As Told by child_dragon: Part Eighteen - Tempest Wind by child_dragon |  |
It was raining outside. The rain had started shortly after child_dragon had
vanished into the vortex. Un-eairkagh sighed and looked away from the window,
his tail and wings drooping sadly.
"She'll be all right," Lady MoonFall said encouragingly, but he could detect
the worry in her voice.
"Sure," he replied glumly.
He returned to the living room, pacing back and forth. No one told him to stop.
About a dozen pets were gathered there, Sakuko and Netsuko, Sabreur and Infernus,
along with the whole slew of WeatherWolf's followers. Melody's pets were in
Faerieland watching over her, praying for her to wake. The door slammed open
and Un-eairkagh whipped around to face it.
"Sorry," WeatherWolf muttered, shutting the door gently behind him, rain streaming
from his fur.
Un-eairkagh dropped his head sadly, and all the other pets also looked back
to what they were doing before the Lupe interrupted.
"Any change?" Un-eairkagh asked softy to the Lupe as he drew closer.
The former enemy glanced at the assembled pets.
"Let's go elsewhere," he muttered.
The Eyrie nodded and led the way out of the living room. He stopped just short
of his room, remembering he'd given it over to a couple of WeatherWolf's crew.
Child_dragon's house was fast running out of space. With a sigh he led the way
upstairs and into Kiddo's room, glancing sadly at the messes of schoolwork and
other assorted junk. MoonFall had always been after her to pick her room up.
"So what's going on?" the Eyrie asked.
"Mass panic," the Lupe said with a sigh. "Neopians are everywhere, there's
been some looting, rioting, and just general chaos. The Faeries are trying to
restore order, but with that vortex overhead it's been near impossible."
Un-eairkagh heaved a sigh, hearing nothing that he didn't expect.
"It's been nearly two days since she left," he said softly.
WeatherWolf remained silent, not wanting to speak what was on everyone's minds.
Child_dragon had failed, she was not coming back, and tomorrow the realm of
the Shadows would consume all of Neopia.
The striped Eyrie walked over to child_dragon's dresser as if in a trance,
and opened the top drawer. There was a letter there, just like she had said.
He took it out and stared at it for a long time.
"What is that?" WeatherWolf asked.
"Something she left us in case she…didn't come back. I figured… we'd probably
better open it since it's been several days…"
"Not yet," a new voice said from the doorway.
Un-eairkagh turned and stared at the spotted Zafara.
"What do you mean Aldrai? It's been too long, she should have been back by
now."
The Zafara shook his head.
"Time flows differently in the realm of the Shadows. What is a day to us may
only be an hour there. She will either succeed or fail on the third day, not
before. Until then we can only wait."
And then he turned and was gone. Un-eairkagh nodded slowly and replaced the
letter.
"The third day. I'll be waiting for you then, Kiddo," he said, his gaze returning
to the window, out into the rain, up into the darkened heavens, and into the
vortex.
***
I faced BrightSong, determined.
"Okay, now, tell me about this traitor," I demanded.
He looked sadly at me, than nodded.
"When I was first killed, the spear was in the faerie's possession. But a Neopian
allied with this evil realised the threat it presented, and stole it from the
faeries. He delivered it to the grove in the Cursed Forest, and the Shadows
shattered it into the six pieces. This traitor, possessing magic, hid the shards
away in the realm of the Shadows, sealing each with a Guardian to keep the Essence
from obtaining them."
"Okay, so what happened to the traitor? And you talk about the Shadows as
if they're intelligent."
"No one knows what happened to the traitor. They say he still lives, aiding
the Shadows. And the Shadows are intelligent, child_dragon, they are incredibly
intelligent. They've been plotting for ages for this moment, but unfortunately
for them, you've survived much longer than they'd hoped for."
"Glad to be of service," I said sarcastically, my spirits somewhat dampened
by this news. I had assumed the Shadows to be mindless, driven by a need to
destroy and disgust of all things living, nothing more. BrightSong touched a
section of the wall, and a dark blue gate appeared.
"Wind," he said. "Unpredictable and tricky. Fly well." I nodded and stepped
through.
I was immediately buffeted by a blast of wind, then it hastily died away. I
stood on a cliff, below me was barren earth, far far below.
"It's Kiddo!" an exuberant voice said, and I turned to see the striped Eyrie
hovering just out of my reach.
"Un-eairkagh, of course you'd be here for wind," I said serenely.
"Of course. Who else?" He laughed and somersaulted in mid-air, loosing a couple
feet of altitude, but then gliding back up again. "So, you coming?" he asked.
I spread my wings and leaped off into the air, feeling the currents of wind
fill my wings and support me as I flew. "Lead on," I commanded and he laughed,
showing me the way.
As we flew, the wind grew steadily stronger, and dark clouds appeared. Thunder
rumbled overhead, and the wind shrieked with gale force power. Flying was unreal
now, and Un-eairkagh stopped and just hovered.
"Technically, I'm supposed to stop here, but I never have been a big fan of
rules. Lets keep going," he said, and continued flying. There was a resounding
crack, and a bolt of lighting streaked down to burst inches before the Eyrie
He let out a startled squawk and hurriedly backed up.
"On second thought, never mind. Guess I can't go on after all," he said grimly.
"It's up to you. Remember, flying is a dance, and the wind is the music. You
fly with it, following where it leads. And Kiddo…I'm sorry I'm such a pain all
the time."
"And I would of found Neopia a very dull place without you to exasperate me
all the time," I said, "Never think that I don't love you, Un-eairkagh. Never."
And I meant every word.
I spread my wings and caught the wind, gliding higher towards the troubled
sky. There was a brilliant flash of lightning, and something streaked out of
them, a myriad of flashing colours. It stopped before me, hovering. The wind
Guardian was an immense bird, different shades of blue patterning its feathers.
It looked at me proudly, then dipped away, thunder echoing in its wake. I folded
my wings and followed. It flew like the wind itself, veering and soaring, diving
and banking with hardly a flaw. I, on the other hand, was buffeted by the wind,
struggling to keep up. It laughed, the sound of its harsh caw drifting back
on the winds. A blast of air shrieked past me, knocking me back. I hovered,
catching my breath, and the bird hovered also, slowly flapping its wings, waiting.
"How am I supposed to catch the thing?" I muttered.
Then I remembered Un-eairkagh's words. Flying is a dance, the wind is the music.
I closed my eyes and listened. And suddenly I knew. My flute instructor had
always said that air must support the notes at all times. The notes follow the
air, not the other way around. If the air support is weak, so will be the music.
The wind would support my wings. And I had to follow the wind, wherever it led.
I dove back into the tumult of wind, this time flying with the currents. The
bird also took flight, and I beat my wings hard, following the wind. The current
veered suddenly, and I followed it, even if it was leading me away from the
bird. I rose into the air, the wind powering my flight. I was directly above
the bird now, my speed matching its. I laughed and dove, not against the wind,
but with it. The bird screamed and dove also, but I was faster now. The wind
roared in my ears, and I readied my spear shard. I could reach out and touch
its tail now. I drew back my arm, and threw, the spear speeding to strike the
birds neck. It cried in pain and flared its wings. I snapped mine out, a loud
pop stopping my descent. The bird hung there for a second, then fell, dissolving
away into light. The spear shard hovered there, the dark blue light melding
with it. Two elements left. I dipped slightly and grasped the spear. A swirling
wind surrounded me, and I was returned to the centre room.
To be continued...
Feel free to Neomail me, I encourage it. I like feedback. Sabreur is really my
brother, you can Neomail him also, though I ask you to go easy on that. He's in
college right now, and I'd rather not have him mad at me for getting a ton of
Battledome challenges, etc. Melody is also real, my best friend. She's in college
too, her Neopets name is horngodess, but I wouldn't suggest bugging her, she has
a very demanding major and hardly any free time. Sakuko is also real, she's a
really nice person. |
