Corbeau looked down from the nest at Parasite waving up to him. I hope that shiny helps him survive out here in the forest. He hopped a couple times to get to the edge of his nest and glanced down sideways to watch Parasite pick it up.
With his tiny hands Parasite looked over the shiny. It was small, but metallic and sharp. Searching his memory for the right word for what it is, he finally remembered. It was an arrow head. Not quite a knife, but it was just the right size for him. He could use it to strip bark, trim plants, so much more than he would have been able to just days ago. With this, he began to make a list of what he wanted to work on. A cover for the hollow in the trunk, surely a gift for Corbeau and Manasa, maybe something for him to sit or lay on under the tree.
I never meant to make contact with him, Corbeau thought, but I can’t always keep a raven’s instincts under my control. I’ll just need to ask Schema to help me keep a focus on that one for the time being. Corbeau leaned back in his chair, a rather lanky man with jet black hair, nose a bit sharper than would be expected and piercing eyes hidden by sunglasses so they won’t offend. Using his Super Power Unkindness 7 B, he cast his mind into dozens of ravens connecting to all their thoughts and senses. He saw one swooping down toward a mouse focused on its prey, a handful soaring high showing a dozen different landscapes across the world, the crown of a tree growing ever larger than the trees around it, a tree on the edge of the horizon dwarfing trees and mountains as the raven views from a cliff face, the World Tree.
Unkindness 7 B – Create a telepathic link to a flock of ravens no matter their location in the world. You are able to take in and observe all their senses and memories but cannot compel or take actions on the raven’s behalf. Useful for spying and large area canvassing, but not completely reliable since undirected.
He made note of Parasite’s tree, like a bonsai of the true World Tree as seen by the ravens. He seems to be truly blessed. Probably didn’t even realize what he has started with that tree. Squeezing his eyes shut and stretching his back, he returned to his surroundings and stood up from his chair. Corbeau let out a sigh and after taking a few steps toward the door, he stepped out onto a balcony. He was at the top of a tower almost like a ranger station, but he called it his aviary. Sprawling below him was the city of Bastion known as the Crawling Citadel.
Bastion: The Crawling Citadel was home to upward of 1 million people and one of the largest trading and entertainment hubs of the world. Somewhere between a fortress and a big top circus, the city crawled across the surface of the world. Leading Bastion, seemingly Captain, Navigator and Governor of the city was Astrolabe. He was both confident and eccentric but loved by city. Frequently seen relaxing on rooftops at night and gazing at the stars he would redirect the city as if it was on a whim. Only those close to him knew he not only used the stars to help navigate, but he could use them to forecast the future. Under Astrolabe’s command, Bastion was always on its way to or exactly where it needed to be
Looking up, Corbeau noticed Astrolabe atop the main tower of the perimeter wall looking as aloof as always but charismatically directing the citadel into a new direction. Leaning on the railing, Corbeau closed his eyes for a second and reached out to a flock in the direction they were now moving. He couldn’t find any close landmark for where they were heading, but had grown to trust Astrolabe to lead his roaming mobile home… nest?
Striding over to the other corner of his balcony, he stretched out in a lounge chair taking in the sun. Peering over the rim of his sunglasses, Going West, Corbeau thought before sliding his sunglasses back up, shutting his eyes and using another power of his, Commandeer 11 A.
Commandeer 11 A – Take full control of a raven. You are recognized by the raven as the leader of its flock and trusted whole heartedly. As long as the raven allows, you can use the raven’s body as an extension of yourself. Be aware that the raven is aware of all actions and surroundings while under your control.
He reaches out to a specific raven hidden deep in the chambers of his organization. Corbeau opens the eyes of the raven. Looking around, he is on a perch in a comfortable room. It looked like a common room. Comfortable couches, a small kitchenette, copious amounts of coffee. Looking down, he saw some cheeky crackers left for the raven. He couldn’t see any other members of the organization though. “Schema!” he squawked taking flight and circling the room for a better view. Scanning from above, there was no one. “Schema!” Corbeau called out one more time. No response.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Taking matters into his own… talons? … he perched on a nearby door handle and began to hop up and down on it. Trying to trip the door latch, he pecked at the door jam too. Just as he feels like he is making progress, the door gets ripped open and he loses his footing on the handle. He dropped down and swooped into the new room. “Corbeau! You know aren’t allowed in here anymore.” Circling the ceiling of the new room, Corbeau looked down to see the pinkest bedroom you could imagine. On the far wall he saw what looked like a spiderweb of nodes. Some bigger than others, but the scale was just massive and appeared to go past the edges of the room. “Schema! Schema! Schema!”
Looking pleased with himself, Corbeau hopped on the bed’s headboard a couple times triumphantly before he perched on one of the bed posts. Tilting his head with one more squawk, he took in the image of Schema. A petite woman with pink fuzzy slippers, some of the most comfortable pajamas and thin framed glasses with a slight rose hue that seemed to flicker across the glass rapidly. Tilting his head the other way, he saw nodes on the far wall flickering in time with the glasses as nodes disappeared and new ones formed along with connections added and severed. Then he could see some pulses between nodes as they changed size. Corbeau always marveled at the speed Schema could organize, categorize and discover connections between knowledge.
Staring down at the raven of Corbeau, Schema sternly told him to “Get out.”
Corbeau just tilted his head back at Schema then crowed “Schema, Parasite, Schema, Look!”
Schema just sighed and said, “Fine, but we are going over to your room for this, you aren’t allowed in here anymore. Not since I caught you peeping through the raven when I thought I was alone. You had to know that I would catch you next time I used Stargaze.” Corbeau puffed up and let out a catcall whistle to Schema while he tried to suggestively wobble his head due to lack of eyebrows as a raven. Then he took off and left another trailing whistle as he crossed the bedroom and common room to hop up and down on another handle diagonally across the room as he watched her slowly cross the room.
She opened Corbeau’s bedroom door and he flew in finding one of the few perches dotted around the room. Although the rooms were hidden away with no windows to be seen, Corbeau’s room was quite refreshing and reminded him of a small lodge deep in a forest. Rich wood grains were everywhere with earthy scents pine, sandalwood, cedar, permeating the room. Shafts of light spotted the room as though they were sunrays breaking through some invisible canopy. Schema pulled out the chair at his desk and gestured for him to come over. “Now what did you want to tell me so urgently? Who is Parasite?” Schema used her Super Power Stargaze on Corbeau’s raven.
Stargaze 19 C – While maintaining eye-contact, view or create an exact copy of the target’s mind. The knowledge of the mind can be examined and filtered, but any actions do not affect the target’s original mind.
The only downside to using Stargaze with Corbeau through a raven was there is less mind to work with. It was no offence to Corbeau, but she could only view the past couple months of his mind this way. Everything else became a bit hazy and wasn’t worth trying to decipher. Scanning through his mind, she started bringing up memories relating to Parasite and making connections between them. She saw an aerial view of a tree’s canopy begin spreading over the trees below it. A small baby climbing out of the tree’s hollow. The child’s body grew and shrank as the foliage around him wilted and bloomed. He was bitten by a snake and not only befriended it but created a new plant species from the encounter. He healed Corbeau’s raven and brokered a friendship between the snake and raven. He called the raven Corbeau.
Parasite knows the raven as Corbeau?
Schema dug deeper into the memories. Parasite had some form of touch telepathy and could feel the surface level thoughts and emotions of who he was in contact with. When he healed Corbeau’s raven, he glimpsed Corbeau inside him and thought he was the raven. So, he made contact when the whole objective of the Collective was to only observe the world collecting information without interfering. Schema frowned and unconsciously began petting the raven. I’ll have to escalate this see what can be done for damage control. Scanning ahead to see Corbeau’s reaction to being found, she saw him fly off and drop one of his “shinies” to Parasite in the form of an arrowhead before removing his presence from the raven to come report in.
Another catcall whistle pulled Schema back from her… Corbeau’s thoughts. She looked down and realized she had been petting the raven Corbeau was still Commandeering. She quickly pulled her hand away and lightly blushed. Why does he have to share all senses too when he uses that Super Power? Regaining her composure, she looked at Corbeau with a stern face.
“So, Parasite knows your raven as Corbeau? Unfortunately I will have to escalate this and see what we need to do going forward. For now, I would say just keep observing, but don’t interact with him until we hear back. That tree looks like something really special and his powers seem just as intriguing. Keep an eye on this raven with your Unkindness and check back in with me tomorrow when you see me in the common room. Parasite seemed isolated enough that there should only be limited repercussions. What made me wonder about him the most was his surprising level of cognition at such a young age and why did he get left alone?”
Corbeau let out a coo and lowered his head. He slowly waddled to the edge of the desk then glided to the ground. Landing close to the door he looked to Schema and pecked at it. Turning back, he tilted his head giving her another look before gently giving the door one more peck. Schema smiled kindly at him and came over to open the door. He flew out and perched in the common room again letting out another soft coo. She gently closed the door before walking back over to Corbeau. She gently patted him on the head and said “Don’t worry too much. I’m sure we’ll figure something out. Just keep an eye on him, yeah?” The raven looked up at Schema and rubbed its beak against her hand before tucking his head under a wing to let her know Corbeau was leaving the raven’s body.
Back in Bastion, Corbeau opened his eyes back up while lounging on the balcony. He watched a couple of his ravens lazily circling the sky above the city. “I hope you’re right Schema.” He said as he let his thoughts wander to that boy almost just one year old and his tree. “Such a caring soul in such an unforgiving place.”