1Angel Wings
Legend once told of a goddess
who's wings shined like the moon.
She guided us away from hate in hopes to bring peace.
But in the dawning days of a new era,
she left this world.
Now the legend speaks of a new power.
An angel hidden within his own shadow.
Once his power has been awakened,
he will guide humanity
into a new world.
A world untouched by hate and fear.
Unless the darkness steals him away.
Chapter 1
Destiny Calls
The dawning light sifted through the shifting grass on the hills of the valley of Red Wind. Illuminating the leaves of the trees and shining down upon the face of a young boy, nuzzled into its branches. Yawning he began to wake from his slumber, squinting into the morning sun.
The people of the valley of Red Wind knew him as Matt and that he was of the main family branch and was one of the two grandchildren of the village elder.
For the past few nights he had made camp by one of the many streams outside of the village. He was waiting for someone, his cousin Atrie (Ah-tree). Atrie was one of the few who could travel far from the village. Knowing how to fly a glider since he was little was a big advantage. The forests were dense and full of nasty creatures who had killed many from the village before. No roads lead to or from the village either, so flying was the only source of transportation to the cities.
Climbing down from the tree, Matt rolled up his pants, took of his shirt and waded into the stream. Pulling up one of the small traps he had set last night, he found himself a small catch of a crawdad and three tiny fry. Sighing he took his catch back to the shore and stirred up a fire.
High up in the whistling winds Atrie shot through the sky on his modified, long distance glider. Scouring the landscape with his golden eagle eyes, searching for the valley of Red Wind where the village would be awaiting his arrival. Spotting the redlined leaves of the trees he knew he was entering the territory of his village.
After finishing his meager breakfast, Matt clambered up the nearby watchtower . Surveying the sky for any sign of his cousin's glider was not easy. Often he was either skimming the ground or he was so high up he appeared as a bird of prey.
Yawning still he licked his finger and held it in the air above his head. Atrie's glider could control wind currents to give him an advantage in flight. If nearby, the wind would give a violent change in direction to support the gliders motion. The wind whipped around his finger in a furious motion and then settled in its newly given course. Brought back into reality, he shook himself and starred up into the sky just in time to see Atrie and his glider flying overhead. Snatching at the bell string he rang the large signal bell.
Atrie smiled as the villagers commenced toward the front gate. He enjoyed how everyone came out to welcome him home after being on for so long. Often he was gone for many months and was rarely home for more than a few days.
"It's good to be home," Atrie laughed.
Just as he had began to land, Matt clambered out of the bushes panting from running hard. Swinging his harm around Atrie's shoulders the two of them fell backwards laughing. Behind them the glider vanished in a puff of smoke. Once it cleared a small, golden-red, cat sized fox sat in its place on the dirt path.
It leapt upon Matt's head, wagging its long fluffy tail like a puppy. Atrie pushed his goggles off his face and up atop his head. All the while laughing at the two of them sitting like a miniature Tiki statue. Taking a mirror out of his side bag attached to his belt, he held it out in front of them.
" Ha, maybe I should turn Kite into a hat and always wear him on my head," Matt snickered.
Kite merely growled with distaste at the comment and leapt off his head onto Atrie's shoulder. The cousins just grinned and picked themselves off the ground, dusting off their clothes.
Later that evening the two of them were huddled by the light of the fire chatting amongst themselves. Their grandmother, the village elder, was nestled into one of the two large armchairs half dozed by the feast, which was greatly approved by the starving Matt.
"Matt dear, would you go brew us all a nice cup of tea," Granny asked.
Looking up from his conversation, he nodded and left the room to the kitchen. Making sure he was out of earshot, she turned back to Atrie with a mischievous glint in her old eyes. Atrie merely blinked, confused by his grandmothers bizarre smile.
"Atrieisan (Ah-tree-eh-san), it's time to talk about your destiny. You without even knowing it are of royal blood. A prince and the only heir to an ancient clan. You're also a magic wielder my boy," she smiled.
Atrie lifted an eyebrow, frowning in disbelief. Granny sighed and continued, "Hold out your hand child."
Rolling his eyes he held his hand out to her, where she placed a strange necklace. Atrie starred in amazement at the intricately designed medallion that hung from the tattered string.
"Your father wanted me to give it to you when the time was right . It is named after you, the Key of Atrieisan. It has the power to open three gates. The gates of Heaven, Hell, and Earth. It was created by your father and is prized by all, both good and evil. In the struggle to keep it safe for you, the Heaven's Gate Key was ripped off and hidden away. In order for you to awaken the key's full potential however, you must find the third key. Only then will you be able to fulfill your destiny.
Remember this most of all. You must never show it to anyone outside of the family for it could mean you're death."
Atrie gulped down his shock and confusion and tied the medallion around his neck. Trying to understand all that had been said to him.
"One more thing Atrieisan, before you can start you're quest you must visit the sorcerer Kutai (coo-tie). He was a good friend of your father back in the day and can help you learn to bend and control your magic. He lives among the hills in Sendai at Fushigi (Foo-she- gee) Shrine."
Atrie nodded in agreement, "Sendai, Fushigi Shrine, Kutai. Got it."
Matt meandered into the room with a tray covered with cups of tea, honey, and half a dozen gingersnaps for them to share. He smiled at them, flushed red with embarrassment. It took only seconds for Atrie to realize why.
Matt stood there in a clad, bright pink apron, dappled with red roses and frilled shoulders and pockets. Unable to stand it any longer Atrie cracked up, laughing himself silly.
"You actually wore that gody thing that you said you'd never wear. Ha, ha, sorry, but it's just to funny," Atrie howled with laughter.
Matt scowled, "I only wore it to keep the hot water off and it was the only one that wasn't in the wash!"
They were up much of the night, arguing and laughing about many things, completely forgetting their worries. But eventually the sleep train lulled them off into dreamland.
It was early the next morning, around 4:00am. The sun was still hiding behind the distant hills. Kite tensed, ears twitching he raised his head from his paws and peered around the dark room. Then giving a whining yawn, he stretched and hoped onto the windowsill just above the bed.
The window was wet with dew from the cold night. Wiping the window with his paw he stared out into the distance. The fields glittered in the blue light of the setting moon. But Kite was not interested in the tranquil scenery. Something evil was lurking about in the darkness. He growled.
Just outside the village sat a shady character indeed. Clothed in black along with a deep gray overcoat and sunglasses he watched the sun creep over the hills before him. A nasty smile curled around his lips.
"Soransu (Soar-ron-sew), your purpose has been served. Now it is time for me to serve mine. To destroy your child before he can realize the truth of the destiny you laid out for him," he laughed into the distant sky.
The sun was up in the morning sky and the villagers were up and about doing chores to set their day in motion. Atrie was known for over sleeping, so Matt decided to do the honors of setting a very disturbing alarmclock. Which definitely lives up to it's name, Crazy.
Just as Atrie turned over in his sleep the clock ticked on and began to scream, "We wish you a Merry Christmas!" If you stood outside his door, you could hear screaming, hissing, something being thrown and the sound of the alarmclock going off in the background.
"Aaaaack! Matt is going to pay for this! He knows how much I hate that thing!" Atrie screamed, holding his head to steady his blood flow.
"Maybe that's why he set it," Kite snarled while trying to smooth his ruffed fur.
Atrie stared at his pet that was now talking to him in his own language. His mouth agape his hand pointing straight towards the fox.
"Since when could you talk!?" He shuddered.
"I've always been able to talk. It was you that couldn't understand me until your magic level increased. Continue to freak out about it, I'll rip of your mouth," Kite hissed.
"Okay, weird," Atrie twitched.
Wandering down the hall, Atrie and Kite stumbled sleepily into the kitchen. A great rush of the sweet smell of cooking batter and berries filled their noses. The scent made them drool.
Matt laughed at the two of them as they entered the room. Atrie's hair was ruffed up and stuck out in all directions, his bangs hung over one of his eyes. Kite hung over shoulder starting to doze again. Hi s sharp little teeth clamped onto the strap on Atrie's goggles to keep from falling off.
"Good morning sleepyhead. Don't you look good this morning," Matt snickered.
"Oh shut up," Atrie snapped as he meandered around the counter searching for his hidden stash of snacks. Matt shook his head in dismay while he watched Atrie search the backs of the cupboards in vain.
"Atrie, Granny did a kitchen raid the other week. All of the expired or junkfood she found is gone. Turned it all into a bonfire," he sighed.
Ignoring his cousin, Atrie continued to search in the back. Then a smirk ran across his face.
"Not all of it."
With that, he hit a small tab sticking out of the wall inside one of the cupboards by the sink. Pushing through the tab he opened a hole into a secret compartment. Reaching in he grabbed a hold of something. The sound of plastic echoed throughout the kitchen. Matt stared in surprise as Atrie picked himself up off the floor, a cereal bar in between his teeth. Tossing a stick of jerky to Kite, he wandered out of the kitchen and down the hall towards his room.
"Hey, where are you going now?" Matt yell from the kitchen doorway. Atrie turned, smiled and gave him a thumbs up.
"I need to get ready to head out to Sendai," he assured him.
"Say what!?" dropping his toast he raced down the hall into Atrie's room. Kite pranced along his heels barking like an excited puppy at all the commotion, adding to the noise of their loud chatter.
"So just where is Sendai?" Matt pried.
"It is a fairly good sized city north of Tokyo. I'm heading to a shrine on the outskirts of the city. Apparently a friend of my old man lives there,"Atrie hissed as he tried to stuff a shirt into an already stuffed side bag.
Connecting the pouches to his belt and strapping his goggles atop his head, he wandered out onto the front porch, Matt not to far behind. Taking his first breaths of the foggy morning air, Atrie sighed, staring out into the wet sky.
"This will be interesting," he yawned, "Well I'd best be off now. Come on kite, let's hit the skies."
Atrie waved to his cousin before throwing Kite into the air. There the small fox transformed into a golden red glider. He smiled and took off from the ground, the glider immediately catching in the gentle breeze and soaring up into the sky. Chasing the glider, Matt clambered up one of the large hills and yelled off into the distance.
"You come back now you hear!"
Atrie gave a cheeky grin, "Yeah, I hear you."
With that he soared off into the endless sky.
