Sounds like there must be a serious problem on my status, like, something really, really bad. Is it an illness? a sickness? a disability? or even some type of ancient curse? A status is supposed to be my whole being right? Even the bad things should be in there, but whose to say? I certainly can't understand them, only Bartlon can. But, the only thing I do know for SURE, is that in the short time that I've been rowing with Bartlon, he has never once stopped grinning form ear to ear for any longer than 5 seconds.
And it's now been 6 seconds.
He's been looking at the clouds with wide eyes and tight wrinkles, lost in thought. Even his hands, which are usually moving erratically as if they had minds of their own, are locked in place, his left hand cradling his right elbow, and his right hand thoughtfully rubbing his chin.
"A pheonix..." he thinks out loud, followed by another pause.
A pheonix? is that what the squiggle says? He never finished translating it for me, kinda gave up after reaching 'species' and left me to worry by myself. Not the behavior of a proper gentleman!
"Can you please finish explaining this?" I ask, although more of a polite demand than a question, and a little bit annoyed. It's not like the squiggles will suddenly make sense if I keep looking at them! I need him to interpret!
Bartlon jolts out of his stupor with a startled 'gah' as he hears me, like I had snuck up on him in the middle of the night and BOO'd him from behind a tree. Had he completely forgotten that I was here? I wouldn't be surprised! And if the apologetic look in his brown eyes was any indication, he had.
"Ahhh, sorry, I was just thinking... something that takes longer at my age" he says with a quick grin before continuing "To discover that my first ever passenger is a pheonix!" he cheers, arms raised to the skies "I still don't believe it!.... well, actually... that does answer a lot of questions about you, maybe I can believe it? I should believe it!".
I'm glad to his his hands back in action after so long.
So I am a pheonix? Its not a illness or curse, but who I am? I still don't fully understand it, but Bartlon seems happy, so it's probably a good thing right?
"I don't know what a pheonix is" I state blatantly "and I still don't know what the rest of these squigglies mean too!" I grump, somewhat aggressively reminding him of my issue.
Bartlon chuckles at my frustration. "It's you, you are a pheonix!' he says pointing at the squiggle with gusto, "They are legendary birds, known for their insane magical strength and immortality that even the gods envy!" his voice crescending with every word until he's short of breathe "These creatures are on par with true blooded dragons in terms of their power to raze cities and cripple kingdoms! Though they rarely appear or attack, to even sight one in passing is said to bring a blessing of great fortune for many years! But, to fend off such a living calamity would require 2, nay, at least 3 well prepared heroes!". At this point, he's panting from exertion, yet he still finds the lung capacity to squeeze out one last sentence. "And I'm sitting right next to one! In my boat! Helping her cross a lake no less!"
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
A brief silence lingers.
He takes a second to swallow his saliva and steady his breathing from the exhausting rant. I too, take a moment to recover from seeing him so riled up, it's a huge amount of information to process, but I feel a strange emotion bubbling in my belly, it feels good. Something like inspiration?
"I've only heard a few stories from when I used to be an adventurer" Bartlon resumes after calming himself "So forgive me for getting so excited, I haven't shown that much energy in years" he sighs with an embarrassed smile. He then starts reminiscing to whatever being an 'adventurer' was, smiling fondly.
So this is the problem he was thinking about? I don't see why he's so concerned about me being a pheonix! It sounds like an amazing thing! Will I grow up to be strong and powerful like how he said? Will I be respected as much as the pheonixs' that Bartlon admires? Also! More importantly! He forgot to explain the rest of the squigglies again! For chirping out loud!
"Oi!" I snap at the dazed Bartlon.
I hop over to my status, use a talon to point at the unmentioned squiggles and shoot Bartlon a cross look. I wonder how he's going to get distracted this time? But, he gets the message. I think he gained a new respect for my authority somewhere in the last few seconds.
"Right, sorry, if I were to guess, I think that Bellows, your seconds skill here" he says while tapping the 'Bellows' squiggle "this is what allows you to talk to me. The rest is...well... this one says Cinders, so probably a fire spell, this says Mythical, not sure what it does, Fire to Fire, more fire things I guess, Profound Fire Affinity, I actually know this one, if I remember correctly, its your ability to manipulate fire among other fiery... things, I've met a few mages with it" he pauses as he muses over the last squiggle.
"The last trait is distorted and jumbled, I can't read it, definitely not something I've seen before. Might be a special trait for a pheonix? No clue whatsoever. That's everything. Is there anything else you want me to read?" he asks with earnest attention.
He got Bellows wrong, but WOW! What a complete attitude reversal! The moment he finished his long list of praises for pheonix kind, he became vastly more obedient! Are pheonixs' really that scary to change him so much?! Or maybe its more of a 'starstruck' obedience? Either way.
I like it.
"No thank you Bartlon! I should be able to understand my status all by myself now! But if anything new appears, I might need you to translate again! Although maybe you can teach me how to understand the squiggles without your help? That would be way more convenient" I happily chirp.
"Teaching you to read would be... not suited for me, I'm not much of a teacher" Bartlon replies a little disheartened "though I'd be delighted to read it for you again if you need me to".
Bartlon twists around to get a view of the blue tree, probably to redirect our course. It's not really necessary as we're basically there, he's been rowing like a champion! For an old man he's super fit! I wouldn't be able to row like him!
Or row at all.
Wait a minute. Hang on a second. I can't row can I? I wouldn't be able to row this boat! So if Bartlon wasn't there in the morning, I wouldn't be where I am now. Oh my gosh, I can't believe I never took that into consideration!! How I was I so silly?!
"Oh, and as a precaution, you shouldn't show your status to anyone else, or talk to anyone else for that matter, unless you can absolutely trust them! Most humans won't hesitate to harm you if they learn about your legendary heritage, unfortunate, but the truth" he warns, twisting back to me with an expression that could only be described as 'dead serious'.
"There will most likely be one or two people on Harou's Tree collecting sap like myself. I don't know what you're going to do there, but you shouldn't raise their attention. Most likely, they won't be combat ready, but still, you're only level 4, you won't survive, and if you do, you will be hunted relentlessly. Not a joke".
What? Hunted relentlessly? Who is this person? This isn't the same ever-smiling Bartlon I was talking to earlier. Are the other members of his own race so despicable as to make him this serious?
Then, as if the uneasy atmosphere never existed, Bartlon's same old happy energy returns and he announces some great news.
"We'll be there in 5 minutes, so get ready!" he trumpets, redoubling his rowing efforts with powerful, long strokes.
I whistle in acknowledgement and squeeze myself past Bartlon to take my position on the small row boat's bow like a glorified figure head. The pure air helps distract me from Bartlon's warning as it rushes by. I bet flying freely by myself would feel even better. This little lake-fare has been pretty stressful, it will be nice to stretch my wings and clear my head on the land.
I hope I don't regret coming to this tree.