Astir had left for the pastures at dawn because Saturn - the sixth month of the year - was coming to an end and the cold season would soon be upon us, the triglopods had to be fattened up as much as possible before the dead season. Septem had planned to join him around nine o'clock but she kept stopping to pick sicophores, a medicinal herb that is effective against colds. Astir was waiting for her and started to direct the triglopods towards the shelter of the caves when he saw her. It was not long before the morning eclipse began and it was not advisable to stay outside at this time.

They had just arrived at the cave when it became totally dark, he couldn't help but curse Septem, because of her he had risked the lives of his animals. And the most frustrating thing was that this was not why he was so wound up. He had been worried; he knew her and know that she would have kept going in spite of the darkness of the day and the nocturnal animals to find him at the risk of breaking her neck or being attacked. Septem did not understand why her friend was so grumpy this morning, not suspecting for a second that it was her fault. They remained in a dead silence, broken at times by the noise of the beasts, brooding on their thoughts for thirty long minutes, when the light of Steredenn reappeared. They emerged from the caves stretching, Astir's anger had faded, he was just happy that his friend had arrived safely and now they could enjoy eight hours of peace before the next eclipse. Septem was radiant, savouring the wind in her hair and admiring the mountainous landscape spread out before her violet eyes. The ochre and red rocks stretched as far as the eye could see, dotted with large expanses of green grass turning yellow in places.

Septem saw some kind of black and bloody pile of fur at the foot of a rocky peak about a hundred meters away. She pointed it with her finger calling to Astir, then she started to run in its direction with her friend on her heels. Probably an animal killed during the eclipse by a fall or an enemy attack. If the fur wasn't too damaged, they could make warm clothes out of it. It would depend on the size of the animal.

The closer it got, the bigger the animal looked, with a bit of luck they would have enough to make a coat each. They stopped about fifteen meters away and threw a few stones at the beast, no reaction, it was definitely dead. It looked vaguely like a wolf of around two meters long, a stroke of luck! It was rare to see this kind of animal so high in the mountains, in fact it was the first time they had seen one in person.

Travellers passing by the Igga had mentioned their existence but these two would never have believed they would see one in real life. They walked around the animal, marvelling at how soft its fur was and how black it looked. The others in the village would be jealous when they returned with the raven black fur of this magnificent specimen.

The animal had been impaled on a rocky peak, but how this happened was a mystery. In any case, the two teenagers didn't care how it died, they went back on their steps to find their knives to chop up the beast. Septem returned as quickly as she could and began the long task of butchering that lay ahead. After all, they only had seven hours before they had to return to the shelter for the next eclipse. However, Astir couldn't simply abandon his triglopods, he gathered them up and directed them to the vicinity of their discovery before helping Septem. It took them three hours to get to one half of the creature. Their stomachs were growling with hunger, so they paused to eat something.

Logrenn's eclipse would begin in two hours, they were almost finished when they noticed two stones with an azure blue tint between the fawn's flank and the rocky peaks. Septem proceeded to grab them, Astir had to hold her ankles so that she didn't get stuck next to these attractive little rocks. Once they had climbed back up, they descended from the animal and took a closer look at the curious opals. They looked as if they were eggs. Their eyes met:

"What do we do with it? asked Septem.

I don't know, it was probably a female if it laid eggs, assuming they are eggs. He replied.

They'll die if we don't keep them, and at worst, if they haven't hatched in a few weeks, we can always sell them or make jewellery out of it.

I'm with you! he shouted."

This is how the fate of these small pieces of rock was sealed.

They put them in their bags, secured with freshly cut grass, and then went back to cutting up the fur. They finished an hour later, folded the fur hastily and headed for the shelter, this time by walking and gawking at their new treasures. The triglopods followed their master obediently. That day they went straight home at the end of the second eclipse, they did not tell their family about the eggs and all of them were ecstatic about the beauty of the creature's fur. Astir's grandmother proceeded to make winter clothes for both of them.

The eggs were put in a nest made of wool and hay in the attic of the sheepfold. The two teenagers visited them at least twice a day without noticing any major changes.

The weeks passed slowly, the cold season had begun. The triglopods hibernated in the sheepfold, Septem and Astir often stayed in the common room of the auberge, listening to gossip, sometimes dreaming of adventure. The temperatures had dropped below zero degrees Celsius when the unexpected arrived - it was eggs!

It was the twentieth day of Neptune, and the two of them had met in the attic of the sheepfold to discuss and see the opals, even though they were beginning to feel silly about hatching stones.

The gems had begun to emit a gentle warmth, they did not notice it until the first cracking sound the shells made. They had turned around so abruptly that Septem had almost collapsed into the straw, their eggs were hatching! A miracle. They bent over as much as they could to avoid coming into direct contact with the hatching offspring. The shells cracked more and more under the blows of the "beak", time seemed infinitely long, Astir and Septem were only waiting for one thing: to discover their future Criordes babies - they had learned the name of the species in case their opals were eggs.

After ten long minutes the babies emerged from their shells, they were no more than twenty centimeters tall, had a cream-coloured coat - astonishing considering their mother's - and a mouth with tiny fangs and a kind of horn that their mother did not have. The cubs recognised them as their parents as they were the first living beings to cross their path. Septem was overjoyed, she had always dreamed of having her own companion to go on adventures and protect her, and Astir had just obtained a sheepdog that was more resistant than any of the local wild animals.

They each took a criollo in their arms, already brimming with affection for these little creatures. It took several minutes of blissful observation before they thought of bringing back some milk to feed them. Fortunately, Astir knew where to find milk at this time of year, so he entrusted his to Septem and ran off to get some. He came back a few minutes later with two small skin bags with holes in them and a large flask of milk. He took the baby back and prepared a bottle for him. Septem had also learned how to feed the baby triglopods and so knew how to do it. It was only when the little criordes were full and sleepy that they decided to name them. He decided on Gwalarn and she on Kornog - two winds that blow in the mountains in winter.

Now it was time to tell her parents the news, Septem was not at ease, it must be confessed.