Tempest Wind

By child_dragon

I faced BrightSong, determined.

"Okay, now, tell me about this traitor," I demanded.

He looked sadly at me, than nodded.

"When I was first killed, the spear was in the fairy's possession. But a Neopian allied with this evil realized the threat it presented, and stole it from the faeries. He delivered it to the grove in the Cursed Forest, and the Shadows shattered it into the six pieces. This traitor, possessing magic, hid the shards away in the realm of the Shadows, sealing each with a Guardian to keep the Essence from obtaining them."

"Okay, so what happened to the traitor? And you talk about the Shadows as if they're intelligent."

"No one knows what happened to the traitor. They say he still lives, aiding the Shadows. And the Shadows are intelligent, child_dragon, they are incredibly intelligent. They've been plotting for ages for this moment, but unfortunately for them, you've survived much longer than they'd hoped for."

"Glad to be of service," I said sarcastically, my spirits somewhat dampened by this news. I had assumed the Shadows to be mindless, driven by a need to kill and hatred of all things living, nothing more. BrightSong touched a section of the wall, and a dark blue gate appeared.

"Wind," he said. "Unpredictable and tricky. Fly well."

I nodded and stepped through.

I was immediately buffeted by a blast of wind, then it hastily died away. I stood on a cliff, below me was barren earth, far far below.

"It's Kiddo!" an exuberant voice said, and I turned to see the striped eyrie hovering just out of my reach.

"Un-eairkagh, of course you'd be here for wind," I said serenely.

"Of course. Who else?"

He laughed and somersaulted in midair, loosing a couple feet of altitude, but then gliding back up again.

"So, you coming?" he asked.

I spread my wings and leaped off into the air, feeling the currents of wind fill my wings and support me as I flew.

"Lead on," I commanded and he laughed, showing me the way.

As we flew, the wind grew steadily stronger, and dark clouds appeared. Thunder rumbled overhead, and the wind shrieked with gale force power. Flying was unreal now, and Un-eairkagh stopped and just hovered.

"Technically, I'm supposed to stop here, but I never have been a big fan of rules. Lets keep going," he said, and continued flying. There was a resounding crack, and a bolt of lighting streaked down to burst inches before the eyrie. He let out a startled squawk and hurriedly backed up.

"On second thought, never mind. Guess I can't go on after all," he said grimly. "It's up to you. Remember, flying is a dance, and the wind is the music. You fly with it, following where it leads. And Kiddo…I'm sorry I'm such a pain all the time."

"And I would of found Neopia a very dull place without you to exasperate me all the time," I said, "Never think that I don't love you, Un-eairkagh. Never."

And I meant every word.

I spread my wings and caught the wind, gliding higher towards the troubled sky. There was a brilliant flash of lightning, and something streaked out of them, a myriad of flashing colors. It stopped before me, hovering. The wind Guardian was an immense bird, different shades of blue patterning its feathers. It looked at me proudly, then dipped away, thunder echoing in its wake. I folded my wings and followed. It flew like the wind itself, veering and soaring, diving and banking with hardly a flaw. I, on the other hand, was buffeted by the wind, struggling to keep up. It laughed, the sound of its harsh caw drifting back on the winds. A blast of air shrieked past me, knocking me back. I hovered, catching my breath, and the bird hovered also, slowly flapping its wings, waiting.

"How am I supposed to catch the thing?" I muttered.

Then I remembered Un-eairkagh's words. Flying is a dance, the wind is the music. I closed my eyes and listened. And suddenly I knew. My flute instructor had always said that air must support the notes at all times. The notes follow the air, not the other way around. If the air support is weak, so will be the music. The wind would support my wings. And I had to follow the wind, wherever it led. I dove back into the tumult of wind, this time flying with the currents. The bird also took flight, and I beat my wings hard, following the wind. The current veered suddenly, and I followed it, even if it was leading me away from the bird. I rose into the air, the wind powering my flight. I was directly above the bird now, my speed matching its. I laughed and dove, not against the wind, but with it. The bird screamed and dove also, but I was faster now. The wind roared in my ears, and I readied my spear shard. I could reach out and touch its tail now. I drew back my arm, and threw, the spear speeding to strike the birds neck. It cried in pain and flared its wings. I snapped mine out, a loud pop stopping my descent. The bird hung there for a second, then fell, dissolving away into light. The spear shard hovered there, the dark blue light melding with it. Two elements left. I dipped slightly and grasped the spear. A swirling wind surrounded me, and I was returned to the center room.

****

Feel free to neomail me, I encourage it. I like feedback. Sabreur is really my brother, you can neomail him also, though I ask you to go easy on that. He's in college right now, and I'd rather not have him mad at me for getting a ton of battledome challenges, etc. Melody is also real, my best friend. She's in college too, her neopets name is horngodess, but I wouldn't suggest bugging her, she has a very demanding major and hardly any free time. Sakuko is also real, she's a really nice person.