Phoenix Rising

August 6th, 1479

It seems like years have passed since I have been home. I miss my home every night, but I also am relieved to not have to worry about work or knowledge anymore. Now I can just sleep, relax, and learn magic from the gigantic bird.

Even through my homesickness, I am still very frightened when I see the tiny sail boat arrive. The phoenix, who has asked to be named Ivory, noticed this phenomenon before he did.

"It is a boat that is arriving, isn't it?" I ask knowingly.

"Yes, a small one..." Ivory said quizzically.

"Why is it coming?"

"I'm not sure. I feel like it is coming to harm."

"Why, Master Ivory?"

"I do not know much of your race of humanity except that there is a deep evil in all of you and some humans know how to draw upon this power greatly and frequently."

"What should we do?"

"We don't have much of a choice, we must attack."

Dawn finally looked interested in our conversation. "There are only three of us. Who knows how many people are aboard that ship!"

"We don't have any other choice. We can't hide and we can't exactly call for help." Ivory responded.

"So there is only one bird like you that exists?" Dawn asked.

"Yes."

"Why don't we make more?" I thought out loud. "Since you are reborn from your ashes... Why don't we just draw some of your ashes away and let you be reborn twice?"

"That actually might work..." Dawn responded thinking deeply.

"I will be willing to try but we must first worry about intruders." Ivory stated swooping into the air and soaring towards the shore. Dawn turned and looked at me and we both ran through the forest following the phoenix.

*

The small ship releases its anchor and a giant ramp folds out from the hull of the ship. Only three men walk off the ship and they are very upset. The first man to walk off the ship has gray-blue eyes and has a creepy black mask that only shows his mouth and eyes and wears a hood over it. He wears a very slick, tight, black uniform and the other two wear just about the same outfit. He carries a black bow and silver arrows. The man to his right has a red bandana over his eyes and mouth. He holds a couple of very slender daggers and had other daggers in pouches all around his body. The last man was like an animal. He had razor sharp claws and he wore a shredded robe over his uniform and he walked on all fours, but he was very fast. These men are just disturbingly scary and I fight the urge to cower. Ivory was nowhere to be seen and Dawn was running behind me, but she isn't with me any more. The man with the faded blue eyes stared at me and grinned maliciously.

"Hello, young man. It seems that me and my friends are lost. Would you mind helping us?"

"Yes, you are lost. Let me help you. Your destination happens to be anywhere but here." I respond a lot braver than I am actually feeling.

"Feisty, well. Don't tell me I didn't warn you. Akakios, Have fun." And with that he grins happily and turned and walks with the man with the bandanas towards the forest.

Akakios looks at me but doesn't see me. He looks like he is sniffing the air. He catches onto a scent and like an animal the man charged at me with incredible speed. I pull out the ivory scimitar that the phoenix gave to me and I held it out expectantly. Akakios already reached me and opened his mouth before long. Hit mouth is full of rows of razor sharp teeth. He attacks before I could even respond and his teeth bite through my leg tearing out skin and muscle alike in seconds like my leg is made of butter. I instantly collapse and fall roughly to the floor. My head slams into a rock and I lose consciousness.

*

When I awake, minutes later, Dawn is standing right next to me. She helps me off the floor and I glance down noticing the sea of blood that was beneath me. I glance to the left looking at the ship and I see Ivory the phoenix circling it from above and everyone else on the ship is shooting harpoons at it with no avail. The bird stops for a second and roars a blast of white-silver wind which crushes the boat and plunges it under water. It takes nearly a minute until the boat launches back out of the water and when it comes back up no one else is on it anymore. The bird spins in a circle and dozens of silver feathers fall all across the ship. The feathers turn to dust and the ship starts turning to dust as well. Slowly, but surely, the whole ship was dust and all the remained was a large circle of white water that remains where the ship dissolved.

"Please don't die on me..." Dawn cries under her breath beside me as I start to see black and lose focus on things around me. I glance into the forest and notices Akakios running far away with a slash wound on his back, but he will live. Well, at least for now.