Two days after the death of Mory’s father, Marlon visited Mory at his home. Mory’s mother and sister went to see his grandparents, so Mory was alone at home. It was mid-afternoon when Marlon came by. They sat in the yard, resting on chairs the Mory’s father had handcrafted from cedarwood. Mory soon realized that Marlon had a special gift for cheering people up. For a few hours, they joked and laughed and talked. Mory was grateful to have a friend like Marlon. He was the remedy that was needed for his sickened soul. Eventually, Mory remembered that there was something that he needed to do and he let Marlon know.
“I appreciate you coming by. I wish we could hang here longer, but I have to go take care of something.”
“No problem. Come by my place if you ever need anything, and tell your mom and Ariel I said what’s up.”
Mory nodded and they bumped fists. Soon Marlon was gone. Mory grabbed the sheathed janpakuto sword that his father had given him and attached it to his waist with some twine. The double edged blade was nearly a meter long. The janpakuto was known for its hilt that was crafted into the shape of crow wings. Once the sword was secured to him, he headed out.
It was a rather quiet afternoon as he walked past many of the village huts. He made his way to the Stork River, which was quite narrow, allowing him to leap across it with a running start. Then he hiked up some hills on the western side of the village, followed by him passing over a brief plateau which led him to his destination.
Avian Falls.
Two waterfalls that flowed from adjacent cliffs poured an endless supply of water to the plunge basin below. In Stork, they were referred to as big sister and little sister. The reason for their names was because big sister was just a little bit thicker. The roar of the crashing water was loud enough for Mory to hear when he was passing through the hills on the way there. The sister waterfalls were tall, about eighty meters or so.
Mory descended from the plateau and wrapped around the reservoir of fallen water to reach the random boulder that Sannis had mentioned. There were many stories in the village about how it got there but none were proven true. None the less, Mory marveled at the sight of it. For a moment he tried to figure out how such a massive rock was isolated from the cliffs or other rocks. He decided to ponder the explanation later and do as Sannis had told him.
He stepped up to the boulder that was about twice his height and placed a hand on it. Then he said, “The lone wolf has sent me.”
He waited for something to happen. Nothing changed. At that moment, he thought about how he should have asked Sannis what was supposed to happen after speaking to the boulder.
“The lone wolf has sent me,” he repeated. Still nothing. He was annoyed and took his hand off the boulder. “I should’ve known this would just be a waste of-“
As Mory turned around, he saw that a short, stocky man was standing right behind him. Mory instinctively jumped back.
“So, Sannis sent you here, huh?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Great. Then you can follow me. But before we go, I gotta ask, why were you talking to that rock?”
“Wasn’t I supposed to? Sannis told me to do it?”
For a short man, he sure could let out a boisterous laugh. He was so tickled by Mory’s response, his eyes filled with tears as he laughed.
“Oh that Sannis. Whatta guy. He actually told you to speak to the rock!”
“I don’t have time for jokes. Can you please take me to Sannis?”
The man wiped the tears away with his forearm.
“Yes. Right this way.”
Mory followed the man as they looped around the nearby hills just off to the side of Avian Falls. Naturally, Mory had some suspicion about his mysterious new guide, but he seemed to know where he was going. It didn’t take long for them to reach the opening of a cave. Mory was in awe at the sight of the cave’s large entrance. They walked in and kept going for about thirty meters until they reached the back wall. Mory soon discovered that the cave path continued off to the right and they resumed their walk.
“It’s about to get very dark for the next few minutes. Just listen to the sound of my footsteps and keep moving forward,” said Mory’s mysterious guide.
Mory nodded and did just that. The guy wasn’t kidding when he said it would get dark. He didn’t know such darkness was possible. He held his arms out in front of him as a safety precaution in case he fell or ran into something. Soon he could see a faint light straight ahead and it became brighter with each step forward.
As soon as they stepped out of the cave, Mory was instantly blown away by what he saw. It was like he stepped into a mini village-a hidden realm tucked away from the real world. The first thing that grabbed his attention was a brawl involving three men and a woman. It was a battle royal, every man for themselves. They were all in their manek forms, but the twist was that none of them were birds. Mory could tell that one guy had the manek of a goat, and another guy was some type of lizard. He wasn’t sure about the woman and the other dude.
Mory made more stunning observations. There was an area with gardens where flowers and vegetables grew. Some teens were playing some sort of game that involved kicking around a sphere-shaped bale of hay and aiming it at some nets made of vines. A young woman was lying in a hammock, reading a book. Benches and tables were neatly arranged in one area where a bunch of people chatted and ate dinner. There were many huts spread throughout the place, but there was an exceptionally large hut that stood at the center of them all. It was about four times the size of a typical Stork hut.
“Welcome to the bird base,” said the man who led Mory there.
For a moment, Mory forgot that he was there.
“It’s incredible,” said Mory.
“I’ll take you to the boss now. She’s in the main hut.”
“She?”
The man started walking and Mory followed him. One of his comrades called out and waved to him.
“Viro, I see you’re bringing in a recruit. Good man. Are we still on for fishing before sundown?”
“Hell yeah we are. Just give me about another hour.”
Viro parted the curtains of the hut’s entrance, and they went in.
“Rubi, I’ve brought us a recruit.”
He was speaking to a woman who was sitting at a table in front of a collection of sparkling gemstones. The table was covered in pearls, emeralds, diamonds, and much more. Her name seemed to go along perfectly with her hobby as well as her Ruby colored hair.
“Just drop it somewhere off to the side, Viro,” she said while keeping her eyes glued to the gems. “Oh wait . . . You said a recruit?” She looked up and saw Mory.
“Hi. I’m Mory, a spora from this land. I’d like to speak to Sannis. Is he here?”
“Sannis is tending to some business in the Land of Fish right now. I’m Rubi, the person in charge of the bird base when Sannis isn’t here. He oversees all five of our bases. Are you considering joining Sporadical?”
“Possibly, but I need to discuss some conditions that I have.”
Rubi nodded and looked at Mory’s escort. “Viro, thanks for bringing Mory to me. Take the rest of the night off.”
“You mean it? Woo hoo! Thanks, boss.”
Viro turned around and headed out, stopping himself halfway through the doorway.
“Hope to have you onboard, Mory,” he said and then left.
Rubi pointed at the chair across from her.
“Come have a seat, Mory.”
Mory did so. The shiny gems were even more mesmerizing up close. Rubi had a warm and welcoming smile. To Mory, she was gorgeous. She wore jewelry that resembled the gems on the table. A blue sapphire stone was connected to a leather string that hung around her neck. She wore a similar leather bracelet on her left wrist, but this contained a garnet gemstone.
“So tell me what’s on your mind,” she said.
Mory let out a deep sigh before speaking.
“My father was recently killed in the attack on the BLAU the other day.” Mory could feel tears creeping to the surface as he spoke, but he fought them back as he continued. “I have to fight them. I can’t have peace until I take down his murderers.”
Rubi had a more compassionate expression now.
“I see. I’m sorry about your father. Many of us within Sporadical have similarly painful stories of our own. If there’s anyone who can help you through this, it’s us.” Mory could feel the sincerity in her words. She understood his pain. He listened intently as she went on. “I can assure you that you will be fighting arthropods if you join us, but I must ask you this. If we needed you to battle the lands of Keanos, to fight the BLAU, could you do it?”
He looked away, searching deep inside himself for the answer. How could he fight against the nation that his father dedicated his life to protect? Could he bring himself to attack the group that his father had sworn allegiance to? Then another thought came to him. That same group was the one that denied him the chance to avenge his father. This very nation was against him from the very beginning. He’s not fighting for Keanos.
“If it’s for my father then yes. I would.”
“Okay. I just want you to be prepared for when that time comes. What are those conditions that you have?”
“I guess my first one, to fight the arthropods, has been addressed. The only other thing that I’m worried about is my mom and sister. I’d like to remain in the Land of Birds for a little while so we can heal from my father’s passing, together.”
“Sannis will make the final call on when certain groups are to move. Fortunately for you, the bird base is still assembling the team and we have much training to do. You will likely be here for at least a couple of months.”
“Good.That’s all the time that I’ll need.”
Rubi’s beautiful smile returned.
“So have you decided on if you’ll join us, Mory?”
He was hesitant but soon gave his answer.
“Yes, I’ll join.”
# # #
Terias and his father, Hielee, were standing in the room of their palace which contained their family’s history. Portraits of their ancestors were lined along the walls of the room. The feudal lordship had been intertwined with their bloodline for the past four generations. Hielee was focused on the portrait of his grandfather when Terias expressed a thought of his. It was his final day living at the palace before he would leave for BLAU basic training.
“After I become a great war hero and then the feudal lord, I’ll get the best artist in the land to draw my portrait.”
“Son, why is it that you want to enlist in the BLAU? You’re in line to become the leader of this land. You have access to all kinds of resources, education, wealth. Are you sure you want to fight in a war when you could succeed in so many other areas?”
“I’m sure. I want to be more than some fairy tale prince that gets everything handed to him. Think about this, father. I’ll be a much more respected feudal lord if I’m a legend on the battlefield. They’ll call me ‘Terias the Terrific’ and they’ll remember how I defeated ‘Teraphon the Terror’.”
Hielee looked into his son’s eyes, which were blue when he was in regular human form.
“If that’s how you truly feel then I will stand by your decision, but do me one favor. Don’t get yourself killed. I know you don’t want the succession to go to one of your brothers.”
“That’s more motivation for me to train hard and become unkillable.”
Hielee turned to face the opposite wall so he could look at older ancestors.
“What does your future look like now that there is war?” Terias asked.
“Busy. There will be countless meetings, military directing, budgeting, on top of the normal feudal lord responsibilities. My hair will probably turn gray soon.”
Terias laughed. “Let’s both work hard so you can have a peaceful retirement.”
Fantasy
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