Mystic

Chapter 2; Matthew

Chapter 2,

The wind blew fiercely and rain poured from an angry sky. Matthew could barely see two feet in front of him, and the sound of Orion's powerful wings was masked by the furious storm. A brilliant streak of light flashed across the sky, followed by the deafening crash of thunder. Matthew shielded his eyes against the heavy rain, hoping to spot something in the storm. He held on to Orion's horns with one hand, and it was all he could do to brace himself against the pounding winds. Every time lightning struck, Matthew scanned the clouds for something, anything to prove that braving the center of the raging storm was worth it. After a few minutes, The storm became even more intense. Matthew could tell that Orion was struggling to hold his position against the wind, but Matthew was determined to stay up in the air for as long as possible. Another lightning strike flashed behind the clouds, and thunder crashed. Matthew scanned the horizon yet again, and finally thought he caught a glimpse.

"There!" Matthew shouted, pointing to the spot where he saw the bird. Orion tried his best to fly in the direction Matthew as pointing, but the winds were too strong and headed in the opposite direction.

"Hold." Matthew said. He didn't want to see his friend struggle any longer. "We should turn back to the village. We need to rest up before--" Matthew was interrupted by a booming and violent sound. Not thunder, but a caw from a bird. Orion whipped around, and Matthew nearly fell off his back. Matthew held onto Orion's sky blue horns to stay on. As Matthew wiped the rain from his eyes with one hand, he saw the massive silhouette of what he suspected to be the thunderbird, a creature that most believed to be a myth. The beast must have massive to cast such a shadow in the clouds, much bigger than Orion. It was still hiding, but Matthew knew it was still there. Every time the creature beat it's powerful wings, Matthew could hear a low rumble. Not as loud as real thunder, but still audible. All Matthew could do was stare into the thick clouds where the figure had disappeared. At the next flash of lightning, Matthew quickly scanned the horizon for any trace of the thunderbird. Orion was growing tired of fighting the ever-worsening storm, and he started to slide back in the direction of the wind. As Orion and Matthew sank slowly towards the ground, Matthew swore that he saw the gleaming eyes of the beast. Orion started sinking more quickly, and Matthew held onto his horns as tight as he could. "Oh no, oh god, no, no!" Matthew exclaimed as Orion fell faster and faster towards the solid earth. Matthew saw the eyes of the creature again, gleaming like stars in the thick clouds. The light bobbed down then back up again, as if the creature had nodded his head to Matthew and Orion. Suddenly, many lightning bolts fired from a single point, creating a brilliant flash of light. A giant boom followed them, and Matthew could feel the vibrations from the sound. Within minutes, the winds faded to a soft breeze, the rain only a light drizzle. The storm still raged around them, but, for Orion's sake, the creature had created a temporary calm amidst the storm.

Orion roared and nodded in gratitude, and Matthew could hear the creature's piercing cry. Once the clouds started to thin, Matthew searched the skies for the thunderbird again. Unfortunately, the creature was nowhere in sight.. "Woah." was all Matthew could say. He was still staring at the place where he had last seen the silhouette.

Orion growled and arched his back, shaking Matthew out of his trance. "Right. Let's head back. Be have a long flight ahead of us tomorrow." Orion roared in approval and started to fly down. The calm pocket in the storm followed them as they flew several miles west to the nearest village. The Highland Expanse was considered too wild for most people to inhabit, but a few settlements had popped up seemingly out of nowhere over the years. They were populated by strong, battle hardened people. Very little travelers passed through the highlands, so they tended to be wary of strangers. The village Matthew landed in was the exception.

The buildings seemed to be made completely from mud-brick and clay, the signature architecture of the desert countries. The oakwood shutters were closed to keep the rain out, and brightly colored fabric was stretched over planks that jutted out of the side of the buildings to keep the rain away from the door. The official flag of Javan flew from every flagpole. The flag's orange, red and yellow colors reminded him of the rising sun.

As he and Orion walked down the street, people stared at them. All of the attention made Matthew uneasy. He wished that he could sink into the crowd, blend in and disappear. A couple of kids who had been playing in the puddles left by the storm stopped to stare.

"Anita li pa avia!" Matthew heard a girl loudly whisper. He reasonably assumed that she was commenting on Orion's wings. They always seemed to be a perfect reflection of a clear night sky, even in daylight. After a few minutes of uneasy silence, a brave little boy approached Matthew. The boy said something that Matthew couldn't understand. His Javenese was limited to a few curse words people had shouted at him back in the last town.

"Hello." Matthew replied calmly in Deanish. He gestured to the dragon beside him and said, "I assume you would like to speak to my friend Orion."

All of the children suddenly rushed to greet Orion, pushing and pulling to get a good look at him. Matthew whispered to Orion,"I'll be back."

Orion snorted and nodded to show he understood, then Matthew left to find a place to stay. The task was quite difficult since Matthew couldn't read the language, but he eventually found something that looked like an inn.

"Letoro!" the man at the counter said enthusiastically. Matthew assumed he said hello, but he couldn't tell.

"Do you speak Deanish?" Matthew asked.

"Little." the man replied. He had a heavy Yamen accent.

"Is this the inn?" Matthew asked.

"Inn? Yes." the innkeeper answered.

"Do you have a room available?" Matthew asked. The man looked confused for a minute, then suddenly said,

"Oh! Tenal!" The man ducked behind the counter and emerged with a key. "You money?" the man asked in broken Deanish.

"I have five Jintas. Is that enough?" Matthew asked, still not knowing a thing about Javanese money.

"No. more." the innkeeper grunted. Matthew pulled out three Deanish Yurens, but wasn't sure how many Jintas it would convert to. Giving up on trying to get an exact amount, he handed the coins to the innkeeper.

"Is that enough?" Matthew asked.

"Yes." the innkeeper said. He handed Matthew a key then attended to the woman who was next in line. Matthew went up the rickety steps to the room he had bought. It was small, but it was safe and dry, which was all that mattered. Matthew dumped the contents of his small satchel out, and saw that he had used the last of his money. Sighing, Matthew continued to sift through the various items in his bag, searching for the book which contained his field notes. Eventually, Matthew found the notebook labeled "Mystology". He opened it to a new page and started writing about the thunderbird. While he still didn't have much information on the creature, he could assume some things from what he did see.

"....Most likely carnivorous.... Teleportation abilities possibly?" Matthew said softly out loud as he wrote. Once he finished a sketch of the silhouette of the creature, he flipped back through previous pages.

"Pixies, wraiths, gremlins, brownies, yes, Dragons!" Matthew looked back at his notes from when he first met Orion. Matthew's dragon was the reason Matthew did what he did. After finding Orion when he was fifteen, Matthew had been obsessed with the mystical world. Matthew had decided to research mystology, his word for the study of mythical creatures and the divine arts. Once he found Orion's page, he closed the book. He still needed to get back to Orion. He set the book on the small table to let it dry, stuffed the rest of his things under the bed, and headed out the door. After making two turns and walking down a narrow alley, Matthew found Orion. He was entertaining the children by hovering above the ground and letting the kids swing from his tail. Matthew whistled and waved, trying to get his friend's attention. Orion saw him and set the child down gently, then took off into the air. After doing several loops in the air, he landed swiftly besides Matthew, who rolled his eyes. Of course Orion had to show off. Matthew turned around, making a futile attempt to remember which way the inn was. He made a couple turns then walked straight down a wide street, then eventually found the small inn.

Orion immediately soared onto the roof and laid down. Matthew went up to the room he rented and did the same. He planned to be flying most of the day tomorrow, since there were no settlements from where he was to Yamen. He was hoping to spot a jackalope or a calopus to study more closely. He was also short on money, and Yamen was known for its vast marketplace. He was sure that he would have something that could be sold. Matthew hid his satchel underneath the rickety bed then snuffed out all of the candles in the room. Matthew closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.