Feathers of Bravery

King of Baldir

My son was only passed being a fledging before I had left him and his mother. I never wanted to. Above all else, I wanted to see Meylo fall in love before we would have to pick a bride for him. I wanted to hold my grandchildren, see their little eggs tumble around in the nest just before they hatch. To grow old with my Queen.

But that day... that day that I went to the market and a seer told me my fortune, I knew I could no longer do any of those things. As much as my heart broke, I was shown my greater purpose. I don't know why I even walked into her shop in the first place. I had no reason to be there in the first place. When I was walking in, there was this young owl walking out with a sickening pained look on his face.

While I may not hold the prejudice that my kingdom does about owls, I know that they are one of the fiercest fighters to ever grace the battlefield. They know how to steady their emotions and persevere despite fear. So I didn't like seeing his posture or his look when I was walking into the same place he just came out of. It unsettled me more than I care to admit.

My feet had a mind of their own so despite my own nerves I kept on walking until I saw the seer. She too had a sorrowful look in her eyes. The bright blue of her eyes seemed like I was staring into the depths of the ocean.

She gestured me forward to sit and asked me to remain calm and think about my loved ones. It seemed so simple. All I felt was a small pinch when she pulled a feather from my back. So why was I shaking like a hatchling experiencing their first thunderstorm?

Spreading her wings as if she were going to take flight she flaps them a few times while giving a whistling call. The whistle itself wasn't loud but it was drowning out all other noise to the point that it was becoming overwhelming. I could no longer hear the voices shouting out in the market, the bells that would ring when a new customer would enter and leave a store. Or even the booming bell that signaled afternoon food service in the great hall.

A familiar smell and sensation began to surround us that made me realize that the stories I've heard about magick were not stories at all. If one knew what to look for, you can smell and feel when magick was being used around you.

I was told that generally it depended on the type of magick and the spell can determine the smell and sensation. At least that's what I've heard.

The scent of ash and feeling of leaves tickling down my backside. It was then that her eyes clouded over as if she were born blind. Her whistling stopped. All sounds had stopped. Moments passed before her eyes returned to normal.

"Would you rather live in peace with your son and have him die, or would you rather leave him to give him a fighting chance to live?" she asked.

Choice. That was in my future. I could be selfish and technically get what I had wanted. To see him grow and all, but he would die. Or I can sacrifice the wants of my heart and as she said, give him a fighting chance.

I'm certain I had the same expression the young owl had when he walked out of here. I couldn't answer my guards when they asked me if everything was alright. There was no way I could tell them the truth and I didn't want to lie to them either. In fact, I needed to find a way to get out of their sight and head to the place that no one would know who I am or would dare to look for me.

What I did was I suppose was a cowardly thing to do. I should've gone home to say good bye. Tell my beautiful wife how much I love her, to tell Meylo that I'm sorry that I will be leaving. Give them some sort of comfort in I'm doing this for the right reason and I'll always have them in my heart.

But I knew that if I went home and saw them, if I held them, I wouldn't be able to walk away. That's why I had to do it this way. When the moment came, I crossed into one of the alleyways of the market and quickly shed my royal garments and crown. In the end, I couldn't just leave my guards to take the punishment of losing me.

I told them to shed their garments as well and buy some commoner clothing so that we may fly somewhere of importance.

I could never ask for more loyal soldiers. Yes, by right of reign as king they need to obey me. But that's not what I meant by their loyalty. They could be loyal and still question me, still try to stop me. Yet, they did neither of those things. Instead the night before we left the market they wrote letters to their families bidding them farewell and their love.

Our travels were filled with unnerving revelations of many of things that we thought were simply rumors and tales. Regardless of everything we saw and experienced the last thing I saw before my eyes closed permanently was that of my son. Just picturing how much he had grown.

Then darkness finally took me.