“Strange as it may sound, this is how the Sail-Eared Foxes are described in the pages of [Life on the Rocks] by Underth Regalsteam,” Mr. Sandoval confirmed, to my disbelief. “Of course, we don’t have a living beast here to prove what’s written there.”
“Of course,” I echoed with heavy irony on my tongue. Having a caged beast here somewhere among the bookshelves would be ridiculous - this was a library, a far cry from a beast-holding pen. Not to mention Mr. Sandoval’s experience with the beasts he told me about earlier.
Still, in all the time I’ve been gone, hasn’t anyone thought of sending someone to catch one of the beasts? I could try to talk to it, or . . . something. But I guess that would be too costly to ask. In the end, this was just a hobby search of the two librarians.
Actually, I had no idea about Hazel. She was definitely thrilled to be doing this job, but . . . last night we discussed other things than who her actual employer was or how many coins she was getting paid.
“Underth Regalsteam, however, was very meticulous in his descriptions and sketches,” Mr. Sandoval’s hangover-suffering assistant chimed in, the book the two were talking about appearing in her hands. “The man seems to have had a lifelong fascination with creatures of all kinds. Here.”
I looked at the pages she stuck her finger into. There, under the heading [Sail-Eared Foxes of Salt Misty Rocks], was a depiction of the creatures. Not so different from foxes, remotely even similar to me in my beast form, with ears twice the size of mine in relation to their bodies. Yet still too small to think of using them to fly.
“Do they use magic?”
“Indeed,” the old librarian nodded, sipping his tea. My hands shaking, I did the same. “Mr. Underth Regalsteam speculates how they came to live in such an inhospitable place - the high cliffs washed by a stormy sea. Probably, pushed there by the spreading deserts, a previous species of fox adapted in different ways.”
“Fennec Foxes adjusted to living in the desert, while Sail-Eared Foxes found a way to traverse the distances between the cliffs, on whose tops they found flat grounds for their dens and their hillsides rich in food for nesting birds,” the eagerness with which Hazel delivered it was remarkable, given her condition. Yet her attitude, not unlike Mr. Sandoval’s, of expecting to find the answer herself, annoyed me.
‘Was that something common to all librarians?’
“Magic, they adapted through magic. Did they form cores?” As far as I knew, having one was a kind of prerequisite for beasts to use magic on a larger scale.
“Yes,” Hazel cried. “They did.”
“Then they’re not just any beasts, are they?”
Mr. Sandoval took a bite of the cookies and smiled with satisfaction. “Levels range from 100 to 300. They’re not big, about the size of a dog, pack behavior. If they cannot overcome their opponent alone, the numbers will do it.”
“Sure, having a pack of 100-level beasts on my tail would make even me sweat,” I said, immediately realizing how arrogant that sounded. “I mean, being alone sucks. Having a pack is important.”
“No need to be modest, Miss Grey. After all, we have both witnessed your strength.”
“Your best form, the way you fought, your presence - absolutely brilliant; I even peed my pants.”
“I know. You told me last night.”
“I did?” Hazel paused, a headache flashing through her eyes as she tried to remember.
Unlike her, my own thoughts veered in an entirely different direction. “Is there an evolved variety among them, like the northern eagles and Miros?”
“You’re wondering why your captor would choose this species, aren’t you, Miss Grey?”
“Yeah. That bastard - forgive me the language - pumped into me the essence of mossbears, northern eagles, witty deer, Empress of Poison or her kind, and damn drakes. Again, I’m sorry, Mr. Sandoval. It’s just . . .” I trailed off. Telling him and Hazel about a potential dragon in the city streets would be too much. “Sail-Eared foxes pale in comparison. You know what I mean?”
“I do. The likelihood of your captor choosing the beast in question for a specific purpose was one of our search criteria.”
“Oh . . .” That surprised me when it shouldn’t have. This had long since ceased to be the simple passion project of an old librarian. “So it’s their ability to fly? I would have thought my wings would serve that purpose.”
“They most likely should have,” Hazel said with a complicated look on her face. “According to Mr. Sandoval, that was your first mutation, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah?”
“And also that your captor insisted you have the [Flight] skill and use it?”
“He did. You think that lunatic really wanted me to be able to fly, and when that failed, he . . .”
“He sought out other beasts capable of flight,” the old librarian finished, the words stuck in my throat, the various implications of it swirling through my mind.
“M-my ears. I assumed the reason was my hearing.”
“And that could very well be the case,” the old librarian said hurriedly, refilling my cup of Jartine tea. “That and the Sail-Eared Foxes’ ability to fly.”
“The foxes have extremely good hearing as a result of the environment in which they live - the cliffs are extremely noisy, apparently. They are able to pick up even the faintest chirp of newly hatched birds among the breaking waves on the reefs,” Hazel explained, running her finger over the lines in the book.
“You’re saying that instead of injecting me with the essence of another bird, he . . . tried a different approach to making me fly? And look . . . with the bonus of better hearing?”
“I’m sorry, Korra, but all signs point to that.”
“As disgusting as it sounds, Miss Grey, you were just a test subject for him. He tested different combinations on you and others, looking for the one that would lead to his desired result.”
“Me flying.”
“Rather than you flying, the ones he worked for. I can hardly imagine that your appearance would be very desirable in soldiers in the Arda.”
“Soldiers? So we know he’s connected to the kingdom?”
“According to what I’ve been told, I’m afraid so, Miss Grey. One of the many ways Arda tries to strengthen their army, it seems.”
“Secretly, of course,” Hazel added, disgust written all over her face. “Despite their treatment of slaves, such experimentation is over the line even for most Ardanians.”
A human side to the nation of slavers seemed almost unimaginable to me. How else could someone enslave another if they were capable of feeling compassion for them? The thought immediately bit me in the ass when I remembered Aspen. To her, Rayden was the slaver - hardly a woman without a shred of humanity.
“And Sahal does nothing about it?”
“Officially? Not a thing,” Hazel said, a wry smile on her lips. “Right now, the Empire is in no position to afford a war. But - and this is to remain between us, Korra - Sah himself revealed to us . . .”
“To allay the same fears as yours.”
“. . . that the agents of the Empire, and not only them, are doing their utmost to thwart or at least slow down similar efforts . . .”
“Without drawing attention to the direct meddling of the Empire,” Mr. Sandoval added again to Hazel’s enthusiastic narration. A warning to keep my mouth shut, probably given to them in the first place. The question was, why tell them outside of the oath or geas at all? Likely not something so secret and anyone with an ounce of sense could have guessed.
Nevertheless, the whole mess had to go both ways. A silent espionage war between nations.
“Did they at least find the lunatic?”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to ask Agent Sah about that.” The librarian’s eyes wandered to the shadows of the bookshelves where the man in question was hiding. Pretty pointless, considering his presence wasn’t lost on me, nor the two librarians on their home turf. Sah had to know, he had to, and yet he didn’t see fit to show up when I was desperate for an answer.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
Bastard!
Though, to be honest with myself, any answer other than they killed Dungreen would probably not be enough for me. Worse, knowing that they found him and let him live . . .
*Growl*
I mean, if what Mr. Sandoval and Hazel said was true, I mattered less to that fucker than I thought. Not even a test subject, just a piece of meat to find the right combination of mutations. I wasn’t even close to the final product the lunatic had dreamed up - a twisted dream of a human, most likely a pure human without any visible mutations, and yet with the abilities I possessed. One of them being flight.
*Growl!*
He wanted humans, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Arda, to be able to fly, so he pumped me full of two different kinds of beasts capable of it.
*Growl!!*
Two kinds? Come to think of it, weren’t the drakes capable of flight as well?
*Growl!!!*
‘Fuck!’ At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if the lioness was the flying type of beast as well.
*Growl!!!!*
A hand landed on my shoulder, and I shot a glance at the one who dared.
“Grey?”
“S-Sah?”
“You all right?”
“Not really.” There was no point in lying; my blood was boiling. “What brought you out of the shadows?”
“You, actually.”
“Me?”
“I was concerned you might do something you’d regret. Check your hands.”
Doing as he said, I looked down, my eyes resting on my fingers, partially shifted, claws out.
‘When?’
Horror struck my heart.
My thoughts immediately turned to the two librarians. Both were still sitting in their seats, Hazel next to me, though as deadly pale as when she had crawled out of bed, Mr. Sandoval clutching the cup of tea in his hands.
I did it again!
Despite how horrible I felt about it the first time, I frightened them again.
“I’m so sorry - so sorry. I would never hurt you.”
They both smiled slightly, saying nothing though.
“I wouldn’t.”
“You sure about that, Grey?”
‘Imperial bastard!’
Though, to be fair, Sah only hinted at my own uncertainty in my voice.
“I never did. Ask Stella,” I insisted, almost pleading. “Besides, my anger was not directed at you.”
“Dungreen, I presume?” Sah said, his hand still on my shoulder.
*Growl!*
“Yeah, did you find him?”
“Don’t bite me, but . . . no. Whoever’s behind him is good, I’d almost say too good for the Kingdom’s standards; always one step ahead. All we ever found were the remnants of his atrocities.”
*Growl!*
“I said don’t bite.”
Bastard. I couldn’t help smiling, though. “Then you shouldn’t have come empty-handed.”
“Then how about I treat you to a proper meal, Grey? Meat, not lettuce or moss.”
All the anger was gone, my mouth wide open. Despite the ears I had, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. And judging by the reaction of Mr. Sandoval and Hazel, neither could they. An Imperial Agent was asking me out to a meal.
“Don’t make this something it’s not,” Sah said when he noticed where my thoughts were leading me. “I am here to ensure your protection, even from yourself. If a meal can accomplish that, it’s a small price to pay, don’t you think?”
“That’s what you believe. I can eat a lot.”
Sah laughed. “I’m well aware of that, Grey. But don’t worry, not coins from my pocket. The Empire’s expense.”
“Not exactly the way to woo a gal.”
“I wasn’t trying.”
“On the other hand . . . is there a limit?”
“It’s not so much the limit as the reason. Right now I see it as necessary to maintain your mental well-being.”
A grin spread across my face. “Would it be possible to include a bath? In one of the better bathhouses.”
“I . . .”
“Nothing wrong with those in the barracks, but - mind you, I haven’t bathed in anything but rain in almost nine months.”
Sure, I could have asked Deckard. Hell, he offered to pay for my bath himself. Only there was a difference between owing him more than I was comfortable with and taking advantage of the Empire.
Sah scowled and thought. “You’ve made a pretty strong argument. As long as you let me choose the bathhouse myself, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
My inner self squealed with joy, a real bath at last in sight.
“Security reasons?”
“What else? Don’t you remember your last visit to the bathhouse?”
Yeah, I got stabbed. “I’d rather enjoy my bath undisturbed . . . and unobserved.”
“Not really interested in watching your naked ass, or is there something else about you I haven’t seen yet, Grey?” he shot back at my jibe. Well played, I had to say.
“No, not really - unless you count the fact that I might be able to fly using my freakishly large ears.”
He smiled and removed his hand from my shoulder. “About that . . . you won’t bite anyone, will you?”
“Yes, I am fine. And thanks, Sah.”
He merely gave me a slight nod before disappearing back into the shadows of the library.
***
“I must say, Miss Grey, I wouldn’t want to be the one to anger you.”
The Jartine tea must have worked wonders, because a few sips from a freshly refilled cup and both Mr. Sandoval and Hazel recovered from my little episode of outrage.
“Korra, you were . . . you were so fierce, wild even.”
“Indeed. While talking to you here, your hybrid nature is easy to slip out of one’s mind. However, when reminded . . .better not to stand in the way of your ire.”
I lowered my ears, more aware of those two sails than ever. “It’s just that . . .”
“No need to explain yourself,” the old librarian stopped me. “While I’m not one to believe that holding on to wrongs serves anyone any good, I can see where the anger in you comes from. After all, your experience with this Dungreen is still fresh.”
“Yeah.” It was like, what? Twelve Eleaden months since I died and gained my freedom? About three-quarters of an Earth year. A damn short time to forget what I went through in that cellar, even with [Indomitable Will] among my skills. It wasn’t an all-powerful skill that would keep me as cool as a block of ice all the time. I was still me, more emotional and irrational than ever, merly with my mind shielded from harm.
Speaking of skills, though. “The Sail-Eared Foxes, do they have any particular skill that allows them to fly or some weird beast mana control thing?”
“Here,” Hazel pointed eagerly to a spot on a line in the pages of the book.
“All the skills that the Underth Regalsteam has managed to document.”
[Sky Pounce]
[Graceful Prowl]
[Pack Call]
...
..
.
[Ear Enlargement]
[Wind Capture]
[Magic of Wind]
[Gliding]
[Sailing]
The little beasts possessed no fewer skills than I did. If they could truly fly, however, they did so by combining several skills - not just one particular - most of which were among the general skills available to me. What I failed to find was any magic, a spell if you will, such as [Wind Capture] that the foxes possessed.
Annoyingly, not that strange. For all the beasts I was made of, I possessed none other than [Mantle of Magic], which was a class skill.
If I wanted, I could choose any of the six basic Forms of Magic, be it wind, earth, fire, water, light, or dark. Hell, my skills included [Magic of Nature] and even [Magic of Arcane].
But no spells.
Having access to all the Forms of Magic meant shit if I had no idea how to shape the mana into those forms. As a matter of fact, I haven’t even figured out which Form of Magic was closest to my heart.
Not my fault.
Fallen’s Cry got in the way of me finding the right one, the easiest way to do magic. For all I knew, it could very well be the Magic of Wind Sail-Eared Foxes utilized to fly.
*Sight*
As frustrating as it was, all I could do was swallow my regret and visit Aspen as soon as possible.
“Korra?” Hazel asked as I got lost in my own thoughts, excited anticipation in her eyes. “Any skills you have?”
“Besides [Wind Capture] pretty much all of them . . .”
“Yes!” She sprang to her feet, her arms raised in triumphant excitement. Hell, even Mr. Sandoval was humming triumphantly under his beard.
“I had no idea my lack of magical prowess would make you two so happy?”
“Oh, no. It’s not that,” Hazel blurted out hurriedly. “It’s the skills available to you that match those of the Sail-Eared Foxes.”
“That was the final piece of validation we needed to be sure these were the beasts we were looking for,” Mr. Sandoval explained.
I wanted to believe it; I really did. “But those skills could belong to any beast I’m made of.”
“They sure might have,” the old librarian agreed. “[Pack Call] could easily have come from mossbears or witty deer. [Glide] and [Saling] from the northern eagles.”
“[Sky Pounce] is a bit of a specific skill, but drakes aren’t very well documented, and we haven’t found much more than Prince Alederman’s Great Journey story on Empress of Poison,” Hazel rushed in with her bit.
“Look, I didn’t mean to question you . . .” I said, stopping short. A lie. That was exactly what I had intended. But why? Was it the beasts, their ears, and how they used them? Was it the disappointment I felt? It was.
“I would say that questioning is a healthy approach to problems and solutions, Miss Grey. Without people wondering IF it could be done better, or IF this is the right answer to the question, we would never have progressed. Something I believe you are more than familiar with.”
Somehow, the old librarian found the right answer to erase my last doubts, or rather my unwillingness to accept that the Sail-Eared Foxes could be the origin of my ears. A startling ease spread through my body, and with it, I bared my fangs in a grin. “So? Which skill do you think I should try first?”
“Well . . .”
“[Ear Enlargement],” Hazel blurted out, cutting Mr. Sandoval off. “Definitely [Ear Enlargement].”
While I did not share her enthusiasm for seeing myself with ears touching my ass, we agreed on the first skill to try. I just wanted to get it over with, since there’s nothing worse than putting off things you’d rather not do.
“[Ear Enlargement] it is, then.”