Stormryder

One

The day before

Charlinaedius Stormryder searched the forest floor for sticks and twigs - anything that could be used as firewood. He'd carry a few logs but they were too heavy. Birds tweeted and called out to each other from the treetops and the air was cool and fresh. Charlie smiled to himself, enjoying the calm breath of nature. A particularly bold equinx padded up to him in search of food. The fox-like creature with the feathers of a bird sniffed at his feet and the pouch he used to carry firewood; finding nothing it bit playfully at his hands before trotting back into the forest and darting away in a flash of orange fur and feathers. Charlie chuckled and continued to fill his pouch with sticks and small branches.

Charlie appeared as an ordinary boy, his body thin and bony with thick hair as white as the purest snow and eyes as cold and blue as the frozen lakes of the North. He'd lived almost eighteen years in Grimlyn Dale, wanting so much to escape to the world beyond but always being held back. He would venture as far as the Dwarvenheim Mountains which lay quite near the village and are said to have once been the home of an ancient race of dwarves - now long extinct - but most regard that as a children's tale as it has never been proven, and the tunnels and recesses which run through the mountains are a far cry from the likes of any dwarven dwelling. Charlie would gaze out beyond the mountains wistfully, almost leaving everything behind to set out on an adventure in the Known World... but he had things to tend to in Grimlyn Dale that he just could not ignore.

What sets Charlie apart from other boys is something so incredible and inexplicable to any that reside in Grimlyn Dale, maybe even beyond it, that it can only be described as a miracle or an act of sorcery.

Charlie Stormryder can fly.

With the hessian pouch filled, Charlie walked to the edge of the forest, out from under the trees where no branches could obstruct him; and then he crouched down low, tightening the muscles in his legs to launch himself high into the air. He jumped.

And soared high into the sky, traveling fast as an orlok. He let out a cry of excitement and wonder. This never gets old, he thought, with the feeling of invincibility welling in his chest and the adrenaline flooding his veins.

Higher, he climbed, above the clouds where a flock of tenebra broke formation as he startled them. They gazed at him with alarm, their ruby eyes opened wide. The sky was a soft shade of purplish blue, decorated with puffy clouds. Charlie spread his arms to either side, cruising in the wind. Below him lay Grimlyn Dale, one of the larger villages in the Eregos region. Wheat fields and vegetable patches adorned the areas around the village, buildings made of wood and stone lining streets, only their thatched roofs visible to Charlie. A little distance from the village stood a small house with just two rooms: Charlie's house. It was nothing more than a little shack but it was enough for him. He began his descent, the wind rushing passed his ears, pulling his long white hair and tugging at his simple roughspun shirt and trousers. The pouch he kept close to his chest, preventing the wind from taking his firewood.

Charlie landed with a thudd, feet making a shallow imprint in the earth. "And he sticks the landing yet again," Charlie threw up his hands, bowing to an invisible audience. "Thank you, thank you. Come back on the morrow for another spectacular performance by-!"

"Charlinaedius Stormryder!" Scolded an all-too-familiar voice from the door of his home. He turned slowly, with a sheepish expression on his face that was also part uh-oh.
"Shan, there you are," he said, a nervous chuckle escaping his throat as a bead of cold sweat formed at his temple and not realizing that he was holding the pouch like a shield against her anger.
She glared at him with brown eyes, the darkest shade of melted chocolate, narrowing them to angry slits. "I don't have time for your antics - it's past noon and you promised that we would have lunch two hours ago."