As they ran Dungii’s curled feathery antennae extended, he detected something and took the lead. His suction cupped feet moving quickly with tiny ripples.

“Hey Dungii wait up!” Dungii stopped to let Ang catch up. Between heavy breaths, Ang said. “Goodness you can really move.”

“Meep!” responded Dungii. Lifting his tail, he embedded the roots into the soil. A look of focused concentration came over his face as his puffball body started to vibrate. The mushroom top expanded, and the indusium veil grew. Then with a pop, Dungii’s body inflated several times his original size. He took his roots out of the ground and turned to allow Ang to hop on.

“Whoa! Dungii that’s amazing.” Ang climbed under the veil and sat on the large round body. The mushroom stem at the center had grooves, making it a perfect structure to hold on to for support. The mushroom top and indusium veil provided shade and gave the space a cozy feeling. “Dungii you’re like a mobile hut.”

“Murp Murp!” said Dungii, then they were off. Dungii’s feather antenna extended following the scent, as he swiftly moved through the forest. Ang tightly gripping the mushroom, Kiliyi riding on his shoulder. Soon they reached the outskirts of the village. Ang slowly crawled out from under the veil, and stood at the edge of the clearing. He closed his eyes hard and wished to see his family again. He knew this had to be where he would find the survivors. When he opened his eyes nothing had changed. The once lush beautiful grove he and his family called home was gone. The stone building, the smithy, the homes made of foliage. There were no signs of a battle, fire, or that a whole tribe lived here, nothing. It was just an open grassy field.

“How could I have been so stupid.” he slumped to the ground.

Something collided with Ang’s head. “Oww! What the..?” He looked down to see the tome opened to the first page with the letter from his mother. “She wants me to live for myself, what does that even mean.” Kiliyi crawled onto his shoulder, he looked at her. “Did you throw the book at me?” Kiliyi shrugged.

“It’s alright, thank you for being with me. You too Dun..uh..Dungii where’d you, oh there he is. What’s he doing over there?”

Dungii was out in the middle of the field. Using the roots at the end of his long tail, he dug into the soil, antennae fully extended. Ang put the tome in his bag and jogged over to Dungii just as he uncovered something shiny. Dungii twirled the object with his roots, and using his exceedingly long blue tongue, gave it a lick. Grimacing, he handed it over to Ang, who upon close inspection recognized it.

“This is Hue, my father’s axe. Dungii how did you know this was here?”

“Murp!” Dungii wiggled his antennae.

“Hmm… this is the axe my dad always carried around with him. There has to be something special about it. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out it's an Ardin. Which means you can detect Imdrina with that antennae.”

“Murp.” responded Dungii.

“You were able to sniff this out from several kilometers away that’s amazing!”

“Murp murp.” Ang rubbed the soft brown fur on Dungii’s head.

“Dungii, with your senses do you think you can help me find my family? They’ve gotta be around somewhere.”

“Murp murp.” Dungii wiggled his antenna.

Ang smiled, “thanks Dungii, I don’t know why but you already seem really familiar to me.”

“Murp murp.”

He looked at Kiliyi on his shoulder. “What do you think Kiliyi? Dungii can help us find our family. We’ll search the whole world if we have to.” Kiliyi nodded.

Ang crawled under Dungii’s veil and rested against the mushroom stalk. He spun the axe in his hand. It had an iridescent blade covered in faint, thin, detailed engravings, and a braided wood handle. The eye of the axe produced a faint glow, and the entire weapon seemed to pulse with a heartbeat. He drew a rune on the axe to sheath it in clay and put it in his bag.

“Where do we even start looking, Kiliyi?” Before she could react, they were off again. Ang nearly fell, quickly turning around to grab the stalk.

“Dungii, where are we going!?” Dungii’s antenna fully extended, he was running at breakneck speed. Ang watched the trees blur past him. His depression left behind. He smiled with delight, enraptured in the thrill of the moment. It didn’t matter where they were going, as long as he had his friends. They zoomed through the forest. Looking out through the holes in the veil he saw a massive waterfall that spanned the horizon.

“Kiliyi do you see that! What is it?” Ang felt the tome vibrating and pulled it out of his sack. It flipped open to the page about innate magical abilities. Kiliyi crawled across the text and pointed to the phrase “whale cloud.”

“That’s a whale cloud!” Exclaimed Ang. “Whoa! It’s huge, but how is it here? I thought whales live in the ocean.” His eyes threatened to pop out as they neared it. Past the last of the trees. The scene opened to a beautiful field of shining sand. In front of them a rising wall of water. Within, they could see different kinds of wildlife swimming in the tidal wall. Dungii made a sharp right as they ran across the sand. Ahead Ang noticed an animal lying on the beach, with a small rain cloud above it. The creature wailed. It’s cry full of palpable pain. Dungii dashed to it and slide a short distance in the sand stopping by its side.

Ang got off Dungii and walked over to the crying animal. He recognized from pictures in the tome that this must be a whale. Searching for the source of the whale’s pain, he found several deep puncture wounds on its side, a steady stream of blood flowing from each hole.

He noticed something blue next to him and realized it was Dungii’s long tongue. Dungii used his tongue to lick each wound, leaving a glob of a clear sticky substance, this closed the wounds and stopped the bleeding.

“Good work Dungii. I think I can handle the rest.”

Ang took the blue fabric, made from Kiliyi’s silk, and pressed it on the wound. Then he drew a rune over the fabric with tracer light, casting a healing spell over it. As Ang worked on healing the wounds he could reach, Kiliyi climbed higher onto the whale’s body and spun silk over the wounds, drawing the healing rune as she did. With their combined teamwork, they significantly sped up the healing of the whale. The whale let out an invigorating song. The small rain cloud above its head dispersed into a bubble surrounding them. Dungii, Kiliyi, and Ang caught in the whale’s tide floated up.

They soared high into the sky. Ang looked around and took it all in. The sand curved all around the forest. The tall trees looked small. The two clearings where his village and the Silver Willow once stood were visible. He gazed at the vast horizon, and the tiny island he lived on for all these years. To his left Kiliyi, to his right Dungii, cross his chest, his satchel with all his possessions. The whale, next to Dungii, let out an inquisitive call. There was nothing left for them on that island, he turned to the cascading whale cloud. They braced themselves as the whale plunged them forward into the cloud.

They rose higher and higher through the cloud. The viscosity like liquid water, but the density light as air. Ang choked at first but found that the cloud breathable. Something wrapped around his waist and pulled him in. He acknowledged Dungii’s long green tail. Swimming through a hole in the veil, he grabbed hold of the mushroom. Looking to his left, Kiliyi was not present. He panicked and started scanning for her. A glint of gold caught his eye A silk thread led off him with Kiliyi clinging onto the end. He grabbed hold of the thread and pulled her in. She quickly crawled into his shirt pocket and strapped herself in with some silk.

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Other creatures came and joined in the ascent, many Ang recognized from pictures in the tome, and stores his father and uncle told him. More whales joined the song in glorious harmony, making an enchanting and powerful spell. More powerful than the giants crushing aura, but with an uplifting effect. He could make out a bright sphere as they burst through the cloud and into the sky.

Dungii flattened the appendages at the end of his tail and could use it to swim as gracefully as a dolphin. They leaped through the sea of clouds high in the sky, next to the sun. It did not matter where they were going. Ang knew this was the way he wanted to get there. A sound like passing gas interrupted the serenity of the moment.

“MMMUUURRRRRRPP!” Kiliyi quickly unstrapped herself and ran to Dungii’s head. “MMMUUURRRRRRP!” Kiliyi jumped onto Dungii’s beak and gently patted the fur on his brow, communicating that song magic maybe isn’t his thing. Dungii let out a disappointed sigh as he continued to swim in the cloud. Kiliyi crawled back to her spot in Ang’s pocket.

A large object shot out of the water in the middle of the whales. It had dark wood, and gray sails folded down and back, making the craft streamlined and submersible. Once the vessel breached the surface, its sails unfurled to reveal a deck full of men, weapons readied. The whale song changed, adding a low thrum, an ominous sound. Ang saw a projectile fire off the craft toward a whale. Dungii reacted fast, and moved to intercept. He placed his puffball body between the whale and the projectile.

Ang started frantically drawing a rune to protect Dungii. The projectile coming in fast. It hit the veil and fell into the cloud. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a thin clear barrier enveloped Dungii’s body, originating from the mushroom top. It encased them in a protective bubble, only Dungii’s long tail extended outside the barrier.

“Good boy Dungii!” Kiliyi tethered a silk thread around the mushroom ready to dive after the object. “Hey Dungii can you make an opening in your shield?”

“Murp!” responded Dungii. He made a small opening in the veil and Kiliyi dove into the cloud. A few seconds passed until she crawled up Dungii’s side with the object attached to her thread. Ang pulled the projectile out of the cloud and scrutinized it. It had a long hollow metal shaft, with a sharp syringe point and thin engravings.

“This must be the weapon that left those puncture wounds on the other whale.” The men on the ship repositioned their weapon and fired at another whale. The harpoon pierced it, the whale moaned in pain. “Dungii we gotta help!”

“Murp!”

Dungii swam to the wounded whale. The whalers preparing another shot. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a round clay ball with a very detailed rune inscribed on it.

“I guess this would be a great time to test this out.” Ang threw the clay ball into the cloud just as the shot fired. A massive wall of ice rose out of the cloud, blocking the projectile and creating an obstacle for the attacking vessel.

“That was much more effective than I thought.” They swam next to the injured whale. The harpoon lodged deep in its body. The hollow shaft sucking out its blood. Smaller sea creatures, including a large octopus, climbed onto the whale and pulled out the harpoon. Dungii gave the wound a lick. Kiliyi grabbed the blue fabric. She tethered herself to Ang, leapt onto the whale and started casting the healing spell. The attacking ship smashed through the ice wall.

Ang grabbed his ocarina and played a song that harmonized with the whales. The magic grew, starting out as a small whirlpool then shooting up into the sky in a colossal column of water. The waterspout moved in the vessel's direction. The men aboard panicked as the spout engulfed them. There ship torn to shreds. They jumped overboard. Their fate left to the sea and its inhabitants.

After dealing with the menace, they continued to travel on the whale cloud. As the sunset, the power of the whale’s song waned and gradually the whale cloud sank into the ocean. Bringing into view an expansive craggy landmass . Upon reaching the shore, the giant octopus they saw helping to pull the harpoon out of the whale greeted them. In one of its tentacles was a small conch shell. It mesmerized Ang as he watched the octopus flash several colors and patterns across its body. After coloring the conch shell, the octopus passed it to Ang. Dungii waved goodbye with his tail, Kiliyi did the same from atop the mushroom. The octopus bowed its head, then turned and disappeared beneath the waves.

He examined the shell, fumbling it around in his fingers, looking at it from every angle. It was pale yellow, with faint brown spots all around. The tip had a small opening, like a mouthpiece. He blew into the shell and the song of the whales echoed across the beach. In the distance, they could hear a faint song of gratitude.

Ang placed the shell in his bag and turned to look at their new surroundings. Compared to his lush green forest home, this place was barren and dead, with brown jagged land, and a steep intimidating cliff looming over threatening to crumble at any moment.

“Let’s see if we can find a way around. Hey Dungii. Dungii, where are you going? And when did you get small again?”

“Meep!”

Dungii had changed back to his original size and was already at work combing the beach. Ang with Kiliyi followed him. Dungii’s magic detector fully extended, as he zigzagged across the rocky terrain. He would briefly stop and inspect everything he found. He meeped to a crab that scuttled away. He ran to a flock of birds that took flight. Finally, he saw a bunch of brown toadstools growing off a rotting log. He bounced over to them and started enthusiastically meeping, then paused for several minutes.

Ang walked over and gently stroked him. “Dungii, they're not going to respond.”

“Meep?”

“You’re different from them, they can’t vocalize like you.”

“Meeeep.”

“It’s alright, you have me and Kiliyi. We only just made it here. I’m sure we’ll find someone like you somewhere.”

“Meep Meep.”

“Did you hear that?”

“Meep.”

They cautiously traveled in the sound's direction. Rounding a boulder they spotted a cave. They heard a deep grated voice coming from the opening, followed by a quivering tenor. A third voice spoke with a speech impediment.

“Sounds like an argument is going on in there. Wish I had some alcohol to offer. Dad always said ‘a bottle of booze can raise anyone’s mood.’ Why do adults like that stuff, tastes awful? Where’d Kiliyi go? Oh, there you are. You going in? I’ll come with you.”

Kiliyi, at the entrance, turned around and made a motion for him to stay put. He complied, and she crawled inside. They waited outside the cave behind the boulder. The three voices inside continued their disagreement until the quivering tenor squealed.

“A Spider!”

Dungii and Ang ran inside the shallow cave. They soon encountered the three men. Each of them had an unkempt and grimy look. Their clothes were dirty and tattered, and each man had scratches and circular bite marks covering their bodies.

“What the dragon! Who are you?” The man asked in his deep grated voice.

“Where’s Kiliyi!” Ang shouted.

“The dragon are you talking about? Why’s a kid all the way out here?”

“Hey, don he look sorta familiar?” Said the man with the lisp.

“And that thing next to him looks like the thing that blocked our harpoon,” said the tenor.

“Wait, you guys were on that ship?” asked Ang.

“So it was you? Did you sink our boat you little brat? Get most of my men killed? Was that you, kid? Answer me! How can a little brat like you know magic?”

“He’s small but I don’t think he’s a kid,” said the tenor.

“The dragon is he then?”

“Shut up! Where is the spider,” yelled Ang?

“You mean this thing” said the gruff voice. He lifted his boot to reveal the crushed remains. “What’s with that look? Did I step on your pet?”

Ang’s world spiraled out of focus, his mind went blank, jaw clenched stiff. He reached into his bag and threw the first clay ball he found. A thick cloud of dust billowed up where the ball landed, flinging rocks in all directions.

Ang used the tome as a shield. Dungii turned on his barrier. Using his tail he sprung around the space, bashing the walls and the three men. The men didn’t know from where or what was hitting them. They blindly flailed about, stumbling and tripping over one another. The tenor screamed as he fell over, followed shortly by the grated voice, and then the third man. The sounds of muffled struggle echoed through the space. The clay ball stopped flinging rocks, and Dungii stopped bouncing around. When the dust settled, thin gold threads bound the three men and a silk patch covered their mouths. To his left he felt something crawl onto his shoulder.

“KILIYI, You’re alive! But then what did he step on?” Ang moved past the pile of muffled men and examined the crushed body. “I didn’t know you could animate your exoskeletons. Don’t scare me like that.”

“Meep”

“You were great too. I like how you beat them up with your barrier. So what should we do with them? They were a part of that crew that was bleeding out the whales with those cruel weapons. I say we leave them to the ocean.”

Kiliyi nodded. Dungii changed into his large form and used his tail to drag the men outside. The men cursed as loudly as they could through the webbing, while being dragged to a large boulder by the sea. There Kiliyi tied them around the boulder. Ang took the conch shell out of his bag and played the whale song. The ocean swelled and produced long tendrils of water that creeped out of the sea. The men struggled as the tendrils grabbed them. The boulder torn from its foundation and they disappeared into the depths. Further inland, they could hear distant sounds moving toward them.

“Murp murp murp.”

“I heard that too. Let’s take a look, but be quiet.”

“Murp.”

Ang hopped on Dungii’s back and they moved in the direction of the commotion.