In a town hugging the riverbank, not too far from John, Mundi, and Ferdinand, a pair of young guardians were deeply embedded in an important operation… creature catching.
“Do you see anything?” Celeste whispered. Her untamed, red curls blew over the edge of the wall. Her hair was almost as wild and unburdened as her spirit.
“Not yet, I think we have a shifty beast on our hands,” Roman replied. He yanked the hood of his cloak back, exposing his midnight black hair and dark grey smoldering eyes. He was quite proud of his hair, it perfectly framed his intense disposition. He spent more time brooding than smiling. There are a tiny handful of souls capable of pulling a lighter side out of him; Celeste was one. “Another challenge?” He asked with a raised brow, allowing his face to soften temporarily.
The two wizards have been doing these challenges since the day they met as fledgling Empyrean Wizards. Celeste was not more than seven years old, Roman only a year older, and weary of everyone in his life except for Celeste. He reminds her daily that she saved him from an existence of absolute misery. She remained his constant light, often reassuring him that life and most things in it are generally good; he needed to look for the light instead of the murk more often.
“What is it this time?” Celeste asked, intrigued. “Make it worthy,” she grinned.
“The wizard who finds the little beast first decides our next guardian mission,” Roman replied with his chin up and a confident smile.
“You’re on.” Celeste folded her arms across her chest. Her competitive nature never turned down a challenge, a trait that got her into trouble on more than one occasion. Roman knew this about her, mostly because he was by her side when the trouble occurred and willingly took the punishment with her.
Screech!
A flash of blue, accompanied by the abrupt clicking of tiny paws lightly brushing the dirt at superspeed, wrestled up a cloud of dust. “Lost it again!” Roman garbled and gagged over a mouthful of chalky dust cloud. “Let’s split up. I will explore the north end,” Roman huffed. “Sneaky and quick,” he grumbled.
Celeste waved the haze from her eyes and followed the tiny tracks. They resembled a stick with three smaller sticks on the end, inches apart. It moved in flashes. “Where are you from, little guy?” She softened her tone. “I’m not going to hurt you if you don’t hurt me.”
Sweet and nonthreatening as it seemed, it was terrorizing the villagers. This was becoming a common occurrence, finding creatures unfamiliar to this part of the realm. No one knows where they came from or how they got here.
Soft cooing sounded off from the other side of the Village Inn. Celeste paused.
“Over there!”A patron of the Inn hissed through an open window, pointing firmly to the edge of the building.
She slinked along the clattered brick wall of the Inn, laser-focused with eyes squinting toward the source of noise. The cooing ceased. Celeste stopped in her tracks, keeping her body motionless to keep the creature at ease. The pause in sound felt like an eternity. Finally, a muffled growl cut through the silence. Celeste swallowed the lump throat. This creature may not be so cute and cuddly after all.
“Don’t be afraid,” she whispered gently and slid a smooth, red stone from her cloak.
The growling turned to snarling. Then… whoosh! The lid of a garbage pail whizzed across the alleyway, hitting the building on the other side. The impact was enough to chip some of the stone out of the surface.
Celeste leaped to the building’s edge. “In somnos!” she blurted. The stone in her hands illuminated with an intense red glow. A beam of light shot out of the stone, striking the creature directly in the chest.
Vibrant blue feathers flew about. Its pointed beak opened, and a deep moan spilled out, followed by a sorrowful chirp as the creature’s angry disposition was breaking down and reverting back to cute and cuddly.
“Come on…” Celeste pleaded.
With a few flaps of its wings, it flopped down into a slumber.
“Finally!” she knelt in the dirt next to the creature and gently rubbed her fingers along its soft feathers. “You’re not so bad, are you…” She gazed tenderly, “I can only imagine how scared and alone you must feel.”
“Okay, okay, I concede. You win this time.” Roman trotted over. His eyes softened. “That little guy was causing all the commotion? He looks so helpless.”
“Hard to believe, isn’t it?” Celeste smirked. “It must be terrified.”
“Can’t say I blame him. It’s no fun being in a strange place where everyone seems out to get you.” Roman frowned. “I think I can relate.”
“We don’t know anything yet; we need to get to the bottom of it before someone… or something gets hurt.” Celeste gave Roman a loving nudge to shake him out of his thoughts. More often than not, all it took was a warm smile and a twinkle of her eyes.
Roman smiled and locked into her gaze until the butterflies stirring inside were too much to take. “Come on, let’s get to the sanctuary before nightfall,” he uttered, easing the tension.
Celeste pulled another small stone out of her cloak. This one was brown and rough. She gently placed it on top of the creature. “Tutum spatium creo,” she whispered with eyes shut tight. Tiny specks of light flowed out of the rock, forming a perfectly sized wooden cage with brass bars matching the specks’ shine. Once fully formed with the creature nestled inside, both cage and creature dissolved into the same specks of light and then poured into Celeste’s cupped hands. They danced about in her hands, then clumped together to form the brown stone. Celeste slid it into her cloak without hesitation.
“Are we flying or walking?” asked Roman.
“Flying, of course,” Celeste asserted.
“I was hoping you’d say that.” Roman cracked a grin. As he stretched his arms, black feathers sprouted from his cloak, followed by his hair. His feet, once held by sturdy black boots of canvas, were now talons with claws planted into the dirt. The black cloak draping his body gave way to a pair of feathered wings ready for flight. Nose and eyes… morphed to a chiseled beak and black, beady dots carrying the same intensity and purpose. Now, a raven with fetching black feathers, Roman gripped his talons into the earth and launched his body into the air in a powerful burst.
“Race you there!” Celeste shouted to the treetops just as Roman was clearing the tallest branch. She pressed the palms of her hands together. As she closed her eyes, rays of blinding red light beamed from her cloak. When the light dissipated, what remained was a pint-sized ball of vibrant feathers that fluffed and danced in the breeze. The vision of red curls and grace was replaced by a small but mighty red bird with familiar emerald green eyes that often melted even the hardest spirit with a single gaze. It took a few flutters, then up she went, allowing a bold gust of wind to boost her into the sky.
It was a glorious afternoon, perfect for flying. From the sky, problems were invisible. Celeste could think of almost no better pastime. Soaring high above the realm, observing the green magnificence of Copious Forest and the thin crystal blue line of the river threading its trees gave her a sense of joy rarely matched by anything else.
Just as Celeste was relishing the sun in her face and wind under her wings, Roman dipped down, making his way to the trees below. She knew he had a keen eye and could spot objects hidden from view… even from afar. She followed his tail feathers into a canyon tucked away in the forest.
“Aren’t we in a rush to get to the sanctuary?” Celeste asked facetiously, shaking the sky from her cloak.
“There’s something going on down there…” Roman whispered and crawled to the edge of the cliff.
The faint clatter of busy work echoed off the cliff sides, piquing Celeste’s curiosity. She plopped down on her belly next to Roman and peered over the cliff. “What is this place?” she gasped. In the canyon below, there was a town carved into the side of the cliff. Intricate carvings marked the entry to each building.
“I’ve read about it. The town used to belong to a wizard cult… the Order of Multa Regna. I don’t remember all of the details, but they were masters of powerful magic and very protective of what was inside the town until it was abandoned hundreds of years ago.” Roman squinted. “Are my eyes playing tricks on me?”
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