The absence of the hub made it harder for Ewan to raise Ghost in his infancy, but luckily, the little crow wasn’t choosy about his food. As Stormfalcon cut its path on the waters, Ewan and his motley crew hunted the aquatic Astylinds for their lunch and dinner, mincing a tiny part of it to feed Ghost while he nestled inside Ewan’s collar on his shoulder, sharing the warmth. When his eyes opened and his curious gaze fell on the world around him, Frost, Orange, Toast, and Iris brought him in into their group. He was the youngest of them, so he became the pampered. Frost gave him rides on his head, Toast and Orange made him their younger brother, while Iris let him play with her roots and created a cozy nest for his naps.
A fortnight went away, inky feathers covered his skin, and he finally looked the part. And with his mentors being who they were, Ghost too picked up their mischief, and it backfired on Toast as his tail became the favorite thing for the little crow to bite. He didn’t play by their rules either and after messing with the little kitty’s tail, he scuttled back to Ewan for shelter, much to Toast’s chagrin.
Finally, with his growth passing its initial stage, the time for his first flight arrived with the rare dawn. Ewan stood on the top deck with his Astylinds, watching Ghost make his way to the edge as his talons trembled. He looked back at Ewan and cawed to show his reluctance, but Ewan gave him a rigid stare and stood with his hands in his pockets.
“Jump,” he said, while Toast meowed gleefully in his misery, his tail swaying about elated.
Ghost flapped his wings and cawed at the edge, and with half a minute of hesitation, he jumped down with a slight nudge from Ewan’s Ryvia. But the attempt failed miserably as he plunged down into the water with long panicked caws, fluttering his wings.
Ewan grabbed him with his Ryvia before he hit the waves and brought him back to the deck. “Again,” he said.
And the trial repeated.
…
…
…
…
Ghost was unlike normal crows, though. He was an Astylind, a talented one at that, and flight was his nature. So, after the repeated attempts numbed his fear and when his talons held him up with confidence, his wings finally took him to the air, and he howled a triumphant caw as he soared.
Kidd, Lance, and Stefan cheered him on from the deck, Toast, Orange, and Iris celebrated his success, and Ewan smiled as a sense of accomplishment washed over him. Only Frost stared at Ghost in silence, and the envy in him didn’t hide from Ewan.
“Do you want to fly like that too?” he asked, stroking the little imp’s head that had reached above his waist.
Frost lowered his eyes, and his silence answered in his stead. His dread of heights made him yearn for the wings. Even though he could take to the sky after breaking through to Step-1, it was an application of Ryvia or Ryvia-like counterpart, as it was for all the non-winged Astylinds. He could hover in the air and move about, but he couldn’t ‘fly’.
Ewan couldn’t understand the difference. Both his Ryvia flight and his
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
“I’ll try to find a way,” Ewan said in hollow reassurance and Frost nodded, but his eyes remained down as his grown maturity understood his situation.
As they talked, Ghost continued his flight, cawing with the tireless flaps of his wings. He circled the Stormfalcon skillfully, keeping up with it on the ocean while riding the air. Yet, in his current lap, when he reached the front, he froze and collected his wings, plunging down into the ocean with his accumulated momentum. Ewan nigh freaked out and caught him back with his Ryvia, only to find a dispirited and depressed crow burying his head into his chest. There was no rhyme or reason for the sudden change, Ewan couldn’t even figure out the spark. And so, it became the first of many unreasonable attempts by Ghost to become a real ghost.
….
An uninhabited island became the Stormfalcon’s last stop before they edged onto the area where Nana was. Though later than what he claimed, Kidd still reached his peak despite the delays. And after he stabilized his state, the four chose this deserted island with a single bald mountain on the way as the place for his advancement rite—the Prairie Fire. His path was different, but he could still use the same rite. So, Ewan laid the materials down in a clearing beyond the sandy beach, tossed the potions over to Kidd, and walked away with Lance and Stefan after a reciprocated nod. The rite was Kidd’s battle, the steps were his to walk, they couldn’t help or interfere.
By the time the three exited the sparse forest and buried their foot in the blistering sand, the raging ‘prairie fire’ declared its presence in the sky, its sweltering tongues of flame incinerating the trees and the grass, even the moist earth singed and cracked, and the rocks reddened—Kidd had taken the fourth step.
“Can he survive this?” Stefan asked, staring back at the clearing with wavering eyes.
“I hope so,” Lance muttered.
“He will, that numbskull won't die easily,” Ewan said, gazing at the endless ocean as the foamy waves washed over the beach. This island was their final stop, and at last, he could meet Nana again. The anxiety burning in his chest flared more often now, and his worries grew by the day. Only when he would have her within his arm’s reach would his angst quieten, and his peace would return.
----------------------------------------
Next Chapter Free on Patreon
Status: Healthy
Step-1 Severynth [Spirit-Nebula: Zeroth Surge]
Subtype: Step-0 Elementalist
Name: Ewan Ayres
Species: Human
Vitality: 7.0
Spirit: 25.5
Anima: [Fire – 25.5 | Ice – 25.5 | Blood – 25.5 | Mystic: 25.5 | Dark: 25.5]
Astylinds: 5 [Potential: 0]
Rolling Cat [Toast]: Step-1 Severynth [Spirit-Nebula: Zeroth Surge]
----------------------------------------
Fire Monkey [Orange]: Step-1 [Level-10] [Grade-B]
----------------------------------------
Imp [Frost]: Step-1 [Level-10] [Grade-B]
----------------------------------------
Bloodthorn-Lotus [Iris]: Step-1 [Level-10] [Grade-D]
----------------------------------------
Necros-Crow [Ghost]: Step-0 [Level-2] [Grade-D]
Equipment: Common Clothes; Yurn [Neck Gaiter]; Moonkeeper [Crystal-Ball]; Rainwarden [Staff]; Blackfeather [Overcoat].
Storage: Journal; Elementalist—The Path of Anima [Subtype-Book]; Spellbook; Bloodlust [Spell]; Transmute [Spell]; Unknown Book [Radon’s Legacy]; Anima-Crystals [Novas Coins]; Hub-Connector; Ingredients.
Novas: 24,285
Crelith: 1,014