Echoes of Forgotten Wings

Chapter 10: A Winged Prisoner

A vast wild growth of forest which had no end seemed to Ivo, like an old tangle of trees and dark bushes. Ivo urged on, his breath uneven, eyes focused on a steep ascent. The cool earthy and pine scent filling the air made him struggle to his feet because the ground was rough, and treacherous with protruding roots like those of a dead dinosaur.

Days had passed by in a hunt, actively looking for, the strange woman's unsolved behaviors from the inn. Find the last of the Skyborn had seemed more than a malicious threat. Every move, every decision, every now and then the breeze that made him shudder was pushing him towards this spot—the deep wood filled with things long gone. He did not know why or how but he was sure this place held the answer that he sought, buried deep amongst the trees that seemed to touch the sky and the fog that seemed to blanket everything.

Finally Ivo saw it as the rim of the sun began to drop behind the hills, stretching long shadows on the forest floor. The entrance was an angry cave in the cliff face, partially obstructed by thorny bushes. It was a rather small aperture, going unnoticed like something people meant not to be discovered. But there it was. The cave.

Ivo's center of balance was quaking with excitement and trepidation. This is it. No. He was sure about it. The one that led to the confinement of the last of the Skyborn.

Taking a breath, he rammed through the thickets, and even though they scratched his hands, it was them who he disregarded, and entered the narrow opening of the cave. The darkness enveloped him in a time span of less than seconds, and for some time, he had an impression that he was rather going inside the earth's mouth, rather where the light and the hope were long dead.

But then as his eyes got used to the light, he noticed it. There was a soft glow lurking in the depths, as though it was the last remnants of a fire long abandoned, and it pulsated. 

Ivo proceeded with caution—but every footstep he made in that deathly quiet space was full of terror. The walls of the cave were wet, clammy, and cold and so was the air, colder than what the fall season offered. A cold that seemed to get deeper into his system as he advanced further inside.

 Eventually, he made it to the region where the brightness originated.

Deep within the cave, in a small recess, there was a man, or at least what was left of a man. He was leaning against the wall with his legs straight out before him, restrained and helpless, by thick metal chains that were fastened around his wrists and ankles. His hair was knotted and unkempt, long and gray in color while his skin was stretched over his skinny body and appeared pale and famished. Yet it was the eyes of Ivo that had wings that took his breath away. 

Those wings were already ruined and decayed – the remnants of what was formerly, no doubt, a beautiful pair. The deep blue that was once pure, bright feathers was now ashen grey, stained with muddy dirt and blood, with unhealthy-looking feathers. The man's arms hung at his sides like torturous wings that he could no longer take the pain of lifting. This was Kael. The Final Skyborn.

Kael the last of the skyborn.

Ivo stepped nervously closer. "Kael?"

The man in the bed shifted slightly as his eyes opened. They were an unnatural ice blue, almost too bright for the skeletal structure of his face. He looked at Ivo for quite a while, as if trying to understand who he was, or convince himself that he wasn't just another illusion created by the prison of his mind that was almost gone.

Eventually, he said something with a scratch in his voice. It was a weak sound but it had the echo of ages. "So... you found me..."