Nothing. I felt absolutely nothing. That was not new, but it was still frustrating. No mana, nor any other ethereal force. I had considered if this was some kind of Xianxia world and I had to cultivate some kind of heavenly energy, but even meditating for a whole day and night: Nothing.
So I decided to stop trying. I was just over six weeks old after all, no need to rush it. I would get stronger just by waiting in the safety of my nest. Could a cave be called a nest? It was a bird home, so I decided it was fine.
Another morning had come and passed. It had to be sometime around noon, going by my internal clock. And I was wide awake. You would think nocturnal animals would sleep during the day, but owls were not just nocturnal. They would hunt primarily in the night and around dusk and dawn to make use of their superior senses, but that did not mean they were asleep all day long. Especially a young energetic bird that had meditated for a whole night.
And so I tried to find something to do. Of which there was only one thing. Look outside. But I was scared. Feathered Wyverns had not appeared again, so it seemed they were a rare species. But maybe our nest was well hidden in the mountainside and most of them just did not find us. There could also be other predators out there. If wyverns existed, why not dragons? Or supersized eagles? Or giant snakes that could swallow me whole? Granted, we were so high up I did not expect a snake to make its way to us, but how could I know?
Superstition. I think that was what I felt. Not knowing is almost always scarier than knowing. So I gathered my courage and decided to take a peek. Mother would stop me anyway. She never let one of us chicks past her onto our little balcony.
Slowly I edged forward. Step by step, keeping a wary eye on the sky beyond mother’s watchful form. When I came close to her, she looked at me for a moment. And then she looked back outside. No shoving me back? Not even an outstretched wing to stop me from going forward. Or a staredown to hold me back.
Was I allowed to go forward? I was uncertain. But I kept creeping forward. Slowly closing up to the side of my mother. My eyes going back and forth between the sky, the outcropping and mother. As I reached her side, she moved and I froze immediately. But she just lowered her head and started preening me. After a few moments, she was satisfied and went back to watching the outside. And I, for the first time in my new life, saw the new world.
It was a breathtaking view. We were up on a mountainside, somewhere on the lower half judging by the size of the mountain to the right of my view. In front, a steep rocky slope dropped for a bit before levelling slightly and turning into a hilly forest of hardy conifers. Here and there small openings could be seen in the treetops, sometimes giving a glint of water. To the left, which would be north going by the position of the sun, the trees cut off soon and turned into a hilly landscape of plains and fields.
Yes, fields. It looked like there were humans near. Or possibly other civilized races. Though I could only make out a few plumes of smoke at the edge of the forest. Maybe there was a village there? To the east, our neighbouring mountain extended high into the sky. It was not high enough to be topped with snow, but it looked huge to me. Behind I could make out a few more peaks of similar height.
Our nest seemed to be at the edge of a larger mountain range. Right where it tapered off into a hilly forest. Said forest extended straight forward in front of me without any discernible end. Always rising and falling with the smaller hills sitting next to larger mountains. The plains to the north did not extend nearly as far, seemingly caged in by the trees a good distance away.
Next, I looked up. Our mountain extended a good way above our home. Here and there I made out a few small movements. Some birds nesting in the safety of height. With food aplenty in the forest just below this was a paradise for raising young. And on a small pillar of stone up almost all the way to the peak father sat. He sat and watched. Rested as well, I assumed, but I saw his head turn now and then. I was amazed at how well I could make out the distinctive colour of his feathers over a distance this far. Going by the trees in the forest below, this mountain was at least 300 meters tall and father sat at least half that above us.
I also noticed there only being small birds nesting above and even some below us. Even on the opposite mountain. This was our territory. Or rather, my parents' territory. There would be no monsters big enough to compete with them anywhere nearby. And they would not have chosen a spot close to something they could not fend off. I was relieved. My parents may not have been sapient, but they had good instincts. They chose a spot as safe as possible for rearing their chicks.
I looked back at mother. She was watching the forest below with half-closed eyes. She probably was tired. With a soft hoot, I sidled up to her and groomed her chest feathers. She answered by taking care of my head and back again before turning back to her half-sleeping watch. I was apparently allowed outside now. And that was the happiest moment yet in my life. My first step towards freedom. And my first triumph over my own fears.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
My second triumph would come sooner than I expected.
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Two weeks later my status had once again changed significantly:
Species: Great Eagle Owl (fledgeling)
Age: 0
Name: -
Gender: female
Status: sapient, healthy
Level: 2
Class: -
Strength: 8
Constitution: 8
Dexterity: 11
Perception: 12
Intelligence: 13
Wisdom: 8
AP: 0
Skills: [Owl Senses lvl 2], [Preening lvl 3], [Owl Stomach lvl 3], [Solid Grip lvl 1], [Soundless Flight lvl 1], [Intimidating Screech lvl 1], [Maths lvl 4], [Identify lvl 1]
My stats went up by a bit and I got a level in [Owl Senses], but the primary change was that I turned into a fledgeling. And I unlocked [Soundless Flight]. It was still level one, but it was there. It told me in no uncertain terms I would be able to fly now. And of course, I was nervous. Okay, I was really scared, to be honest. While I knew the experience of flying from the time in the nothing after my death, there was a significant difference between then and now. Two differences actually. First, I had thought it was a dream back then. I still thought that first experience was not actually real, I went from fully grown to chick in an egg within one moment after all. Second, and more importantly, there was now something called ground I would smack on if I crashed. Or the mountainside I could fly into. Or a tree might get in the way. Or another bird. Short: I was scared of obstacles.
I still had to fly though. I was an owl now, if I was unable to fly, hunting suddenly was much more difficult. And difficult hunting meant no food, which meant death. I did not want to die, again, so I decided to gather my courage. I flapped my wings experimentally. I knew how they would move inside out. They were basically my arms now, so I used them to shove around my siblings or hide my food from them. But I was not sure how they would move while flying.
Standing on our little balcony I looked down and maybe whimpered a little. I forgot quickly because someone gave me a shove. And I dropped. Screeching. Right, wings. I stopped screeching and spread my wings and suddenly with a sharp tug on my shoulders I levelled out and stopped falling. I did it! I was flying! Gliding for now, but that could be easily changed. First things first though, turning. Because I was only slightly above the trees and rapidly approaching a hill where some of their tips would rapidly end my newfound freedom.
Luckily turning was easy. It came with my instincts to slightly shift my wings and I turned to the side. Next, I flapped a few times and gained some height. Huh, could have just done that from the beginning to dodge the treetops.
Flapping relentlessly I gained a good bit of height before turning around towards our mountain. Except I had no idea which mountain was ours. I was still slightly below their peaks but I had also gained a good bit of distance. There were a lot of mountains in front of me and I had never seen my home from the outside. But I had very good eyes.
Silently gliding closer I could soon make out mother sitting on our outcropping. My siblings right behind her, watching me attentively. But there were only two of them. Scanning the air I found another young owl flying a gentle curve across the treetops. Probably number two, my older younger brother. Or sister? I never paid attention. Should my instincts not tell me?
Just as I looked back to our home I saw mother shove off number three. Wings spread and after a bit of flapping only our youngest sibling was still on the ground. Though not for long, because he practically threw himself off the cliff. Why were we all taking our first flight together? I thought they would still have a few days before becoming fledglings? I never used [Identify] on them because I was scared of their reaction in such a cramped space. But number four is a whole week younger than me.
[Identify]
Species: Great Eagle Owl (juvenile)
So, they could fly as juvenile owls? How? Their [Soundless Flight] should still be locked. And I did not hear a sound from them, at least when they were gliding. Did I not need the skill to fly? Could I have felt this wonderful freedom a week earlier? This feels like so much wasted time.
Number four had definitely noticed my [Identify] though. I knew because there was a screech and a lot of flapping while the little guy tried to get close to me. He seemed really angry, but he was too small. My wings were just that little bit bigger and I was able to gain air much faster.
Meanwhile, mother had taken off as well and she put a quick end to our little game, flying right over four’s head as he tried to gain on me. I chittered a little and let myself slowly glide back down.
Father had also joined us, though I was confused where he came from and he made four and two follow him. Mother meanwhile made sure to get three’s and my attention. Maybe we were the girls and they were the boys? I was not sure. What I did know was mother had a plan for us.