*Kaler's POV*
3 days before.
The Friday before the battle, after the strategy meeting with our team, Aurora and I went to the training room to practice as per normal. Since Ingram was so attached to me, constantly snuggling up to me and pecking at me, she followed us there too. I made her an earthen perch to sit and watch in the training room.
We did our usual practice for the Sea of Heads event, experimenting new combinations with our spells. Sea of Heads requires us to eliminate 200 incoming enemies. We win as long as either of the players is still able to continue and if the structure that we are supposed to defend is still standing. The enemies become increasingly more difficult as time goes on. We were in the last 10 enemies. Assassins that are agile and good at dodging. They will plant bombs on the structure, detonation means certain defeat. I shocked one assassin and tossed him to the side. Seeing Aurora under pressure, I dashed towards her, charging my body along the way, and releasing a pulse to knock them back.
Aurora, reacting quickly, erected spikes of ice from the ground and impaled all of them. We thought that we were now clear. I relaxed and sat down, since it was the 5th time we had done this. Aurora sat down beside me, also exhausted, sweat cascading down her forehead. All of a sudden, I heard a screech from Ingram. It sounded like a cry of desperation. When I turned back, all I saw was the body of one of the assassin's flinging itself toward me, knife in hand and ready to stab.
Aurora's face was horror ridden, but it was a bit too late to react. I closed my eyes, bracing for the pain, too exhausted to stand up. Out of the blue, Ingram shrouded herself in a mysterious green energy and tackled the the assassin, sending it flying to the wall at the side and killing it. Just like that, swift as the wind, the threat was handled jsut as swiftly as it surfaced. I was still recovering from the shock of it all, I thought that I was about to get injured. Instead, I am looking at down at the adorable little bird bouncing its way towards me.
It innocently cocked its head to the side, looking like it had done nothing out of the ordinary. It cooed at me and flew up to my shoulder and rubbed her face against mine like she normally does. I slowly turned to her, eyes still wide. "What the hell…" I mumbled. I looked at Aurora who seemed just as surprised, examining the corpse of the assassin that almost knocked me out. It's body was completely mangled, it's stomach was deformed form the impact. There was even a dent on the walls.
I needed answers. I summoned Gaia from the gauntlets and asked her about what just happened. Gaia only smiled. "I told you, this falcon contains latent and innate magic powers. It seems to have also recognised you as its master. It will do everything to protect you, like how I and Volt would. In short, Ingram is your familiar."
I looked back at the adorable falcon on my shoulder in complete amazement. I rubbed its little head as it closed its eyes and seemed to enjoy my attention. "How is its power so strong?" I asked Gaia.
"It seems that she has recharged her power simply by being next to you." She answered, still smiling and watching me lovingly rub the falcon. I nodded and she returned to the gauntlets. We continued with a few more training sessions where Ingram continued to display incredible powers. Her constitution was impossibly strong, she was faster than even my eyes could see, and she could cause a tornado with a mere flap of her wings. It was an incredible discovery that we made, I promised that I would treasure Ingram the way I do Gaia and Volt.
On Saturday, 2 days before the battle in school, Aurora decided to stop training for today and tomorrow to ensure I would be in peak condition on Monday. Finally, an opportunity to sleep in. Or so I thought.
Before I knew it, I felt a light poking on my cheek. I also heard a female voice, it was faint, but I heard, "Wake up…" Aurora might have forgotten she let me off today.
I groaned and rolled over on the bed. "Aury…We don't have training today…" I sleepily mumbled.
"But, master…I want to go for a walk with you…" I was still to sleepy to fully register what the voice said. After trying to go back to sleep for a few seconds, I recalled what I jsut heard. 'Master?' It wasn't Aurora calling me…
I jolted up and looked around, hearing the flapping of wings to my left. I looked left and saw Ingram on the bedside table. She looked adorable as always. Surely Ingram didn't say that …did she? I had to try. "I-Ingram?" I stuttered.
"Yes master?" A voice replied as Ingram opened her beak. Saying I was surprised would be the understatement of the century. I was fully awake now, not an ounce of grogginess left. I was so surprised I almost fell of the bed.
I cautiously turned my head once more and saw Ingram still looking at me intently. "Y-You can…talk?!" I asked in complete disbelief.
"Of course I can! I'm your familiar! C'mon! Let's go outside!" With that, Ingram flew out the window and to the beach. I was still scratching my head. Ingram's voice was definitely a surprising thing to hear this early in the morning. Her voice was bright, spritely, cheerful, and youthful. Gaia's was more earthy and kind. Ingram was like a teenage girl, Gaia sounded more like a mother.
With Ingram blasting off, I had no choice but to follow her. I put some decent clothes on and leaped out the window. I causally strolled to the beach, feeling the hot sand against my feet. I called out to Ingram, and she swooped in from seemingly nowhere. "Right here! Master, when I said I wanted to take a walk, I lied, I can't do that yet. So lets fly instead!" She sounded so excited and energetic.
However, her statement left me with a million questions. I looked at her with a perplexed expression. "You can't walk yet? How can I fly? You aren't making any sense. None of this makes sense." I blurted out.
"Ah. I see the old hag Gaia hasn't actually explained anything to you. Then let's start from the beginning. I am Ingram, Draconic Avatar of the Wind. I have been looking for you, my king." She said, much more formally than she usually speaks and acts. My eyes flew open.
"Wait…YOU! You are the Avatar of the Wind?!"
"Um…yeah? Isn't it obvious?"
"Um, no?! For one, you are a bird. But it does explain how you are so powerful."
"Ah, well. I was reverted to this meagre form when our previous master, when that bastard was removed from his title. As a punishment I suppose, I had most of my power stripped and was changed to this form. Now that I have found you, My powers have been growing exponentially. But, I think that you can only fully unleash me on Monday. Till then, I must bide time and let my powers be fully restored. However, since I am here, I have been able to grant you the powers of the wind element. So yes, you can fly."
Just as she finished, I toyed around with my powers, and realised that I could feel the wind around me, feel the difference in the currents and breezes. They gathered around me like a conduit, and just like that, I was lifted from the ground. My eyes went wide with wonder as I rose higher and higher, now I am solidly above the villas, feeling a sense of freedom I never thought possible.