Welcome to Silverfeather Keep, home to Magi Ricansea and her feathered companions. Here you may read of her adventures alongside fellow mages Sorras, Torin, and Vizia.
All of the previous chapters will be written here, for your convenience.
Prologue:
Spoiler
Cold moonlight filtered through the trees, bathing the clearing in its harsh glow. Hundreds of black-cloaked figures gathered around the empty space, appearing like nothing more than shadows. They were as still as stone, as silent and immobile as the noble trees surrounding them. The moon continued its slow ascent into the sky, watched and measured by every being grouped around the moonlit clearing.
The light began to darken as a wisp of cloud dared cross the surface of the moon; dozens of hands were raised skyward, and a satisfied sigh rippled through the crowd as the cloud was viciously torn apart. But silence reigned again as a lone man stepped out into the middle of the clearing. Unlike his peers, his cloak was of the deepest burgundy. His hood was thrown back, revealing an aged face half-buried within a tangled grey beard. His white hair hung free and wild to his shoulders. His hands hidden within the folds of his cloak, he slowly turned on the spot and examined his watchers.
“I see the moon has called you, just as it has called me.” His voice did not match his face – it was deep, clear, and strong – the voice of a much younger man. “You know why you are here. However powerful you may be under the burning sun, under the influence of cool moonlight… your powers are unmatched.”
“Even as I speak fresh power flows through you, heightening your formidable powers into something unparalleled and great… it feels as though nothing could be stronger.”
A whisper of agreement echoed throughout the clearing. The man’s face hardened.
“You are wrong.”
Abandoning his calm stance, he seemed to radiate undiluted power as he stalked in front of the watching crowd, seeming to lock eyes with every being within the circle.
“You think the magic we have practiced is for the mere increasing of our workforce? You think I would risk your lives for such a lowly price? You disappoint me.”
He paused and raised his hands, his skin glowing silver under the cold gleam of the heavens. He did not move as he spoke again. “Untrained magic is formidable indeed,” He said softly, talking almost to himself. “Volatile and prone to misbehavior, but strong. To avoid any… accidents, we mages have trained our magic to obey our every whim… we do condone disobedience.
“But there are those who do not see as we do. What of those who risk themselves and allow magic free rein? They are a danger to all of us. Why should they be allowed to continue when one rogue creature could mean the death of us all?”
Loud rustles were now heard as the watching mages shifted upon the leaves. They were no longer so calm and silent; whispers of excitement echoed about the clearing. They knew the true meaning of his words. The old man smiled.
“You know what I ask; you know what you stand to gain. Are you willing to follow me?”
The answer was immediate and sure. “Yes, master.” As one they stepped into the strengthening light, gathering around their mentor and guide. “We are ready.”
The light began to darken as a wisp of cloud dared cross the surface of the moon; dozens of hands were raised skyward, and a satisfied sigh rippled through the crowd as the cloud was viciously torn apart. But silence reigned again as a lone man stepped out into the middle of the clearing. Unlike his peers, his cloak was of the deepest burgundy. His hood was thrown back, revealing an aged face half-buried within a tangled grey beard. His white hair hung free and wild to his shoulders. His hands hidden within the folds of his cloak, he slowly turned on the spot and examined his watchers.
“I see the moon has called you, just as it has called me.” His voice did not match his face – it was deep, clear, and strong – the voice of a much younger man. “You know why you are here. However powerful you may be under the burning sun, under the influence of cool moonlight… your powers are unmatched.”
“Even as I speak fresh power flows through you, heightening your formidable powers into something unparalleled and great… it feels as though nothing could be stronger.”
A whisper of agreement echoed throughout the clearing. The man’s face hardened.
“You are wrong.”
Abandoning his calm stance, he seemed to radiate undiluted power as he stalked in front of the watching crowd, seeming to lock eyes with every being within the circle.
“You think the magic we have practiced is for the mere increasing of our workforce? You think I would risk your lives for such a lowly price? You disappoint me.”
He paused and raised his hands, his skin glowing silver under the cold gleam of the heavens. He did not move as he spoke again. “Untrained magic is formidable indeed,” He said softly, talking almost to himself. “Volatile and prone to misbehavior, but strong. To avoid any… accidents, we mages have trained our magic to obey our every whim… we do condone disobedience.
“But there are those who do not see as we do. What of those who risk themselves and allow magic free rein? They are a danger to all of us. Why should they be allowed to continue when one rogue creature could mean the death of us all?”
Loud rustles were now heard as the watching mages shifted upon the leaves. They were no longer so calm and silent; whispers of excitement echoed about the clearing. They knew the true meaning of his words. The old man smiled.
“You know what I ask; you know what you stand to gain. Are you willing to follow me?”
The answer was immediate and sure. “Yes, master.” As one they stepped into the strengthening light, gathering around their mentor and guide. “We are ready.”
~*~
Chapter 1:
Spoiler
I stared blankly at the gaping hole, unable to register anything but shock as a few pieces of charred rock crumbled and fell to the ground. How had I caused this?? How had this even happened? I looked away from the damage I’d wreaked and was surprised to see my hands were still smoking; I rubbed them hurriedly on my tunic, with no results whatsoever. This was not good.
Left with no place to look, I closed my eyes, trying to calm myself enough to remember reversal-magic – I couldn’t leave things as they were; I’d be flayed alive for it. Knowing those were the exact thoughts I shouldn’t be having, I shoved them away with difficulty and tried to picture the class. I knew Master Belmos had mentioned it, but I just couldn’t…
I was abruptly brought back to the present and nearly knocked out as something hit me solidly on the side of the head. An embarrassing shriek left me as I whirled about, trying to find my attacker, my dagger in my hand without a conscious thought. I frantically turned this way and that, trying to find him, when I heard a hoot… and looking up, I saw a very angry Tylluan glaring down at me.
“Talon!!” I snapped, feeling annoyed as I rubbed the sore spot on my head. “What was that for??”
He did tend to fuss and annoy me at times when he was bored, but I saw almost immediately this was something else. He circled above me before landing on the ruined wall, hopping about in agitation when I didn’t immediately follow. He looked almost… scared.
Talon was never scared - his expression alone was enough to throw me into a panic. He seemed pleased at my new expression and flew out the newly-made exit. Ignoring the charred and still-smoking bricks, I clambered out after him and hit the ground running.
He soared above me as I ran, hooting urgently as he flew as fast as I’d ever seen him go. I’d never seen my Tylluan so rattled before – what could possibly have gone wrong? Images of violence and horror flashing in my head, I sprinted towards my Keep, skidding to a stop in front of the door and bursting though. Talon swooped through immediately after me, flying inside and then disappearing from sight.
I stopped a moment at the entrance, disconcerted. I looked about, expecting to see destruction, flames, something broken at the very least… but there was nothing. Ev, my cobalt wyvern, was lazily sunning himself in his normal corner, seeming unconcerned as usual. A few of the black winged kittens I’d taken to collecting recently had somehow escaped their pen, but they were just sunning themselves by Ev. My other creatures were idly going about their normal daily pursuits – I could see nothing out of the ordinary.
“Talon, there’s nothing w –“ I was cut off as a wing clipped the side of my head. I looked up to see Talon glaring at me, perched on a ledge above the door. Below him, swinging from the torch bracket, was….
“Talvi!” I called in exasperation, understanding at last. The little talvar gryphon seemed unconcerned with the fact that his tail was knotted impossibly around the hook and that he was hanging upside down – he just gave a welcoming little chirrup.
“Strange little thing,” I muttered to myself as I tried to remember where I’d put the ladder. It was clear now why Talon was so upset - though he was normally aloof and imperious, seemingly unbothered by everything going on around him, he’d taken up Talvi as his own. I didn’t know why – he hardly struck me as the parenting type, and it’s not like he showed any particular affection towards all the owlets we had running around the place. But whenever Talvi got himself into trouble (which was often) Talon acted like it was the end of the world. I was still surprised Talon had come running for me, though; he usually liked to get Talvi out of trouble himself.
“Relax, Talon,” I said soothingly as I finally found my rickety old ladder, buried under old cleaning clothes. I didn’t use it that often – the last time had been for putting up that stupid torch bracket, funnily enough. That thing was coming down as soon as Talvi was out of there.
I stood it against the door and shook it roughly to make sure it wouldn’t fall to pieces suddenly or anything. As I tested it, I sensed several of my creatures crowding around behind me, but I ignored them. My balance was awful enough without worrying about being self-conscious.
Talvi was still swinging gently by his tail, making happy little squeaks and waving his paws at me. Everything seemed to be fun for him, no matter how awful it actually was. He caught his claws into my tunic as soon as I was at his level, and he entertained himself with ripping the threads out of it while I tried to undo his hopeless tangle of a tail.
I still don’t know how he managed it, but this wasn’t the first time Talvi gotten himself into seemingly-impossible fits of trouble. I began to gently tug the end of it experimentally while Talon watched sternly from above me, making sure I wasn’t hurting his precious Talvi. I thought I understood now why Talon had come for me; there was no way that anyone with claws could have undone the knot without causing some injury. I smiled and continued tugging, glad that Talon apparently trusted me enough for something so serious - then again, he might have gotten me only because I had fingers.
I’d almost had it undone when someone knocked at the door. Cuvea, my direwolf, charged the door and started barking maniacally- the noise startled my dark peacock, who immediately started squawking his annoyance at the disturbance. “Don’t open the door!” I shouted. I was planted right in front of it, and the door swung inwards. Someone opening it now did not paint a pretty picture. Hardly anyone visited except for Sorras, anyways, and it didn’t matter if I was a bit rude to him.
Apparently he wasn’t keen on waiting, though. He knocked again, harder. “Keep that door shut! Would it kill you to grow some patience? I’ll be right there,” I said, annoyed. Talvi had started swinging in excitement at the prospect of a new visitor and had messed me up. Grumbling under my breath, I quickly pulled the last of his tail out of the curve of the decorative bracket and let him go. It probably wasn’t the wisest decision, but after dropping for a few feet he remembered his wings and glided upwards again. Talon quickly joined him in the air, but Talvi flitted back over to me, landing on my head and nibbling on my ear.
“You’re welcome,” I laughed, slowly making my way down the ladder without dropping the ungainly bundle on my head. Knowing Sorras must be getting pretty hissy out there, I pushed the ladder out of the way, not caring as it fell to the floor with a dull crash. It was time to get a new one anyways… one that I didn’t have to worry about breaking or falling every time I used it.
“Was that so bad?” I said as I opened the door. “Patience is a virtue, you know, one you really –“ I trailed off, my voice dying in my throat. It wasn’t Sorras at the door, but Master Belmos… and he looked mad.
“H-Hello, Master,” I said meekly, roughly shoving Cuvea back. Talvi slipped quietly off of my head and disappeared inside. “I…I’m sorry about earlier, I thought you were someone else…”
“I surmised that,” He said, talking over me. “I should hope you still have a modicum of respect for your professors. More, I should think, thank you do for the experimentation hall?” His tone was stern and disapproving. I gulped. What with Talon flying in all panicked, I’d completely forgotten what I’d done….
“Remembered, have you? Leaving without even attempting to mend it… did you think no one would know it was you, what with your magic’s signature all over the place?”
“I…I didn’t –“ I stammered awkwardly, but he didn’t let me finish. “Come with me,” he said. Before I could take even one step towards him, he grabbed me by my ear and dragged me behind him, clearly intent on adding public humiliation to my punishment for the damage I’d wreaked. My keep door shut behind me, but not before Talvi had slipped out, following me with bright curiosity, making the whole situation even worse. Did he have to be a witness to my shame, too?
He didn’t seem to take it as such, though. As I was hauled unceremoniously into the experimentation hall, Talvi hovered above me, watching me with interest and confusion in his eyes – most likely thinking why I wasn’t overjoyed at getting a free ride. Despite the pain and humiliation, I had to smile a little. Talvi seemed sure that there was nothing bad anywhere – not here, not anywhere in the world.
I could see that the Experimentation Hall was no longer empty as I was dragged in; but thankfully Belmos ordered them out so he could deal with me alone. My cheeks burned and I kept my gaze firmly on the floor as I heard the whispers and stifled laughter. This wasn’t the first time I’d gotten myself into trouble, but this was definitely one of the most embarrassing.
Once the room was empty, Master Belmos rounded on me – I quickly spoke up before he could get going and explained the odd situation - about how I'd been trying to fix a simple bow and had somehow... blown it up, and how Talon had come to fetch me to get Talvi out of trouble before I could fix it. To my great belief, he seemed to believe me – my story was helped by Talvi, who was in the corner and very busy digging around in one of the supply cabinets.
Though he accepted I hadn’t been trying to worm my way out of blame, I was still in trouble. After I had to fix the hole I’d blasted in the wall, he set me to copying out the new exam questions… he said he’d needed to have them done anyway and it saved him a lot of trouble, but I didn’t buy it. It would take him 5 seconds to do the entire thing by magic, whereas I just knew it was going to take me hours!! I fought to keep my face straight as I settled down to start writing, trying to ignore the fact that I was wasting hours of my life. at least I’ll have a head start on the exam, I thought bleakly as I resigned myself to boredom and an aching hand.
Left with no place to look, I closed my eyes, trying to calm myself enough to remember reversal-magic – I couldn’t leave things as they were; I’d be flayed alive for it. Knowing those were the exact thoughts I shouldn’t be having, I shoved them away with difficulty and tried to picture the class. I knew Master Belmos had mentioned it, but I just couldn’t…
I was abruptly brought back to the present and nearly knocked out as something hit me solidly on the side of the head. An embarrassing shriek left me as I whirled about, trying to find my attacker, my dagger in my hand without a conscious thought. I frantically turned this way and that, trying to find him, when I heard a hoot… and looking up, I saw a very angry Tylluan glaring down at me.
“Talon!!” I snapped, feeling annoyed as I rubbed the sore spot on my head. “What was that for??”
He did tend to fuss and annoy me at times when he was bored, but I saw almost immediately this was something else. He circled above me before landing on the ruined wall, hopping about in agitation when I didn’t immediately follow. He looked almost… scared.
Talon was never scared - his expression alone was enough to throw me into a panic. He seemed pleased at my new expression and flew out the newly-made exit. Ignoring the charred and still-smoking bricks, I clambered out after him and hit the ground running.
He soared above me as I ran, hooting urgently as he flew as fast as I’d ever seen him go. I’d never seen my Tylluan so rattled before – what could possibly have gone wrong? Images of violence and horror flashing in my head, I sprinted towards my Keep, skidding to a stop in front of the door and bursting though. Talon swooped through immediately after me, flying inside and then disappearing from sight.
I stopped a moment at the entrance, disconcerted. I looked about, expecting to see destruction, flames, something broken at the very least… but there was nothing. Ev, my cobalt wyvern, was lazily sunning himself in his normal corner, seeming unconcerned as usual. A few of the black winged kittens I’d taken to collecting recently had somehow escaped their pen, but they were just sunning themselves by Ev. My other creatures were idly going about their normal daily pursuits – I could see nothing out of the ordinary.
“Talon, there’s nothing w –“ I was cut off as a wing clipped the side of my head. I looked up to see Talon glaring at me, perched on a ledge above the door. Below him, swinging from the torch bracket, was….
“Talvi!” I called in exasperation, understanding at last. The little talvar gryphon seemed unconcerned with the fact that his tail was knotted impossibly around the hook and that he was hanging upside down – he just gave a welcoming little chirrup.
“Strange little thing,” I muttered to myself as I tried to remember where I’d put the ladder. It was clear now why Talon was so upset - though he was normally aloof and imperious, seemingly unbothered by everything going on around him, he’d taken up Talvi as his own. I didn’t know why – he hardly struck me as the parenting type, and it’s not like he showed any particular affection towards all the owlets we had running around the place. But whenever Talvi got himself into trouble (which was often) Talon acted like it was the end of the world. I was still surprised Talon had come running for me, though; he usually liked to get Talvi out of trouble himself.
“Relax, Talon,” I said soothingly as I finally found my rickety old ladder, buried under old cleaning clothes. I didn’t use it that often – the last time had been for putting up that stupid torch bracket, funnily enough. That thing was coming down as soon as Talvi was out of there.
I stood it against the door and shook it roughly to make sure it wouldn’t fall to pieces suddenly or anything. As I tested it, I sensed several of my creatures crowding around behind me, but I ignored them. My balance was awful enough without worrying about being self-conscious.
Talvi was still swinging gently by his tail, making happy little squeaks and waving his paws at me. Everything seemed to be fun for him, no matter how awful it actually was. He caught his claws into my tunic as soon as I was at his level, and he entertained himself with ripping the threads out of it while I tried to undo his hopeless tangle of a tail.
I still don’t know how he managed it, but this wasn’t the first time Talvi gotten himself into seemingly-impossible fits of trouble. I began to gently tug the end of it experimentally while Talon watched sternly from above me, making sure I wasn’t hurting his precious Talvi. I thought I understood now why Talon had come for me; there was no way that anyone with claws could have undone the knot without causing some injury. I smiled and continued tugging, glad that Talon apparently trusted me enough for something so serious - then again, he might have gotten me only because I had fingers.
I’d almost had it undone when someone knocked at the door. Cuvea, my direwolf, charged the door and started barking maniacally- the noise startled my dark peacock, who immediately started squawking his annoyance at the disturbance. “Don’t open the door!” I shouted. I was planted right in front of it, and the door swung inwards. Someone opening it now did not paint a pretty picture. Hardly anyone visited except for Sorras, anyways, and it didn’t matter if I was a bit rude to him.
Apparently he wasn’t keen on waiting, though. He knocked again, harder. “Keep that door shut! Would it kill you to grow some patience? I’ll be right there,” I said, annoyed. Talvi had started swinging in excitement at the prospect of a new visitor and had messed me up. Grumbling under my breath, I quickly pulled the last of his tail out of the curve of the decorative bracket and let him go. It probably wasn’t the wisest decision, but after dropping for a few feet he remembered his wings and glided upwards again. Talon quickly joined him in the air, but Talvi flitted back over to me, landing on my head and nibbling on my ear.
“You’re welcome,” I laughed, slowly making my way down the ladder without dropping the ungainly bundle on my head. Knowing Sorras must be getting pretty hissy out there, I pushed the ladder out of the way, not caring as it fell to the floor with a dull crash. It was time to get a new one anyways… one that I didn’t have to worry about breaking or falling every time I used it.
“Was that so bad?” I said as I opened the door. “Patience is a virtue, you know, one you really –“ I trailed off, my voice dying in my throat. It wasn’t Sorras at the door, but Master Belmos… and he looked mad.
“H-Hello, Master,” I said meekly, roughly shoving Cuvea back. Talvi slipped quietly off of my head and disappeared inside. “I…I’m sorry about earlier, I thought you were someone else…”
“I surmised that,” He said, talking over me. “I should hope you still have a modicum of respect for your professors. More, I should think, thank you do for the experimentation hall?” His tone was stern and disapproving. I gulped. What with Talon flying in all panicked, I’d completely forgotten what I’d done….
“Remembered, have you? Leaving without even attempting to mend it… did you think no one would know it was you, what with your magic’s signature all over the place?”
“I…I didn’t –“ I stammered awkwardly, but he didn’t let me finish. “Come with me,” he said. Before I could take even one step towards him, he grabbed me by my ear and dragged me behind him, clearly intent on adding public humiliation to my punishment for the damage I’d wreaked. My keep door shut behind me, but not before Talvi had slipped out, following me with bright curiosity, making the whole situation even worse. Did he have to be a witness to my shame, too?
He didn’t seem to take it as such, though. As I was hauled unceremoniously into the experimentation hall, Talvi hovered above me, watching me with interest and confusion in his eyes – most likely thinking why I wasn’t overjoyed at getting a free ride. Despite the pain and humiliation, I had to smile a little. Talvi seemed sure that there was nothing bad anywhere – not here, not anywhere in the world.
I could see that the Experimentation Hall was no longer empty as I was dragged in; but thankfully Belmos ordered them out so he could deal with me alone. My cheeks burned and I kept my gaze firmly on the floor as I heard the whispers and stifled laughter. This wasn’t the first time I’d gotten myself into trouble, but this was definitely one of the most embarrassing.
Once the room was empty, Master Belmos rounded on me – I quickly spoke up before he could get going and explained the odd situation - about how I'd been trying to fix a simple bow and had somehow... blown it up, and how Talon had come to fetch me to get Talvi out of trouble before I could fix it. To my great belief, he seemed to believe me – my story was helped by Talvi, who was in the corner and very busy digging around in one of the supply cabinets.
Though he accepted I hadn’t been trying to worm my way out of blame, I was still in trouble. After I had to fix the hole I’d blasted in the wall, he set me to copying out the new exam questions… he said he’d needed to have them done anyway and it saved him a lot of trouble, but I didn’t buy it. It would take him 5 seconds to do the entire thing by magic, whereas I just knew it was going to take me hours!! I fought to keep my face straight as I settled down to start writing, trying to ignore the fact that I was wasting hours of my life. at least I’ll have a head start on the exam, I thought bleakly as I resigned myself to boredom and an aching hand.
Chapter 2:
Spoiler
As predicted, the work for Belmos took hours. I dropped the stack of papers onto his empty desk and let myself out after picking up Talvi from where he'd been sleeping on the floor. I'd been working alone for the last hour or so - Belmos had gone who-knows-where, trusting that I would not want to risk further punishment by leaving. I suppose I deserved it, though. The walls of the Keep were fortified with spells, of course, and the Experimentation Hall even more so for learning magis to test their magic. I shouldn't have been able to blow a hole in it! But I did wonder if my punishment was so severe because the damage made him nervous... I was an air magi, not a fire magi, and an apprentice one at that. Explosions didn't come naturally to me. Besides, I was trying to fix something, not blow it into oblivion. The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. I resolved to ask Belmos about it tomorrow, when hopefully his anger had abated somewhat. Maybe a more skillful magi had been there before me and had weakened the spells or something.
I forcefully put those thoughts out of my head as I walked towards my Keep, opening my door quietly with one hand. Apparently Talvi still heard the door, for he immediately woke up and shot into the air, disappearing into the enormous room that was my home.
Even late at night, my Keep was active and noisy. There were creatures scattered all across the cavernous room, playing, eating, bickering... their normal pursuits. I carefully sidestepped my two strutting peacock phoenixes and headed towards the nursery. The nursery was huge - it took up the entire back wall. The hard stone floor was completely carpeted in soft grass, kept alive by the busy little Vasant beetles. Arje had avoided the nursery like the plague ever since the beetles had taken up residence there - nothing could convince him there was nothing to fear from the little bugs... I'd long since given up. If he wanted to be scared of them, there was nothing I could do. I stepped into the enclosure, carefully watching for beetles underfoot. Hazel, my Kamar rabbit, was bouncing about, her normally dark fur snow-white. She seemed agitated, struggling when I caught her and refusing to calm down. She squirmed frantically in my grip until I set her in the grass, and then she streaked off again, racing around the huge enclosure and startling my kiwis, causing one to bolt and the other to morph to a shaking piece of fruit.
"Hazel!" I said in exasperation, but she paid me no mind, continuing to run about in frenzied circles. She always had a lot of energy at night, but not like this. I strode over and picked up the shivering kiwi, clucking my tongue when I saw there was still a beak protruding from the fruit. "Your beak's showing, Galen," I said to him, knowing the embarrassment of an incorrect transformation would turn him back into a bird. Sure enough, I was right - I blinked and found a bird in my hand instead, looking adorable but ashamed he hadn't turned into a proper fruit.
I went over and picked up his sister, putting them safely out of Hazel's way, who was still frantically racing this way and that. I sat down next to the kiwis and watched her, beginning to worry. "Taika?" I called softly. The gentle owl flew over immediately, landing on the grass without a sound. Hazel rushed by her, the wind from her speed ruffling her feathers - Taika gave a startled hoot and turned her head around to watch the rabbit's actions. "That's why I called you over," I said quietly. "Was she acting strangely today? Did something happen?"
She could not answer in words, but most of my creatures could usually understand what I was saying. Whether it was a product of me raising them or just the magical nature of the keep, I didn't know. Taika watched Hazel for a few moments, then turned to me and very deliberately shook her head. I bit my lip, wondering what had gotten into her. She ran by us again, clearly with no intention of stopping. I stood hesitantly and scooped up Galen and his sister. "Let's go practice transforming somewhere else," I muttered to the pair, leaving Hazel to her antics. Perhaps she was close to growing or something. It was strange and unsettling, but I could see no issue with leaving her be. "Keep an eye on her, will you?" I whispered to Taika as I carried the kiwis away. She fluttered to one of the many ledges on the wall and stayed there, eyes riveted on Hazel. I knew she would get me if anything changed. I headed over to the secluded koi pond, sitting by the very corner, by water in case my magic went haywire again. (Not that I expected it to, but still...) Galen and Hestia scampered about, seeming happy but not crazy like Hazel currently was. I pulled out one of my textbooks and settled down to help them with their transforming.
I forcefully put those thoughts out of my head as I walked towards my Keep, opening my door quietly with one hand. Apparently Talvi still heard the door, for he immediately woke up and shot into the air, disappearing into the enormous room that was my home.
Even late at night, my Keep was active and noisy. There were creatures scattered all across the cavernous room, playing, eating, bickering... their normal pursuits. I carefully sidestepped my two strutting peacock phoenixes and headed towards the nursery. The nursery was huge - it took up the entire back wall. The hard stone floor was completely carpeted in soft grass, kept alive by the busy little Vasant beetles. Arje had avoided the nursery like the plague ever since the beetles had taken up residence there - nothing could convince him there was nothing to fear from the little bugs... I'd long since given up. If he wanted to be scared of them, there was nothing I could do. I stepped into the enclosure, carefully watching for beetles underfoot. Hazel, my Kamar rabbit, was bouncing about, her normally dark fur snow-white. She seemed agitated, struggling when I caught her and refusing to calm down. She squirmed frantically in my grip until I set her in the grass, and then she streaked off again, racing around the huge enclosure and startling my kiwis, causing one to bolt and the other to morph to a shaking piece of fruit.
"Hazel!" I said in exasperation, but she paid me no mind, continuing to run about in frenzied circles. She always had a lot of energy at night, but not like this. I strode over and picked up the shivering kiwi, clucking my tongue when I saw there was still a beak protruding from the fruit. "Your beak's showing, Galen," I said to him, knowing the embarrassment of an incorrect transformation would turn him back into a bird. Sure enough, I was right - I blinked and found a bird in my hand instead, looking adorable but ashamed he hadn't turned into a proper fruit.
I went over and picked up his sister, putting them safely out of Hazel's way, who was still frantically racing this way and that. I sat down next to the kiwis and watched her, beginning to worry. "Taika?" I called softly. The gentle owl flew over immediately, landing on the grass without a sound. Hazel rushed by her, the wind from her speed ruffling her feathers - Taika gave a startled hoot and turned her head around to watch the rabbit's actions. "That's why I called you over," I said quietly. "Was she acting strangely today? Did something happen?"
She could not answer in words, but most of my creatures could usually understand what I was saying. Whether it was a product of me raising them or just the magical nature of the keep, I didn't know. Taika watched Hazel for a few moments, then turned to me and very deliberately shook her head. I bit my lip, wondering what had gotten into her. She ran by us again, clearly with no intention of stopping. I stood hesitantly and scooped up Galen and his sister. "Let's go practice transforming somewhere else," I muttered to the pair, leaving Hazel to her antics. Perhaps she was close to growing or something. It was strange and unsettling, but I could see no issue with leaving her be. "Keep an eye on her, will you?" I whispered to Taika as I carried the kiwis away. She fluttered to one of the many ledges on the wall and stayed there, eyes riveted on Hazel. I knew she would get me if anything changed. I headed over to the secluded koi pond, sitting by the very corner, by water in case my magic went haywire again. (Not that I expected it to, but still...) Galen and Hestia scampered about, seeming happy but not crazy like Hazel currently was. I pulled out one of my textbooks and settled down to help them with their transforming.
Chapter 3:
Spoiler
I spent longer than I realized helping teach Galen and Hestia how to properly change to their other forms. They were determined to succeed, and the happy task of teaching them fell to me, an apprentice magi with a doubtful history of paying attention to her lessons. Still, I did my best, and they continued to try again and again, not seeming discouraged in the least. I continued, only realizing the lateness of the hour when Hestia swayed and flopped into my hand, sound asleep. I stared guiltily at the sleeping bird. She was the one choosing to continue, not me, but I should have ended it sooner. I scooped up Galen and Hestia and placed them carefully within the knot of now-sleeping owlets. Taika was close by, not asleep yet but getting there. In her place, Talon was perched over the nursery, looking even more severe than usual as he watched Hazel in her frenzied sprints. "She still hasn't stopped??" I said in shock. I'd spent a few hours teaching the Kiwis, and I hadn't gotten home early.... I was worried she was going to drop from exhaustion at this point.
Talon screeched, startling me and a few of the creatures still half-awake in my keep. I did not have my usual group - most chose to spent the mild night outside in their enclosure. The few that chose to stay with me were currently either deeply asleep or glaring daggers at the noisy Talon. Hazel, however, did not even pause. Talon suddenly shot into the air, claws raked forward. Hazel did not stop running until she was in Talon's claws. The deadly points curved over nothing but air, holding the miniscule rabbit between the pads. Her paws flailed uselessly until she accidentally hit a pointed claw. Abruptly, she went limp. Talon dropped her unceremoniously at Taika's feet, who quickly caught her and held her down. Hazel struggled again for a few moments, then went limp. I stared at the tylluans as they completed their exchange, admiring their teamwork but eyeing Hazel with growing worry. What was the matter with her???
Still, the matter seemed dealt with for a moment. She was limp and still, hopefully sleeping and not just feigning to fool Taika. I resolutely turned my back on them so I wouldn't fret as I always did.
I picked my way around the sleeping creatures, picking up books as I went. For some reason my books (usually library books...) were considered great toys, and whenever I wasn't around my creatures were quick to play with them. I'd lost count how many times I'd been chewed out for returning a library book with claw marks.
I dropped my books carelessly on my desk, accidentally sending a pile of papers to the floor in the process. Grumbling, I kneeled and snatched them up into an untidy pile; I’d sort them later. I was about to put them back when a thin leather-backed folder caught my eye, looking out-of-place next to my exam sheets. My unorganized papers forgotten, I pulled out the folder and skimmed through it. Chandeliers…?
Ah. I smiled as I remembered. During one of Sorras’s and my… sloshed escapades, we’d accidentally smashed Remy’s chandelier. Well, I’d done it accidentally. I’m still not sure about Sorras – it was known by everyone in the pub that he’d hated the bulky thing. Anyways, I’d promised Remy a chandelier catalog from when I visited the Callisto islands, sure that the sunny tropical islands would proffer a different style of décor. I’d picked this up weeks ago, but it just kept slipping my mind.
I sighed, frowning now at the papers in my hand. It seemed that whenever I went to Remy’s for the sole purpose of a drink, the catalog was forgotten. I glanced at the small clock I had on my desk. Just after 2 o’clock… Remy’s was open till four, and I wasn’t exactly tired yet; I’d always been a bit of a night owl. And I just knew that if I didn’t go now, Remy would go another few weeks without a replacement for his chandelier. “I do owe him,” I said to Talvi, who was sitting on the chair to my desk, watching my every action with bright curiosity. He didn’t seem very tired, either.
I looked about at my keep. Most of my creatures had recovered from Talon's untimely screech and were sleeping again; Arjeyoun, however, was still awake and looking at me. He always seemed like a bit of a mind-reader; before I had even properly decided to go somewhere, he was up and ready to go.
“All right, Arje. You awake enough for a trip to Remy’s?”
It was a silly question. He leapt to his feet at once and shook out his feathers, looking way too excited, as usual. “You know you can’t have any,” I said sternly. Most creatures had no interest in Remy’s ale (probably a good thing) but ever since he’d gotten one taste out of my tankard he was always hankering for another. “I’m not going for a drink either, so don’t think about sneaking anything from my cup. I just need to drop something off.”
He seemed undaunted. I shook my head in defeat as I clambered on his back. Much like Talvi, Arje was impossible to dissuade. Not that I was going to give him any – it was just no use telling him otherwise.
Talvi, of course, took off as soon as he saw me on Arje’s back. His chubby little body shot through the air and hovered above Arje, clearly intent on going with us. I saw no reason not to let him go, but then I heard a disgruntled hoot and Talon came from nowhere, landing on Arje’s head. I sighed. “This is just a quick trip!” I said in exasperation, but Talvi just twirled about in the air and Talon didn’t move an inch. Again, no point. Maybe I wasn’t a good magi – my creatures didn’t really listen to me, did they?
“Whatever. Let’s go, guys.”
Arje barreled through the door at once, throwing it open with a bang and causing several startled yowls to echo from my keep. I scowled; he’d probably woken up half the castle with that. Arje didn’t seem to care about the disturbance, though, as he quickly made his way towards the Remy's Inn.
It was shorter by flight, but I didn’t feel comfortable in the air at night – something could swoop out of nowhere. Not that they couldn’t do that when we’d landed, but I still felt better on the ground. “Bring it down, Arje. Might be enoxes about.” And many other things, I added mentally. Arje gave a hoarse roar, sure he could take them, but he did as I’d asked. I snatched Talvi from the air as we descended, holding him securely in my arms. Though I knew Talon and Arje could hold their own against an irritable Enox, I wasn’t so sure about Talvi.
We landed roughly, Arje probably taking his annoyance out on me. Talon soared low over us as Talvi rolled over on his back, waving his mismatched paws at my crystal pendant. Ignoring Arje, I pulled it out of my tunic and dangled it over Talvi, throwing him into a frenzy of delight as he batted it this way and that, the light of the full moon making the clear stone sparkle.
I was pulled out of my little game when I felt Arje begin to slow. I peered forward into the darkness and saw a hulking shape heading towards us. I quickly flipped Talvi the right way up again and then tried to calm myself enough to call my defensive magic to me.
Arje stopped suddenly and spread his wings out, nearly unseating Talvi and me. I couldn’t see Talon, but I was sure he was above us, waiting for the opportune moment to attack. What I didn’t expect was to have him give a loud hoot, completely giving away his position. I couldn’t hear his flight, but I saw a dark shape flit out and land on the beast’s head –
I laughed, and Arje put down his wings. Talvi squirmed out of my arms and took to the air after his protector. “Sorras!” I cried in welcome, finally recognizing the pale form of Kanthos, Sorras’s enormous Nandi Bear. “Say something before you just come charging at us like that – we nearly attacked you!”
“Sorry – didn’t see you,” his voice was slightly slurred but understandable. “Kanthos wouldn’t –“
“Yes, I know Kanthos wouldn’t. He’s not the one who’s trigger-happy with their magic,” I grumbled, letting go of the power I’d gathered; I had no need for it now. “Tell Kanthos to roar or stop or something next time before I accidentally blow both your heads off, okay?”
“I’ll get right on that…” His voice sounded more than slightly slurred that time. I peered at him through the darkness, and could just barely make out his slumped form. He seemed to be swaying even though Kanthos wasn’t moving.
“Sorras, your Keep is on the other side of the castle. How do you plan on staying on the entire ride?”
“S’no problem,” he groaned. “I’ll just –“
“ --Fall off halfway and end up sleeping in the courtyard,” I finished. “Listen, you’re in no state to get there tonight. I’m going to Remy’s anyways – and you are coming with me and renting a room with Timothy. You can’t do another half-hour’s ride.”
He made a feeble protest, but I cut him off. “No. And I’m paying for it, so you can’t use that excuse either. I don’t want to wake up tomorrow morning and hear you’ve been snatched up in the night by a manticore.”
He made no more noise that I could hear, but Kanthos slowly turned and padded his way back towards the Inn. Arje cantered forward a few steps to catch up, then trotted side by side with Kanthos. They were used to each other by now. Not quite friends, but they seemed to tolerate each other’s presence.
We were silent the rest of the way there. Sorras was conscious, but barely so; I contented myself with watching Talvi gambol about on Kantho’s broad back. The Nandi was so large that Talvi had more than enough room to play about. Kanthos didn’t seem to mind.
We finally made it to the inviting lights of the Inn. I dismounted and helped Sorras off of Kanthos. “Stay out here,” I instructed my creatures. Arje growled sullenly, but settled down on the ground to wait. Talvi blatantly ignored me and floated in the open doorway. Ever-present Talon soon followed.
Talon screeched, startling me and a few of the creatures still half-awake in my keep. I did not have my usual group - most chose to spent the mild night outside in their enclosure. The few that chose to stay with me were currently either deeply asleep or glaring daggers at the noisy Talon. Hazel, however, did not even pause. Talon suddenly shot into the air, claws raked forward. Hazel did not stop running until she was in Talon's claws. The deadly points curved over nothing but air, holding the miniscule rabbit between the pads. Her paws flailed uselessly until she accidentally hit a pointed claw. Abruptly, she went limp. Talon dropped her unceremoniously at Taika's feet, who quickly caught her and held her down. Hazel struggled again for a few moments, then went limp. I stared at the tylluans as they completed their exchange, admiring their teamwork but eyeing Hazel with growing worry. What was the matter with her???
Still, the matter seemed dealt with for a moment. She was limp and still, hopefully sleeping and not just feigning to fool Taika. I resolutely turned my back on them so I wouldn't fret as I always did.
I picked my way around the sleeping creatures, picking up books as I went. For some reason my books (usually library books...) were considered great toys, and whenever I wasn't around my creatures were quick to play with them. I'd lost count how many times I'd been chewed out for returning a library book with claw marks.
I dropped my books carelessly on my desk, accidentally sending a pile of papers to the floor in the process. Grumbling, I kneeled and snatched them up into an untidy pile; I’d sort them later. I was about to put them back when a thin leather-backed folder caught my eye, looking out-of-place next to my exam sheets. My unorganized papers forgotten, I pulled out the folder and skimmed through it. Chandeliers…?
Ah. I smiled as I remembered. During one of Sorras’s and my… sloshed escapades, we’d accidentally smashed Remy’s chandelier. Well, I’d done it accidentally. I’m still not sure about Sorras – it was known by everyone in the pub that he’d hated the bulky thing. Anyways, I’d promised Remy a chandelier catalog from when I visited the Callisto islands, sure that the sunny tropical islands would proffer a different style of décor. I’d picked this up weeks ago, but it just kept slipping my mind.
I sighed, frowning now at the papers in my hand. It seemed that whenever I went to Remy’s for the sole purpose of a drink, the catalog was forgotten. I glanced at the small clock I had on my desk. Just after 2 o’clock… Remy’s was open till four, and I wasn’t exactly tired yet; I’d always been a bit of a night owl. And I just knew that if I didn’t go now, Remy would go another few weeks without a replacement for his chandelier. “I do owe him,” I said to Talvi, who was sitting on the chair to my desk, watching my every action with bright curiosity. He didn’t seem very tired, either.
I looked about at my keep. Most of my creatures had recovered from Talon's untimely screech and were sleeping again; Arjeyoun, however, was still awake and looking at me. He always seemed like a bit of a mind-reader; before I had even properly decided to go somewhere, he was up and ready to go.
“All right, Arje. You awake enough for a trip to Remy’s?”
It was a silly question. He leapt to his feet at once and shook out his feathers, looking way too excited, as usual. “You know you can’t have any,” I said sternly. Most creatures had no interest in Remy’s ale (probably a good thing) but ever since he’d gotten one taste out of my tankard he was always hankering for another. “I’m not going for a drink either, so don’t think about sneaking anything from my cup. I just need to drop something off.”
He seemed undaunted. I shook my head in defeat as I clambered on his back. Much like Talvi, Arje was impossible to dissuade. Not that I was going to give him any – it was just no use telling him otherwise.
Talvi, of course, took off as soon as he saw me on Arje’s back. His chubby little body shot through the air and hovered above Arje, clearly intent on going with us. I saw no reason not to let him go, but then I heard a disgruntled hoot and Talon came from nowhere, landing on Arje’s head. I sighed. “This is just a quick trip!” I said in exasperation, but Talvi just twirled about in the air and Talon didn’t move an inch. Again, no point. Maybe I wasn’t a good magi – my creatures didn’t really listen to me, did they?
“Whatever. Let’s go, guys.”
Arje barreled through the door at once, throwing it open with a bang and causing several startled yowls to echo from my keep. I scowled; he’d probably woken up half the castle with that. Arje didn’t seem to care about the disturbance, though, as he quickly made his way towards the Remy's Inn.
It was shorter by flight, but I didn’t feel comfortable in the air at night – something could swoop out of nowhere. Not that they couldn’t do that when we’d landed, but I still felt better on the ground. “Bring it down, Arje. Might be enoxes about.” And many other things, I added mentally. Arje gave a hoarse roar, sure he could take them, but he did as I’d asked. I snatched Talvi from the air as we descended, holding him securely in my arms. Though I knew Talon and Arje could hold their own against an irritable Enox, I wasn’t so sure about Talvi.
We landed roughly, Arje probably taking his annoyance out on me. Talon soared low over us as Talvi rolled over on his back, waving his mismatched paws at my crystal pendant. Ignoring Arje, I pulled it out of my tunic and dangled it over Talvi, throwing him into a frenzy of delight as he batted it this way and that, the light of the full moon making the clear stone sparkle.
I was pulled out of my little game when I felt Arje begin to slow. I peered forward into the darkness and saw a hulking shape heading towards us. I quickly flipped Talvi the right way up again and then tried to calm myself enough to call my defensive magic to me.
Arje stopped suddenly and spread his wings out, nearly unseating Talvi and me. I couldn’t see Talon, but I was sure he was above us, waiting for the opportune moment to attack. What I didn’t expect was to have him give a loud hoot, completely giving away his position. I couldn’t hear his flight, but I saw a dark shape flit out and land on the beast’s head –
I laughed, and Arje put down his wings. Talvi squirmed out of my arms and took to the air after his protector. “Sorras!” I cried in welcome, finally recognizing the pale form of Kanthos, Sorras’s enormous Nandi Bear. “Say something before you just come charging at us like that – we nearly attacked you!”
“Sorry – didn’t see you,” his voice was slightly slurred but understandable. “Kanthos wouldn’t –“
“Yes, I know Kanthos wouldn’t. He’s not the one who’s trigger-happy with their magic,” I grumbled, letting go of the power I’d gathered; I had no need for it now. “Tell Kanthos to roar or stop or something next time before I accidentally blow both your heads off, okay?”
“I’ll get right on that…” His voice sounded more than slightly slurred that time. I peered at him through the darkness, and could just barely make out his slumped form. He seemed to be swaying even though Kanthos wasn’t moving.
“Sorras, your Keep is on the other side of the castle. How do you plan on staying on the entire ride?”
“S’no problem,” he groaned. “I’ll just –“
“ --Fall off halfway and end up sleeping in the courtyard,” I finished. “Listen, you’re in no state to get there tonight. I’m going to Remy’s anyways – and you are coming with me and renting a room with Timothy. You can’t do another half-hour’s ride.”
He made a feeble protest, but I cut him off. “No. And I’m paying for it, so you can’t use that excuse either. I don’t want to wake up tomorrow morning and hear you’ve been snatched up in the night by a manticore.”
He made no more noise that I could hear, but Kanthos slowly turned and padded his way back towards the Inn. Arje cantered forward a few steps to catch up, then trotted side by side with Kanthos. They were used to each other by now. Not quite friends, but they seemed to tolerate each other’s presence.
We were silent the rest of the way there. Sorras was conscious, but barely so; I contented myself with watching Talvi gambol about on Kantho’s broad back. The Nandi was so large that Talvi had more than enough room to play about. Kanthos didn’t seem to mind.
We finally made it to the inviting lights of the Inn. I dismounted and helped Sorras off of Kanthos. “Stay out here,” I instructed my creatures. Arje growled sullenly, but settled down on the ground to wait. Talvi blatantly ignored me and floated in the open doorway. Ever-present Talon soon followed.
Chapter 4:
Spoiler
I put my arm around Sorras to keep him balanced as we entered the Inn. Talvi was idly circling the area where the chandelier used to be. Talon was perched on the newly-reconstructed banister, watching him. I winced, remembering suddenly that I’d accidentally destroyed the stairs too, during that same night as the chandelier. That had been a rather wild night…. I’m honestly surprised Remy still lets me through his door.
Remy was standing at his usual place behind the counter, polishing a glass. It was off-season and certainly off-hours – the vast room was empty.
“Good evening, Ricansea,” He greeted me, his tone definitely wary. I smiled cheerily back. “No need for worry tonight, Remy. I’m not here for a drink – I just needed to give you this.” I drew the catalog from my pack and handed it to him.
He peered intently through his glasses. “There’s quite a good choice here, lass. You’ll be covering the cost for this, yes?” he said, his tone brighter as he examined the new chandeliers. “I already agreed, Remy. I’ll buy a replacement for the one we broke, so long as Sorras and I agree to it.”
“Humph,” he said, turning back to the catalog. He wasn’t pleased with that stipulation.
I waited for him to wave us off, or say something, but he continued to peer at the pages closely. Did he want us to wait here until he made his decision??
“This one looks rather inviting,” He said slowly, pointing at a seaweed-green ensemble. I cringed; it was wet and slimy-looking, complete with strands of kelp hanging from the sides. “Inviting for a dungeon, maybe,” I retorted. Remy shot me a glare but snatched the catalog back and continued browsing.
“What was that?” Sorras said after several minutes of awkward silence. Remy and I both looked over at him; I wondered if he was so far gone he was beginning to hallucinate.
“You’re hearing things, dear boy,” Remy said, his tone bored. “Not unusual for –“
He broke off and looked up at the same time I did. This was no hallucination of Sorras’s – I had distinctly heard something. All three of us raced forward as the door crashed to the floor, ripped clean off its hinges - Arje had forced his way in. He screeched urgently at us, looking panicked. Before I fully knew what I was doing, I was running towards him. I left Remy and Sorras behind and leapt on Arje’s back, holding on tight as he immediately whirled about and took to the air.
The world outside was no longer calm and quiet. Light now flared erratically in the air, unnaturally bright against the black night… and it was coming from the direction of the Keep. The strangest noise was echoing towards us – a cracking, tearing sound. I couldn’t properly describe it, but I knew it couldn’t be good.
I screamed at Arje to land. He did so immediately, completely aware that something was dreadfully wrong. I dismounted as he was still moving and ran to the door of Remy’s, where both Remy and Sorras were standing open-mouthed.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but we have to get over there,” I said tersely to the pair. “Sorras, leave Kanthos with Remy and come with me – Arje’s faster in the air. Remy, are there any magis staying at Timothy’s?” Remy slowly shook his head. “No, lass…” he said. “We haven’t had any of your sort stay with Timmy in a few days. Seems most have wanted to stay cooped up over at the Keep. Off-season here, you see.”
I was nodding impatiently, having had all the information I need at the ‘no.’ “Take care of Kanthos,” I said to him as I pushed Sorras onto Arje and jumped on a second later. I shouted to Talvi and Talon – they flew through the open door in seconds, Talvi seeming scared for the first time in his life. I caught him and bundled him up in my cloak as Arje took off into the night, streaking towards the eerie white light.
As we drew closer we could hear screams and shouts, all mixed up with bangs of magic and the cracking of falling stone. “It sounds like the Keep’s under attack,” Sorras said slowly. His did not seem scared – just blank with shock.
Unlike Sorras, I was terrified. I willed Arje to go faster as we sped across the countryside, even Talon falling behind in Arje’s mad dash. The idea of attack seemed to have awakened Sorras somewhat from his drunken haze – he sat straight now, no longer swaying. I could already see the dark gleam in his hands as he prepared for a possible fight. I tried to gather my magic about me, too, but it was hard to concentrate as the screams grew closer.
As Arjeyoun continued, I lost my bearings as to where we were. The countryside below us was completely swathed in a haze that seemed too thick for cloud. Arjeyoun continued on without pause, and I hoped he could lead us home.
With a sudden and unexpected screech, Arje tilted his wings and dove downward, puncturing the dense cloud that filled our lungs like smoke. He flared his wings the moment he was clear, halting our descent and hovering over the scene. I gasped involuntarily. It was immediately obvious that we had arrived, and that Sorras was right – the Keep was under attack.
Remy was standing at his usual place behind the counter, polishing a glass. It was off-season and certainly off-hours – the vast room was empty.
“Good evening, Ricansea,” He greeted me, his tone definitely wary. I smiled cheerily back. “No need for worry tonight, Remy. I’m not here for a drink – I just needed to give you this.” I drew the catalog from my pack and handed it to him.
He peered intently through his glasses. “There’s quite a good choice here, lass. You’ll be covering the cost for this, yes?” he said, his tone brighter as he examined the new chandeliers. “I already agreed, Remy. I’ll buy a replacement for the one we broke, so long as Sorras and I agree to it.”
“Humph,” he said, turning back to the catalog. He wasn’t pleased with that stipulation.
I waited for him to wave us off, or say something, but he continued to peer at the pages closely. Did he want us to wait here until he made his decision??
“This one looks rather inviting,” He said slowly, pointing at a seaweed-green ensemble. I cringed; it was wet and slimy-looking, complete with strands of kelp hanging from the sides. “Inviting for a dungeon, maybe,” I retorted. Remy shot me a glare but snatched the catalog back and continued browsing.
“What was that?” Sorras said after several minutes of awkward silence. Remy and I both looked over at him; I wondered if he was so far gone he was beginning to hallucinate.
“You’re hearing things, dear boy,” Remy said, his tone bored. “Not unusual for –“
He broke off and looked up at the same time I did. This was no hallucination of Sorras’s – I had distinctly heard something. All three of us raced forward as the door crashed to the floor, ripped clean off its hinges - Arje had forced his way in. He screeched urgently at us, looking panicked. Before I fully knew what I was doing, I was running towards him. I left Remy and Sorras behind and leapt on Arje’s back, holding on tight as he immediately whirled about and took to the air.
The world outside was no longer calm and quiet. Light now flared erratically in the air, unnaturally bright against the black night… and it was coming from the direction of the Keep. The strangest noise was echoing towards us – a cracking, tearing sound. I couldn’t properly describe it, but I knew it couldn’t be good.
I screamed at Arje to land. He did so immediately, completely aware that something was dreadfully wrong. I dismounted as he was still moving and ran to the door of Remy’s, where both Remy and Sorras were standing open-mouthed.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but we have to get over there,” I said tersely to the pair. “Sorras, leave Kanthos with Remy and come with me – Arje’s faster in the air. Remy, are there any magis staying at Timothy’s?” Remy slowly shook his head. “No, lass…” he said. “We haven’t had any of your sort stay with Timmy in a few days. Seems most have wanted to stay cooped up over at the Keep. Off-season here, you see.”
I was nodding impatiently, having had all the information I need at the ‘no.’ “Take care of Kanthos,” I said to him as I pushed Sorras onto Arje and jumped on a second later. I shouted to Talvi and Talon – they flew through the open door in seconds, Talvi seeming scared for the first time in his life. I caught him and bundled him up in my cloak as Arje took off into the night, streaking towards the eerie white light.
As we drew closer we could hear screams and shouts, all mixed up with bangs of magic and the cracking of falling stone. “It sounds like the Keep’s under attack,” Sorras said slowly. His did not seem scared – just blank with shock.
Unlike Sorras, I was terrified. I willed Arje to go faster as we sped across the countryside, even Talon falling behind in Arje’s mad dash. The idea of attack seemed to have awakened Sorras somewhat from his drunken haze – he sat straight now, no longer swaying. I could already see the dark gleam in his hands as he prepared for a possible fight. I tried to gather my magic about me, too, but it was hard to concentrate as the screams grew closer.
As Arjeyoun continued, I lost my bearings as to where we were. The countryside below us was completely swathed in a haze that seemed too thick for cloud. Arjeyoun continued on without pause, and I hoped he could lead us home.
With a sudden and unexpected screech, Arje tilted his wings and dove downward, puncturing the dense cloud that filled our lungs like smoke. He flared his wings the moment he was clear, halting our descent and hovering over the scene. I gasped involuntarily. It was immediately obvious that we had arrived, and that Sorras was right – the Keep was under attack.
Chapter 5:
Spoiler
The castle had disappeared; it was completely engulfed in a black fog. Tentacle-like coils of smoke darted out from the mass, lashing out at the magi surrounding it like a deranged mutant kraken. Though the fog covering the castle was black and opaque, the tentacles were lit by a strange whitish inner light. Multicolored beams of energy lanced towards the fog at every side, but I could see no return fire. Magis darted to and fro, but there was no enemy running between them; it was a single united front against the fog.
My gaze was wrenched away from the battle below us as Arje panicked and tried to bolt. He rocketed upwards towards the hazy layer blanketing the scene; seconds later we were nearly thrown off as Arje collided painfully with the barrier. It was as though he’d try to charge a brick wall, not a cloud. I knew air magis could temporarily harden the air around them, but this was something else… not even Thane could do something of this magnitude. I tried to control my unbridled panic as Arjeyoun desperately slashed at the impossibly solid wall with his claws, to no avail. It seemed beings could enter but could not leave… We were trapped!
Left with no escape route, Arje swooped downward, looking for a safe place to land. With two people on his back, he couldn’t fight properly in the air; I knew that safely on the ground with no passengers, he would be a formidable foe.
Talvi squirmed about in my cloak, but I kept it firmly fastened and didn’t let him look out. Talon was flying inches above my shoulder, keeping as close to Arje as he could. But then Arje stopped diving and climbed upwards again, budging up as close to the smoky haze as he could. Confused, I peered downward, wondering what had changed Arje’s course.
Nothing appeared to have changed. As before, the magis of the Keep were shooting bolt after bolt of energy into the fog. It didn’t seem to be doing much; though every manner of spell was being thrown at it, I could see damage being done. Most just disappeared, and the few that penetrated seemed to rebound. Even as I watched, a particularly potent fire spell bounced back at the magi, singing several cloaks and setting a great swath of grass on fire.
The fire continued to burn, and the magi were much too busy to put it out. I watched the flames, expecting an ice phoenix to soar over and take care of it; but none came. In fact, there was something distinctly strange about the battlefield… I could not see a single creature attacking with them, not one. It made no sense – the creatures of the Keep were not such cowards. Though the creatures kept inside the castle were surely having a tough time of it, scores slept outside. I myself had several hundred gryphons who called my Keep home – they’d been outside when I’d left. Why weren’t they helping??
“Go check on the other gryphs, Arje. Keep as high as you can.”
He did so immediately, his wingtips brushing the smoke with every beat. I was quite glad that the spell-fog above us was apparently defensive only – we had not yet been attacked by it. And a good thing, too – we were so close, it could have overpowered us in seconds. I didn’t feel comfortable with the proximity, but what choice did we have?
Arje reached my side of the keep within a matter of minutes, and I gasped involuntarily as Arje let out a screech. I’d kept my gryphons and other creatures in a vast screened enclosure – it wasn’t to keep them in, but rather to keep others out. We’d spent months on it, making it as sturdy as possible so even the young ones could sleep without fear. But it clearly wasn’t as sturdy as we’d thought… the enclosure was empty, the magically-reinforced screens ripped to bits and scattered about. The walls had toppled over and had gaping holes in them. There was not a single creature left… not one.
Arje started to dive downwards, but I yanked hard on his feathers, pulling his head up and leveling him out. “No!” I shouted to him as he fought my grip. “Do you want to end up like them? Stay up!” His slick feathers slipped about in my hands as he struggled; I accidentally pulled out a few before he shook himself roughly and leveled out, barreling upwards again to regain the height we’d lost. Despite my words to Arje, I didn’t want to believe that something had happened to my creatures. I desperately hoped they were just inside the castle somewhere, trapped but alive. I had to believe that, or I would lose it right then and there.
The silvery light of the moon threw the wreckage into sharp relief, also revealing the twisted remains of other enclosures, destroyed and empty just like mine. I forced myself to look up and away, feeling unusually potent magic coursing down my arms. It would do no good to attack, as much as I wanted to – but the anger and need for revenge was surprisingly hard to resist. Nevertheless, whatever was attacking the Keep was clearly aimed after our creatures, our friends and companions. They hadn’t noticed us yet, and I wanted to keep it that way.
“Why aren’t we helping?”
The terse voice came from Sorras, who’d I’d almost forgotten. A chill ran down my spine at the venom in his voice.
“Call me a coward,” I hissed, “But doesn’t it strike you as strange there isn’t a single creature down there? I don’t want to risk Arje or Talon!”
Arje didn’t seem to like that very much and loosed a hoarse roar, fighting my grip as I laced my fingers though his feathers again. Sorras snapped, “Then attack from up here!! Would you prefer to sit and watch as your friends get slaughtered?” Before I could reply or stop him, he shot a crackling orb of energy from his hands, the bright obsidian shine of his magic heading straight for the heart of the fog.
It quickly disappeared below the roiling mass, making no damage that I could see. Sorras quickly shot another, then two more. Still nothing. With a shout of fury, he snatched his arm out of my restraining grip and attacked with a pulsing globe of energy, stronger and larger than I’d ever seen him cast. We both watched as this, too, disappeared beneath the smoke.
At first there was nothing, and then an enormous crack was heard, sounding like steel on stone. Seconds later a grey mass appeared from inside the fog, falling quickly towards the ground. I nearly screamed as I saw a spire – a tower was falling. Instead of rebounding like all the others, Sorras’s had made it through… and had done nothing but hit the castle. We both watched with horror as the enormous turret plummeted towards the scattering magi. From our great height, we could not perform the delicate spell needed to stop the fall… we were helpless.
My gaze was wrenched away from the battle below us as Arje panicked and tried to bolt. He rocketed upwards towards the hazy layer blanketing the scene; seconds later we were nearly thrown off as Arje collided painfully with the barrier. It was as though he’d try to charge a brick wall, not a cloud. I knew air magis could temporarily harden the air around them, but this was something else… not even Thane could do something of this magnitude. I tried to control my unbridled panic as Arjeyoun desperately slashed at the impossibly solid wall with his claws, to no avail. It seemed beings could enter but could not leave… We were trapped!
Left with no escape route, Arje swooped downward, looking for a safe place to land. With two people on his back, he couldn’t fight properly in the air; I knew that safely on the ground with no passengers, he would be a formidable foe.
Talvi squirmed about in my cloak, but I kept it firmly fastened and didn’t let him look out. Talon was flying inches above my shoulder, keeping as close to Arje as he could. But then Arje stopped diving and climbed upwards again, budging up as close to the smoky haze as he could. Confused, I peered downward, wondering what had changed Arje’s course.
Nothing appeared to have changed. As before, the magis of the Keep were shooting bolt after bolt of energy into the fog. It didn’t seem to be doing much; though every manner of spell was being thrown at it, I could see damage being done. Most just disappeared, and the few that penetrated seemed to rebound. Even as I watched, a particularly potent fire spell bounced back at the magi, singing several cloaks and setting a great swath of grass on fire.
The fire continued to burn, and the magi were much too busy to put it out. I watched the flames, expecting an ice phoenix to soar over and take care of it; but none came. In fact, there was something distinctly strange about the battlefield… I could not see a single creature attacking with them, not one. It made no sense – the creatures of the Keep were not such cowards. Though the creatures kept inside the castle were surely having a tough time of it, scores slept outside. I myself had several hundred gryphons who called my Keep home – they’d been outside when I’d left. Why weren’t they helping??
“Go check on the other gryphs, Arje. Keep as high as you can.”
He did so immediately, his wingtips brushing the smoke with every beat. I was quite glad that the spell-fog above us was apparently defensive only – we had not yet been attacked by it. And a good thing, too – we were so close, it could have overpowered us in seconds. I didn’t feel comfortable with the proximity, but what choice did we have?
Arje reached my side of the keep within a matter of minutes, and I gasped involuntarily as Arje let out a screech. I’d kept my gryphons and other creatures in a vast screened enclosure – it wasn’t to keep them in, but rather to keep others out. We’d spent months on it, making it as sturdy as possible so even the young ones could sleep without fear. But it clearly wasn’t as sturdy as we’d thought… the enclosure was empty, the magically-reinforced screens ripped to bits and scattered about. The walls had toppled over and had gaping holes in them. There was not a single creature left… not one.
Arje started to dive downwards, but I yanked hard on his feathers, pulling his head up and leveling him out. “No!” I shouted to him as he fought my grip. “Do you want to end up like them? Stay up!” His slick feathers slipped about in my hands as he struggled; I accidentally pulled out a few before he shook himself roughly and leveled out, barreling upwards again to regain the height we’d lost. Despite my words to Arje, I didn’t want to believe that something had happened to my creatures. I desperately hoped they were just inside the castle somewhere, trapped but alive. I had to believe that, or I would lose it right then and there.
The silvery light of the moon threw the wreckage into sharp relief, also revealing the twisted remains of other enclosures, destroyed and empty just like mine. I forced myself to look up and away, feeling unusually potent magic coursing down my arms. It would do no good to attack, as much as I wanted to – but the anger and need for revenge was surprisingly hard to resist. Nevertheless, whatever was attacking the Keep was clearly aimed after our creatures, our friends and companions. They hadn’t noticed us yet, and I wanted to keep it that way.
“Why aren’t we helping?”
The terse voice came from Sorras, who’d I’d almost forgotten. A chill ran down my spine at the venom in his voice.
“Call me a coward,” I hissed, “But doesn’t it strike you as strange there isn’t a single creature down there? I don’t want to risk Arje or Talon!”
Arje didn’t seem to like that very much and loosed a hoarse roar, fighting my grip as I laced my fingers though his feathers again. Sorras snapped, “Then attack from up here!! Would you prefer to sit and watch as your friends get slaughtered?” Before I could reply or stop him, he shot a crackling orb of energy from his hands, the bright obsidian shine of his magic heading straight for the heart of the fog.
It quickly disappeared below the roiling mass, making no damage that I could see. Sorras quickly shot another, then two more. Still nothing. With a shout of fury, he snatched his arm out of my restraining grip and attacked with a pulsing globe of energy, stronger and larger than I’d ever seen him cast. We both watched as this, too, disappeared beneath the smoke.
At first there was nothing, and then an enormous crack was heard, sounding like steel on stone. Seconds later a grey mass appeared from inside the fog, falling quickly towards the ground. I nearly screamed as I saw a spire – a tower was falling. Instead of rebounding like all the others, Sorras’s had made it through… and had done nothing but hit the castle. We both watched with horror as the enormous turret plummeted towards the scattering magi. From our great height, we could not perform the delicate spell needed to stop the fall… we were helpless.
Chapter 6:
Spoiler
No one froze the tower’s momentum; though it seemed to slow, it did not stop. It landed with an almighty crash, altogether too loud to know whether there were human screams mixed in the din. The fog coiled angrily around the hole the tower had made, quickly beginning to close around the Keep again. Just before the fog blanket was made whole again, a single golden orb pierced its defenses, somehow sneaking in through the hole the tower had made.
The orb was so insignificant, for a moment it seemed like nothing had happened. The tendrils still attacked, the fog still seemed solid and impenetrable. Then Arje abruptly dropped several feet and coasted forward, apparently keenly interested in something. I didn’t pull him back, and as I looked, I could see the fog was contracting around where the orb had entered, looking like it was retreating within itself…
The battle continued, but it looked as though the smoky stuff was being rapidly pulled toward that single point. The tendrils all around the castle were shrinking and disappearing, lost within the central mass of the fog. The fog itself was still quickly being drawn into a sort of whirlpool; the dark spell seemed to be breaking. Shards of gold light pierced the remaining wisps of smoke, and with one brilliant flash of light, the castle was visible once more.
There was no cheering at the reappearance of the keep – no shouts, no celebration. Just silence. The fog above us dissipated more slowly than the spell around the castle, but in a few moments it too was gone. Arje looked up at the starry sky for several moments before hesitantly beginning to coast downwards. He hovered as the magi made way for us to land – or so I assumed. Even when Arje was safely on the ground, the magi continued to back away slowly, surprisingly hostile looks on many of their faces. Many were running about, most to the Keep, some to the fallen tower, but a small number stayed grouped around us. I shrank back against Arje – what had I done? I’d never been very well liked within the Keep, but I didn’t think I’d been hated. But the looks of the mages around me clearly said otherwise.
I was about to tell Arje to take off again and get away, but my eyes were drawn to a disturbance within the crowd. The watching magi were pushed aside, giving way to Master Belmos. But he was not the stately and stern professor I’d come to know; his short gray hair was singed and wild, and there was a long and nasty-looking scrape along his jaw, still oozing blood. The fact that he had not healed it yet - exceedingly easy for one of his power - bothered me more than the cut. He ran forward to me and roughly grabbed my arm in an iron hold. “How do you still have this gryphon?” He hissed at me, his eyes wild. “How is he still alive??”
Terrified, I shook my head mutely, unable to find my voice, forcing myself not to think of the implications of his words.
“Answer me!” He commanded, looking vicious… as though I was an enemy. This couldn’t still be about the wall! He didn’t honestly think that I was responsible for this mess, did he?? How could he?
“I…I was coming back…” I could not force the words out past the terror. Everything was so mixed up and wrong… I could not gather myself together to answer.
“We were coming back from Remy’s, Master,” Sorras said from behind me, causing me to jump. His voice strained but steady. “We came back early because we heard the noise of the battle – it was not hard to miss the fact that something was wrong. We wanted to help, but there was little we could do --” He broke off then, and I wondered if he was going to admit that he had been the one responsible for the tower falling. After a few moments, he took a deep breath and continued, “We stayed high because it seemed odd that there were no creatures fighting alongside you. Ricansea had no part in this spell, and neither did I.”
There was no way I could match Sorras’s calm tone, so I kept quiet. I outright refused to think about the consequences of the battle until I was forced to, so I instead focused my thoughts on Sorras. I didn’t understand how he was able to talk, much less put together an articulate speech as he just had. I knew he could hold his drink, but this was surprising from a man who looked close to fainting from overindulgence less than an hour ago. I wondered whether the same fear that threatened to incapacitate me had steadied him.
Master Belmos brought me out of my harmless questions of logic and back into painful reality. “I see,” He finally said, releasing me at last. He waved his hand at Arje, and at Talon perched upon his head. “I did not truly think you were responsible, but to see this…” He sighed and covered his face with his hands, seemingly not noticing when they came back bloodstained. “It was a question that had to be asked.”
He looked like he was about to say more, but he abruptly turned away from us, looking towards the milling magi. There were many less than before – now that I was listening, I could hear screams and even sobs echoing from the Keep, filling me at once with pity and a cold dread. Master Belmos ran from us, his hand raised high above his head. “Stay back!” He shouted, but the words were not directed at us. A concussive wave flew from his form, kicking up dust and spreading quickly. It hit a small knot of magi gathered around the crumpled roof of the fallen tower, knocking them away. The wave passed harmlessly through the walls of the Keep, but when it hit us it nearly knocked Arje off his feet.
Arje didn’t like that very much. With an enraged roar he took to the air; but before he did, I felt something move behind me. Glancing back, I saw that Sorras was no longer there – he’d apparently jumped as soon as Arje had spread his wings. I watched as his black-cloaked figure sprinted towards the broken doors of the castle, disappearing inside – it was clear his need to check his creatures could not wait any longer. I could not blame him, but I wished he hadn’t left.
I sighed and clutched Talvi closer as Arje gained altitude, coasting towards the fallen tower. The magi there were grouped around Master Belmos now. He had something large clutched in his hands, attacking it with so much golden magic that at first I thought the thing was glowing. Arje landed and strode forward – he was so tall that I could clearly see over their heads. I could see a few upturned heads glaring at me, but I was now able to ignore it, knowing why they stared at me so. It would all be set right later – I’d make it known somehow that I had no part in the spell. I put them out of my mind and looked towards Master Belmos.
It seemed as though he was holding a stone, its pale surface just visible underneath the flickering golden strands of magic. I didn’t know what he was trying to do, but it clearly wasn’t working - his hands began to shake. As I watched, a blonde magi stepped forward and added his own magic. The pale yellow strands were a far cry from the rich gold of the Master’s, but they were enough. With a loud cracking sound disproportionate to its size, the rock split in two. The moment the golden light of the magic faded, he let the pieces drop to the ground.
He raised his eyes from the broken fragments of rock and gazed at us. “I suppose you are looking for an explanation,” He said slowly. “I’m sure you wish to know what evil has spirited away all of your beloved creatures. I now know who attacked us… and I will tell you. But know first that you will gain no solace with the knowledge. It will bring nothing but grief to those of you who understand next what I say.”
Grief or no grief, I wanted to know what we were up against. What ‘knowledge’ could be worse than knowing all of our creatures were taken from us?
Most of the magi around me seemed to agree. Though two magi slowly detached from the group and walked away, hurrying towards the castle door, the rest of us stayed. Master Belmos sighed heavily. “Very well, I will tell you. This stone is a mark of their own twisted brand of magic, most certainly their crowning achievement.” His voice was bitter. He picked up one broken half of the stone at his feet, showing it to us. “Do you see the markings along this cursed piece of rock? I’m sure you can see what this stone was made to resemble.”
I was too far away to see it clearly; it just looked whitish with some grey smudges on it. One of the magis spoke out, “A kamar rabbit egg!” but he was quickly elbowed into silence by his brethren. But then the same blonde-haired magi spoke quietly, “It looks like the moon.”
“The moon,” Master Belmos echoed. “And therein lays your answer. I do not know what foul name they call themselves, but we know them as the ravagers, the thieves of light…” His voice broke. I looked down at the other magi to see that they looked just as confused as I was – only the blonde magi had a different expression… he looked horrified.
Master Belmos looked as though he was about to continue when there was an enormous crash was heard from inside the castle. Without a second glance at us, he ran to the source of the noise. He was the most skilled professor within the Keep – it was up to him to return things to some semblance of normalcy, and he wasn’t getting that done by talking to us.
Arje took off abruptly, startling me. I clutched the feathers around his neck to stay on as he sped around the castle towards the oaken doors that marked my home. Apparently he’d had enough of waiting, too. Truth be told, I was terrified of what I would find in there… but I knew I’d waited long enough. We needed to see what the ‘ravagers’ had done to my home.
The orb was so insignificant, for a moment it seemed like nothing had happened. The tendrils still attacked, the fog still seemed solid and impenetrable. Then Arje abruptly dropped several feet and coasted forward, apparently keenly interested in something. I didn’t pull him back, and as I looked, I could see the fog was contracting around where the orb had entered, looking like it was retreating within itself…
The battle continued, but it looked as though the smoky stuff was being rapidly pulled toward that single point. The tendrils all around the castle were shrinking and disappearing, lost within the central mass of the fog. The fog itself was still quickly being drawn into a sort of whirlpool; the dark spell seemed to be breaking. Shards of gold light pierced the remaining wisps of smoke, and with one brilliant flash of light, the castle was visible once more.
There was no cheering at the reappearance of the keep – no shouts, no celebration. Just silence. The fog above us dissipated more slowly than the spell around the castle, but in a few moments it too was gone. Arje looked up at the starry sky for several moments before hesitantly beginning to coast downwards. He hovered as the magi made way for us to land – or so I assumed. Even when Arje was safely on the ground, the magi continued to back away slowly, surprisingly hostile looks on many of their faces. Many were running about, most to the Keep, some to the fallen tower, but a small number stayed grouped around us. I shrank back against Arje – what had I done? I’d never been very well liked within the Keep, but I didn’t think I’d been hated. But the looks of the mages around me clearly said otherwise.
I was about to tell Arje to take off again and get away, but my eyes were drawn to a disturbance within the crowd. The watching magi were pushed aside, giving way to Master Belmos. But he was not the stately and stern professor I’d come to know; his short gray hair was singed and wild, and there was a long and nasty-looking scrape along his jaw, still oozing blood. The fact that he had not healed it yet - exceedingly easy for one of his power - bothered me more than the cut. He ran forward to me and roughly grabbed my arm in an iron hold. “How do you still have this gryphon?” He hissed at me, his eyes wild. “How is he still alive??”
Terrified, I shook my head mutely, unable to find my voice, forcing myself not to think of the implications of his words.
“Answer me!” He commanded, looking vicious… as though I was an enemy. This couldn’t still be about the wall! He didn’t honestly think that I was responsible for this mess, did he?? How could he?
“I…I was coming back…” I could not force the words out past the terror. Everything was so mixed up and wrong… I could not gather myself together to answer.
“We were coming back from Remy’s, Master,” Sorras said from behind me, causing me to jump. His voice strained but steady. “We came back early because we heard the noise of the battle – it was not hard to miss the fact that something was wrong. We wanted to help, but there was little we could do --” He broke off then, and I wondered if he was going to admit that he had been the one responsible for the tower falling. After a few moments, he took a deep breath and continued, “We stayed high because it seemed odd that there were no creatures fighting alongside you. Ricansea had no part in this spell, and neither did I.”
There was no way I could match Sorras’s calm tone, so I kept quiet. I outright refused to think about the consequences of the battle until I was forced to, so I instead focused my thoughts on Sorras. I didn’t understand how he was able to talk, much less put together an articulate speech as he just had. I knew he could hold his drink, but this was surprising from a man who looked close to fainting from overindulgence less than an hour ago. I wondered whether the same fear that threatened to incapacitate me had steadied him.
Master Belmos brought me out of my harmless questions of logic and back into painful reality. “I see,” He finally said, releasing me at last. He waved his hand at Arje, and at Talon perched upon his head. “I did not truly think you were responsible, but to see this…” He sighed and covered his face with his hands, seemingly not noticing when they came back bloodstained. “It was a question that had to be asked.”
He looked like he was about to say more, but he abruptly turned away from us, looking towards the milling magi. There were many less than before – now that I was listening, I could hear screams and even sobs echoing from the Keep, filling me at once with pity and a cold dread. Master Belmos ran from us, his hand raised high above his head. “Stay back!” He shouted, but the words were not directed at us. A concussive wave flew from his form, kicking up dust and spreading quickly. It hit a small knot of magi gathered around the crumpled roof of the fallen tower, knocking them away. The wave passed harmlessly through the walls of the Keep, but when it hit us it nearly knocked Arje off his feet.
Arje didn’t like that very much. With an enraged roar he took to the air; but before he did, I felt something move behind me. Glancing back, I saw that Sorras was no longer there – he’d apparently jumped as soon as Arje had spread his wings. I watched as his black-cloaked figure sprinted towards the broken doors of the castle, disappearing inside – it was clear his need to check his creatures could not wait any longer. I could not blame him, but I wished he hadn’t left.
I sighed and clutched Talvi closer as Arje gained altitude, coasting towards the fallen tower. The magi there were grouped around Master Belmos now. He had something large clutched in his hands, attacking it with so much golden magic that at first I thought the thing was glowing. Arje landed and strode forward – he was so tall that I could clearly see over their heads. I could see a few upturned heads glaring at me, but I was now able to ignore it, knowing why they stared at me so. It would all be set right later – I’d make it known somehow that I had no part in the spell. I put them out of my mind and looked towards Master Belmos.
It seemed as though he was holding a stone, its pale surface just visible underneath the flickering golden strands of magic. I didn’t know what he was trying to do, but it clearly wasn’t working - his hands began to shake. As I watched, a blonde magi stepped forward and added his own magic. The pale yellow strands were a far cry from the rich gold of the Master’s, but they were enough. With a loud cracking sound disproportionate to its size, the rock split in two. The moment the golden light of the magic faded, he let the pieces drop to the ground.
He raised his eyes from the broken fragments of rock and gazed at us. “I suppose you are looking for an explanation,” He said slowly. “I’m sure you wish to know what evil has spirited away all of your beloved creatures. I now know who attacked us… and I will tell you. But know first that you will gain no solace with the knowledge. It will bring nothing but grief to those of you who understand next what I say.”
Grief or no grief, I wanted to know what we were up against. What ‘knowledge’ could be worse than knowing all of our creatures were taken from us?
Most of the magi around me seemed to agree. Though two magi slowly detached from the group and walked away, hurrying towards the castle door, the rest of us stayed. Master Belmos sighed heavily. “Very well, I will tell you. This stone is a mark of their own twisted brand of magic, most certainly their crowning achievement.” His voice was bitter. He picked up one broken half of the stone at his feet, showing it to us. “Do you see the markings along this cursed piece of rock? I’m sure you can see what this stone was made to resemble.”
I was too far away to see it clearly; it just looked whitish with some grey smudges on it. One of the magis spoke out, “A kamar rabbit egg!” but he was quickly elbowed into silence by his brethren. But then the same blonde-haired magi spoke quietly, “It looks like the moon.”
“The moon,” Master Belmos echoed. “And therein lays your answer. I do not know what foul name they call themselves, but we know them as the ravagers, the thieves of light…” His voice broke. I looked down at the other magi to see that they looked just as confused as I was – only the blonde magi had a different expression… he looked horrified.
Master Belmos looked as though he was about to continue when there was an enormous crash was heard from inside the castle. Without a second glance at us, he ran to the source of the noise. He was the most skilled professor within the Keep – it was up to him to return things to some semblance of normalcy, and he wasn’t getting that done by talking to us.
Arje took off abruptly, startling me. I clutched the feathers around his neck to stay on as he sped around the castle towards the oaken doors that marked my home. Apparently he’d had enough of waiting, too. Truth be told, I was terrified of what I would find in there… but I knew I’d waited long enough. We needed to see what the ‘ravagers’ had done to my home.
Chapter 7:
Spoiler
Arje and I could see the damage done to the castle as we coasted towards our Keep. Stones crumbled everywhere, littering the usually spotless courtyard. Though nothing seemed to have fallen over or been completely decimated, holes and cracks abounded. The Keep no longer looked like the magical place it was – it looked battered and beaten. I felt as though I was looking down upon an ancient ruin, as opposed to a place that hundreds of people still called their home.
I just couldn’t believe it – how could such a powerful stronghold be beaten so badly? How??
Arje landed suddenly, drawing me out of my hopeless speculation of what could have happened. The worry and horror and dread I’d been feeling increased tenfold as I saw the charred and blackened doors. Fist sized holes dotted the wooden surface, and an entire corner seemed to have been burned away. I couldn’t keep the sob contained as Arje gently nosed the doors open.
The cavernous room was smoky, dark, and empty. Not a whisper of sound reached my ears as I carefully made my way inside. I couldn’t see a thing – despite the obvious evidence of fire damage, there was no light. But a thousand times worse than that was the fact that not a single creature ran up to greet me, to clamor and growl at the fact I’d left them. There was no one there.
Almost mechanically, I lifted my hand and created a small orb of light, letting it float a few feet above me. My boots crunched as I stepped on the broken fragments of my possessions, littered across the floor. Tears slid silently down my face. Everywhere there was evidence of a struggle; claw marks gouged into the smooth floor, blasts of fire and magic blackening the walls. I felt empty, drained of life and meaning. These creatures had been so much more than pets, more treasured than most of my human companions. I’d raised them from the moment they entered the world, dedicated myself to their happiness and welfare. Yet, in a single moment, they’d all been wrenched away. To be separated from them was pain enough, but to know that they were now imprisoned or dead at the hands of dark magi…
I broke the ringing silence with a pained wail. I crumpled to the ground, utterly overcome. Arjeyoun echoed my cry with a roar, soaring down from the rafters to join me. He’d taken off the moment I’d dismounted, checking the high ledges I’d made for my gryphons to nest. I’d tucked away several resting places over the years, and I know Arje checked every single one, and I knew he’d found nothing. The ravagers had been thorough.
I sagged sideways, wanting to lie down and never move again. But instead of feeling the cool stone floor, I felt rough grass beneath my head. Sitting back up, I realized I’d collapsed at the edge of our nursery. A new sob built in my throat as I saw the blackened grass. My hands desperately ran through the dead strands, hoping to find even a single beetle, somehow sheltered and safe. But I found nothing, and my hands came back black with soot. Hazel, Galen, Hestia… gone.
I got up with difficulty, my hands still cradling the sleeping Talvi in my cloak. The cloud of death hanging over my Keep was so thick I found myself gasping for breath again, choked sobs rising once more from my throat. I stumbled towards the door, the cold glow of my light orb following me. I’d nearly reached the exit when I thought I heard something behind me. I slowly turned around, expecting Arje, but Arje was alert by my side, looking as though he’d heard something too. He started to walk forward, back into the dark Keep. Not wanting to be left alone, I slowly followed behind him, not trying or wanting to think of what might have caused the noise.
Arje abruptly stopped in front of one of many new cracks in the wall, then tried to put his beak in the small hole. I stopped and watched, wondering what he was up to. I still wasn’t sure if the black magic was able to hurt the castle – more than likely the extensive damage was caused by the creatures trying in vain to protect themselves. I folded myself to the ground again, sapped of the energy to stand. More than likely Arje would pull out a common field mouse, and the little hope that had gathered against my will would be destroyed. I clutched Talvi close, glad that at least he had escaped the carnage. I don’t know what I would have done if my innocent little ball of fluff had been taken.
Talvi stirred in my arms, apparently finally waking up. I was glad he’d fallen asleep after I’d stuffed him away to spare him the sight of the battle. His little head pushed through the gap between two fastenings of the cloak, and he looked at me, confusion plain in his eyes. I managed a watery smile as I caressed his feathery little head. It was clear Talvi didn’t know what was going on, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew there was something wrong. He gave a little purr-chirp and pulled himself out of my cloak, clearly intent on crawling up to my shoulder, his preferred perch. I caught him in the middle of his climbing and held him tight, not wanting him to see the full extent of the damage to our home. Talvi was just a baby still – he didn’t need to see this. I tugged out my pendant from my shirt and waved it in front of him again, though the action brought a lump to my throat as I realized I’d done the exact same thing, just a few hours ago. Everything had seemed so normal and happy then… I was trying to keep my grief off my face for Talvi’s sake when I heard the first little hoot.
Looking up, I saw Arje remove his head from the crack. His feathers were mussed and out of place, and I saw a thin jagged line on his forehead where the sharp rock had cut him, but I noticed that in a fleeting glance. My eyes were riveted to his beak, where a scruffy little ball of feathers dangled.
Wesley the owlet hung in the air, looking rather worse for wear but alive. A wordless exclamation escaped me as Arje deposited him in my lap. Talvi nosed him all over and uttered his little welcoming chirp. I stared at him wonderingly as Arje dropped another two in my lap. The owlets were all oddly scrunched, and they bore scratches from the rock, but on the hole they seemed unscathed. I looked up and watched the other five slowly hobbled out of the crevice. They all ran towards me as fast as their little legs could carry them, creating a soft pile of down in my map. Talvi was in the middle of it all, and it seemed just fine with him. Bringing up in the rear, Eglantine and Mouse emerged, a small piece of quivering fruit held within their beaks.
Tears of a different kind flowing down my cheeks now, I quickly sent a wisp of wind through my dark Keep and had it blow a blanket to me. It had a few holes now, but it would do for what I wanted. I spread it on the ground and placed the owlets into it. They were shivering and shaking, huddled together for comfort and warmth. I whispered soothingly to them as I placed Talvi in their midst and wrapped the blanket around them.
Arje was snuffling around the rest of the cracks, but there was nothing to be found. We quickly made our way out. I tried to ignore the broken items on the ground and focused on nothing but the warm weight of the owlets in my arms.
Talon was standing guard by the doors as we left; he fluttered down to my shoulder as soon as the doors were closed. Though his feathers hindered my vision somewhat and I couldn’t turn my head, I was glad for his presence. He was not one for showing affection; this meant a lot.
I had a basic idea of going back to Remy’s and renting a room to gather myself back together, but an echoing voice forestalled my plans. Master Belmos, his voice magically magnified somehow, was calling us all to the courtyard. I didn’t want to try to fly with the burden of owlets in my arms, so Arje and I walked slowly towards the meeting point. Other magi filtered out of the castle and joined us, though they still kept a bit more space than usual from me. I astutely ignored them and tried to hold myself firmly in check. I stopped myself from thinking of what I had lost and only focused upon what I still had as I made my way towards Master Belmos and hopefully some explanations.
I just couldn’t believe it – how could such a powerful stronghold be beaten so badly? How??
Arje landed suddenly, drawing me out of my hopeless speculation of what could have happened. The worry and horror and dread I’d been feeling increased tenfold as I saw the charred and blackened doors. Fist sized holes dotted the wooden surface, and an entire corner seemed to have been burned away. I couldn’t keep the sob contained as Arje gently nosed the doors open.
The cavernous room was smoky, dark, and empty. Not a whisper of sound reached my ears as I carefully made my way inside. I couldn’t see a thing – despite the obvious evidence of fire damage, there was no light. But a thousand times worse than that was the fact that not a single creature ran up to greet me, to clamor and growl at the fact I’d left them. There was no one there.
Almost mechanically, I lifted my hand and created a small orb of light, letting it float a few feet above me. My boots crunched as I stepped on the broken fragments of my possessions, littered across the floor. Tears slid silently down my face. Everywhere there was evidence of a struggle; claw marks gouged into the smooth floor, blasts of fire and magic blackening the walls. I felt empty, drained of life and meaning. These creatures had been so much more than pets, more treasured than most of my human companions. I’d raised them from the moment they entered the world, dedicated myself to their happiness and welfare. Yet, in a single moment, they’d all been wrenched away. To be separated from them was pain enough, but to know that they were now imprisoned or dead at the hands of dark magi…
I broke the ringing silence with a pained wail. I crumpled to the ground, utterly overcome. Arjeyoun echoed my cry with a roar, soaring down from the rafters to join me. He’d taken off the moment I’d dismounted, checking the high ledges I’d made for my gryphons to nest. I’d tucked away several resting places over the years, and I know Arje checked every single one, and I knew he’d found nothing. The ravagers had been thorough.
I sagged sideways, wanting to lie down and never move again. But instead of feeling the cool stone floor, I felt rough grass beneath my head. Sitting back up, I realized I’d collapsed at the edge of our nursery. A new sob built in my throat as I saw the blackened grass. My hands desperately ran through the dead strands, hoping to find even a single beetle, somehow sheltered and safe. But I found nothing, and my hands came back black with soot. Hazel, Galen, Hestia… gone.
I got up with difficulty, my hands still cradling the sleeping Talvi in my cloak. The cloud of death hanging over my Keep was so thick I found myself gasping for breath again, choked sobs rising once more from my throat. I stumbled towards the door, the cold glow of my light orb following me. I’d nearly reached the exit when I thought I heard something behind me. I slowly turned around, expecting Arje, but Arje was alert by my side, looking as though he’d heard something too. He started to walk forward, back into the dark Keep. Not wanting to be left alone, I slowly followed behind him, not trying or wanting to think of what might have caused the noise.
Arje abruptly stopped in front of one of many new cracks in the wall, then tried to put his beak in the small hole. I stopped and watched, wondering what he was up to. I still wasn’t sure if the black magic was able to hurt the castle – more than likely the extensive damage was caused by the creatures trying in vain to protect themselves. I folded myself to the ground again, sapped of the energy to stand. More than likely Arje would pull out a common field mouse, and the little hope that had gathered against my will would be destroyed. I clutched Talvi close, glad that at least he had escaped the carnage. I don’t know what I would have done if my innocent little ball of fluff had been taken.
Talvi stirred in my arms, apparently finally waking up. I was glad he’d fallen asleep after I’d stuffed him away to spare him the sight of the battle. His little head pushed through the gap between two fastenings of the cloak, and he looked at me, confusion plain in his eyes. I managed a watery smile as I caressed his feathery little head. It was clear Talvi didn’t know what was going on, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew there was something wrong. He gave a little purr-chirp and pulled himself out of my cloak, clearly intent on crawling up to my shoulder, his preferred perch. I caught him in the middle of his climbing and held him tight, not wanting him to see the full extent of the damage to our home. Talvi was just a baby still – he didn’t need to see this. I tugged out my pendant from my shirt and waved it in front of him again, though the action brought a lump to my throat as I realized I’d done the exact same thing, just a few hours ago. Everything had seemed so normal and happy then… I was trying to keep my grief off my face for Talvi’s sake when I heard the first little hoot.
Looking up, I saw Arje remove his head from the crack. His feathers were mussed and out of place, and I saw a thin jagged line on his forehead where the sharp rock had cut him, but I noticed that in a fleeting glance. My eyes were riveted to his beak, where a scruffy little ball of feathers dangled.
Wesley the owlet hung in the air, looking rather worse for wear but alive. A wordless exclamation escaped me as Arje deposited him in my lap. Talvi nosed him all over and uttered his little welcoming chirp. I stared at him wonderingly as Arje dropped another two in my lap. The owlets were all oddly scrunched, and they bore scratches from the rock, but on the hole they seemed unscathed. I looked up and watched the other five slowly hobbled out of the crevice. They all ran towards me as fast as their little legs could carry them, creating a soft pile of down in my map. Talvi was in the middle of it all, and it seemed just fine with him. Bringing up in the rear, Eglantine and Mouse emerged, a small piece of quivering fruit held within their beaks.
Tears of a different kind flowing down my cheeks now, I quickly sent a wisp of wind through my dark Keep and had it blow a blanket to me. It had a few holes now, but it would do for what I wanted. I spread it on the ground and placed the owlets into it. They were shivering and shaking, huddled together for comfort and warmth. I whispered soothingly to them as I placed Talvi in their midst and wrapped the blanket around them.
Arje was snuffling around the rest of the cracks, but there was nothing to be found. We quickly made our way out. I tried to ignore the broken items on the ground and focused on nothing but the warm weight of the owlets in my arms.
Talon was standing guard by the doors as we left; he fluttered down to my shoulder as soon as the doors were closed. Though his feathers hindered my vision somewhat and I couldn’t turn my head, I was glad for his presence. He was not one for showing affection; this meant a lot.
I had a basic idea of going back to Remy’s and renting a room to gather myself back together, but an echoing voice forestalled my plans. Master Belmos, his voice magically magnified somehow, was calling us all to the courtyard. I didn’t want to try to fly with the burden of owlets in my arms, so Arje and I walked slowly towards the meeting point. Other magi filtered out of the castle and joined us, though they still kept a bit more space than usual from me. I astutely ignored them and tried to hold myself firmly in check. I stopped myself from thinking of what I had lost and only focused upon what I still had as I made my way towards Master Belmos and hopefully some explanations.
Chapter 8
~*~
Talvi Chapter #1
Not nice. 
(And I fell for Talvi as soon as I saw him, lulz. 
We'll start hitting the meaty stuff in next chapter and chapter 4 
The spacing made it longer, but I'm improving slightly on the concise thing, I think. 
Chapter 5's gonna be fuuuuuun.