High above the clouds, the Ventus Haven was a realm of boundless skies and endless horizons. King Aeolus guided the people of the Air Kingdom with a gentle and open heart. These skyward explorers were renowned for their mastery of flight, using magical wings and gliders to navigate the wind currents. The Air Kingdom fostered a culture of freedom and innovation, where individuality was celebrated and ideas soared like the wind.

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I stared at myself in the mirror, examining my reflection. I was of medium height, with white hair in a crew cut. I was dressed in my finest tunic, made of a light gray with silver embellishments. I also had on my finest armor. I walked over to my closet and pulled out a cape made of white pristine feathers with soft down on the inside. I walked to my door and grabbed my sword from its stand next to the door. I walked through the door belting on my sword belt as I strolled out and down the hallways made of white marble. Statues hovered on platforms of wind in their niches. I turned down a hallway and stopped at a set of glass doors. I pushed through them and walked onto the balcony. I stopped for a moment then hopped over the railing landing lightly on a bridge made of floating stepping stones ten feet below. I broke into a run and swirled my cape, which stiffened and split into two wings made of white feathers with speckles of light gray.

I leaped off the stone bridge and flapped my wings soaring higher and higher. I flew through a cloud and shook myself, flinging all the droplets that condensed on me earthward. I soared high into the air propelling myself faster on winds of my own making. As slowly stopped flapping my wings while going straight up causing me to seem to hang in mid-air for just a second. Then I plummeted downward, slowly righting myself so I was falling straight down. I burst through a cloud punching a hole in it. I was fast approaching the main Island and could see the ground coming closer at a backbreaking speed. I pulled out of the free fall into a near miss as I glided along just ten feet above the ground. I looked ahead and saw my target, the flight school. Normally I would have been just getting out of school but I had graduated ahead of my class just the year before. I spotted who I was looking for and swooped down and landed in front of her. “Aellai, crazy meeting you here,” I said. Aellai, the girl I was speaking to, was the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. She had chocolate brown hair that fell just past her shoulders. With brilliant green eyes and perfectly styled clothes, just my type. She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Hey, Zephyr.” She said, I smiled. “Hey Aellai!” A voice called out from across the field. A boy about my age walked up. He had dark black hair and was about my height. “What are you doing talking to this joker?” He asked, She glared at him. “Go away, Zane.” “Come on Aellai, don't be like that.” He said. She looked at me, “Listen Zephyr, if you want to hang out, get rid of him. She jerked her thumb at him. “As you wish,” I replied. I whipped out my sword and leveled it at him “Begone or feel the bite of my sword” He jumped back pulling out his sword and smacked my sword away from him. I lunged forward and he parried my blade. He slashed at my legs and I dodged, leaping over his head and flipping around mid-air to face his back. He jumped straight up, flipped around to face me, and used his downward momentum to power his overhead strike. I feinted a slash to his right shoulder and whipped my sword around to slash at his stomach, he dodged back but was too slow and managed to just receive a shallow cut on his stomach. He lunged at me and it parried, locked our hilts, and flipped my wrist, tearing the hilt of his sword from his grip. I angled the tip of my blade at his neck. “Leave now, or I will be forced to harm you further.” He turned his face red as he began to storm off, he paused and whipped around, flinging a dagger in my direction. Someone screamed, but I had expected something along the lines of this happening. I stepped calmly to the side, reached out, and caught the dagger. His face turned white with fear as he turned to run. I flipped the dagger, caught it by the blade, and threw the knife at his left knee, he stumbled, and instead of it hitting his knee it slammed into the back of his thigh. He screamed in pain. “Coward,” I said disapprovingly. I turned back to face Aellai. “Zephyr!” A commanding voice called out. I turned and found myself staring into the eyes of my father.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

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I sat up straight, staring at the wall intently trying not to look bored as my father ranted as he paced back and forth across the room. “Irresponsible, Reckless, Unacceptable.” He turned and looked me in the eyes. “What on earth were you thinking?” He yelled. “You could have killed the boy!” He shouted face red with rage. “No,” I said firmly. “No?” my father questioned. “I meant, No I couldn’t have killed the brat, I hit exactly where I meant to,” I said defiantly. That technically wasn’t true. I had hit him in the back of the thigh but had been aiming for the back of his knee, but I didn’t mention that because if I had hit him in the back of the knee it could have crippled him. My father flushed with anger, for a moment I thought he was going to slap me, but then the anger in his eyes died. He smiled, “You know what, I just remembered why I came to find you in the first place. You have a meeting at the Elemental Palace.” I smiled “Of course I do, When do I leave?” My father smiled “You leave tomorrow morning, my guards and I will accompany you.”