Echoes of Forgotten Wings

Chapter 12: The Rising Storm

That day, the day had encroached winter thanks to the sky, which was covered with a dense wall of clouds and looked like the setting of an antique prophecy. From the moment Ivo had eyes opened, the feeling of ominousness was there. The atmosphere was thick. It was not hot, yet it held an odd and bone deep vibration of energy some people get during an electrical storm and others might be afraid of. The villagers experienced it as well, and so their discomfort was reading the book fast as he spoke looking elsewhere, and audible calls of alarm came when their eyes darted to the clouds gathering with a storm at the horizon.

It was not only the cliched autumnal gales. It was not rain alone.

At one region, Ivo was present, and his sight was on the bulging clouds which were beating against the sky so to speak. The wind was tearing at his attire, swamped him with hair, yet he remained resolute. He knew, somewhere at the back of his mind, that this storm was different, it wasn't just a mere fallout of nature. The air around thinned out just like before, sparkling with clear signs of magic and the bright sun over a damn lake on a summer's day.

The anger of the Skyborn was stirring.

Ivo too, was not the same man ever since that fateful night he had touched Kael's feather and had been tethered. Invo assumed everything around him especially the, nature had begun to contour itself in reaction into the connection he had formed with the expiring Skyborn. It was not only the feather that had become weightier. It was the atmosphere, carrying the burden of the crime committed long ago by his forefathers.

And as expected came the storm.

In the background, the settlement was buzzing with motion. Individuals appeared to be in a mad hurry trying to protect everything that could be considered a shelter, closing windows and trying to collect all the animals they can. Some of them were even preparing the oil lamps and beseeching the deities they hadn't prayed to in ages. The elder generation — the ones who bore witness to the old myths and the perils that were warned of centuries ago — scanned the heavens with trembling dread for something entirely different.

Of course, Alma had been right. The Skyborn are awake, and it is all his fault.

Ivo gritted his teeth and kept his fists clenched at his sides, knowing very well the pressure the ornamental feather was applying to his skin through the robe. He had visited the cavern two times already after the initial encounter with Kael, and with every next visit, he experienced more and more dissonance. The Skyborn fighter was weakening quickly, but the energy that resided within Kael still remained. That energy burned relatively warmer each day, coursing through the link between them, calling Ivo to do something instead.

But what if he doesn't just think about it, but actually does it?

Last night's conversation with Alma lingered on his thoughts like an annoying mosquito. Especially since she was the first thing he saw after coming back from the woods, her expression heavy, and her gaze piercing as ever. She had been adamant that he was careless, that the village folk were becoming inquisitive, that they were already feeling the alterations in him — feeling the magic. There had been some panic and panic made people do nasty things.

"There's a very precarious balance that you're attempting to maintain, Ivo," she had pronounced in an almost hushed voice full of urgency. "In case they realize what you've been engaging in, if in case they comprehend that you have been in contact with the Skyborn... they will not hold back in attacking you. And they will. Have no doubt about that."