Tales of the Blue Land: The Lightwing Saga

"Attention, passengers! Attention please! We will be arriving shortly at our destination! Please be sure that all of your personal belongings are gathered and that you are prepared to disembark!"

The com system, a series of pipes designed to send focused sound throughout the ship, blared right next to his ear, shocking him awake in an instant. He shot upwards, slamming his head against the low ceiling of his cabin, and gave a low groan, feeling through his thick brown, extremely wavy, and more often than not unmanageable hair, longer in the back than he was used to, to see just how bad the lump was going to be as it rose.

"What a way to start my day..." he mumbled with a resigned sigh, which fast turned into a profound yawn. He stretched his slender five-foot-nine frame to its limits, his back arching on the bunk he that had been assigned when he boarded the flying ship, the S.S. Blue Express, heading towards what he hoped would become his new home.

With another groan, he rolled out of bed and strode into the small bathroom just off the side of his cabin, snapping his fingers to activate the small magic essence bulb inside it, which glowed green instead of the customary white or yellow of normal light bulbs. Five minutes later, he was showered and brushing his teeth at the mirror, when a knock sounded at his door.

With a quick spit and rinse, he wandered out of the bathroom just as the cabin door opened, still toweling off his wet hair.

An attendant, dressed in a blue vest, white shirt, and mini-skirt, looking very much the professional she was, popped her head in, and gave a slight gasp. She withdrew a bit, staring at him, for he'd only had time to pull on his jeans, and was standing exposed from the waist-line up.

"U-um, we'll be arriving shortly, sir," she said, her gaze drifting over his shoulder and widening all the more, "I-I was told to make the rounds, to get everyone..." she stopped mid-sentence as he held up one hand calmingly. He turned his head, and pointedly tapped the small lump there. "I heard the announcement, Miss. I assure you, I travel light and will be ready to leave when we dock."

The girl put her hands to her lips and nodded, blushing fiercely. Slightly confused at her reaction, he tilted his head and shrugged his shoulders at her. Unintentionally waving his golden wings wide with the motion.

The girl gave a slight gasp and then, remembering to be courteous enough to offer a slight bow, backed out of the room quickly and shut the door behind her.

He turned and watched as her shadow crossed quickly past his cabin on the other side of the shaded window, then shrugged again and turned back to the bathroom, a slight smile on his face as he cleared the post-shower steam from the mirror, settling his gaze on the wings.

It was always those wings that first caught his attention, or anyone else's, for that matter, when looking over his shoulder. Golden at the rim, the feathers, a pure white, spread down far and long enough to give his light frame the ability of true flight, though he didn't know how their current length was capable of even lifting him.

He relished that feeling, loved how the air just seemed to catch him up and take him away, whenever he spread his wings wide and leaped high, loved how he felt as if he were escaping every bond and hardship he had ever known as he soared long and free.

It was a shame, then, that the very thing that gave him such joy also brought him so much pain.

He pulled his right wing forward over his shoulder, gently spreading the feathers near its middle to reveal a long, white scar, one of many that he had suffered in his years down in Diren. The world had been overrun by first the demons, then the Dragonians, then Tarintus and his minions, before the land he was now journeying to had risen into the sky.

He looked back to the cabin door, and now his smile widened at the girl's reaction.

She had not screamed, or run away.

All throughout his life, people had ousted him everywhere he went, shunning him, even attacking him, all because he had what no other humans in Diren had, what people said only monsters were supposed to have.

These golden-rimmed wings.

He loved them, regardless of the trouble they brought to him, but that did not erase his need, his want, of a place where he could walk openly, without the need to wear one of the light-weight, wide capes he always packed with him in his small bag, so that he could hide his wings beneath them.

It had been troublesome for him quite a long time, dodging from town to town, wearing disguises, always having to be one step ahead of those that would hunt him down because they simply did not, and would not, understand the truth of him, of his character, whatever his looks on the outside.

They had suffered too many attacks by winged creatures in the past wars to trust anyone who wasn't normal.

So, despite the scars, despite the pain and the loneliness and the solitude, he was not angry with them, and indeed he did love these wings.

Which is why the news of the Blue Land, guarded by the Priestess Luna and her allies, sent excited shivers through his body whenever he thought about it.

For it was there, in the Blue Land, that people had found the Floating Stones, special stones that could float when infused with magic. Stones in massive quantities that, given power by a nameless mage of untold magical might, had literally lifted the Blue Land away from Diren and many of that land's troubles.

It was there, and only there, where the stones could be refined and shaped, changed and used for many things.

It was there that people with wings traveled openly.

Traveled openly! Not a single rude stare or bared weapon would come against those who had wings in the Blue Land, for due to the floating stones, it was an all too common sight!

The thought of a land where he could finally shed the ridiculously-oversized capes he was used to wearing, and travel with his wings spread widely, sent a warm glow of hope through his battered and weary spirit.

Hope of a home, of friends, maybe even a family, of people that didn't shun him for what he owned, even if theirs were merely cosmetic creations while his were attached to his very skin from birth.

"Attention, passengers! We are now arriving at the Gate of Alker." The rest of the announcement was lost to his ears as he scrambled into a simple white t-shirt and a light brown leather vest, strapped on his shoulder guards, shin protectors, and gauntlets, and tossed on a forest green cape out of habit. He heaved his backpack over one shoulder, slipped out the door and tossed the keys to a nearby attendant as he did a hop-step while running to slide his boots on as he went.

He arrived at the forward rail to view a cloud bank all around them.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," the com system announced to his eager ears, as other people gathered around him, also eager to see their destination, "Welcome to Blue Land."

As if on cue, the ship broke through the clouds. The sun streamed onto the floating continent, highlighting the rainbows that crossed its skies.

The Blue Land awaited him.

A soft wind greeted him as an off-loading plank slid out of the side of the ship, the intercom system on the ship still issuing safety warnings and well-wishes to the passengers disembarking. To his left, a giant crab-like creature was sitting nearby a large wagon, loaded down with all kinds of odds and ends, some familiar but most foreign to him.

"Merchant group," he muttered to himself, hardly surprised, as he looked to the elven shopkeeper manning the small carpet set out in front of the crab creature.

Diren or Blue Land, the Merchant's Guild always found a place wherever people gathered, no matter how far away it happened to be.

A little ways back from it and further to the left, stood a beautiful short red-haired girl in light plate armor, flanked by two guards. Most of the travelers on the ship were lining up in front of this small station, so he figured it would be a good place to start, if only to get any questions he came up with out of the way.

A short fifteen minutes of standing in line brought him to the front of the line.

The girl, standing at about the same height as him, looked up from a clipboard she held against her waist and gave him a warm smile. "Welcome to the Blue Land, new guy!" she said in a cheery voice, which surprised him, since he had assumed that after doing this for so long she would have grown bored and routine about the entire process. "What's your name, and where ya headed?"

He gave the lady a smile in return, shrugging his shoulders, but being extra careful not to let his wings rise up under his cloak with the motion. "Wherever I'm most needed at first, I suppose," he responded, looking back up the path. "One road is as good as another, since I'm going to be looking long and hard for the perfect spot for my new home," he finished, dodging the first part of her question on a whim.

The girl's smile softened and she looked up the stone bridge heading out to the Alker Plains. "You might want to start in Alker Harbor, then. It's as good a place as any to learn the lay of the lands beyond here. There will definitely be enough merchants around the place for you to find a map or two, at the least." The girl gave a small sigh as she looked beyond that gate, a slightly wistful expression showing clearly in her eyes.

He picked up on it immediately. "A bit home-sick? Or is it that you've got a lover waiting up in town?" he asked, and the way she looked back at him, eyes wide and a slight blush on her cheeks, left him with no clue whether the latter half was true or not, until she spoke.

"Nah, no lover for me. Haven't found the right guy..." the look in her eye felt strange to the man, and apparently she noticed that it was making him a bit uncomfortable, because she suddenly looked back down at her clipboard and cleared her throat, "Well, er, Mister...?" she prompted, pretending to flip through several pages as if she already had an idea of who he was.

"Lightwing," he replied, giving the flustered young lady the courtesy of not dragging it out longer, "Aeronishun Lightwing, Aer for short, of Diren, western continent."

The lady raised her eyebrows at that, her look turning curious. "That area's almost completely forested over. Were you raised in the wild, then?" she asked, her curiosity overriding any sense of tact.

"No," he said, looking back out over the sea of clouds, to the west, "it's just the first place I can remember living in. I don't have any memories of who raised me or how I even survived up to that first memory..." He turned back to her and shrugged again, "Call it luck, I guess."

The lady assumed a pensive pose for a moment, then smiled more warmly than ever, "Well, if you're looking to find a place to make a new life full of memories you'll never forget, the Blue Land is the right place for it! Alker Harbor is just beyond the Plains of Alker, over the stone bridge straight behind you. There are monsters along the path, but they're nothing you can't handle, I'm sure. Mostly weak little turtles and slimes."

Aer smiled and gave her a wave as she marked down his name on her list, and turned towards the bridge to start on his way, when an abrupt call turned him back.

"Hey, Lightwing!" the girl said, to which he just quirked an eyebrow as he looked back at her, curious as to why she stopped him.

Then he noticed that his cloak had fallen off from his shoulders, lying on the path in front of him.

With a small lump of worry in his stomach, he scurried forward and scooped up the cloak, hastily re-tying it before daring to look back up at her.

She had a strangely warm and soft look in her eyes as she looked from the cloak hiding his wings, back to his eyes.

She turned herself halfway back to the entrance to the guard house, and gave him a soft wink.

"Thanks for the unique new memory," she said with a smile, "I hope yours are just as nice from now on..."

With that, she slipped inside quickly and shut the door to the guard house. Aer turned back towards the bridge, starting along his way to Alker Harbor, as he silently thought to himself with a smile, I get the feeling they will be...

A light breeze blew through his hair as Aer crossed the stone bridge into the Plain of Alker.

Around him, people with short swords, staves, daggers, and all manner of other weapons, fought small blue Slimes as he passed. Few took notice of him, but he did stop to help one small boy who had fallen to the wayside after taking out a small group of five of the little enemies, and he gave the young one some bread he had leftover in his pack before continuing on his way.

"Violent yet peaceful," he mused, as he decided to take the right-hand path around the central hill of the region.

Walking alone near the underbrush and low boughs of a nearby glen, his defenses went up as another of the small, blue slimes he had seen earlier leaped out of the bushes. It turned in the middle of the path and squatted down, as if it were about to leap at him.

An arrow from the nearby trees drove into it, defeating it in a single blow, dissolving it into nothing more than a black shadow.

Aer looked to the trees as a girl casually strolled out of the brush, wiping the twigs and leaves off her light armor.

The wind kicked up a little, and blew her blue hair about her shoulders, giving Aer a clear view of another of the girl's features, pointed ears. An elf.

"Another day, another slime," the elven girl said as she strolled casually out in front of Aer and leaned down in front of him, where the monster had just been.

She straightened and held up a few small objects between her fingers. Gold coins.

"Pickings are pretty sad, though," she lamented with a small sigh, cut short as she suddenly took notice of Aer, seemingly for the first time. "New arrival?" she asked in a light tone, giving him a full body scan with her eyes.

He tightened his wings to his back reflexively.

"Where's your weapon?" the girl asked, holding out her bow as an example, "The beasts in this area may be weak, but you can still get hurt without a proper weapon to fight them off with…"

Just then the bushes to the side shuddered, and Aer reacted instinctively, leaping in front of the girl just as what appeared to be a giant mushroom leaped out at them.

It coiled back its spotted head and swung it forward and down quickly. Not quickly enough.

A swift step forward took Aer below the arc of its swinging head, and he managed to lock his arm around its body as he spun his back to its bulk, tight over his right shoulder, pushing off to the side with his legs to force its body to the side. The attack meant to hit the girl slammed into the ground mere inches to her side, leaving a small bit of cracked ground in its wake.

A quick heave and Aer had the strange creature set on its head like a top. He grabbed it and wrenched it to the side, setting it to whirling. The muscles in his legs coiled then snapped taut, launching him into a short leap. Spinning, he lashed out with one foot, catching the thing mid-mass and sending it, still whirling like a mad top, careening back into the brush, where it slammed into a tree and began to dissolve away, defeated.

The girl looked on in stunned amazement as Aer casually went back to where he had left his pack and picked it up, then turned back to her.

"I guess you won't need that weapon after all," she muttered, as he approached again.

"What was that?" he asked, having not heard her low utterance. She straightened and stuttered, "Oh! Err…umm…n-nothing, nothing at all! Eheheh….so, umm, you're headed into town?" she asked. Aer gave her a nod, and she smiled and pointed up the path. "You're not too far away. Just up the hill. The guard has been out in force lately, so the High Turtles should be cleared away from the town entrance about now. You shouldn't have any further problems."

He grinned and gave her a salute, then started away just as another few elves, males, came up behind her, watching Aer's departure.

"New guy?" one of them asked, noting the fast-dissolving form of the mushroom, still driven a far into the tree that Aer had kicked it at.

"A bit more than that, I'm thinking," she said, watching Aer's back with interest. "The Priestess Luna will want to meet with that one….."

She smirked to herself suddenly. "And so will the Knight's Union, I'll wager."

The town wasn't very far from his run-in with the girl and the strange mushroom monster. A few minutes of walking brought him into range of the varied sounds that drifted out of Alker Harbor, and the sounds only made his steps quicken.

The town towered up in front of him in no time, and a small crowd of people were about to enter, chatting and smiling with each other. Aer, with a well-practiced and inconspicuous step, joined them just as they went in.

When he finally separated from that small crowd, as if the town itself was welcoming him, the first thing he got was a bubble to the face, which momentarily made him back a step, his eyes crossed, as it popped on his nose.

After a few moments of blinking suds out of his eyes, Aer focused on the town. He looked around in awe.

Everywhere he set eyes, there was no mistaking the joyful attitude of this place. Immense bubble machines sent their creations drifting about the town constantly. Merchants and adventurers alike sat on the grass outside buildings, blankets with varied wares sprawled out upon them, haggling and arguing over the quality of this gem shard or that scroll.

A few places were even set up for specialty items; Floating Crystals, Fairy Dust, and Scrolls of Enchantment, Flame Stones and Armor Molds were set up in special wooden stalls lining a dirt lane through one side of the town, in sets of fifty to a hundred at a time or more.

They even had amusement rides! A trained bear atop a ball twirling children from a rope contraption, a roller coaster, so many different rides that he got excited just from watching.

Everywhere he looked, people were walking around or riding on various contraptions, ranging from hot air balloons to horses, even a tiger or two! But what made him smile most, of course, were the people floating around on Wings.

From simple white affairs to midnight black, to wings with golden rims, even a few that looked fit for a circus costume, people hovered around him without a care in the world as to who saw them.

He was just about to fling off his own cloak and join them in that pastime, something he dearly wanted to do since his wings were becoming cramped under the cloak he wore, even as light as it was, when a singing voice stopped him.

It drifted on the air as if it were a part of it, lilting above the crowds so as to blend with the noise without being a true part of it, neither a disturbance nor an attempt at showcase. A song so perfectly natural and beautiful that if one stopped to take notice of it, it would catch their attention and hold it strongly, though the voice was gentle and sweet.

He looked around and spotted a small temple off to the side of one lane, a small crowd gathered around it listening to the young woman.

Hair the green of a deep forest, a face at once angular and soft, a dress that flowed as if made of the wind, hiding and yet accentuating the delicate form it enshrouded. And, of course, her most prominent feature, high, pointed ears.

The elven woman spread out her hands and her voice lifted an octave, following her arms as they lifted up and out, and her lips held one single, perfect note, for a long moment, before it softly faded into the sunlight.

The small crowd clapped and cheered as she finished, some openly weeping even as they smiled, and the beautiful woman gave them a serene smile as she took a small bow, her five and a half foot body bending regally, while her deep blue eyes, the same as a sapphire, looked out past the crowd. Aer's heart leaped into his throat as those delicate orbs locked with his own.

As the crowd finally cleared away, the woman left her modest stage and instead of walking, skipped down to him with surprisingly energetic strides. She stopped directly in front of Aer and looked up at him. "Are you the one?" she asked, her eyes shining with curiosity.

Aer could only stare, enchanted and yet, confused. "Are you the one?" she asked again, moving forward half a step, causing Aer to move back, as she put her hands together pleadingly.

He could only stammer as he searched for a reply, but fortunately, a strong yet equally pleasant voice from up the lane called out to her.

"Crescentia! You're doing it again!" called a woman, and for the second time in the span of a few minutes, Aer was captivated, as he looked at the new speaker.

A dress just like the first girl's covered her, but her hair was a beautiful shade of sunlight yellow. Her eyes, though, held the same delicate shade of sapphire as that of the girl apparently named Crescentia, and she was closer to six and a half feet tall than she was to five.

Crescentia looked back at her with a small pout on her lips. "Sorry, sister," she said, "but can you really blame me? I mean, with all the news leaking in about The Lo-" She suddenly cut her sentence off as her sister raised her eyebrows sharply. Crescentia looked at Aer before stepping to the side a few paces, looking unsatisfied, but resigned to her role as a passive audience to this meeting. The other woman slowly stepped down the lane to stand before Aer.

"Greetings," she began, "I am Luna." She gave him a soft smile and dipped a light curtsy that would have taught a princess a thing or two.

"Hey there, my name's -" Aer began, clearly uncomfortable with the formality of her greeting, but she raised a hand to stop him short.

"No need for introductions, Aeronishun," she said, which caused Crescentia to give a slight gasp, and Aer's eyebrows to rise as he backed up a cautious step. How had she known his name?

Luna smiled again, as Crescentia gave Aer a look that clearly implied amazement. Aer's trepidation eased somewhat, until Luna spoke again. "We've been waiting for someone like you for a very, very long time..."

They set out at a calm and even pace across Alker towards the Knight's guild.

Luna lead, and was constantly bombarded with greetings and offerings of everything from food to unique jewelry as she strode down the dirt road lined with merchants.

A few strides behind her, Crescentia sighed and rolled her eyes. "It gets like this every time," she said in a low voice as she leaned conspiratorially towards Aer, "I get so sick of it. I don't know how she stands all the fawning these people do!"

Aeronishun smirked at her exasperated rant. In the past few minutes, Crescentia had garnered a few looks as well, but for some reason, likely because her older sister was leading the way, nobody had as of yet approached her.

Aer doubted that she hated the attention as much as she claimed, however. He had seen her proud smile as she finished singing for the small crowd back near the temple steps, and knew she enjoyed the company of the townsfolk, whether or not she was bothered by their forward manner in other instances.

They walked along in silence for a few moments more, then a man holding a bright blue crystal stopped them with a call to Luna.

"Priestess sisters! How good to see you both out and about together for a change!" the man said, letting the ball hovering before his face drift back down into his palm as he walked into the path to speak with them.

"Ah, Farouk," Luna said with a friendly smile to the man, "Still training in basic magic, I see?"

The man named Farouk gave her a wry grin, and tucked the ball into his pocket. "I couldn't very well claim to lead the Magician's Guild if I forgot how to apply a simple bit of levitation, now could I?" he quipped, and they shared a warm chuckle.

This guy seems nice, Aer found himself thinking, as Farouk's gaze drifted past Luna to Crescentia, and finally to Aer.

"And who might this young man be?" he asked curiously, and after flicking his eyes back and forth between Aer and Crescentia, his lips turned up into a perfectly smug little grin. "Ahhh-haahhhh... might this be the young man that our dear little Cressie was dreaming so fon-OOOF!" Farouk suddenly doubled over breathlessly as Crescentia sank her fist into his side in irritation, directing a perfectly awful glare at him.

"You know I hate that nickname, you minor trickster. Only my sister and the man I will give my heart to may call me by that name, and you're neither!" she snapped icily.

With a toss of her hair, which swung wide to slap him across the face, Crescentia spun on her heels and continued haughtily walking in the direction they had been heading.

Note to self, Aer mentally stated. Do NOT call her by anything but her full first name, if you want to keep your body intact...

Luna cast a resigned sigh after her younger sister's back. "She's always like that. So stubborn and prideful..."

Farouk, having recovered a bit of breath, leaned back against a wall and gave a wan smile. "Well, at least she's strong and not afraid to stick up for herself. If only she would show her cute side more, maybe she'd have found someone by now, but she seems to scare off all her suitors..."

Luna nodded in agreement, bid him farewell, and began walking after her sister.

Aeronishun moved to follow, but Farouk held out a hand and gently grabbed Aer's shoulder.

"Look after that girl," he said with a small smile. "Believe it or not, she gets lonely easily..."

Aer looked at him curiously, and although he nodded agreement to the request, he still felt compelled to ask, "Why trust me with her welfare? I've only just arrived in this land, and you barely know me..."

Farouk held up a hand and grinned as he pointed in Crescentia's direction. "You should pay better attention, lad," he said, "she's a bit of a tom-boy. But she doesn't show that side of herself, unless she's trying to impress someone..."

With a knowing wink, Farouk slipped his crystal ball back out of his pocket and walked into the shop behind him, leaving Aer staring after him in confusion.

Aer stood there scratching his head for a moment before a call shook him from his thoughts. "Aer," Crescentia shouted, "Hurry up or you'll lose us!"

"Ah, coming!" he shouted back. Crescentia, appeased, turned and continued on, her sister now back in the lead again.

Aer couldn't resist slowing, however, as he once again looked back over his shoulder to where Farouk had been standing, to pondering the meaning of the wizard's words...