Feathers of Bravery

Aihla

True to her word, Jess let me get through my whole meal without rushing me to start talking. Meylo too had been quiet. I guess seeing how silent she was he knew that only I would be the one to start the discussion. It wasn't awkward silence we ate through though. He really did show me the former broken down tall tower, how they fixed it up and the new modifications that were added.

I saw the runes that Jess put up along the walls.

"Think maybe we should put some type of kindling so that when it burns it'll make the runes last longer?" I ask.

The eldest tutor who not only taught me but my mother as well showed me a few tricks to get runes to last longer and have more power to them. One of them was getting kindling or anything that can burn well, put it in the center of the carvings and once it's done burning the ashes will act like a preservative for the the rune.

Jess shakes her head, "Nah I don't think ash will work best out here. It's not really the strongest element, maybe if they used salt and froze it over then it might work."

"Yeah totally!"

We both look at Meylo who is just grinning at us. It causes Jess and I to start laughing. Poor Meylo. Sometimes we forget that he still doesn't know much about magick. Guess it's time for another lesson.

"Ok so runes depending on the structure it's put on can determine how strong and long lasting the magick will be. However that doesn't mean you always choose one type of structure. For example, if you're land is settled in the forest would you create a metal structure for your runes? No because it would have the amount of power that you're looking for.

Same goes for using the ignition. I only remembered fire but Jess is right. You could also you salt. Basically it also is the same basic principle for the structure. Stone was best here and given the sea, salt would be best as well. I hope I explained that well." I say before popping the last of my sardines in my mouth.

I can see in his eyes that he's trying to absorb everything that I just said. For those who never heard of or seen magick they can be very ignorant sometimes. Not fully understanding that you can use magick for every aspect of life to solve your problems they way a master snaps his talons to his servant.

Meylo has surprised Jess and I with how open minded he is. Sure there are times when he asks silly questions due to his inexperience not naivety. But that is quickly remedied when we explain to him why things are the way they are. Which makes me think of all the ways he'll feel when there is nothing he can do to help me with whatever is happening to me.

He already shames himself for not being able I help us with magick even though we've constantly told him that his skills, knowledge and now friendship are more than enough. He doesn't need magick to have a place with us.

Now the time has come that has been turning my stomach to knots. We've talked as much as we could about the main thing that needed to be spoken. Plus they both have been very patient with me, the least I could do is reward it with honesty.

"Ok, here it goes..."

Instantly they both dropped their trays and utensils it was almost dramatic.

"Um I think it really all started the night when I was to cast the mist spell. Afterwards, we were getting overwhelmed from the birds that were breaking free of the burning ships so when I brought down the sails to keep them in the water I casted another spell. One that would cause the water to drag them down to the bottom until they were no longer a threat..." I'm pretty sure they can read between the lines that it really meant until they were dead.

"Aihla, there is no spell of water like that."

There was no judgement in Jess's voice. She wasn't trying to call me a liar either. I mean technically she's right. There was no real written spell for that yet I did it.

"No there isn't. At least there wasn't before I made one. From there it felt like my charm and magick were pulling me. Leading me to a direction that I wasn't sure I wanted to follow but the compulsion was too great. That's why it wasn't just my stubbornness pushing me to go but the pull.

When we got to the island, I felt it again. Only this time it was like a voice inside my head speaking to me. I swear by Lakshmi Jess that it sounded like my father's. I could hear his voice as if he were standing right beside me. He guided me to where there were weapons, so many weapons. I never seen so many altrikas in my life..."

There was a bit of panic that rose in my chest when I recalled that memory. I couldn't believe that they had so many. One was enough to frighten an army. Where would they have gone if we didn't destroy them all?

Instead of letting my mind wander further with questions that had no answers at the moment I continued, "After I found what my father wanted m to see which was the altrikas I set a plan to destroy them all. They were all in crates and if I set fire to the crates then well yeah, you get the picture. The only trick was to light enough crates to cause the explosion without getting caught.

I didn't exactly create another spell but I sort of magnified a glamour one. Instead of giving them the appearance of a pirate and risk them being talked to or given an order by someone I made them invisible to their eyes. But I could still see them myself."

I pause. Not for dramatic effect but because my throat felt so dry like I had swallowed sand. As much as this helped them to process everything these little breaks help me remain calm so I don't sound like a drunken fool.

Meylo handed me more water which I was grateful for. Even then though I didn't look up I was able to grab the cup without spilling or dropping it. I just didn't want to see the look in their eyes.

"What do you mean you could see them while they were invisible?" He asked.

"I mean exactly that. There was this haze or bubble that surrounded them which left them invisible to everyone else. I guess I could still see them because I was the one who casted the spell. I don't know. But the thing that will always stand out to me is there was this bat."

"Woah a bat. Are you serious?"

"Wait I thought they only lived in the far eastern islands. What's one doing all the way over here?"

"I don't know, but this wasn't an ordinary bat. I mean he looked like he was I don't, I'm not sure if I can remember what kind he was but he was definitely deformed. Height wise he was probably shorter than me if you could believe it but his wings were so abnormal. They were maybe three times bigger an longer than they should've been.

I noticed that his nails dragged behind him on his wings that it made him look like he wore a cape. And there was this really dark aura around him. That was when I felt that pull to him. There was no voice but I had to fight every fiber of my being not to go to him."