Moon 514 || Blaze and the White Griffon

41 || the Havna

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Last revision: 6/24/2013  

Literally, the word “avla” meant “not fur.”  It had long since lost that meaning to her people but somehow, it continued to describe the feathery substance lining the neck of this magnificent creature.  She dug her hands deep into the avla and held it as tightly as she could.  Its thick, yet indescribably soft texture made it both difficult and enjoyable to hold onto.  She mentally instructed the beast of her desire to plunge quickly through the low level clouds below, excited to see what beautiful scenery undoubtedly lay ahead.  With its muscles tensing as its paws tightly pressed against its hulky chest, its head drooping downward, and its tail flicking with anticipation, the beast folded its magnificent wings to effectuate the intense dive its master was directing. 

The relationship between the magic woman’s race and this griffon-like species went back so many generations that the origins of their bond had been lost.  They had grown inseparable in many ways – it would not have occurred to either species to stop living together or to stop working one with the other.  And while the “havna” were universally recognized as an intelligent species, there was also no thought or consideration given as to why the havna were universally subservient.  Indeed, they took so much joy in serving her species that the magic woman had never even considered the possibility that there should – or could – be any other type of relationship between them. 

Rhythmic pulsing pounded against her ear as the duo made their way through the clouds.  Her hair pulling behind her as if someone was trying to hold her back, the magic woman briefly wished she had tightly placed her hair in a bun rather than putting it in multiple thin, snake-like braids.  Occasionally, they would snap around from changing air pressure and lightly whip her on her face or neck – but the long braids also intensified the sensation of moving quickly through the air and thus left her feeling more free – without the disadvantage of getting her hair irretrievably tangled into a horrible mess.  As the duo cleared the shallow cloud bank, the havna spread its wings and slowed its plunge until the magic woman felt nothing aside from sheer exhilaration.  Involuntarily, her lips spread into a huge smile and she had to remind herself not to release it into a gaping, open mouthed laugh while flying at such high speeds. 

Some water droplets tenaciously clung to her hair while other droplets quickly raced over her skin and traced lines like curving racing stripes before being released back into the atmosphere.  While the nearly garish colors of the sunset in front of them materialized as the clouds above them dissipated, the magic woman mentated her desire for the havna to level off its course and rejoiced as it did so.  Her smile now grew in size as she took in the beautiful scenery unfolding before her and she released her primeval impulse to laugh out loud.  This was her favorite spot in her entire world.  In front of her stood the largest mountain on her planet and several hundred feet below lay the largest set of cascading waterfalls known to her species.  The near deafening sound of the waterfalls was little more than a quiet buzz from where she was but the excitement of standing at their feet and feeling the water pound over her body to envelop her like blanket overwhelmed her as if she was there already.  The anticipation of the moment was nearly as exhilarating as actually being there.

The scene changed.

Tied to a pole, the magic woman nervously stared in front of her at her mentor.  Only a small girl, she felt somewhat betrayed.  She knew this was an important part of her learning process but she felt overwhelmed with this particular exercise.  Perhaps she wasn’t ready.  Perhaps she was so un-gifted that she wouldn’t be able to do this at all.  Perhaps she was simply meant to remain in the lower classes of her society and perhaps she was even meant to plunge to the lowest of all classes, the ravee.  In the recesses of her mind, she even considered that she might utterly fail this test and simply die.  An arrow whizzed by her head and impaled the pole only a few inches above her head.