PART FOUR: DOGS AND WOLVES

This chapter is a mythological interlude presenting an excerpt from Uuya Tomos's 'Myths of Origin: Field Notes and Analysis.' It recounts how Ke learns the ways, hungers, and songs of Ash-Abbé, the great bird that eats the sky, and then uses this knowledge to tame and ride the creature to a place called Anjiin across the void.

The passage describes Ke's mastery of the bird Ash-Abbé through three successive songs sung on the cool night of Buruq. In the first song, Ke mirrors back the natural cycles and experiences the bird already knows: the rise and fall of the sun, changing seasons, the fear of raising young, and the beauty of the dying. The second song addresses the hungers Ash-Abbé already experiences: the taste of blood from prey, fresh water from streams, and the seasonal longing for communion with others of its kind and the procreation that follows. The third and final song differs from the others—it concerns a new place Ke has named Anjiin that lies across the void. As Ke sings this third song, he mounts the great bird's back, shaping his song to guide it. Through the power of his singing, Ke effectively tethers the unknowing bird, making it obey his will and carry him toward Anjiin.