and her name was Nascha. She was different from all her other owl friends. Rather than staying where she was, she wanted to explore. Nascha told her friend Doli that she was leaving the next day to go explore the Blue Ridge mountains up north. Doli said that whatever Nascha did she was okay with. So the next day she left to go on her epic journey.

    At the beginning she spotted a fox meditating on the ground, she wanted to greet him and ask him where to go to get to the blue mountains. His name was Cheveyo which means “spirit warrior”. She greeted him and he was very nice. He said “to get to the blue mountains you must go on the path of the Eluwilussit. She recognized the name as “holy one”. She replied “what must I do to achieve holiness?” He said “ You need to meditate at the medicine tree of my tribe and take a leaf and rub it on your wings. You will become holy and be able to travel along the path” So she did as Cheveyo said and meditated and rubbed the leaf on her wings. She felt a vibration in her heart and heard a voice inside her head say “ My name is Huyana and I will be your spirit guide along your way to the blue mountains.” Nascha then traveled on the path, getting closer and closer to the end of her journey.

    When she finally reached the end of the path she could see the mountains not too far ahead of her. “They’re beautiful.” Her feathers stood on end as she looked, mouth wide open, in awe of the beauty that stood before her. However, she saw that they were white with a substance that she has never seen before. Nascha still kept on going, oblivious of what was ahead of her. She was stopped by an eagle by the name of Antinanco, which means “eagle of the sun”.  He swooped down in front of her and asked her why she was going toward the mountains. She replied “I left my home, my friends, my way of life to explore the great mountains.” Antinanco said “This is my territory, and no one, especially an owl, is allowed to travel upon it.” She then walked away from the eagle, saddened by what he said, but suddenly Huyana, who was watching her on a tree, came down and spoke in an ancient language that Nascha didn’t recognize. Soon lightning appeared in the sky and struck the eagle dead. Huyana said “It was not my intent to kill this eagle, but there was no other way. I’m sorry.” Nascha replied “We should lift his soul up to the heavens.” So they went to the eagle and prayed for the renewal of his soul, and in a flash of light the eagle was gone and he turned into a star above the mountains. Nascha then looked at the magnificent beauty of the mountains once more before she started again on her journey to reach them.

    “We have arrived”, said Huyana. Nascha, still a little curious of the white stuff on the ground, asked Huyana what is was. She replied “It is known to the Natives that live here as snow.” Nascha touched it with her foot and it stung. She has never felt this feeling before. However, she continued because she was so excited to finally be at the Blue Ridge Mountains. Her spirit guardian then said “I am leaving now. You have reached the mountains, and there are more important tasks that I have to attend to.” She flew up into the sky and ascended into the heavens. Nascha was sad to see her go, but she knew that she was needed somewhere else. The sun was starting to set so she decided to rest on the snow and sleep until the first ray of sunshine hit her eyes so she could explore again. However, she never woke up from her sleep. The intense cold of the night finally got to her.

    When the sun shined on her body, her soul rose up from the ground. She looked at her body and wept, for she didn’t know that she had died. But the joy in her heart remained, for she still wanted to traverse the mountains. Right then Huyana came down from the sky and landed on the ground next to Nascha’s body. She picked it up and offered it to the heavens. She then turned to the spirit of her friend and said “Your name shall now be Kachina, which means “spirit”.” Huyana then invited her to join her in the heavens so she too can become a spirit guide. Kachina refused the offer and said “That would be wonderful and I thank you for it, but I would like to stay on Earth so I can explore the mountains.” Huyana accepted her decision and said her last goodbye and flew into the sky once more. Kachina then flew up into the sky and looked upon the mountains. She swooped down and looked at the tall trees covered in snow, and the many animals that were roaming around. She smiled at them and kept on exploring.

    To this day Kachina still flies above the Blue Ridge Mountains, and that is why it is so windy up there, because she is still exploring the glory of the mountains. So if you ever feel a sudden gust of wind when you are walking in the mountains, just know that Kachina is still wandering around in search of finding new things to look at.

THE END