“WHOAAAA!” screamed Michael, as the ground beneath him disappeared. He hadn’t expected Lula’s takeoff to be as fast as it was, and as the great beast flew higher into the air, Michael felt his stomach do several uncomfortable lurches.
“OH! NOOOOO!”
The brisk morning air rushed past his face as 1240 Montague Lane Court and every other house in the neighborhood shrank into a mixture of colors until they were no longer recognizable. It was all happening so fast, Michael didn’t even have enough time to be afraid at the realization he was now almost ten-thousand feet in the air—and still rising. Unable to look down any longer, he closed his eyes and latched his arms even tighter around Nario’s waist. There was then a loud popping noise in his ears and Michael squinted to see dozens of pink and yellow sparks all around his head.
“Your powers are coming out again!” shouted Nario over his shoulder. “Try to center your emotions!”
Clenching his teeth, Michael attempted to do as he was told, but it was no use. The more he tried, the worse the popping became. Lula then picked up even more speed.
“You okay back there?!” bellowed Nario, but the sound of the wind was so strong Michael could only catch bits and pieces.
“Hang on Your Royal Highness!”
Nario tugged the harness on Lula’s neck, and Michael felt his entire body shift spectacularly to the right. Lula then soared upside down and sideways, before diving slightly and shooting upwards again. It was like riding on a roller coaster—an insanely fast roller coaster with no seat belts that is. Michael had no idea how long they’d been flying at this point, but it felt like ages. Suddenly, Lula swerved again (he couldn’t tell in which direction) before she unexpectedly came to a complete halt. They drifted in silence for nearly half a minute, before Michael realized that the popping in his ear had also stopped.
He slowly opened his eyes.
They were completely surrounded by clouds. Michael’s eyes watered in the freezing chill, and he wondered why Nario hadn’t warned him to wear a jacket, as the frigid air chomped at his exposed arms. He then dared to look down and immediately regretted it—for it took everything in him (and then some) not to scream at just how high up in the air they were.
“Okay,” pondered Nario as he squinted into the distance. There were flecks of icicles forming on his beard.
“We need to fly more north…hold on tight!”
And without another word, he tugged on Lula’s harness and they shot into the clouds.
***
Several hours later, Michael found himself gradually becoming comfortable with flying on the giant bird. Though he still tended to scream hysterically whenever Lula dived or flipped past the turrets of snowy clouds, he was now able to (somewhat) hold a conversation as they traversed through the sky.
“So Your Royal Highness, I’m sure you’re very excited about attending Ravenskraft?”
They were now soaring over a neat green pasture that gave way to a mountainous countryside. Apart from the blinding sunlight, and flock of seagulls squawking madly as they tried to keep up with Lula, it would’ve almost been peaceful.
“As I told you before, all the kings of Avahnair have attended the school for countless generations,” said Nario, looking back and grinning. “In fact, your tuition was taken care of by the royal trust your parents and grandparents established on the day you were born. The Queen of Gennark has been watching over it until now.”
“The Queen of what?” began Michael, but before he could finish he felt Nario tap Lula’s side. The great bird immediately picked up speed again, leaving the seagulls in a cloud of feathers.
“Hold on tight!” bellowed Nario suddenly. “We should be able to enter the Grand Stream from here!”
“Okay!” yelled Michael, tightening his grip around Nario’s waist as Lula soared upwards. He thought he was going to fall off as the sparks and popping became uncontrollable.
“AAHHHH! WAHHH! NARIOOOO!”
“Your Royal Highness, we’re about to enter the Grand Stream!”
There was another magnificent dive and swerve, as Michael felt Lula’s powerful wings flapping furiously on either side of him. And then, without warning, she shot into the air like a rocket.
“Here it comes!” said Nario after five minutes. “Hang on!”
“I’M...TRYYYY...TRYYYY...YIIIIING!” screamed Michael, but his voice was drowned out. And then, something unexpected happened. The air, which up until this point had been icy cold, became much warmer. But not in an uncomfortable or suffocating way—rather like the type of warmth experienced on the beaches of Spain in mid-July. It was the most refreshing thing Michael had felt in a very long time, and for a few blissful moments, any fear about flying seemed to evaporate into the calming atmosphere. The swirl of pleasure and heat soothed his chapped skin, as Lula gained more speed, and rose higher, and higher, and higher, and higher...
“You can wake up now, Your Royal Highness. We’re here.”
Michael rustled softly. Drool was slowly trickling onto his shirt, as his head rested on Nario’s back and he felt the lion man’s tight grip around both of his arms. Somehow, he’d actually fallen asleep! Realizing that Lula was no longer moving, he gradually opened his eyes again, and his jaw dropped.
They were floating in midair about fifty feet above a silver platform. It was wide and exquisite-looking, with a ruby-encrusted border, and seemed to be resting gently amidst a collection of fluffy golden clouds. At the far end of the platform was a long passageway that led to a gigantic spherical building with so many flashing lights it looked like the world's largest Christmas ornament. Michael then glanced over his shoulder and saw that in the far-off distance was a range of snow-capped mountains nestled amongst another series of clouds, each with waterfalls of bronze liquid flowing serenely out of them. He wondered to himself where this water could possibly be going and how there could be mountains floating in the sky.
“Welcome to the Kingdom of Avahnair…well a very small part of it anyway,” said Nario brightly. “What do you think?”
Michael didn’t say a word, as he was too busy exploring every angle of his new environment. It was the most mystical thing he’d ever seen.
“I see you really enjoyed going through the Grand Stream. Don’t worry, drowsiness happens in a lot of people that aren’t used to it, and at least it got you to stop screaming! I thought you said you weren’t scared of flying?”
“I’m not!” said Michael, wiping the excess drool from his mouth. “I was just surprised that’s all!”
He didn’t want to start off his new life with people thinking he was a wimp.
Nario chuckled before gesturing toward the glittering building in front of them. “This is Karistanza Airport, the largest in all of Avahnair!”
Michael surveyed it with keen interest. Considering he’d never been to an airport on Earth, he had nothing to compare it to.
“Being that this is the rear entrance to the airport, I was able to get us special permission to land back here instead of the front with everyone else. It wasn’t too difficult...considering the circumstances.”
“What circumstances?” asked Michael.
Nario stared incredulously.
“Well, you of course! The return of the Crown Prince!”
Lula hooted restlessly.
“We’d better land so she can rest up, and then we can head to the front...we’re going to be meeting with someone there. Your return has been kept very secretive—in fact only a handful of people even know you’re back! It hasn’t even been announced to the public yet, so I don’t think we’ll need the invisibility bangles when we walk through the airport. I doubt you’ll be recognized...”
Nario then gave another gentle tug, and Lula slowly glided towards the platform and landed. She lowered her body as they climbed down.
“Off you go girl,” said Nario, caressing her beak. “You remember the way?”
She chirped softly and seemed to nod her head, before taking off again and circling around the building.
“Where’s she going?”
“The stables in the airport...it’s where garuda can get a quick rest after summoners land! Lula’s getting ready to lay eggs soon, so it’ll be good for her.”
Then Michael’s vision started to go blurry, and he felt a slight dizziness wash over him. Shaking his head, he wobbled a little off balance.
“W-What’s wrong with me?”
“It’s the atmosphere,” said Nario calmly. “Remember what I told you about the air being much thinner up here?” He pulled a small vial from his shawl, full of fizzing black liquid, and handed it to Michael.
“Drink this, it’s an Altitudon Potion, and it’ll relieve your symptoms for a few hours.”
Michael hesitated as he stared at the frothy concoction. It certainly didn’t look appealing, and he wasn’t particularly keen on drinking something he’d never heard of before. But the dizziness was getting worse, and he was starting to have a headache. And so, uncorking the vial (the potion smelled like rotten eggs) he downed everything in one gulp. The bitter liquid made him squirm as it trickled down his throat.
“How do you feel?”
“I feel…good!” said Michael, his vision gradually coming back into focus.
“I knew you would! Altitudon potions always work fast...I’m sure glad I brought it along! I really thought the extra week on Earth, adapting to your kindling, would’ve helped when it came to dealing with the atmosphere here, but I guess your body hasn’t quite adjusted yet. Don’t worry though, it’s all perfectly normal.”
No matter how many times Nario said: “Don’t worry,” Michael still felt pretty lame about the fact that, in his first five minutes on Avahnair, he’d nearly passed out twice.
“Well then, let’s head inside!” said Nario, walking briskly down the passageway and into the rear entrance of the massive building with Michael following closely behind. Far from being full of airplanes (which was what Michael had halfway been expecting to see), the giant space looked like the inside of a planetarium, with thousands of hologram-like windows sliding all around them. Michael tried his best to glance at a couple (the windows were moving quite fast) and each time saw a large runway jam-packed with summoners and their garuda birds: lined up and ready for flight.
“See that?” said Nario, pointing towards one of the windows as it skated over their heads. “All international fliers to other countries in Esfaira, and all managed by the Garuda Network!”
“The what?”
“The Garuda Network...the administrative body of summoners who are responsible for keeping track of all Garuda flights. There’s also the Caelum Network that handles all other types of summoning travel. You can’t get into, or out of Esfaira, without one of them knowing!”
“Woah,” whispered Michael, watching another passing window as the first line of garudas and their riders took off in unison from the runway. He wondered where in Esfaira they were all heading to, and for that matter, what the other countries in Esfaira were even called. It wouldn’t be long before he got his answer though, because as he continued to follow Nario down a nearby tunnel (there were sliding windows in here as well, some even bumped into each other) he soon spotted an enormous map floating in mid-air a few feet away. Quite unlike any world map Michael had ever seen before on Earth this one was actually—well there was no other way to describe it—alive. Everything on the map looked like a high-definition movie, with land masses that rose nearly four feet off the page and oceans that splashed water if you got too close. The waves were so strong in fact that pools of liquid had even begun to form at the map’s base. There were even tiny replica animals Michael had never seen before (up until now he hadn't considered the possibility of wildlife being different in the summoning world) lurking around the map and hunting. Not entirely sure what to make of the exhibition in front of him, Michael stared in awe as the smell of nature and saltwater filled his nostrils.
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“It’s a map of Esfaira...see Avahnair there in the middle?” said Nario, hovering his paw over the largest of the landmasses. As he did, one of the animal models that looked like a bizarre cross between an elephant and a porcupine tried to nip his finger.
“There’s also the Kingdoms of Gennark, Vueece, Zain, Rasenia, Corlaneia, Trantz, Briyant, Laceenah, and Nortragul. And then there’s the Empires of Nartussia, Harinna, and Kitahll.”
Nario pointed out each country as he said its name before turning to Michael and beaming.
“Thirteen Esfarian nations and you will one day be king of the largest of them all!”
Michael said nothing to this. Considering the fact he thought the countries all sounded like the band member names of a really corny pop group, it was hard to take Nario’s enthusiasm seriously. He then thought of something.
“Remember when you said you’ve been watching over me on Earth since I was a baby? How were you doing that? I don’t remember seeing any summoners following me around all these years…”
Nario laughed.
“I’m honored you think that highly of me, but I didn't do anything! It was all handled by the Avahnarian Council of Summoning…they monitored you with great interest. I’m not sure how they did it…it was all top secret, but the summoners that work for the Council are very powerful…you’d be surprised how well they’d be able to disguise themselves in the edoe world.”
Suddenly Michael remembered seeing smiling faces in the mud and gravel from when he was a kid on the playground or reflected in the puddles when it rained really hard. There was also that time his fifth-grade class went on a field trip to the Atlanta Art Museum and he could have sworn the eyes in the portraits were following his every move. Like so many other weird things in his life, he’d never given it much thought.
They soon reached a metal door at the end of the tunnel.
“Alright we’re here,” said Nario, as the door immediately slid open. “Now we can—”
“THERE HE IS!”
“LOOK AT HIS HANDS...IT’S HIM!”
As soon as the door opened, a crowd of about two-hundred people swarmed Michael and Nario like a hive of bees. At least half of the group were adults with triangular devices Michael had never seen before dangling from their necks, while the other half appeared to be made up entirely of teenage girls. There were several flashes of blinding light as the group with the triangular devices pointed them at Michael, and as he tried to shield his eyes he could feel himself being pulled in multiple directions while people screamed in his ear.
“CAN YOU TELL US HOW IT FEELS TO BE BACK HOME YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS?”
“CAN WE GET A PICTURE OF THE MARKINGS?”
“DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENT ON THE EMPEROR OF NARTUSSIA?”
“CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH?”
“GET OFF OF ME!” shouted Michael, as the screaming in his ear became almost deafening. He could feel his bag being ripped from his back, as the horde of people continued to press down on him, and one especially aggressive girl held a pincer-like grip around his neck.
“MARRY ME PRINCE MICHAEL!”
“Prince...Michael...where...are...you?” said Nario’s struggling voice. Although he couldn’t see him, Michael recognized it amidst the madness.
“Nario!” Michael tried to shout, but it was no use, there were too many people. It was becoming harder to breathe, as everyone was lost together in a sea of pandemonium. And then, as though an invisible force were at work, Michael felt himself being slowly lifted into the air. Even the hands that were grabbing every inch of his body slid off. The next thing Michael knew, he was floating high above the madness, right next to a tall skinny man with brown slicked-back hair. The man was pointing his right hand at Michael, and he immediately noticed a casting glove on it.
He must’ve lifted me into the air with a spell.
Meanwhile, the people down below, still fighting and jockeying for position, seemed to have no idea the target of the mayhem wasn’t on the ground with them anymore. The tall man then pointed his casting gloved forefinger at his throat and muttered: “Amplitria” before then saying: “LOOK EVERYONE THE PRINCE IS UP HERE!”
His voice sounded as though he were speaking through a megaphone and it easily cut through the confusion, as every face turned to the ceiling.
“THERE HE IS!”
“What’d you do that for?” barked Michael. And to think, he’d just been about to thank the man for rescuing him.
“You may want to cover your eyes,” the man mumbled.
“Why?”
“Just trust me.”
Michael did as he was told just in time, as the man aimed his gloved hand at the chaos below and yelled: “Oblito!”
He couldn’t tell what’d happened, but the next thing he heard were groans of agony. He opened his eyes to find that the mass of people were all covering their faces.
Michael looked at the man.
“What’d you do to them?”
“Oh just a simple blinding spell, it will wear off in a few minutes. My name is Halleis Dobbins by the way. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Royal Highness.”
The man bowed before turning back to the struggling throng below.
“You okay Nario?”
“How do you know N—?” began Michael, but before he could finish he saw the lion man slowly rise from the mass until he was floating beside them in midair.
“Hello Dobbins,” said Nario, brushing himself off. “Are you alright Prince Michael?”
“Well besides the whole ‘almost getting strangled’ thing I’m fine—but how do you guys know each other?”
“Dobbins here is who we were supposed to be meeting with, before all this craziness started. But we need to get moving before the spell wears off. We can talk more in the nurover.”
Michael had no idea what a “nurover” was, but by this point, he was so used to not understanding what Nario was talking about half the time, he didn’t bother to ask. And so, following Nario and Dobbins as they glided to the floor (he could feel Dobbins’s spell lifting from his body as he did so) the trio made their way past the still-blinded crowd and to the front of the airport. Standing on yet another wide silver platform, Michael saw parked in front of them what looked to be a box-shaped black car—except instead of wheels the vehicle had wings protruding from its sides. There was also a wing sticking out from where the trunk should’ve been, and on the roof of the “car” a purple flag with the letters: “A II R” and the symbol of a crown. The driver’s side door opened, and a summoner dressed in all black stepped out. He bowed to Michael first, then shook Nario and Dobbins’s hands, before opening the rest of the doors with a flick of his casting gloved wrist.
“What is this thing?” said Michael. “It kind of looks like a car...I think.”
“This is what we summoners call a nurover,” said Nario. “It's an edoe vehicle that’s been modified with spirit energy to allow it to fly. We can use this to travel for now. After you, Your Royal Highness.”
Michael got in, and after expecting to see the dashboard of a regular car, he was astonished to find what looked to be the cockpit of a Star Wars battleship, with hundreds of blinking buttons and gadgets, as well as a funky-looking steering wheel shaped like an octagon. Although the nurover may have appeared small on the outside, the interior had been bewitched to resemble a luxury tour bus, so that even someone as large as Nario could comfortably fit inside.
“Whoa!” gasped Michael, taking one of the back seats and stretching out.
“You like that, don’t you?” smiled Nario, as he also got into the back beside Michael and reclined. Dobbins sat up front.
“Okay Jan,” muttered Dobbins to the summoner dressed in black, who sat in the driver’s seat and turned on the nurover. “Her Majesty is waiting. Let’s head out.”
“Yes sir.”
Jan then maneuvered the nurover from the platform, before flying away a few seconds later, just as the airport’s front doors burst open, and a flock of about fifty teenage girls toppled through.
“COME BACK PRINCE MICHAEL! PLEASE DON’T GO! WE LOVE YOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUU!”
“Well, it looks like you're already quite popular,” said Nario wryly, glancing from his window at the quickly disappearing platform.
“Yeah I guess,” said Michael, rubbing his sore neck. “I thought you said my coming back was a secret and only a few people knew I was here?”
“Well yes that’s what I thought,” said Nario, looking rather guilty as he shifted in his seat. “But it appears the news must’ve leaked somehow. I guess we should’ve used the Invisibility bangles after all. Fortunately, Dobbins here was quick on the uptake and airlifted you to safety before casting that blinding spell. When he yelled for everyone’s attention, I recognized his voice, and knew to close my eyes too.”
“Reporters don’t usually make for the best summoners!” quipped Dobbins from the front seat. “And at any rate, they were all too busy trying to take pictures so I knew it would work!”
“Pictures?” said Michael. “Were those triangle things summoner cameras?”
“Oh yes! And those models were some of the best in Esfaira! I suspect those reporters made a lot of money off you today…along with a few overly excited female fans!”
As he continued to massage his neck, Michael examined his bag, which now had a broken strap and a large tear down its side. He hadn’t really considered the fact that being the Crown Prince of Avahnair meant he was going to be very famous in the summoning world. If being famous meant he had to go through this all the time, he wasn’t sure he wanted any part of it. But then again, even Michael had to admit it was nice to have people stare and scream his name because they were star-struck, and not because they thought he was up to no good.
“So where are we going now?”
“To see the Queen of Gennark,” said Nario. “That’s why we met up with Dobbins…he’s her private secretary. The Queen’s been staying in the capital since last night, waiting for your arrival. This is actually one of her personal nurovers. I’m sure you noticed her royal cipher on the flag outside?”
So that’s what that meant, thought Michael, remembering the weird “A II R” emblem. For some reason hearing the word “queen” instantly made him think of the Queen of Hearts character from Alice in Wonderland—along with different variations of: “OFF WITH HIS HEAD!”
Grinning broadly, Dobbins then said:
“Her Majesty is very excited to see you, Your Royal Highness.”
Michael couldn’t say he shared in this excitement.
***
Whether due to Jan’s driving, or the simple fact he was getting used to being airborne, Michael very much preferred this slower method of transportation to Garuda birds. After half an hour, he looked from his window to see they were now flying through a bustling metropolis. It reminded him of pictures he’d seen on the internet about what New York City looked like. There were summoners and summonesses flying this way and that (some were inside of nurovers, others were on Garuda birds, and others flew solo) while buildings that looked straight out of a sci-fi movie scraped the sky. Down below, high-end boutiques displayed expensive merchandise in their windows, and street vendors could be seen haggling prices with impatient customers. To Michael’s right was a colossal billboard featuring a beautiful young summoness, by the name of Dreeiviana Mondé, whom he guessed must be a major celebrity in Avahnair. A small part of him wondered whether she was even more famous than he was.
“This is Collinshale,” said Nario keenly, “the capital city of Avahnair.” He then pointed towards a street as they flew past it. “And further down that way is Clauronite Palace which is where you were born. The palace now serves as the main office for the Avahnarian Council of Summoning.”
Michael was only half listening as they then flew over an archway that read: “CELESTINA MARKET” and he looked down to see a winding cobblestone pathway, surrounded by an array of shops. The market was jam-packed with people scurrying about, and the shops themselves appeared to be selling everything from casting gloves and award-winning books to summoning objects Michael couldn’t believe actually existed. One shop in particular that caught his eye was named: “Skies and Glides,” and it was proudly advertising something called: “Caelum Boots” in the window.
“Celestina Market,” sighed Dobbins, also peering from his window. “Best in Avahnair from what I’ve heard. Wish we had one like it in Gennark.”
“Yeah maybe...” Nario grumbled. “But it always gets so busy this time of year, what with school starting soon. We’ll have to deal with it though—we’re going to be getting your things from there, Your Royal Highness.”
But again Michael was barely paying attention, because he’d just noticed the edge of something white, poking out of the tear in his bag. He tugged on it, and onto his lap fell the box containing the necklace that Paris had given him for his birthday.
“OH NO!”
“What’s wrong?” said Nario and Dobbins in unison. Even Jan stopped the nurover and whipped his head around.
“Paris! I forgot to say goodbye to her before I left!”
Nario and Dobbins glanced at one another and smirked.
“Is she your girlfriend?”
“No! Of course not! She’s just some stupid girl that lives down the street from me!”
Nario and Dobbins continued smiling, and Michael felt his face growing hotter as he opened the box. “She gave me this dumb necklace for my birthday, so I thought the least I could do was tell her goodbye…that’s all!”
“Well I did ask if there was anything else you needed to do before we left,” said Nario as his bottom lip quivered. “But don’t worry, there is a way to contact Earth from Esfaira, and I’ll show it to you after we’ve seen the Queen. That way you can talk to your...GIRLFRIEND!”
Nario and Dobbins erupted into laughter. Even Jan (who up until this point had barely uttered a word the entire flight) tried his hardest to keep a straight face in the driver’s seat.
“SHE’S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!”