Chapter 7

The Wizard and the Bird

Feeling groggy, Zan realized she was on hard ground instead of a cozy bed at home. Cold mist stuck to her face and pain numbed all other feelings as her eyes opened. Where am I? she wondered weakly. She barely remembered anything, other than three prior events: being ambushed unexpectedly, great waves of pain…and something carrying her benevolently. Only, what did that mean?

Demanding an answer, Zan looked to her left and saw that she wasn't alone in this…cavern, it seemed. By her side, asleep, was another person all dressed in white with a golden-trimmed hood and sleeves, tucked under a somewhat dirty white blanket. She then noticed that she was under one, too. But looking down, she realized her hands were scraped and covered in dirt and raw patches. Then she remembered going out for a "walk" as she told her aunt, and she must've been waiting for Zan. Worried, she tried to move the sheet off of herself, only to squeal in pain from her raw hands.

Zan's pain was followed by the small moan of another voice. She looked back to her side and saw the stranger was waking. He rubbed his eye with his sleeve before gazing at her with concerned golden eyes. But those eyes…they gave Zan the terrifying realization that he was a Galaxy Wizard. He lifted the thin blanket off himself, uncovering that he wore a short robe with very long sleeves, as if his clothes were slightly too big for him. Feeling that he might do something to her, Zan threw the blanket off herself, yelping in more pain.

The wizard gasped lightly, clearly understanding that she was hurt and trying to escape. He floated over to her, gazing at her reddened hands with a blend of worry and nervousness in his large eyes. He took a deep breath and seemed to gain the courage to speak.

"Do you mind if I…look at them?"

Zan wasn't sure how to respond at first. From his voice, he was certainly a child, maybe slightly older than she- and it was shaky with a sense of comfort. Although his race was long-hated by her own, she couldn't really help but trust his request. Slowly, she decided to set her hands palms-up in his sleeves.

"It sure doesn't look good…" the young wizard mumbled, "We should probably wash them off outside."

Zan gave a small nod in agreement, followed by letting him guide her outside to a large, sparkling reservoir surrounded by puddles from overnight rain, as well as clouds of light mist. She couldn't help herself but stop and stare at its beauty but was quickly interrupted by her sore hands when she placed one on a rock. She then refocused on the wizard's offer, trailing behind him to a slightly deep puddle.

Gazing into the water, Zan saw another face covered in dirt and scratches. It placed a mask of worry on her face- what would her aunt and cousins think? Perhaps rinsing it with the water would help…but it would likely come at the price of further pain. Yet it seemed there was no other option. Holding her breath, she suspended her right hand above the pooled liquid, expecting a cold sting to arrive as soon as it made contact. Here goes nothing… she encouraged herself. She shoved it under, there was a brief jolt of a sting, and then- nothing. Zan yanked her hand out of the water in confusion, only to find it spotless. There wasn't the smallest scratch left behind, nor any hint of pain or tint of red. It was pale and perfect.

From the look in his eyes, it seemed the wizard himself didn't understand what happened when Zan suddenly shifted her gaze to him. "My best guess is it's some kind of…magic water." he shrugged. "Maybe it was from the rain last night."

Delighted by wonder, Zan plunged her left hand into the cold puddle, followed by her right, cupped the water into them, and splashed it onto her face. With another gaze into the pool, the parallel face was clearer than freshly polished porcelain. She would've smiled, had she had a mouth, and her reflection blushed lightly. She then turned to the wizard, who was slightly blushing himself, although maybe not out of desire. He turned away, seeming unable to look at her.

Now understanding this boy seemed rather timid, she gently placed a healed hand on his shoulder. "Thank you…" she managed to whisper.

The wizard looked over his shoulder, gazing at the hand on it. His star-shining eyes turned from stunned to soft. She couldn't be surer that, if he had a mouth, a smile concealed itself beneath the veil on his hood. Had she the same, she would've smiled back.

The two headed back to the cavern in joyful silence, although the wizard still seemed a tad nervous. In Zan's eyes, he either wasn't used to speaking amongst others, or he recognized her as an enemy race. Or could it have been both? She'd rather not call him out on it.

"Are you alright otherwise?" he questioned to her.

"I am a bit worried about my family, I'd say…" Zan answered. "After all, I'm sure my aunt expected me home by sunset."

It seemed the wizard wanted to reply, but was interrupted by a low growling noise, catching the attention of them both. Zan wasn't sure what it was, nor if she should be afraid, but solved the mystery when the young wizard placed a covered hand over his abdomen.

"Pardon me…" he spoke in embarrassment, "With all the excitement last night, I didn't get to go home and eat…"

"Neither did I," replied Zan, noticing she was also a bit hungry, "But I take that as you don't have anything, right?"

"I'm afraid not." the wizard shook his head. But then, a large shadow appeared on the ground from above. The children gazed up to find a spherical bird with giant wings, orange feathers and a cloth sack in its jaws. It hovered just above the ground, set down the sack, nodded at the two, and then flew away to the unknown. Zan traced its path by sight as far as she could until the boy's voice yanked her from her mind.

"It must be trying to help us."

Zan looked at him in confusion, now noticing he opened the sack to find it filled with various food scraps.

"I saw the same Doomer last night, when it gave us the blankets. You were already asleep then." he supposedly read her face. "It's strange, though; I spoke to it, and it seemed to understand me perfectly." He then turned to Zan. "By the way, you can eat first if you'd like."

"Are you sure?" Zan asked.

"Um…it's fine!" he suddenly squeaked out anxiously, covering his face. "I swear, I'm terrible at this! Forgive me!"

Zan didn't even have to ask what he was talking about- it was clearly the shakiness when he spoke. Although part of her wanted to tell him there was nothing wrong, another part told her this wasn't the right time for that. Maybe if she left him alone, he would properly pull himself together. To keep herself occupied and calm her gnawing hunger, she began eating some of the collected food, but still kept a close eye on the wizard. It took a short while, but her plan seemed to work; he calmed down, uncovered his face and finished off whatever Zan couldn't eat. Afterward, it looked like it settled him down quite a bit. The two went back outside and sat down, gazing at the spring. For a while there was silence, and then Zan recalled a bit more of the previous day, when a worm-like centipede ambushed her. Out of fear, she chucked her spear at it…and never got it back.

Zan gasped at the sudden realization, "My spear! I lost it!"

The wizard jolted in alert.

"With the beast attacking me, I didn't have the chance to retrieve it." Zan stated. But then she realized something else… "Wait…why did you save me?"

The wizard paused a moment, and then took a deep breath. "For me, it's rather complicated, but I know how it feels to be cornered by something that makes one feel powerless." he attempted to explain. "At least, that's what I thought when I noticed it from afar. But once I found you injured, I also realized that, although we're rivaling races, we share common enemies, such as that monster."

Zan exhaled in disbelief. "I've never thought about it that way." she thought aloud. "But after all that happened with that creature, I don't feel brave enough to go back and fetch my spear!"

"Don't worry, I'll go with you." the wizard offered, standing up.

"Really? Thank you!" said Zan with joy. "By the way, what name do you go by?"

"Hyness." he replied.

"Hyness?" echoed Zan, "What an interesting name!"

"And what about you?" Hyness asked as he began showing her the way to where he rescued her.

"I'm Zan Partizanne," she answered. "I know, it's a lot to remember, but you can call me Zan for short."

"Alright, then…Zanne."

The two travelled back to the zone of the ambush, quieting down as they got closer so any monsters wouldn't hear them as easily. It wasn't long before they arrived to find that same centipede-demon curled up against the rocks, with Zan Partizanne's spear lying next to it. "I can't just go over there- it'll wake up and attack me again!" Zan whispered to Hyness.

"It's your property, though; I don't want to just grab it myself." Hyness whispered back, "I think you should just get it with me close behind."

Zan held her breath. "Alright, then…here goes nothing…" She then crept over to the sleeping beast with Hyness a short distance behind her. The monster's head twitched slightly, freaking Zan out, but then rested its head back on the ground. Zan looked behind herself, back to Hyness, who nodded his head once, a bit of nervousness in his eyes. Looking back, she crept closer to her spear, placed one hand on it, grasped it, and held it up for Hyness to see. But without thinking, she dashed away, with her draft catching the beast's attention. Zan failed to notice this at first, though.

"You were right, Hyness! It didn't-" she started, but was interrupted by a low, angered snarl. "-Never mind." she corrected herself.

"We've gotten it angry…" Hyness panicked, "Run for it!"

But before either of them could, a white bolt shot from the beast's pincers, hitting Hyness in the chest and knocking him over. "Hyness!" Zan screamed, dropping her spear and rushing over to him. The beast slithered over, towering over them. Zan covered Hyness with her entire body, waiting for the beast to crash on top of them. Instead, there was only the sound of a crash, followed by a screech.

"Don't you touch them!" a voice yelled.

Hyness pulled himself together, off the ground and Zan aside. But their savior was not a wizard, mage, nor even a soldier. An orange, spherical bird flew into view, launching spheres of flames at the centipede. It kept screeching in pain, flailing at random to try and counter attack its pint-sized opponent, but the bird was too quick to be hit once.

"What, is that all you've got left?" the Doomer taunted it in a slightly-deep female voice. "How about don't even bother trying? You've got the size, but I've got the speed!"

Both children were stunned as she kept giving it one fireball and taunt after another, until it retreated, looking ashamed. The bird then grabbed the spear in her jaws and set it down in front of Zan Partizanne. "How were you able to do that?" she questioned, dumbfounded.

"Don't worry, I do this to them all the time!" the Doomer laughed. "You two are alright, aren't you?"

"I've never heard of this before- a Greater Doomer that can speak like a person!" Hyness concluded. "So that's why you understood me so perfectly!"

"I've learned it from my caretakers." she stated blushed. "I figured you two weren't willing to hurt one another, so I thought I should step in."

"And that's why you wanted to help us!" Zan figured.

"Why yes! I've never enjoyed watching others take their hostility out on each other, so you two are an ember of hope for Haldryana!" she chirped. "Well, for me at least…I'm Amber by the way."

"Well, thanks for the help…Amber." replied Zan.

Several hours later, when evening approached, Zan felt confident enough to head home as long as Amber guided her back the way. But as she readied herself to lead, Hyness stopped her.

"Zanne…"

"Yes, Hyness?"

"Please promise me one thing…to not tell anyone, be it a mage, wizard, or soldier, about my presence here. As long as you do, you may come back if you wish."

Zan nodded. "I cross my heart to keep it a secret." She then let Amber guide her from above back home.

As he watched her leave, Hyness suddenly remembered that he also had a family waiting for him back at home. With this, he grabbed his mythology book and headed back to his own village, unable to help himself but wonder if Zanne would stay true to her words.

Even if you don't, Zanne, I must thank you for opening my eyes to a common enemy. I certainly hope you will return someday…

Later that evening, Amber returned Zan home safely, followed by returning home herself. Once far enough from any society, she summoned a portal upon a rock and entered a dimly lit chamber of which she refused to expose to a soul. "Great Guardians of Nebula! It is I, Messenger Amber, with an important notice!" She shouted into the vast depths of what seemed to the unfamiliar to be oblivion.

Nine glowing orbs of three colors lit from those dark depths. "Tell us Amber, what have you seen?" a young female voice responded.

"I strongly believe I have found the two who may end the feud forever!"

"You actually say?" followed another female voice, "Are you certain?"

"Not at the moment. They only just met, but if they develop a strong friendship, it's absolutely possible!"

"What a strong will of yours, Amber." yet another voice added, "Do you mind pointing them out to us and allowing us to watch?"

"Absolutely! And I will also act as a spy, as well as a friend and protector. They be our only hope!"

A/N: I hope the wait wasn't too long, everyone. I've just been trying to get back to making videos (finally uploaded one!) and kept forgetting about this. Also, I plan on touching up a few of the previous chapters (especially chapter 4), but you probably won't need to reread them. I should be finished in the next few days, but don't quote me on that!

Also, jamanke vun to everyone contributing to this story's 3,000 views! It means so much to me!