“Yet the strangest of reactions in adverse situations can still be found within your actions,” he said surfacing from the foot of the river with a broad smile. The constant upward water stream under the figure maintaining him above the waterline. Despite the quickness the water was moving to keep him up, there was none of it spilling away from the stream.
The man itself was tall and lean, at least a head above me, and a light-brown hair covered his head down to his uncovered hip, but I couldn’t take much out of him, as the distance between us hamper the clarity of his features. “In the face of a visible state of crisis, who would have the presence of mind to fondle my barrier in such a perverted way? ... For whole five minutes, no less.” he continued perfectly audible despite the distance, strengthening his presence as it felt like he was right over my shoulder spilling judgment while I reached out toward the barrier for the last time.
The fleeting moment caressing the fantastic texture of the invisible barrier will be forever engraved into my soul and will be genuinely cherished throughout my life. “Goodbye, smoothy,” I said soundlessly moving my lips just before the barrier was gone
“And so it was, and for far more time I thought it would be possible for a scene in the mind of someone to be so clearly remembered.” Taking a sip from a glass of water, one Hank filled with a jar right before ending his heartfelt reminiscence, voice filled with glee as if he was experiencing the touch of the barrier just with the power of his mind. And how do I know that? Well... his open hand giving a little twitch every now and then was a big giveaway. I myself would be pleased to have a good feel or two of it after witnessing this scene unfold right in front of me.
Wonder if I will ever have the opportunity to feel its texture someday too.
As for the jar, it was brought to us by an enormous fiery bird, his wingspan at least twice my height. I couldn’t identify his kind from the myriad of birds living in the forest. But, it had a vivid carmine color on most of its body and as you looked further away from it, in the wings direction, the color from its plumage changed gradually to orange and, at the middle of the wing, a vivid yellow to an almost white at its tip.
A beautiful fiery bird, yet fancy.
Along with the jar, three glasses were brought over the new table. It was inside a basket carried by his obnoxious muscular foot. Might add his razor-sharp claws appeared very dangerous from where I was looking from. And the following digression is inevitable, as well as my fear for its shinning talons.
The table was a little taller than the one we had breakfast on, each leg had a different fiery bird face as an ornament. I don’t think it would be accurate to say it was somehow engraved as it was formed that way from the beginning, an impressive act of mastery over the elements as the wood stretched and writhe over itself. Is there anything he can’t do?
Except, you know, for his storytelling aptitudes sucking balls.
It looked like the wrist-thick branch was performing a silent dance as it was taking form. Reinforcing my idea that all the carvings inside the house were made the same way as this table, except it was made with way more thoughtfulness and attention put unto as the ornaments inside were elaborate to the point of aesthetic perfection, not that the recently formed ones were ugly, they, just, were not as perfect as the ones inside to be of the same standard.
Not that I’m an art enthusiast but I know one thing or two about it.
“Children, care for a glass of water?” he asked looking directly at my eyes. Dismissing Nevere over the cushion on my tabletop, and by the way she was looking intently at my papers, her hair flowing all over the table, which she had the nerve to let it off over my papers while I was still testing the quill. It took me some effort to gather my bearings to timidly put it away with the back of my hand under her watchful gaze. It was the first time out of two that she took her eyes away from the writings since Hank last started the tale, which makes Hank’s decision to overlook her hydration a right one. Doubt she would drop her concentration over something as trivial as water.
Not that she did anything scary, like tearing a forest apart or starting a storm, not to mention the clash between the earth hands; or intimidating, like when a fang pointed out of her savage smile, to earn such an assessment from me. But, the wilderness hidden underneath her yellow eyes give me the chills when it glances over me with such intensity, and, to make things worse, I can’t identify what’s the sentiment that originates this feeling, much less identify it as a good or bad sensation, it truly is a fucked up mess of emotions. Hopefully, my interactions with her will eventually lead me to some clue on how I can figure out what’s going on in the darkest alleys of my head. That in addition to the claws from the fancy bird made my thoughts inevitably strain to a morbid path, what would happen if she tried to kill me right here, right now? The bothering question inevitably came to the forefront of my head.
So, let’s put some thought to the matter at hand.
Well, for starters, the repercussions - or the lack of thereof - such an abhorrent act would elicit. For it wouldn’t make much difference if she was from a minor house, like the Pretanos - a subordinate to the Atramentous’s house - or the main house as is in our unfortunate case. The fact that I’m a nobody with barely a few powerful contacts in the court warrant her freeway out of murder accusation or any other accusation whatsoever. Since she could kill me right here and there would be not a single soul who would present justice to such unfair death if I somehow incurred her wrath. Not that she needs to bow down to the current ruling power. With her powers, she could flee unscathed from the law enforcement anytime. The amplitude of her magical powers probably makes her a match to a brigadier of ten thousand strong trained warrior with a real chance of emerging victorious despite the unfavorable odds.
The devastated forest by the vorpal wind sure is impressive, doubt a sea of people would fare much better against this sort of natural level calamity. That’s unless the emperor himself intervenes, which is unlikely for him to do for a commoner, much less in favor of someone that’s against his freaking granddaughter. And I would rather die by her hands unaware of my likely unavenged death than be reminded of how pitiful of an existence I am.
Sad story I have found out she’s a princess.
But... I trust old pal Hank would save me when push comes to shove. By the looks of the magical demonstration presented by Nevere earlier this morning, lasting for more than a breath stretch would prove to be an insurmountable challenge, and that’s after refraining from saying that I wouldn’t even have the time to get on my feet before meeting my end. Not to mention that forest devastating wind, it would turn me into a headless chicken then mincemeat before I could open my mouth to muster my prayers to the heavens. Funny thing, though, would be amended by Hank like the forest was. Still, that’s another thing I’d rather avoid for the meanwhile, my limbs look beautiful just the way they are, well attached to the body.
I’m saying that about Hank, but I’m totally unaware of his capability of doing it in the first place. However, the effortlessness it took for him to do it with the trees makes me think he’s more than capable to patch me up despite the visible difference in anatomy from the subjects being amended.
I hope.
Just to say I’m not confused by the brainstorm brewing inside my head when the subject on view is Nevere, when the bird appeared from behind the treetops, her eyes brightened up in surprise and delight, a beautiful spontaneous reaction shown from her countenance and fresh gasp as well as the drop of her perfectly aligned shoulders when she raised her hand to her mouth. However, it was one among the few that she had shown to us during this morning session. Most of her's expressions usually bear a touch of self-restraint, taught etiquette. You can palpably feel that her expressions just aren’t fitting right in her semblance. It lacks part of the essence from her within, the wilderness concealed inside her, the same one that somehow makes me shake from the inside. It hardly gets out of her like the way it did then.
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The power of tradition sure is frightening, not even a princess could avoid the etiquette course all ladies from the nobility are forced to attend to over their childhood. This awful tradition should be the one held responsible for her shifting and strange behavior, burying her sentiments under a mask of icy coldness she isn’t even aware of, like many others that suffer from the same fate. That’s the reason why, when someone( and here we shall refrain from putting names to the bulls) overflows the ladies from the court, who spend their days reading love stories that concretizes such complex feelings in the form of a young fella who will live and die for you, with pleasantries and affection they get easily infatuated and usually confuse it with love, as if someone can live up for such standards set by those insane aberrations from nature in the form of a book. Not that I’m complaining of it or anything, but it’s very sad to live a life where your emotions only flourish now and then when it’s intensity is capable of breaking the hard cold mask of indifference molded by a pathetic tradition.
A pity such outdated inheritance still emotionally cripples our kids.
The face she did when the bird first showed up was good to the spirit of the place, but the one she did when the bird delivered the supplies over the table was priceless. Priceless. The expression of disbelief after the one of happiness she did before, along with a righteous babbling “The eldest carmine falcon being treated as a water attendant” and here she let out a long sight before adding, with a lump over her heart: “if the old man saw this he would be devastated.”. The sincerity in her words was something that thoroughly shocked me.
By the exasperated face she made, that fancy bird should be one of the guardians of the royal houses. I too would be exasperated if the ancestral beast who kept my house protected from external threats for the past millennium were serving water to a nobody. I wonder, however, if she ever had the satisfaction of riding it, it sure should be a magical moment for everyone, unless you’re crazy. It sure is less satisfactory than writing with this magical pen though.
Unfortunately... or fortunately? That protection part is in the past now. Humanity had enhanced its magical capabilities beyond the beast’s power, hence, the figure of a guardian protector lost a big chunk of its significance to the overall population folklore. Since we began to rely more on the power of humans to protect ourselves as well as magical items and artifacts powered by mana crystals.
The humans who excelled in magic were then called the new heroes that the bards chanted songs of over the cities’ taverns. Each holding mastery over the elements beyond our wildest imagination , they were the symbol of power and safety for the population, their ultimate hope. Having its status usurped by people like Nevere’s grampa and the former heads from each of the Royal Houses, now the guardian beast lived more like a House pet.
Of course, the bird still was a powerful beast and few could match its might on a confrontation. Hence, having it serve water as a common attendant was a little too much, despite the meteoric downfall of their reputation.
“Oh! Freshwater still the best.” Hank said capturing my attention back to reality. A few blobs of water stuck to his beard. But it didn’t take long for him to realize it and scratch his face to move the water away from the beard, especially with me looking at him with a face of amusement. Not the smartest move from his part, though, since the water spread all over his beard, not solving his problem in the slightest.
But I forgot who I’m talking about. Realizing his mistakes, eyebrows jumping up together with a cloud of mist rising around his beard and ta-da! Problem solved. Magic truly makes mundane struggles a trivial endeavor. It’s a pity my awakening never came when I was ripe, now more then ever since I know I have... had the potential to shine big.
After his theatrics finished, I remembered to answer his question, that being the sole reason behind all the show, I presume. “Sorry, Hank. I was lost in my thoughts. I’ll accept a glass of water, please” I said somehow thirsty and hungry at the same time. It’s funny to already be hungry since I recently ate breakfast. The sweet taste of papaya still left in my mouth and yet here I am.
*Rumbling* Great! my stomach is growling. Where’s the table with food now that I need it?
“Are you hungry, Jake?” Hank asked with a hint of understanding on his undertone. Without giving me a chance to answer the question he continued with a lower voice after a brief pause “ Your mana isn’t fully depleting but you’re getting hungry. Hmm”.And here I thought he would offer me some food. Anyway, if I got it right, the pen is making me consume energy faster than usual. A small hurdle that can be easily disregarded in view of the greater good. “This pen makes me consume more energy?” I asked, just to be sure, while Hank filled a glass of water. But, from another point of view, it will be great for my health, I was in need to lose a good two or three pounds anyway, get free of the slightly bigger tummy than I would like it to be sure would be fantastic.
“It does” He briefly answered me. “The pen consumes mana to write, and you’re its source of power at the moment. More mana used, more energy spent from you, a person who isn’t attuned with the elements and isn’t blessed by its constant nourishment. Which in return makes your stomach rumble in protest. It’s like running, at the start you can’t run a mile without running out of breath. As you get used to the exercise, it gets easier to breathe.” Hank said, surprisingly, out of his own volition. “When you first start to use the pen, it’s like you’re a novice runner in this example. But breath isn’t the thing you’re running out. Just getting hungry faster than usual as a consequence of the higher mana usage than your body usually consumes. You lasting this long is only possible, however, if your body is producing mana faster than the pen can consume or your mana regeneration is mitigating heavily the mana consumption and your mana reservoir is running out really slow, which, in the pen’s mana consumption case, is a small amount of mana flux, and it’s not valid for inner magic spells, that uses higher amounts of mana. Worry not though, that’s still impressive as the natural mana regeneration of a standard magician is, in most cases, lower than the consumption of this pen, that’s why we usually use mana crystals to power it up, otherwise, we would be left out of mana fairly quick when writing.” Think I really would be a great mage by the way he says those things. Infinite mana at my disposal as long as I’m eating something sounds pretty damn good... to the taste buds at least.
“Here’s your water,” Hank said handing the glass he just has filled up. After taking it away from him, Hank waved his hand and, at the end of the motion, there was a wooden plate with food on it. The sweet smell of a fruit I’ve never experienced before immediately invaded my nostrils, it truly was pleasant to the nose. Summoning another table that was at my hips height - while seated - to my left side, the one that Nevere wasn’t in, Hank placed the plate over it with some kind of levitating magic, making sure the plate crossed over the desk right in front of my nose while doing so. Looking at the plate over the table there was gelatin, it had a slightly lighter tone of red than that of a strawberry. It was shining a little and a strange feeling or presence was emanating from it, maybe, the same way the grass little Hank found at the cave and several times more intense than the air inside the house. But the question I’m begging to know is: How do I eat it? It looks delicious and there’s no tableware!
Do I stick my finger on it and lick?
As soon as the question popped up on my head and my finger started to move towards the jelly with trembling impatience, Hank waved his hand again, which was caught by the edge of my sight, making me move my eyes away from the jelly for a brief interval, and when it was back, a sliced toast appeared on an adjacent plate, half the diameter of the main one, that should have been created while I was distracted by the weaving motions from Hank’s hand but, the bizarre scene of a toast appearing out of nowhere at least was seen by me. It just started to be there, no previous indication that it would appear whatsoever.
At least by my mundane eye. No... Should I say less than a normal person’s eyes should normally see. The other day I was looking for a magnifying glass as my arms were getting too short to read without it. Not to mention the ability to discern a person’s face from a reasonable distance. That privilege would have helped me out of some tough situations. Unfortunately, I don’t have the money to pay for a healer to fix my eyesight problems neither do I know one to beg for a little a favor. I even disturbed myself thinking that I should start saving some cash to fix my eyesight as there will be a day I won’t be able to write anymore, which means less money for frivolities till I pay the treatment in the unlikely case I start saving up money for it.
That’s until yesterday, though. Now, a paragon of magic is sitting at arm's reach from me. Which brings me to my list of things I should ask out of Hank, should include an eye heal to it? But I’m getting out of topic here and it looks like Hank will restart his story as he’s sitting down on his chair, this time, while holding a palm long pipe with his left hand and ponding with his pinky fingers a yellow powder into the pipe’s bowl, probably some kind of herb or flower he grounded and stashed into that small pouch at an earlier occasion.
Yeah, I sure should include it. When Nevere turns her head away from my papers I’ll make one small list to not forget all the things I want to entreat. It will look beautiful with this pen!
Making sure the bowl content was well grounded, he freed the hand holding the pipe by securing it with his mouth and reached for a matchbox on his shorts’ pocket. After firing the matchstick he protected it from the gentle wind that was passing under the big summoned tree and set afire the herb on the small bowl. An intense smell reached out for me as he gently took a puff of smoke, this sure is the good stuff as the bittersweet fragrance persisted in the air for some time, mixing with the sweet flavor of the strawberry like jelly. Now, why didn’t he do all of that with magic?
It would be so much simpler, just like when he dried out his beard.
“Let’s resume the tale” he finally said after a long and slow exhale, puffing all the smoke out of his lungs. Hank took a quick look at the pipe, verifying if the fire inside was still alight in his hand and advanced with the talking. “The godlike being floating in the river right in front of me sure gave me the frights. But, there are things you need not worry over as you simply don’t have the power nor the means to change its outcome, and I knew too well, despite my lack of experience at the time, that I was in one of those kinds of situations, at the mercy of the entity hovering over the water. So... why should I fret over it?” his pragmatism makes me question the reason he could wield such power before his path was cut short. At least he could keep a cool mind under abnormal circumstances.
However, some things should be taken care of with utmost urgency, like the jelly.
“What can I say, it sure feels good to the touch,” I said to the godlike being still a little awed by the scene unfolding in front of me. “Ho! so it‘s good to the touch?” he exclaimed in a forced surprise tone. “I see you now carry a child of nature with you too. Tusa and her whimsical actions sure change the fate of the mortals. But, I can see why she took an interest in you that day. Your behavior diverges a little from your species norms. However, it’s been a long time since I last interact with your kind, and my memories might be failing me but the impression you give me sure is different. Your people usually tremble by my sole presence. You, otherwise, only get a little dumb by it. But it should have something to do with that mysterious force within you or does the mysterious force within you have something to do with you? I don’t know.” Taking a tome and a small satchel out of the nowhere he said “ Anyway, take good care of your companion. It’ll help you during the tribulations ahead of you.” The items rapidly flew to me and he resumed" My business here is done, I shall now take my leave." and just like that he vanished along with the flowing river like there never was something wrong with the lake. The moon shining brightly at its zenith, this time without the tint of red on it, though.