As a prequel to my favorite story of FlareChannel, I'll fill in with the history of Giant Eagles in this fortress. Ever since I noticed the elves brought, occasionally, Giant Eagles with them, it had been a goal to purchase a breeding pair to populate FlareChannel with. After decades of trying to do so, I eventually got a male and female pair within their respective lifetimes, and the first natural-born clutch of baby eaglets was hatched.Ever since, they have gracefully adorned the halls of my fortress. They tend to hang around the meeting area, but occasionally one can still see them flying elsewhere.Occasionally they back up military dwarves in taking down and nearby enemyOr even venturing out into the sky to spread their wings a bit, and perhaps scan the landscape for any suspicious enemies approaching.One eagle even decided to stand guard over the glass dome above the throne room. Why, we will never know. He could have easily flown away, and yet he did not. He stayed steadfast until his dying day, years later. Some say he was standing guard over the weak, watching constantly for those who would prey on lone dwarves. Some say he chose to perch up there, knowing that upon mid-day, when the diplomat would meet to discuss trade agreements, his giant shadow would projected onto the throne room floor. Nothing helps convince a lone human to heed your subtle warnings than what appears to be a 100-foot eagle waiting above.***NOTE***I played no part in the events that play out below, except for toggling Catten as a recruit once. This story is recorded as the best interpretation of events that will, likely, remain a mystery forever. Most of what happens I can't even begin to guess as to how it could have. It seems impossible unless there is secret coding going on for Dwarf Fortress, or features I don't know about. Regardless, I was as surprised as anyone else at the series of events that follow***********The Fable of Catten and the EagleOur story begins 100 years after the first hatchlings wandered thehalls of Flarechannel. In the past, giant eagles have been creaturesof their own, almost never befriended by dwarves and only then when arare dwarf who can sympathize with the beasts is born. They are aspecies of creature who, in the wild, feast upon the sweetalchohol-infused flesh of Dwarves for fun. This is their legacy, andevery dwarf is well aware of it.However, Catten and the Eagle are unique. Catten is a dwarf who prideshimself in his skills, and due to this has developed three legendaryskills in Masonry, Weaving, and Clothing, not to mention a good numberof additional skills across the board.Perhaps he had even earned his smugness, having created an artifact in his youthHe was a prime woodsman in theforest clearing which led to war with the Elves. Truly he is a dwarfof pride. When it came to the local Giant Eagles, Catten hadabsolutely no opinion on the beasts. It is well known that dwarvesmust enjoy a creature to be motivated enough to tame it as their own,but Catten couldn't care less about the masses of feathers, claws, andbeaks which flew among the halls and towers.But sometimes fate doesn't ask us for our preferences or wishes, andit was such in the case of Catten. Recently born in Flarechannel wasone unspectacular Giant Eagle. She was a little larger and hardierthan most hatchlings as one always is, but nothing any dwarves weresuprised by. Yet already destiny had woven a fate which bound thiseagle with threads stronger than steel. As soon as she grew pastchildhood, this eagle should have waited for a suitable master to comealong (which happened so very rarely). She did not. She went out andfound one. Catten. This had never happened before in theFlareChannel's history. Catten may not have cared one bit about her,but that didn't stop her from picking him as the dwarf she would standguard over against all dangers. And thus began the story of unrequitedlove between dwarf and eagle.At first, it was merely one of the many mysteries of the fortress.Other dwarves would stop and stare and Catten hurriedly passed betweenjobs. Collect spider silk, weave thread, make clothes, gather rock,construct blocks, make mechanisms, gather plants, plant seeds, finisha few oddjobs. Catten was no stranger to the busy day, and had no timeto entertain a foolish eagle that mistook him for her master. What didhe care? Dwarves work, and drink, and kill things if possible. Dwarvesdon't sit around entertaining delusional creatures, especially notthose who have been known to slaughter dwarves by the dozen. A lessdetermined eagle would have long since left Catten to his duties, butnot this one. The eagle knew that one day, Catten would find himselfin trouble. She would have to be there to protect him. His disinterestwas not such a crime that it justified leaving him to the horror whichlay in his future.And like this, a decade passes.The year is 505. Catten, now an old man, still rushes from task totask with the persistence of a dwarf half his age. He now findshimself clad in the finest silk of his own making. Even after allthese years, he occasionally turns to pick up a piece of silk or rockand catches the outline of an eagle faithfully waiting nearby. Cattenis by no means an unpleasant dwarf to be around, but nonetheless evenhe scoffs at the foolhardy behavior of his eagle follower. Assuredlythere are more important things to be doing than following an old manwho can take care of himself! A dark raincloud loomed on the horizonand Catten retreated back into his workshops, to once again shut outthe world in the endless stream of garments he produced now.The next day, disaster strikes.For the first time in countless years, death incarnate approachesFlareChannel. Alarms sound, and the military scrambles into action.From the south, smoke rises and a scout gives the report nervously. Adragon has once again taken its eyes to Flarechannel. This time, it isTusnung Heatedgilds the Spark of Warmth. Luckily, all dwarves aresafely inside the walls not even a dragon can pass, and the militaryassembles on the main bridge, some who have not seen such a beaststand fearful. In the eyes of others one can see the gleaming oflatent bloodlust in their veins. You can smell it in the air.As the final few warriors catch up to the group, a single order sendsthem down the spiral tower to intercept the dragon, which is finishingup slaughtering a lone human pikeman who straggled to long after thecaravan left. But the dragon doesn't head to the fortress proper. Heheads East. The military still pursues, perplexed at the change offocus of the beast. When they realize the dragon's target, shivers runup their spines. It has been decades since a dwarf has been lost to anenemy. Catten Shoraster is the lone dwarf who ignored common sense andremained outside. Stubbornness does come with old age, but this wasinsane! Only Catten would be so lost in his work that he would missthe alarm bells. The military would have no way to catch up with thedragon in time.By now Catten had realized what followed him to the silken-ladenhills. The screams of the human as he was ripped limb from limb madesure to that. As unemotional as he is when he works, Catten pulls outhis axe and prepares to die as any dwarf would choose - fightingrather than running, even if it means death.But Catten is not alone in his choice. The eagle has also accepted herfate.Its likely she had accepted it 12 years before when she choseCatten to protect. Destiny had ensured she would be in the right placeand the right time. Diving between the dragon and Catten, the eagleattacks with a ferocity that echos through the legends of all dwarvenlore. Spending years around the dwarves and seeing many battles hadtaught the eagle a thing or two. Like the champions of FlareChannel,the eagle dived fearlessly, directly into the dragon, knocking themboth to the ground in a stunned daze. Now that the dragon had lost itsfooting and fallen down a ramp, the eagle knew it had to act quick.Driven by determination that any dwarf would respect, it rose beforethe dragon could and attacked it on the one place they were in equalfooting - the eyes. In a second the eagle had ripped both eyes fromthe dragon's face. Rare is the sound of a dragon screaming in agonyheard and all dwarves shuddered at the piercing wail. Still the eagleattacked, destroying piece after piece of the dragon's head untileventually it was able to reach the brain through the now mutilatedface, which was promptly mangled.A wounded, blind, insane dragon is still a beast to be feared, andCatten finally realized - that eagle was the closest thing to a familyhe ever had. If he left it to die, then what would he have left?Pride? Masterful silk clothes? He had never met a wife, and he was tooold now. His bloodline would die with him. Perhaps this was why Cattendrove himself out of the real world and into has work. The rarehappiness Catten felt was when he got a rare chance to help another.He had always valued the dwarven spirit in them. But now, he wasseeing the dwarven spirit in a mere eagle. No, not mere eagle. Hisfriend.Catten rushed in, wielding his trusty axe that had felt the sturdyskin of countless trees. No stranger to the swing, Catten and theEagle slowly took down the dragon, working together to keep each othersafe from any injury. By the time the military had finally caught up,it was already over.Catten and the eagle both died a few years later, peacefully inDwarven terms. They were buried together, and immortalized in the veryspirit of FlareChannel. From that day fourth, eagles were noconvenient guests, or bothersome birds that were looked down upon asinferior. No, from that day fourth they were guardians and embodimentof the spirit of FlareChannel.And what of Catten and the Eagle in their final years? They still wenteverywhere together, and Catten looked back at her with a smile ofcomfort instead of disgust. But much of these details are lost inhistory. What is known, however, is that during the finishing of theTemple to Armok, Catten's clothes were mysteriously found on the roof,where no path could have possibly led. Additional constructions had tobe built just to retrieve them. Some say it was magic, or the joke ofsome dwarven child. Still, others say that every now and then, on arare night when others were asleep, Catten would climb aboard his oldfriend, strip naked, and fly around the towers, admiring the view thatno other dwarf was ever privileged to see - laughing as he had only asa child, without a care in the world.A recorded representation of the heart-touching battle for friendship