Legend of the Magibird

A Mutual Favor

On the seventh day of entering the forest, my horse hit a giant, sharp rock, whinnied in pain and threw me forward. I hit the floor with a thud and yelled. I turned to my horse, raised my fist, and shouted.

"What the hell was that for, you bloody beast?!"

The horse turned around and ran.

"Hey, come back here!"

I sprinted towards the horse, but it ran too fast for me, and I panted, losing my stamina with each passing second. Soon I was spent and walked to a thick willow surrounded by a ring of rocks. I sat there and buried my face in my hands.

Not only did my brother disappear, but now the horse! And the bird eluded me! I was no closer! I still did not know about the trinket my father wanted, or if I could ever return to my home. I think I lost my way!

I turned and punched the tree; next I knelt and pressed my face to the trunk. Perhaps I would stay here for the rest of the day. I did not feel like doing anything else, like everything was just pointless.

Just one final time, I reached into my pouch to look at the feather. But this time it glowed red!

"What's this? Has the young one lost his way?" said a lovely soothing female voice above me.

I looked up, and the bird flew to the tree while letting out a call. Its varied colours shone on me, as I stood there in awe with my jaw open. It then landed on one of the low branches of the willow and faced me with its prominent cute pink eyes.

"You search for something, but do not know what it is. I usually fly away from your kind, as more pressing and concerning things attract my attention. But I have seen you struggle and fall then pick yourself up again. You are aching in pain, yet you refuse to stop. Why is that, and what is your name?" she asked.

"My name is Bratko. I am the noble son of Lord Vlad of Boyko and the younger brother of Boyan. Our father sent us to hunt a trinket, but on the way, we stopped at the Iris Inn and drunk our memories away, so we could no longer remember what we were doing there. Until the day I came outside and saw you. Your beauty took my heart, mesmerized me from the beginning. I could not hold back my touch. Looking back, I don't think I should have done that or taken your feather. I apologize"

I extended my hand to the bird.

"All forgiven. Continue."

"Ever since I got your feather, I have been drawn to it, yet I did not want to hunt you at first. My brother came up with the idea, yet the desire grew, as I did not know what I was looking for, and even when I remembered that it was my father's trinket, I still cannot recall it's appearance. But me and my brother have been split up. My horse left me too. My own distractions, my weak will, they have brought me to this point where I am lost! None of this would happen if I didn't have the attention span of a goldfish and I was focused! My father's trinket, whatever it is, would still be in the castle! I am weak!"

The bird extended its long head towards me.

"No, you are not. You are perseverant and strong, have rode on for days even when you did not exactly know where you were going. You have escaped seemingly impossible, deadly situations."

"Yeah, only with the help of my feather, not due to anything I myself did!"

"It is because I chose you, Bratko. I sensed there was something to you ever since you took my feather. Because you have not stopped"

"Where is my horse and my brother? By the way, what is your name?"

"My name shall come later. Your horse needs a break, but it shall return to you when ready. Your brother is mostly fine, as his physical strength has protected him. But he is angry. His hubris has slowed him down, prevented him from finding you. He has cursed you in jealousy, as he feels that the feather should have come to him, that he should have been the one to encounter me."