As Adonis finished his fish, he extended his magic sense out and around his person. He examined his magical attributes, expecting the wind attribute to be opened within him, and was disappointed. Apparently just eating something from an area that holds a lot of a specific magical energy doesn't mean you will absorb much of it. "Maybe it's because it's a fish and isn't directly in the wind." He quietly thought to himself. He was close. He just needed to push farther.
While watching the stream flow a thought occurred to him. "The water is flowing almost due south. If I follow it for a bit, it should lead me towards the southern edge with out me straying too close to the center." Adonis wanted to avoid the center because stronger beasts tend to roam there. In the area he currently was, the beasts were too weak to even give a child too much trouble. Much less him.
He walked for another half an hour following the creek as it ran lazily through the trees. Before long the wind was whipping him with a force that made him grimace. He had made it to the meridian of the forest. It is the halfway marker of the forest. This is as far as anyone goes these days. The wind is so strong here that it isn't reasonable for anyone to come this far. The only ones are wind mages in training. Any farther and it was nearly impossible for even them to walk. Adonis on the other hand had absorbed enough wind magic that he was close to breaking open the wind attribute with in himself. Once he did he would be able to go all the way to the southern edge.
He stopped as he felt the force of the wind pick up again. It had to be blowing near ninety miles an hour.
Adonis started to extend his magic sense once again to fill it with wind magic, and pull it in to be absorbed. As it extended out to the limits he could reach, he noticed he was able to feel the creatures in the area around him. This was a sign the wind attribute was close to opening in him. The light attribute, when mixed with the wind attribute, created an automatic adaption to his magic sense.
Adaptions were different from spells. Spells needed to be learned and practiced in order to master them. They could be learned from a variety of sources since the royal family decreed that all magical knowledge should be made public to all in order for less potential mages to be missed. If you had the talent, and you weren't Adonis, it was rather simple to get into an academy to become licensed.
Adaptions on the other hand are changes that happen when a mage has the required attributes already with in him. The same way sparks manifest when one opens the fire attribute or the way glow manifests with the light.
"Cool," he thought to himself as he looked around at the life he hadn't noticed before. There were a pair of doves nested in a tree above him. A small snake a ways in front of him to his left. As well as numerous insects all around him. "These animals are amazing to be able to thrive in this wind."
He began absorbing the magic in the air through his magic sense. The more he absorbed, less force the wind put upon him until he felt a snap deep within him. Immediately he felt as if the wind was actively skirting him.
Andonis let out a yell in his excitement. "Alright! I've got my third attribute!" He extended his magic sense around himself again and could clearly see the wind magic flowing through himself. "Now to see how I can work it."
Like the fire and light attributes wind had its own tell tail sign. Natural wind resistance. Not only did it dramatically lessen the wind blowing, but it also reduced the natural friction caused by moving.
Andonis took off at a sprint. He laughed, "It's like I am three times as fast as I was." He ran as fast as he could and jumped nearly twelve feet into the air crowing with delight. "I will for sure get in this time. I may even try to conjure the lightening bolt again" He ran at full sprint. Jumping over small bushes and up through the tree limbs until he was out of breath.
He stopped to catch his breath under a giant oak tree still laughing to himself. While he was running through the forest, he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. He ran so fast and so far, he inadvertently entered the center of the forest.
As he looked at his attributes again smiling to himself he realized it was already getting on to late afternoon. "I reckon I should start heading back. I definitely do not want to be here where the sun sets." he pushed out his sense to get a feel for his location when he realized where he was.
Using his sense he examined out to as far as he could reach. "Odd." He thought to himself. "Just a little while ago I could sense a menagerie of creatures near me." As he pushed his sense out to the limit, he didn't sense anything. No birds. No snakes. Not even ants. "Something isn't right." He spun in a full circle. Slowly examining every direction. Nothing.
Adonis started to worry. He knew, from the elders he's known, that when all life vanishes from an area that there is an apex predator lurking near by. He calmed himself saying, "It's time I headed back anyway. I've successfully completed my quest here. No since in pushing my luck." He looked up through the canopy of trees, for which way the sun was coming from, so he could get his bearings. He frowned, because as he was running, clouds had moved in and completely obscured the sky. He ran so far, so fast, that he didn't know where he was. He didn't even know what direction he took off running. He started to panic. "Great. Just great. How can I be so stupid!" Adonis asked himself. Not for the first time. "Ok I need to calm down and think up a plan. I was heading as due south as possible until I came to the creek. Then I followed it south by southwest for a time. Then I opened my wind attribute and started running for awhile."
"Oh no." His heart sank into his stomach as he realized where he ran to. "If I was running east I would have hit the eastern side of the Cliffs." Fear washed over him like a bucket of lake water. He looked around him and couldn't distinguish anything different from any other part of the forest. He immediately extended his magic sense again. Rapidly trying to look in all directions. For all of Adonis' bravado, he was not the bravest of boys.
What Adonis should have known was that as he extended his magic sense out as far as he could reach, it filled with his fear. And fear was a succulent aroma to some of the denizens of Windswept Forest.
The black tiger was one of those denizens. It stood six foot at it's shoulder blade. Eight feet long, without its tail. Nearly four hundred pounds of rippling muscle with six inch fangs and four inch claws. Making it a very efficient killing machine. And this killing machine just caught the sent of Adonis.
The tiger stood up and stretched in no hurry. The jet black fur blending in to the shadows of the forest with it's dark gray stripes breaking up it's silhouette. Hunting down scared prey was what is was built for. As it slipped among the shadows, slightly blurred until only it's eyes were visible.
The black tiger species was one of the most versatile predators in the Kingdom of Radaria. They were born with a natural affinity towards the dark attribute, and a near complete resistance to magic in general. They could survive in nearly any climate and eat almost everything. The only thing keeping them in check is the fact that they are viciously territorial.
Adonis was still panicking. He picked a direction and ran. Unknowingly making his situation worse. He ran as fast as his feet would let him. With the wind attribute opened in him, his speed was impressive.
The tiger was close enough to see Adonis take off running. His instinct kicked in, and he bounded off after his prey. Silently stalking from shadow to shadow at an incredible speed. Even as fast as Adonis had become, the tiger was easily closing the gap.
As the tiger gained ground, Adonis felt it's killing intent. He stopped quickly and spun around. The tigers instincts halted him immediately. He blended into the shadows as if he went invisible.
Adonis stared back at the trees. He was being followed. He could feel it. "Way to turn a stupid mistake into an even worse one." He said softly. He stared intently through the trees. Seeing nothing. He extended his sense out and sensed nothing.
The black tiger, using his dark attribute, concealed his entire presence. Waiting patiently for his prey to turn it's back.
Adonis retracted his magic sense and started running again. He didn't know what was chasing him, and he didn't want to find out.
The tiger instantly started moving again. At this distance he could follow behind and wait for his prey to tire its self out. He slipped from tree to tree. Shadow to shadow. Waiting as Adonis ran at a full sprint.
Adonis Ran until his lungs were on fire. He had small cuts and bruises across his face and arms from where he plowed right through the underbrush. He could feel whatever was chasing him had caught up. He knew it was toying with him now. He spun around quickly and stopped again. Nothing changed. He extended his magic sense out once again and barely glimpsed the aura of the black tiger. His blood froze in his veins. Panic set in further as he started running again.
The tiger, knowing his cover was blown, came out out the shadows with a soul shaking roar. In a few leaps he was within striking distance from his prey. He lifted a mighty paw, intended to kill this fleeing meal with one strike.
Adonis, feeling he was going to die, acted on his own instinct. He pushed his fire and light magic out at the same time. It made a flash so bright, the tiger turned in mid-air and, lept back. Blinded and wary of this sudden development in his defenseless prey. He stopped just long enough for Adonis to get away, and start running again.
As Adonis ran for his life, the trees were getting thinner. As he ran he saw the edge of the forest. The tiger was crashing through the brush behind. Having given up on a sneak attack, he was charging straight through. The brush slowing him down. As the boy reached the edge of the forest his heart sank again. He had been running south the entire time, and was now at the Cliffs on the southern edge of Windswept Forest. He looked down and gulped. It was an easy sixty to eighty foot drop from where he was at. Straight down to the rocky shore. He looked around for something to use as a weapon. There was nothing. The hurricane force winds at the Cliffs blew everything off into the sea. He looked back to the forest and saw what looked like the remains of some kind of bird. There were bones strewn across the open spot leading into the forest. He was running so fast he hadn't noticed them before. He thought about what it meant and nearly cried. His luck had to be the worst of anyone in the world.
The tiger slowly came out from the trees. Completely at home in it's lair.
"Oh fuck. I'm so stupid." He said as he looked at the beast about to eat him. He reached into his belt pouch and pulled his small knife out. It wasn't going to help him, but he felt better dying with a weapon in his hand.
The black tiger stood in all of his majesty. He let out a roar that set Adonis' ears ringing. "Coming on then you son of bitch." Adonis yelled back with more courage than he had. "I'm going to make sure to give you heart burn."
He willed his fire attribute down his arm, through his hand, and into his knife. It lit up will a dull redness as it heated up. Using everything he had to form a fireball in the other. He swung his knife a few times trying to seem fiercer than he actually was.
The tiger, unimpressed, leaned back on his haunches and roared again. As if he was laughing at the futile attempt his prey was making.
Adonis, in his fear, made the irrational decision to attack first. "If I am going to die, then I'm dying with a fist full of your face!" He screamed as he lept forward, throwing the best fireball he could muster. It hit the tiger square in his nose. But it was just effective as the scouring wind due to the tiger's naturally high resistance to magic.
Mildly startled though, the tiger sprang forward a moment after. The two collided with a powerful force. The tiger wrapping his claws around him, sinking his teeth into Adonis' shoulder as the other stuck the knife into it's neck. They rolled across the ground clawing and stabbing. Adonis was shocked he was still alive.
"I've gotten so much stronger in these last six months." He thought as he was fighting his death battle. "It seems it was a waste of time though."
They continued to roll. Adonis rapidly stabbing the tiger anywhere he could. The tiger, still latched on to Adonis' shoulder, was shaking his head violently. Trying to tear his opponent apart. Then, all of a sudden, they were falling.
The tiger felt gravity take affect. He released his grip on Adonis' shoulder and roared in his own panic.
Adonis, having already accepted his death, reached out with his mangled arm and grabbed a fistful of the black tiger's face. As the ground was rapidly approaching Adonis let out a roar of his own. Plunging his red-hot knife deep into the eye socket of the tiger.
With a loud thud sound, they hit the ground. Adonis' landing on top of the black tiger. One hand still gripped the tiger's face and the other on the knife in it's eye.
"Now I'm going to miss Martha's dumplings." Adonis laughed bitterly to himself as the darkness of oblivion over took him.
The first thing Adonis understood was pain. It seemed like even his soul hurt. He tried to move. Something held his his body down. He tried to open his eyes, but that only caused his brain to hurt more.
"Easy now. Best not to move. You've only just been healed." A sweet sounding voice said to him from beyond the darkness. "Take a drink of this and try to rest. Before you know it you'll be on your feet again."
Adonis tasted a bitter liquid drip into his mouth. He swallowed quickly as the voice continued. "And on behalf of all my people, thank you. You have saved us from Tramos, the demon cat. Now our nesting sites will be safe once again."
Adonis' body slowly went numb when as the pretty voice talked. He thought to himself, "Somehow I survived. I should ask the voice where I am." It didn't matter though as sleep quickly over took him.
He woke again sometime later to two voices speaking about him.
"He should be waking up soon. His wounds are nearly healed. We used everyone we had who could fuel our healers with light magic." One voice said.
"It's the least we could do. He has done what we could not. Many of our people, and countless hatchlings have died, feeding that beast." The other voiced said with obvious anger.
"Calm sister Kara. I agree wholeheartedly. The presence of darkness has been lifted. He has saved future generations of ours. There is no way we can truly repay him."
"I know this truth." The one called Kara said. "But healing him is a good start, sister Jena. I hear the Matriarch has a special gift for him as a reward."
Sister Jena nodded, "He's a hero and will always be hailed so by our people."
Hearing the voices Adonis started coming back to reality. He was having a terrible nightmare where he fell off of a cliff with an enormous black tiger.
He moved his arms and felt stiffness all along them. The same with his legs. He slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw confused him. The ceiling, in the room he was in, was roughly carved rock. The walls were built the same way. He realized in, in wonder, that he was in a cave of some sort.
Standing off to his right stood two very beautiful women wearing what looked to be robes made out of golden colored feathers, with their breasts fully exposed.
The one who was identified as Kara was young with bright golden hair. Her face was oval with her eyes evenly spaced apart. Her nose was slightly long and her lips were a bright red. She had nice round breast with small pink nipples. The feathers she wore matched her hair as if it was made with the same pigments.
Jena was older with darker blond hair. She had small wrinkles in the corners of her eyes. Her nose was longer and slightly beak like above her red lips. Her breasts were slightly larger and sagged just a little. Her feathers were of the same color as her hair like Kara's.
"Well I guess it wasn't a nightmare after all." he thought to himself as he looked at the two women. "I fell off a cliff and died. But it's not all bad. The gods seemed to have deemed me worthy of heaven seeing as they sent two angels to greet me." As he tore his eyes away from the naked breasts before him, he continued his examination downward. Below their breast, their skin blended in to more of the feathers. The further he looked down the stranger it got. Where the legs of two women should be, was four bird legs. Each leg ended with four toes. Which ended in four very bird like talons. With three pointing forward and one pointing backwards.
He jerked his eyes back up to their shoulders to were he thought the feathered robes clung. He realized, with a sense of surrealness, that they were not robes. But was, in fact, the wings of these two bird women. He realized they were harpies. Half bird half women. They didn't look anything like what the books, in his grandfathers library, said they did.
"Look sister he awakens." Kara said as his motion caught her attention. "Welcome sir. On behalf of all of our people, thank you very much. We are forever in your debt."
Adonis stared at the bird woman speaking to him without comprehending the entire situation much less her words.
"Who are you?" he asked dumbly. "Am I dead?"
The two harpies looked at each other and smiled. "No child. You were close. But the healers managed to patch you up in time. Lucky for you that you fell right past our communes entrance. Our sentries investigated and found you with your knife in the eye of Tramos. They put it together and realized what you had done. Then they picked you up and brought you to our healers." Jena informed him. "Do you have a name, hero?"
"Adonis. Adonis Drakesbane." He was sorely confused by all of this.
"Your name will forever be remembered by our people!" Kara exclaimed excitedly. "You have saved our future generations from a great evil."
"Ok. Ok sister Kara. Give the boy some space. He only just woke up. Run Along now and inform the matriarch of our heros awakening." Jena said eyeing her younger sister.
Kara pouted a little bit before flying off to tell the matriarch about his revival.
"She's right though. You are our hero. You managed to kill Tramos, the demon cat, and make our nesting grounds safe again. For that, we can never repay you."
Adonis felt a bit uncomfortable being called a hero. He didn't know that there was a nesting ground in the black tiger's lair. He didn't know it had been menacing these harpies. Hell he didn't even know there were harpies here. He got lost and everything went down hill after that.
"To be honest it wasn't my goal to do any of that. I had gotten lost. Then that tiger started chasing me" He said as he thought back on it. Tears forming in his eyes. "I was so scared. So sure I was going to die. I just wanted to do some damage to it so it had to pay for it's meal."
"You did that and then some. Managed to survive despite the odds." Jena beamed at him. He could almost forget that pretty face belonged on top of a bird body. "Heros are rarely ever made on purpose, young one. Most stumble into it as they face death in front of them."
Adonis laughed bitterly at the thought. He looked a Jena and said "Well I did survive and I guess that's what matters. Thank you and your healers for putting me back together." He stretched his left arm feeling the muscles move with a little stiffness. He looked at it and saw they had healed all of it but four scars. Two star shaped scars in the front and two star shaped scars in the back. Where the tiger's incisors punctured his flesh.
Jena smiled, "It was the least we could do. We have your clothing and items for you over there on the table." Adonis looked and sure enough his things were on the table. "If you would please get dressed, the matriarch will want to meet you. I will send someone momentarily to escort you." She said as she left the room.
He thanked her as she left then stood up to stretch his body. He could feel that he has become stronger from this experience. He extended his magic sense to look at himself. He saw the wind attribute mingling with his fire and light attribute. "I did it the hard way, but I still did it." He said to himself. He picked up his clothes and began to put them on. As he did he noticed someone had washed them and expertly repaired them. He wondered how they were able to hold a needle and thread. He tightened his belt on and went to put his boots on when he noticed they had been repaired as well.
A few minutes later a voice sounded from the door. "Excuse me sir. Sister Jena sent me to escort you. If you would please follow me." said a young brown feathered harpy.
Adonis followed her as she quickly stepped out the door. The harpies walk in a similar fashion as chickens do. As they left the cave, Adonis was in, they turned right down a hallway carved in the same fashion. They past multiple rooms as they went. He realized they were in a network of caves. Soon they came to the end of the hall. It opened up into a vast cavern with similar holes doting the walls. Out to his left there was a larger hole with daylight, appearing around morning time, pouring through it. To his right, the way the harpy was leading him, was another larger hole with a large group of almost a hundred harpies gathered outside of it.
He guessed correctly that this was their destination. As they neared the crowd he could hear the bird women yelling praises to him and thanking him. He had a hard time trying to not stare at them as they bounced around in their joy. He blushed ferociously as he waved and tried to keep his gaze at eye level.
Before long they were through they crowd outside and into the crowd inside. Before him sat at least another two hundred harpies cheering for him. It was deafening.
As they walked forward, along the carved path, the harpies parted letting him and his escort through. He could tell immediately who the matriarch was. She had a face that could part clouds. With shining golden hair and matching feathers. She had a small gold crown upon her head that nearly blended in seamlessly. Her eyes were a bright blue with an intensity that made one know they belonged to someone in charge. Her nose was long and a little beak like. He had noticed this to be a common feature among the harpies. Her bright pink lips were upturned in a smile. Her breasts were perky ending in large light pink nipples. Her legs are what made her stand out the most. While the other harpies legs were either brown, grey, or black. The matriarchs was white. Coming down to slightly pinkish talons.
"Welcome hero. We honor your presence." She said as she greeted Adonis. "Your actions have been like the blessing of the gods to us. To thank you as best as we can, I would like to give you a reward. Will you accept it, hero?"
Adonis was still overwhelmed with it all. "Umm. Please just call me Adonis. Being called hero doesn't sit right with me." He said feeling more lucky than heroic. "But I will accept your reward for me all the same." He figured he would accept the offer in case a refusal offended her.
"Very well. You may call me Mother Shin. On behalf of the community I gift you with this cloak. Made from the hide of Tramos. To protect you in your journey ahead." The cloak sure enough was made from the hide of a black tiger. It's black fur seemed to suck all the light around it in. The dark grey stripes shined in contrast. It was sewn together with gold thread that seemed to have been done by an expert tailor. Adonis was still wondering how they were able to hold a needle and thread. Let alone make something as beautiful as this. As he wrapped it around himself he clasped clasped it together with the golden broach in the shape of a feather. He could feel the power from the hide's magical resistance all around him.
"It's beautiful. " He said in all honesty. "Thank you very much Mother Shin. I will cherish it forever."
"I gift you this as well. And name you forever harpy friend." The matriarch said as he was examining his new cloak. She handed him a small six sided stone. It weighed about a pound and each side shown with a different color. Each color corresponding to a different attribute. When he touched it shock was apparent on his face. "It is an Omnistone. Each side produces an endless wave of magical energy in each of the primary attributes."
This small stone was a priceless treasure. With it Adonis wouldn't need to go out to dangerous places to absorb magical energy. He could sit in the comfort of his shack and slowly absorb the energy from this stone. With it he should easily be able to open up the other three primary attributes with in himself.
"I don't know what to say." Adonis said awestruck staring at the small stone. "I will forever treasure it. Thank you." Humility was growing on him.
"Now that the formalities are out of the way... let us feast!" She spread her wings wide as Adonis tucked the stone away, and an army of bird women started setting up oddly fashioned tables and bringing in a plethora of roasted meats. As it was all set out Jena and Kara led Adonis to his place in between them. There was no chairs. The harpies stood as they ate. The variety of meats amazed Adonis. There was everything from roast boar to fatty mutton. An astounding amount of fish. There were also some strange roast vegetables that if one squinted almost resembled a potato.
Adonis waited politely for everyone to begin. There was no silverware so he was beyond curious to know how these people ate. He was not disappointed. Three rows of tables were set up. Accommodating over four hundred harpies. All of them with a very festive attitude. As soon as everyone was at a place at the table, the matriarch smiled to signal they could begin.
To Adonis' amusement the harpies used their wing tips to pull meat to them. Then they leaned over it and tore at it in a very bird like fashion, noticing as they did that their teeth were pointed and sharp. Clearly meant for eating meat. He just smiled and grabbed a chunk of boar and tore at it himself. He was starved now that he had food in him. He felt like it had been days since he last ate. As he finished his third piece of meat, with a satisfied belch, he turned to Kara.
"I was definitely hungry. I felt like I hadn't eaten in forever." He laughed. "It was delicious. I almost ate myself miserable."
"I saw that." Kara laughed sweetly. "And well, I guess you would be. You were unconscious for two nights."
Adonis felt his blood run cold. "I'm sorry. Did you say two nights?" Panic was apparent on his face. "Please tell me you didn't say two nights."
"Yes. You fell from the cliff the night before last night. Are you ok Mr. Adonis? You look so pale, like you lost all of the blood in your face." She asked concerned.
"Oh gods what do I do now!" He fretted. "I'm sorry. I need to get going. I should have been at the academy already."
"What do you mean? What is the academy?" Sister Jena asked him.
"It's the place that gives the ability for human mages to become licensed to practice magic professionally. It's today and today is my last chance." He explained as he panicked. "If I leave now I can probably make it to the academy before they ring the evening bell closing this year's auditions. But what am I saying. I'll never be able to get back to the top of the cliff and still make it into town in time." He was on the verge of tears.
Mother Shin had noticed the commotion and heard the last part. "Worry not hero Adonis. I expected you to go back up the cliffs when you left. And as such I have prepared transport for you to the top." She told him as she led him out into the main cave. She pointed with her wing and said, "Sisters Jena and Kara will carry you to the top."
Adonis looked to where she gestured and nearly laughed. Before him stood a basket woven from vines with a seat in it clearly meant for a human.
"It's what we use when we transport special friends to help us with our eggs." Kara said to him with a wink.
He blushed and said, "Yes. Well. I really need to be on my way. If you ladies wouldn't mind." He crawled into the basket with a little trepidation.
Jena and Kara both laughed. They spread their wings and hopped up on to what was clearly the handle. The power in their wings astonished Adonis. The two of them easily lifted the basket into the air. With each stroke of they're wings they rose higher and higher. Adonis couldn't help but notice each flap caused their breasts to bounce in different direction. He blushed and quickly adverted his gaze. In the basket he could see all the way to the horizon of the sea. In a matter of moment they sat Adonis down in what was once the black tiger's lair.
As he disembarked he thanked them for their kindness in healing him again.
"The pleasure was ours Adonis. You did a grand deed for us in slaying Tramos." Jena told him.
"And if you ever happen to be in our part of the world stop by and see us harpy friend." Kara said as they lifted the basket into the air. "Maybe you can help me with my eggs. Then the pleasure with be both of ours." She laughed. Leaving him blushing again as the pair soared over the edge of the cliff with the basket in tow.
He shook his head as he turned towards the forest. "It should be quick through the forest with the wind pushing on my back and fueling my speed." He smiled as he extended the wind magic around him. Things might actually go his way this day.