Adamagika: The Spirit Within - 24. Ch 24: Saphiron

CHAPTER 24: Saphiron

“I’m glad you guys could make it,” Brian said as soon as we were within earshot. He seemed almost worried that we wouldn’t show up.

“It’s not like we had anything better to do really,” Jacob replied. Brian looked over at Jacob as though to check if he meant anything by it. Jacob and I had spoken the night before and I finally managed to convince him to be nice to Brian. I knew deep down he understood that my injury wasn’t Brian’s fault.

Besides, my little injury let us have a little fun with the floating stretcher which we didn’t return until late into the night. We spent a good time riding it around like a flying carpet (except of course it didn’t go higher than four feet from the ground) but we did find creative ways to use it. By the time we got back to the room, the pain in my chest had subsided and we were once again in high spirits.

“Now, what’s all this mystery about?” I asked. We were standing outside the armory as we had agreed the day before.

“It will be worth it. Trust me,” he said with a smile as he turned from Jacob to me. Something about the way he said it made me want to do just that. “Come on,” he said as he led us not into the armory but around it to another side which I didn’t frequent. He brought us to what looked like the north eastern side of the armory. This section of the tower extended into a massive square building several stories high. From this side of the armory, the structure looked remarkably like one of those chess pieces they used to have in the old times except of course that it was several million times bigger.

As we came closer to the entrance of the large square structure, I noticed another figure approaching the building. She must have come from the Mage Quarters from the direction she came from.

“Hey, what are you doing here so early, Brian? I didn’t think you had any scheduled flights today.” It was a slim, brown haired girl that looked a few years older than Brian. Then again Brian had a deceptively young face and physique so it wouldn’t be too unlikely that they would be the same age.

“I don’t,” Brian responded coolly as we met up with the unknown girl. “I’m just showing our new recruits around.”

The girl looked me up and down as though she was appraising me. She then raised an eyebrow and that one gesture told me who the girl was.

“So you’re the famous Adam I’ve been hearing about,” the girl said with a slight hint of amusement.

“And you must be Brian’s sister,” I said taking a stab at the dark. I must have been correct because the three people around me suddenly had surprised looks on their faces.

The girl turned towards Brian and punched him not-so-lightly.

“Ow! What was that for?” he protested.

“Been talking about me in your squad, huh?” the girl stated somewhat menacingly. There was no mistaking though that a small smile was breaking through her lips.

“Not me,” he said as he rubbed the spot where the punch landed. He glanced over at me. “I haven’t been speaking to anyone about you, I swear.”

I gave the new girl a friendly smile. “I’m sorry. It’s just that when you looked at me I couldn’t help notice that you were observing me exactly like Lady Helena did. Then I saw the resemblance between you and her and then between you and Brian. I knew immediately that you two must have been related.”

She then proceeded to punch my arm in a definitely not-so-light way.

“Ow! What was that for?” I asked as I similarly rubbed the spot.

“For being too smart for your own good!” she declared triumphantly. “But you’re right. He is my brother, my twin brother actually. It’s a burden I must carry,” the girl said as she seemed to beg the heavens as though asking why. I smiled because that was exactly how Lady Helena behaved a few days ago.

“Aww, you’re just jealous cause I’m the more attractive one between the two of us,” Brian said cheekily. This earned him another punch in the shoulders that I knew without a doubt must have hurt.

“Watch it you punk before I put you in your place,” she said.

“What’s a punk?” Jacob asked as though trying to get himself included in the conversation.

“Oh… This is Jacob by the way,” I indicated with my hand which I realized was entirely unnecessary.

“And I am Brianna,” the girl said as she offered her hand for a handshake, “but you can call me Rye.”

“Brianna?” I asked with a questioning look towards Brian. He seemed to turn a shade or two redder as my smile got wider.

“Our mom wasn’t very creative when we were born,” he offered. “I guess having similar names is the easy thing to do for twins. You can easily tell though where all the good looks went.” He then followed this statement with several steps away from his sister.

“And we all know where the brains went,” Brianna or rather Rye said without making any move to swat her brother.

“Aha!” Brian declared with a satisfied smile. “So you admit that I’m the better looking one between us.”

She rolled her eyes theatrically. “See what I have to deal with every day at home? He’s not any different there. Anyway, I’d love to chat with you and all but I do have work to do.”

She started walking towards the entrance and the three of us followed. “You’re not going to take them on a joyride are you, Bri?” she asked with a slightly concerned tone and without looking back towards us.

“Nah,” he said. “They’d probably get their heads knocked off before they even got off the ground. I don’t want to have to clean up the mess,” he added nonchalantly.

She nodded as though they were talking casually about the weather. “Well, if you need anything, you’ll know where to find me.”

We had reached the double doors of the armory and I noticed that these ones didn’t have handles. I wondered if we were supposed to push them open.

Rye stood before the door and waved her hand in an elaborate pattern that looked like a large sphere with unusual cursives in the middle. I heard a click from the other side of the door but rather than swing open, the door dissolved into sand and swirled against the surrounding walls. It looked like someone plastered the desert around us.

“Now, you three be careful,” she said.

Brian rolled his eyes the same way Rye had earlier. “Yes, mom.” He didn’t react fast enough as the punch came hurtling towards his arm. He yelped at the pain.

“I’ll be watching you,” she said as she pointed a finger towards Brian and looked with one eye closed. She then looked over at me for a moment again with that appraising look. But before I could think more of it, she turned around in a flurry of brown hair and walked deeper into the hallway that turned left. “Nice to meet you boys,” she yelled over her head.

“She’s a bit unusual,” Jacob said as the three of us started walking towards a different hallway that led to the right.

“She’s a bit tough,” Brian offered as he once again rubbed his arm as though remembering the punches earlier. “She has to be if she wants to be here, especially because of our mom.”

We turned towards a staircase and started making our way up.

“Must be tough having a mom like that,” Jacob said wistfully. I looked over at him and wondered if perhaps he had another meaning in mind.

“It is,” Brian said without noticing anything out of the ordinary in what Jacob said. “But Rye’s a real softy if she likes you and I think she already likes you two.”

“What gave you that idea?” I asked remembering the way she had punched me earlier.

“She punched you didn’t she? She only punches people if she really likes them or really hates them.”

I hoped that it wasn’t the latter.

“Besides, she doesn’t like stupid people or at least smart people acting stupid. And you must have impressed her with your keen sense of observation. Only I can get away with playing stupid around her and even when I do, it earns me a few bruises along the way. I’m glad I’ve learned a few life spells to keep them from bruising too long.”

Finally we reached the very top of the stairs which led to a dirty looking set of double doors. Before I could ask Brian anything else, he threw the doors open by their handles and I felt my jaws fall to the floor.

Brian turned towards us with a grin. “This is what all the mystery has been about.”

Before us were several rows of large compartments each the size of a small room. There were maybe over thirty compartments in the two story room. There were probably just as many if not more compartments at the two hallways at the opposite side of the room. The compartments were filled with piles of straw on the floor and the walls around were carved in elaborate patterns that reminded me of clouds. The designs were littered with small crystals that seemed to reflect light coming from the different holes in the wall. The room was glowing with a brightness that made me think of a miniature sun.

The most interesting thing though was not so much the compartments around us but what was sitting right in the middle of nearly each and every compartment.

Jacob and I were speechless as we walked through the first few sections. Jacob was the first one to recover his voice.

“What are they?” he asked.

“These,” Brian gestured towards the room at large, “are what make the Aerophalanxes famous in the world of mages. They are called gryphons. They were first used during the Demon Wars and continue to be part of the Aerophalanx Code of Combat. There are currently almost four hundred gryphons being housed in Arantiva. This place where they live is more popularly known as the aviary.”

Brian stopped at one of the compartments. The gryphon lazily turned its head towards Brian and let it pat its beak. It seemed to derive pleasure from the gentle touch. “This is Annabel” Brian said. “She’s the gryphon I am bonded closest to and we’ve been training together for a few years now.”

“Bonded?” I asked.

“Yes,” Brian said as he proceeded to feed Annabel a treat he pulled out of his pocket. It resembled something like a dead rat. “An Aerophalanx, once properly trained, is given the chance to bond with a gryphon of his choice. Gryphons are amazing and remarkably intelligent creatures. They are capable of rational thought similar to human beings and it is believed though not proven that they are able to communicate with one another through their own unique language.”

Annabel then released a mighty cry that sounded half-roar and half-squawk. The gryphons around her replied with similar sounds.

Brian turned towards us with a smile. “Have I mentioned that they are remarkably intelligent?”

We watched as Brian fed Annabel another rat.

“Would you like to touch her, Adam?”

I nodded.

“Alright, come here” Brian said. He took my hand in his and pulled me closer. I was unsure if I should let go given that Jacob was so close but Jacob seemed too mesmerized by Annabel to notice where my hand was.

Brian turned towards Annabel, placed his head against her beak, and closed his eyes. The beak looked large and sharp enough to cleanly sever Brian’s head off. “Anny, this is Adam. He’s a special friend and he’d like to touch you if you’ll let him.”

When he referred to me as his special friend, I felt goosebumps course through my hand which he was holding. I bounced somewhat restlessly in place.

Brian opened his eyes and pulled away from the gryphon. They looked at each other for a moment. Or so it looked anyway before Annabel gave something that looked amazingly like a nod.

Brian smiled and raised his hand while still holding mine. With my hand within his, he pulled it towards the gryphon and placed it carefully over Annabel’s beak. Soon my hand was sandwiched between his hand and the hard gryphon beak.

“She likes you,” Brian said before taking his hand off mine. “Don’t be shy now. She won’t bite. Much.”

I moved closer tentatively as I patted her in the same way Brian had earlier. She looked like she was enjoying it in the same way.

“That is so cool,” Jacob declared behind me and I agreed. I have, of course, read about gryphons and even seen them a few times flying around the city but I never gave it a thought that I would ever see one this close.

Annabel was huge. She had four feet that ended with clawed paws that looked sharp enough to slice through armor. Her legs and torso were muscular and reminded me of the awesome great lions I’ve read about in the southern forests – except of course that her head looked more like that of a large peacock. The large feathery wings didn’t help much either in the similarities department. And perhaps the fact that her feathers glinted with some kind of shiny and reflective silver substance that made her look like an armored eagle. I had no doubts though that it was her natural hide.

Ok, fine, she looked nothing like a lion. She was still awesome.

“Can I touch it?” Jacob asked eagerly.

Annabel squawked and extended her neck upwards. I stepped back quickly.

“Her, Jacob. She doesn’t like it when people call her it,” Brian said as he began patting her again.

“You mean she can understand us? She speaks our language?”

Brian smiled. “Yes and no. Gryphons are highly magical creatures of telepathy. Without understanding the words, they can understand exactly what we are trying to say. That is why mind magic is one of the critical areas that Aerophalanxes must be good at. In a fight, a gryphon and his rider,” Annabel roared, “sorry, his or her rider can commune with mere thought. The stronger the bonding, the more accurate the communication can get. It’s critical for fights where every second counts.”

“But… if gryphons were so smart, how come they let themselves be locked up in here,” Jacob asked.

At this, all the surrounding gryphons in the area roared and reared themselves unto their legs. Each moved out of their stalls and turned their heads towards us. They were all looking at Jacob.

“I said something bad, didn’t I?” Jacob asked softly.

Brian nodded morosely but a small smile was breaking into his lips. “I heard you have quite a talent at reading, Adam. Maybe you can explain?”

I knew the answer of course and might have warned Jacob earlier had I known what this meeting was about. “Well, during the Demon Wars, the Gryphon Kingdom in the west was ravaged by the demons. Gryphons have tough hides that are resistant to magic and could live to hundreds of years but even they were eventually overrun by the demon hordes. As the war escalated, the Gryphon King flew to the east with all the gryphon survivors to seek the aid of mages. Mage Lord Arantius was the one who communed with the Gryphon King back then and together they formed an Alliance to fight the demons.

“Many of the mages flew into battle. I didn’t know about the whole bonding thing though. But it was written that the gryphons performed majestically with the mages and through their combined efforts, they managed to punch a hole through the demon defenses. Mages were only able to reach Demon Warlord Shekkek through the help of the gryphons who flew them over enemy lines. The Gryphon King saw the noble sacrifice that Arantius and his followers did. Nobility is a huge thing among gryphons and on that day the Gryphon King swore that his descendants will fight side by side with mages for as long as we accept their help. The Gryphon King returned to their kingdom after demons dispersed at the end of the war. Ever since then, gryphons have been sent to Arantiva not as servants but as allies as they were always meant to be.”

The gryphons around us roared their strongest and longest cries yet before they each turned and returned into their individual compartments.

Brian was looking at me almost with pride. His eyes were sparkling and looked almost… wistful.

“Remind me never to cross a gryphon,” I told him with a laugh. I then turned to Jacob but he didn’t seem to be paying any attention to me. Before I could say anything else Jacob walked towards the end of one of the long hallways.

“Jacob?” Brian asked uncertainly as Jacob was slowly increasing the distance between us. Brian looked at me questioningly and I just shrugged. We both started walking towards the direction he was walking.

Jacob stopped in front of one of the stalls and looked at the gryphon seated there. The gryphon seated there looked more ancient than Annabel and had what looked like scars across his hide. Ugly gashed crisscrossed the gryphon’s hide and silvery feathers no longer grew in those patches. It… I mean he or she was watching Jacob curiously.

“That is Saphiron,” Brian said gesturing towards the gryphon. “He’s one of the oldest gryphons here. But, no one’s been able to ride him. He hasn’t been out of this building in maybe sixty years. He’s known to have bitten off the hand of other mages that have tried to bond with him. We can’t send him back though. We never reject a gryphon sent here by the Gryphon King so we’ve just been taking care of him.” Brian paused and looked curiously at Jacob. “I’m sure he will fly again one day though.”

“Why does he have all those scars?” I whispered not sure if Saphiron would take offense at my question. I was happy with all my limbs, thank you very much.

“The takers say those are his scars from the Demon Wars,” Brian said as he looked towards the different wounds. “Perhaps among all the gryphons here, Saphiron has seen the most combat though none under our hands.”

“What are takers?” I asked.

Brian turned towards me and replied, “caretakers basically but we call them takers for short. They’re the ones that see to it that the gryphons are well cared for.”

Jacob moved. I watched as Jacob slowly moved towards the Saphiron with an outstretched hand.

Brian only had enough time to yell “Jacob, no!” before Jacob’s hand was on Saphiron’s beak.

The gryphon didn’t seem to be enjoying Jacob’s touch like Annabel did. Saphiron’s stormy blue eyes were watching Jacob intently. A minute must have passed with no movement in the room other than Jacob’s constant patting. Even the other gryphons seemed still.

Finally, Saphiron half closed his eyes and melted into Jacob’s gentle hand. It wasn’t a look of enjoyment though. It seemed to look more like relief to me.

“It can’t be…” Brian said in a soft whisper. I had no doubts on what was at that moment shocking Brian. But as I turned towards him, I immediately I noticed that he wasn’t even watching Jacob. Instead he was looking intently at me.

“What?” I asked uncertainly.

“It’s you,” he whispered.

“What?”

“What?”

We stared at each other. Jacob by this time was looking curiously at Brian. Even Saphiron’s attentions seemed to be focused on the flustered looking Squad Leader.

As I looked into Brian’s eyes, it felt like he had suddenly become terribly sad.

“We should go,” he said as he turned and walked towards Annabel again. He quickly fed her another juicy rat. “I’ll see you later, Anny.” He patted her one last time then turned to us. “Come on,” he said as he started walking quickly towards the door without waiting for us. He waited at the double doors though.

With a nod to Jacob, we walked towards the doors. We walked past Brian who looked somewhat worried. None of his usual care-free attitude was there.

“Brian, what’s wrong?” I asked.

“It’s nothing,” he said with a smile. “I have things to do. Can you guys find your way out?”

I looked over at Jacob. He had a lost look in his face as though he was in deep thought. I wasn’t even sure if he even heard what Brian said.

“Yeah. I think we can find our way out,” I said.

“Good. I need to get going,” he said as he started walking towards a different hallway that led away from the exit.

“What was that about?” I looked over at Jacob who seemed to have finally come out of his trance. He was looking oddly at me. His eyes were a mixture of uncertainty and confusion. “Okay, what happened to you? You were acting all weird with that gryphon.” I asked him.

Jacob turned his head away down to the hall that Brian disappeared to. He then checked the opposite way as though worried that someone might overhear us. “I’ve seen him before.”

“You’ve been here before?” I asked surprised.

Jacob shook his head. “No. I saw him in a dream.”

“A dream?”

“Yes, except… except he was… on fire.”

It was my turn to check if anyone would overhear us. “What do you mean on fire? Like I’m turning into a roasted chicken fire?”

Jacob shook his head again. “No, no. He didn’t look like he was in pain. It was like he was shrouded in fire as though it was a natural aura to him.”

I hesitated for a moment. “What else happened in the dream?”

We locked eyes for a moment and I got the feeling that he was trying to decide on something.

“Nothing else,” Jacob said with a smile.

His eyes said something else though. I could tell through them that he was lying. It seemed that he wasn’t ready to share whatever it was that he was hiding. I didn’t want to force it out of him so I would just have to wait until he was ready to tell me.

“Okay,” I said with a nod. “Are you hungry?” I rolled my eyes as I noticed the look that suddenly came onto his face. “Oh, I forgot, you’re always hungry.”

We made our way out of the Armory and into the Trade District to get some lunch. We had skipped breakfast and I hadn’t realized until we stepped outside how long we had been inside. The sun was high above in the sky.

I looked up into the clear sky and saw a gryphon flying high. I wondered how it would feel like to be all the way up there on those wings. I felt excitement rush through me at the mere thought of it. I resolved to myself that I would pass whatever tests they would throw at me in the coming days no matter what they were. Seeing those gryphons before me was nothing less than inspirational and I knew then without a doubt that being an Aerophalanx was something I definitely wanted to be if it meant being able to fly with the gryphons.

I smiled to myself at the thought.

I will fly.