《Nyix》 Newborn I swished and twirled in my warm bed as I try to stretch my legs out as I do every morning. I''m surprised to find that my bed has gotten too confined and that I can barely move at all! I must be growing too quickly! I don''t want to leave the snug embrace of the sheets, but my arms are getting stiff and I want some fresh air. I''ve been cooped up in bed for my whole life, I think a little exercise would do me good. So I squirm and wiggle as I try to slip out of the covers, but in the end my efforts are fruitless! I am firmly stuck and can''t get out! I''ve never tried to leave bed before, but I thought it would be much easier... It doesn''t help that it''s pitch black either, if I was able to see then I could get out easy. So instead of wiggling like a energized worm, I choose to kick off the covers. With my mind made up, I thrash and thrash at the comfy bed sheets, I can feel the bed rocking back and forth as I struggle so I redouble my efforts to escape. I gave the cover in front of me a full-powered headbutt and I hear a loud cracking noise. I look at my handiwork and see that there''s now a little hole of the bed where a soft orange light shines. I continue to headbutt butt the area around the small hole, making it bigger and bigger until I can fit my whole head through! Ahh much better, a nice fresh breeze. I scan my eyes around my bed''s bed for the first time. It turns out my bed is actually bright orange, I always thought it was black, and my bed''s bed is brown, all scratchy and looks totally unsoft, unlike my bed which is the best. I want to go back into my own warm bed and sleep but there''s a big hole right infront of my face so no matter how hard I try, I can''t get sleepy. I decide to headbutt the hole again so I can fully leave and go for a walk. More and more pieces of my cover fall to the ground in tiny little bits and eventually I flop out of my bed onto the brown stuff Below. Argh! I just knew it would be uncomfy, I chirp! It''s too late now though, my bed is completely destroyed! "I think I made a mistake, oh well, time for a walk." I chirp. I take a few unsteady steps to the edge of the brown stretchy stuff, it smells funny. There''s a little raised lip at the edge, so I have to scramble my arms like crazy to get over it. I was able to get over it with excited determination, but now there''s little brown things stuck in my feathers! This is just the worse. I hop of the brown stuff to the cold uneven floor and start wandering around. I can see that the roof is reeeeally high up, but the sides are super narrow, I workout my legs by stumbling from one side of the room to the other and notice a really pretty fire on the wall. It''s burning ontop of a short stick placed about halfway up the wall, its too far away to reach, but I really want to touch it, such a shame. Without a choice in the matter, I have to leave the pretty fire alone, so I keep running around, enjoying the movement of my legs and wings.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
+ 1 Endurance
What a surprise! I can feel a sensation in my head, I don''t really understand what it means, but it''s warm and feels good. I keep running laps around the big brown hill, my broken bed''s bed, trying to repeat the feeling.
+ 1 Dexterity
Ohhh I did it again! This time it feels a little different than before, but it''s still nice and warm. I would''ve kept running but my poor legs are tired so I''m force to walk now.
Oh no. "I''m stuck down here now!" I chirped furiously! For the last 10 minutes I''ve been trying to climb up onto the big brown bed, using all my leg and wing power, but I only get half-way before I fall on my bum. It really hurts.
Suffered 1 Falling Damage
Ouch, that was a really big fall that time. I can feel another sensation in my brain, this one wasn''t as anywhere near as warm. Thus, I vehemently promised to never fall again. I gave up on trying the climb the steep brown hill and decide to walk away and find another place to rest. Hopefully somewhere warm and comfortable, anywhere but on this terrible floor! There''s only one direction to go, which is straight into the darkness. Its ok though, I''m not scared of the dark! When I did finally step out of the fire''s light and into the dark, it did feel a little uncomfortable, but I was thrilled to find out that my feathers were glowing faintly. The little yellow glow was only strong enough to light up my feet, not very useful for seeing much else, but still reassuring. It only took a couple of minutes to find a nice, warm, brown blanket! Every so often it would make a screeching noise and move around, which was very annoying, but I would keep chasing it around to give it a hug. It was fluffy and squishy, expect for the sharp feet and long hard tail, so I avoided those and only hugged it''s body. I think it started to like me because it stopped running away and just sat there while I cuddled it. I hugged it for a really long time and I think it fell asleep in my tender embrace, which was great! I would''ve slept with it too, but I was getting super hungry, super duper hungry. This was a problem because I''ve never been hungry before! I only knew that I must eat something. The tiny brown blanket under me was starting to look tastier and tastier by the second as my hunger grew. My need for food slowly overpowered my need for softness and I reluctantly tried to give the blanket a little peck to see how it tasted.
2 Piercing Damage
The little rug awoke with a shock and tried to scamper away, i had to use all my arm strength for my super hug not to get thrown off! While I was getting dragged around I swished around the tiny drop of blood on my tongue to find that it tasted really nice. I kept pecking away at it''s back while it bucked around like a mad bull in a rodeo. It was making very unpleasant noises, the taste of yummy blood was the only thing allowing me to endure the racket.
2 Piercing Damage
2 Piercing Damage
3 Piercing Damage
The deeper I pecked into the wet fluff, the better the blanket was tasting, it was delicious! Even as I was eating my hunger continued to grow.
2 Piercing Damage
3 Piercing Damage
My arms were getting really exhausted by now from holding on for so long, so I used all my remaining energy in one last big peck! right in the deepest hole I had chewed in the blanket.
7 Piercing Damage
Common Rat slain, 3 exp gained
I pushed aside the obtrusive mind sensations to focus on the tasty meal that had stopped moving. Good thing too, because my arms were spent! At least now I can take my time and enjoy. After poking around in the blanket, I found some white hard bits, they weren''t yummy, so I stuck to the red bits, they were soft and squishy, my two most favorite things in the world. After I ate my fill of the treat I snuggled up my feathers against the dry part of the blanket and closed my eyes. While it wasn''t as warm as before, it still retained it''s fluffiness in the dry areas. It just a few moments I was sleeping peacefully. Newborn 2 I woke up full of beans and ready to rock and roll! I cheerfully pecked away at the rest of the tasty blanket, it wasn''t as delicious as it was as yesterday and it was smelling a little bit yucky, so I quested to find a new blanket as soon as I finished the yummy bits. I found the blanket''s legs to be the most flavorful and sweet. I walked through the darkness on my quest to befriend a new little blanket, a bigger one would be nice! One that I can use like a cushion would be most desirable! After a minute of cheerful marching I spotted the glowing warmth of fire bouncing off the wall around the corner. I quickened my pace to round the bend, expecting to find something new and incredible. What I was greeted with put a dampen on my jolly mood. I had accidentally backtracked all the way back to the intolerable, big, brown hill of a bed. I must have gotten turned around when that pesky blanket tried to run away from me. With an outrageous chirp I rustled my feathers and stomped back the way I came... again. The soft clicking of my talons on the floor were rhythmic and soothing, soon the silly mistake was all but forgotten as I started to whistle a cheerful tune to the clicking beat. The tunnel I was waddling down seemed all but endless, but that was ok, I still had many different songs I wanted to sing. So I walked and sang for hours down the gloomy path, every so often I would come across another fire on the wall, unfortunately I wasn''t able to reach any, I really wanted to touch the fuzzy fire. There were a few more brown blankets on the floor too, but they were all able to nimbly dodge my feathery grasp. I was a bit upset by the rejection, but drowned out the sorrows by singing an even happier song. By the time I reached the 10th fire of the wall my tummy was grumbling like a wizened wizard! I tried to peck at the green dangling thingys on the walls, but they tasted like how the brown bed smelled, bad. The dangly green aftertaste had me spitting and spluttering for minutes! The whole time that I was suffering I was unable to even whistle out more than two notes, so my usual method of coping with disappointment was squandered and I was feeling quite unhappy. Needless to say, the next fuzzy blanket to wander too close was mercilessly chased down in my tantrum.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Bright red feathers were launched into the air as I pecked furiously at the fleeting tail. I was slowly falling further behind, but I wasn''t going to let it get away so easily, I was too hungry to stop. I got lucky when the blanket trapped itself between two large rocks. As it tried to jump over the rocks I swiftly pumped my wings up and down as I leaped to the skys towards it''s soft back. In total I probably got an extra 2 centermeters of height on my jump, so basically nothing, but I was able to clench my talons on to the brown rug''s legs, preventing it from running.
4 Piercing Damage
Or so I thought.
Suffered 3 Slashing Damage
With my talons stuck into it''s back my body was dragged along the ground as it hulled me away. The little sharp pebbles on the ground poked at my head as I was dragged over, some of them really hurt!
Suffered 3 Slashing Damage
I could''ve let go and searched for another blanket, but that wasn''t happening. I flapped my wings like a maniac on the hard floor, sometimes swatting the blanket''s tail, but inflicting no real damage. I was confused as to what to do! My legs were preoccupied and my head was too far away to attack! All I could do was hang on for dear life.
Suffered 4 Slashing Damage
I was rewarded for my decision to hold on when the blanket did a 180 turn, in a vain attempt to flick me off. The blanket had underestimated by foot strength and now my head was by it''s head. I lunged in for a open-mouthed bite on it''s soft skin and my beak clamped around it''s loose skin, giving me another purchase on it''s body.
+ 1 Strength
Now by using my beak and a single foot for grip, I swiped with my free talon at it''s side, drawing a flow of sweet red blood.
3 Slashing Damage
Common Rat is bleeding
It was a shame that the blood was going to waste, but I was too hungry to complain... much.
3 Slashing Damage
The blanket ramped up it''s speed as I swiped and even managed to throw me off when my beak teared off the flesh it was holding onto. Just a single talon wasn''t enough for me to remain mounted on the bleeding blanket and I was sent tumbling away. When I stopped barrel rolling from the momentum I quickly jolted upright and hurried after the bleeding cushion. I found it shortly afterwards and when I did, it was curled up in a corner and breathing haggardly. I hopped up to it gleefully and pecked forcefullyat the biggest wound on it''s side.
7 Piercing Damage
Common Rat slain, 4 exp gained
Yum yum! Nom nom! Yup! So much tastier when they''re fresh! I stuffed down the whole blanket in 30 huge bites, leaving only the thin white parts and the soft skin. I then began tearing away at the fuzzy fur, trying to rip it off the hard white bits, I wanted to take the nice blanket with me, but it was not to be, it was glued on! "Oh well, even if I can''t have the fuzzy, at least I''m not hungry anymore" I whistled into the stone ceiling as I waddled back down the dark tunnel. Newborn 3
Common Rat slain, 3 exp gained
"Muahahahaha, You are no match for me you pesky blanket!" I chuckle to the soft brown rug. I place a foot on the blanket''s back and lift my beak up while rustling my tail feathers. My victory pose. "You fought well, but were no match for the mighty ME!" I declare to the stone roof. "You''re lucky your most desirable fluffiness will be graced by my happy hug" I say as I wrap my wings around it''s side. There''s a little bit of blood on the head which is absolutely not fluffy, but the back is completely dry! All that hard work to preserve the fluff has paid off! I spent the next 5 minutes rubbing my arms and face on the still warm fuzzy skin before I give in to the hunger and start eating. Ahh if only I could take the fluff with me. At least there''s always more to chase around! I hope I don''t run out of blankets, they''re both fluffy and tasty, they''re the best! I continue my waddling march down the endless twisting and turning tunnel while rubbing my belly with my dark red wings to aid digestion. So far there haven''t been any branches in the tunnel, just a single path, occasionally lit up by a burning stick on the wall. Of course, there are many many blankets scampering in the darkness. Because it''s so repetitive I''ve been spending much of my time whistling songs, I made one really good one that goes "fluuuuuuuuu doooo gulululu dooo fluUUUUuu" aaaand I''ve also been cuddling with any blankets that can''t outrun me. So, even though it''s pretty boring, I''m still having lots of fun! Because I''m awesome. As I approach another fire on the wall, maybe the 40th or 50th, I think of an amazing idea! I march to the wall opposite the flaming stick and face the torch with a determined look in my eye. I scrap my talon on the ground and raise up my wings in preparation for the run up. I give into my innate instincts and frantically flap my tiny wings while running like my life was depending on it. "You will be mine, you seductive fire!!" I yell.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
+ 1 Dexterity
Once I was a few centimeters away I leaped up and tried to run vertically on the wall while flap-flap flapping away. I''m even able to make it half-way up, but alas, the flame is still too far away and I am now falling down in slow-motion to the hard stone below in a tangle of feathers. Oh no, I broke my first promise. I didn''t think this through and now I''m falling again >
Suffered 9 Falling Damage
"YEOUCH" I squawk as I land on my delicate buttocks. I shoot the flame on the wall a hurt glare as I rolled to my feet. "Why would you do this? I only want to hug" I say as I feel innocent tears welling up in my eyes. I turn my back to the flame and run down the tunnel without look back, soft tears falling to the cold floor. I run and run for hours all while sobbing like a hot mess, not even the tantalizing blankets are able to distract me as I zoom past. I only stop running when I run right into a blanket that didn''t run away in time and we both tumble over one another from the collision. Before the blanket can run away I wrap my arms around it and weep into the soft fur. It squirms in the hold initially, but after a few minutes of my sad hug it relents and accepts my tears. This was a nice blanket, a warm and big one, my troubles were sinking away into the fuzzy cushion. I must of fell asleep next to the blanket because the next time I opened my eyes they were all blurry and sore from crying. The blanket was also sleeping with a wet patch of tears on it''s side. I continue to hug it while my headache clears. I find that my throat becomes very parched from all the crying and wailing, and now, once again, I''m forced to drink my latest blanket to slate my thirst and hunger. I decide to hit it with a big attack while it''s still sleeping as I discovered earlier that the bigger blankets have more energy than the little ones. I dig my head underneath the blanket''s belly and lift my head up so that the blanket flops unto it''s back. I then gently place my talon on the blanket''s chest, careful not to wake it up while doing so. Once I felt like I was ready I continued to shift my weight onto my talon and push down until the sharp claw pierces the skin and sinks into the flesh.
3 Piercing Damage
The blanket awakes with a scream and wiggles like a caffeinated snake, but, before it can gain it''s footing I drag down my talon and slice a big gash from it''s sternum to it''s pelvis.
13 Slashing Damage
Common Rat is Severely Bleeding
The blanket manages to kick me away and drag it''s bleeding figure further into the darkness. I just walk after it calmly, I already know it won''t get far before it stops moving.
Common Rat Slain, 5 exp gained
As I''m lapping up the blood and picking away at the yummy legs I begin to ponder the strange head sensations that often invade my brain. They sometimes feel good, sometimes bad, and sometimes the have no feeling. I think I''m also starting to see a pattern with the feelings and if I look closely at them, I can see squiggly lines. I have no idea what it means, but they''re consistent! I know that whenever I headbutt the blankets I see "Damage", whenever I get hurt I see "Suffered ''something'' Damage" and finally, the warm sensations are kinda strange, I don''t remember the patterns because they all seem different. I made another promise to myself to pay more attention the next time I get a sensation, especially the warm ones, so that I can feel them again. Now, with my tummy filled and my tear-ducts emptied, I waddle into the darkness again with the strange thoughts in mind. P.S. I accidentally went the wrong way again, but don''t worry I turned back around once I noticed >.< Newborn 4 "Oh my gosh!!! what a pretty flower!!!" I bellow as I click my sharp talons on the cold stone, in hot pursuit of the pretty. The vibrant flower has 4 light purple petals with a pink edge, grown from a single, bendy, green stem with a pair of large leafs at the base. When contrasted with the dull grey of the walls and floor, as well as the dark green and disgusting dangles on the roof, this flower was an absolute gem!!. As I reach the purple flower I immediately tear off one of the purple petals and start chomping away, curious to the taste of such a attractive plant. After just seconds of eating, I make a definite conclusion. "Yum! Yum!" I chirp to the gods above. It''s super chewy and sticks to the roof of my beak, which is uncomfortable, but the taste is superb! Every bite sends out a little squirt of sugary sweetness that soaks my taste buds! The burst of flavor is so profound that a electric tingle of joy travels up my spine and causes me to shake off a handful of bright red feathers to the ground.
+10 Health Regen Per Minute
With the first petal chewed and sucked of all it''s flavor, I get to work picking off another petal and nibbling it, relishing the taste and the discovery of a new warm sensation in my head. It''s too bad I don''t recognize a single squiggly in this one, but I can tell it''s something good! Of course, the squiggly discovery is secondary to the fantastic taste caressing my soul. I close my eyes in sweet bliss as I slowly savor the delicious purple and pink flower. I need to be frugal and eat slowly, there''s only 2 petals left!
Suffered 14 Slashing Damage
Suffered Bleeding
"CAAAAWWWRRR" I let out a shocked cry as an unseen force sweeps me off my feet and sends me flying into the wall beyond the plant at high speeds. And I hit the wall like how a terrified women hits a spider... very, very, very hard.
Suffered 4 Bludgeoning Damage
The sudden attack is so instantaneous that I all can do is desperately cough up the purple petal that got lodged in my throat as I swing face the direction of the hit. Crouching next to the purple flower is a huge fuzzy blanket, easily 4 times bigger than the blankets I''m used to! It looks very similar except it''s legs are far longer, ears are sharper, tail is fuzzier, and it''s eyes are a piercing green with wide vertical slits for iris''. It''s head is close to the ground and it''s bum raised in the air, the only part of it''s body moving, was the long bushy tail that was slowly swaying side to side as its stares me down.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. It doesn''t look scary, I thought, in fact, it looks like the ultimate blanket with zero hard bits, unlike the smaller blankets! However, the puddle of fiery orange blood that had pooled under my leg, begged to differ about the blanket-ness of the creature before me. A good blanket would never hurt me. So of course, after staring at the big blanket for a further second, I turned around and run at full speed in the opposite direction, screaming my head off. "NO NO NO NO NO!!!" I wail. "BAD BLANKET" I cry. "PLEASE DO NOT HURT ME" I beg. The sound of the big blanket''s sharp claws on the ground was the herald to another devastating attack on my defenseless back as I was trying to flee.
Suffered 10 Slashing Damage
Suffered Severe Bleeding
Once again, my weak, bird body is now flying through the air, with hot orange blood spraying on the cold floor. The only thing I see is the towering wall stopping just shy from slamming into my face as I skid to a stop at it''s base. My blood leaking freely, robbing me of all strength. All I can do is shift my neck far enough to look at the big blanket it bounds on top of me.
Suffered 11 Slashing Damage
You Have Died
Fire to Fire: Time until rebirth: 5 hours, 59 minutes, 57 seconds
The last thing I see is the lightning fast swipe of the blanket''s front claws and then all of a sudden I''m dead? Well that''s not good. At least I''m not bleeding, or hurting, or crying, or breathing, or living? I can still think! And I think I see the blanket slapping what''s left of me, which is a neat little pile of grey and yellow dust. I can still ''feel'' the cat slapping me, it feels terrible but it doesn''t hurt anymore, it just feels like I''m being... dissolved... as it spreads my dust around. The fuzzy green-eyed blanket then stops slapping me after a few tentative pokes and moves it face in closer. I can feel it''s hot breath disturbing my dust and I can especially feels it''s raspy tongue as it LICKS ME EWWW! It seems that blanket is just as disgusted with me I am of it, as it coughs intensely and paws it''s mouth with a bloody foot. Seems like my dust doesn''t taste too good. "Take that, you bully!" "Eat my dust!" My insults go unheard as the blanket pouts and slinks away to where it came from with a disappointing glint in it''s eye. It all happened so quickly I barely had time to asses the scenario! In just a measly 20 seconds I died to the ultimate fluff!. Maybe the super fluffy paws were to blame for how it was able to sneak up on me without making a peep! That sucks and is somewhat ironic. Live and die by the blankets.
"Well this is boring" I say voicelessly with my non-existent mouth. I''ve just been sitting here forever, staring at the dull tunnel wall while feeling some squiggles in my head changing around. Ages and ages ago a little ''friendly'' blanket came by a licked me as well, but he too wasn''t satisfied with my flavor and quickly scurried away. So other than that... not much has happened. At least with the squigglies, I now recognize them as having a specific order. When I compare it to every other time I''ve seen the squiggles ''9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1'' and 0 I can tell that they mean: ''an amount'', with 1 being the lowest and 9 being the highest. or maybe 0''s the highest? I watch the squigglies for a bit longer to confirm that 9 is indeed the highest, that is until it reaches 10 than the pattern refreshes with 1 at the start. Golly gosh I''m a genius. It''s a shame that I''m no longer a bird, just dust in the wind, without arms, legs or even a mouth. Maybe something will happen when the squiggles make it all the way down to 0, it has been getting smaller and smaller after all! Maybe I''ll even be reborn! ahahaha, as if...
Fire to Fire: Time until rebirth: 0 hours, 0 minutes, 5 seconds.
4
3
2
Well.. whatever is going to happen will happen now!
1
Time to find out! Newborn 5 The scattered remains of my yellow and grey dust swirled to the whims of an unfelt wind. My remains glowed with an unbridled heat, coalescing into a tight sphere of fire. I was at the center of this ball of fire, but I was in no pain, if anything, I was full of beans! An ancient and divine magic coursing through my birdy veins as my glorious bird-body was reconstructing itself inside the red hot, levitating ball of fire!!! Then, I was heard the sound of a egg-timer rattling around in my noggin as my reconstruction finished up.
Fire to Fire: Rebirth complete. -20% Health, due to absence of ashes.
"WOZZERS!!! I''M BACK AS A BIRDIE!!!!" I cheer to the smoldering black stone at my feet. For the first time, making the evil cold floor somewhat bearable. I gleefully skip my way over to a tiny pile of my untouched death powder to give it a taste. This dust was spared from the ball of fire because it was too far away to be swept up in the magical wind. I poke my cute tongue into the grey dust and give it a quick taste-test. I know that both the big blanket and the little blankets weren''t a fan of it, but you never know! Turns out they were on to something, as the taste could be described as ''yucky''. Furthermore, not only was is yucky, it also stuck to my throat with every breath, so for the next 2 minutes I was coughing and hacking up the dust particles from my mouth as I tumbled away.
Class Unlocked: Pheonix
Pheonix is Level 1
+ 1 Strength, + 2 Endurance, + 1 Dexterity, + 4 Intelligence, + 3 Affinity
Skill Unlocked: Cinders
I felt a wave of nausea as a huge batch of squigglies bombard my freshly-made brain, most of it going over my head. I could recognize and understand a couple of the ''amount'' squigglies, other than that, it was just confusing long strings of squiggles. HOWEVER! Among these new squiggles, one in particular stood out. As soon as that wall of squigglies invaded my mind, new knowledge of my capabilities was poured into my memories! It was like I knew how to use Cinders all along, just that I had forgotten until now. How fascinating! "Cinders" I say out loud as I flap my wings in front of myself. A spray of super hot fiery flames rush out of my flapping wings and sizzle in the air roughly a meter ahead of me. "Muahhahahahahah!!! Cinders! Cinders! Cinders! Cinders!!" I echo in the twisting tunnel, briefly banishing the darkness with yellow light. It was very therapeutic.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "Cinders!!!" I call once again into the darkness, only to be met with no flashy displayof fire.
Insufficient Mana
Oh no! my cinders! What happened to my Cinders?!!?! What does this new swiggle mean? It''s not warm at all! Have I made Cinders angry? Or maybe I made the sqwigglies angry? I flop onto my belly and beat my wings on the floor while bawling like a newborn. To be fair I was a newborn, so one one had the right to complain about my behavior or excessive crying sessions. Some time later, I pick myself up off the floor and chose a direction to go, either forwards or backwards in the single-path cave. Because I was so distracted by dying and being reborn, and then learning Cinders, I had become completely disorientated and forgotten which way I came from. So I chose to go forwards. Unsurprisingly I had chosen the wrong way again and I was now staring at the familiar torch on the wall, burning with a comforting and lazy pace. I knew it was the same flame I went by earlier because I notice these things, I am amazing after all. So with a depressing huff I walked back on my tracks... again. It took three minutes to reach the beautiful purple flower where I was attacked. The flower was missing two petals, leaving it with two remaining. I quickly scout the area for any big blankets, thankfully there are none, and I plop my bum next to the flower and once again enjoy the sweet petals in peace and serenity. The sweet bursting flavor of the delectable flower on my tongue washes away all the terrible things that happened to me like it was only a bad dream.
+ 10 Health Regen Per Minute
"Thank you Mr.Flower" I say to the plant that is now missing all it''s pretty petals and is just a green stem poking out of the stone floor. I lift my feathery form off the cold stone and use my wings to brush off the imaginary dust off my knees and let out a drawn out sigh. I continue down the single path hoping to find either more purple flowers, or the exit. Hopefully, I won''t find that big blanket with the bushy tail and razor sharp claws, even if it is super fluffy and cute like me. I noticed an eerie lack of small blankets on the path, but there were plenty puddles of blood that had dried to the point where they were inedible, I tried. Apparently the Big Fluffer as I will now call it, was also fond of the taste of smaller blankets. Without any smaller blankets to eat or cuddle, I was starting to starve! My poor little tummy was making all sorts of strange alien noises that successively increased in volume as time passed. I hasten my pace as I waddle further into the Big Fluffer''s warpath. Maybe it went deeper the way I came in search of more blankets? That would be nice, now I won''t have to get killed again by Big Fluffer, but what isn''t nice, is having no food! Just when the crushing despair of an empty stomach was about to cause me to breakdown into a mess of tears, making the situation worse, I finally saw the sun''s light, Reflecting off the grey stone''s surface at the end of the tunnel was no doubt, the gentle and kind pale tinge of the sun''s morning light. Unknown strength surges my legs into maximum overdrive. I trip on my own feet a couple of times and face plant in unbecoming ways, only to get back up and run even harder! I can see it, it''s so close and it''s so exciting. The tunnel''s exit drew ever closer and a final reckless swan dive sends me flying around the corner.
Suffered 1 Falling Damage
What I''m greeted with is the spectacular view of a forest nestled inside the embrace of several sky piercing mountains. The cave mouth I''m standing in is far above the green tree tops, almost touching the big fluffy clouds that are idling by. The forest is HUMONGOUS and has a perfectly circular lake right in the center with a small island in the middle, on this little island is a giant blue tree with white leaves. Very pretty to say the least, I wanna touch those leaves. I think I can see a little town resting by one of the larger streams that''s running off the mountains, if the minuscule brown buildings and cleared forest were any indication. "This is fantastic!" I say with tears welling up in my ducts. But I had bigger fish to fry. "First thing first, let''s get some fooooooooooooooood!!" Forest Life I take in a deep breathe of the fresh, chilly mountain air and span out my wings as far as possible. The gentle rustling of my feathers feels relaxing and natural, much better than the stale tunnel air. I scan the forest below for anything that looks ''foody'', lots of green trees, not many blankets from what I can see. Maybe if I down into the forest, I would find something yummy, that sounds reasonable, plus, I don''t wanna stick around with the big blanket still in the tunnel.
+ 1 Intelligence
Ohh that feels nice, I must remember this ''intelligence'' that occurs when I avoid things that kill me. I peer down the side of the mountain from the cave entrance''s ledge. The mountain is quite steep, not impossible to walk down, but challenging at best. Good thing I have wings! Even if I can''t fly properly, I think a little dejectedly. I give my wings a few preemptive flaps as I take a couple steps away from the ledge. In reality, I am very scared, it''s a loooong drop to the bottom. ''This will be totally fine'' I tell myself over an over. I''m a glorious bird! Flapping is in my blood! The sky belongs to ME! I close my eyes and sprint at the edge, flapping like never before! As soon as I leave the edge I open my eyes because I realize how scary it is not to see. What I am able to see, is the ground getting closer at an alarming rate.
Departed Phoenix Roost Dungeon
The hard mountain dirt and jagged stone boulders at the base all of a sudden seem less inviting and the fear of my free fall spurs my wings to unprecedented speeds!
+ 1 Dexterity
I think my wingspan is too small. Because it''s not birdly possible to flap any faster than this, yet I''m still falling. "I''m too young and adorable to die!" I sqwaurk as my tiny red body descends to the forest. It''s not fair! What''s the point of having wings if I can''t fly, I whine internally. Although, while not able to achieve flight, my dedicated flapping of the highest degree has slowed my fall to ''moderately dangerous''. As I''m gliding down to the forest canopy I can see other birds flying around me as if it''s the easiest thing in the world. They shoot me some quizzical stares as I barrel by. Silly birds! Can they not see I''m struggling here?! My wings are going to fly off on their own and leave my body behind!Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. I close my eyes tightly as green tree leaves whiz by. A few higher branches manage catch my fall and forcefully slow down my gliding free fall, which disturbs some roosting birds, but they''re bullies anyways.
Suffered 5 Falling Damage
Suffered 3 Falling Damage
Suffered 2 Falling Damage
Suffered 3 Falling Damage
Suffered 2 Falling Damage
Suffered 4 Falling Damage
+ 1 Endurance
Suffered 3 Falling Damage
Suffered Stunned
I continue down the tree limbs like a glorified pinball ball and luckily catch myself by clasping my talons around a sturdy branch below. I don''t mind the fact that I''m hanging upside down like a bat, it''s better than falling. My head woozes in a wide circle and my bones ache as the green forest below spins and undulates to my dazed sight. Golly gosh! If I wasn''t starving I would be throwing up by now! That wasn''t the best idea, now that I think about it, most of my ideas concerning flight are unsuccessful and reckless. But, I am in the forest, so maybe this idea worked out? in a catastrophic kind of way. My rocking senses are soon jolted awake when an intimidating growl sounds out across the forest, startling the nearby birds to the sky in a mass of blue and yellow. The growl was truly the voice of a predator, one that was on the hunt for easy prey. Again, the growl repeats itself and I freeze up in fear. My stomach has never been so empty.
Suffered Starvation
''Gimmie fooooooooooooooooooood" I groan as I detach myself from the branch and frantically flap down the 6 meters to the moist dirt below.
Suffered 3 Falling Damage
I know it''s unbecoming, I know it''s unladylike and I know it''s desperate. Most of all, I know how unfluffy it is. I hop over to a fallen tree trunk that has rotted and been infested with all manner of creepy crawlies. My birdy instincts tell me this is fine and normal, but my brain protests. For better or worse, my tummy''s protesting is louder than my mind and I reluctantly slurp up the absolute, most disgusting, filthy and horrendous insects the world has on offer to sate my hunger. Golden tears roll down my cheeks as the revolting food funnels down my gullet. This is all the Big Fluffer''s fault!! He stole all my deliciousness and fluffy blankets, now there are only the yuckies for me to eat. My tears splash on the fertile dirt and tiny little plants spring up in real-time, growing into buddings in the matter of seconds. It''s rather cool, I didn''t know I could do that. Watching the plants growing is also keeping my eyes distracted from the revolting feast of yuckies that my beak is unrelentingly poking into. "Why Big Fluffer, why?" I choke out in between bugs. I already miss my huge, twisting and linear tunnel, filled with nothing but the fluffiest and most delectable blankets. I mean, the forest is colorful and warm, but still... I bring myself to scoff down one last nameless insect and I tear my head away from the log. Even though I''m only half-full, it''ll have to do for now. Never ever, ever never, will I ever, never ever, ever, from now until ever will I ever eat another insect. Ever. "I vow, from this day forth" I say while looking at the sickening nest of creepies. "Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye, to the sun I will fly, break this promise and angels shall cry." I then seal the promise by criss crossing my wing feathers together, like a pinky promise. "Well with that out of the way, time to find the biggest blanket in the forest." I whistle with a merry tune while walking in no particular direction, eager to forget the stomach churning ''incident''. Forest Life 2 It''s nice and warm in the forest, the birds above are singing a lovely melody that adds to the comforting environment and soothes my nerves. I too whistle out a friendly tune in response to the birds who think they can sing better than me, they can''t. I''m the best. I''m currently in search of a blanket. Also something to eat and drink, I''m a growing bird after all!! This task is proving to be a little bit difficult as I can''t fly properly and I''m restricted to walking. Not only am I grounded, but the plants around me are at least twice my height! I can''t see a thing past a few meters! This all contributes to me having not the best time in my search. I brush my head through another strange big yellow plant and reminisce back to the sugary purple plant in the tunnel. Oh gosh golly was that plant tasty. A bit of drool dribbles out of my agape beak, which I quickly wipe away with a wing. I''ve since then found a few more unique flowers in the forest, a red one and three orange ones, none of them tasted very nice, too sour. "This sucks!!" I cry "Birdy friends! show me the food!" I shout at the treetops. A silent second passes and to my surprise a little blue bird flutters down from above and lands right next to me! A small bird, a head shorter than me, with a jet black beak and a pure white taper to it''s light blue feathers. It stares at me with it''s beady black eyes and chirps a greeting. ''Hello to you too Mr. Bird" I say with a curtsy bow by lowering my head and raising my wings. How unexpected! I can talk to birds? Well, I am a bird, I guess. "Please take my to the fluffi-- I mean please take me where I can find some food" I ask politely. The blue bird chirps in response and scratches the duff at it''s feet. It spends a little time poking and prodding with it''s feet and I already know what''s about to occur. Sure enough, the blue bird pulls up a big juicy worm from the dirt and presents it to me with cheerful gusto. I recoil from the unappetizing meal. "No thank you... I''m allergic'' I plead while shielding the sight with my wings. The blue bird doesn''t seem to understand and inches closer, causing the worm to wiggly even harder.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "NOPE" I squeak as I swat the worm back into the dirt, whence it came. The blue bird seems to depress at my rejection and stares at the cast aside worm in sadness. There''s absolutely no way I''m going to break my vow within minutes of making it. Especially to some icky worm presented by a too cheerful blue bird, I scream to myself! Too soon, way too soon. "Perhaps you can show me to that huge blue tree with white leaves?" I ask, in hopes of raising my birdy benefactor''s spirits. It meets my eyes and the spark of happiness returns. It flutters up back to the emerald tree tops and disappears for a few seconds before returning to my side with great news. Gosh it must be nice to fly. The blue bird snaps it''s head to my right and bobs it''s head a couple of times, letting out a series of low-pitched chirps. I understood the message loud and clear. I hop over to the blue bird and wrap my wings around it. There''s no resistance, only the happy song of "chhuu kuu ku gagaga cku" in my warm embrace. I don''t understand a word of it, or chirp of it, but I can feel the intent of the sounds, he''s happy. I break off the hug and rush in the direction the blue bird suggested. Where''s there''s water, there''s bound to be blankets! Also, I want to check out this blue tree, from what I saw at the cave entrance, it''s the only one of it''s kind, it must be special! Oh, now that I think of it, I should''ve asked where that village was instead. There''s bound to be food, shelter and warmth there. Why didn''t I think of that!! urgh. I turn around to ask the question, but the blue bird has already departed too. I''ll go to the village next time. I meander through the dense foliage of the forest while trying to stay in the same direction, which is getting more difficult as the plant life is becoming thicker and thicker with every minute. It''s becoming more jungle-like, which i can only assume is a good thing because more plants require more water and that big blue tree just so happens to be in the middle of a enormous lake!
+ 1 Intelligence
My satisfying deductions yielded another '' intelligence'' , so I guess this squiggle means more than just avoiding the Big Fluffer. I wade through another sticky and slimy big-leafed plant and a frightening flash of grey, bolts across my vision. "What the chirp!!" I whip my head to the left and right, trying to track the lightning fast grey streak. What ever it was is nowhere to be found, but I don''t relent my search for it. I scramble myself to a clearing of damp dirt, which isn''t saying much, as pretty much the entire forest floor is cover in green and clearings are basically non-existent. I spin around on my feet and scan the larger plants, each one of them could easily be hiding what ever ran past me. Every little rustling, every little creak of the trees has been magnified by my sharpen senses and the sounds wrack my nerves. Another flash of grey zips by, but no longer on the forest floor, it''s leaping from branch to branch, tree to tree in a tight circle, that''s getting closer and closer. It''s moving at unimaginable speed! I can barely make out what it is! The grey thing''s approach is closing in on the trees next to me, it''s moving so fast my eyes can''t keep up! "I''m not very tasty!" I truthfully yell to whatever it is that plans on making me it''s lunch. A high pitched growl thunders from behind, followed by a searing pain along my left wing, and then finally, a shock of electricity down my spine.
Suffered 7 Slashing Damage
Suffered 2 Lightning Damage
Just as quickly as it attacked, did it jump back to the trees and continue to pounce around like a shark circling it''s prey. "Why is everything so unfair!" I cry while nursing my left wing. "That''s it! You asked for it, BUM-HEAD" I threaten in the general direction of the lightning fast grey figure. "I''m not some flightless chicken! And I WON''T be your lunch!" Forest Life 3 The truth was, I was flightless, and on top of this, a bit chicken-like. In comparison to the kind blue bird who directed me, I was much bigger and.. well... (thicker), I do not posses the same slim build he had. Even now, in the midst of a fight with an unidentified grey thing, these thoughts are weighing on my mind, always whispering in my ears. Here it comes again! The grey thing zooms in from ahead with glistening fangs bared at my neck, tiny sparks of electricity surging from it''s skin. "Cinders" I say with a monstrous flap of my wings that pushes me back a bit. A spray of fire gushes forth and briefly coats the forest, and the grey thing, in bright orange flames.
7 Fire Damage
The thing yelps in surprise, more shock value than actual pain and it''s body twists ever so slightly while mid-air. Instead of biting right into my neck, it sinks it''s fangs into my undamaged right wing and pulls me along as it rolls to the ground.
Suffered 4 Piercing Damage
Suffered 2 Lightning Damage
Suffered 5 Tearing Damage
I scream out as the grey thing''s momentum dislocates my wing and tiny sparks of lightning arch at my feathers.
Suffered 2 Lightning Damage
The good thing is, we''re both on the ground and it''s no longer dashing in the treeline. It''s utterly impossible to match this foe in speed so sacrificing a single wing is worthwhile. I waste no time in using my left wing to shower the grey creature in hot flames as it recovers it''s footing. "Cinders! Cinders!" I blurt out frantically.
6 Fire Damage
Suffered 2 Lightning Damage
7 Fire Damage
Jinrai Fox is Burned
Using only the one wing is less powerful, but the point-blank range makes up for the lack of firepower. Now that we''re so close to one another I can make out it''s features much better. It looks similar to the Big Fluffer, long legs, big bushy tail, even bigger than Fluffer''s, but the biggest difference is the mouth. This grey thing has a long snout with two menacing fangs protruding from it''s upper jaw. Speaking of fangs, those fangs are currently being shaken side to side as it tries to rip apart my wing.
Suffered 4 Tearing Damage
Suffered 2 Lightning Damage
Suffered Bleeding
Suffered 4 Blood Loss
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. I can feel my vision blackening as my blood leaves my body and the grey, electric monster''s onslaught continues to ravage my mangled wing. I''m going to die again. Will I turn to dust? or will I die for real this time? The first time I died these thoughts weren''t present, but now my mind is plagued by the thought of being trapped in endless nothingness. What changed since last time? Why am I so scared? There''s no way I can win this fight. I''m already on death''s door, maybe only seconds away from becoming a high-class tasty meal. The damage I''ve done is pathetic in comparison, I''ve only burned the left side of it''s body and maybe singed it''s eyebrows, if I''m lucky. I might as well give it everything I''ve got while I still can. "Cinders! Cinders cinders... cinders" I weakly call out as my body gets thrashed side to side.
Suffered 2 Tearing Damage
8 Fire Damage
Suffered 2 Lightning Damage
9 Fire Damage
Suffered 3 Tearing Damage
9 Fire Damage
Each Cinders burns deeper in the already gruesome burns, but my vision has gone fully black and the pain has subsided to nothing, I can no longer resist. The grey thing is forced to abandon it''s hold on my wing to avoid receiving any more devastating fire attacks, but it already knows that they have won the fight and has no qualms in watching me bleed out. The only thing I can feel is a icy cold spreading across my body.
Suffered 3 Blood Loss
You have died
Fire to Fire: Time until rebirth: 5 hours, 59 minutes, 57 seconds
My body gradually crumbles to ashes and lands neatly on the ground in a tidy pile. My bird flesh in the grey thing''s mouth also turns to ashes and I can only imagine the difficulty it''s having to breathe properly right now. It''s great news that I''m still alive! In a sense. "I''m nothing more than a sentient pile of ashes, still alive tho~" I say to the grey thing while poking out my imaginary tongue. The grey thing in question is shuffling backwards and whipping it''s head side to side as the hot ashes fall deeper in it''s throat. Ouch.
11 Fire Damage
The thrashing intensifies as the ashes settle deeper inside it''s body, not to mention the huge fresh burns on it''s side that are being bashed against trees, plants and the ground alike. "Serves you right!" I jeer.
19 Fire Damage
Ohh this feels good. Watching your murderer suffering in agony as it burns from the inside out has a certain catharsis to it. I''m pretty sure I even warned it that I wasn''t very tasty! Should''ve listened to me.
16 Fire Damage
Jinrai Fox Slain, 118 exp gained
Level Up!
You''ve reached Level 2
+ 1 Strength, + 1 Endurance, + 1 Dexterity, + 1 Intelligence, + 1 Affinity
Maybe this unintentional suicide attack was a bit underhanded, maybe it was just the perks of being me. Whatever the case, I''ve just discovered another amazing head squiggly, ''Level Up''. Forest Life 4 "squig-squig-squiggle, squig squig squig" "Doo do da doo da do da" I pretend to sing in harmony with the birds above.
Fire to Fire: Time until rebirth: 0 hours. 10 minutes, 21 seconds
It''s starting to get a little bit dark now, the sky has turned to a milky orange with a tinge of purple. In about an hour or so I imagine it would become true night. I must say, it''s unimaginably boring to wait for the squigglies in my head to reach 0, it honestly takes forever and I''m unable to do anything other than think. I''ve been sitting here for ages, observing the forest as it goes about it''s lazy afternoon. Blankets are scurrying back and forth, birds are chirping up a storm, a few other ''slimy'' things have wandered by my pile of ashes too. There was this one weird thing! It had no arms or legs, just a head attached to a long tail, very strange, how does it even walk!? Anyways, I''ve been lucky that nothing has fiddled with my ashes, I kind of get the feeling that when my ashes are tampered with, I disappear along with them. It''s not painful, just.. fading. Speaking of fading, the night wind is a very real concern, I should try not to die in windy places in the future, good thing I''m about to be revived before it becomes a real issue!
Fire to Fire: Time until rebirth: 0 hours, 4 minutes, 46 seconds
Ohh, and I just remembered, I was supposed to be heading to the huge lake with the big blue tree! That was before I was attacked, now I have absolutely no idea where to go! Why does this always happen to me? If only I could fly properly, I must practice when I''m back to my former bird glory!
Fire to Fire: Time until rebirth: 0 hours, 0 minutes, 20 seconds
Here we go again! I can''t wait! The cold dusk air around me suddenly drops to a standstill and a soft heat spreads from my nearby ashes. Another wind comes forth, a wind without touch, it sweeps up my ashes in a lazy whirlwind. The heat increases in intensity and the whirlwind spins faster as the collected dust forms into an incandescent ball that levitates off the forest floor. I love this feeling! I can feel my body reforming inside the ball, first my head, then my body, followed by my wings and feet. The heat of the fire ball boils my blood and pumps my heart with an ancient magical fury!
Fire to Fire: Rebirth complete. -40% Health, due to absence of ashes
I let out a sky-piercing caw as the ball melts to nothing and I''m released from the incubation. My feathers are burning with a pure white incandescence that quickly returns to my natural bright red. The whole process from ashes to bird takes about 10 seconds.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Ohhhhhh yeeeeahh" I say with my freshly made mouth. "Being a pile of ashes really give you an appreciation for not being a pile of ashes!" I say as I flex my claws and wings. Ok, stretches done, time to get going again. First let see if I can snack on the grey ambush-er, I haven''t eaten in ages! Hopefully it''s still around, after all, it has been a long time, something may have stolen it. I walk forward and brush aside a few of the bushes where the grey thing fell to the ground. I''m met with what''s left of the grey assassin. Something has taken away the body and left behind a patch of it''s seared pelt in a bed of dried blood. Such a shame, but expected, maybe I can still eat the burnt stuff? I pick of the patch of burnt skin in my beak and give it a hearty shake to dislodge any dirt and insects, then I pinch off a bit and swallow. Hmmm, not the best, the burnt bits aren''t very nice. I think when compared to insects and those other nasties everything would taste good. I eat the rest of the burnt flesh with any complaints while thinking about what to do next. I have no idea which way to go, I''m still very hungry and I''m sleepy too, I wasn''t able to catch any shut-eye while in ash form. Such a predicament. I guess I might as well find somewhere to sleep, I doubt I''d find anything to eat during the night, most likely it will be the other way around! The question is, where can I sleep? In a hollowed out tree? Dig a hole three blocks down and put a block above me? Inside a bush? Normally birds have a nest right! Up in a tree! Ok, I''ve decided, it''s tree time.
+ 1 Intelligence
I guess it doesn''t really matter what tree I go up, well, the higher up I go the safer I''ll be from predators on the forest floor, but I CAN''T FLY. Why, oh why, the source of my woes is always my flightless wings. No use complaining! One day, I will be free as a bird, as light as a feather, as narrow as a sparrow. This is all just a test, to toughen me up! Yup! I will survive this! I approach the closest tree and go for the classic ''brute force'' tactic. I hug the tree with my wings and scramble my talons up the bark, which works on the angled parts of the trunk, not the vertical parts. So I really can''t get up to the branches where it''s safe and where I can rest. I need a different strategy! I shuffle my body up the angled base of the tree again, right up until I reach the vertical trunk. So far, the approach is the same, but here is when my genius comes to play, my nefarious and ingenious plan that is bound to succeed!!!!!! I push my right foot''s talons into the bark and secure a nice foot hold, my talons are actually quite long and my strong feet can hold my entire weight if I let go with my wings, which is exactly what my plan is. I release my tree climbing hug from the tree and immediately flap with all my might! I can''t fly up the trunk, at best, I can maintain my position by flapping and griping with my foot. All according to plan. I take my left foot and sink my talons in above my right while flapping like a mad-woman.
+ 1 Strength
It''s slow and excruciating to my low reserves of stamina, but I''m covering the distance! My wings are crying from exertion and my feet are killing from being constantly squeezed. still, I don''t give up. This is my only chance, there''s no way I can start again from scratch! I''ll die! I push back the pain by clenching my beak and closing my eyes tightly. I can do it, one foot after the other, keep on walking! How much time has passed? I have no clue. I know that I must make it as I high as possible! Left, right, left right, left right... I push my limits over and over and an instant my wings cease to flap and I''m now hanging upside down with only my feet to support me. My wings are hanging over my head, just dead weight at this point, my feet aren''t too far behind. Oh gosh, how far have I made it? Please tell me I''m in the branches now. Oh nice, I am! I''m actually about 80% of the way to the highest branches! Flying is totally overrated! Alright, no time to waste, I scout the branches below for a safe spot to fall on and find a nice thick branch. "OK!" "Sleep time" I say as I pull my talons free from the bark. I plummet down from above and land flat on my face on an abnormally thick branch. Forest Life 5 The morning sun filtered through the jungle-forest''s vibrant canopy, painting the teeming world below in a colorful myriad of whites, greens and yellows. Truly, the beauty of nature is awe-inspiring to those who take the time to appreciate it. I too would be appreciating the bustling forest, if not for more pressing concerns. Oh gosh, this god forsaken tummy of mine is ALWAYS in a constant state of the rumbles. Why did I leave my tunnel again? The Big Fluffer huh? I bet I could even beat him up if I ran into him. After all, I did defeat the sparky grey fluff who''s easily tougher than the Big Fluffer! I mean, I did die in the process. but that''s besides the point. It''s too bad I have absolutely no clue as to where my little cave-tunnel is, I could really go for a small blanket right now, maybe even 3 small blankets, I think while patting my belly in attempt to settle it down. Well, it''s fine, I''ll find it again in the future. For now! It''s flying time! I perform a few basic warrior-stance and sky touching stretches with my birdy form and walk to the base of the branch I slept on. It''s best to get a running start for take off! I hold out my wings horizontally like a feathery aeroplane and charge down the length of the branch. I reach the branch''s end, jump, and flap! The wooden runway leaves my feet and I start falling, it''s about a 4 meter drop to the floor, deadly for most creature my size, but! I have perfected the art of ''flapping just hard enough to avoid any fatal injuries upon impact with the ground''. With my signature technique put into practice, I glide down ungracefully to the green plants below. Of course, I aim for the softest looking landing spot, but getting rustled up is inevitable.
Suffered 2 Falling Damage
Woot! That hurt less than usual for a drop that high! I must be getting better! I roll myself out of the soft plant I landed on and dust off my feathers, back to their impeccable splendor. I twist around on the spot and take in my surroundings. Lots of trees, millions of plants. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Looks just about the same as the rest of the forest! Picking a direction at random, I zoom off through the under growths and nimbly tango around any nasty creepy crawlies in the dirt. The feeling of sticks whipping at my feet and damp wind blowing on face face is intoxicating, minutes pass in seconds as I get lost in the moment. WAIT!!!! *skreech* I skid to a stop by pushing my claws into the dirt and flapping backwards, sending a wave of dirt and tiny sticks ahead. I''m not going to fall for this trick again! "I''m not some silly GOOSE" I say while while turning around the way I came. I won''t be a toy to your whimsical games! I''m a smart cookie, I learn things. A smile forms on my beak as I zoom back in the direction I came from. Even when I reach the bush that I landed on I still keep running, keeping a straight line. Why did I do this? The answer is obvious. Without fail, at every single opportunity up to this point, I have chosen the wrong direction to go 100% of the time, every time. So, by going the opposite way to the way that I originally picked, I''m 100% certain to reach the big blue tree in the center of the huge lake. Golly Gosh, not even the gods can rival my intellect or flawless logic! Keeping the thought in mind, I shoot through the dense forest for the next few hours. The growls of my stomach echoing off the trees and scaring away the bird life, it''s ok though, I''ll find something to eat at the lake for sure!
+ 1 Endurance
I notice that was once a forest, has now become entirely jungle. The trees are twice or sometimes thrice as tall, the plants too, are much larger and colorful, often wrapping around the base of the jungle trees. I can see many new creatures in the forest too! And I mean a lot, like, a lot a lot. Fortunately, my stomach sounds like an angry dragon, the noise is enough to scare away most things from the fear-inducing growl. It''s good for me as I may avoid fighting on an empty stomach, but, at the same time, I really want to learn about all the creatures living here! Especially the fluffy ones. At best, I can steal some glances at the buttocks of a creature running away, not the most pleasant view, but there''s variety! Big butts, little butts, fluffy butts, slimy buts, scaly butts, white butts, brown butts, black butts, purple butts, rectangle butts, round butts.... I continue to observe the many butts on display as I blaze forth. What''s this? I wonder as I snake around another giant jungle tree. It sounds like... Water! I can hear running water! I veer to my left where the sound of running water is. Yes! I knew it~ I knew I''d outsmart the god of directions! I bust out of a fern with a joyous squawk and stop right next to the water''s edge. Crystal clear water, flowing at a gentle pace sweeps through the jungle trees. The water isn''t very deep, maybe 2 chickens deep? but the stream makes up for it with width, its maybe 40 chickens wide? I can even see little fishies struggling to swim upstream towards the mountains, you can do it little guys! There are large stone protruding from the water''s surface along the stream''s body, almost like stepping stones! If only I had longer legs, I would be able to cross! Well it''s not like I need to cross at the moment anyways. I continue to advance through the jungle along the waterside, not as fast as earlier, just a leisurely stroll. My stomach continues to contort and thunder like a dying horse, "hang in there a little longer!" I say. ''I would also appreciate it if you stopped hurting so much when I don''t feed you'', I internally plead to my insides as an afterthought. The stream widens further as I cover the distance to the lake, I must be getting close to that sweet, sweet, big blue tree. I quicken my tiny bird feet to a blur of speed and I sprint with renewed stamina! This tree better be as cool as it looked from my mountain tunnel! Forest Life 6, The Lake The jungle trees parted way to the spectacular blue color of the vast, almost perfectly spherical lake in the center of the jungle. The only interruption to the lake''s circumference being the many mountain streams leading to, and streams draining from. This lake really was HUGE, even while squinting my eagle eyes, the opposite side of the lake was impossible to discern, not that I care about the other side. What I came here for is that big ol, towering, white-leaved, tree of blue-y goodness, and boy has it delivered! I could hardly breathe while observing this awesome aspect of nature''s glory, I was to busy etching it into my memories! The sightfrommy birth cave made it hard to fully appreciate how massive the tree was, seeing it up close is totally surreal! A tree this big shouldn''t even be possible! The girth alone! Like 20 trees wrapped together, stretched out, and painted with a fresh coat of light blue! And now that I can see it closer, there''s nice little shades of green mixed in the bark too. So pretty! Let''s not ignore those leaves tho! Pure, alabaster, leaves of shimmering ivory, like tiny radiant stars. I can see thousands of them slowing cascading and raining down the length of the blue tree''s figure, like a magical snow contained to the tree''s domain. Ironic considering it''s smack dab in the middle of a sultry jungle! I knew this tree was special! I must touch it! Dive into a pile of those leaves! Nestle somewhere high in that aqua canopy! Only the best tree is worthy of my presence! Oh, ignore the tree I just slept in, that one doesn''t count. The only issue is getting across the giant lake. Unlike the stream I followed here, this lake is deep, and while the surface is clear, the bottom is shrouded by an impenetrable darkness. There could be any amount of scary and slimy things swimming around there, happy to feast on my beautiful booty! Even if it is completely safe, I can''t swim, not that I''ve tried, but something in my bird blood is telling me to avoid submerging myself. I must fly over!Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Just to be completely sure, I walk to the lake''s shore and dip a talon into the water, allowing the waves to wash up to my knee. Ewwww, why does it feel so yucky? I can''t even describe how unnatural it feels! I promptly hop back away from the waves and shake the disturbing water off my leg. I knew it, I should have listened to my instincts, if I could go back in time and not do that, I would. Definitely not swimming over. Can''t swim, can''t fly, yet, but I know what must be done! A boat. A nice, spacious, dark brown and most importantly, water tight boat will solve this issue! The reason this solution comes to mind is because, about 2 kilometers away next to a tiny wooden pier, is a nice, spacious, dark brown and hopefully, water tight boat idling in the water. There''s no one in the boat or on the pier, I can only assume someone has tied it off before leaving! A perfect chance! I waddle furiously down the shoreline, careful to avoid and large waves or spray as I commit to the long trek. The unobstructed sun combined with the fresh air enhanced by the pristine lake, feels amazing. I''m fully energized by the environment and the promise of finally reaching that majestic blue tree dominating the jungle is great motivation to kick start my tail feathers into 6th gear. If only birds were designed for running, this trip would be a sinch, well, to be fair, some birds are designed for running, but not me. These little legs are designed for tearing into blankets and squeezing branches, not movement. These wings are designed for soaring over the skies and shooting fireballs, not flapping awkwardly to maintain my balance as my tiny legs stumble over the sandy terrain. Like I said earlier! Its all to toughen me up! To make me into a bad-ass bird of prey! With my ''future dividend'' mindset adopted, I run without further complaint for the better part of an hour, making it about 3/4ths of the distance in record time.
+ 1 Endurance
Progress has only slowed down because I''m facing a rather inhospitible hill of jagged stone. Stones and boulders five times the size of me are piled up obnoxiously to form a wall of stone, blocking my advance to the boat. Of course there''s a wall, if its not one thing, its another. Because of the wall''s structure it''s impossible to gain any sort of purchase and climb over, I can''t apply the same ''flap while walking vertically'' method due to the stone''s impenetrable properties. I have no choice but to follow along the wall into the jungle and walk around, or alternatively, swim around the wall and be on the other side within the next few minutes. Yep. I say or think nothing more on the matter and begin walking into the jungle, yet again. Forest Life 7, Death Rattle With my wing feathers pressed against the cold stone wall I trace my way in search of a way to climb over to the other side. The altitude has been vaguely increasing over the past few minutes, but so far, I haven''t come across any promising sections of the wall to scale. I''m starting to think that this obtrusive wall is not entirely natural! surely it shouldn''t take more than a couple minutes to find a climbable rock? Yet I haven''t. I guess a taller creature wouldn''t have too much trouble getting over the sharp stone wall, unfortunately, I''m not a taller creature, I''m an over-sized chic- BIRD! I start whistling tunes to pass the time and I notice that there is less birdsong near this wall, not many trees in general, mostly rocky outcroppings soaking in the midday sun. But, solo performances are cool too! Although I do miss the music of my people, I can only hear them faintly from the jungle much further away, it makes me a little sad. Gotta ramp of the volume to drown out the silence! I think with enthusiasm. I start whistling with extra pep to bring a some pizzazz and ambiance to the barren rocks. "Gosh golly this place is dreary, not an animal in sight!" I say to no one in particular. Oh wait, I can hear something... barely audible. It''s very quiet and has a nice cadence to it! A steady rattle and a rhythmic hissing. I think it''s getting louder too, what could it be? I cease my solitary whistling and rotate on the spot to identify the sound''s source, and wow, it''s really getting loud now! I can''t see a thing other than rock, but the sound''s approaching fast. All of a sudden, the sound is no longer music to my ears, instead, it bares a feeling of dread, constricting my heart and forcing it to beat rapidly. Each second the volume increase further, it''s coming from all directions at once, making my bird instincts scream at me to escape, but where to!? "Ok, you can come out now" I shout over top the rattling noise that echos all around me, my voice squeaking with fear. The rattling noise roars violently and a guttural hiss explodes from behind me with a terrifying "KARHISSSS". My whole body jolts in the air as I twist around to meet the dreadful sound''s owner, all I see is a flash of pink and black as a gaping mouth strikes and latches unto my torso with lightning speed, easily ambushing me twice as fast as that grey sparky fluffer did. Immediately pain courses through my veins as the large mouth bites down and a burning fluid is injected directly into my bloodstream.
Suffered 7 Bludgeoning Damage
Suffered Minor Poisoning, - 5 Health Per Minute
"OOOOWWWWWWW" I scream as the powerful jaws lock down, crushing my ribs, it''s long tubular body coiling up tightly as it wrestles me to the ground.
Suffered 9 Bludgeoning Damage
Suffered Severe Bleeding
What on earth just happened? There''s no time to think, the pain is unbearable, I can''t breathe, I can''t move, I can''t escape, I''m about to die again if this continues. Hundreds of nihilistic thoughts rush to the forefront of my mind as more burning fluid is forced into my chest, but I''m able to immediately to bury my worries under a desperation for survival. With whatever air is left in my lungs I whisper out my only significant attack, my only hope of retaliation. I enclose my wings over the head lodged on my chest and allow my ability to shower the scaly face with hot fire. "Cinders, Cinders, Cinders" I cry.
6 Fire Damage
7 Fire Damage
Suffered 5 Blood Loss
7 Fire Damage
The scaly-tailed face thing reels away from me as it''s face burns and trails two thick ropes of green liquid from it''s fleshy fangs. I can see that it''s head is charred black and as an added bonus, one eye looks to be destroyed by the fire, but I''m left with injuries far more threatening than that. In the heat of hte moment I realize that this is the same creature I saw when the electric grey fluffy thing killed me, a head attached to a long tail without arms or legs, only much bigger... Three times as big! I roll helplessly on the rocky ground as I catch my breathe, my whole body wracked with a burning pain, each gasp disturbing my broken ribs, shooting more pain directly into my brain. The scaly worm recollects itself from my flailing and condenses it''s body into a tight S-shape stance with the end of it''s tail raised in the air, the corn-cob shaped rattle at the end rocking furiously.
Suffered 4 Blood Loss
In a flash the attacker leaps at me again, exposing those vicious fleshy fangs, glistening with green liquid. Stolen novel; please report. I manage to narrowly push myself away from certain death and stab a talon into it''s side as it streaks by, drawing a thin slash across a portion of it''s length. ''Take that! They''re sharper than they look'', I mentally insult to my attacker! Even while brutally mangled, I still retain my sassy attitude.
4 Slashing Damage
I cough up a beak full of blood as my body lands on the hard stone, the price I pay for dodging.
Suffered 5 Blood loss
There''s not a moment to rest as the blackened scaly worm retreats it''s overextended body back to the S-shape, ready to strike again. I lumber up to my feet and drag myself closer, no use fleeing, I''ll just die anyways, once again, I''m forced to fight to my dying breathe. But it hurts. Oh it hurts worse than any other pain, worse than being shredded by the Big Fluffer, worse than being electrocuted and bitten to death, worse than starving. There''s a fire roaring in my veins, and not the good kind, a burning pain that seeps into the bones, robbing you of all strength, no doubt the green fluid I was injected with. My vision is blurring, my head is wobbling dangerously, but I can''t stop now, oh no, not until I eliminate ''this thing'', even if I won''t truly die, I won''t roll over and be eaten. "Cinders, Cinders...Cind..." I keep repeating the attack again and again at distance, creating a screen of fire obscuring my exact location while I trudge closer to the hissing target.
Suffered 4 Blood Loss
2 Fire Damage
2 Fire Damage
3 Fire Damage
3 Fire Damage
Suffered 3 Blood Loss
A charred face pierces through the wall of fire and scrapes past my right leg with a desperate hiss. Doing no damage to me, but smashing it''s own face into the pointy rocks just behind. I chuckle to myself, bringing great pain to my decimated torso. It seems like it got impatient and attacked recklessly, an opportunity I won''t ignore. Before it can retract it''s head I lunge forward and pierce both talons into the neck and head of my foe, my powerful talons clench with all their devastating might, sinking their entire length into it''s body, eliciting a tormented hiss from the scaly worm.
17 Piercing Damage
It''s a shame that each movement of my own is causing further blood loss as Iash out, but I have no choice.
Suffered 7 Blood Loss
The scaled head writhes around, twisting and contorting it''s powerful body muscles as it bashed itself against the floor and taking me with it. I don''t take the beating without putting up a fight however, while being tossed around I pull and tear with my talons and stab with my beak, my vision is black, but my secure hold on the bleeding mess gives me all the information I need in order to continue my assault. An onslaught that lasts for several seconds as we tumble over one another to gain victory.
Suffered 2 Bludgeoning Damage
6 Tearing Damage
Mountain Rattler is Bleeding
3 Piercing Damage
Suffered 7 Blood Loss
5 Tearing Damage
2 Piercing Damage
Suffered 1 Bludgeoning Damage
3 Tearing Damage
3 Piercing Damage
Suffered 5 Blood Loss
1 Tearing Damage
4 Piercing Damage
Mountain Rattler is Severly Bleeding
4 Piercing Damage
I release my grip and lay limp on the floor, unable to summon an ounce of energy.
Mountain Rattler Slain, 96 exp gained
Level Up!
You''ve Reached Level 3
+ 1 Strength, + 1 Endurance, + 1 Dexterity, + 1 Intelligence, + 1 Affinity
Pheonix Reached Level 2
+ 2 Strength, + 3 Endurance, + 2 Dexterity, + 5 Intelligence, + 4 Affinity
Skill Unlocked: Bellows
Suffered 3 Blood Loss
Countless mind sensations flood my thoughts as I collapse on the floor, shuddering with every gasp of air. I can only hope that I''ve somehow managed to kill my opponent because as it stands, I can''t move a feather, let alone fight back. Dreadful seconds tick by as I wait for my ambusher to come and finish me off, but the only thing I feel is the jagged stones digging into my back. I cough up another splotch of blood and I loll my head on it side so I don''t choke.
Suffered 2 Blood Loss
I don''t understand. Something miraculous occurred at the end of that fight. Just when I thought I was going to die again, the head sensations exploded in my mind and it felt like I regained some health, but only enough to keep me alive. Honestly, I wouldn''t be surprised if I still end up dying, I can''t even feel the pain anymore, it''s just knowing that I''m gravely injured that''s frightening me. But not only did I gain some health, it now feels like I can think faster than before? My confused thinking is interrupted by another weak cough of blood.
Suffered 1 Blood Loss
Oh, hang on, yep, I can feel the pain again and its not a welcomed return, feels like each millimeter of my body is on fire. I hack up more blood in response to the adrenaline draining away, which only further agitates my life threatening wounds. "Oh this really sucks" I whimper to myself as I sink into the cold ocean of death I''m so familiar with.
Suffered 3 Blood Loss
You Have Died
Fire to Fire: Time until rebirth: 5 hours, 59 minutes, 57 seconds
"Oh thank the bird gods" I silently thank to the heavens as my body crumbles into scolding ashes and my vision of the surroundings return to me. I''m always concern that each death has a chance of being permanent no matter how often I''m proved wrong. I guess cheating death is a pretty unfair and unnatural trait. A trait that the over-sized scaly worm didn''t possess, as proved by it''s unmoving body next to me. At least now I can enjoy ''5 hours, 59 minutes, 45 seconds'' of painless bliss I think with immeasurable relief. Forest Life 8, Level Ups?
Fire to Fire: Time until rebirth: 0 hours, 0 minutes, 50 seconds
For the past 5 hours, whatever that means, I''ve been going over the fight I had with the Rattling Worm, picking apart every detail of the exchange. Not by choice of course, I can''t do anything other than look and think while reduced to ashes so reflecting helps alleviate the boredom. I have made a number of new discoveries and insights in regard to fighting and more importantly, the euphoric squiggly know as ''Level up''. Fire and foremost! I''ve gotten better at fighting! Or at least more durable, being able to take more hits gives me more opportunity to fight back, that counts as improvement right? The current me should have no trouble taking down any of the creatures that I''ve fought so far, which brings me to my second revaluation. Level Up! And all those squiggles, strength, endurance, dexterity, intelligence and affinity. I''ve come to believe that an increase to any of these is an increase to my own abilities! I came to this conclusion because my previous level up displayed obvious improvement due to the large increase. I have a vague idea as to what each squiggle means. Strength: How strong I am, my supple muscles! Endurance: My toughness and stamina! Dexterity: Kinda strange this one, I think its how fast I flap my wings or move my legs? Intelligence: My genius! I think increasing my intelligence is a fantastic idea! Affinity: Absolutely no clue, this has only ever increased when I leveled up, not by itself like the others. Leveling up makes me stronger! Quickly at that! I must gain levels! If I level up enough will I become invincible? Never again will the ugly Rattling Worms lay a single scale on my perfect and glorious feathers! Death to the Rattling Worms!
+ 1 Intelligence
Yes I know squiggle, I''m a genius.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Speaking of killing those hideous creatures, killing things in general seems to be the cause of my level ups! I suspect the squiggly ''exp'' has a part to play in this matter? More exp must be a good thing right? Stronger opponents give more exp! Gimmie dat exp!
Fire to Fire: Time until rebirth: 0 hours. 0 minutes, 5 seconds
Oh great timing squigglies! Do your thing! The air around me grew still and ominous as the squigllies ticked down, allowing a magical influence to circulate my ashes into a burning whirlwind. The miniature tornado condensing at it''s center, forming a super heated ball of fire made from my ashes, where my body starts reconstructing itself. Oh how I love this feeling, not worth the long wait, but still a great feeling, also, is it just me or is my rebirth getting more spectacular? Must be trying to match my own spectacular form! Floating to the ground, the ball of fire melted away to reveal my incandescent body, glowing with energy. I''m back baby! With the afternoon sun beaming on my back I scuttle over top the dead Rattling Worm and tuck straight in! Golly gosh am I absolutely starving! I haven''t eaten in a whole day! My last meal was the leftovers from the Grey Fluffer, barely anything! I plunge my beak into the insides of the defeated creature drinking the stagnant blood and ripping off chunks of tightly packed flesh. Devouring with great speed the whole meal is reduced to nothing but the scaly skin in the span of a minute! An amazing accomplishment considering that the Rattling Worm is three times my size! Nothing beats those blankets at my cave though, I think with nostalgia. Delectable meat and ultimate fluffiness, the unrivaled combo, one day, one day I shall return and eat my fill once again. Leave some blankets for me would you? Big Fluffer! If you''re still there. Wait what am I thinking!? Not even the Big Fluffer is safe from my predatory prowess anymore! I think I''ll give the Fluffer a bite too :3 I''m even more confident about my victory because of my amazing new skill that I... remembered? "Bellows" I roar at the wall of stone blocking my path. An intense heat builds up in my throat, bubbling with righteous fury as it makes it''s way to my beak. I open my beak wide and a bolt a magnificent fire launches towards the stubborn wall, trailing a enchanting wisp of fiery brilliance as it goes. The bolt hits the wall and a small explosion rattles away some of the loose rocks from their snug holds. The impact of the firebolt has left behind a small blackened patch of stone with a wisp of smoke reaching to the orange sky. Cool bananas. I have a proper ranged attack now! Looks stronger than cinders in terms of firepower too! An all-around upgrade. Maybe there will be some scenarios when Cinders is more appropriate, but Bellows is stylish for sure. I can''t wait to pepper my enemies with fire attacks from afar, I''ll be invincible! I hum out a smug melody as I bounce my way up to the stone wall and resume my journey to walk around it. Hopefully, I''ll run across more cocky Rattling Worms to fuel my exp acquisition on the way. I''m feeling positively un-killable right now! Forest life 9, Bellows I can hear it again... that foreboding rattle. It''s barely been 10 minutes since I was revived! To be hunted again so soon! Well, maybe it has something to do with my boisterous, yet angelic whistling, it is kinda hard not to hear, especially without trees or foliage to block the sound. Not that I mind being attacked, the very opposite! I quickly search for the highest nearby stone and scramble my booty to higher ground. My ''Bellows'' has longer reach than Cinders, so a clear view of my target is a must to take full advantage of the range! The distant hissing and occasional rattling rose in volume with each passing moment. For the life of me I can''t tell which direction the sound is coming from, it''s omnipresent, everywhere and nowhere. My constant scanning for the threat gets noticeably more and more frantic as the unseen threat draws closer. Why does it have to camouflage so well with these stupid brown and yellow rocks! What environment does my captivating red blend with!?!? The dreadful noise reaches the point when I''m convinced the Rattling Worm is screaming into my ears, yet there''s still no sign of it. A flicker of movement catches the corner of my eye near a patch of grey stones. In the next instant, before even confirming the sight, I fire off a bellows at the grey stones. Followed soon after by two more in rapid succession. If possible, I don''t want to be bitten again, I''d rather kill it before it gets close.
9 Fire Damage
4 Fire Damage
Of the three roaring firebolts that I fired off, two were able to inflict some sort of glancing damage. The first landed just a hand''s breadth away, the second barely nicked as the target had slithered further away, the third hit nothing but rocks. With my eagle eyes firmly locked on to the very angry and rapidly approaching worm, I could really appreciate it''s superb camouflage. Even at a distance of just a few meters I would lose track of it for the briefest of seconds as it swiftly navigated the stones. I still can''t even understand how it even moves in the first place! Is it magic? IT HAS NO LEGS FOR GOD''S SAKE!! I can find out later, gotta stay focused right now... I might try sliding on my belly afterwards. I allow the Rattling worm to get a tad closer before I jump off my vantage point to greet it with open talons! Or at least that''s what I make it think, after the 6 hours I spent reflecting after my previous encounter, I intimately know how these creatures fight.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I hop a few steps closer to my adversary with flared wings and a piercing caw, which sounds more intimidating than it really is. True to my expectations, the worm coiled it''s long tail-body into an S-shape and prepared to lunge at me. The moment it started sliding back I disengaged backwards and launched another Bellows right in it''s face! Streaking through the air at an almost point-blank range, the deadly firebolt slammed into the conveniently curled up victim. The impact alone sent the poor thing sprawling backwards in a smoking mess, the fire then burning at it''s scales afterwards.
28 Fire Damage
Mountain Rattler is Burned
To think that was a single hit, that was amazing!! Although, if it wasn''t so slender it would of taken more damage as a small portion of the firebolt managed to slip past and hit the ground 10 meters away. Flapping my wings with excitement and allowing a well deserved ''yippee'' to exit my beak, I jumped over the rocky terrain to finish the writhing opponent. Painfully aware of how outclass it was by ME, the pitiful worm fled weakly. It''s now black scales doing little to hide the attempt at escape. Sucking in a deep breathe and aiming my beak I shot off what would''ve been the final Bellows to end the fight, if not for the appearance of a line of squiggles I haven''t seen in a while.
Insufficient Mana
I must havemade Bellows angry for using it too much! I hope that it forgives me later. While offering a silent prayer of forgiveness I gave chase to the fleeing black worm. It was faster than you would think! much better than me at climbing over the varying stones, but not fast enough to escape my hungry talons! Chasing it around for a good minute, I finally got close enough to strike and latch on with a foot, preventing further running, or maybe its better to say ''preventing further sliding''? Either way, with one foot holding it down, victory and dinner was mine!!
Mountain Rattler Slain, 45 exp gained
Beakful after beakful I shoveled in the yummy meal, the feeling of having a full stomach for the first time in a long time bringing a tear to my eye. The single tear rolling down my cheek and falling down in the crevice of a rock where a small healthy green stem sprouted soon after. Right, I forgot about that. My tears make things grow or something? Not like it matters at the moment or anything, I have a big silly wall to walk around! Unless I could cry so much that a giant beanstalk grows and acts as a ladder! Yet, Somehow I doubt my tear ducts could accomplish this. Putting the beanstalk idea to rest I resumed the not-so-scenic detour to the boat. Not before laying down on my belly and trying to copy the Rattling Worm''s slithering technique for a minute or two. Needless to say, I didn''t get very far.
Hiding peacefully behind the massive mountains the sun dyed the skies a magical red, matching my own brilliant colors. Night was approaching and my eyes were starting to droop a little, but the task at hand was important. Two hours passed as I walked the length of the wall, not once regretting my decision not to swim the minuscule span of water back at the lake. Sure, I wouldn''t have had to fight and die to an eyesore of a worm, but, water feels.. yucky. In total I''ve probably been walking for 7 hours, and been dead for 6, so 13 hours!!! And I''m still not across!! "No sleep until I''m in that boat!" I cheerfully encourage to myself, preceded by a few hefty slaps to my face. Also, since the last Rattling Worm fight and much to my reluctance, I painfully suppressed any form of whistling, singing, chirping or crying. As fantastic as free exp drawn by my voice is, my contempt for the long wall has only grown over the course of this day. Any further distractions won''t be tolerated! Hold it!!! Is that what I think it is? I clamber my way up a rock and squint at the far away wall. "Oh my god" I exclaim uncontrollably, putting all previous efforts to remain silent out the window. "The end, the end, the end, YESSSSS I SEE IT!" Forest Life 10, Extinguish Annihilation Abandoning all pretenses stealth and chirping happily, I slip and tumble to the far away wall''s end, trailing breadcrumbs of vermilion feathers. Painstakingly my goal draws closer, letting me see it with more detail, namely, how abruptly the wall seems to end! One minute there''s wall standing at over 2 meters high, the next, nothing but flat stone, doesn''t seem very natural to me! But its not like I care! I just want to get around the silly thing once and for all! I''ve been at it for half a day, I don''t want it to take longer!
Suffered 4 Falling Damage
Face-planting down a deeper than expected hole, I at last reach the end, signifying the halfway point of the wall-crossing-journey. However, what I''m met with, is something that completely defies my wildest dreams and imagination! There''s... a... second... wall. A second wall running parallel to the first, of exact same height and appearance, between these two walls is a smooth, deep groove in the ground. By looking straight down this grove I can see the Blue Tree sitting in the lake at the end! What the FLAMINGO! Only from this angle can I see how perfectly straight the opposing walls are, and how consistently deep the groove is, it''s like a 2 meter drop for the whole 3 or 4 kilometers!! I knew it!! This isn''t natural at all! If I were to have a guess as to how this was made, I would say: God was writing a poem, dropped his pencil from the heavens above and left a giant pencil shaped crater here in the jungle! That would explain why there''s no jungle here, it was all destroyed by the rocky debris! How fascinating! This place certainly does have a holy vibe to it. The air is purer than usual. "Well... that''s cool." I say, trying to shake off the feeling of awe. I slowly close my agape beak and shuffle around the rim of the deep crater to the SECOND wall, as if one wasn''t enough. From the end of the second wall I begin the arduous task of walking back to the lake, which if going by my birdy calculations, should take 8 or maybe 9 hours? taking in account I don''t die again. Reviving takes forever and is sooooo boring, not something I want to do on a daily basis.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Dusk is really starting to set in now too, maybe I should sleep for the night? Night is when the nocturnal come out and I don''t like the idea of being attacked at night, but what if I''m attacked while i''m sleeping? To sleep, or not to sleep? Oh never mind, there are no trees around here anyway. There goes that idea bird brains. Looks like I''m pulling an all-nighter after all! With that, I commit my first few steps on the second leg of the long hike while rubbing the sleepiness from my eyes. To think that the 15 meters or so that separated the boat and myself this morning turned into such a long detour. All of which could of been avoided If I could fly!!! Speaking of which, I haven''t tried flying since before leveling up! Surely, flight is a combination of speed and power in flapping, both of which I acquired greatly with my last level up! I bet I could do it with this much Dexterity and Strength! With the promise of flight in mind I fold out my pristine and awe-inspiring wings to my favorite ''areoplane'' stance as I focus my mind and bird instincts ingrained in my blood. I mentally played out my plan of attack in my head, which is basically moving my wings up and down as fast as possible. Yes, I can picture it! The ground leaving my feet and my wings slicing the clouds! The wind on my face and the bugs in my eyes! That last one wasn''t pleasant to imagine... but necessary! Slowly at first and then with increasing speed, I flap my wings to a breakneck pace as I skip over the sharp rocks. Never before have I pumped my wings so hard! I can feel it! The wind under my wings! My body getting lighter as my arms carry the burden of my weight! I kick off the rocks with all my leg power and I rise to the skies... and continue to rise. I peek below my feet as I pour every ounce of energy to my flaps. Oh my god I don''t believe it!! The ground is getting further away for once! Although progress is slow and demanding, I''m gaining a whole centimeter of height with every 10 seconds of grueling flapping!!!! Truly, today is a day of impossibilities. Never again will my bird family look down on me. Alas, after what has been a minute of top speed flapping I plummet down the hard earned altitude I ''flew''. Surrounding me is a litter of my red feathers that were dislodged by the supreme effort.
Suffered 9 Falling Damage
"All good things must come to an end" I weep into my exhausted arms. However, I don''t let the moping last for long before I jump to my feet with determination. I tasted success and I must have more! Level ups are the key to flight! "Bring on the worms" I challenge out to the barren stones, my enviable voice clearly carrying over the land and all it''s inhabitants. Exp! I must get exp as soon as possible! And as much as possible! To think at how many times my flightless-ness has troubled me. From moving around the forest, to finding a place to sleep, to overcoming walls and spanning huge expanses of water! I could even avoid threats or better yet! Rain down fire from above while they remain helpless on the ground! Everything is solved by flight. After issuing the reckless and frankly idiotic verbal challenge to any listeners I charge my way to the hulking blue tree on the horizon, eager to defeat all that opposed me. "Come at me you overgrown wormies!!" I echo out once more. Forest Life 11, Sith The last of the sun''s blessed light faded from the mountainous skyline as dusk coaxes in the beautiful, ethereal light of the night''s full moon. Alone, one softly glowing bird makes her journey to the center of the jungle where a perfect lake rests, water shimmering platinum in the moonlight.
"I should be a sitting duck!" I complain in disbelief, only to be met with the voiceless reply of the chilly wind. "I literally could not be anymore obvious, I''m the only glowing bird next to this stupid wall! Why haven''t any worms appeared to donate their exp? I''m about to fall asleep I''m so bored!...Let''s not forget..." I continue to rant on and on about my woes to the rocks at my feet. "Of course the moment I actually want to start a fight is when all the nasties decide to go to sleep, why is this jungle so cruel to me? Just one or two worms is enough!" I plea to the twinkling stars. With my talons scraping on stones, voice crying out and my very extravagant glowing feathers, it''s a miracle haven''t come across something yet, anything at all! Not even insects are doing their usual humming or buzzing, I''ve never been so lonely, even back in my birth tunnel! At least the big blue and white tree, and by extension that little brown boat are getting marginally closer from the constant walking. My glowing feathers make traveling at night just as easy as in the day! Even though I still take ''falling damage'' every now and again. I think that squiggle appears whenever I fall and get hurt or something similar? My knowledge on squigglies seems to grow whenever I''m bored out of my mind. I''d rather be getting hurt fighting those Rattling Worms then falling! I could at least get exp and level up to improve my flying that way! Maybe the weak holy presence around the wall is scaring away all the naughty creatures who want to harm me? That sounds reasonable. But, it didn''t stop the two worms I fought earlier... so... maybe there are no nocturnal creatures around this rocky area? Only further in the forest? I''m sure that if I wandered into the jungle I''d get lost, but maybe getting a little closer won''t hurt? As the thought crossed my mind, subconsciously my feet already began to veer diagonally to the jungle before I could make the decision. "Alright then, It''s not healthy to ignore your body! And right now its telling me to get more exp!" I say in support of my feet''s actions. The decision to head further away from the unnatural stone wall proves to be unintentionally wise, as the terrain becomes noticeably easier to traverse. No longer are there random holes in the ground or unsteady patches of gravel to slip and fall on! Lucky bonus! Faintly the sounds of millions of insects carries over the brisk wind as the familiar stone wall drifts further away. I never thought I could miss this sound, they''re so disgusting to look at, but kinda nice to listen to. "This should be far enough" I say aloud, after making it halfway between the stoic wall and the wild jungle. Now there can be a CHANCE of encountering ambitious exp, attracted by my appetizing form. Little do they know, this delicious chicken is capable of shooting fireballs of death! Yummy toasted blankets for a midnight snack! The thought making me lick the edges of my beak. Already I can dimly hear the sounds of animals on the hunt, deeper in the jungle. It''s only a matter of time before something tries it''s luck against the invincible, indomitable and dazzling... ME! Being this exposed is bound to draw attention! Although, I think ''ME'' isn''t fitting for my magnificence any longer, I need something grander and less childish to match my growing personality. The perfect name. It must strike fear into my enemies heart, shaking them in their boots at the very mention!This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. It also, must be spoken with the upmost respect by those who adore and revere me! Most importantly, above all other priorities, it must be cute! Very much so. There can be no compromise on this matter whatsoever! Zero tolerance! No exceptions! No deviations! That''s final! So what should it be? Fluffee? Yummi? Bluffy? Skittles? oh-o-o- Ruby or Rose or Blankette!? So many choices! My excited stupor in regards to my nameless crisis nearly made the ominous rustling of some dense shrubbery up ahead go unnoticed... ''nearly'' being the keyword. Instantly snapping to attention, I locked eyes with the offending bushes, hoping to catch another glimpse of movement. The bushes however went eerily still at my timid approach. Maintaining my pace and edging ever so closer whilst acting as if I hadn''t seen anything I mentally prepared to unleash my full arsenal of fire at a moments notice. Whatever this was, it wasn''t a scaly worm, they didn''t hide in bushes, this was something new! The safest bet is to kill it with fire! Inch by inch the gap between the shrub and myself shortened until is was only a couple meters. The bush still showed not a single sign of life, but I knew better. Each next step closer added to the building weight that bared down on my nerves as the unknown and unseen threat waited in hiding. I was already committed to the act of not noticing it! If I stopped now my surprise counter attack will be lost! I must keep pushing through! Another few hesitant hops and bounds brought me within breathing distance to where ''it'' was hiding. Foliage too dense to see through, I have to get even closer. The invisible weight was on my shoulders now crushing and my adrenaline surging in complete contrast to the peaceful bush. ''I''m not scared'' I repeat over and over in my head as I scuttle nearer. Taking one final step closer the bush''s tiny leaves shine brightly in my orange glow, the belly of the bush however, remains pitch black under it''s impenetrable shroud of shadow. Whatever''s in there''s only a wing''s length away and I still can''t make out a thing! I think I''ve acted more than enough. I basically have ''eat me'' written on my face when I''m this close! Spinning to face the bush and rearing back my wings, I let the bush taste my fire. "Cinders"
2 Fire Damage
A yelp of surprise and pain cries out as my flames engulf the entire bush. "Cinders Cinders Cinders" I repeat with every flap of my wings, the spray of fire providing a burst of sudden thrust propelling me upwards. Why didn''t I think of this earlier? Fire Flapping!
3 Fire Damage
4 Fire Damage
3 Fire Damage
A wailing mess of pitch black fur springs out of the bush and thrashes on the ground as the bush behind it ignites brilliantly. The creatures looks just like the Big Fluffer! Only longer instead of bigger and the color of it''s fur is blacker than the space between the stars! Before the black fluffer can snuff out the fire I launch a Bellows from directly above! Taste the power of the high ground!
7 Fire Damage
The Black Fluffer is somehow able to ''shift'' backwards on the floor and avoid the brunt of the attack by leaking out a black mist from it''s fur and teleporting, but still receives a good face full of fire from the explosion. Seriously though! What on earth was that move just now! It totally just did a teleport thingy in that black mist! Oh my golly gosh what would I give to be able to do that!!!! Casting aside my jealousy, I press my advantage by throwing out another Bellows and then tucking my wings to my side to follow the fire bolt''s trajectory with a low-altitude dive bomb.
13 Fire Damage
Shadow Lynx is Burned
The fire explodes right next to the Black Fluffer that seems to be unable to ''shift'' again, still it manages to turn away from the fire at the last second so that only it''s rear is burned, unfortunately, it''s exposed back makes a easy target for my extended talons that are currently cutting through the air.
6 Piercing Damage
14 Tearing Damage
Shadow Lynx is Bleeding
With the full force of my weight and speed my feet slam into the soft, albeit horrifically charred fur and clamp down like a vice as I skid along the rocks, dragging my helpless victim along with me. The pointy stones below give me a few bleeding gashes on my chest, but my passenger, who''s suffering far worse, goes limp as it gets crushed along the ground, almost instantly.
Suffered 9 Falling Damage
Suffered Minor Bleeding
8 Bludgeoning Damage
Shadow Lynx Slain, 53 exp gained
Yes the exp! Gimmie gimmie! Wiping off the little rocks and dust off my body I dig in to my new tasty treat! Pulling away at the burnt skin I eagerly relish the sweet toasty red flesh residing beneath, I was feeling ''peckish'' to start with! Also, defeating something so similar to the Big Fluffer was a total rush! I''ve grown so much stronger! This scrumptious Black Fluffer wasn''t even able to land a single hit on me! "Amazing~! I''m simply too good~!" I sing out to a happy melody as I scoff down the best parts of my kill, that being mainly the legs because they''re the most tender. I avoid the tricky to eat bits like the head and back because there''s too many tiny bones, which are definitely not yummy, also, the quicker I eat, the quicker I can find more exp! There''s nothing that can stop me now! I am the apex predator!! I rule the jungle! Not even teleportation can trump me! ... those being my final thoughts before hearing a growl filled with sorrow an anguish rumble right behind me. Forest Life 12, Sith 2.0 Crawling over the pebble covered dirt, twisting tendrils of darker than black mist pool around my feet and climb up my legs, seeking to encase me in a void, banishing me from existence. Despite the impending doom my body refuses to respond, like sleep paralysis preventing escape in a nightmare it feels like my brain has been disconnected and I''m just a spectator to my own death. Growling deeply with tangible sorrow is what I can only assume is the Black Fluffer''s guardian angel of death, here to seek vengeance on me. For the moment, it seems to be mourning the loss of it''sloved one instead of ripping off my head from my frozen-stiff shoulders, which is always a good thing! Being alive is better than being dead after all. ''Don''t panic, I will survive this'' I mentally chant as the increasingly more gut wrenching cries behind me galvanize the black tendrils to faster speeds. I use the dreadful, climbing tendrils as motivation to shake free from the mental shackles freezing my body and start considering my plan of attack. Offence is the best defense! My birdy body isn''t designed for running away in the first place! I just need to unleash my fiery fury to whatever''s behind me and take it from there! If all goes wrong, it''ll be another night spent as ashes for me... still preferable to death. Allowing a split second for a Bellows to build up at the base of my throat I attempt to spin around and attack! But, against my actions the black tendrils wrapped around my body go from a soft vapor to a jelly-like sludge as I try to maneuver, crippling my speed to what could be describe as ''dreadfully slow''. To my relief, the mourning beast is oblivious to my floundering, too busy trying to elicit a response from the half-eaten Black Fluffer by nudging it with thick mist. From this angle I have a defined view of the creature restricting my limbs, a view I would be happier not to see. A living nightmare. A flowing tangle of black mist floating above the ground, without any discernible arms or legs, the only feature differing from the light-consuming darkness are the eyes, a deep-set pair of black slitted eyes. As I continue to observe the incarnation of deathand withhold the fire in my mouth, a black furred paw materializes from the mist of it''s body and pulls in the bloody corpse of it''s young. As the corpse enters the folds of darkness and disappears, those terrible black eyes turn to me without a trace of sadness or malice, only apathy, which is somehow more terrifying. Shoot first, ask questions later! The Misty Death takes a ''step'' forward, the movement completely hidden by mist so I can only assume it''s stepping and not some type of floating. A lighter black mist pours from the main body and quickly shrouds the whole jungle in an oppressive shadow. Taking the occurrence as the signal to ''fire'', I do exactly that and let loose the Bellows that had been building up in my mouth, aiming for the floating pair of eyes. Even the dazzling radiance of my fire does very little to banish the mounting darkness as it streaks to the foe before me.
18 Fire Damage
Catching it by surprise, the Misty Death takes the whole attack straight to it''s flank without even reacting! The dark mist coating it''s body gushes the impact of the firebolt, promptly snuffing out the fire and minimizing the damage. The previous apathy it those looming black eyes changes to rage as it charges to my side, taking advantage of the sludge-like mist that has now crawled up to my neck. A thick pillar mist rises above my head and solidifies into sharp claws as it arcs down to my exposed neck, but I can barely move a muscle! what choices do I have? Cinders? Bellows? ''I have no way to avoid the descending attack'', I think with abject terror. Without any options available and no time to think, I resort to my area of effect attack, Cinders, praying for a miracle to occur. "Cinders" I call out as the claws of darkness connect and shred through my body.
Suffered 30 Slashing Damage
Suffered Bleeding
A splash of fire erupts from my immobile wings and weakens the darkness binding me, but too late to stop the devastating attack from ripping through my right wing and all down my right side. I wail out in agony as I fall on my face and pain flares throughout my whole body. Enduring through force of will I ignore the intense pain of torn muscles and broken bones as I rapidly use Cinders to melt away at the rest of the darkness encasing me. The pair of floating eyes considers me with curiosity for a shocked second as my fire pushes back at the darkness and releases me from the sludge, then as quickly as it comes does the curiosity return to vicious blood lust. Raising another pillar of darkness the Misty Death strikes downwards a second time at my already mangled wing. This time, I dive free from the claws'' attack path and roll along my uninjured side while firing a poorly aimed bellows in retaliation.
Suffered 4 Blood Loss
5 Fire Damage
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.Blood flicks from my wounds as I collect myself from the roll, the Misty Death mostly avoids my Bellows by shimmering back and forth through the darkness surrounding it much like the one I killed moments ago had done. There''s that teleport again! So unfair! But at least I''m not covered in mist anymore. For a moment there''s a lull in the fight and we both circle and stare at one another. I''m dragging my battered wing on the floor like unwanted baggage, with my opponent lunging back and forth to get around to my back. Compared to earlier, the mist hiding my foe has thinned out, it''s front and back legs are no longer obscured and are clear to see. It seems teleportation requires lots of mist to accomplish, which makes sense. However in terms of our physical state, it''s my utter loss, I''ve only taken one substantial attack, yet I''m already down a wing and bleeding badly. My opponent is still going strong without a receiving any debilitating attacks so far, each passing second puts the Misty Death further ahead.
Suffered 2 Blood Loss
I only have one option... abuse my rebirth... sacrifice my life for the long term victory. I must get closer. Gathering all of my energy I condense a extra large Bellows in my stomach and send it barreling through my throat. A second later a yellow inferno submerges my vision as the firebolt rockets at the shuddering black creature opposing me. Seeming to sense the strong attack, the Misty Death starts amassing the remnants of it''s dark mist to dodge a split second before it hits.
6 Fire Damage
Phasing past my final Bellows, the Misty Death emerges with bared fangs and only slightly singed fur. ...Right into my waiting talons.
6 Piercing Damage
5 Piercing Damage
16 Tearing Damage
Shadow Lynx is Bleeding
8 Tearing Damage
By following just behind the smokescreen of the supercharged Bellows I''m able close the gap between us and rip into it''s flesh with reckless abandon. Without any remaining mist to cushion my sharp claws or teleport away, my flurry of attacks decimates it''s unprotected chest. Rolling onto it''s back and curling up, the Misty Death uses all it''s leg strength to pry my firmly clenched talons off it''s torso. While successful in throwing me away, I make it suffer by frantically tearing a sizable chunk of charred flesh along with me and shooting a weak Cinders as I fly backwards.
Suffered 3 Slashing Damage
11 Tearing Damage
4 Fire Damage
Suffered 8 Falling Damage
Suffered 6 Blood Loss
Air and blood splurts from my lunges as I slam on my back and crush my bloody wing on the rocks, but I''m still alive. Taking a few shuddering breathes, we both scramble to our feet and stare off at one another, this time neither willing to step forth and strike first. That plan was a great success for me! I was fully prepared to die for that opportunity and now I have a second chance to end it for real! I shuffle a few steps back to get some distance and the Misty Death takes a few steps forward, again I shuffle back while favoring my left side and once more I''m pursued, but with more confidence. I''m still behind in terms of damage received, so my plan is to prolong the fight and recover enough energy to use Bellows again.
Suffered 2 Blood Loss
As if sensing my intentions to hold back, the limping black feline takes the initiative and bounds at me with a couple of long hops, closing the gap quicker than I can run away. Opening it''s vicious mouth and lunging it''s neck, a row of white teeth with two impressive incisors clamps down towards me in a flash.
Suffered 13 Piercing Damage
By shoving my mostly undamaged left wing into the snapping maw I narrowly prevent the pointed teeth from digging into my neck, buying me more precious time. Taking a note from my battle with the Grey Fluffer, I swiftly abandon my plan on holding off for a Bellows, instead focusing the last of my fire to my left wing with Cinders, scorching the inside of it''s mouth with burning fire. The end result is spectacular.
35 Fire Damage
Shadow Lynx is Burned
Cinders has reached level 2
+ 3 Affinity
The spray of Cinder''s fire contained within it''s mouth spews back into my face after scorching the Misty Death''s mouth and throat. Of course the fire has no effect on me, but The Misty Death is a different story and it instantly releases it''s biteon my wing, screaming hoarsely to the sky as fire continues to ravage it''s defenseless insides. The crying grows quiet after several longs seconds and the defeated Misty Death collapses to the rocky floor. I guess my silly opponent was under the impression that my fires had been extinguished and put it''s head just a little tooooo close to my wings! An amateur move. My fire never dies!
Suffered 5 Blood Loss
I lower my head to the floor and gingerly splay out my crippled wings, not once taking my eyes off the black lump breathing shallow breathes on the ground next to me. I take my own steady gulps of air as my sense of pain gradually returns back to my brain, even the chilly wind brushing on my wings brings unimaginable agony. Blood still runs from my wounds, especially my left wing, but already I can feel the blood clotting as I concentrate on catching my breathe. I guess I''ve never had the chance to recover from a fight before as I either win without getting a scratch, or die before any healing can take place. I never thought I could heal so quick! Whereas I''m recovering abnormally fast from the two consecutive fights, my opponent''s condition appears to be getting worse. The fire in it''s body must of burned out by now, but the accumulated wounds both inside and out won''t be healing anytime soon. "Muaha, fire beats darkness you scary beast!" I weakly whisper with a light chuckle to the barely moving mound of burnt fur. The insult hurts my batters bones, but the pain is worth it, I can''t let my victory go un-gloated! I close my weary eyes after my breathing normalizes, confident that the danger has passed for the moment. The welcoming sight of my eyelids soothes my wracked nerves and a heavy fatigue soaks my consciousness. I''m just going to close my eyes for one second, that''s it, I swear... ...I''ll just take a super quick 5 minute rest and then I''ll be up to eat my food, I.... swear.... just ten more minu...*snore*
Shadow Lynx Slain, 213 exp gained
Level Up!
You''ve reached level 4
+1 Strength, + 1 Endurance, + 1 Dexterity, +1 Intelligence, +1 Affinity
Forest Life 13, Wrong Side of the Bed "Come here little blanket" I coo with a delusional slur, glee oozing from every word. Trotting towards me, the biggest, fluffiest creature of warm silky fur to ever to exist, framed by rolling planes of lush wheat, responds to my beckon. I hold out my wings in expectation and the living embodiment of comfort snuggles against my body, purring softly in tandem to the gentle breeze. This is bliss. Never have I been so soothed, so happy, so one with the world, this is my purpose, my life. I squeeze my wings tightly and sink deeper into the impossible fluffiness, it even smells like peppermint, how lovely! Could this be a divine being?! Not one to be outdone, the brown fluff in my arms wiggles slightly and then it''s body expands, silky hair growing at an alarming rate. I''m not worried though, how could such a thing be anything other than the aspect of love? The expanding hair grows and grows until my tight hug has been reversed, and now I''m the one being tightly embraced by the fluff! It feels nice to be on the receiving end for once. I''m in an endless sea of warmth and affection and I wouldn''t rather be anywhere else! But.. it is getting a lil''warm in here, really really dark too. I can''t see or hear a thing! It''s probably best if I get out and hug it normally. "Ok, you can let go now" I say politely to my cozy benefactor. But as soon as I open my beak, the brown fluff pushes into my mouth and muffles the words! Not very conscientious of the divine fluff, but it''s alright, such an oversight can be forgiven. I just need to wiggle free!
Suffered 1 Acid Damage
Huh? is that a squiggle? I can''t really see it as well a usual, it''s so fuzzy. I twist to the left, twist to the right, twist up and twist down, but no amount movement is strong enough to part the brown sea of fluff. It''s also getting really hot! Like a constant sizzle!
Suffered 2 Acid Damage
''Oh, you''re back Mr. Squiggly, and I can see you better now! Were you feeling sick?'' I mentally query to mysterious lines. Wait a minute. If I remember right, ''suffered'' and ''damage'' mean I''m getting hurt! so what''s happening? I know it''s hot, but not hot enough to hurt to me, my main method of attack is fire! Heat is nothing to me! Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. All of a sudden the delusional haze clogging up my brain lifts and I''m torn from my paradise-like dreamland of fluff to an ocean of dark murky green. Where the hell am I? This isn''t the jungle. I try to open my mouth and breathe only to choke on a thick, burning jelly.
Suffered 3 Acid Damage
With a startle, I thrash my arms and legs in absolute terror, I like to be able to breathe after all. Pulling with all my might, I crane my neck backwards and stomp my legs beneath me. My head emerges from my murky green prison with an audible ''pop'' and I can see that I have returned to the outskirts of the jungle where I had slept.
Suffered 1 Acid Damage
I look at my body to see that from my neck down I''m submerged in a ball of green ''something''. I can''t believe that this thing tried to snack on me while I was sleeping! The nerve! Now aware that the supposedly dead, bird it was eating is still among living, the green ball wobbles haphazardly as if it had received an open hand smack, and releases it''s slimy grip on me. Like a snake regurgitating it''s stomach, the green bubble pushes me outwards and ''goops'' away to the safety of the jungle at an pathetically slow speed. Now fully free from the yucky green blob of water, I take the chance to jump up an down and flap like my life depended on it. Shaking off the sticky, foul smelling gunk. What happened to the smell of peppermint and wheat!? "EWwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww" is the only thing I can say as tiny droplets of green water shower over the rocks. That''s it! "Come back here!" I growl with all the anger I can muster, which is a lot, because no one desecrates my feathers and gets away with it! I stomp beside the trial of slime and begin heating up a Bellows in my throat. The sludgy glob somehow ''sees'' me crest the rocks behind it and kicks it up to it''s highest gear, a casual walk.
Jungle Slime Slain, 1 exp gained
"AHHHHH!! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO EXPLODE?" I yell, instantly regretting the decision to shoot it with such powerful fire. So, once again, I bounce up and down while jerking with disgust, more goop showering the already smoldering goop soaking into the floor. "AND ONLY 1 EXP!!!?" Thinking back, even those tiny blankets gave me like 3 or 4! I let out a defeated huff and slouch my way back to the fight with the Misty Death for something to eat. From the looks of the stars and judging by how tired my eyes are, I''ve probably been sleeping for a few hours, which is to say, I''m not a happy camper in the least. I need a midnight snack! Oh... The Misty Death is gone. All that remains is a suspicious goopy footprint. That''s cool. I let out a sigh of utter defeat and slouch even lower. Why me? I barely beat the Misty Death in a fight, barely got any sleep, woke up in sentient filth, nearly drowned, and I don''t even get a single scrape of my hard earned meal for breakfast! "urgggggggghhhhhhhhhhhaaaaahnnnnnnnnnnnngrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" I don''t even have the energy to formulate proper complaints, just annoying sounds. I mean I''m not that hungry, but still, I wanted to eat that, it looked tasty. I look up and down the length of the wall to make out the distant image of the giant blue tree, which much to my delight, has leaves that glow in a ghostly light much like how my feathers do! We are birds of a feather! I take a moment to stretch out my weary legs before setting off again, thinking that maybe if I start now I can arrive by the morning. Besides I don''t wanna wake up in the gullet of some living slime, it''s sleeping in trees all the way here on out! Grumbling tiredly about every single issue I''ve ever had, I put one foot in front of the other, the first step of many. Raising an arm to my beak, I stifle a mighty yawn that threatens to unhinge my jaw. My eyes go wide when I glance over my wing since waking up. It''s fully healed! Not a single blemish or imperfection! The picture of perfect bird beauty! The shock only lasts for half a second before my sleep deprived personality returns in full glory. "Well that''s cool and all, but I''m too tired to even care, so what if I heal quickly? I can come back to life after dying! that''s infinitely better." I snob at myself as I take another step. Forest Life 14, Shots Fired
Suffered 2 Falling Damage
"Oww" I squawk, stumbling to me feet. That one got my right on the chin! "Who put that stupid hole there?" I say while staring accusingly at the unsuspecting crack in the ground where I just fell.
Suffered 3 Falling Damage
"GAAHH Why is there ANOTHER hole AFTER that one!!" I grumble and growl, the bird equivalent of a growl being an aggressive hum. How many times have I fallen now? a million times? As usual, the onlything answering my questions is the cool, yet humid night''s wind. Since I woke up inside of that ball of living goop, who''s existence I don''t even want to contemplate, I moved back to the wall to finish the journey. I know the wall is rocky and harder to traverse, but I''m so tired that it feels like my eye balls are falling out! The last thing I want to do is fight a scary mist beast AND fight sleepiness! From what I gathered earlier in the night, this place is devoid of any life, so there''s no threat of attack, and as an added bonus, slamming my head into the rocks every 20 meters is doing wonders for keeping me awake, a reeeal treat. Hence why I''m back next to the wall.
Suffered 2 Falling Damage
"What is my life" I groan. It''s hard enough to avoid the holes during the day when I''m fully alert, let alone at night when I''m a walking zombie! My feathers can only shine so far, which is not far enough to reveal the well hidden and maliciously placed pitfalls. "Why did you have to drop your pencil here God?" I ask in vain "Seriously, why here?". Of all the things to block my path to the boat... its two giant parallel walls. God is such a bully. ''Why am I even going to the boat again?'' I mentally question to myself, the sleep deprivation making me doubt my choices. Something about getting to that tree? Ahh, that''s right, the big blue looks nice, I must touch it, I must. Something so out of place in the jungle must be worth checking out right? It''s not like I have anything else planned... well maybe flying, but that can be practiced on the way. I guess that sums it up. So I must stay awake! Once I get to that boat I can sleep all I want! Speaking of giant blue trees, is it just me or has it gotten a lot bigger since I last saw it? I blink my glazed eyes drearily at the looming tree for a solid ten seconds before the cogs in my sleepy brain start rotating and realization dawns.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. "It hasn''t gotten bigger!!! I''ve gotten closer!!'' I state obviously. Drifting my gaze downwards I''m close enough to see the little brown boat tied to the shore, bobbing up and down in the calm moonlit waves. When did I get this far? I must have gone into autopilot mode without realizing it! A revitalizing surge of happiness blitzes away at the heavily entrenched fatigue in my thoughts and replaces it with the thought: ''get moving''. ''Get moving'' is exactly what I do as constant barrage of squigglies blinks away at the forefront of my consciousness, reminding me holes are still a thing, but no amount of holes can dampen my enthusiasm. In fact, each fall only provides newfound energy! Over the distance separating the boat and I, my face and arms become well acquainted with the stones... more than I''ve been accustomed too.
+ 1 Endurance
I can see it! I can hear it! The innocent boat! The soft waves washing on the short sandy shore! Yes! Yes! Yes! How long have I walked?! How much have I bled?! A whole day and night of literal ups and downs to get this far! A bird shouldn''t have to work this hard! Or at all! Such a cruel world! "Come here Boaty!" I call with joy as the rocky ground becomes smoother and sandy-ier. My goal, at long last, within reach. I kick up a wave of fine sand as I scramble over the shore and on the tiny pier where the boat is tied. The sound of my talons clacking on the shoddy, dilapidated wooden pier is soon followed by the sight of me dolphin diving gracefully over a tiny span of water into the welcoming boat. Being tired makes you do weird things. As my body lands, all the accumulated sleep-debt takes it''s claim and I fall asleep snuggling next to the single wooden seat at the center, snoring peacefully. Not even Armageddon would be enough to wake me up!
''5 minutes'' ''Please just give me 5 minutes'' I silently pray in protest to my happy dreams of fluff being interrupted by a rocking motion. Oh no I can feel it. The landscape of fluff that I''m dreaming of is slipping away! I''m spiraling away from paradise into the blackness of my closed eyelids.. maybe, just maybe, if I try hard enough I can sleep again! Just gotta ignore the rocking! Although putting all my concentration into TRYING to sleep is being counter productive! Now I''m so awake I can hear the birds chirping in the forest and the waves lapping at the boat! Still I refuse to open my eyes! To look is to admit defeat! I''ll never be able to get back to sleep if I open my eyes! Oh no... why is the boat still rocking? Even more than before! I can tell that the waves aren''t that big! Ok, maybe I should look, it might be another sludgy monster trying to eat me, god knows how it got to the boat, but I wouldn''t put it past them. I''m happy to learn that it takes some effort to open my crusty eyes, so at least I got a solid rest. I crane up my neck and take in the scene before me. What I see is the bow of my dingy vessel and a giant blue tree with white leaves cascading down it surrounded by a huge lake, nothing trying to eat me here. The boat rocks again, in a way that clearly doesn''t match with the harmless waves. The realization hits that whatever''s making the boat move is probably behind me. So, with a mild amount of terror, I slowly turn to face the cause of my rude awakening. The cause is something, that in all honesty, should of been obvious.
"Shoo now little birdy, my boat isn''t your bed" comes the hoarse voice of an aged face comprised entirely of deep wrinkles sitting at the back of the boat. Oh god, what have I done? Is he going to eat me? He''s so much taller than me, even while sitting! Did I offened him by sleeping in his boat?! How am I supposed to get to the tree without my boat?! I''m screwed! "Although, maybe you''re not so little... a kind of chicken perhaps?" He asks, glancing me over with a ponderous glint of humor and confusion in his wrinkle-hidden, dark brown eyes. How dare he. I''m obviously not a chicken. I won''t stand for this. Harou Tree, All Aboard! "CHICKEN?" I chirp in outrage to the mockery of a comparison, clearly a response that the living alarm clock didn''t expect. Upon hearing my my shrill exclamation the wrinkled old man gasped loudly and staggered backwards, hands grasping at empty air as he desperately tried to catch himself. Of course, he fails to stop himself and topples overboard in a hilarious fashion, causing a modest splash of lake water to shower on-board, which I expertly dodge by hopping in reverse. In all honesty, I don''t know why chicken offends me as much as it does, but that''s besides the point, there will be no mercy to those who insult me as such! There will be a reckoning to be had! I hop to the opposite side of the boat in time to see a wrinkled face pop out of the water, surprise written in every wrinkle. We silently meet our gazes for a few seconds before the man wades to the wooden pier and plops himself atop the old whethered wood with an excessively audible grunt. He takes a moment to compose himself and catch his breathe (mostly catch his breathe) before he looks back at me in shock. "Did you just speak?" He gasps out between breathes, disbelief evident in his tone. What a strange question. Is speaking so strange? I speak all the time, it''s the easiest thing in the world! But now that I think about it, I haven''t really heard anything else talk before. The closest thing to a conversation I''ve had was the little exchange I had with that blue bird when I first left my tunnel, although he never spoke, only responded, not really a conversation. Perhaps my unrivaled genius is to account for my linguistic talent! That must be it! Golly gosh I''m so amazing! "Of course I spoke!" I say, perching on the boat''s side. The man''s look of shock evolved into flabbergasted at my answer. "I know I slept in your boat without asking, but that''s no reason to call be a chicken! So rude!" The man just gapes at me, unable to say anything other than eventually choking out a flimsy "s-sorry" as I stare him down. Silent seconds pass as a myriad of expressions form in the soaked wrinkles, from dumbfounded, to thoughtful, then calm, and finally resting at puzzled. "You must be a tamed animal then" he says while nodding his head and crossing his legs to a sitting position. "Scared me half to death you did, then you made me think I was crazy!" he continues with expressive hand gestures. "I''ve never heard of a talking tame! That''s unreal! What type of bird are you?" he asks with with unexpected cheerfulness and engagement. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The answer is obvious... "I''m not a chicken" I say helpfully. I''m glad he''s chosen to rectify his mistakes, he seems nice enough, I will consider forgiving his insult. It was quite enjoyable to watch him get drenched in that yucky water, I think we''re even and he doesn''t seem to mind being wet anyway. "Indeed" He chuckles. "So why did you choose my boat as a bed? Also, where''s your tamer?" as asks while twisting around to scan the treeline. Tamer? I''ve never heard of that, but it doesn''t sound very nice. "I don''t have one" I chirp. The old man turns to face me again, this time sporting an apologetic look in those deep-set wrinkles, but not just apologetic, there''s real in sorrow there too. "My condolences, I can only imagine the pain you must have gone through" he croaks, voice cracking in sadness. Maybe he lost his tamer? He obviously upset about me not having one. I seriously have no clue what it means. So confusing. Time to change the subject! "I was sleeping in your boat because I was suuuuper tired!" I say in attempts of changing the subject. Seeing him sad is making me kinda sad, those wrinkles hold great power! "But originally I wanted to use your boat to get to that big tree over there" I say while raising a wing and waving it behind me. "Would that be alright?" I appeal with my best singsong whistle. "You... need my boat?" "Yes please, I really, really need it and I promise to give it back too!" The man looks at the boat, looks at me, looks at the tree, looks back at me and then looks at my wings. I already know what he''s about to say and I can feel the embarrassment flushing my cheeks. "If you''re injured, I have some healing spells that should fix you up good as new!" he says with a smile. "Although I''d be a mite sad to see you leave so soon". Not what I thought he would say, but this is even worse! He doesn''t realize that I suck at flying, he thinks I''m crippled and can''t fly! How can I tell him that I''m too fat!... I mean, not strong enough. I have to think quick, I need a perfect alibi to distract from the fact that I''m a failure of a bird and also convince him to lend me the boat. Something like ''My flaps need to recharge'' or ''I''m scared of heights'', anything is ok, as long as he doesn''t know the truth. "I''m not hurt, I just can''t fly because I''m too heavy" I chirp without thinking... Oh god, what did I just say. What have I done? It just blurted out! I was thinking too hard and got distracted! He''s never going to take me seriously now. I can already feel the tears welling up. It''s all over, the boat, the tree, my only goals in life... all... gone, wasted by a single slip up. The man offers no reply as he rises to his feet with another excessively loud groan and shuffles to the end of the pier while rubbing his knees. I can''t even bring myself to follow his movement, I just stare at the place where his was sitting, too ashamed to react. Even if he pushed me off my perch, down into the watery depths, I don''t think I would even care, maybe I''d welcome it. He probably hates me now. "I don''t mind at at all" He suddenly outbursts in a chipper tone, scaring me and almost making me jump overboard myself, he then reaches over and tugs the boat closer so he can board, startling me further. "I was actually going there to begin with. I wouldn''t mind having some company for once! Certainly not everyday you get to speak with a talking bird!" he bellows as he deftly swings his body onto the center seat, pulls out the oars from beneath the seat and locks them into their little symmetrical notches at the sides. "My name''s Bartlon. And I have many questions for you, my little bird friend!" All those tears that were welling up.. yep.. they''re falling freely now. What a truly kind soul, to look past the faults of a bird unable to ''bird'', this man is a saint, a very wrinkly, very old and a very soggy saint, but still a saint nonetheless. "WHA- What did I do?" He worryingly asks. Harou Tree 2, Kowalski... Analysis We out on the high seas now! Huge tidal waves and gale force winds are throwing and bashing the ship in their unrelenting assault. Although my vessel is mighty, and the captain a veteran, this may be a fare from whence I don''t return. I always knew the life at sea was not for me. This time I may have underestimated the cruelty of the sea and all her waters for the final time. Or maybe I''m slightly exaggerating the details of this calm and peaceful cruise, but relative to my size these waves are fairly large! So that''s not too much of a lie. I''m just excited to be on a boat for the first time. "So you have no name, huh? Strange. I wonder why your tamer didn''t name you, kinda cruel considering you can speak" Bartlon thinks out loud as he absentmindedly rows the boat. It''s kinda strange that he''s facing the opposite direction to where he''s going, but I don''t understand how boats work. Maybe that''s normal? Also, why does he always refer to this ''tamer''? I keep trying to change the subject because I have no idea what it means! He also seems to get sad whenever he mentions the word too, so why say it?! But, I''m too deep in the conversation to admit I don''t understand it, I can only pretend to understand, give general answers, or avoid the topic entirely, I prefer option 3. "I''m thinking of my own name!" I chirp with excitement, at least this is the truth. He might even be able to help me think of one! He has a name after all, he must have some idea. "It must be fierce! It must be soft! Most importantly, it must be cute! I''ve been thinking about it for a while, but nothing feels right". "Your own name? ahhh I see, that makes far more sense" Bartlon nods sagely, content with my answer. "Although deciding your own name sounds like quite the task, as names are normally given, not chosen" he adds on. Hmmmm, I never thought about it like that, it is true though, giving names is easy peasy! Misty Death. Big Fluffer, Grey Fluffer, Mr. Squiggly, all given without second thought, is choosing your own name impossible then? I can see that Bartlon has wise words to match his countless wrinkles! I go silent and fix my gaze on the waterlogged wood at my feet as I muse over the thoughts. Names are given? So I should wait until I get a name, right? And what if I get a bad name? Then I''d live my whole life with a bad name! That would be the worst! More importantly, I don''t want to wait for someone to give me a name, I want a name NOW! I don''t feel like I have a place in this world as just a nameless bird! I must be someone. "So where did you learn to talk? Or is it some kind of skill given to you from your tamer?" Bartlon interrupts to my internal identity crisis, perhaps sensing my inner turmoil? Also, there''s ''tamer'' again! "I''ve always known how to speak" I reply, returning to my perky self, which in turn, seems to cheer up Bartlon.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. "By the way, what''s a skill? I don''t understand that word, how does it relate to speaking?" I ask while playfully hopping around the limited space in the boat. There''s no way I''m going to make the mistake of ignoring words I don''t know a second time! Bartlon scrunches up his wrinkles in thought as he considers the best way to answer my innocent question. He remains in thought for quite some time too! Must be a difficult question? I take the time to perch on the stern of the boat and look overhead of him, at the big blue tree, that with every passing minute, dominates more of the scenery. I think I can feel it again. The air here is pure, yet strangely.. occupied? The same feeling from back where those two parallel stone walls started, only stronger. It feels like there''s a great power residing here and I''m willing to bet this tree has something to do with it, I can''t say it''s very inconspicuous. Bartlon breaks the sounds of his oars cutting through the water and the supple waves caressing the boat with a hearty chuckle. "Haha, never thought answering that question would be so hard! I never realized how strange it is, skills are something akin to breathing you see, you never really think about it". He chuckles while fixing his sight on me. "I think they can be explained like this: A skill is something that YOU are uniquely capable of, something that you''ve earned through struggle, it can also be referred to as a ''trait''" he answers, even taking a hand off an oar to help him explain it with grandiose hand gestures that make little sense. "But, even though I said they''re unique, most skills are commonly shared between people. Like my ''Heal'' for example, many people know it, yet it is still my own... I think I explained it poorly" he huffs out, hanging his head in frustration. Well that was hard to decipher. So skills are something you''ve earned? Would Bellows and Cinders be skills? After all, I did ''remember'' them after leveling up, and struggling, lots of struggling, and they certainly feel unique to me! "It''s easy for us humans to recognize our skills and traits because we can see our statuses, where our whole being is displayed. I''m not sure if you have a status as well, you might do, or they might be unique to humans, like I said, talking to a tamed pet who can talk back is a first for me!" What? A status? A thing that displays your being? I definitely haven''t seen that before. What would it even look like? A reflection? A soul? He just said something really important, life altering even, If I''m able to see my status, everything could change! "How do you see your status?" I chirp musically with hope budding in my chest. If I could see my status, I might learn something important about myself! I wouldn''t be surprised if I had more fantastic talents that I''m not even aware of! "That''s easy!" Bartlon quickly responds with a cheery smile, his wrinkles doubling at the expression. "Focus on seeing yourself, every inch of your soul, then, when you feel like you''re ready, say ''status'' to summon it" guides Bartlon "Whoops, I just did it by accident" he stutters, recoiling in surprise. Sounds easy enough. I close my eyes in concentration and mentally block out the external sounds of the lake and Bartlon''s audible wheezing. I guess rowing the boat for so long at such an age isn''t easy, but that''s not important right now. I do my best to hone in on my soul, a fire burning brightly in my heart. Something that I''ve never realized existed, but now that I can see it, I know I''ve always felt it inside me. I can''t see a reflection of myself or anything in the fire, but this is as close as I can get to the center of my being. Hopefully this is enough. "Status" I whisper to the wind. Oh my god
Name: -----, ------ Health: 81/81 Mana: 134/134
Level 4 (191/400) Strength: 12 Endurance: 19
Species: Pheonix Dexterity: 11 Intelligence: 38
Class: Pheonix, Level 2 Affinity: 24
Skills Traits
Cinders, Level 2 Mythical
Bellows, Level 1 Fire to Fire
Profound Fire Affinity
Dungeon Bound
"AHHHHHH MY EYES" I cry "THAT''S TOO MANY SQUIGGLIES" Harou Tree 3, Species I stumble to my bum and roll around on the floor while trying to block out the squiggles by burying my face under my wings... it doesn''t work. Apparently this status isn''t something you see with your eyes, but with your mind, how I wish I could close my mind like my eyes, there''s simply too much to handle! more than ever before! And I thought that the amount of squigglies with level ups were bad! This is like an ocean compared to a pond! I do recognize some of the squiggles here, but there are new ones too, lots of them actually, I can only understand about 20% of my status with what I know now. Just when I thought I was getting the hang of the squiggles too! It turns out I know nothing at all! This is ok though. I''m like 100% sure that this is the status that Bartlon was talking about. This giant wall of squiggles is the display of my being, my soul, my skills and my capabilities. I have no doubt, that locked within the great mysteries of these unknown squigglies my unknown talents lay, just waiting to be revealed! But what else is hiding in here? Anything could be hidden right? A bird can only dream of the possibilities, but to find out, I must become one with Mr. Squiggle, learn his cryptic ways and see as he sees! and... why do I feel nausea all of a sudden? ".... are you hurt? Sorry, this is my fault... Heal, I didn''t think it''d be dangerous... Heal". Its Bartlon making me feel sick!! Why is he pushing me back and forth and washing me with a strange white light? The combination of obtrusive status squigglies and this bright light is fully blocking my vision! If this goes on any longer I might end up spilling my last meal! That wouldn''t be very ladylike at all, but he''s shaking me so hard I can''t even get a squeak of a word out! I flail my wings and barrel roll to stern of the boat, as far away from Bartlon''s wrinkled hands of unexpected shaking power. "I''M FINE" I shout out sternly before he can get any closer. I lay there on my back for a moment, waiting for my eyes to stop swirling and the white light coating my body to fade away while Bartlon voices his most sincere apologies from his seat. "I''m fine" I repeat again as I sit up my tail feathers against the back of the boat. "I just didn''t think my status would be so...squiggly... I thought it would be different" I explain while looking in Bartlon''s general direction. My status, while not visible to my eyes, demands the majority of my focus, leaving me half blind and the colors of the world muted and bleak. Bartlon, the boat, the blue tree and the surrounding trees are nothing but silhouettes, like I''m looking through muddy water. I hope this isn''t permanent, I would very much like to be able to see colors again. "So it worked then?! Well I''l be! Praise to Escal!" Bartlon exclaims, clapping his hands together in merry surprise. "Honestly, I had a gut feeling it wouldn''t work! This is the first time I''m glad that my gut was wrong!" Guessing from the crazy silhouette, Bartlon is making more crazy hand gestures. "How did it go then? Is there anything about language on your status? A skill or trait?" The energetic silhouette asks, returning to the task of rowing. Language? pfffft! I don''t even understand half of this! let alone anything specific about speaking! I have a more pressing concern anyways. "How do I make it go away? I can''t see anything Bartlon!" I express with worry seeping into my voice. Bartlon pauses mid-row for a split second as he considers his answer.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. "Ahhhhhhhh, I just sort of ignore it and it goes away?" he responds with confusion. I ruffle my feathers to his answer. Has he already forgotten this is my first time seeing my status?! I really wish he had shown a little more consideration! What if I''m stuck like this? I won''t forgive him untill he falls into the lake a million times! How am I even suppose to ignore this thing? It''s huge! I''m definitely going to be stuck like this. Oh... never mind, it really did go away. I can see everything normally again, including the grinning old man rowing the boat. That was pretty easy. I guess I might have overreacted a little. still, I feel a bit angry about it. I close my eyes and hone my focus back to the fire in my heart and call back the squiggles. "Status" I whisper.
Name: -----, ------ Health: 81/81 Mana: 134/134
Level 4 (191/400) Strength: 12 Endurance: 19
Species: Pheonix Dexterity: 11 Intelligence: 38
Class: Pheonix, Level 2 Affinity: 24
Skills Traits
Cinders, Level 2 Mythical
Bellows, Level 1 Fire to Fire
Profound Fire Affinity
Dungeon Bound
ARH! Its so overwhelming when it appears! The squigglies kinda just get shoved into my head without mercy, I can''t believe its this bad, even when I expect it! "Your speaking is definitely a skill right?" Bartlon asks again, unable to hide his curiosity. "If you don''t mind, I''d love to know what it is. I''ve got a tamed pet back at home. Not mine of course, my wife''s you see". I can see the glint of excitement in his eyes, it''s overbearing even through my muddy vision. "Umm, these squiggles are new to me, I haven''t seen most of them before so I don''t know what my skills are" I truthfully inform him. If I could understand what these meant, I would be happy to tell him! I guess learning about my status was a dead-end to begin with. Such a shame that all the important things are covered in a layer of indecipherable squiggles... AHHHH MY GENIUS!!! I HAVE A GENIUS IDEA!!!
+ 1 Intelligence
"BARTLON" I bellow while jumping up and flapping to his feet. He jerks his shoulders awkwardly at my sudden burst of energy and I swear I hear a *crack* noise from his back. "What is it? You trying to scare me to death again?" he grimances, but still retains his amused grin. I ignore every word past ''what'' and press on with my idea. "You can understand what the status means right? Like, all of it, right? Right?" I eagerly ask, hopping foot to foot with unbridled excitement. "Of course I can" he replies with a raised eyebrow, manipulating his wrinkles in a way I haven''t seen before. "Would be very inconvenient if I couldn''t" A fleeting thought crosses my mind. ''I bet he could communicate with only his wrinkles''. Each line in his skin contains the worth of at least a hundred words... Argh! No! Forget about that! "OK" I shout at the top of my birdy lungs. I spin around and get to work. Using my talons in the most delicate manner I can muster, I engrave the squigglies of my status into the hull of the boat. A few times Bartlon tries peeking over my shoulder to catch a glimpse at what I''m doing, each time I scoot over to block his sight. After all, I''m not going to shown him an unfinished stroke of genius! It would ruin the surprise! It takes a few minutes of intense concentration to copy over the difficult squiggles to the wood and there are some patches where it doesn''t match up perfectly because I was rushing, but, for the most part it should be good enough!
+ 1 Dexterity
Time to show him. "Ok!" I whistle out with pride, admiring my own masterpiece. "Please explain this" I requestin my politest melody as I hustle my way to Bartlon''s feet so he can see it clearer. "Clever little bird aren''t you?" He praises with a warm smile. "Let''s have a look then!" he cheers while taking his hands off the oars and leaning forward, putting his elbows on his knees. "I see, I see, yup, no name after all... and quite a bit of health for a bird... and Holy Smokes! that''s alot of mana! How did you get it so high? ah nevermind... so, you''re level 4 huh? lower than I thought for having health and mana like that, very strange... and your spe..c..i..." "..." "..." Bartlon goes silent as his gaze fixes on the ''species'' squiggle. So he can''t understand it either? All that confidence for nothing! Although its satisfying to know I''m not the only one who doesn''t understand the strange lines. "....*cough*.... I think you made a mistake here" Bartlon says while dragging his finger over the shallow engraving of ''pheonix''. I open up my status and double check that each little squiggle on the wood is exactly how it is in my status and... Whoopies! I did make a mistake! I put down ''Pheomix'' by accident, the ''n'' and ''m'' are almost the exact same! "Sorry" I chirp in frustration as I quickly cut a line across the mistake and write the correct squiggles next to it. I even double check a third time to make super sure! So a triple check! There''s no way its wrong now! Bartlon''s hand starts to tremble as he traces over each of the fresh squiggles in the hull with his finger. When his finger reaches the end of the ''x'' he pulls his attention to the rest of the squigglies in a disbelieving silence. "You''re not joking are you?" He says with a whisper, eyes not leaving the squiggles, though the question is mostly directed to himself and not at me. "Is it bad? I ask meekly. He turns and gives me a sidelong look, his wrinkles showing how shocked, confused, scared, happy, curious, muddled and amused he his. I vividly remember seeing this wrinkle pattern before, when he pulled himself out of the lake and spoke with me for the first time. He has every emotion of the rainbow present on his face. "Maybe?" he says after some time. "Probably" he corrects hastily. Harou Tree 4, Namesake Sounds like there must be a serious problem on my status, like, something really, really bad. Is it an illness? a sickness? a disability? or even some type of ancient curse? A status is supposed to be my whole being right? Even the bad things should be in there, but whose to say? I certainly can''t understand them, only Bartlon can. But, the only thing I do know for SURE, is that in the short time that I''ve been rowing with Bartlon, he has never once stopped grinning form ear to ear for any longer than 5 seconds. And it''s now been 6 seconds. He''s been looking at the clouds with wide eyes and tight wrinkles, lost in thought. Even his hands, which are usually moving erratically as if they had minds of their own, are locked in place, his left hand cradling his right elbow, and his right hand thoughtfully rubbing his chin. "A pheonix..." he thinks out loud, followed by another pause. A pheonix? is that what the squiggle says? He never finished translating it for me, kinda gave up after reaching ''species'' and left me to worry by myself. Not the behavior of a proper gentleman! "Can you please finish explaining this?" I ask, although more of a polite demand than a question, and a little bit annoyed. It''s not like the squiggles will suddenly make sense if I keep looking at them! I need him to interpret! Bartlon jolts out of his stupor with a startled ''gah'' as he hears me, like I had snuck up on him in the middle of the night and BOO''d him from behind a tree. Had he completely forgotten that I was here? I wouldn''t be surprised! And if the apologetic look in his brown eyes was any indication, he had. "Ahhh, sorry, I was just thinking... something that takes longer at my age" he says with a quick grin before continuing "To discover that my first ever passenger is a pheonix!" he cheers, arms raised to the skies "I still don''t believe it!.... well, actually... that does answer a lot of questions about you, maybe I can believe it? I should believe it!". I''m glad to his his hands back in action after so long. So I am a pheonix? Its not a illness or curse, but who I am? I still don''t fully understand it, but Bartlon seems happy, so it''s probably a good thing right? "I don''t know what a pheonix is" I state blatantly "and I still don''t know what the rest of these squigglies mean too!" I grump, somewhat aggressively reminding him of my issue. Bartlon chuckles at my frustration. "It''s you, you are a pheonix!'' he says pointing at the squiggle with gusto, "They are legendary birds, known for their insane magical strength and immortality that even the gods envy!" his voice crescending with every word until he''s short of breathe "These creatures are on par with true blooded dragons in terms of their power to raze cities and cripple kingdoms! Though they rarely appear or attack, to even sight one in passing is said to bring a blessing of great fortune for many years! But, to fend off such a living calamity would require 2, nay, at least 3 well prepared heroes!". At this point, he''s panting from exertion, yet he still finds the lung capacity to squeeze out one last sentence. "And I''m sitting right next to one! In my boat! Helping her cross a lake no less!"Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. A brief silence lingers. He takes a second to swallow his saliva and steady his breathing from the exhausting rant. I too, take a moment to recover from seeing him so riled up, it''s a huge amount of information to process, but I feel a strange emotion bubbling in my belly, it feels good. Something like inspiration? "I''ve only heard a few stories from when I used to be an adventurer" Bartlon resumes after calming himself "So forgive me for getting so excited, I haven''t shown that much energy in years" he sighs with an embarrassed smile. He then starts reminiscing to whatever being an ''adventurer'' was, smiling fondly. So this is the problem he was thinking about? I don''t see why he''s so concerned about me being a pheonix! It sounds like an amazing thing! Will I grow up to be strong and powerful like how he said? Will I be respected as much as the pheonixs'' that Bartlon admires? Also! More importantly! He forgot to explain the rest of the squigglies again! For chirping out loud! "Oi!" I snap at the dazed Bartlon. I hop over to my status, use a talon to point at the unmentioned squiggles and shoot Bartlon a cross look. I wonder how he''s going to get distracted this time? But, he gets the message. I think he gained a new respect for my authority somewhere in the last few seconds. "Right, sorry, if I were to guess, I think that Bellows, your seconds skill here" he says while tapping the ''Bellows'' squiggle "this is what allows you to talk to me. The rest is...well... this one says Cinders, so probably a fire spell, this says Mythical, not sure what it does, Fire to Fire, more fire things I guess, Profound Fire Affinity, I actually know this one, if I remember correctly, its your ability to manipulate fire among other fiery... things, I''ve met a few mages with it" he pauses as he muses over the last squiggle. "The last trait is distorted and jumbled, I can''t read it, definitely not something I''ve seen before. Might be a special trait for a pheonix? No clue whatsoever. That''s everything. Is there anything else you want me to read?" he asks with earnest attention. He got Bellows wrong, but WOW! What a complete attitude reversal! The moment he finished his long list of praises for pheonix kind, he became vastly more obedient! Are pheonixs'' really that scary to change him so much?! Or maybe its more of a ''starstruck'' obedience? Either way. I like it. "No thank you Bartlon! I should be able to understand my status all by myself now! But if anything new appears, I might need you to translate again! Although maybe you can teach me how to understand the squiggles without your help? That would be way more convenient" I happily chirp. "Teaching you to read would be... not suited for me, I''m not much of a teacher" Bartlon replies a little disheartened "though I''d be delighted to read it for you again if you need me to". Bartlon twists around to get a view of the blue tree, probably to redirect our course. It''s not really necessary as we''re basically there, he''s been rowing like a champion! For an old man he''s super fit! I wouldn''t be able to row like him! Or row at all. Wait a minute. Hang on a second. I can''t row can I? I wouldn''t be able to row this boat! So if Bartlon wasn''t there in the morning, I wouldn''t be where I am now. Oh my gosh, I can''t believe I never took that into consideration!! How I was I so silly?! "Oh, and as a precaution, you shouldn''t show your status to anyone else, or talk to anyone else for that matter, unless you can absolutely trust them! Most humans won''t hesitate to harm you if they learn about your legendary heritage, unfortunate, but the truth" he warns, twisting back to me with an expression that could only be described as ''dead serious''. "There will most likely be one or two people on Harou''s Tree collecting sap like myself. I don''t know what you''re going to do there, but you shouldn''t raise their attention. Most likely, they won''t be combat ready, but still, you''re only level 4, you won''t survive, and if you do, you will be hunted relentlessly. Not a joke". What? Hunted relentlessly? Who is this person? This isn''t the same ever-smiling Bartlon I was talking to earlier. Are the other members of his own race so despicable as to make him this serious? Then, as if the uneasy atmosphere never existed, Bartlon''s same old happy energy returns and he announces some great news. "We''ll be there in 5 minutes, so get ready!" he trumpets, redoubling his rowing efforts with powerful, long strokes. I whistle in acknowledgement and squeeze myself past Bartlon to take my position on the small row boat''s bow like a glorified figure head. The pure air helps distract me from Bartlon''s warning as it rushes by. I bet flying freely by myself would feel even better. This little lake-fare has been pretty stressful, it will be nice to stretch my wings and clear my head on the land. I hope I don''t regret coming to this tree. Harou Tree 5, Fire Flapping When looking from the opposite side of the lake, its hard to appreciate how other-worldly beautiful this tree is. Sure, its gigantic, blue, and has hundreds of thick branches stretching up to the azure sky, donned by snow white leaves. But when you''re right next to it... imagine a piece of art, something so old and extraordinary, that only a god-like master painter would be capable of bringing it to life, yet here it exists. The first thing you notice, is how the water that girts the tree goes from a light blue, to a white. The water itself doesn''t change color, its the overhanging branches that sprinkle leaves who are at fault. The current isn''t strong enough to wash away the leaves before the new ones fall, so there''s a thick layer of glowing white leaves everywhere, although they look more like petals than leaves because of their size and shape. The second thing you notice is the tree. It seems to grow in size the closer you get. Which sounds obvious, but it''s still bigger than I thought. I''m upgrading it from gigantic to gargantuan or colossal. Even the larger roots jutting from the ground are the size of regular trees. Just looking at the trunk makes me feel like a spec of dust in comparison. Very magical indeed. As Bartlon rows the boat through the water we leave an out of place, yet pretty, trail of clear water where the leaves were pushed aside. From the front of the boat it feels as if I''m floating through a light falling snow towards an enchanting tree. If it wasn''t for the humidity and heat, the illusion would be perfect! Such a shame, maybe I can come back in the winter? But then the tree wouldn''t have leaves to shed! urrghhh. "You''d better hop down now!" Bartlon says from behind me "we''re about to land!" Land? why is it called landing when we aren''t flying? Boats are weird. I comply flap down to the floor as the boat grinds against something beneath the layer of leaves and shudders to a halt. Which in my opinion was a close call! Bartlon should of warned me sooner! I could have fallen! I choose to say nothing, I just hum away the anger as I watch Bartlon use an oar to poke at the leaves in front of the boat. I''m guessing that the leaves are obscuring where the water touches the shore, making it hard to judge if its safe to disembark. Unless its more strange boat things I don''t understand. Like, maybe he''s knocking on the floor to announce his arrival? "It will take about 2 hours for me to collect the sap, so be back by then!" he groans, each word separated by a poke of his oar. Bartlon gives one last poke into the bed of leaves before he''s satisfied and he tucks away the oar back under the wooden seat. He opens up a little pouch on his hip, rumages around and drops a purple stone in the boat, strange. Then, with a combination of ''grrnts'' and ''hupps'', he jumps out of the boat with unexpected grace and lands in the leaves that go up to his shins. He turns to face me with a lofty smile on his face, as if he performed an amazing acrobatic act, and trudges towards the hulking tree. "2 hours" the back-turned old man reminds me again. "Okie Doke" I promise back. I can hear a sloshing sound as he walks and I can see a glimmer of reflection in his footsteps. I know what watery evil is hiding under those white leaves. There''s no way I''m jumping down there too! It might go up to Bartlon''s shins, but that would be my chest! That''s almost fully submerged! I''d die! Or at the very least, be super uncomfortable! I need another way to cross! There''s a thick root about three meters away from the boat. There''s actually many aerial roots breaking up the landscape of white leading to the trunk, but this one''s the closest. This is the perfect chance to get some flying practice done! Sink or swim! Hopefully I swim! Not literally of course, that would be the worst.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. In all honesty, I''d rather call back Bartlon before he''s too far away and ask him to carry me to land, but I can''t bring myself to. I''m an independent bird! And flying is at the top of my to-do list now that I''ve arrived at the tree! Also, I''d be reminding him that I can''t fly, which after hearing how amazing pheonixs'' are supposed to be, makes me a little depressed. HOWEVER! This time! I have a secret technique!! It starts with a ''C'', and ends with an ''inders''. Of course, I''m talking about using Cinders to propel me upwards! I can already fly somewhat, so using Cinders should help me stay airborne! The thought occurred to me when I was fighting the Misty Death, or was it the the Rattling Snakes? I don''t remember, yesterday feels like so long ago, let alone two days ago, but I''m eager to try! This will be spectacular! I flap up to the boat''s side and eye my target. Its a little bit less than 3 meters away and slightly higher in altitude to the boat. I already know I can fly directly up about a meter, which is more than enough. I''m not sure how far I can go, but 3 meters shouldn''t be too far, I''m feeling confident, Cinders should help too! I assume a stance where both my wings are poised for flapping and I work up the courage to commit to the flight. After all, 3 meters has never been done before! I mean there was that one time when I jumped off my cliff-like mountain into the forest, but that doesn''t really count. it was more like a barely controlled free-fall than flight. I''ve come a long way since then. "Cinders" I caw as I jump off the boat and flap speedily. The burst of heat on my wings and belly feel lovely, the abrupt increase in height also feels fantastic! The plan is a resounding success, as I knew it would be! Fire Flapping is a go! "Cinders" I caw again, earning myself another jump in height, far past my personal best of a meter. "Cinders". Another jump and I''m now at 2 meters high, way higher than I need to be to get to the root, but its just too fun not to fly higher! I bet I could easily go to 10 meters if I wanted to! I angle my head forwards, lining up the bridge of my beak with where I''m aiming to land and I use Cinders a fourth time. The amount of speed I gain is a little unexpected, as in, I go too quick, turns out flying forward is easier than going upwards. Thankfully, the unexpected speed means I don''t have to flap much over the 3 meter gap. I just hold out my wings and glide lazily until the root gets closer, that''s when the real flapping begins. The landing. I can already see the ''Falling Damage'' squiggle in my mind. I near the target, a little too high, so I use a Cinders in front to slow me down. The Cinders slows me down a bit too much, now I''m undershooting, so I use 2 more Cinders to push me forward, which points me on course. The only issue now is that I''m falling rather quickly, so another 3 weak Cinders in rapid-fire slows me down enough so can I land gracefully in a fountain of my own fire.
+ 1 Intelligence
"How was that!?!?" I shout at the tree "My wings don''t even hurt in the slightest!" That was the best flight attempt, ever. All the leaves that are covering the root are on fire, but that''s an acceptable sacrifice. They seem to burn quickly, incinerating in the blink of an eye until the whole root is exposed in all it''s blue glory. By some sort of magic, the untouched leaves surrounding the root get blown in a gust that pushes them to a safe distance from the flames and my fire quickly dies out. Lucky, good job wind! Oh that reminds me! "Status" I say out loud.
Name: -----, ------ Health: 81/81 Mana: 102/136
Level 4 (191/400) Strength: 12 Endurance: 19
Species: Pheonix Dexterity: 11 Intelligence: 40
Class: Pheonix, Level 2 Affinity: 24
Skills Traits
Cinders, Level 2 Mythical
Bellows, Level 1 Fire to Fire
Profound Fire Affinity
Dungeon Bound
Yup, my Mana has gone down! I had a feeling that Cinders and Bellows had something to do with mana, I think its ''insufficitnietns mana'' when it reaches 0 or something like that. Its recovering quickly though, about 1 every 4 seconds. If I wait a moment it''ll be back to full and I can fly again! In a way, getting more Mana would be better than Strength and Dexterity if I want to fly freely! Though I wonder how I can get more mana? I''m fairly sure I never got any from leveling up or from running or fighting. Maybe its impossible to get anymore? I guess I can ask Bartlon when I see him next, he should know! I eye up another root protruding from the shallow water, this time its 5 meters away and lower to the ground. Its a bit flatter too, so the landing should be easier. I climb up to the highest point on the root and I raise my wings for take-off. Another blast of fire and I''m rocketing upwards in a spray of cinders. the rush of wind and momentary weightlessness is welcoming, as if until now I''ve been crawling instead of walking. It feels right. The leaves on the root that I''m aiming for are parted by another gust of wind while I''m mid-flight, as if they can sense their impending fiery doom. I don''t wanna question why, it''s fairly convenient. My brilliant landing doesn''t ignite any leaves this time, which I''m impartial too. Even if fire is pretty, I don''t won''t to see all the leaves reduced to ashes, they have a certain attractiveness too. There are still countless giant roots resting above the carpet of white on the ground, forming a natural maze around the trunk, which means plenty of practice for me! I''ll fire flap my way to the blue trunk! Then... I dunno, there will probably be something cool to do there! I''ve still got plenty of time before Bartlon comes back! Harou Tree 6, Fire Failing I poise my my wings up in the air and tense up my muscles for instant action. This root isn''t far away, roughly 7 meters, and its fairly large too, not that I''ve missed my mark so far, but it would be nice to keep it that way. Although if by some miracle I did miss, the leaves should be safe to fall in by now. I''ve put a good distance between Bartlon''s boat and myself during flying practice, I can''t even see it if I look back anymore! Its hidden by the huge, maze-like roots. "Cinders" I squall as I take off! The world lurches and the wind whistles in my ears as Cinders thrusts me through the air at terrific speed. The several meter gap closes in the blink of an eye. I don''t even need to flap at all, the inertia is enough to carry me the entire distance. I simply unfurl my wings as the root approaches to slow myself, then give a few quick flaps to stick the landing. As of lately, I haven''t been holding back on the fire power for Cinders, opting for full force! Something about going as fast as possible is exhilarating! albeit, very unnecessary and dangerous, but heaps of fun! Its kinda crazy to think how effective Cinders is for flying, I can go from super fast to a complete halt in just a few flaps! Without it, I don''t think I would of even made it half as far. I''m starting to think that Cinders isn''t supposed to be a means of attack, but a method of achieving fiery flight instead. I''ve been using it wrong this whole time! And I''ve gotten pretty good at zooming across these roots too, if I do say so myself. Each root I try to go a little faster, or land a little smoother, striving for the perfect flight! It''s very fun. It makes the passing minutes feel like seconds. "Cinders" I squawk again in delight, hurtling a nearby leaf-covered root like a bird-shaped comet. I wonder if Bartlon is having a hard time getting over these roots? He must be climbing over them one by one! That''s something I''d never have the patience to do! I''m only about halfway to the tree even when I''m flying overhead. If I couldn''t fly, I''d just give up. Its too much effort. "Cinders" I repeat after landing. Another root falls victim to fire flapping practice... another, and another follow soon after. Because I''m only using Cinders once, sometimes twice if I misjudge, I can zoom around nearly indefinitely, my mana replenishes almost as quick as I''m using it. If I can somehow get more Mana then I can really step it up and do some serious aerial acrobatics! I absolutely must ask Bartlon how to get it. Or maybe I don''t need to ask?
Cinders has reached level 3
+ 3 Affinity
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.I immediately halt my actions and bring my status to attention while squirming in happiness.YES!! A level up!
Name: -----, ------ Health: 81/81 Mana: 130/148
Level 4 (191/400) Strength: 12 Endurance: 19
Species: Pheonix Dexterity: 11 Intelligence: 40
Class: Pheonix, Level 2 Affinity: 27
Skills Traits
Cinders, Level 3 Mythical
Bellows, Level 1 Fire to Fire
Profound Fire Affinity
Dungeon Bound
Did Cinders level up? What!? When was it level 2?! Why did I only get Affinity and nothing else? Is this different from my own level? Oh gosh, I should of asked more question when Bartlon explained it. Level ups are important after all! They make me stronger, more levels can never be a bad thing. OH MY LORDY!! MY MANA!! Its definitely higher than before right? I''m not seeing things am I? Affinity gives me mana! No wonder I couldn''t understand what it did! If I had never learned about my status, I still wouldn''t know! Such a grand discovery! Affinity is now joining the team of my small to-do list. Just above slimming my tummy and a bit beneath finding the fluffiest blanket in the world, a place of supreme importance. I must flap harder! The root-strewn obstacle course leading to the trunk of the giant blue tree blurs below me as I blaze over-top. I barely touch down on the roots for a heartbeat before I''m already darting to the next in a fiery explosion. Every millisecond of flying practice beforehand is put to full use with every maneuver. I don''t even stutter for a moment as my wings operate on instinct alone, twisting, gliding and flapping, all for the purpose of safely guiding me to my immediate destination. That destination being the trunk. The very same trunk that''s getting a little too close, a little too fast for comfort... and it looks a lot more solid than I remember. Did I already make it this far? I''m getting a sense of Deja vu. I kick my legs forwards and hold out my wings as far as I can stretch them, hoping to catch as much wind as possible. Predictably, it does hardly anything to dampen the amount of speed I had built up using fire flapping and I continue to rush uncontrollably at the resolute wall of blue bark. Panic starts to set in and time slows down as the inevitable crash unfolds. I must fight fire with fire! If Cinders got me into this mess, it can get me out! "Cinders" I yell, heaving my wings with everything I have, just seconds from impact.
Insufficient Mana
Oh no *Donk*
Suffered 28 Falling Damage
"Garrgghhhhhhhhh!" Why. Why. Why did Cinders betray me?
Suffered 2 Piercing Damage
Suffered 1 Piercing Damage
Suffered 1 Piercing Damage
Why is this bark so splintery?
Suffered 1 Piercing Damage
Suffered 1 Piercing Damage
My whole body groans in pain as I slide down the tree, collecting an assortment of tiny wooden spears under my feathers. My arms had taken the brunt of the ''fall'', but ouch, that really sucked, I went a little overboard with the speed. At least, at the base of the tree, there''s a nice bed of soft, white leaves waiting to accept me with open ar-I mean stems. I feel like taking a short break anyway. Sinking down to my neck in the white embrace, I take the fetal position and pluck out the splinters with the tip of my beak, regretting my recklessness as the pain recedes. Well... I''m here right? Harou Tree 7, Canopy After removing every nasty splinter with tedious care, I look up from my comforting white sea of leaves and my head instantly woozes at the sight of the blue tree''s canopy. Its so high and there are so many branches! This must be the biggest tree in the whole world! A tiny, pearly white, petal-shaped leaf falls from above and lands on my forehead. Sending a greeting. I wonder if I can even reach that high up? I think I should just explore the base first, then try to fly up, maybe there''ll be some lower hanging branches to aim for? I shake myself free of all the leaves that had piled atop me and I circle around the trunk while keeping an eye up above. I see lots of branches, none of them very low. Also, I didn''t think about how long it would take to do a lap around the trunk, so I give up after about 10 minutes. I''d be here all day if I went the whole way around! I''d rather just go upwards! Risk it for the biscuit! A quick check tells me my Mana is full, Health also! Now''s my chance. I know its a super long way up, I couldn''t even place a guess at how high, but I believe in Cinders to push me higher than ever before! And if I can''t make it, I probably, hopefully, with my talons crossed, won''t die. I can still flap with my own strength! I''m not 100% reliant on Cinders to fly, only about 90%, should I end up falling, I can aim fora big pile ofleaves and not a solid root, I should survive. Happy thoughts! I will make it! I clamber up to the highest reaching root for takeoff, not that it''ll make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things, but every little bit is reassuring. I slowly flap in preparation, feeling the fire in my heart stirring in excitement as I take in the dizzying heights. My wings come to a stand still as they reach their zenith, sparks of yellow flame lashing out from between my feathers as I''m unable to contain the amassing fire. The wind, once again, seems to magically sweep up the countless leaves around me, sparing them from the drawing destruction building within me. Way to go wind! Nice timing again! "Cinders" I exhale, accompanied by the biggest flap of my life ever... so far. The root beneath me erupts in a wave of flame as I shoot up vertically to the skies. I don''t look back to take in the aftermath of my flap, I physically and mentally can''t. I can only hope I haven''t set the whole island on fire, that flap was more explosive than I thought it would be. The distant treetop doesn''t appear to get any closer from my initial Cinders, but the trunk parallel to me does indicate I have gotten higher. If it wasn''t for the blurry trunk I would of thought I haven''t moved at all! A testament to high even the lowest branches are! I feel my speed rapidly wash off from the launch, slowing me tremendously. I raise my wings up above my head just before I come to a halt and another vent of Cinders and spray of flame sends me accelerating once more, although not as much as before, that was a real flap. The process repeats over and over, slowly draining me of my Mana all for the purpose of reaching those tantalizing branches that own the sky. A thought occurs to me. Is this even considered flying? I don''t see any other birds shooting out flames from their wings like me. I''m kind of cheating. Yesterday I couldn''t even get higher than a meter! Today I''m... well I don''t want to look down and check, but I''m sure its higher than a meter. Flying like this feels surreal. Its amazing, revitalizing, welcoming and special, but a bit unfair. I''m glad to be born as a Pheonix! I wonder what I''ll have achieved by tomorrow? Could I even fly to the sun? I want to fly across the whole world!Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. This tree is but a stepping stone! A very high stepping stone... a very, very, very.... A leaping stone? That sounds more accurate. Tis but a leaping stone. My wings are actually getting tired. I''m only flapping about once every 8 seconds, but they''re big flaps! I have to be as efficient as possible with my Mana! My instincts tell me so. "Cinders" I caw out, climbing higher, higher than any bird has ever been. The branches have definitively gotten closer, they''re just so far away it''s hard to tell, its subtle, and the tree''s thickness has been fairly consistent, it hasn''t gotten any narrower as it gets higher. How high am I? Other than noticing the air''s thinness, It''s hard to tell how far up I''ve gotten. I decide to sneak a brief glance at my feet as I go for the next Cinders. Hmm. That''s concerning. I was just half joking when I thought of it earlier, but... it might actually possible, that I''m scared of heights? I tear my gaze away from the ground of white and firmly lock eyes with my goal. No way! I couldn''t be scared! Birds fly, that''s what we do. I am a bird. The best bird. Bartlon said so. I''m sure everyone gets queasy on their first flight? Not that I''m going to look down again to confirm, once was enough. At least was able to confirm that I have made it pretty far! As expected of me! I am amazing! "Just keep flying~ Cinders!" "Just keep flying~ Cinders!" "Don''t look down~ Cinders!" "Fly, fly, fly~ Cinders!" "What do we do? We fly. Fly. Fly! Cinders!" I encore my little song over and over, adding little whistle trills and tone inflections to spice up each performance so every rendition is special. My song is the only noise to fill the air. I like to sing, it helps me pass time and distract me from very scary falls, perfect for the current situation! The once distant blue canopy crawls closer with every repeat of my reassuring tune, so close it feels as if I could reach out and peck it. Just several more flaps and I will be able to do exactly that! I flap on, spanning the short distances in quick bursts, feeling my overtaxed mana nearing depletion. Some thing I haven''t noticed before, but if I focus on the fire in my heart, I can feel the mana being used. Maybe If I pay enough attention to my heart I might be able tell how much mana I have without even looking at my status! That would be great! Its quite annoying when my status explodes behind my eyes. It gives me a small headache every time and the way it makes my vision all muddy and blurry is terrifying, I don''t like it, even if it is very useful "Cinders" I call out for the final time, my voice a little hoarse from constantly singing and Cinder''ing. Lucky too, as my mana would only a allow for maybe 4 or 5 more flaps. My talons clack against the bright blue wood in unison and I flop to my stomach, giving my poor wings a much needed break. A large exhale escapes my beak and I take comfort in laying down. Who knows how long I had been flapping? At least Cinders made the task far easier than doing it normally, flying up here would be impossible! Looking around I realize that there are no other birds around, I''m completely alone. The lack of birdsong is a little unnerving. Strange. Birds and trees are usually inseparable! maybe it really is impossible to get up here unless you''re a Pheonix? The creaking and groans of this ancient tree are the only sounds to be heard, and the aren''t very comforting, sounding more like grunts of pain and suffering, which they very well might be, this tree is old. My imagination making it seem scarier than it is. I bob my head up and down, mentally dispelling the paranoia. Its still a little frightening though, the screeching noises contrasting to the natural splendor of this humongous tree. Pushing myself to my feet and shaking off the fallen leaves from my body, I shoot up to a higher branch with Cinders. With nothing of interest revealing itself yet I can only explore until something appears! There''s bound to be something hiding in this canopy!.There''s still plenty of branches above me, each holding the promise of hidden treasure. No clue what it would be, but I''m guessing something neat! I don''t want to think about how upset I''ll be if this turns out to be a fruitless venture I flutter from branch to branch, igniting a few unlucky leaves on the thick branches in the process. My mana replenishing slowly without the need to constantly use Cinders as I make my way higher and higher. The view from up here is nice. Being in the center of the forest and so high up offers a welcoming panoramic scene. Emerald green jungle trees of varying heights and description fade to dense forest as they near the sky piercing mountains that surround the vista, almost as if this jungle was the extend of the world and the mountains were the border that prevent you from falling off the side. Just a silly thought of course, Between the gaps of the mountains I can see more mountains in the far distance promising more fantastic sights. How I wish to fly to every stretch of the world... once I get more mana... It''s another 10 minutes of aimless flying until something worth investigating comes to my attention among the endless, blue branches. Two things actually. The first being a very large, rock solid, shiny pale green type of nut hanging precariously from the thin outer branches. The size of me! Not very exciting, but still interesting. It might be tasty? If I can figure out how to crack it open. The second discovery is far more fascinating, putting the tasty looking nut to shame. It''s also something I would of never expected from this tree in particular! I mean the wood is healthy, the leaves are falling happily and the tree as a whole stands proudly over it''s peers, dominating the entire jungle. Yet, despite the indications that this tree is alive and strong... The trunk is hollow. Harou Tree 8, Dead Roots I lean over the expanse of the hollow trunk, straining my eyes to see in the thick darkness within. There are a few holes along the length of the trunk, allowing sunlight to pierce through, yet strangely, the light seems to be swallowed up greedily by the dark, leaving the inside as an empty void. Looking into the abyss feels ominous, as if its looking back, searching for prey to consume. Probably just my imagination going crazy again! why am I so jittery today? "Hmm" I hum while musing how to properly react to this discovery. Certainly unexpected. The biggest mystery is how is this tree even alive while it''s missing most of it''s trunk?!! The only thing holding it together is the thick outer shell of blue bark! How can it even support the weight of it''s branches? It makes no sense! This is giving me a headache. Or, could it be that all trees are hollow like this one and I haven''t noticed before? I should check when I''m back in the jungle. I twist around, planning to conclude my investigation of the branches and return to the island, taking that giant green nut with me. Maybe if I dropped it from high up it would crack open? Just thinking about the yummy insides is making my salivate! Except... a shimmer of ghostly white catches the corner of my eye, appearing from the deepest depths of the hollow tree. Instantly I swing back, hovering my neck over the edge of the trunk, readjusting my eyes back to the dark. I can see something now. The faintest trace of light sitting at the base of the endless black pit. Not sunlight, its too white, maybe it might be a collection of leaves? They do glow in the dark like my feathers. Yes, that must be it, just leaves, nothing else! A gnawing doubt chews away in the back of my mind, filling me with a fearful curiosity. I have faith in my eyesight, even at a huge distance like this. If it really were leaves, why couldn''t I see it before? Something is telling me that whatever that faint whiteness is, its not leaves. If only I were closer... Just a little bit won''t hurt! I dart my eyes left and right and find a little ledge about 7 meters down, where a tiny ray of sunlight pokes through. There! I swallow timidly, surprising myself at how dry my mouth is. Golly gosh! My nerves are a wreck! I''m not usually scared of dark places! why now? Just do it! There aren''t any monster hiding in the darkness waiting to eat me! That''s preposterous! Although, the darkness is making me feel really uneasy... I flutter down to the ledge using Cinders to land safely and I notice the light of my flames be consumed by the darkness quicker than it was illuminated. But that must just be my imagination! Right?! See?! I''m still alive, completely fine! No monsters lurking in the dark! I peer back into the depths from my new vantage point. The faint ethereal white below still no more visible than it was before. I guess several or so meters doesn''t matter much. With a sigh, I look for another breach in the trunk, which proves to be a little more difficult. The holes are already sparse, even less common the further down they get. But, I find a nice hole in the bark roughly 18 meters down which I quickly flap to.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The temperature plummets unnaturally as I fall deeper, joining the encompassing lack of light in fighting to snuff out my glorious bright glow. My effort to reach the sunlit bastionbeneath me grows more frantic with every passing second enveloped in black. My rampant fear picturing shadowy claws like the Misty Death''s aimed at my exposed wings and neck, lashing from every direction as the ledge nears. Maybe I should just burn this whole tree down? That''d put an end to this terrifying trunk! I let out a breathe I didn''t even know I was holding as my talons clutch around the split in the trunk, the several second flight through the dark too scary for my delicate mind. I poke my head out of the trunk to the world outside, just to grab some fresh air and calm myself, which helps immensely. The transition from the hollow trunk to the outside world is like the difference between night and day! Seeing the friendly sun radiating it''s gentle heat brings me confidence and assurance, reminding me that the hollow trunk isn''t filled with pure evil, just my imagination. I look below, at the tangle of over-sized roots covered in white and relief floods my tense muscles. Nice! I didn''t set the whole island on fire! I feel kinda bad for not checking earlier, but I got distracted searching for treasure in the branches! Priorities! Also! Bartlon is down there! I would feel terrible if I somehow ending up hurting him! That man is a kind-hearted saint, I wouldn''t lay a feather on him! Thinking of Bartlon reminds me of his countless wrinkles. Oh gosh, I hope it hasn''t been 2 hours yet, I totally forgot about the time limit. I need to finish exploring this trunk right now! I slowly crane my head back into the world of dark within the tree to see if that sparkle at the bottom has gotten any easier to make out. It takes another few seconds for my eyes to adapt to the absence of light. Yep. The white thing down there definitely isn''t a pile of leaves, my hunch was correct! But what is it? A super leaf? I can only tell that its white, smooth and probably very big. I think I can also see more traces of white scattered in the pit of the trunk. I''m just too far away to know for sure! I need to get just a little bit closer, then I can fly back to the boat and wait for Bartlon with my curiosity satisfied. The white thingy might even be treasure! A giant pillow perhaps?! I doubt anyone else has been able to make it inside the trunk before, I''d be the first to find it! The pillow will be mine! I scout out another ledge to glide to, but the pickings are slim. There are only 3 safe-looking ledges to land on, the lowest being about 35 meters down with only the faintest wisp of natural light filtering through. Urgency and greed coax me into choosing this ledge to aim for. I don''t want to spend precious minutes slowly hopping from perch to perch, that would take forever! I dive from my current hole in the trunk, trucking my wings to my side to cut through the air with as much speed as possible, the cold air whipping over my face and body, sending shivers down my spine. Why is it so cold in here? I''m going to turn into a Popsicle! Several silent seconds tick by timelessly as I dive through the black void, my attention solely focused on the rapidly nearing wisp of sunlight. Here we go! I spread out my wings wide and flap heartily with Cinders in quick succession to stop my high-speed descent, relishing in the warmth of my fire pushing back at the cold. As my talons latch onto the tiny ledge, the darkness and cold air mercilessly rushes around me, cold-heatedly stealing my brief second of comfort in an instant. Such a bully! Grrrrrrrr. Maybe I really should burn this tree down? Or, just a little bit at least? I''m seriously considering this as payback for making me scared! I push aside my destructive thoughts, thinking of a giant pillows to help keep me calm and happy and refocusing on the main task at hand, identifying the big mysterious white object which has gotten close enough to see clearly. Or maybe its not a pillow? What is it though?! I kinda recognize it? I''ve seen something similar to that before, but I can''t quite place it. "hmmmmmmmmmmmmm" I hum angrily while I try to identify the not-so-mysterious thing with my burning gaze. How frustrating! I just know I''ve seen this thing before! Its oval shaped, with a pair of holes either side on top and a smaller pair of holes at the end of a protrusion in the front. At the bottom of the protrusion is a row of zig-zagging sharp points of different lengths, mirrored by a similar C-shaped row of zig-zags under it. Its large and intimidating, something I''ve never seen before, yet so similar to something I have seen before! So Infuriating that I can''t put a feather on it. Its on the tip of my beak! I''m going to go crazy if I can''t figure it out! A minute passes with my irritated humming echoing up the length of the trunk.
+ 1 Intelligence
Ahh, that''s it. Almost exactly the same as the Rattling Worm''s, only this one is humongous and has more teeth. Its a skull. Harou Tree 9, Not a Pillow This tree is going to give me a migraine! Nothing about it makes sense!... Yep, there it is, I can feel the pain building right between my eyes, I just knew it! Too many questions without answers. This is starting to get silly! I almost want to leave and pretend this never happened, just head back to the boat, and do anything else. I pass my gaze over the rest of the scattered white things around the skull. They''re bones. Why are they so big?! Impossibly big! Although they don''t glow as bright as the skull, I can clearly see that even the smallest of them are way bigger than I am. What was this thing? It must of been massive! The size of a hill! Urghhhhhhhhhh, my brain doesn''t appreciate all these questions. I press my wings over my face to both rub my eyes and shield myself from the cold air. That''s another question too, why''s it so cold? It feels like the skull is radiating a freezing chill from it''s eye-less sockets. What did I do to you? How could anything even kill a creature like this in the first place? Argh! No enough! "Cinders" I shout out in frustration, showering flames over my body to stave off the cold. The relief only temporary before the empty void grips me again with it''s icy grasp, causing me more ire. "I need a blanket" I mumble through a gritted beak, puffing my feathers in annoyance. I don''t like it here, its too dark, too cold and too spooky. It sucks. This is not the fun exploration I had planned. This tree is a let down. I''ve had it. "Since its not a pillow... I want nothing to do with it" I huff. I scrunch my face at the imposing skeleton before looking up, hoping to convey my anger one final time before I leave. This tree is definitely going to suffer some burn marks by the time I''m gone... I harness the fire in my soul, feeling it flow from my heart and surge through my veins with unmatched destructive fury as I slowly raise my wings. Crackling golden sparks lash from between my feathers as I build up the fire, provoking the cold darkness to circle around me like a freezing typhoon, yet I push on, stoking the fire more and more, providing my abundance of mana to fend off the building wind. The tips of my outstretched wings ignite in red flames to match the blazing inferno in my soul, the distant howling of the air barely a whisper in comparison.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. I smile contently as the deep shadows shirk away from my brilliant display of light. Never before have I felt so much strength roaring inside me! Its unstoppable! "Cinders" I caw out eagerly.
Cinders has reached level 4
+ 3 Affinity
My stomach lurches downwards and my eyes squeeze tight while I explode up the trunk in a single, powerful flap. The skull all but forgotten. A thunderous and satisfying ''PWOOSH'' chases at my heels, illuminating the blue bark in a deep orange and warming the trunk''s interior by several degrees. Yes! I''m outta here! I mentally encourage more fire to gather into my wings as my ascent begins to taper off, coaxing my feathers to reignite in their red glory before I slam down with another flap.
+ 1 Strength
"Cinders has gotten so cool now!" I exclaim happily into the whistling wind, giddy at noticing the squiggles ''level up'' and ''strength'' making an appearence. I''m a proper bird now! Flying is as easy as lifting a feather! I''ve reached peak-bird performance, Its the best! It feels like it was only yesterday when I was almost entirely grounded, forced to walk everywhere and unable to fly up to even a regular-sized tree to sleep, I''ve come SO far since then... oh... wait a minute... I think that was yesterday... hmmm, I can''t tell if that makes me happy or sad. Oh well! I don''t need to dwell on it any longer! Its in the past! I continue to fly up the inside of the hollowed trunk to the opening in the canopy, using Cinders with reckless abandon, pouring excessive mana into each flap just to make it as powerful and pretty as possible. What can I say? I love fiery things, especially explosions, and Cinders seems to get more explosive with each level up. Plus! Any scorch marks on this tree are a small victory. I even go out of my way to fly closer to the bark, ensuring there''s a little charring. This tree put me through more than enough misery to deserve it... With every beat of my wings the opening overhead widens further. The massive blue branches parting way to reveal the fresh azure sky and radiant yellow sun in their much-missed warm embrace. I let out a little squeak of joy when my body passes through the boundary separating the inside from the outside. Greeted by the humid air I inhale deeply, feeling an excited energy return and an unseen weight lift from my tiny birdy-shoulders as I exhale. The familiar sight of the emerald jungle working wonders to sooth my nerves. I learned something today. Don''t go to cold places. And also. Avoid the living version of whatever that skeleton was. Harou Tree 10, Laborious Fruits
Suffered 1 Falling Damage
"C''MON YOU SILLY NUT!" I shout in anger. I hop back to my feet and wrap my arms around the nut in question, standing on top of a branch below it. "Why won''t you let go!!" I complain for the millionth time while sinking my talons into the wood and pulling with all of my might. The stem of the nut strains under my tug, but holds tight, refusing to separate from the stupid tree. Why! "Just come with me Nutty, I''ll take you away from this abusive tree and give you a good home..." I attempt to coo while under strain "...in my belly!" Muscles burning, I exert the rest of my strength, hugging the nut even harder and clenching my talons until my feet start to cramp. I bend my knees and twist my shoulders back and forth, eliciting a few snapping and groaning sounds from nut''s stem. Yes! Eyes closed in pain, I give a final tug with every ounce of my soul. *Tckk* "Muahahahah. You are mine!" I cackle maniacally, gently stroking the prize lovingly, as the canopy slips away. I just can''t wait to tuck-in to the yummy insides, its gonna taste sooooo good! Worth every second of misery in that horrifying trunk! *Don''t ask me how I know it''ll be yummy, I just do. I mean, how can it not be delicious? I had to fly all the way up here to find it!* Now that the nut is in my feathery grasp!... I just need to crack it open, which might be pretty difficult, the husk feels very sturdy. Pecking it open is undoubtedly out of question! I might damage my beak! My cute yellow beak shall never be placed in harm''s way! I need a safer method than that. Maybe I can drop a rock on it? That sound easy.. but.. ah! how am I suppose to pick up a big enough rock in the first place?! Not to mention that there won''t be any rocks in the branches here. That won''t do. I could ask Bartlon if he has any ideas, but there''s no way in chirp that I''m going to fly to Bartlon then back here! I''d starve to death on the way! That won''t do either. I''m in quite the predicament. I didn''t think this through properly. If only this nut wasn''t so ridiculously big! Its the only one I saw too, there weren''t any smaller ones around and I don''t think my legs have the strength to pluck off another. As much as I don''t want to, it looks like I might have to drop it on the roots at the bottom. Even if it might be a little messy, I can search around for the edible bits in the crash site afterwards. It sucks, but it can''t be helped, I''m starting to get hungry. Well, I''d better get to... Oh... never mind then....how did I not notice... I''m already falling. My senses switch back on, bringing the reality of my situation to light. I''m falling. Very fast. And my wings are preoccupied holding the nut. How did I not notice? I really need to pay more attention to these things! Being distracted by some over-sized nut is unbecoming! The winds howls balefully in my ears as I look up to the canopy that I thought I was in, shock widening my eyes. I''ve already fallen half-way! Golly gosh! That could''ve gone badly! I need to do something! I look at the pale green nut cradled in my wings, then at the spiraling white island below. Tears start to well in my eyes. Sacrifices must be made. I wordlessly offer a prayer to the food gods that my nut may survive this tribulation as I release it to the wind. Hopefully, it won''t get totally obliterated by the fall, I was planning on dropping it from a lower height, not from all the way up here, but I don''t really have a choice. My own health is more important than food. I fan out my wings to slow my descent and I dishearteningly watch the super-sized nut plummet away, slowly getting smaller as we drift further apart. A few of my golden tears join the nut on it''s journey. "I swear to the bird gods, that if I don''t get a nibble of that nut, the nut I worked so hard to get, someone, or something, will suffer." I promise solemnly.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it I rapidly careen down to the roots in a semi-controlled fashion, attempting to glide down with minimal effort, which proves nearly impossible. Much to my disappointment, my wingspan is still to small to glide without having to constantly flap to maintain balance and altitude. I need another feather''s length on my wingspan to do it properly. Its ok though, I''m still a growing girl! I''ll be able to do it one day! Although, I have more immediate concerns than my wingspan right now. Did my lunch survive the fall? "Cinders, Cinders, Cinders" I call out hurriedly to smooth-out my landing on one of the hundreds of protruding roots. An unfortunate number of leaves instantly combust due to my fiery entrance. No magical wind to save them this time, I guess it really was coincidence all those other times?
Suffered 3 Falling Damage
"Cinders" I call out again and again, desperately zooming from root to root towards the place I last saw my nut falling. "Oh good golly gosh I hope it survived that insane drop" I whisper in concern. My tummy is getting the serious rumbles. I''m hungry and angry! I dip, drop, duck, dive, dodge, and d''jump deftly through the tangle of of twisting roots for countless frantic minutes, before the unmistakable pale green of the nut''s hard shell catches my eye. I halt my search and immediately dive into the nest of white petals that the nut landed in with immeasurable relief. What luck! If it wasn''t for the stem of the nut poking out of the pile of leaves like a nutty-periscope I would''ve of never found it! I wiggle under the ocean of white and sweep away with my wings to find the that the nut has indeed been cracked open with a spider-web-like looking pattern offractures originating from the bottom up to the very top, but its almost entirely intact! Golly gosh I am so lucky in landed on the leaves! The leaves prevented the shell from exploding out everywhere and kept it all nice and tidy for me! I can''t tell if this tree loves me or hates me! I nudge away the fractured shell with my claws and beak to reveal the rich, dark blue seed inside, perfectly untouched by the impact of the fall and glistening invitingly. Drool pools at the edges of my beak and my tum-tum rumbles hungrily in agreement. It looks so delicious! Eat! Now! I flap to the top of the seed and use a claw to rip out a bite-sized chunk of blue goodness. Slowly raising it to my mouth I indulge in the rich nutty aroma which is so fresh and vibrant it makes me cry. I chomp down on the chunk, taking blissful seconds to feel the smooth texture and wild flavor swish around in my mouth. Ah! So sweet and crunchy! Am I in heaven? It tastes better than anything I could of ever imagined! Ohhh! There''s a little tangy taste too! I can feel a soft tingling sensation as it bubbles down my throat to it''s new home, my belly. Its simply the best! How can can such a divine taste exist?!
Haroune''s Fruit Received!
Trait Unlocked: Soul Affinity
Trait Unlocked: Lesser Light Affinity
+5% Max Health
+5% Max Mana
Ok then... "Uhh" I stutter dumbfound as I mentally process the sudden and unexpected appearance of Mr. Squiggle. "WHAAA!!" I chirp out in confusion. What! Why squiggles! What did I do?! Why now?! I can barely recognize a handful of these squiggles! ...but they feel great! Like every other good sensation I''ve had combined into one! Its euphoric! What does it mean? Could this be some type of a ''super-level-up''? I must remember the squiggles before they leave! Before that... I raise my foot to my mouth and voraciously nibble down the remaining seed in my claws, hoping to renew the sensation, to no avail. Not giving up, I reach down and pull up another chunk of seed, which I consume with greater gusto, my concern with the fleeting time making me swallow without chewing. Still, the squiggles in my brain continue fade away. That''s not good. It seems that eating this seed wasn''t the reason these squiggles showed up? Was it just random coincidence? Argh! I let go of the seed in my grasp and focus all my attention to the fading sensation, burning every strange symbol in my memory so that later, I can show them to Bartlon in hopes that his ability to understand them will shed light on this discovery. I can''t just ignore something so wonderful! I''ve never felt so satisfied by the squiggles before! Far better than ''Level Ups''! In the end, I''m only able to remember the first line of squiggles, ''Haroune''s Fruit Received'', the rest disappearing before I can memorize them fully. Maybe that''ll be enough for Bartlon to help? I hope so. Its frustrating, but I quickly drown my sorrow by shoveling down huge lumps of the scrumptious blue seed down my gullet until my belly becomes so large its actually physically uncomfortable to move. I might''ve ate my own body weight in seed! Laying on my back in the soft embrace of the leaves I stare lazily at the drifting clouds as I rub my belly. That was delish, a proper feast. I really should be heading to Bartlon and pursing these new ''super-level-up'' squiggles, but I''m just so comfortable right now. When was the last time I had a break?! I deserve a moment of peace after a filling meal! Just a few minutes won''t hurt anyone. At least I can finally say that coming to this tree was totally worthwhile, I found a nut! And even though they aren''t soft or fluffy, warm or cute, I think seeds are one of my new favorite things in the world! They''re exquisite! Oh! And I just remembered! "Status" I chirp happily.
Name: -----, ------ Health: 90/90 Mana: 138/169
Level 4 (191/400) Strength: 13 Endurance: 20
Species: Pheonix Dexterity: 11 Intelligence: 41
Class: Pheonix, Level 2 Affinity: 30
Status
Haroune''s Fruit
Skills Traits
Cinders, Level 4 Mythical
Bellows, Level 1 Fire to Fire
Profound Fire Affinity
Soul Affinity
Lesser Light Affinity
Dungeon Bound
"Oh great... more I don''t understand" I sigh with resignation. This is going to get out of hand... Harou Tree 11, Foul Winds After several more heavenly and well-deserved moments of peaceful resting in my cushion of leaves, I reluctantly bring my short break to an end by performing a series of lethargic toe-touches to get my blood circulating. There''s a time limit to be mindful of, so I gotta get a wiggle-on and hope Bartlon doesn''t get angry with me! I can''t keep lounging around forever, as much as I wish I could. Ahh, how nice it would be to spend my day doing nothing but sleeping in a snug blanket and eating the yummiest foods. Just thinking about the fantasy makes me want to snuggle back into the leaves and have a nice long nap, yet... a fantasy is all it can be. I need the boat to cross the lake and I also need Bartlon to explain the new squiggles I found, two very important tasks I can''t do by myself! "Just two hours is too short Bartlon!" I huff loudly while swimming over the leaves to the closest root. At least give me some time to have a nap! Such a shame I don''t have any pouches on my waist to carry things like Bartlon does, I''m starting to realize how helpful they''d be! I''d love to be able to take this leafy bed around with me everywhere I go, its so amazingly airy and soft! A worthy material to support my delicate body whilst I slumber! And although its not quite as comfortable as my small brown blankets in the tunnel, these leaves aren''t soggy and stinky with blood, so they get bonus bed-points. Maybe I can collect a big pile then put them into the boat to take back with me! Yay! And while I''m thinking of getting pouches, I should absolutely get a separate waist pouch for tasty seeds too! And then another one to carry fluffy blankets with me as well! Making three bags in total: bed, blanket and seeds, all the best things in life! My genius strikes again, I''ll be the first bird in history to be so clever! Muahahaha... oh. I wonder if I''ll be able to carry all that extra weight? I''m already pretty heavy... and I don''t have much space where I can hold things. My talons, wings and tail are all super important for flying and fighting, so I can''t occupy them with holding pouches! Which I guess leaves my neck and my mouth for holding things, but that''s only two places! I''ll need to give up on something! Grrrhmmmmmmm!!!!! Why is life so cruel? There must be something I can do! Is being comfortable at all times too much to ask for from a tragic bird like me?! Oh well, I''m sure Bartlon can help with his wrinkly wisdom. I swivel my head left and right, surveying the shoreline from atop of the root that I awkwardly managed to scale up during my brain storming. I squint up and down, left and right, this way, and that way, scanning the calming view of the petal layered waves bobbing up and down in the afternoon heat. That''s strange. I don''t see the boat. A lump of despair sinks down my stomach and sadness grips my heart as I urgently check over the shoreline a second time. Where''s the boat? Am I too late? Did he leave without me? There''s no way I overlooked that little row-boat, the brown colored wood sticks out like a sore feather in all this white! I know what to do! I just need to get to the shore and then fly around the island! I probably just went the wrong direction again, ahaha, silly me, always taking the wrong turns, there''s no need to get all teary-eyed. I''ll find it in a jiffy! There''s no way Bartlon left me behind! "Cinders" I choke out, unable to stop myself from sinking further in despair despite all my effort to reassure myself. Maybe I shouldn''t have had that nap.
Suffered 2 Falling Damage
I bound to the root in front of me in a clunky fashion and land with a hard thump on my belly. Gritting my beak to ease the pain and frustration I leap to another root, trailing a brief gout of flames behind me, this time managing to land without ''falling damage'' squiggles appearing. Again and again I urgently leap across the blue platforms, watching the far-off shoreline jump closer with each hop. The wind rushes against my face in short bursts as I stride along, the lapse of movement filled in by the sounds of my talons clacking on the roots and my wings flapping their hardest. As I get closer to the shore a foreign sound makes itself known to the fringe of my hearing, and it continues to get louder as I approach.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Muffled and deep. Yet, gravely and powerful. Like the creaking of the big blue tree''s thick upper branches, this sound is equally sinister, spooky and frightening. And for once, its not my empty stomach to blame for this terrifying growl. I freeze in place and crane my neck upwards, straining my ears to pick out the dangerous sounding noise in more detail. The whispering wind, groaning roots and rustling leaves amplify in volume under my concentration, even the faint birdsong all the way across the lake is brought to my notice as I remain as still as a statue. More importantly, the growling becomes clearer. Its distant, yet booming, the sound completely in contrast to the sounds of nature, making the noise incredibly easy to distinguish. I hone in on the sound and ignore all others while praying it doesn''t belong to some type of humongous Fluffer snoring during an afternoon nap. I mean, if trees can grow as big as the one behind me, can a Fluffer as well? It could be possible! After standing completely stock-still and intently listening to the unidentified sound for a whole minute, the answer reveals itself. Silly me for always assuming the worst! I break the image of being a living bird-statue and happily Cinder my way towards the sound, humming all the way. Of course Bartlon wouldn''t leave without me! I should have more faith in him! I nimbly leap over the gnarly roots with the natural grace of a acrobatic kangaroo, much to my enjoyment. Maybe its time for me to try and fly in the sky properly, but for now, I''m enjoying this game of leapfrog. Eventually the sound of Bartlon''s voice pierces through the groaning of whoever he''s talking to. Ahh how I missed the sound of his hoarse voice, I can almost hear his wrinkles! "For the last time Ivos" says the distant Bartlon in the gruffest voice I''ve ever heard him use. "I didn''t see any fire on the tree and I''ve been here for collecting sap for the past 3 hours now! I swear you''ve gotten even more senile then I have!" The incoherent groaning of whoever this Ivos person is resumes. "Gruhunanununnn-idiotic-grrrhnnn-Bartlon-andgnnfngmdfnfg-I know what I saw-hnhngbgbg" Whoops, that doesn''t sound good. I pause my flapping and turn to face the tree with mounting dread, expecting to see it engulfed in fire and collapsing. Yet, to my lack of surprise, it looks exactly the same as it did before! I did leave a few scorch marks on it, but nothing too serious and certainly nothing to berate poor Bartlon about! That stupid tree got what was coming to it! Why is this stranger being so mean? Although maybe I should keep my fiery flapping to a minimum? For Bartlon''s sake. I continue maneuvering over, under and around the tangling roots without the use of Cinders while eavesdropping on the conversation ahead of me. "Ghhnhngngngngngngng-fool-" Booms Ivos with his guttural voice. "It was your imagination, if you want to find out, go check for yourself, I have better things to do" grumps Bartlon. Rightfully so too! That Ivos is the real grump here, you tell him Bartlon! "Grunmmmng-foolish-gngn-feeble-grhnnnngngnblurghrrrrrrrrhn-take me for a idiot? Incompetent and useless" barks Ivos, to the stony silent reply of Bartlon. I poke my head out from underneath an arching root, right into the midst of the conversation. I''m greeted with the sight of a back-turned hunching figure draped in a dark blue robe and Bartlon''s wrinkly face towering above them. Is that Ivos? He''s so tiny! Ahaha, his knees are in perfect pecking range! I lock eyes with Bartlon and give him a friendly little head bob and flap of my wing. Bartlon''s sour face immediately softens as he spots me, but then concern and fear flashes in it''s place before he returns his eyes to Ivos with a scowl. Should I be worried too? "I''ve finished up here so I''m heading back" Bartlon interrupts to the silence. "Try not to scare the entire town with your imagination Ivos. There''s never been anything around Harou''s Tree, I would know, been collecting sap here for decades". "Since when did you care about the town?" snaps the cranky Ivos at the already departing Bartlon with voice so deep I can feel it vibrating the air. "Fine, fools like you are useless anyway" The blue robed man spits. "Now-" I shuffle backwards under the sanctuary of the arching root just as Ivos''s feet spin to face my direction. Refusing to even breathe, I wait as he hobbles a few steps towards me with the assistance of a long blue branch to support him. Did he notice Bartlon looking at me? Why else would he walk directly at me?! Why is he so blue? Oh Golly! The edge of my vision darkens and my lungs start to burn as Ivos remains standing a meter in front of me. Is he looking for me? Why isn''t he moving? If he doesn''t move soon, I might suffocate! After what feels like an eternity, Ivos takes another step towards me and stops yet again. Unable to hold my breathe any longer. I gasp for air. And crumple into the leaves. Hearing the unnatural rustle of leaves, Ivos shuffles another 3 hurried steps towards my cover under the root, clearly aware of my presence. Oh for chirping out loud. I''m a sitting duck, my goose is cooked! What''s he going to do once he finds me? I don''t even want to know. I start to circulate the fire from my heart to the tips of feathers in my wings. There''s not enough time to ignite my wings like I did inside the trunk, but I''m still going to try my very best to run away! This old bully can eat my dust! In a matter of seconds, by some sort of divine intervention, the idling wind chooses this specific moment to sweep up the thousands of dormant leaves laying about and send them swirling directly at the robed man before me. He splutters and coughs in surprise as I can only assume that a few leaves got blown into his mouth or face. Aha! Serves you right! I wish I could''ve seen your face! Thank you again wind! The tiny man growls in fury as he storms off, thankfully, in the opposite direction to me. As he waddles away a different, more violent and turbulent wind whips across the disarrayed roots in tangible anger, roaring viciously. The sudden gust sends millions of leaves scattering away with Ivos at the center of the male-storm, the wind strong enough to even knock me backwards, causing me to thump harshly on my bum.
Suffered 3 Falling Damage
The wind quickly dies down as if it never happened as the hunched figure slowly weaves through the roots, the only evidence of the unusual incident being the eerie lack of leaves where Ivos was standing. Did he do that? I think I just got very lucky. Is it safe to go now? I wanna see Bartlon! Harou Tree 12, Departing
+1 Dexterity
"Oh thank Escal" Bartlon exhales loudly with relief, holding one hand to his heart as I appear out of the maze of roots surrounding the boat. The poor, wrinkly saint physically deflates, slumping down on his seat in the row boat as all his tension melts away. "After seeing all those leaves flying around I thought that I lost you forever! That Ivos is a terror! If I had of known he''d be here..... I would of never taken you here... I''m sorry" Oh gosh, why does he look so sad? I mean he should feel sad, just not ''this'' sad, it makes me sad seeing him like this! "I''m ok, don''t worry! He ran away after eating some leaves" I tensely chirp as I flap across the roots into the safety of the boat, away from prying eyes. "Can we go now?" I ask in an almost pleading tone while pressing my belly against the hull so that I can''t be seen. I will admit, he was pretty terrifying. He made the wind go all "whooshhh'' and ''hooooohh'' like some kind of walking cyclone. But its not like I actually got hurt, so I don''t mind too much, and I''m sure if he had moved a few steps closer I could of given his knees a nasty few pecks before running away! Wearing a warm and somewhat puzzled smile, Bartlon wordlessly reaches over me while holding an oar and stabs it into the leafy shore. With a big grunt, he lurches the boat into the placid lake before returning to his seat and placing both oars in their notches. Giving me an reassuring look, he starts rowing away from the island with steady, powerful strokes, cutting through the water like a talon through a blanket. Gosh golly am I happy to be leaving! That island is too tiresome for me! Each stroke of the oars is a step towards freedom! "Well... at least I collect enough for the next 2 weeks" Bartlon sheepishly grins with a half-hearted chuckle, patting the bulging pouch at his side. "Did you finish your thing?" he asks cheerfully, effortlessly dispersing the tense mood in two short sentences. "I FOUND A NUT!" I instantly chirp in response, returning to my perky self at the mere thought of the tasty treat. "Oh... good for y-". "You should of seen it! It was huge! Even bigger than me! I had to drop it from all the up in the branches to open it! And it tasted like the best thing ever! So flavorful and bubbly! I don''t normally like crunchy things, but it was just perfect! I''ve never tasted something so yummy! I would''ve brought some with me so you could try it too, but I was worried I was taking too long! So I came back straight away! *after a nap* I almost got lost too, but that grumpy bum''s voice helped me find you straight away!" I pause with a huff and suck in another big breathe to continue my story while Bartlon grins fondly and opens his mouth to speak. "Oh really? I ha- "ALSO!" I squawk, pretending not to hear "When I ate the nut for the first time I got a whole bunch of squigglies! So many! More than ever before! And they felt really, really nice! Like leveling up, times a million! Although I''m not 100% sure if it was because of the nut, because Mr. Squiggle didn''t come back when I ate more of the nut! Anyways! I remember the first squiggle! So, give me a minute! Its super important!" Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I scramble to the piece of hull where my previous status is engraved and begin carefully scratching the new squiggles down from memory. I really, really hope Bartlon knows this one! These squiggles were the best! I would forsake eating for a whole day if it meant I could feel those squiggles just one more time. Bartlon leans forward and sways his head left and right above my outstretched wings, trying to take a peak at my new discovery as I''m hard at work. When will he learn? Keeping an eye on him, I playfully scoot to block his vision, only for him to shift in his seat and loom over me from a different angle. Such impatience! After a several seconds of similar back and forth he finally retreats with a retiring snort and returns back to diligently rowing the boat. "So..." Bartlon begins, glancing at me with a mixture of guilt and ''I told you so'' in his wrinkly face. "Not to nag" he continues, voice void of any anger or accusation "but, I do vividly remember telling you to avoid being seen, which, as it seems, wasn''t enough of a warning. I have no doubts that tongues will wag for many months about all that mysterious fire you flashed up the Harou Tree" he sighs. Yup, I kinda abandoned being sneaky the minute after he warned me, but what else could I do?! I had to use Cinders to get to the tree in the first place! Trying to flap/walk there by myself would''ve taken years! And I would have never of found that pale, green nut in the tree top, so I think it was worthwhile in the end, it tasted delish! I meekly emit an apologetic whistle to appease the doting Bartlon. "Need I remind you" Bartlon presses, his voice dropping an octave "A pheonix is an incredibly rare sight, more of a once in a lifetime occurrence really, triply so in a uneventful and forgotten place like this. Any sighting would make the people go crazy... in many senses, and if they learnt of how young you really are, they''d undoubtedly go crazy in the worse way imaginable". My foot comes to a screeching halt... because I finished with the squiggles. I give the etchings in the aged wood one last satisfied look-over before spinning to face the boat''s captain and presenting them with a grandiose flapping flourish and proud head bob! This time there''s no mistake! I only hope he understands what they mean! The darkened expression in Bartlon''s wrinkles quickly change to excitement and curiosity as he wiggles to the edge of his seat. In the span of a breathe, his eyes zip left to right across the squiggles in the hull . That quick!? How does he understand it so easily?! It took me a whole minute to scratch it down! He''s amazing! "Haroune''s Fruit?" he wonders aloud, recoiling in his seat with furrowed brows "What? The Tree? It isn''t called Harou? Is that a joke? Been calling it Harou my whole life! Wait, you said it was a nut, right? Are nuts fruits?" he asks with a tilted head. I can''t tell if he understands this squiggle or not. I was hoping he could tell me more about it, not the other way around! Oh golly, I wish I could remember what the rest of the squiggles were. I helpfully shrug my birdy shoulders in profound honesty. I dunno. "What does fruit taste like?" I ask with undisguised hunger. Are they similar to nuts? If so, that''s all the more reason to get a pouch for carrying food! "They''re usually sweet, sometimes sour, tart or bitter, personally, I''m not fond of taste, but that''s besides the point." he chuffs with a wide a shooing gesture. "For the nut to be named is very surprising, it must be quite significant. The only named objects I''ve seen are weapons, armours and unique artefacts, never any foods! But there''s no way that you found and ate a food artefact, right? Ridiculous." "I only ate half of it!" I correct hastily, worried he might think I''m greedy, or worse, a glutton. He strokes his faint, salty white chin stubble thoughtfully. "Well... Even half of a named object should hold some value. Maybe we should go back for it?" he asks while wistfully drifting his gaze back to the giant blue tree. How could he even suggest that?! "Absolutely Not!" I peep in outrage, causing Bartlon to lower his head in guilt. "Not while that awful hunch-backed creature is still there! He''s evil!" Bartlon gives a meek nod and grabs a hold of the oars again. "Right, that was a silly question. Ivos is the equivalent to a feral cat, vicious and unwanted at the best of times. I''d rather not see him again so soon either" he grumps "Sorry for asking, it was just the greed from my younger days lingering in my thoughts. Artefacts are a vaunted commodity". I settle my ruffled feathers and hop up to the ship''s stern so I can forget the recent event and enjoy the breezy wind. I can''t help being moody! Before seeing Ivos, I thought the biggest threat in the jungle was the Misty Death, when really, its a walking fossil. A disappointment honestly, at least the Misty Death was soft and fluffy! Although that raises a worrying question. Am I actually really weak? Bartlon made the other pheonixs'' seem so powerful and terrifying, something that people fear and love! But I barely defeated a creature less than half of his size, not very awe-inspiring of me. Ugh, just thinking about the Misty Deaths reminds me of how long its been since I''ve felt the warm touch of a blanket. Too long! How can I bring myself to think about my powerlessness when I don''t even have a blanket to call my own! My priorities are clear! I politely wait for Bartlon to make eye contact with me before asking, possibly the most life altering question to ever be asked in the history of questions asked. "Do you have any spare pouches?" I chirp melodically. "Small, pheonix-sized ones?" I quickly add. Harou Tree 13, Merry Crew My dream is on the verge of total collapse. Getting my hopes up was a mistake. Who''s the goose that made pouches so heavy? I''ll peck them! Earlier, 30 minutes ago... after hearing my request, Bartlon had unstrapped the leather pouch from his waist and pulled out several jars of blue liquid so that he could wrap it around me. Apparently he didn''t have a pheonix-sized bag, so we used his, but anyways... After many awkward minutes of trying to tie it around my neck, back, belly and even legs! We were finally able to secure it around my chest with the straps fastened under my wings. Very uncomfortable. The straps were forcing me to keep my wings slightly apart, which I never knew could feel so awkward and exhausting! Keeping your wings tense at all times is horrible! But this was the only position I could wear it, so I had to endure, and to be fair. if that was the only issue, I wouldn''t of minded too much, the happiness of portable food wins over the sadness of tired wings. The nail in the coffin, sealing my fate of never owning my very own bird-pouches, was the insane weight of the leather bag! In the instant after Bartlon had finished securing the buckle at my back and let go, I fell down and bonked my head on the boat''s wooden floor. Ouch. I had thought it would be lighter because it was empty, but no. Then, while trying to stand back up, I didn''t account for how top-heavy I''d become and lumbered forward a couple steps, only to bonk my head a second time on the boat''s side, even harder than the first time. Double ouch. After a few minutes of adjusting to the weight later, I tried flapping to the boat''s seat off the floor, an easy 20cm, more of a hop then a flap really, but even this was too much. Much like the first two head bonks, the added weight of the pouch completely ruined my perfectly flight-proportioned body, causing me to nose dive to the floor from above, even harder then the second bonk. Triple ouch. And that was an empty pouch. They''re just too big and heavy! What''s the point of a pouch if I can''t fly while wearing it?! However, the most embarrassing and demoralizing detail of this experience, was Bartlon''s constant laughter. It hurt more than any bonk ever could. The man who I once thought was a saint, was laying on the floor, crying and gasping in his hysterical state, struggling to catch even a single breathe. Each time he started to settle down, one look at me glaring at him would send him back into renewed uproarious laughter. The process repeated for at least 20 minutes, during of which we sat in the middle of the lake making no progress whatsoever. So now. I''m giving him the silentest, silent treatment in history. "How about a cloth bag huh?'' Bartlon begs to my tail feathers, no doubt with his wrinkles arranged in a pleading manner. "That won''t be as heavy and much softer too! If you cheer up and talk again, I''ll make you one as soon as we get back, it''ll take less then 10 minutes. Promise" he continues to beg. That''s right Bartlon, keep rowing, keep apologizing, keep making promises, and maybe, in a hundred years, I may forgive you. What kind of bully laughs at someone for 20 minutes straight? That''s excessive. Maybe a hundred years is too lenient, make it a thousand. "I could even buy some seeds from somewhere in town and fill up the bag, a small gift from me, you''ll like that right?" he adds to the offer. He must''ve realized that a handful of simple ''sorry''s won''t suffice, because now he''s just offering random things to appease me, almost anything he thinks I might like. And I do like seeds. "OH! Of course! How could I forget? I have coins!" Bartlon cheers from behind, lurching the boat in his glee "I''ve never seen a bird that''s not fond of gold''s golden glint! Even had more than a few coins plucked directly from my fingertips by thieving birds, they''re drawn to the shinies like moths to a flame! Coins? Gold''s glint? Shinies? Hey! I''m not a thief! "Surely you''ll talk to me now, right? I haven''t heard a single peep in the longest time, so you can cheer up now ok?" Bartlon beseeches in his hoarse voice.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I ruffle my wings and continue to face the placid waters without sparing him a glance. Why does he think these ''coins'' are more desirable than seeds? What a joke! Has he even tried seeds before? They''re the most delicious thing in the world! Even better than blanket legs! What could compare? Unless.. maybe... could these ''coins'' be a tasty treat I have yet to try?! They must be! What else could they be?! Oh yes! I changed my mind! I want coins!!! Gimmie Gimmie!!! "Got a handful laying around with nothing to spend them on either, so don''t worry about old me, parting with one or two is no hassle at all" pushes Bartlon. I slowly turn to face the begging man, making sure to seem hesitant and reluctant in my actions so he doesn''t think he''s off the hook just yet. After all, 20 minutes of being laughed at isn''t easily forgiven or forgotten, I need him to suffer a few minutes longer, despite how interested I really am. I lock eyes with the squirming, puppy-dog eyes of Bartlon for several tense seconds before I finally break my pouting disguise and answer. "I will accept the cloth pouch and two coins as tribute" I tweet with a huff, a sentence that brings great joy to Bartlon''s face, possible the happiest I''ve ever seen him. "But don''t laugh at me again! It was really mean! I won''t forgive you again!" "Thank Escal for your forgiveness. Yes yes, I''m so very sorry for laughing at you, it was mean of me, and it will never happen again." Bartlon apologizes with a bowed head and huge cheesy grin "I''m just glad to hear your voice once more". Good good, he seems sincere enough, as he should. Now. Should I ask him what coins taste like? Hmmmmm, perhaps not! It might be nice to keep it as a surprise this time! Nothing beats tasting new foods for the first time and being shocked by how yummy they are! Maybe it''ll be something sweet or sugary? I can only hope! C''mon Bartlon, row faster! Row faster he does. Even without my need to ask, the conclusion of my silent treatment motivates Bartlon''s wiry arms to new rowing speeds! His zealous rowing guides the small, brown boat through the water like a graceful swan, leaving behind a V of ripples where the afternoon sun glimmers prettily. That''s the spirit! We could be back on land in less than 10 minutes and then I can have my coins! "So tell me" begins the hardworking captain between rows "I know you found that nut in Harou''s Tree-sorry-Haroune''s Tree, but what else were you doing there? You weren''t there just for the nut were you?" he asks, looking at me with childlike curiosity. Muahaha. A simple question. "Obviously the first thing I did was jump into a big pile of leaves! They were even softer than I imagined them, so that was great!" I cheer loudly while noticing Bartlon''s expression of wonder change to a smirk, a change that I choose to ignore as I continue "After that, I leveled up Cinders while fire-flapping to the tree and I got some Affinity! Did you know that Affinity gives you more Mana? Affinity is the best! Anyways, after that I flew allllllll the way up to the highest branches to see if there was anything cool up there, but there wasn''t. Turns out it''s actually really boring and scary, but I did find the nut, so it wasn''t a total waste" Bartlon nods along while listening to my story but starts to cough slightly towards the end, a cough that sounds strangely similar to a muffled laugh. Is it my imagination? I give him an accusing look, and he responds by taking a hand off an oar and motioning for me to continue while settling his cough with a few pats to his chest. Must be my imagination. Eyeing him suspiciously, I resume recounting the mostly boring events from hours ago. "I also went down into the trunk, and even though it was scarier down there than up in the canopy there wasn''t anything down there other than a big, stupid skull, can you believe that?! So that was a huge waste of time. After that, I flapped allllllll the way back up to the branches, and then I got my nut, and then I flapped allllllll the way back down, and then I had lunch, and then I had a nap, and then I starting coming back, and then I heard that tiny man''s voice, and then I saw you, and then I almost got caught, and then I ran back to the boat, and then that''s it... Oh!... and then you laughed at me" I can''t let him forget that. Whoopies, I wasn''t supposed to mention the nap part, hopefully he didn''t notice. Bartlon raises an inquisitive eyebrow as he digests my quick recount "Hmmm... *aha*... *cough*... yes.." Bartlon stifles desperately "So uh.. how''d you fly up there? I thought you couldn''t?" he asks semi-casually, in a way that makes me think he''s trying to buy time to get his laughing under control. Seriously! It hasn''t even been 5 minutes since he promised not to laugh! What''s so funny anyway?! Why would he even ask me what I did in the tree if he''s just going to chuckle under his breathe! Grrrr! "I couldn''t fly this morning, but now I can because I''m the best, I just need more mana to fly for longer!" I chirp in a lower octave, hoping to convey my anger. The promise isn''t quite broken, only bent, giggling isn''t laughing, but if he laughs for real... My angry words only seem to only encourage his poorly hidden amusement, bringing him to an infuriating snicker. What. Is. So. Funny? "Oh *snicker* how... please... stop glaring at me... please, I''m going to bust" he gasps, doubling over and placing both his hands over his eyes to block his vision. He''s laughing because I''m angry?!!!! That''s so stupid! That just makes me even angrier! And now we''re barely moving because he''s too busy silently laughing at me! What am I supposed to do about it?! Does he need a larger dosage of silent treatment?! He must! Gosh GOLLY! How dare he make fun of my anger! I fix my eyes to Bartlon''s shuddering torso in attempts to cook him alive by mentally pushing my frustration towards him. Nothing too serious, just enough to make him reeeeally uncomfortable and hopefully he learns his lesson. Nothing happens. A full minute passes before Bartlon regains control of his own body and looks up from the palms of his hands. He silently grabs ahold of the oars and stares off to the giant blue tree behind me, leaving me totally ignored. "Ahhh, sorry, I thought of something funny that happened earlier and couldn''t help myself. It wasn''t you." he speaks seriously, but the words are undermined by his guilty smile. I''m 100% sure that he admitted he was laughing at me earlier and now he''s pretending he never said it. Shameless. What a hopeless man, this isn''t the same saint I met this morning. Bartlon keeps his eyes firmly trained on to the ''Harou Tree'', as I think he calls it, as he diligently rows, and I do my best to make him feel remorseful without glaring by aggressively humming a tune. It seems that he isn''t fully recovered from laughing at me because he hasn''t said a word in minutes, but at least we''re actually moving again. My patience is only being held together by the promise of coins and another try at wearing a pouch. I still can''t believe he was so immature. Aren''t pheonixs'' feared by all? Shouldn''t I be adored? Am I not deserving of the upmost respect?! Isn''t the mere sight of my form believed to bring good luck?!! All these things were said by Bartlon himself!!! What happened since then? Am I not a real pheonix in his eyes? Am I too weak? Is it because I can''t fly without Cinders? It could be any number of reasons! I would ask him how a real pheonix is supposed to act, if only it wasn''t so embarrassing. Maybe I should focus on level ups from now on? Figure out how to get more skills? Learn to understand the squiggles? Fly by myself? I don''t want to be treated as a laughing stock forever. No! Stop! I can''t get distracted by these silly things! I already have important goals that I must achieve at all costs! I must remember and strive towards the three B''s of happiness: Beds, Blankets and... Big... amounts-of-food! Who cares if I can''t fly when I''m all snuggled up in a big pile of soft, fluffy blankets? Not me! And that''s all that matters. Fear and adoration can come afterwards. Buuuut, before that... "Are we there yet?" I eccentrically chirp while staring at the approaching sandy shoreline and the thick, towering jungle trees behind it. The birdsong filtering through the vast, lofty branches sounds so loud after spending a day without it! Much better, everything is right again. Bartlon chokes down a laugh at my sudden question and spins around to check for himself "We are, and it''s about time too, even my old bones were starting to get restless" he groans as he twists back, eliciting a few concerning cracking noises from his back. How can his bones be restless? Whatever. These coins better taste amazing! I can''t wait! "You look pretty excited" smiles Bartlon in a knowing manner. Lunan Village, Invitation With the fare across the lake at an end and the rowboat securely tied to the dilapidated pier with an even older looking length of frayed rope, Bartlon sets off into the treeline with all the confidence of a cawing cockatoo, leading me to where he lives. From what I can see, there''s no visible path on the dense jungle floor, there''s barely any clearings at all, yet Bartlon moves through the green foliage like a swift breeze, dancing around trees and plants without even looking at his footing or surroundings. A seasoned jungle veteran. Stupid Bartlon and his stupidly long legs. My legs don''t even reach up to Bartlon''s knees!
+1 Endurance
+1 Strength
I''m no jungle veteran, 4 minutes of full-speed sprinting is already 4 minutes more than I can handle. Why won''t he slow down?! At least carry me on your head or even your shoulders! I''ve never had to run this fast before in my life! It''s taking all my energy just to stay this close and not lose sight of him! Gosh golly is this exhausting! How I wish I could Cinder above this stuffy jungle like the majestic pheonix I am, birds are made for flying, not running around like blankets, walking is against my nature. Unfortunately, the same can''t be said for my jungle guide, he''s stuck to the ground like how clouds are stuck to the sky. If I were to fly above the thick canopy then I wouldn''t be able to see him at all, and that wouldn''t be good, it''s kinda hard to follow when I can''t see him. My only other option would be to fly through the trees as the other birds do, not above them, which sounds tempting, but if I were to, I wouldn''t be able to say for certain that the jungle would remain un-ablaze. I can''t fly without Cinders and it''s too hot to use safely. So I''m stuck with running my short legs, just like I was yesterday and the day before that, and before that... a grounded bird. Just when I thought I was making progress! I still can''t fly when I want to! Frustrating! And he still won''t slow down! "Bartlon pleeeease!" I wheeze to the flickering visage of Bartlon''s back, my feathers dislodging and littering the green carpet behind me from the exertion. "Almost there" comes a cheery voice from ahead. "NoooOOooo!" I whine in a drawn-out cry and then immediately regret because my breathe is better spent fueling my gelatinous legs than complaining. This is torture. "Hang in there!" he reassures me. Crying freely, I urge my lungs not to explode and for my legs not to melt with sheer will-power and fear of abandonment alone. You''re a terrible guide Bartlon. Thinking back, I''m pretty sure the same thing happened when we ''landed'' on the Harou Tree, he just jumped off the boat and left me behind. Which worked out in the end now that I think about it because I was forced to try Fire Flapping, but I don''t see anyway of fixing this situation with fire! All he needs to do is slow down! Just a little! He doesn''t need to leave me in the dust like this! "Bartlon!" I wail pitifully to the jungle in front of me. "We''re close" comes Bartlon''s eager voice in response, without a single trace of exhaustion "Just a tiny bit longer and we''ll be there! Can''t wait to make you that pouch, I thought of an amazing idea just a moment ago and I don''t want to forget it" I don''t care about the silly pouch! Or the coins! "I''m going to DIIIEE!" I cry.
+1 Endurance
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.Thanks for the support, but not now Mr. Squiggle, I''m dying. I don''t wanna die again, not after surviving a whole day and night without dying! Please... just drag me along the ground or something. I run and wait with growing hopelessness for Bartlon''s reply, one that never seems to arrive. What does eventually arrive, is a mini-heart attack as Bartlon''s wrinkly face pops out from the bowels of a large, yellow fern directly in front of me. He gives me a weird half-frown half-smile before promptly asking me something he should''ve asked me decades ago. "Should I carry you?" he says meekly. My belly grazes along the soft earthy floor as I slide to a complete stop near the base of Bartlon''s yellow fern, nodding furiously. Thank you Bartlon, you''re a saint again. Bartlon scoff-chuckles heartily as he leaves the bright fern and bends down and grab me. Using one hand he scoops up my limp body and tucks me tightly under his arm with his forearm beneath my belly so I won''t slip out. It''s a nice spot. For the first time I get to see the jungle from the perspective of someone far taller than me. Instead of seeing obtrusive plants in every direction, I see even MORE huge plants in every direction! Not useful at all, but at least I''m happy to sit down and be carried. Finally, I get some much needed- "Gah!" Without a word of warning my wrinkly vehicle suddenly dashes along whatever unseen track he''s following at a brisk jog, far faster than he was moving before he picked me up and spooking me terribly. The jarring up and down motion of his wide gait, coupled with the constant side to side swaying as he flows between the trees and thicker foliage makes for a very uncomfortable and treacherous ride at first. It takes what feels like forever for body to adjust to the unpredictable, rocking movements of Bartlon, but once I do... I hum contently to myself as trees, plants and tiny nameless critters quake before my freeloading advance! This is how it should''ve been like from the start! No bird should bring themselves down to the level of a blanket! "Onwards!" I chirp happily, relishing the sweet relief as my poor aching and overworked muscles heal from the torture. With an affirming grunt Bartlon squeezes me a bit tighter and speeds up his long-strided jog to fluid run, all while sporting an devilish grin. A sheen of sweat coats his wrinkly forehead and his breathing comes heavily from the intense movement, but the huge smile on his face shows just how much fun he''s having. Good for him, I''m having fun too. I wonder how he runs this fast in the first place? Is the secret in his long legs or maybe it''s a kind of magic like the Rattling Worms? They move really quick too, way faster than I ever could, yet I have absolutely no idea how they do it! Even when I tried wiggling around on the ground exactly like them I wasn''t able to get anywhere, it definitely must be magic, I guess I''ll never know the secret now, a shame. Although... if I got Bartlon to carry me everywhere then I won''t need to know the secret! Maybe I could even ride on top of a Rattling Worm! Problem solved! I''m a genius! Secrets are nothing when faced with my greatness! Bartlon continues running deftly through the gradually thinning jungle scenery for several more relaxing minutes before his ''home'' suddenly comes into view. A small, out of place, brown building nestled in the embrace of three large trees, with walls built from thick horizontal logs and a roof made of scratchy, light brown thatch that instantly reminds me of my bed''s bed back in the tunnel. There''s a tall, slightly ajar door made from what looks to be pieces of bark woven together and a single open window the shows nothing other than the darkness inside. It''s very... quaint. I wonder if anyone else lives nearby? I remember seeing lots of different buildings all bunched up together from up in my mountain, but there''s nothing here other than the foresty jungle, or jungly forest. The area hasn''t even been cleared out! there are plants growing everywhere! Does he live alone? I hope that poor Bartlon isn''t lonely. Bartlon''s pace slows down to a walk as he moves towards his home, he huffs and puffs and even chuckles a bit while bending down and placing me back down on the floor, much to my silent disappointment. "Phew..." he sighs, throwing his hands in sky and stretching backwards in exaggeration "Today''s been full of work-outs, I''d say about four years worth" he scoffs, waving a hand in front of his mouth to coax out a yawn. You''re telling me?! Did he actually expect me to be able to run all that way by myself? He said we were ''almost there'' 10 minutes ago!!! I would''ve died for sure if he didn''t carry me! Why does he live so far away anyway? No one could find this place other than him. So silly. "Dose anyone else live nearby?" I chirp while hopping along at the feet of Bartlon. "Not that I know of" He replies with certainty "but, the village is close by, so if you''re worried about my promise to give you seeds... don''t, you''ll get them tomorrow I promise" he smiles reassuringly. Not what I was meaning to say, but that''s ok! Seeds! Seeds! Seeds! I love seeds! Yummy yummy seeds! Pouches too! Pouch! Pouch! Handy dandy pouches! Ahh! Coins! Tasty, tasty coins! I can''t wait to try them! What will they taste like? Oh... and it''s nice to know that Bartlon isn''t lonely. As we approach the barky-door Bartlon springs forward and swings the door openin a grandiosemanner while announcing to me loudly and warmly, swelling with pride "Make yourself at home as my very first guest! It''s not the cleanest thing, but I built every inch of it myself!". I squawk in shock and fear as a snarling,brown blur of muscle bounds out from the darkness in the tiny home and lands before me, scattering sticks and dirt under its hefty frame. I''m only given a split second to tremble at the starving eyes, bared teeth and gleaming claws before the feral beast lunges at me with its powerful jaw spread wide. Lunan Village 2, To Burn? The beast approaches and time slows down. Its powerful muscles shift and explode visibly underneath its shaggy brown fur as it lunges forward. The black maw of its feral mouth grows wider as it nears its prey and prepares to bite down. Trembling in its hungering, pale-brown eyes reflects a crimson bird, petrified and unable to move. Its jaw begins to close. I shrink backwards. Its hot, rancid breathe washes over my body and I close my eyes, tuck my head into my wings, and lament my lack of action while waiting for the inevitable. I should have done something sooner, anything sooner! I could of flown up into the sky or shoved fire into its stupid face! Either would''ve been something, why did I do nothing? Now I''m going to die again. But more importantly then that, why does every fluffy thing want me dead?! It''s unfair! Do fluffies without sharp claws and even sharper teeth exist?! Are there any fluffies that just want to hug? I guess not. It''ll be another night spent as dust for me. I hope it chokes. Maybe I should jump into its mouth and save it the trouble? A very distinct, hoarse voice cuts through the panicked thoughts of my final moments with a shout. It''s Bartlon. But words are downed under the sound of my thumping heartbeat. I hold fast under the minimal protection of my thin, vulnerable wings while hoping that Bartlon puts those magically fast legs to use and runs away before I''m eaten. Revival probably isn''t among Bartlon''s abilities, so if he dies, he won''t be come back, and I will be super upset about it. The thought of seeing Bartlon hurt makes me uncomfortably angry. Although... if he could revive, that would be a pretty huge pile of ashes won''t it? And wouldn''t it be super awesome to see a pile of ashes that''s bigger than me? I wonder, would they be orange like mine or a different color? Would they be hot, or cold? Aha... what am I talking even talking about? There''s no way Bartlon could turn to ashes like me, he doesn''t even have a single feather! I''m so silly. Being on the verge of a bloody death is making me loopy. ... Gosh golly. This new Shaggy Fluff is taking forever to kill me. Can it hurry up? What''s it doing? Taking a nap? Or did it run away? I part my wings and peek out of my overlapping feathers, expecting to see my life ending as two sets of razor sharp teeth closing around me to rip me limb from limb. My expectations turn out to be... almost correct. Reering back on its hind legs and snarling furiously, the Shaggy Fluff furiously scrapes its gleaming claws on a pristine wall of transparent... something between us, sending ripples rushing around me in the form of a perfect dome. It tilts its head to the side and vengefully glares into my peeking eyes while sinking its wicked teeth into the mysterious, life-saving dome in an effort to tear it away. Yet, despite the horrifying gnawing the wall receives, it remains resolute and unbreaking under the terrifying assault, if anything, it looks as if it''s getting stronger, more robust and less transparent. What and why? Oh never mind, questions come later. "Cinders" I caw with all the courage I can muster, ascending into the air and spraying flames towards the Shaggy Fluff while the opportunity is still present.
4 Fire Damage
The strengthening barrier abruptly shatters and dissipates into the air with a shimmer as Cinders crashes into it. A small portion of the flames spray across the Shaggy Fluff''s underbelly, but inflict no real damage other than spooking it for a split second and causing it jump backwards with its belly to the ground. Yay! I''m not dead! Muahahaha! You''re mine now you stupid Fluff! You can''t get me up here! I flap my wings for all I''m worth while surging my inner fire from my heart towards my belly and throat for an empowered Bellows, aimed straight for the growling beast''s face. My insides bubble and boil as heat amasses inside, a few slivers of flame lash out from my beak and nose as the fire brews within. The Shaggy Fluff raises its haunch in response, coiling its explosive leg muscles for a mighty leap.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Oh... Maybe it can get me up here? Was attacking that strange wall a mistake? The tiniest of pauses passes as we both prepare ourselves for our next move. I open my beak and the Shaggy Fluff jumps. "Bellows" I shout at the top of my lungs as the Shaggy Fluff''s teeth approach me for the second time. A condensed bolt of scorching hot fire erupts from the pit of my stomach and rumbles through my gullet before streaking out of my open beak with a roar. The Shaggy Fluff''s eyes widen in fear as it finally realizes how mistaken it was to attack me, a glorious pheonix! It attempts to twist its body mid-air, but reacts too late. The powerful Bellows slams down into its shoulder and neck with a shuddering *Bwoosh*, knocking it back to the ground in a yelping fit obscured by flaring flames.
62 Fire Damage
Timber Wolf is Burned
As I flutter down to the ground the flames quickly disperse, revealing the left side of the Shaggy Fluff''s wonderfully shaggy fluff charred black and still burning as flames lick over its prone body. The impact area of Bellows on its neck is now missing a giant chunk flesh and the bones exposed beneath are blackened by the fire. The only saving grace on behalf of the Shaggy Fluff, is that its gruesome wounds aren''t bleeding because the heat sealed it shut. See? I should''ve just done that from the beginning! But has Bellows always been so powerful? Or did I get stronger? The Shaggy Fluff certainly looks - whoopies - ''looked'' a lot stronger than the Misty Death, but maybe it wasn''t. I guess bigger isn''t always better, huh? That was too easy! The defeated, whimpering beast paws at the burned forest below its feet in a pitiful attempt at fleeing as I awkwardly land down a meter away from it, trying not to set the forest on fire. I tentatively hop behind the Shaggy Fluff''s back while keeping my distance from those nasty claws as I contemplate what to do next. I should kill it, right? It''s clearly suffering and it tried to kill me first, so I should finish it off, but I have a dilemma. Do I peck it to death so I can eat the un-burned bits or do I shoot it again and kill it instantly? It''s so much bigger than me that pecking it might take a while and there''s a possibility that it might lash out on me, so I should act safely and shoot it. But then, if I shoot it, it''ll burn all over which will make it taste a bit yucky, and I might accidentally set the forest on fire. Hmmmmmmm. Tough decision. Thankfully, the issue more or less resolves itself when Bartlon strides forth from behind me with a short dagger in hand. He growls in anger as he drops to his knees and plunges the dagger into the Shaggy Fluff''s scorched ribs. The short dagger pierces through the Shaggy Fluff''s heart and finishes it off quickly without adding to the already numerous burns it has. Nice work! That worked way better then-
Timber Wolf slain, 182 exp gained
Oh yay! More exp! I almost forget that I can get Affinity by leveling up! I should try and get some more, I don''t think I got any at all while I was on Harou Tree island. Bartlon turns to me with worry evident on his face "Are you alright? I had no idea that this creature was lurking in my home. This is all my fault" he frets as he shuffles towards me on his knees. He raises up his left hand to my side and it starts to sparkle with a white glow that looks eerily similar to the same transparent dome that had protected me earlier. "Heal" Bartlon says softly, prompting the white glow around his hand to reach out and coat my body before shimmering away, doing nothing, but solving the mystery behind the magic wall. It was Bartlon! "It didn''t even touch me!" I chirp happily, my chest swelling in pride "and I barely touch it either, just a single Bellows stopped it! But thank you for making that see-through wall thingy, I was caught by surprise at first, (and I totally wasn''t going to die) can you show me how to make that white wall-thingy appear too?" I ask while hopping up the Shaggy Fluff''s limp tail and giving it a rub with my wings to feel the bushy texture. Gah! It''s soft, but smells awful! Bartlon sucks in his lips and shakes his head "The white wall-thingy is called Respite and it''s a high rank Light spell, the highest I have. Teaching it is impossible. Not that I think you''ll need it, that fireball you used could take out nearly everything in this forest without any trouble" he smirks while nudging the Shaggy Fluff''s burned shoulder with his finger "Here''s the proof". Nearly everything? That can''t be true! I remember shooting the Misty Death with multiple Bellows! The Rattling Worms too! They didn''t die in one hit! Were they just super strong? Or is Bartlon exaggerating so he doesn''t have to tell me the secret to his magic wall? That''s not very nice, I want a magic wall too! "Well then" Bartlon grunts as he climbs to his feet and dusts off his knees "Hope you like wolf. Some wolf meat for dinner sounds good to me, been a while since the last time. Wait, can you eat meat? Or do birds only eat berries and stuff?" he asks while grabbing the Shaggy Fluff''s front legs and dragging it, and me, behind him towards his home. I release my beak from the Shaggy Fluff''s tail and hug it tighter with my wings "Meat is yummy, but what do berries taste like?" I ask, quickly clamping my beak back down on the moving corpse so I don''t slide off. "Uhhhh. There''s lots of different flavors, but I think they''re generally sweet, similar to the fruits you asked me about earlier" he answers, rubbing his chin with his free hand "Although I don''t really eat fruits and berries, they don''t go well in my stomach, I much prefer vegetables. Have you eaten vegetables before?" Vegetables? There''s more food? I twist my head to the side and partially open my beak "Nope! Are they yummy?" I mumble through the tail stuffed in my mouth. Bartlon chuckles. "Will that always be you''re first question? Yes, vegetables taste extremely good. I have some pumpkin and potato stored in the pantry. You can try some tonight! They''re my favorite." Yay! More food! I can''t wait to eat! There''s going to be so much to try! First is the Shaggy Fluff meat! Then the potatoes! Then the pumpkins! And then finally, the most anticipate meal... Coins! Oh golly, I don''t think my tummy can handle the wait! I''m starved! Bartlon passes through the open bark door of his house and stops in his tracks with a sigh. "It''s so messy" I chirp in a matter-of-facttone as I take in the sights of the dark interior. "Yeah" he sighs again, his shoulders slumping like a deflating balloon "I don''t like the waymy pantry door has a holechewed through it". Lunan Village 3, Shaggy Pouch I feel stupid. Vegetables are stupid. For as long as I live, that crime against all things yummy shall never occur again. I had a feeling that something was off when Bartlon said that he didn''t like fruits or berries, even when he said they''re supposed to taste sweet! I should''ve trusted my instincts! Who doesn''t like sweet things? Is that even possible? Sweet is the best! How can you not enjoy sweets? There must be something wrong with you if you don''t like sweet things. If I had of used just a small fraction of my genius, I would''ve been able to guess that Bartlon''s favorite foods would taste disgusting, that is, the opposite of sweet and sugary. The hints were there, I just wasn''t paying attention. This terrible belly ache could''ve been avoided, but noooo, my appetite got the best of me. Blerrgh, just thinking about those dry, mushy, starchy and flavorless potatoes makes me want to curl up and die. The small piece of pumpkin I tried wasn''t much better either! Soggy and yucky! The bright orange appearance tricked me into thinking it would taste nice! After all, I''m partially orange too! And since I get attacked all the time, I must look yummy! But this pumpkin is the opposite of yummy, pumpkin is rotten and squishy. What a joke. I hate all vegetables now! Every single one! They''re just as bad as insects and grubs! I was lucky that the Shaggy Fluff was there to save the day by filling my stomach, because I don''t know what I would''ve done without it! Starve to death probably. How can that wrinkly Bartlon eat so much of something so disgusting? I can''t make sense of it! He seemed to be overjoyed to take the leftover portions of my vegetables for himself. Is his tongue broken? Are vegetables really edible? Is he fooling me? - Oh great, speaking of the taste-deaf devil... The sound of Bartlon''s feet thumping on the hard-packed, dirt floor signifies another unwelcome break to my moping. "Ok let''s try this one" Bartlon yawns groggily, pulling out a rickety chair from beneath the table I''m laying on and sitting in front of me. I open one eye and stare at him, not moving an inch of my splayed out body. Bartlon obliviously ignores my silent protest and pushes towards my beak, a small, brown belt-looking thing made from what he says is Timber Wolf pelt, but I know it''s the Shaggy Fluff''s - fluff. He then points to a random place on the mini-pouch laced multiple stitches and begins remarking about how he either ''tightened it up, loosened it up, or blah blah blah'', I stopped listening after the 9th time he made me try to wear it. Pffffttt, 15 minutes he said.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Can you please sit up a little more? I can''t put it on when you''re laying down" he asks in a tired, sleepy voice. "This time I swear it will fit. I also used softer pelt for the backside and I trimmed some more from the sides...*yawn*... so it shouldn''t touch your wings at all. Here" he says, nudging the abomination of stitches into my side. I stretch out the sound of me exhaling over several seconds before sitting up and flourishing my wings to the side. Does this make the 100th time? Why? Despite living in such a messy house, he seems shockingly dedicated to making my pouch perfect, always changing the tiniest detail before coming back to me. Golly gosh, it doesn''t need to be perfect! Just light enough for me to fly with, which it already is! Couldn''t we just wait until the morning to finish? I''m sleepy too! Golly gosh. With the upmost care, Bartlon slips the pouch''s wide wing-holes over my half folded wings and secures it on my belly with a single, hidden, bone button on the inside. As he does this, I watch his face like a hawk and enjoy all the different ways his wrinkles contort when he pushes my wings around, probably worried about hurting me. Which is funny! A petty revenge for me! Bartlon leans back on his chair and gives me a nod. "How''s it this time? Good right?" he grins halfheartedly while fighting back another yawn. I flap my wings and huff. Oh yay! It really doesn''t touch my wings this time! That''s amazing! I absolutely hate it when it touches my wings. As for whether the back fluff feels any softer or not, I can''t tell, but the fact that I can flap freely without bumping my feathers on the sides of the pouch it great! He actually managed to fix it! Now for the flight test! Hopefully nothing has changed! I march to the edge of the table and jump off with my wings outstretched, gliding down to the dirt floor at a semi-safe speed and landing heavily on my talons. Exactly the same as the several previous tests. Then, I spin around and flap my way back up the table. Which takes considerably more time and energy to accomplish, but still within reason. *Within the reason of someone who really wants to have a pouch* "Yup! This is the best so far!" I chirp excitedly, admiring and the little pouch underneath my beak. It''s still kinda heavy so I need to flap a little harder, but the prospect of portable food makes it worth the effort! That also gives me more motivation to level up some more. Strength and Dexterity should help with flying! A loud clap suddenly sounds from beside me and I jerk around to see Bartlon, still sitting on the wooden seat as he was before, but with his palms clasped together. "Great!" he says, standing up and pushing his chair back in with his leg "Then I''m going to sleep" Bartlon declares loudly as he wobbles to his bed located in the corner of his house where he soon collapses like a sack of potatoes. Something I had the pleasure of witnessing right before dinner when Bartlon clumsily dropped a sack of those filthy, inedible potatoes on the floor in his haste to start cooking. "Ok Bartlon" I say, a little spooked by the unexpected clap. Snores begin to rumble throughout the entire foundation of the tiny shack mere moments after Bartlon''s wrinkly eyelids close shut. Leaving me all alone. Abandoned on a depressing wooden table with nothing other than a single candle flickering on a stand on the wall to keep me company through the lonely night. A candle that doesn''t look to have much life in it, barely a spluttering stub of dripping wax, soon to burn itself out. Such a tiresome day. Bartlon can be a bit of a handful at times, but it''s thanks to him that I have a pouch now, soI guess he can be forgiven! I know it isn''t a perfect pouch by any means. In some places, it may be a little ugly, and in most places, it may smell like the Shaggy Fluff, but overall, in every place, it''s super soft, which is the most important thing to me! That and it can also hold seeds for me to eat at my leisure! Muuhaha! I''m such a genius! The smartest! I can''t wait to put it to use! Although... it wouldn''t hurt to leave it until the morning, I''m too tired for a joy flight right now. I just gotta find a nice, quite place to lay down and rest. Somewhere not like the top of this hard, splintery wooden table or this dusty, grimy floor. Somewhere I can''t hear a certain someone snoring loud enough to shake the walls! How does he sleep through his own racket?! No wonder he lives in the forest alone! Gosh golly, it looks like I''ll need to sleep outside again. It shouldn''t be too hard to fly up a tree without using Cinders, but now that I think about it, wouldn''t a tree be uncomfortable too? The table I''m sitting on, and the trees outside are almost the same thing! Gosh. I''m just going to sleep on the roof, I can''t be bothered stressing about where to sleep. The roof should be soft enough. That''ll do. Hmmm. It feels like I''ve forgotten something. Something kinda important. Oh well. Sleep first. Lunan Village 4, Fireworks As my lovely dream of fluffy pouches comes to a unwelcome, but inevitable end, I slowly creak open my crusty eyelids to start the day, only to immediately close them tight again when the glaring morning sun hits my sleepy eyes. "Ahh... make the sun... go away" I drowsily murmur, draping my wings over my face so I can sleep a little longer. Why is the sun so bright? Silly sun, so cheerful and happy when I''ve barely slept at all. I guess I know why every other bird chooses to sleep in a tree now, because trees have a bunch of leafy branches to block the sun''s light from waking us up early! It''s so obvious! Common sense! I feel so silly for not thinking of that last night. So from now on, unless I find a roof with another roof on top of it, I won''t be sleeping on a roof like this one ever again, even if it might be a teensy bit more comfortable than branches. It''s just not worth it, waking up annoyed. Sleep is important after all! My feathers need a full night''s rest to retain their captivating, enviable glow... I think... I hope... I like sleep. More sleep is nice, nice nice nice. "Oh. My. Golly!" I exclaim in disbelief, jumping to my feet with widening eyes, all thoughts of sleep gone and completely replaced with frenzied energy. "I FORGOOOT!" I shriek as I barrel down the thatch roof like a tumbling stone, rolling downwards head-over-talons due the unexpected weight of the shaggy pouch that I may have accidentally worn to sleep. As the roof turns to empty air and my body begins falling down to the ground, a single, drawn out wail cries out from my beak... "COOooooinnnnns-" *thud* Ouchies. I forgot about the coins!
6 Falling Damage
With a small "Owie" and ruffle of my feathers I scramble to the closed bark door of Bartlon''s home in a frenzy. The door opens by pulling on the small rope halfway up on the right hand side, but because it''s too high to reach, I choose to open the door by jamming my head through a hole in the bark and shuffling backwards, bringing the door with me. "Bartlon! Bartlon!" I loudly shout, marching across the dirt floor towards the bed in the corner. The small mound on top of the bed makes no movement as I move towards it. Is he still sleeping? What a lazy pants! Who sleeps when the sun is up? He''ll get even more wrinkles! He should wake up early like me. I don''t have any wrinkles... right? I better not! Straining my wings under the weight of the shaggy pouch, I flap up to Bartlon''s bed, only for my heart to sink. The mound on the bed isn''t a sleeping Bartlon, but a brown bed sheet, all scrunched up and left in the middle. It kinda look like him from afar. Whoopies. So where is he now? Why would he leave? Also, who even wakes up this early? The sun has barely risen! He''ll get wrinkles if he doesn''t get enough sleep. Unlike me... Though I wonder where he could possibly be? I''m pretty sure he isn''t hiding inside. I can see every nook and cranny of Bartlon''s small home from up here on the bed. There''s the bench against the wall where Bartlon cooked our dinner last night, and the table and chair where we ate our dinner, there''s also the bed that I''m standing on, and an assortment of wooden boxes of varying shapes and sizes placed everywhere, seemingly at random. I''m not sure what''s inside the boxes, but none of them are big enough to fit a whole Bartlon inside, so he must be somewhere outside!If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Maybe he went back to the Harou Tree without me? Does he go every morning? Hmm. No, I think I remember him saying he had enough ''sap'' from the tree to last for a while, whatever that is. Oh wait a minute! What''s that! A small, yellow square with black tangles on it, that''s somehow magically stuck to the bottom of the half-open door, fluttering back and forth in the chilly morning wind. It wasn''t there last night, I''m sure of it! And those black curves look really messy, but I''m sure that they''re squigglies! It must mean something! I leap off Bartlon''s bed and glide towards the door, landing with a soft *thump* on my talons at the foot of the entrance, wobbling slightly, still a little unaccustomed to the shaggy pouch''s weight. ''Buying seeds'' it says. Hmmm. As expected. I have no clue what it means. It''s so difficult to decipher the strange loops and lines, much harder then the squiggles in my status. I wonder why? It''s like the difference between hot and cold! But, I do know that these black lines are indeed squiggles, Mr. Squiggle''s unique look is unmistakable. I just don''t know what mystical meaning Mr. Squiggle is trying to show me with his wiggly loops. Oh no... maybe there was an emergency? That would explain why the squiggles are so messy! It also explains why the message was placed somewhere where I would find it! - He was in danger and rushed! Could there more Shaggy Fluffs lurking around? Did he flee and leave this message to ask me for help, or to tell me to run away too? He must be in terrible peril! I must go find him immediately! Bartlon won''t survive fighting against the Shaggy Fluffs alone! He doesn''t have any fire to attack with like me, he only has a magical wall to defend with. He''ll be a sitting blanket! "Bartlon! Where are you!?" I shout at the top of my lungs, bursting past the flimsy door and running towards the forest faster then ever I''ve ever ran before, "Ack!" - and falling flat on my face a few meters from the house.
2 Falling Damage
Ok, this pouch needs to come off first, it will be impossible to search for Bartlon with it on, let alone fight the Shaggy Fluffs. The weight of the pouch is still a little bit too much for me to handle comfortably right now. Hurry. Hurry. The first step to taking the shaggy pouch off is burrowing my beak between the pouch and my chest so I can bite the fluff underneath the bone button. Step two is to tug the fluff out and over the button so that the straps fall off, leaving the final, most difficult step. Step three, which is to wave my wings around in all directions like crazy until the wing-holes slip over my wings. It always takes a frustratingly long time to get one of the sides off, but once I do, the other side comes off much quicker. It''s a good thing Bartlon more or less forced me to practice taking the pouch off and on last night when he was making it. Every second counts! Hold on Bartlon, I''m coming! I will save you from the Shaggy Fluffs! "Cinders!" I caw, blasting upwards in a plume of fire, not giving a moments notice to the potentially dangerous aftermath of my fiery ascent. "Cinders" I caw again, flying through tree branches into a dense ceiling of leaves. A third Cinders then puts me shooting above the leafy canopy where a fourth Cinders sends me soaring over the emerald forest in no particular direction. Oh golly! Where do I go now?! Where would Bartlon run to if he was attacked? Argh! I have absolutely no clue! He really could be anywhere! And it isn''t easy to see underneath all these trees and strange plants! This is hopeless! I might not ever find him! I know that if I was in danger I would just fly away or die and revive, both of which Bartlon cannot do like me. I''m at a loss! What if I miss him and fly right past him? Or what if I fly in the completely wrong direction!? How can I find him!? Aha, I''ve got it! Genuis! I know how to find Bartlon super fast! I have a brilliant idea!
+ 1 Intelligence
Circles! Taking a deep breath I steady out my wings horizontally to fly straight, then quickly raise my left wing in the air at a 45 degree angle, directing the wind under my left side so that I curve sharply to the rightat high speed, circling above Bartlon''s home. Then, I begin slowly tilting my wings back to their original position, using Cinders as often as possible to make the circle wider and wider with every lap I fly.
+ 1 Dexterity
I''m a genius! By searching this way I can cover the entire forest without missing an inch! It also makes it''s easier to see past the trees if I''m looking to the side rather then looking directly down, which is fantastic! This way, I should be able to find either Bartlon, or a pack of Shaggy Fluffs in no time! And the huge amount of fire I''m flaring in the sky should help Bartlon find me if he''s in trouble. Or maybe, if I''m very lucky, my fire might scare away the Shaggy Fluffs completely. After all, a single Bellows took down a Shaggy Fluff before, they must be scared of fire! So I will find them! I will show them fire. Lunan Village 5, A Visitor "Looks like all the fire has faded away. What do you think caused it? Do you think we''ve been noticed?" "Bloody Hell''s Bells Boy! We will get noticed if you don''t shut your useless trap" I bark back irritably, for the third, and hopefully, final time. Typical for a naive, fresh-faced child, to brave a potentially dangerous situation without a single care or responsibility in the world. Crunching the biggest branches underfoot and chatting freely during what''s supposed to be a scouting mission, none too quietly either. Honestly, what did I expect? Just from the look in his eyes, I can tell that he''s only after coin and rank. As all the young ones are. But is a little common sense too much to ask for? Apparently so. I swear these minimum party rules are nothing but headaches. Scouting an incident in a forest widely known to be safe shouldn''t require two people. Guilds are getting soft. Besides, I''m confident that the cause of these mysterious fires will be another Mage''s misfired spell casting. It''s happened several times before. The forest''s weak creatures are perfect for gaining experience and practicing skills, but mistakes do happen. Even so, just because there''s *probably* nothing to worry about, it doesn''t mean you shouldn''t. Caution has never led anyone to an early grave. Something I don''t expect this young lad to know. He puts starving bears to shame with the amount of noise he''s making. "Draw your crossbow, and load it silently" I instruct in a hushed voice, enforcing the message with a sharp glare "Keep an eye open but don''t shoot at anything until the cause has been confirmed. I don''t want to find someone with an arrow sticking out of their head". "Yes sir" he responds excitedly, releasing his white-knuckle grip off his sheathed sword and unfasting a small crossbow from his belt. Somehow making a wince worthy *clanking* racket in the process. How does he do it? As he finishes loading the bolt into the firearm, I slide ahead and signal for him to follow at a distance, whilst also praying that his lumbering footwork can remain unheard. If it really is a Mage or even a low-leveled party that''s in trouble, the extra noise won''t matter, but it''s always better to be safe rather than sorry. I wouldn''t want to alert a unknown creature to our presence. We continue to traverse the forest for scantly more than 15 seconds before the footsteps behind me quicken in pace and my unwanted party member is shuffling beside me in obvious distress. "Uhhh..." he begins nervously, squirming uncomfortably under my questioning scowl "the bolt... it accidentally fell out when I wasn''t looking and I couldn''t find it... there were too many other sticks on the forest floor" he whimpers helplessly, shrinking backwards. Is he for real? I''ve only known him for 15 minutes and yet I already want to throw him off a cliff. Escal have mercy on the one who raised him, they need it. "Just use another one" I growl through gritted teeth. He''s doomed. What did he say his rank was again? Stone? Iron? Stones for a brain perhaps. "Well uhh... I only had one bolt" he shrugs resignedly, looking away and pursing his lips as I stare at him incredulously. "I don''t normally use a crossbow anyway, they''re not very useful, I''m much better with my sword". He has a crossbow, but only carries a single bolt? WHAT! This must be a test from Escal, a divine tribulation sent in the form of a handful of strict guild rules and one massive bloody idiot. Has he never been outside a day in his life before? I need to ask for his name later, so I avoid him forever.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Breathe in. Breath out. "That''s alright, it happens all the time!" I reply cheerfully, feigning a understanding smile. "You just stand right here and I''ll go on ahead while you keep lookout. If there''s any trouble I''ll shout out your name, so keep an ear open" "Are you sure? I can-" "Your name?" "It''s Bryce. But I think-" "Ok Bryce. You know the plan. Don''t move from this spot and I''ll be back in 5 minutes." I hushly declare, silencing his protest before he can open his incessant mouth again. With a light pat on his shoulder I turn around and slink towards where the strange sky fires were last seen. Gliding through the forest with careful steps and measured breathes. Finally enjoying the lack of idiots as I do my work how it''s supposed to be done: quickly and silently. Although I really hope he doesn''t mention anything about this slight abandoning to anyone at the guild. A rule breach is taken pretty seriously no matter how small and justified it is. Hot water for sure. Especially if he came to serious harm, or even died due to my breach. Now that would really get me in trouble. But what are the chances of him dying in a measly 5 minutes? Low right? Timber wolves are the most dangerous beast around here, but they only hunt solo. They shouldn''t be too much trouble, even for a Stone rank. He only needs to hold it off long enough for me to return at the first sign of trouble. He can do that, can''t he? Of course not. I think I need to step up my search. Caution never hurt anyone. I''ll just do a quick filter through the largest clearings and look for any signs of fighting or anything else suspicious. Then, if I find nothing, we can try the kid''s method of scouting: make as much noise as humanly possible and maybe... just maybe, the noise will bring the fire''s source to us- "COME BACK!" Ahh. Lo and Behold. He found a wolf, didn''t he? In record time too. Of all the people in the guild who I could''ve been paired with, it had to be this one. Bloody Hell. Today really isn''t my day, I think my hair will be more salt than pepper by the end of it. Immediately abandoning the search, I rush back to Bryce''s voice, sprinting past trees and bush alike with practiced ease whilst also scanning the forest ahead for other threats that may be lurking nearby, lured by his call. Wolves may be the at the top of the food chain due to their size and power, but other dangerous creatures still exist, and a single poorly made step can lead to an unfortunate death if you''re not paying attention. Maybe this will finally knock some sense into the daft boy. It always takes a few dangerous situations to fully comprehend that having a sword doesn''t make you a Hero. As I surge through the trees and arrive at the same place where Bryce was left behind, I drop to a crouch and reach to my sides to draw my trusted weapons. A short, mundane dagger in my left, and a unique, thick, cleaver-like knife in my right. A combination not used by many, and mastered by fewer. The weapons slide half-way out of their oiled sheaths before I abruptly stand up straight on my feet and release my grip, allowing them to slip back in with a *click*. "Explain" I growl dangerously. Bryce''s pale faces pokes out from behind a tree and his throat visibly bulges as he takes in the full image of my furious gaze. Notably, the terrified, pasty white face has a severe lack of claw marks on it, as does the rest of his body, and the sword he''s so proud of is still sheathed. Hale and healthy. Exactly as I left him. As I take a single, irate step forward, Bryce drops to his knees and raises a finger to his lips, signalling me not to make any noise, and with his other hand, he points behind himself. Oh, is that so? Was I being too loud? Oh dear Escal, how dare I! Did you find something, call out to me, and then decide to be silent after yelling? Honestly, how did this utterly incompetent idiot manage to join the Guild in the first place? I swear to Escal that whatever this overgrown child is pointing at, had better be a pile of gold that''s bigger than I am tall. If not... "Look, look!" Bryce whispers pleadingly as I drop down alongside him. "Right there!" he points vigorously, his hands trembling "I saw it after you left. I think it''s distracted by the wolf, it didn''t see me". This whole day is a headache, I can''t believe he actually found something. Alargebird feasting on a dead wolf. not too far away from where we''re watching. Not the strangest thing I''ve seen, although... the more I look at it, the more confusing the scene becomes. There''s a general feeling of unease, a tightness in my chest, a rush of adrenaline in my veins that I haven''t felt in years. Something about that bird is different, but my brain can''t tell what''s wrong just by looking at it, only my body can. I''m feeling restless. Scared or excited, I don''t know which, but I feel something. Why? What is that bird? I can see the bird''s razor sharp talons ripping apart pieces of fresh meat from the corpse to be pecked voraciously with its waiting beak. A morbidly fascinating sight. Those talons are clearly far too large for a normal bird, undoubtedly designed for attacking prey in diving swoops and from the looks of those thick legs, probably even lifting prey into the sky like the gigantic rocs of Ultar. But unlike a roc, this bird isn''t very large? About as tall as my kneefrom the ground, which is still rather big, but nothing like the size of a true roc. What could it possibly lift? Rats? Maybe even snakes? The wings also look far too small to allow proper flight, let alone passenger flight. They look more like a chicken''s wings than a hawk''s, which contradicts the design of its legs. So maybe it actually is flightless? Such an oddity. A longer neck than normal too, like a swan''s, but shorter. The beak however, is exactly like an eagle''s, short, yellow and hooked at the end. Efficient at ripping, as it''s currently displaying. Definitely not a bird I''ve ever seen before. Has anyone seen a bird like this?! It''s like a combination of many birds in one. Taking all of the most prominent features frome every species to create a single apex specimen. Yet, among those countless features, there are still two characteristics in particular stand out as exceptionally unique. Brilliant feathers of crimson red and fiery gold. And beyond that. Curious eyes which shine with intelligence and understanding. Oh... bloody hell. It''s looking directly at me. That uneasy feeling just got a whole lot worse. Lunan Village 6, Contact I think that could have gone a little bit better, I''m still dizzy. Next time I try swooping something, especially large and solid somethings, like say... a Shaggy Fluff, I shouldn''t undershoot my attack and slam my face directly into it, like I just did... that was a real ouchies. It did cause the Shaggy Fluff some damage as well, but unfortunately for me, its coat of thick fluff didn''t cushion the collision for me at all! For all I could tell, I had crashed into a solid tree! A very angry tree, with big teeth, sharp claws, and a recently acquired grudge against a particular red bird that just happened to bump into it. I know it wasn''t the smartest way to attack my foe, but it sure was the most thrilling and exciting! The intense speed! The wind whistling in my ears! The colors of the world mish-mashing into green and blue! It felt awesome... right up until it didn''t, then it felt painful and stupid. Especially when I missed nearly every Bellows I shot at the Shaggy Fluff afterwards because I was so disorientated, that made me feel pretty stupid. The forest was lucky to come out unscathed! So despite my stomach getting relocated to my neck, and my neck relocated to my tail, I would totally do it again, and hopefully perform it right next time. I cannot stop imagining how amazing it would feel to swoop down while flourishing my talons of death! Only to do it again! and again! I would be unstoppable! Unbeatable! Yes! Death from above! Their eyes will be mine! Oh golly, I really shouldn''t get lost in these fantasies so often. This poor Fluff is still suffering from severe burns after I Bellow''ed the fluff out of it, and not only that, I have some serious tummy rumbles that only fresh meat can satisfy. I haven''t eaten since last night! And there''s no way I can be expected to save Bartlon on an empty stomach! Fire flapping is tiring work, and since Bartlon isn''t here, I must keep searching. "Sorry my fluffy friend" I halfheartedly apologize as I carefully hop around to the Shaggy Fluff''s defenseless back, giving a wide berth to its powerful legs and terrifying snout as I make my way. "Bellows" I chirp at the Shaggy Fluff''s already scorched flank.
37 Fire Damage
Bellows is Level 2
+ 4 Affinity
Whaa!
Timber Wolf Slain, 141 exp gained
Level Up!
Whaa!
You''ve reached Level 5, enhancement available
+ 1 Strength, + 1 Endurance, + 1 Dexterity, + 1 Intelligence, + 1 Affinity
Whaaaat?! Oh my golliest of the goshes! I wasn''t expecting so many squiggles! The sensation also! So uplifting and invigorating! Bellows leveled up! I leveled up! More affinity! More of everything! And along with the regular feeling of leveling up, I feel something new too! A warm, fulfilling breeze flooding through my mind like I''ve never felt before! What is it? Is it something better than a normal level up?! It must be! I must find out! Because of the way I don''t like the way it blocks my vision, I don''t often look at my status, but this new level up leaves me no choice! I absolutely need to learn all about this special level up!! The sensation isn''t quite as potent as the Haroune''s Fruit I ate, but it''s a close second. The secrets must be mine! "Status" I chirp happily, humming a chipper tune as my talons absentmindedly bring fresh, albeit slightly charred, meat to my waiting beak.
Name: -----, ------ Health: 78/114 Mana: 46/192
Level 5 (114/800) Strength: 15 Endurance: 23
Species: Pheonix Dexterity: 14 Intelligence: 43
Class: Pheonix, Level 2 Affinity: 35
Status
Haroune''s Fruit
*Enhancement*
Skills Traits
Cinders, Level 4 Mythical
Bellows, Level 2 Fire to Fire
Profound Fire Affinity
Soul Affinity
Lesser Light Affinity
Dungeon Bound
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Aha! As expected! Aside from my attributes and skills increasing, an extra squiggle has managed to magically wiggle it''s way into my status! *Enhancement*. Normally, with most new squiggles that I''ve never seen, I have zero clue as to their meaning and purpose, but not this one. I feel an indescribable tugging in my brain whenever I concentrate on it, an instinct urging me to act, a voice motivating me to do! A sensation I''ve never felt before. The more I look at the ''Enchancement'' squiggle, the stronger the pull becomes, the louder the voice beckons. What could it mean? The squiggles want... they need... they demand something... more? Huh... No! Please not more squigglies!
Enhancements
Fire to Fire -> Ashes to Ashes Ashes are more durable, a complete rebirth requires less ash. Rebirth time is shortened to 4 hours. Requirements: Fire to Fire, 100 Mana, 15 Endurance, 25 Affinity.
Cinders -> Fleeting Cinders Cinders allows finer aerial control. Requirements: 10 Strength, 10 Dexterity, 20 Intelligence, 30 Affinity.
+ Sparks Volatile feathers charged with explosive energy are launched from the wings. Requirements: Level 3 Cinders, 10 Dexterity, 25 Affinity.
+ Healing Flame A flame that restores health. Requirements: Fire Affinity, Lesser Light Affinity, 20 Affinity.
+ Soul Flame A flame that consumes magic. Requirements: Fire Affinity, Lesser Soul Affinity, 25 Affinity.
+ Dungeon Experience Experience will gradually accrue in proportion to Dungeon''s strength Requirements: Dungeon Bound.
+ Dungeon Influence Dungeon creatures of lesser strength will obey. Requirements: Dungeon Bound, 40 Intelligence.
Errrrhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhurg no no no no! I''m going to be sick! Make it go away! Please Mr. Squiggle. I''ve seen enough, it''s too much! I need more time to prepare my eyes, my poor burning eyes! How do I make it go away again? Bartlon said to just think about something else right? Okie dokie. Blanket, blanket, blan-ket, blanky blanket, blanky blank. blank, blank like my mind, no squiggles here, only blankets. Oh gosh it''s not working, even when I squeeze my eyes tight, the squiggles won''t go away! It''s impossible for me to force my thinking away from the squiggles! The urging in my brain is too strong to mentally challenge it! It''s demanding a choice. I must choose one of these squiggles right this instant before I go blind! A single choice. But it seems so unfair! I have no understanding as to what any of these choices will entail! Will they be good or useless? I''m so confused! Well... except for the very first one I guess. ''Rebirth time'' and ''4 hours'' must mean that when I die, it won''t take as long for me to return to my birdy body, which is pretty neat! But, the other choices might be even better! Or worse? And what about the last two choices, why are they different to the rest? I want answers Mr. Squig-- "COME BACK!" a desperate shout echos all throughout the morning forest, silencing every critter in the vicinity and causing a flock of terrified birds to retreat into the sky. Oh... that worked. Thank you mysterious scream! That really spooked the tail feathers off me, but at least my vision is back to normal now! I can see the trees again! Lovely green trees! The day is saved! Although the nudging in my head still remains... it''s so nudgy, so persistent. I don''t like it anymore. With a chunk of bloody meat in my talons frozen midway between the dead Shaggy Fluff on the ground and my agape beak, I curiously swivel my head to the location of the mystery yeller, hoping to catch a glimpse of my savior. I already found him... that was almost too easy. Let''s see here, he has short yellow hair and not a single wrinkle on his worried, smooth face, so it''s definitely not Bartlon. Though I do wonder, why is he staring at me with half of his body poking out from behind that tree? Is he trying to hide from me? He looks very silly like that. Ah! He must be a friend of Barlton''s! I understand now! I feel like such a silly goose now! He must be searching for him as well! That would be why he helped me escape from Mr. Squiggle''s choices! What a nice person! Oh there''s actually one more person too, staring at me from the same tree, I didn''t see him until now because he blends with the trunk a lot better than the yellow haired person, but unfortunately, he also isn''t Bartlon. This new person''s hair is multicolored, grey and white, and his skin is much darker than Bartlon''s too, a light brown, but they do share a similar amount of wrinkles! Not as much as Bartlon of course, but still quite a few! There''s no doubt he''s one of Bartlon''s friends! If we all search together, we should find Bartlon far more quickly than if I were to keep circling all by myself! They might even know exactly where he is! That would be fantastic! I would save so much time! Precious time to save Bartlon with! I will go say hello... after I clean my beak. Lunan Village 7, Enhanced Huh? What''s going on? They''re running away from me! But... I haven''t even said hello yet? Why would they run away like that?! That''s kinda rude. OOH! Of course they would run! They''re leading me to where Bartlon is, aren''t they? It would make sense for them to move quickly, and not waste time saying hello, time is of the essence after all! Although I do think a simple wave would have been the least of courtesy. They didn''t even ask me to follow after them either... they''re lucky I''m incredibly smart or I might not have followed at all! And I probably should hurry up and follow them before they do vanish completely. They''re moving quite quickly, especially the wrinkly one! He''s even faster than Bartlon at running through the trees! An impressive feat! I wonder if that sort of speed is normal for people? You wouldn''t think they could move so quickly after watching them walk. But it''s not as if their speed matters! No one can outrun my Cinders! Muahaha! Your long, silly legs are no match for my fantastic, fiery wings! I''m the fastest bird in the world! I''ve been practicing for the past three days, so I will catch up in no time! And I''m like 90% sure that the forest won''t catch on fire either, so I have nothing to worry about, I can flap freely! "Cinders" I caw excitedly, my voice filled enthusiasm and relief in knowing that Bartlon will be found soon. With a tremendous spray of bright, yellow flames, I rocket off the forest floor in a speedy pursuit, quickly weaving past the numerous trees and branches towards the two fleeting figures as they hurriedly bash their way through the obtrusive plants and bushes towards Bartlon''s peril. With each second that passes, and each meter that shortens between us, Bartlon''s friends seem to pick up even more speed! Sprinting as if their very lives depended on it! Especially the yellow haired one, he''s clearly struggling to maintain pace with the grey haired one, who''s constantly looking back at the both of us with an extremely pained expression on his face. They both must be very worried. I should go even faster! I don''t wan to be out done!
+ 1 Dexterity
Woo~! Wa~! Wee~! "Cinders!" Uho~! Wuh~! Zhu~! "W-WHOA!! Cinders!" That branch was close! "Cinders!" Weeee~! Huuuu~! This is awesome! Fhew~! Why did I ever bother walking?! Yay~! Woooooooooo- *Donk*
Suffered 31 Falling Damage
+ 1 Endurance
Owwwwwwwww! My head!
Suffered 5 Falling Damage
Ooff! My back... Grrrr Stupid, silly, terrible tree, with its stupid trunk being super stupid and extra wide. That really hurt! I bumped the exact same place where I hit the Shaggy Fluff! My battered neck is going to be sore for hours! And not only that, I''m going to fall behind too! Grrrrrr! "Which tree did that!" I chirp outraged, glaring at the trees while patting my tender neck with a flared wing. A guilty silence creaks from the trees. "I won''t forget this" I threateningly inform the trees, committing each tree''s shape to memory for later revenge "I will be back". Wincing as I raise my wings, I painfully launch myself back into the air with Cinders and slowly fly above the foliage, only to find that Bartlon''s friends have entirely vanished into forest in the short time I had stopped. So with a sense of disappointment and anger, I gingerly flap to a nearby branch and begin to fret uncontrollably. I think I really messed up. No. I did mess up. The perfect opportunity to find Bartlon was thrown away and wasted. If I wasn''t flying so recklessly, I wouldn''t have lost my only two guides, and I also wouldn''t have suffered so much damage either. I won''t be able to help rescue anyone in this condition! This really sucks. Gosh I''m so stupid, I got too caught up in the moment. I stare down at my feet listlessly as they scratch deeper and deeper grooves into the soft wood of the unlucky branch I''m perched upon.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. This sucks, sucks, sucks. Waiting is the only thing I can do. I''ll rest and fully recover my Health and Mana, and I''ll also wait and see if those two people come back for me. It''s the best option right now, but I don''t like it, It makes me feel useless. It''s like being a pile of ashes and being unable to do anything, except, I''m not a pile of ashes, I''m still a pheonix, yet I still can''t do anything. It''s stressful. The Shaggy Fluffs are to blame for this entire mess! Once Bartlon is safe and sound I will transfer this stress onto them. The nudge... I guess I can take care of the Enhancement squiggle while I wait, the constant pull in my thoughts is distracting me from moping properly anyway, that won''t do. "Status" I grumpily chirp.
Name: -----, ------ Health: 56/114 Mana: 23/192
Level 5 (114/800) Strength: 15 Endurance: 24
Species: Pheonix Dexterity: 15 Intelligence: 43
Class: Pheonix, Level 2 Affinity: 35
Status
Haroune''s Fruit
*Enhancement*
Skills Traits
Cinders, Level 4 Mythical
Bellows, Level 2 Fire to Fire
Profound Fire Affinity
Soul Affinity
Lesser Light Affinity
Dungeon Bound
Ok. Time for step two, and this time I actually have a plan. If none of the choices make any sense to me like the last time I looked at the ''Enhancement'' squiggle, I will just choose something at random, because I doubt any of the choices will be bad. It wouldn''t make sense for ''leveling up'', something that makes me stronger, to make me weaker because of a poor choice. That would be stupid! All of the choices must be good in someway... I hope. Although that does raise the question... why was level 5 special, and not any of the other levels? Is it random? Is it something Mr. Squiggle decides? I wish I could ask him, but he only seems to respond to me when I say ''status''. So for now, I should just let the Enhancement squiggle do whatever it''s already doing without resisting so I can make it go away. The pull is almost irresistible anyway, it shouldn''t take too much concentration.
Enhancements
Fire to Fire -> Ashes to Ashes Ashes are more durable, a complete rebirth requires less ash. Rebirth time is shortened to 4 hours. Requirements: Fire to Fire, 100 Mana, 15 Endurance, 25 Affinity.
Cinders -> Fleeting Cinders Cinders allows finer aerial control. Requirements: 10 Strength, 10 Dexterity, 20 Intelligence, 30 Affinity.
+ Sparks Volatile feathers charged with explosive energy are launched from the wings. Requirements: Level 3 Cinders, 10 Dexterity, 25 Affinity.
+ Healing Flame A flame that restores health. Requirements: Fire Affinity, Lesser Light Affinity, 20 Affinity.
+ Soul Flame A flame that consumes magic. Requirements: Fire Affinity, Lesser Soul Affinity, 25 Affinity.
+ Dungeon Experience Experience will gradually accrue in proportion to Dungeon''s strength Requirements: Dungeon Bound.
+ Dungeon Influence Dungeon creatures of lesser strength will obey. Requirements: Dungeon Bound, 40 Intelligence.
Oh golly why does it hurt my eyes so much? It''s too many squiggles for me to absorb at once! Why can''t I look at it in little bits at a time? That would be so much easier. Such bullying. "Listen up Mr. Squiggle!" I loudly chirp, summoning all the certainty in my voice as I possibly can "None of them make sense!! So gimmie the first one!"
Trait Unlocked: Ashes to Ashes
No sooner then after the words escaped my beak did the annoying presence in my brain release its tenacious hold on my attention and surge down my spine like a rolling wave of warmth, eager to fulfill its purpose. Once the vague sensation collided with my heart, it pooled together tightly for several breathless moments to build in heat and energy, strength and tangibility, then once it had grown enough, with a slow, singular pulse, the mysterious and ancient power gently washed forth over every millimeter of my confused body, and suffused itself deep into the fibers of my very soul and being, in a way that somehow felt more natural then how my body previously felt. The whole process only lasted a mere heartbeat. Pwaaaaaah~! That really cheered me up heaps! It feels like I''ve been freshly revived as a pheonix! Look! Even the air around me has gotten all hazy and steamy with joy! And it really does feel like I''ve stronger now too! I''m sorry for ever doubting you Mr. Squiggle, I promise never to do it again! I should have more faith in your wiggly loops of infinite wisdom! Next time I won''t hesitate to make a decision, I promise! I only need to figure out how to make the ''special level up'' appear again... But despite how good I feel, I still need to wait before I can act. From what it feels like, my Mana is still very low, not even at a third of completely full, definitely not enough to fly for very long with, let alone fight with. I need it to recover more. Very annoying, I need to get more Affinity. Hmmmm. Now that I think about it, if I had have kept chasing after Bartlon''s friends I probably would''ve used all my Mana whilst flying and crashed into a different tree or something else regardless. And if that something else was a Shaggy Fluff, then I would''ve became its breakfast! That''s a scary thought. So maybe I won''t take revenge on those trees anymore, since it turns out they kinda helped me out in an unintentional and painful kind of way. Not that I can even remember which trees were the same trees I promised to punish. All of these trees look far too similar for me to be able to distinguish them apart, and there''s like a million of them too! Finding the right trees would be impossible. So that''s one issue taken care of. All that''s left to do now, is wait. How fun. Lunan Village 8, Spreading like Wildfire *gasp* I''m going to die. *gasp* I''m going to die.
+ 1 Dexterity
Go away. Go away. "Skwarrrk!" cries death. I hear it. It''s chasing me. I''m running as fast as I can but I know it''s not enough, it''s getting closer. "Whuuaaaaaa~!" Every breathe I take feels like a knife slicing my throat. Every step is more painful than the last. It''s torture, but I can''t slow down. If I stop, I die. If I slow down, I die. All I can do is run. Run and run and never stop. "Woooo~! Weeeeeeeeeeeeee~!" The sadistic cries close in, the sheer enjoyment in the sound is terrifying. Each scream feels like an icy claw, reaching out and shredding my heart, tearing my soul. It''s toying with me, I''m sure of it. This isn''t a hunt, it''s a game. The desperation is almost enough for me to draw my sword and face death with at least some honour, but I keep on running, I keep clinging to hope, however faint that hope may be. Vesth.... I think that''s his name. "Sqwark! Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuu~!" The old man running ahead of me has a permanent scowl on his face and a real ''old person'' attitude, but... "It''s safe with him", that''s what the Guild lady told me, and I pray to Escal she''s right because I''ve never felt more unsafe than right now. I''m pretty sure I can feel the flames brushing against my back. I''m minutes, no, probably seconds away from dying, and not a pleasant, glorious death either, it will probably be... really painful. All I can do is follow Vesth as he runs through the forest and pray he can produce miracles. It''s that or die. And I really don''t want to die. Not while I''m just a nameless Stone. "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee-" *Donk* What in Escal is a *Donk*?! Without breaking his stride, Vesth twists his head over his shoulder and scans the forest behind us, something I dare not try myself in fear of slowing down or faltering. His eyes dart across the trees and canopies quickly as he looks for something while mine stay firmly focus on the ground at my feet. Small plants, bushes and fallen logs are numerous, as well as random foot-sized holed in the ground, it''s taking every ounce of my concentration to avoid the things hidden in the forest debris. I couldn''t look behind me even if I wanted to. In a split second of sudden movement, the old, darkly-tanned man spins on his feet unexpectedly while at a full sprint and harshly skids backwards along the forest floor while facing me, as if sliding on very rough ice. My feet buckle and tremble as I try to suddenly stop also, but it''s clear my only chance of stopping anytime soon would be if I crashed into a tree or fell on my face, which feels very probable. Vesth juts his arm into my path as he comes to a halt, and with an unexpected strength that completely belies his age, he captures my torso as I almost barrel past, bringing me to a very confused and frantic stop. Before I can utter a single word or catch a much needed breath, I feel something solid being pushed into my stomach. "Drink" Vesth orders sternly, his eyes scanning the trees behind me warily. Gasping heavily, I look down his dark wrinkly hand and see a small, thin vial of unmistakable green liquid, which I take and greedily bring to my lips without second thought. A stamina potion. Normally, I wouldn''t dare touch something so insanely expensive, however, normally, I''m not running away from creatures fabled in legends and bedtime stories either. Money is the least of my worries at the moment. I drink the potion down in a single gulp. The tiny amount of green liquid tastes sickly sweet and spicy as it rolls over my tongue, tasting like a combination of pepper and sugar water, but thicker in texture. A vast improvement to the extreme bitterness of the health potions sold by the Guild. As the magical liquid settles in my stomach it begins to burn my innards, slowly at first and then with more ferocity, almost like how I''d expect a poison to feel. But true to the stamina potion''s name, an energy that previously didn''t exist in my exhausted body soon pumps through my screaming muscles and forcefully smothers the fatigue away, making the blazing agony in my sides and legs feel more like a searing agony instead.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. It''s then, I feel a tightness in my chest let go as I finally notice that a fiery death is not longer, literally, hot at my heels. "Don''t even think about" Vesth growls irritably, somehow noticing me reach for my sword despite looking in the other direction "Keep running. Get back to the Guild while it''s still lost our trail and warn them. Now." ''But you''ll face it alone! And that knife of yours doesn''t even have half the length of my sword!'' is what I want to say, but the seriousness in his voice keeps my words at bay. He''s right. A threat of this level is beyond us, maybe even the whole village if any of the legends are at least half as true as they''re said to be. If someone doesn''t warn the Guild immediately then the whole Village could be in danger. Will be in danger. That''s something I absolutely can''t let happen. "That way" Vesth adds as an afterthought, pointing a finger in the same direction we''d been running. "Yes... sir" I exhale between wheezes, slowly stumbling away from the man and gradually picking up speed. Heroes. We need Heroes.
"Goblins? About halfway down the valley you say? And how many did you see?" I ask disinterestedly, not bothering to look up as I hastily scribble out the remaining details of a earlier timber wolf attack that I omitted. These wolfs are getting more and more ambitious. Three attacks each week is double the norm, and double the workload! As if there wasn''t already enough paperwork to sift through. It might be the time to suggest a proper cull on the wolf population to the Guildmaster, or at least, ask her to raise by the bounty by a few coppers before someone gets mauled to death. It would certainly save me seeing another poor farmer walk in with half of his arm missing. That isn''t something I''d like to see again. The travel weary merchant curls his lip in anger at my lazy response and answers curtly in kind, not that I could care. "At least 20 of the filthy worms ambushed my caravan by the stream. That''s more than ever before, and they very nearly made off with some of my expensive merchandise!" He tilts his head at the few idling adventurers in the Guild entrance hall as they either deliberate their next missions or eat an early lunch. Then in a much louder voice, audible to everyone, he haughtily sneers "Isn''t keeping the roads clear of pests one of the Guild''s responsibilities? Or is that too far above this Guild''s level? I wouldn''t be surprised in a backwater village like this." Nice.That earned him a few well deserved glares. How brave. It really never fails to amaze me how easily some people find it to announce themselves as total, useless fops. And I''ve been working here for two years! They can''t help themselves! It always seems to be the wealthy ones too. They all believe that us normal people live to serve. It disgust me. Well now he''s about to find out how quickly word of a snobbish merchant travels in this village. Have fun ''not'' selling your wares now. "Sure sounds terrible" I agree care-freely, still looking down at my desk and writing, only the words I''m writing have no significance other than further infuriating the merchant as I refuse to look at him. "Thank you for bringing this issue to the Guild''s attention. I''ll post a notice... later. As you can see, I''m rather busy with more important matters at the moment." The merchant''s face goes red in indignant rage, like, as red as a tomato. Is that some type of skill? "More important?!" he cries aghast. Rayon hears my words from across the room and he promptly stands from his seat next to the doorway and begins walking towards us while the red-faced merchant''s anger visibly builds. The Guild''s bouncer''s boots thud imposingly on the wooden floor under his heavily muscled body, and his metal armor chimes loudly with each step, but most threatening of all is the gold pendant around his neck. "You''re going to leave now Sir. No fighting in the Guild." Rayon warns as he approaches the merchant from behind. The merchant''s eye''s go wide in outrage as he whips around, no doubt ready to unleash hell - only for him to stare dumbly at Rayon''s chest due to the size difference, not that the merchant is short by any standards. Rayon is just big. Big and scary. The irate merchant then raises his gaze up to the Rayon''s face, only to stop halfway up, where the gold pendant hangs over his shining armor. The small, smooth, gold rectangle isn''t magical or dangerous in any way, but it does have a ''II'' stamped into it, and that''s warning enough. The color in the merchant''s face drains away as he stares blankly at the piece of gold, even going a few shades whiter than when he first walked in, which brings an uncontrollable grin to my face. This is the best part of the job. Wisely, the merchant says no more as he stiffly walks around the armored behemoth that is Rayon, keeping a respectable distance from Rayon''s reach as he does. A few other adventurers who were close enough to hear the merchant''s rude comments chuckle as the pale merchant heads to the door in a hurry, as do I. It never gets old. "Prevention is better than cure Kalita" Rayon admonishes me halfheartedly, expressing a bored look as the merchant exits through the open door "Don''t poke the high and mighty, or they''ll throw a tantrum" "That''s what you''re for, right?" I ask innocently, attempting to batt my eyes at him. He rolls his eyes and snorts lovably as he wanders back to the chair by the door. As he sits back down, he reaches for the book on the table next to him and resumes reading whatever it was that he was reading. That''s 90% of his job. The other 10% is asking people to leave, which they always do. He''s so cu-awesome. He''s cool. He''s only a few years older than me, but not even adventurers twice his age can reach Gold II. It takes amazing talent. It''s too bad I have so much work to do or I would try to chat a little. One day, it might be nice if I could, I dunno, do a mission with him or something. I don''t have a rank of my own, but if I asked him nicely to escort me on my first mission he might do it, won''t he? I''m sure he would. "COME BACK HERE" a voice screams from outside. A familiar voice. An unwanted voice. "I SAID COME HERE YOU FILTHY CHILD AND APOLOGIZE FOR GETTING MY CLOTHES DIRTY!!" I exchange a look with Rayon and he nods with sigh as he places his book back down. "GET BACK!!" the merchant wails from just outside the Guild. Rayon steps to the door, but is shockingly shoved backwards as a young man who distinctly isn''t the merchant lurches in and staggers directly to me, with fear and panic in his eyes. A worm of dread immediately gnaws in my stomach as the ragged adventurer stumbles closer. This too-young man, despite having numerous cuts and tears all over his clothes, and a layer of dirt smeared from head to toe over his body, is someone I vaguely recognize. And then it hits me. He''s the one who set out with Vesth on a scouting mission earlier this morning, right at the start of my shift. But when he did, he wasn''t a total wreck like he is now. He looks like he was thrown off a cliff. And Vesth is a Silver III adventurer, only a single step away from Gold. Along with Rayon and a few others, Vesth has one of the highest ranks in this Guild. Nothing goes amiss during Vesth''s missions, everybody knows that, especially me. Weak, battered, desperate, and barely standing, the Stone rank adventurer basically collapses onto my desk in a heaving mess. He looks up and locks his delirious eyes with mine for several wordless seconds as he tries to force air back into his lungs. Regrettably, seeing an adventurer like this isn''t a rare sight. But either because of the pleading look in his eyes, or the emergency in his movements, the whole is Guild silent as he speaks, expect for the merchant growling outside. "The f-.. forest." he stammers. "A..." "a.." "... p-..pheonix" If the Guild wasn''t silent before, it is now. Lunan Village 9, The Hunt "Doop doop, hoooo dee hoop~" I whistle breezily, perching in the comfort of a low branch in the forest canopy, passing time whilst my Health and Mana finish recovering. The forest goes suspiciously quiet following my nonsensical tune. There''s no noise to be heard amongst the trees besides the sound of leaves rustling happily as the cool wind wanders along its whimsical journey to where ever it goes. Then, the trees explode with shrill whistles. "Doop doop, hoooo dee hoop~!" echo back the all other birds at once. A melodic and beautiful sound, although somewhat chaotic due to the variety of singers. Not every bird is a good singer, most are, but those who aren''t make up for it with enthusiasm! Oh! That was pretty good! How about this one then?! "Hee hee hee, hoooooo, du, huuuu~" The birds wait a few seconds after my new tune to make sure I''ve finished whistling, then, faithfully sing back the tune almost perfectly. "Hee hee hee, hoooooo, duu, huuu~!" they chirp excitedly, sqwarking and chattering in delight as they settle down for the next melody. This is my new game. I was just whistling to myself when I noticed some other birds copying me, so I kept whistling weirder and weirder tunes until eventually, all the birds were playing with me! Now I have like a hundred singers, ready to learn all of my wondrous songs. But, even though all the birds seem really nice and friendly, there''s not a single one roosting on the same tree as me. I have the whole tree to myself. I guess it''s probably because they don''t know me yet and they''re shy, but it does make me feel a little... well not lonely, but... alone? I don''t know how to explain it. I don''t really care anyways. "Duu de doop. Duu de doop. Boop, boop, boop~" I chirp merrily, bobbing my head up and down to the notes. "Duu de doop. Duu de doop. Boop, boop, boop~!" repeat my loyal cohort of feathery whistlers, also bobbing their heads with joy. Well, this might be fun, but... it would be even funner if Bartlon''s friends come back soon so we can go and save Bartlon together, as much as I doubt they will. It shouldn''t have taken them this long to backtrack and find me, no matter how fast they were running. I think they probably didn''t notice me hit that tree until it was too late, and now they''re running ahead without me so they can get to Barlton sooner, which really sucks for me. But despite what I think might''ve happened, I will keep waiting for them, right up until my Mana is completely full, and then I''ll circle again, which should be in exactly one more little song. "Fuu, fuu, fuu! He, he, hoo! Bu, bu, buu! Dubee dubee duu! CHUUuuuuuuuu!!" I chirrup loudly and proudly, captivating and exciting my audience with each note. Hahaha! Best of luck my naive students! There''s no way to copy that song, it''s a masterpiece of music! The different tweets and warbles take hours of practice to do perfectly, there''s absolutely no way to do it right on the first try! Muhahah- "Fuu, fuu fuu~! He, he, huu~! Bu, bu, puu~! beduu dudee doooo?~ CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!" I reel back on my perch and flounder my wings in alarm as the shrill, thunderous sound shakes the branch under my feet, shakes my vision, shakes the grass, shakes the air, shakes everything. Wildly. The sound of hundreds of birds *chuu''ing* their hardest reverberates through the forest and beyond like a voice of nature made manifest. Sending all the birds within earshot into a frenzy of delighted head bobbing never before seen by bird-kind. Too loud! Once the final, boisterous note of my masterpiece song tapers off and the other birds return to their normal, excited chirps and birdsong, and only then, do I find the courage to unveil the curtain of red feathers around my head that''s protecting my precious ears from the deafening noise.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Gosh! There''s a ringing in my ears and I can barely hear my own thoughts! I didn''t expect everyone to go that crazy. That''s the loudest thing I''ve ever heard in my life! But still, it''s nice to know that my songs are appreciated. They got pretty close to how it was supposed to sound! Nice try. I swivel my body from left to right and bow deeply to my awaiting audience, causing them to quiet down and perk up as they wait for the next song as they''ve been trained to. But my next words are not music, it''s goodbye. My Mana is full. "Thanks everyone for singing with me, but I''m going now! I have someone to find. So... umm, bye bye! We''ll play again next time!" (and I need to think of more songs) I poise my wings to my sides and launch into the sky with a quick, powerful flap of Cinders as I jump off the branch. The birds in the trees closest to me startle from their perches at the sight of flames, but once they see that I was the cause, they calm down and return to their respective flocks, where they chirp, warble and sing their own individual songs like they were before, only this time, with a slight hint of sadness. No doubt missing my amazing music already! The forest leaves give way to the vast blue of the sapphire sky as I Cinder higher and higher into the air. My ascent slows once I reach what feels an appropriate altitude and I steady my wings outwards to catch the wind and glide. For a moment, I do nothing, and savor the liberating sensation of the sun bathing my feathers and my body slowly falling back down. Then, it''s back to business. Look out Shaggy Fluffs! I''m back on the hun-whoops-I mean, the search for Barlton! "Cinders" I caw, gushing flames to my side and causing the world to spin around me. "Hello blue tree, you''re still there huh?" I comment absentmindedly, eyeing the greenery below and tilting my wings to widen the size of my horizontal, circling loop. The Harou Tree doesn''t respond of course. It just keeps showering its ghostly, petal-leaves all over the island and surrounding waters as always. Much like how I''m showering my own petals of fire over the trees. Okie dokie, dokie okie, well... because of that wild goose chase with Bartlon''s friends, I don''t really know where I am anymore, but hopefully, that shouldn''t matter too much. With my Mana almost fully replenished, I can keep Cindering for good while! And even if I accidentally overlap with the area I''ve already searched, I will find Bartlon eventually. That''s the genius of circling! And I''m sure that I''m closer to finding him than I was before, or else I wouldn''t of ran into his friends in the forest. Right?!... Yes, that''s right. I''m getting closer to Bartlon, I can feel it, just a little while longer and I''ll find him. Oh hey! Isn''t that Bartlon''s village I see? Alll the way over there? That''s strange, isn''t it? I remember those brown buildings being: Allllllllll the way over there when I first circled the sky. They were too far to see clearly, so I payed them no mind. But now, those same structures are just: alll the way over there, and I can see the larger ones clearly. They''ve gotten closer, no, I''ve gotten closer? Why did that happen? All I did was fly a circle over Barlton''s house. Was I off with my circle? Oh of course you silly goose! Bartlon''s friends must have been running in this direction. That''s why I''ve gotten closer! Duh! I can be so forgetful sometimes, geez, I was distracted by all the singing and whistling. Silly me. Although something about that doesn''t seem right about this. I''m closer now... wait... what? Now I''m really confused! Towards the village, that''s where Bartlon friends were heading, but that doesn''t make sense at all!! How could Bartlon possibly be that way? If he were somewhere next to the village, then why would his friends be searching for him all the way over here? Did they miss him, go past him? How careless! And they only ran back to the village after seeing me, that''s stranger still. Nope. No. No. No. That thinking is stupid. I will ignore the stupid village and keep circling because I know that I''m a genius and that my aerial loops are the smartest. Even Mr. Squiggle thinks so! He increased my ''Intelligence'' when I thought of it! So I''m probably just overthinking things with the village. Bartlon''s friends might''ve just gone in the wrong direction, or have taken a wrong turn, or something like that. I don''t need their help to find Bartlon anyways, I can do it myself, I just need time. Or maybe, maybe, they weren''t even searching for Bartlon in the first place? That would kinda make sense, but, would it? Hmm.... that''s....... no. Not true. As I cut through the sky like an arrow of fire, my feathers begin to rustle a little faster. My beak clenches a little tighter. My wake becomes a little hotter. The wind whistles a little louder. Ceaseless are the dubious thoughts and questions springing up in my brain and frolicking around like hungry blankets. They dance around and taunt my mind with their uncertain answers, making me doubt.. lots of things. Round and round I spin, alone with my thoughts. I don''t want to be distracted by them, but I can''t help it! My brain isn''t shutting up! What were Bartlon''s frien- are they even his friends? Because they didn''t say hello to me. What were those two humans doing so far away from the village, and so close to Bartlon''s home? What reason is there? I don''t know! I thought they were looking for Bartlon like me! But, they wouldn''t be running back to the village if Bartlon has yet to be rescued. That much is obvious. It was only after seeing me, did they run. Did I make them run? How? *-sh* Hgggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. These questions are stressing me out beyond belief! I just want to see Bartlon safe and get my two promised coins from him! Flying around like a headless chicken is not my definition of fun... well, it is fun, but it''s not very fun at the moment! Not when I''m looking for someone! *Twish* "Huh?" I tweet into the wind surprised, drooping my head down and looking at the trail of flames behind me feet. I heard something, and felt something? It sounded like it was just behind me, but... there''s nothing? My imagination? Is there a bird following me? *Twish* My head snaps back up at the space in front of me. That time it was right there, I know it! It felt so close! It''s definitely not a bird, but whatever it was, it sounded like it was going upwar- *Twis-thut*
Suffered 17 Piercing Damage
Lunan Village 10, The Hunt 2 It hit me? There''s a hole in my wing. I''m bleeding, there''s blood. Oww, that really hurts! *Twish* What! It''s still after me? But I can''t see it! Where is it? Where where? I don''t see a thin- *Twis-thut*
Suffered 32 Piercing Damage
Suffered Minor Bleeding
"Cinders! Cinders! Cinders!" I scream in pain, diving towards the trees in a blaze. It''s inside me! It''s dangling from my side! I''ve been stabbed! Something hit me! *twoosh* *twoosh* *Twish* "The forest!" I screech, descending.
Suffered 2 Falling Damage
Suffered 3 Falling Damage
Suffered 6 Falling Damage
Sharp twigs and sturdy branches whip across the front of my body as I bolt past them, cutting and bruising the fragile skin underneath.Most of the branches barring my way snap under my weight, however not all, others are more resilient, and instead threaten to snap my wings when I fail to twist them out of the way in time. But still, I power through the lashings towards the safety of the trees.
Suffered 2 Falling Damage
Suffered 2 Blood Loss
Suffered 5 Falling Damage
Suffered 1 Falling Damage
Suffered 13 Falling Damage
"Gah" I gasp, wincing as a unseen, wooden limb smacks into the nape of my neck, hard, sending me careening downwards like a rock. My next sight is that of dirt. Dirt is also my next sensation, and taste, as I slam into the mushy earth.
Suffered 9 Falling Damage
Suffered 8 Piercing Damage
"OWWWWWWWWW!" I shriek, as whatever it was that got stabbed into my side is pushed deeper into the wound by the fall. "Arghhh! Ow, oww oww oww OWW!"
Suffered 3 Blood Loss
I spit out a clump of soil and painfully roll onto back to look at the long brown stick hanging out of my torso, just under my left wing. An arrow. Half of the shaft is glistening with my own blood and more is seeping from the deep wound. I can feel how deep it is. The arrowhead is completely buried in my flesh, and it hurts! It must of cut one of my ribs! "I''ve been shot!" I cry in disbelief.
Suffered 2 Blood Loss
Why?! Why! Why would someone shoot me? What have I done?! Who was it?! Who did it! Who shot me!? I''ll rip them apart! They almost hit me so many times! I could''ve died! What if they''d hit me once more, huh?! I''d be dead, nothing but ash! How could this happen to me!The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Bellows!" I shout in anger, sending a ball of flame to combust in the canopy. SOMEONE SHOT ME! "Bellows! Bellows! Bellows!" I squall furiously, sending more fire towards the green ceiling, and only stopping because a few dry leaves and small twigs actually catch fire.
Suffered 2 Blood Loss
I got bashed by the trees so much! And now there''s a very sharp stick inside me! What am I supposed to do about that?! It hurts. It feels wrong. I''ve been skewered! There''s extra weight on my left side and it feels wrong. It will be impossible to move like this. Do I need to pull it out? Will that hurt even more? I don''t want to. I know it will. I''m scared to move because I can feel the sharp metal cutting inside me.
Suffered 2 Blood Loss
I lay there in the dirt for a couple of minutes, seething, my chest rising and falling rapidly, surrounded by a small mound of upturned mush. My thoughts are that of fury. Someone shot an arrow at me, lots of arrows. There''s an arrow stuck in my chest and there''s even a hole all the way through my wing. And the worst part is, I don''t know who, or what, did it! I didn''t see who was shooting, I didn''t even see the arrows! I''ll never be able to get revenge!
Suffered 1 Blood Loss
I raise my right wing and look at it, the wing that got shot. There''s an oval-shaped hole past my elbow towards the tip of my wing, it''s not very large, about the size of my talon, but it is very noticable! The air blowing through it feels wrong. And that feeling of wrongness is doubled especially because wings are designed specifically not to let wind pass through. But it''s not half as bad as the arrow that''s still inside me! The pain of both of these wounds aren''t even in the same universe! By comparison, my wing has no pain at all!
Suffered 1 Blood Loss
My wing is ok! My side is... is... it''s not ok! It''s still bleeding for golly goshes''s sake! Not even my wing is bleeding anymore, it stopped already! It must be because of the arrow. I need to take it out. I need to. I can''t keep laying here, I don''t know if I''m safe yet and I''ve already been here for too long. But, I don''t want to. I really, really, don''t want to. It''s not even in a good position to reach! The shaft is facing away from my face, and it''s not very close to my feet either, so I''m not sure if I can use my talons to pull it. I might need to bend over and use my beak. Which will hurt.
Suffered 1 Blood Loss
Ahh, but do I need to do it? Can''t I just wait for my body to push it out naturally if I let it heal? How long will that take? An hour, maybe two? I''m not sure, but my wing seems to be healing pretty fast already... could I wait an hour? What if whoever shot me saw me exposed on the ground like this? I wouldn''t stand a chance! I think I need to pull it out. "HrrrrrrrrrrrgGGHH" I hum through a gritted beak, as I stretch my neck over my belly.
Suffered 3 Slashing Damage
Suffered 2 Slashing Damage
Suffered 3 Blood Loss
Suffered 2 Piercing Damage
After torturous bending and shuffling, my beak eventually clamps around the blood-red shaft of the embedded arrow. Instantly, electricity zaps along my ribs and up to my neck, causing tears of agony roll down my face. It''s too much pain. How could I possibly rip it out? It will hurt even more if I move. More than anything.
Suffered 2 Blood Loss
I rip the arrow out.
Suffered 14 Slashing Damage
I would''ve screamed, if not for the arrow in my beak. Instead, a twisted sigh escapes my mouth, followed by more tears. It did hurt. Even more than being crushed in the jaws of a Rattling Worm. But it was a quick pain. Extreme for a second, then just, bad afterwards I gaze into the sky partially obscured by leaves with unfocused eyes, still biting down on the arrow, too afraid to let go. I lay for a while, until strange, green arms reach up from behind my head and rouse me into thought. Oh golly. I cried so much that the plants are trying to grow over me. Frowning, I look at the wound under my left wing to assess the damage. And yep, it''s bigger than before. It looks as if a rib exploded outwards, or if a Shaggy Fluff gave me a big, nasty bite, but at least I can tell that the flesh underneath is healing properly, no longer stopped by the sharp arrowhead. Pulling the arrow out was the correct choice... probably, I hope. In a few hours I''ll be as peachy as a parrot! But it still hurts terribly.
Suffered 1 Blood Loss
"Ow, ow ow ow" I grumble as I flop onto my stomach then to my feet.
Suffered 2 Blood Loss
What should I do now? I still need to find Bartlon, and now I need to find whoever attacked me so I can rip the fluff out of them, but that might be impossible if I can''t circle in the sky without becoming someone''s target practice! Even on the ground, I don''t feel entirely safe. They might be after me on foot, heading to my position, closing in, watching me, they could be anywhere! They may be hiding behind a tree... Yup. I''m scared. If I get shot again, I will die, and dying is the worst. I need to make a move before it''s too lat- "THERE!" a crazed voice howls in triumph behind me, freezing me stiff with fear. "HA! FOUND YOU!" Lunan Village 11, Immolate How did they find me so quickly?! That was too quick! I need to run before I''m pincushioned! Hurry! Into the trees! I fan out my wings and circulate heat into them as the sound of crunching footsteps draws nearer. Small flames flicker from between the crevices in my overlapping feathers. A prelude to a fiery escap- "What in Escal have you been doing?! Chasing after adventurers and trying to set the sky on fire?! I''ve been worried to death! And it''s not just me, everyone in the village is up in arm- Oh my... what happened?! Your stomach! Are you alright?" A wrinkly hand comes into view and gently shifts my left wing so that a wrinkly face can better see the gruesome wound underneath. I dare not move a muscle. "You''ve been shot!" the wrinkly face exclaims in disbelief, his voice hoarse and out of breathe "You pulled it out yourself? Who in Escal shot you? Here, hold still, I will heal it." White light envelopes his wizened hand and flows towards my chest like a stream of glistening water, spreading around my whole body and pooling over the areas most damaged. It feels cool and soothing to the touch, not at all like what actual water feels like. Suddenly, all the cuts and bruises covering my body begin healing. Even the hole in my wing and ribs heal! Fast. Incredibly fast! Healing what would of taken hours and hours in the span of a second! "Heal" the old man affirms sympathetically.
83 Health Restored
I can''t believe I finally found him!
4 Bludgeoning Damage
"Bartlon!" I shout in relief, knocking the surprised man backwards with a flying headbutt-tackle to the arm "I''ve been looking for you since forever! Where were you? Are you hurt anywhere?! Where are the Shaggy Fluffs? Are they still chasing you? Don''t worry, I will protect you from them! I can burn them! Stay behind me!" I face the trees, elatedby finding Bartlon but still focused. My eyes search the trees and plants, looking for the tell-tale signs of brown, fluffy shapes lurking in the shadows. How many might there be? Two? Three? Ten?! I''d better make sure that my belly is full of fire before they come charging in. Bartlon needs my help! "Timber wolves? No, I haven''t seen any, but that doesn''t matter right now, what matters is the Guild! You scared the village half to death and they think you''re an actual threat, they''re up in arms! Before long, adventurers from strong Guilds will arrive here to look for you. And Heroes too! It won''t be safe around here for much longer." Bartlon rumbles, rubbing his head-butted arm tenderly. The sense of elation slowly leaks from me. There are people looking for me? Well... I already know that there''s at least one person hunting me, but now there''s going to be a lot? That doesn''t sound good. I think one is enough. And these ''Heroes'', Bartlon said something about them before, but I don''t really remember much. I think they''re supposed to be scary. "Are they going to try and kill me?" I ask warily, meeting Bartlon''s eyes under a layer of wrinkles and seeing no humour in them. He shifts uncomfortably and stares down at the dirt, somehwat disapointed. "Yes" he confirms at last. That doesn''t seem very fair. "There''s nothing I can do about it!" Bartlon protests, as if hearing my thoughts "I would try to stop the Guild from attacking you, but nothing I say or do will help, it might even make your situation worse! I doubt there''s anyone who would believe in a harmless friendly pheonix, no less an adventurer. Not even I would''ve believed it a day ago!" "Then what if I flew over the angry humans right now and said sorry, even though I didn''t do anything wrong. Then they would stop chasing after me, right? They would understand that I haven''t done anything bad and leave me alone. Easy!" I chirp triumphantly. Silly Bartlon, he didn''t think of the obvious solution. Communication! That''s why I''m such a genius. A brilliant pheonix with a brilliant brain to match! "No" he states plainly, regretfully even "You might as well paint a target on your chest and run around naked if you were to do that. Nobody would wait long enough for any kind of talk before you''re filled with arrows and magic. Everybody is wary and afraid. No, don''t do that please." Well that doesn''t sound very fair either. And also, I would never fly around naked. I don''t even think I could! I need my feathers to fly, and I would get cold without them too. Not to mention how exposed I would feel. I would rather die than do that. "Let''s head back then" Bartlon announces, leaning down to pick me up "Back to my home where I can think, and no flames along the way, people might see them, or a mage mig-Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. *Twis-dut* Like a flash of lightning, an unseen arrow zips beneath Bartlon''s hand and buries itself in the forest scruff next to his foot, wobbling violently. Bartlon gasps aloud and rips his hand away in alarm, stumbling backwards and almost falling to his bottom. In the same moment, a person emerges from the shadow of a tree''s trunk, holding a bow almost large as them self! Someone I recognize. It''s the same person who I was following before, one of the two people who I mistakenly thought were Bartlon''s friends. Iremember because he''s wrinkly like Bartlon too, only not quite as wrinkly, and with darker skin. Although I don''t remember him having a bow on him, especially one that big. Where did that come from? "Step away from the pheonix or be shot" the man growls harshly as he points the gleaming arrow tip at my neck and pulls the bowstring to his lips. The archer''s simple movement seems to make time slow down to a crawl. Death squeezes my heart with a crushing grip. I feel a tangible sense of certainty in the moments to come. I see death reflecting in the shooter''s posture and the arrow''s shining tip. A dread stronger than when I stared directly down the gullet of a Shaggy Fluff. If this person was able to shoot me while I was flying around in the sky, then he won''t miss when I''m on the ground. And he looks ready to fire. There''s no possibility of survival. No flying away, no dodging, no blocking, no firing my own fire. I can''t even bring myself to believe that I might miraculously survive a single shot! I feel death aiming right at me. But, it doesn''t stop me from from trying to move. Death is no stranger to me, not after dying several times already. I surge every speck of fire within me towards my wings. Everything. Hoping I might avoid the arrow if I try, despite how strangely hopeless any resistance feels. "Wait! Sanctuary!" Bartlon shouts at the same time that Bartlon''s not-friend looses the arrow at me. "Cinders!" I shout as the arrow leaves the bow. "Vital Shot" the weathered man murmurs as he exhales. In a single heartbeat. a shimmering, protective dome flickers to life around me, only to be met with a screaming arrow in the next instant, shattering both the dome as well as the arrow together with a clash. The wooden splinters scatter into the forest at high speed, going far and wide, whilst the remnants of the dome flake away and quickly dissipate into air as if they never existed. Then, belatedly, flames appear.
Cinders has reached Level 5
+ 3 Affinity
9 Fire Damage
My wings don''t so much as ''spray flames'' as they... ''explode flames''. Loudly. *BANG* Fire engulfs the world. Or maybe just my world... and a bit of Bartlon''s world. The single flap, containing all the fire my body had to offer, flings me backwards with as much force as a kick to the belly. Giving me a great view of Bartlon and his fake friend reeling in shock, shielding their eyes from the expanding cone of searingly bright sparks. Thankfully, the fire doesn''t spread far, and immediately snuffs itself out before anything, or anyone is set ablaze. Lucky! And it felt awesome too, that was a big flap, the biggest.
8 Falling Damage
"Ouch!" I squeak as my back slams into a trunk. Not so lucky. "RAHHH BLOODY HELL!" the archer roars in fury, uncovering his eyes and blinking wildly at Bartlon and myself, struggling to refocus his vision. "Wait!" Bartlon yells. scrambling over his feet and flailing his hands wildly in front of his face to grab the attention of the furious bowman, whilst being unable to see properly himself "Wait! You can''t shoot! The pheonix is harmless! Don''t! Please!" The darkly tanned man snarls wordlessly and walks towards Bartlon with bow in hand. He mutters something and delivers a swift, almost too fast to see, jab to Bartlon''s stomach, dropping the poor old man to the ground and making him gasp for air in agony. He steps aroundBartlon''s crumpled body and takes long strides towards me, dropping his large bow on the ground and drawing a pair of long, deadly-looking knifes from his hip. The burning look in his eyes could set water aflame. "You can''t take chances" the archer whispers to himself, flourishing his weapons and striding forth "I must kill it while I can. It''s a threat." "stop... you can''t... murderer" Bartlon rasps from behind, trying to drag his body upright without success. The archer does not slow. An absence of emotionsettles over my thoughts as death approaches once more. But it''s not the knife wielding man who''s moving towards me that I watch,my eyes are onBartlon. I watch as Bartlon vomits weakly on his hands while crawling to a tree to help lift himself up. But it becomes clear that hewas hit pretty hard, because the moment he begins to stand up, he crumples back down, cradling his stomach in obvious pain. So he tries again, this time using that magical, white, healing water to coat his belly, but he gets no further than before. He falls to the forest floor, covered in dirt and twigs and spittle, grimacing. Beaten by a single punch. And too far away to lend me any help like before. . It''s not right. I cannot believe it. Bartlon never hurt anyone. All he did was protect me from a single arrow! One that shouldn''t have been shot at me in the first place! Not that I care about that anymore. Bartlon ended up getting hurt because of me. It''s my fault. I didn''t even consider that he mighthave been attacked by the archer, they''re both humans after all! I thought that I would be the only one in danger! That was my mistake, and now Bartlon is suffering. My mistake, and the archer''s mistake. Hitting Bartlon was wrong, he shouldn''t have done that. Hitting me is ok, because I won''t die, but hitting Bartlon is not ok. Bartlon did nothing wrong, he is a good person. There''s a word for what that archer did, that word is... "Unforgivable" I chirp,feeling a tricklinginferno stir to life in my soul. The archer pauses, his step faltering. Or maybe it''s more appropriate to call him a warrior now? A swordsman? A dagger-man? Either way, the light in his eye flickers as he meets mine. He tenses involuntarily, feeling an unspoken hate sweep over his senses, but he recovers stoicly with a grunt and takes a stance just a few meters away from me. Because he knows he can kill me easily. "So you can speak then, I wasn''t hearing things." he growls with mild surprise, bending his knees and reversing his grip on the knife in his right hand. I ignore his words and smother my mind with righteous anger, letting instinct control what''s left of my thoughtsto drown out my helplessness. Forgotten are blankets and seeds, forgotten is Bartlon, forgotten is weakness, all that remains is the desire to destroy the human in front of me, the person who attacked both myself and my friend, unjustly. Anger takes over. Anger and something more. A red haze seeps into my vision, painting the forest with the color of blood and fire, changing the otherwise pleasant afternoon into an infernal, hellish landscape of death. A perfect scene to match with the unbridledwrath sprinting throughout my body, pushing against my skin in attempts of escape. Emotionsbecome strength. The fire in my chest is no longer a steady flame, but a swelling blaze, growing at the speed of thought, providing me with more heat and energy than I''ve ever experienced before! It''s intoxicating. Overwhelming power! So much fire that I feel like I couldburn down theentire Harou Tree if I wanted to! I never knew there was such strength hidden inside me, just waiting for me to tap into it. But the sensation is also terrifying, because I''m losing control. Like a candle, the flame only exists because it consumes the wick. And somewhere in my muted thoughts, I fear exactly that happening, and beg for the fire to be extinguished. But the change is happening too fast, the sound of my voice is lost under the roars of my destructive heritage. I need to lose control, to burn myself. If it will make me stronger, then I will do it. Because I need the strength. Because I am weak, and thisfoe is not. Because I must avenge Bartlon.
Skill Unlocked: Immolation
Fire rushes into my brain, awakening the pheonix from its slumber. Lunan Village 12, Daring "Unforgivable." it speaks, the voice barely more than a whisper, but a voice nonetheless. A sound containing far more emotion than what any monster has the right to posses. Unbelievable. A hot bead of sweat streaks down the back of my neck as I plant my feet and raise my weapons. What am I doing here again? Something incredibly stupid. I''m sure. But I don''t really have a choice about it, do I? "So you can speak, huh? Bloody fantastic." I gripe aloud, lowering my stance and twisting my hips despite the aching in my bones. Readying an attack. The bright red bird doesn''t respond to the remark, it doesn''t even blink. It just stands defiantly at the base of a tree, seething with rage. A firestorm of hurt and fury kindling behind its sad, golden eyes. One swelling in size with each passing second, and threatening a wrath upon the world. Yet the bird continues to stand still, refusing to either attack or flee. Instead, choosing to bide its fury. A sitting duck... no pun intended. Although admittedly, it might be bit harder to hit since it''s smaller than most beasts, but thankfully it''s neither airborne or very far away. And it''s not moving. Killing it wouldn''t take much effort. A few swings and a few skills and it''s done. I just gotta get it over with. Sooner rather than later would be nice, or while it''s still standing there at least. I lift my foot. Or at least, I try to lift my foot. Only I''m met with a flat-out refusal from my leg. My body does not want to move. Am I waiting for something? Am I having a stroke? Hesitating? Only an idiot hesitates. An idiot, or someone who''s about to have their face ripped off by a raptor. It must be using a skill on me. With its eyes? Those swirling flames a sight to behold to be sure, but I don''t feel like that''s it. Something else then? Fear. It must be fear. I''d almost forgotten what fear felt like, but now I recognize it. And with the recognition of my fear. I finally recognize my adversary. A pheonix, that is what I''m pointing my weapons at. Not a common bird. Not a mindless beast. But a living, breathing, and apparently thinking aspect of nature. A creature that once rivaled even the legendary Heroes of old in strength, and will forever be remembered as such too. Forever known as flying disaster capable of razing entire towns, cities, even small kingdoms to dust! A nearly unstoppable threat. I would be right to show fear. Fear saves lives. This isn''t a creature I should engage, and my body is trying to tell me as much too. It''s suicide. And I''ve spent my whole life avoiding suicidal actions. Yet... Despite what the legends say... I was able to shoot it. Twice in fact. Me. Old and weary me. If any other Silver rank could pick up a bow and shoot a bloody pheonix, then I wouldn''t have as many bedtime stories to tell my grandchildren of, would I? No. And I know the reason why. It''s young. And if I were to judge from its feather size, it''s barely more than a fledgling. A newborn even. If there were ever an opportunity to kill this threat before lives are lost, it would be now. Before it can mature and grow to become something truly invincible. I might be putting my own life at risk, but for the sake of thousands? This is the perfect chance. And I''m not about to waste it. I''m decided. Time for these young''uns to see what a real fool looks like. Death or glory... or whatever it is they shout before dying. Not that I''m going to say it myself.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. I take a steadying, deliberate breathe, and then... "Opening Step" I gruff, breaking out of fear''s grasp and lifting the clever-like blade in my right hand. Many steps merge into the span of one. I traverse the distance separating the pheonix and I in an instant, trailing a slight gust of wind behind me. Before the pheonix can process the sudden movement, I swing my hefty blade down, down towards its head with tremendous speed. Quick as a literal flash, the carefully kept edge of my weapon whistles through the air as it arcs along. But somehow, it is not quite quick enough. The pheonix, unmoving until now, screeches in alarm and jerks to the side, igniting its wing feathers at the same time. Bright flames dance into the air, pushing the pheonix up and away from the slash and saving its head from being split in half.
38 Slicing Damage
Pheonix Suffered Bleeding
But not its wing. My blade meets flesh, then bone, then air. With barely any resistance at all, I slice cleanly through the fragile base of the pheonix''s right wing, leaving the fabled bird confused and aghast midair. Perfectly incapable of dodging the second, much thinner blade in my left hand, already following up the first with an even faster horizontal swing to the neck. Another deadly whistle cuts through the air, higher in pitch. The bleeding pheonix flaps its one useful wing in attempts of escape, spraying more bright flames, but the attempt is next to useless. My dagger is too quick, and the pheonix is helples- A splash of orange light springs up from my left. The tiniest of distractions, barely more than a blip in my peripheral. But enough. Involuntarily, my eyes dart towards the strange light, seeking the cause. Fire. Close. Hot. "Oh-"
Suffered 22 Fire Damage
Suffered Minor Burn
Before my dagger can steal the pheonix''s life, I retract my arm and cover my face as fire suddenly appears from nowhere. The explosion slams into me, shoving me aside and setting my shirt alight in an instant. I grunt in pain as the wind is knocked from my lungs and as the fire burns my skin. The Bloody Hell was that? That wasn''t from the pheonix!
Suffered 5 Fire Damage
I reach to my shoulder and tear off the flaming sleeve of my shirt, throwing it to the ground and stomping it underfoot. My head whips left and right, searching for whoever caused the explosion. The pheonix, unable to fly with one wing, drops to the ground and shrieks in pain. Who? Or what? The person I hit with Crippling Blow? No, he wouldn''t be up yet. Don''t tell me there''s another pheonix nearby. Its parents? Escal help us if there''s three pheonixes here. I swing my head upwards, expecting to see another pheonix descending, bearing a hellish inferno with it. But nothing. I see no one. Just stray sparks leftover from the explosion and ashes. A handful of glowing, yellow ash, wafting down to the ground and setting forest alight where it lands. But that''s it, no other pheonixes, only myself and this pheonix. It was the wing. It exploded. Of course it did. I should of known something like that would happen. I just didn''t expect an actual explosion. I should remember that. I switch my focus back to the pheonix, bracing my weapons for a counter attack of some description. But it''s unneeded. My fingers relax their grip by a fraction. The pheonix is back on its feet. Not focusing on me, but looking back and forth between the small, scattered fires on the ground and the bleeding stump where its wing should be, seeming to be in disbelief. It tries to flap its stump of a wing, but the uneven weight causes it to tumble to the ground. A tormented scream fills the air as the pheonix''s crippled wing is forced into the dirt by its own body. Loud enough to make me wince sympathetically. As it scrambles to its feet, a golden steak rolls from the pheonix''s eye. A tear? An opening? Why? Surely it knows that I could sprint over and cut it apart with ease? It isn''t anywhere near as fast or powerful as I expected to be, even as a fledgling. And it won''t be saved by an exploding wing again. I could kill it. Easily. But it almost feels... too easy? Is this all a legendary creature amounts to? Weaker than a hobgoblin? A few burns on my arm is nothing. I take a step. Then another. Then I stop. Against my better judgement, I stop and strain my ears to listen as the pheonix''s yellow beak parts open by a crack. It''s about to speak again, I know it. Will it cry for help? Will it do something I wont like? Probably. I shouldn''t give it the chance to do so, but... just one more time. Once more. I need to listen to the voice that shouldn''t exist. No matter what it is. It whispers only a single word. The sound strikes like thunder in my soul. "Immolate" A heavy presence settles over the forest. Nature is silenced, and the air is pressured under an unseen, yet crushing weight. The pheonix looks at me. But it''s not the same pheonix as before. It has changed. Not in appearance, but in demeanor. What looks at me is a completely different creature. Every fiber of my being screams at me to do something, but the message is unclear. Fear and awe rush through my body. Terror and dread. Reverence too. So many emotions that my body goes despairingly limp under the barrage. Its golden eyes blaze mutely as they lock with mine, but there''s no hate in the gaze like before. There''s no emotion at all. It''s the same look a giant would give to an insect. Or an immortal to a mortal. Looking, but not seeing anything of worth. A look of disregard. Then, as if it were nothing but an illusion, time resumes to normal and the oppressive weight over the forest lifts, allowing life to breathe once more. Left behind is a fleeting memory. A lingering scar on my soul. And a cold sweat on my forehead. It''s only when the fiery bird lifts its one remaining wing, do I remember how to think. Bloody Hell. Not good. Might''ve pissed it off... yes, I did. Shouldn''t have let it speak. It''s pissed.