A Mage's Power (Journey to Chaos) (5 page)

A hawk plummeted from the sky and alighted on a branch right
next to Eric. Red-brown feathers covered its head, leading to brown feathers
across its back to a red tail. A thin cloth material was strapped over its
breast like a vest. It glared and hawed at him.
I must be dreaming. This
hawk sounds like it's trying to talk to me
. The hawk made a frustrated
motion before settling down. Its down feathers ruffled and a human mouth opened
up.

“What are you doing in my domain?”

“AHHHHHHH!”

“Screaming, apparently.” the mouth said disdainfully. The
hawk covered his ears to wait the scream out. There was nothing he could do
with the human until it calmed down. When it finally ran out of breath, he
tried again.“Now, about—”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” The hawk sighed and returned to covering
his ears.

Eric crouched and held his head in his hands.
I've gone
insane! The stress has finally gotten to me!
Tasio could have been an
imaginary friend . . .no one else could see him . . .but
this
!? A hawk
growing a mouth and talking about its domain!?
“BIRDS CAN'T TALK!!!”

More denizens gawked at this loud stranger.

Another hawk landed next to the first. This one's feathers
had greyed with age, but the mouth in its down was the same. “You are not from
this world, are you?”

“Don't talk to it,” Eric muttered, “Don't look at it. Don't
think about it.”

“He is definitely an Otherworlder,” the old bird said, “Judging
from his ignorance he is most likely from one of the dry branches.”

“That
would
explain why I needed my second mouth.”

“Visitor, I am Greystreak, an elder from the Rose Forest
Colony of red-tailed hawks.” The Elder Hawk introduced himself with a bow and
spread of his wings. “This is my son, Redstreak, the chief of our colony.” The younger
hawk merely nodded. “What is your name, human?”

Why not?
“Eric Watley.” He sat cross-legged. “My name
is Eric Watley.”

“Well, Eric, how did you arrive in this forest?” Greystreak
asked.

“OUR forest!” Redstreak shouted.

 Greystreak swatted his son with a wing. “Being courteous to
visitors is a chief's duty. You represent our colony; do not make others think
less of us.”

“Yes, Elder. I apologize for my rudeness, human.” Greystreak
nudged him. “I apologize, Eric.”

“Back to my question: how did you arrive?”

“Tasio the Trickster pulled me through a golden door.”

“The Fire Bringer!?” Both hawks shrieked. Silence. Their
second mouths closed and they hawed at each other. Redstreak was clearly angry,
but the elder hawk insisted.

“I will take you to the nearest human colony. It . . . it is
my duty as chief to see lost travelers safely out of my domain.” Eric got the
impression that Greystreak was chuckling. The greying hawk took flight and Eric
was left with Redstreak.

“Come on, human, let's get this over with.” He took flight
and Eric followed. They traveled in silence until Eric's curiosity got the best
of him.

“So where am I?”

“The Rose Forest.”

“And the world I'm in?”

“Tariatla.”

“And where are we going?”

Redstreak grinded his beak. “We are going to a human colony.”
Nearby bushes rustled and Redstreak held out a wing. “There's something nearby.”

“Something dangerous?”

“Yes. Now quiet! “

A wolf-like creature darted into the path. The off-world
human took one look at the hideous creature—its sharp horns, gleaming fangs,
savage eyes—and froze. The creature lunged when a beam of red light knocked it
away. Redstreak shot like a bullet, but it jumped away and raised its hackles.
Redstreak fired a second bolt from his beak, but instead of hitting the
creature, it reflected off a screen of light. He dived away, then flew into the
trees, and was lost from view.

The wolf creature turned back to the stunned Eric and
salivated. It approached slowly as if savoring the meal to come. It opened its
mouth and out came Redstreak. The hawk's body was covered in a red aura and the
creature's entrails. He tried to shake himself clean, but failed miserably.

“Never again!” He flew to a branch and shook once more.

Now that the creature was clearly dead, Eric felt a little
braver near it. Redstreak used his body as a blade and cut the thing from rump
to front. Just one look at the exposed organs was enough to make Eric throw up
all the food Tasio fed him that morning.

Once he recovered, his curiosity overcame him once again and
he took another look. Its general form resembled a wolf, but monstrous and bigger
than normal. Its fur was spiny and it had ivory horns jutting out of its skull.
“What is this thing?”

“ A Horlf, a monster,” Redstreak said, “Just my luck to run
into one that knew how to make a barrier.” After one last futile shake, he
sighed. He spread grimy wings and circled Eric. “This way, human. We're taking
a detour.” The hawk left the path.

Eric quickly followed. “A-Are there more of those things?”

“Of course there are more, but hopefully not too many more
like that one.”

“I thought monsters didn't exist.” First talking birds and
now
monsters
!? He was getting the feeling that Tasio pulled him into a
fantasy novel.

“Didn't exist? Your branch must be in worse shape than Old
Grey thought.”

Eric stepped on a tuff of grass and it stood up and scurried
away. “Wh-what do you mean?”

“Don't you know anything? Of course not, stupid question.”
Redstreak sighed. “Monsters are a measure of mana: more mana, more monsters.”

The pair walked by a tree whose branches rotated like a
windmill. “What's 'mana'?”

“It's complicated. If you really want to know, then you can
ask the humans. After a detour.”

“You're going home?”

“No, I'm going to a spring. I can't go to a human colony
covered in entrails. They'll think I'm a monster. Enough call me that as it is.”

“Why's that?”

“None of your business!” The shout cowed Eric and he let the
subject drop.

The trees thinned and the pair arrived at a clearing with an
overflowing lake. It was fed by a waterfall in the north and it would drain
into a southern stream if not for a dam. Several beavers walked along it:
sniffing here, looking there, and slapping the odd tree with their tail. Others
were pulling away logs in an isolated section of the dam. These beavers barked
and nearby fish swam away. Then they removed the last of the blockage and the
water drained out. It dropped below the bank and cleared up. These beavers
barked again and the ones that created the hole plugged it up. If Eric didn't
know better, he'd think the beavers were
managing
the water level.

Redstreak dived into the stream and shot back out a moment
later, dripping wet and a good deal cleaner. He hovered above the spring and
shrieked. Eric flinched and Redstreak was covered in insects.
It's one thing
after another.
The insect cloud flew off the now completely clean Redstreak
and hovered next to him. Redstreak hawed and the insects collectively buzzed
before dispersing.

“Before you ask, they were helping me clean.”

“Don't you eat them?”

 Redstreak circled Eric. “When I'm hungry.”

“How'd they know you weren't hungry?”

“Because I was asked them to help me clean.”

“What if you were lying?”

“Because if I did that just once they'd never help me clean
again, and then how would I get blood stains out?”

Eric stopped. He had no idea animals,
animals
, had
that kind of organization. Sure he knew about fish schools and lion prides but
. . .a bird of prey asking that prey to clean its feathers?! It was ridiculous!
The look on his guide's face said he was the one being ridiculous.

 “This isn't how things work in your world?” Eric nodded. “Your
branch is
that
dry? No wonder you're here.”

“What do you mean?”

“You'll find out,” Redstreak replied. “Take a drink. You look
thirsty.”

 It was right then that Eric remembered he hadn't had
anything to eat since breakfast. Since even that was now mush on the forest
floor, his stomach made its complaints and Eric blushed.

“I'm not getting you anything. I'm not a hunter's tool.” Redstreak
pointed over to a bush sticking out of the water. “They might not be ripe yet,
but they should still be edible.”

Eric grabbed some berries and popped them into his mouth.
Then he knelt down by the spring's edge and cupped some of the water to wash
them down. His eyes snapped wide; the berries and water tasted like energy
itself. Without a second thought, he plunged his head into the lake and drank
greedily. Only when his lungs demanded air did he pull his head out.

 A deep satisfaction filled him and he fell back on the
forest floor. He now understood how a man on the brink of dehydration feels
when he finally reaches an oasis. After drinking this water, he realized he'd
been parched his whole life and didn't know it.

“What kind of water is this? And these berries . . .”

“Normal spring water and normal berries. Why?”

“They're incredible!”

“Oh right, dry branch. You're not used to mana-rich water.”

Eric sat up. “Isn't mana the same thing that creates
monsters?”

“It's complicated. I don't have time to explain it to a
bumpkin like you.”

A wave knocked Eric down. A beaver stood on the lake's
surface swinging its tail and barking and these actions seemed to control the
water. The beaver barked again and pointed its tail at Eric. He frantically
backed up as the wave crashed over him
and
the badger standing behind
him. Eric was slammed with the force of a mallet but the badger was protected
by an earthen shield.

It let out a series of barks and stomped its forepaws. The beaver
was sent flying by a hunk of rock from beneath the water. The badger then
raised a chunk of land and fired it at the beaver while it was still in midair.
The beaver shrieked and a screen of water rose to defend it.

Redstreak hawed and both were grabbed by a gust of wind. The
beaver was thrown off the lake while the badger was blown over it. Both slammed
into a pair of trees on the opposite side and while they were stunned,
Redstreak fired a beam into the dirt between them.

 Something more pleasing reached Eric's ears. A beautiful,
enchanting melody beckoned him away.
Where's it . . . coming . . . from?
He followed the heavenly tune to a sunlit clearing where a gorgeous woman sat
on a stone, playing a harp. He stepped on a twig and she jumped. Then she
glanced at Eric and patted a nearby stone. His checks burned and . . .beautiful
face . . . lovely song . . .

“Snap out of it!” Eric blinked and saw a giant Venus flytrap
towering over him, jaws wide. Just like with the Horlf, he froze. Redstreak
fired a beam of red light and burned the plant to ash. Eric fell backwards,
panting at his second near-death experience in one hour. “What's the matter
with you, human?! Why didn't you move?”

“I . . .I don't know.”

Redstreak hawed and a sphere of balmy air enclosed around
Eric and dried his clothes. “Let's go. I'm tired of babysitting you.” He flew
off and Eric scrambled to follow. “It's as if you're bad luck. I guess it's
natural since the Fire Bringer brought you here.”

“Why do you call Tasio that?”

“Don't say his name!” Redstreak shrieked, “We call him 'Fire
Bringer' because we don't want to attract his attention!”

“Is he evil?”

“He can be. If he wanted to, he could destroy an entire
civilization.”

S
omeone like THAT cooked me breakfast?
“I . . .
thought he helped people . . .”

“Oh, he does that too. If he wanted to, he could raise a
civilization to a new level of prosperity.”

“Then why . . .”

“Most of the time, he's just
annoying
. And I'm stuck
escorting the Fire Bringer's fire bringer! The next thing I know poop's gonna
fall out of the sky and land on
me
.” SPLAT! “GAAAAHHH!  . . .Should've
known better!”

When I woke up this morning, I never thought I'd hear a
hawk rant by afternoon.

 The trees thinned and Eric was glad to leave them. Now he
didn't feel like he was being watched. Before him, stretched plains and a few
yards away, a beaten dirt road. He followed it with his eyes through the winter
grass and early flowers all the way to a wall and tower in the distance. All of
it was framed by the setting sun.

Wow . . .what a view . . .

By the time he reached the tower and wall, the sun had set
and risen again. He had to sleep behind a rock and woke up more sore and tired than
he had felt the previous day. His stomach grumbled, but Redstreak told him to
eat grass if he was hungry; Eric was so hungry he did just that. It had the
same powerful flavor and energy kick as the berries, though he was still
hungry.

The “human colony” was protected by a wall, an empty moat,
and palisades inside the moat made from dirt. Behind it was a short wall, lined
with battlements. Behind that was a walkway that rose into a taller wall, also
lined with battlements. The entire structure reached for miles in either
direction. At regular intervals was a window shaped like a flame and an
archer's cover shaped like a tiger's paw.

The gate itself was a single sheet of metal designed to rise
straight up instead of inwards.
What's powering this? No human could be
strong enough . . .
A coat of arms was painted in the center: a tiger made
of white fire wearing a crown of blue fire, in a field of red fire. At its back
was a yellow sun. Its border proclaimed, “Fire Makes Us Stronger.”

 Redstreak hawed and a figure in armor looked over the edge
of the first wall.

“Who’s there?” the man called. Seeing Redstreak, he shouted
to his fellow on the second wall. “Open the gate! The Steward of the Rose
Forest says he has an Otherworlder!”