Adamagika: The Spirit Within - 31. Ch 31: A Gryphon Takes Flight

CHAPTER 31: A Gryphon Takes Flight

Brian looked out the window, his brow furling. “Come on, we need to get going to the aviary while we still have daylight. Finding a gryphon that is willing to bond with you can take awhile. We need to get as many Aeros bonded as soon as possible.” Brian turned towards the others and yelled. “Formations!”

Like we had practiced a few times in our last training, I stayed at the very end of the line for recruits. I felt a pang of pain when I looked to the opposite side and didn’t see Jacob there. I was starting to have second thoughts about just heading out of that room to look for him.

“Recruits,” Brian said seriously as he paced in front of our formation, “you all know why we’re training harder. Our city is under threat. An army is preparing in the north. An army that wants to kill you, to kill all of us. They’ll stop at nothing to accomplish that and we must do everything to stop them from doing it even if we have to kill every last one of them. I know most of you have never seen combat. Even I haven’t aside from our skirmishes, and even that is controlled. However, if we are right about our information, they will be here in two weeks, maybe less. It means in two weeks, we need to get as many capable Aerophalanxes in the air. That means in two weeks whether you like it or not, you will see combat.

“Now, most of you have little to no flight experience,” he continued as he stood in place surveying each of our faces. “Fortunately for us, all the gryphons here are fully experienced in flying. They will guide you when you begin until you can eventually communicate to them what you want. Some find it easier than others. But don’t be disheartened if you have difficulty finding a gryphon. You must remember that these gryphons are not flying mounts you can manipulate to your desires. These are the soldiers of a gryphon kingdom and you will treat them with respect. If you don’t, expect to lose an arm and a leg. If they refuse to let you ride them, it means the gryphon has not chosen you or is already bonded to another soldier.

“You’re all fully aware of our roles in the coming war. We will serve as the support squad for the other squads. Our job is to create shields and make sure that our brothers are,” he paused as we heard someone clearing her throat, “our brothers and sisters are safe. Do not try to be a hero. Do not try to do something out of your responsibility. And most importantly, follow orders. Is that clear?”

He was answered by a chorus of yes, sirs.

“Now, you all know that I am not a particularly strict Squad Leader. It’s a lot tougher in the other squads. Here we can joke around, behave like little kids. But you must remember. This… is… WAR we are talking about. There is no room to horse around when we are up against the enemy. Is that understood?”

He was answered by an even louder chorus of yes, sirs.

“Good. Now, we’ll be going to the aviary. How this works is that you will disperse in the aviary and try to bond with a gryphon. Those of you who successfully gain the trust of a gryphon can head out for some practice flights. Those who cannot find a gryphon suited for them will try again tomorrow and the day after and after that until you find one that will let you fly with him or her. Now, follow me.”

He turned and started walking towards the door. The rest of us followed as we broke into two lines, the steps almost synchronized to perfection (although I kept lagging behind). The apprentices followed behind us. Instead of having to go out, we followed a set of steps that led up and I knew we were going to the higher floors where the gryphons dwelled. Soon enough, we found ourselves outside familiar worn out looking doors. Brian opened the door and I found myself in the compartmentalized room again. This time though, large reins were hanging on the side of each compartment.

“Go on, recruits,” he said and the others moved out of their lines to stand in front of a gryphon.

It was almost like there was an agreement among them from the beginning. Some broke off to the end of the room while other started with the ones closer to the entrance. I watched as the gryphons raised their heads high and watched the approaching recruits. Some recruits tried reaching out with their hands. Rick got a mighty “raaaawk” from the gryphon in front of him which snapped out at his hand. He managed to pull it back just in time. Bruce on the other hand was already patting a gryphon. I assumed he was one of those people with past flight experience. Some recruits were on the second level trying their luck there.

I walked up to Brian. “Uhm, sir.”

Brian turned to me. “What is it, recruit?”

“How do I bond with a gryphon?”

Brian looked surprise. “Oh, I never did get around to teaching you that, did I? First, walk up to a gryphon but do not stand too close. Keep your mind clear except for the intention of being able to bond with a gryphon, to ride him or her into combat. Make sure your intentions are pure because although they cannot read thoughts, they can sense emotion. They communicate on an entirely different level, not with words but desire.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

Brian smiled. “Hey, it’s going to be alright. Hardly anyone gets it on their first try. It takes awhile.”

I did as he told me and walked up to the closest unoccupied stall. I didn’t even reach out with my hand yet and the gryphon squawked at me. I moved onto the next. I looked over at Brian and he was smiling supportively.

I went past Clarisse who was leaning her head against a gryphon. Rick was still having no luck but he seemed to just be laughing it off. I saw Dave, his partner from earlier not having much luck either. I must have tried six to seven different stalls met with varying degrees of indignant roars. Eventually my eyes caught the hallway that led down to Saphiron’s compartment. Out of curiosity, I walked down that path. The others haven’t reached this area yet or if they have, they were done with it. Perhaps they were even avoiding it because of the area’s most popular occupant. Their voiced faded in the background as I got closer to the end.

Soon I was standing in front of Saphiron and he was looking at me as though he was studying me, his stormy blue eyes seemingly piercing through my soul. I remembered Jacob and could almost imagine him standing there right next to me patting Saphiron’s beak. Then I remembered what had happened last night and I felt sadness shroud me. Finally, I remembered how he had met up with Lord Raezhul and then I felt anger surge in me. I cursed Jacob for his stupid actions.

I was distracted when I heard a mighty roar come from Saphiron. I was so distracted that I didn’t notice him lunging towards me until the last moment. I rapidly moved backwards and fell gracelessly on the floor. I wish it softened on impact like the training rooms but they remained hard as ever. I felt my hand graze the uneven floor.

The other gryphons around us started becoming restless and released incoherent roars. Saphiron was looking at me closely and was taking steps closer and closer to my spot. I inched backwards but no sooner found myself leaning against a pillar that separated the two gryphons on either side of me. I was afraid to go into either stalls, in case they decided to make a feast of my head.

Saphiron inched closer watching me with those stormy eyes. I looked into them and I got the distinct feeling that he wanted nothing more than to rip my head off.

“Get back!” I heard Brian yell from my right. I didn’t dare look away from the gryphon but from the corner of my eye, I saw Brian approaching with his weapon extended and pointed towards Saphiron. His expression was fierce and defensive and I could almost feel a spell at the tip of his mace waiting to be released, electricity sparkling in his hand. “Get back!” he yelled again with so much strength in every word. “Don’t make me hurt you.”

Saphiron ignored him and focused entirely on me. He almost seemed to be pondering the situation. Then as if he had decided, he started walking towards me again.

I felt a rush of wind to my right and I thought Brian had released a spell. It was followed though by the massive movement of a shiny silver wing that blocked the path between me and Saphiron. I saw Saphiron take a few steps back. He roared towards the newcomer who roared just as loudly back.

I looked up at the newcomer. He looked big although that might have been influenced by my prone position beneath him. There was something more slender about him though as though the legs and wings were more aerodynamic. The feathers glinted a beautiful, clean silver that shined almost making him look like he was encrusted with diamonds.

Saphiron roared loudly at the newcomer and again the newcomer roared even louder. It was then that I realized that all the other gryphons were quietly observing.

The two gryphons stared at one another and for a moment I thought they would rip each other’s throats out. I was surprised though when the newcomer retracted his wings and moved closer to Saphiron. The two gryphons gently nudged each other’s heads as though they were caressing one another. After about thirty seconds of nothing but silence, Saphiron turned and returned towards his stall. He sat down but kept his head haughtily high above his shoulders.

The gryphon that rescued me sidestepped and turned his head towards me. I finally managed to get a look at his face. He was beautiful. His beak was sharp and curved downwards. His neck was thick but slender at the same time. And his eyes were a clean dark brown.

Tentatively I reached out a hand. I wasn’t quite sure what just happened but somehow I knew that this one had just saved me. The gryphon stepped forward and his beak brushed past my hand. His face kept going forward and I was afraid that he was going to give me a head butt. He stopped though at the last moment and I felt the soft spot between his eyes touch my forehead.

I suddenly felt overwhelmed by a sudden rush of emotions. At that moment, I was feeling apprehension, fear, and maybe even a little curiosity. Suddenly though, I also felt happiness, anticipation, and an urgent desire to laugh. I smiled and I realized that I knew then what bonding was. The whole experience was almost effortless and the rush overwhelming. She was experiencing these new emotions and I could feel them as though they were my own. Wait a moment… she?

Brian came from behind the new gryphon and gave a wary look at Saphiron who merely stared at the me, still ignoring Brian. “This is Aida,” Brian said as he gently ruffled the feathers on the beautiful silver gryphon. “And it looks to me like she’s chosen you.”

I looked over at Aida and although it wasn’t obvious, I could have sworn that she was smiling. “What do I do?”

Wind whipped from my left and I saw another gryphon land beside us swiftly but gently. This one was mounted though. I looked up and saw a large burly man seated on him. “We ride!” Bruce yelled.

Brian came around closer to me. “Hellen, do you mind if we borrow your reins for a bit?” he asked, presumably the gryphon behind me.

“Raaaw,” she muttered indifferently.

“Thanks,” Brian said though I had no idea how he translated raaaw to mean yes. Brian turned towards Aida and raised the seat in his hand. “Do you mind?”

The silver gryphon nodded her approval and Brian placed the seat onto her back. The straps moved on their own and tightened beneath her belly, adjusting on their own. Brian gave it a shake as though to check for stability. When he was satisfied, he turned to me and reached out with a hand.

“Looks like your time has come,” he said with a smile.

I had an urgent desire to ask what?! but thought better of it. I doubt he meant anything else by those words. I accepted his offered hand and he pulled me up. “I don’t know how to fly,” I said.

“She does,” Brian said as he patted the seat. “Come on.”

Aida leaned down on her belly which allowed me to take a seat on her back.

“Atta boy,” I heard Bruce yell. He turned his gryphon and it lifted off the ground to hover for a bit before it turned and flew straight towards the wall. I was afraid they were going to crash but just before they hit the wall, it turned into sand and dissipated, opening into the world outside. As soon as they were out, the wall reformed again.

“Hold on tight,” Brian said with a mischievous smile.

I looked around the seat for anything to hold onto. There were two small slots in the front that looked like miniature quivers presumably for mage maces. But, there was absolutely nothing that I could get a grip on. “What am I supposed to... waaaaah!” I yelled as Aida suddenly lunged upward and started running towards the wall.

I grabbed onto the only thing I could which were the feathers on Aida’s back. I said sorry quickly and I could feel laughter washing over me and I knew it was alright. As we reached the wall, it dissipated like it did when Bruce flew through it.

I immediately felt the cold wind assault my skin as we flew out of the armory building. We were flying at a modest height over the city, much higher than I thought the aviary floors were. I could see people moving around like they were little insects from that height. I felt a sudden rush pass through me when it finally dawned on me that I was flying. I laughed out loud and I hear Aida release a squawk. Another gryphon flew beside me with dark green skin and brown outlines.

“Having fun?” Bruce asked.

“This is amazing!” I yelled.

Bruce laughed. “That’s not amazing yet. Aida, why don’t you show him what amazing really is.”

Aida released an amused sort of roar and I felt myself buckle as she suddenly flew straight up into the sky. I hung on for dear life.

Aida swerved through the massive tower of the Armory and followed its shape up going around it. As soon as we flew past its highest point, she started flying towards the larger center tower that housed the Administrative services of the city.

I had the sudden urge to control the wind. It was beating down on us strongly at this high altitude. It took me a moment but I eventually realized that it was something Aida was trying to tell me.

I raised one hand into the air and tried to imagine a bubble around us or actually more like a nut. I felt the air shimmer around us and then they suddenly became less violent as though the strong wind swept around us but not through the bubble I made. I felt happiness surge through Aida.

“Thanks,” I said.

She soared higher with less resistance as we finally reached the very tip of the tower. I was awed by what I saw because it was the first time I’d seen the tip up close. There was a massive needle at the top that looked like it was made entirely of crystals. Long metal pipes stretched from the tip of the needle all the way to the roof of the tower. Bolts of electricity sparked through the crystal and flew to the pipes as though they were lightning rods. These lightning bolts were thick and massive though and I realized that this was one of the crystals that powered the shields of the city.

“This is amazing, Aida,” I said and I could have sworn she agreed. I looked around and I saw the whole world before me. I could see far into the distance even beyond the forests that surrounded us. I could see the mountains stretching in all directions and I swear I saw the outline of the sea to the south east.

Aida extended her wings over the city as though to catch the wind but then quickly lunged downwards and retracted them. We soared downwards in one quick motion and no amount of effort on my part could stop the wind from whipping through my body.

“Aida!” I started screaming. We moved faster towards the ground. I could have sworn she was laughing. The buildings were coming closer into view. I felt a jolt as she released her wings and we glided swiftly over a wide building and slowly started descending. Curious onlookers turned their heads up at us. It took me about thirty seconds to realize that I was still yelling.

“Oh, you’re bad!” I said as I willed my heartbeat to slow down. Aida merely squawked at me.

“Oh man,” Bruce said as he took his place beside me. “That was a mean dive. Even old Nigel here didn’t give me that kind of fright when I first flew. These female gryphons are dangerous.”

His gryphon, Nigel, released what I assumed was his approval of the statement.

Aida swerved sideways as though he was going to slam into Nigel. Nigel beat his wings frantically to move away almost tipping Bruce off. Again, I could have sworn Aida was laughing.

“I see what you mean,” I told Bruce as his gryphon resettled near us but far enough not to be caught off guard again.

We flew around the city one more time. We flew past a few other people on gryphons, some from our squads while others I didn’t recognize. Eventually, Bruce yelled that it was time to go back. I looked towards the west and saw that the sun was setting. Aida and Nigel flew down towards the armory as though in synchronized formation. I saw other gryphons flying into the armory. This time though, they weren’t flying through the walls but rather huge holes near the center of the tower.

Nigel entered first and after a few seconds Aida followed. We went through a series of tunnels that seemed to span endlessly and impossibly through the building. I thought to myself how these tunnels could not possibly have existed through this one tall building. They seemed to lead to different rooms with many compartments. There was no time to look through them though as our gryphons seemed to speed up as more gryphons filled the space. When they found the right path, both gryphons lunged towards it. Nigel landed on the ground as soon as we entered. Aida flew around for a moment as though looking around before she flew down towards one of the halls. I flew past Brian who was looking up at me with a wide smile, his eyes glinting merrily. She landed on the second level, in front of what I presumed was her compartment.

I jumped off her and patted her on the beak as I leaned my head against hers. “That was amazing, Aida.” She laughed and I could have sworn a large rat came into mind. “Oh, I don’t have any treats,” I said sadly.

“Here,” I heard Brian say as I saw him coming up to the second level. He pulled out something hairy from his pocket and placed it in my hand. I cringed at it until I noticed that there was something strange about it. “It’s not a real rat,” Brian said as he saw the look on my face. “It’s actually meat magically shaped to look like a rat. Somehow the familiarity of it helps them eat it more easily.”

I looked down on the meat in my hand and I noticed that unlike a real rat, it didn’t have a face. It had something shaped like a head but it was completely devoid of eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. It also had feet but I noticed that that it was soft unlike real rat’s feet. I handed the rat-like treat to Aida who took it gratefully into her mouth. With a swallow, it was gone.

“Thanks,” I told Brian.

“So, how was your first flight?” he asked.

“It was amazing. She was amazing.” I said as the excitement rushed through me again. Just as quickly as I felt happy, I felt sad. “I just wish that Jacob could have seen it.”

Aida nudged her head against me as though she could sense my distress. I gave her a gentle pat.

“Hey,” Brian said. “I’m sure he’s alright.”

I gave him a sad smile. “I hope so.”

I said goodbye to Aida and we headed to the lower level. I saw a few more gryphons fly past us. I saw Noel yelling happily as he zoomed overhead and disappeared down a hall. We started walking back towards the main doors.

“I’ve never seen this many gryphons bond in one day,” Brian said. “They must know something’s up. It’s like they can sense the urgency of things and have decided to get things moving along.”

We stopped as we came across Rick who was standing near one of the stalls.

“Not much luck yet, Rick?” Brian asked.

Rick looked over and smiled widely. “Nah, not yet. But he’s here hiding somewhere. I can feel it. The cheeky bugger is taking after me already.”

Brian laughed. “Alright keep trying then.” Brian said as we reached the door. By now, it was getting dark outside. “Why don’t you go ahead? I have to stick around until everyone’s back and out?”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.”

I said goodbye and made my way out of the armory. Thoughts of Jacob had returned to the forefront of my mind. I rushed back to the Academy and into our room. I felt my heart sink when I found it empty. I sat at my bed and watched the empty one across the room. I was worried that something serious happened and I wanted to go out there and look for Magister Aenhol. I knew though that that wasn’t what he would have wanted me to do so I decided to just lie down. As soon as I did, I realized how tired I was. I went straight into the training from the infirmary and my muscles were starting to ache.

I went over to our dresser and changed. I then took out my mace. I twisted it in my hand and it expanded into the familiar two foot mace. I focused and willed my magic to go into the weapon and the crystal glowed a bright white. I felt the pins and needle sensation that Brian mentioned as the energy slowly transferred from my hand to the mace. I figured this wasn’t too bad when I suddenly felt the energy being ripped back from the metal to my skin. Rather than the gentle sensation I expected, there was a sudden surge of heat and pain as though the mace was warming from the friction.

I released my grip and the mace almost flew from my hand as though pulled by an outside force. It sparked against the floor as the crystal hit it, a slight burn appeared where it touched. I swayed on the spot as a sudden sensation overwhelmed me. A voice in pain and shrouded in darkness was reaching out to me, trying to escape. Through all its efforts it managed to get one word through: evil.

“Ho-o?” I asked the empty room. No response. “Jacob?” The room remained depressingly silent.

I looked at the mace and wondered what it meant. Evil? Was something happening out there and Ho-o was trying to warn me? Or was it something closer to home? The last time she had tried to warn me of something evil was Madame Rooste. Ho-o was right as all evidence I’ve seen so far was that woman was the incarnation of evil. Was there something evil there at that very moment in my room… perhaps lying on the floor?

Apprehensively, I picked up the mace. It did not feel hot or even warm. It just felt like a mace. I didn’t dare try channeling magic into the mace again. Ho-o had definitely tried to warn me of something and somehow it was triggered by me channeling magic into the mace. Something else was bothering me in all this. When she spoke that one word, I could almost see her like in a vision. She was in pain and seemed almost contained in a dark prison. What could possibly cause a spirit physical pain? What could possibly have overwhelmed her like that?

More importantly, what state was Jacob in now?

I returned the mace to its place in the dresser and decided I should ask Brian about what happened. I would, however, leave out the part of about the warning. I don’t think that was a normal occurrence for anyone.

I crashed on my bed feeling more worried than ever. Despite the apprehension though, I fell asleep immediately.

* * * * * * * * * *

I had a weird dream that night.

I was in our room, sitting on my bed, calmly talking to Jacob.

“What are you saying?” I asked him.

Jacob was sitting opposite me on his bed. His hands gripping tightly to the edge, his knuckles white as snow. His face was pale white as though he desperately needed to use the bathroom for door number two. He was mouthing words to me but I couldn’t hear anything coming from his mouth.

“I can’t hear you,” I told him.

Jacob looked exasperated as though begging me to understand. Then he shivered and started looking around frantically. His hands still gripping tightly to the bed as though afraid he would fall off.

And then he did fall off. The room exploded as darkness seeped through a crack in the wall like a mighty force. I saw him and felt myself get thrown into the air. We fell through the darkness. I was flailing my arms wildly trying to control the wind, perhaps to slow me down. Jacob on the other hand descended limply as though he had all the air knocked out of him.

I smashed onto a concrete floor painlessly and rolled around in the dust. Jacob’s body crumpled to the ground a good distance away from me. There was darkness all around, all I could see was the empty street.

I got to my feet and moved towards Jacob. As I got closer, I realized that someone else was already there standing over him – none other than Jacob himself. This Jacob though was laughing hysterically at the body on the floor. His eyes were glowing an eerie green. I was calling out to him but he couldn’t seem to hear me. He was laughing and pointing at a prone figure on the ground. The Jacob that had fallen with me was on his back, his body bent in an odd angle. I moved over to him and saw his pale blue eyes open looking emptily back up. I would have thought he was dead if I didn’t see and feel the pain reflected in his pupils as though he was caged somewhere deep inside his own head.

I reached out with my hand, the whole room erupted into fire. The Jacob on the floor was suddenly covered in orange flames while the Jacob standing and laughing was covered in green flames. The rest of the room came into focus as the bright light became stronger. The darkened streets of Arantiva came into the light. All the buildings around me were burning in green fire and I could see the silver towers hanging high overhead, reflecting the cold, menacing flickers of the flames. A single bright light coming from the one and only room that seemed occupied in the whole tower, the one we had fallen from.

Thunder rumbled overhead. No, not thunder. It was stone being torn apart. The center tower suddenly cracked and I saw the base give way. The massive tower tipped and slowly fell towards us like a huge defeated chess piece. I tried to pull up the Jacob in orange flames. I felt my hands burning wherever I touched him.

“Help me!” I yelled to the other Jacob, who was still laughing as though there was nothing more amusing in the world than what was happening that very moment.

“There’s no help for you now, Adam,” the green shrouded Jacob said in a cold voice. “He’s mine now.”

I heard a massive explosion behind me and a darkness come overhead. The tower was moments away from crushing us into nothing.

I plunged my body over Jacob and wrapped him in my arms. My skin burned painfully in the orange flames. I could feel my face melting away. “Not him! Please! Take me!” I yelled. The green shrouded Jacob laughed as the massive tower smashed into us.

I woke up with a start, sweating profusely in bed. I was still in the same position I remembered myself being in the night before.

I looked over at the other bed in the room. It was still empty but I could have sworn that Jacob was there just moments ago. The corners of his bed were ruffled as though someone had gripped them tightly in his hands.