Chapter XXI

„The Taste of Magic"

I steadied myself with my hand against the trunk of the tall pine I was standing on, looking around. Innocent sheep formed in the sky above, as if not feeling the gravity of the situation in the slightest. In resignation, I glanced towards the gardens, where Kaan was accompanying Sivath, the dog sniffing around eagerly. Then I shifted my gaze to one of the little clearings near the shore, where we practiced for our first flying attempts not so long ago, and where now the slender figure of Asuna moved around. Her calling for Eugeo did nothing more than scare a pair of swans hiding in the reed though. In the front of the mansion only a warm wind chased an occasional weaker leaf, that it managed to rip from some inattentive branch. I sighed. We searched almost everywhere by now...

I let my hand slide down the bark, spread my wings a little and let myself fall a few meters, before soaring into the air above the forest. I looked around again... which just made no sense to me anymore. It verged on a miracle to spot anything between the mass of leaves from above. But then I noticed something in the corner of my vision... the brighter, vast stain of the enormous willow among the dark trees...

Yes, that was the place that has become so special to me just yesterday... but something was wrong. I frowned. I was getting a strange feeling while looking at the gigantic tree crown, as if my subconsciousness was registering some important detail, but I couldn't define it. I flew towards it a bit, letting myself fall gradually and suddenly wavered in midair. I hastily beat my wings stronger a few times to steady myself.

Then I understood. The willow's twigs weren't moving at all, despite the rest of the forest swaying in the delicate wind. Like there was absolutely no movement of air around that single tree only...

I lowered myself even further, urged on by the strengthening conviction sparked by the memory of Asuna's words, or maybe something I myself was starting to sense... I split the green curtains carefully with one hand. I didn't notice anything unusual, but I felt like something was lurking beneath the living canopy. Something alien and hostile... I just wondered what my next step should be, when something caught my eye... and caused my heart to skip a beat.

Right by the massive, dark trunk, there was a feather... a single brown feather, so innocent, and yet so ominous...

I had no doubts about what happened anymore. I took a few deep breaths to calm down, separated the twigs further and folded my wings completely to fall into the gap. I cushioned the drop with one beat of my wings and landed on the soft moss.

I didn't have the time to look around, when I heard a deep voice, so familiar to me even despite having heard it only once in my life: "So you have managed to find me, Kirito..."

I glanced to my left. The man was standing just around the willow's trunk, his back leaned against it. His exquisite, dark blue clothing didn't fit into the green of the surroundings very well, unlike his short hair, that matched the color of the bark perfectly. "I didn't expect you here so quickly..." he spoke again, turning to face me. "How did you know?"

"Even if I told you, I doubt you would understand," I answered coldly. "A piece of advice though... if you want to fool a Disciple, then don't mess around with the movement of air."

"Oh? And why would you give me such useful advices?"

"Why indeed... maybe I'll think of an answer if you tell me what you've done with Eugeo first?"

"He's resting somewhere else right now... say, did I even introduce myself? My name is Chrysheight..."

"I don't care, where is he?!"

"You're so impatient... he's close," the man made a slight gesture with his hand and suddenly the clearing underneath the willow disappeared, swallowed by darkness. The chirping of birds died down, the smell of moss vanished... Even so, I still saw the magician standing in front of me, clear and unfaded... I've already seen his magic once, but it didn't prevent the shadow of fear to surface from the depths of my mind. And then, above the irritatingly restless beating of my heart, came the sound of waves, smell of water and a breeze that caressed my wings. The last thing to return was vision, and I suddenly saw the shore of the lake, a narrow space between it and the forest on its western side. I looked around. The horizon was closed by tall trees, which descended almost to the very edge of the water in some places. The mansion loomed far behind my back.

When I turned to face the magician again, he smiled and glanced to his left. I involuntarily followed his gaze and my breath got caught in my chest.

There was a big, mostly flat boulder right at the edge of the water, the waves breaking on it with a silent hiss. On the moist surface laid Eugeo, unmoving, one hand dropped down in the direction of the Blue Rose Sword, half buried in the sand that shifted with the waves. There was a little crimson trail going from his right temple down his pale cheek...

I ran up to him and immediately put my ear to his chest. I closed my eyes and exhaled in relief upon hearing the soft heartbeat and the breath that matched the waves... But it didn't manage to soothe the rage. I looked at the mage again, ready to burn him to ashes right here and now. "What did you do to him?!"

"I was merely defending myself," his irritatingly innocent tone didn't help matters. "He came at me with the sword..."

"Well I assume he had a very good reason for that!"

"It was him who attacked first," the man took a few steps in our direction. "And as you can see, he's still alive, so..." I felt an inner voice telling me, that it would be good to at least listen to what he has to say, but there was something that stifled it. I noticed that as the mage approached, he made no sound... short grass covered the shore, there were single leaves and little twigs among it here and there, and yet I didn't even hear the slightest rustle of his boots brushing them. Even the forest around us seemed strangely quiet, no whispers coming from it, no singing of birds. There was just this penetrating silence, as if everything around has just died.

I suddenly realized that I've made a fatal mistake by letting this man get close to us.

But I had to suppress fear. I had to protect Eugeo, whatever that might cost me. I stood up, getting between him and the mage, feeling something that was unfamiliar to me until now. Like the fury in my chest was helping to clear the mind. There was nothing beside protecting Eugeo among my thoughts at that very moment. I rose my hands slightly, starting to summon fire. To my surprise though, the flame appeared belatedly, sparking strangely between my fingers. Upon seeing that I came to my senses. The memory of Asuna's words suddenly broke through the scalding anger...

"Really...?" I heard the mage's voice and lifted my head. "You will just end up like your friend, wouldn't it be better..."

"It wouldn't!" I lashed the anger at him within my words for a change, so it wouldn't go into my magic instead and this time the flame sprang to life without hesitation. I sent it in his direction without thinking much... and realized my second mistake a split second too late. There was a light forming in my enemy's hand as well, but a light of a different kind, something like wisps of pure energy circling his palm. He made a quick motion with his wrist and suddenly something akin to a mirror appeared right in front of him. I was able to only stare in terror, as my flames met the smooth surface, reformed into bright wisps as well, as if his magic was absorbing mine, and then it was hurled back at me with the full force of my own anger.

I instinctively shielded myself with my left forearm and wing, which wasn't the smartest decision either... Some nasty impulse ran through my body, spreading from the space just below the leading edge all the way to my legs. I bit my lip as I fell to my knees, holding my left shoulder with my right hand. It went completely numb, just as my left wing did, suddenly hanging at my side in an unnatural position... It wasn't painful, but the realization of the powerfulness of my opponent made my breath go hasty and my heart race in panic.

"I like this trick, I admit..." said the mage as he came a few steps closer again, looking down at me with this hawk-like gaze and making a chill of terror run down my spine, "but was it really necessary to force me to use it? It's so pathetic it's not even funny... Your wings are powerful, but as long as you're in my reach, they can only fly to a certain height... that is defined by me. So why don't you just calmly listen to what I have to say, since you're so conveniently immobilized?"

I wasn't sure what burned more: the anger pulsing in my veins, or the tears of helplessness that fought their way to my eyes. When I saw the mage rise his hand again, I just squeezed them shut, completely horrified, ready to give up...

... and then a familiar, crystal-clear ringing reached my ears from the direction of the forest. "Asuna..." I whispered, raising my head slightly again.

The silent prayer got answered... and there were a few things that happened almost in the same moment.

To my surprise, I noticed the man standing before me lowering his hand into his pocket... then something red caught my eye between the tree branches slightly above his left shoulder. Next, I had to turn my head away, because a blinding red flash came from somewhere, but definitely wasn't caused by my opponent. When I was able to open my eyes again, I went completely speechless.

Between us stood Asuna, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her back to me and Eugeo, shielding us both with her own body. And...

... she had wings...

Majestic, deep-crimson at the top, fading to a pale scarlet further down, covered with gorgeous, ruby scales... she held them half-folded, slightly bent in an aggressive fashion towards the mage standing before her.

The man took a step back. He obviously didn't expect the third Disciple to appear right at this moment and completely out of nowhere.

"Leave," Asuna said silently, but her tone intolerant of any objection. She looked so furious her chestnut hair seemed to throw golden sparks around. "If you value your life, leave and never dare to return to this place."

"Isn't that nice..." the mage's voice was calm once again. He regained his composure so quickly it was scary. "Now all of the Disciples have awakened. Still, I don't think you stand a chance against me, considering your powers have just started developing, so..."

Asuna just smiled mockingly and interrupted him, "Well, if you're prepared to have one or two things damaged in the process, I will gladly watch you test that theory..." She lifted her hand and traced a wide semi-circle above her head with it. Her fingers left an impressive arch of bright flames behind. They started to flicker above her head, crackling menacingly. "Leave," she repeated, her voice emphasizing that this was the last warning.

The mage frowned, but didn't move. "How..."

"I'm sorry, that's not the answer you were supposed to give me!" with one flick of her wrist Asuna sent the flames flying his way before I could stop her.

And the same way it did tonight, a sudden wind picked up, causing us to shield our eyes from the frantically dancing leaves. When we looked again, the man was gone, one little brown feather remaining in his place.

Suddenly the forest regained its voice, the birds called out again from between the tree crowns, the whisper of the lake became clearer...

Ignoring the still remaining numbness, I shakily shifted closer to Eugeo's side again. He was still unconscious, but somehow he just looked like he was simply asleep now... I sighed in relief.

"I think he will be fine," I felt Asuna kneel beside me and felt her delicate hand touch my shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Her gentle voice, completely devoid of the earlier anger, erased the last remainder of tension in my body and mind. I slumped, leaning my forehead against the cold rock by Eugeo's side, completely exhausted. I was almost ready to cry from the relief... I didn't feel best, but right now the most important thing to me was the fact, that Eugeo was safe... that we all were...

I just breathed slowly for a few moments, before speaking quietly: "Asuna..."

"Yes?"

"Just now... how did you... when...?"

"When did I suddenly develop to this level?" she asked gently, as if wanting to spare me the trouble of voicing my thoughts. "To be honest... the 'draconic' part of my nature has already awoken quite some time ago. Being a druid makes it easier for me to handle any kind of magic, so the magic of the Disciples quickly became something natural to me as well... still... even now I sometimes fear, that it might not be enough..."

"Then why..."

"Why did I keep it a secret? I wanted to use it as an element of surprise in case something like that just now happened... I suspected that someone connected to Sharish would be observing our actions and I wanted him to get an impression, that he shouldn't have a big problem with getting rid of us... and I'm glad I did that. Because you're both still here thanks to it..."

"But... I don't think it was this man's intention to really hurt us..."

"Sorry?"

I suddenly felt Eugeo stir a little and lifted my head weakly. His eyelashes fluttered delicately and I finally saw those green eyes, the shadow of unconsciousness dispelling from somewhere deep inside them.

My tired mind identified it as a sign, that everything was alright again. The last thing I managed was a faint smile, before my eyes slipped shut and I fell into an exhausted sleep, drained of any thoughts or visions...

„Let the Magic dry your Tears and heal your Heart..."

Yes, that is Seijirou Kikuoka, in his real-life appearance and with his in-game name. Because "Chrysheight" fits much better into a fantasy setting, and because his in-game avatar looks just horrible XD

I've put the map of Earlindon to my Twitter (Yasenka Glorfindel or YGlorfindel). It's not the best in terms of proportions, but should help you to follow some things.

Thank you all for reading and favoriting! :)