Warrior of the Stars- Book one of the Jay Shang Chronicles

Chapter 12-The Hawk-Faced God

Chapter 12 - The Hawk-Faced God

"Awaken, young one..."

The voice was soft and musical, almost like wind chimes blowing in the breeze.

"It's time to open your eyes, little one. I need to speak with you."

Jay groggily opened his eyes, blinking hazily into the bright sunshine above him. He sat up, rubbing the grit from his eyes and looked around at his surroundings.

He shook his head in confusion. He appeared to be sitting upon a cloud, miles above the land's surface. The forests and farmlands below him looked like the patchwork quilt that had covered his bed back home. Despite this extreme height, he felt no fear.

However, he did let out a startled yelp when he saw who else was on the cloud with him.

Crouched before him was a strange half-man, half-bird figure. His head had the razor sharp beak of a bird of prey. His legs were covered in feathers of all shades of brown, turning to terrible claws at their end.

"Where am I? Who are you?" Jay asked. He was confused but found himself once more not at all alarmed.

"You are safe in your tent, wrapped up in your blanket. I am here with you, borrowing your dream so that we may speak," the bird-man answered, his wind-like voice caressing Jay's face.

"Do you know that you have a bird's head and feet?" Jay asked curiously.

The bird-man laughed. "Well, it would be rather strange if I had lived for thousands of years without noticing my own appearance."

Jay suddenly had a thought that made his neck hair stand on end.

"Are you Tropine the Hawk-God?" he asked nervously.

"That is the name some have given to me. I have no true name, I simply exist."

"How can you exist, but have no name?" the confused boy asked.

Tropine laughed again. "Names are not necessary for all things, Jay Shang. I exist to rule the sky and the wind; all who soar through my domain are my subjects to command."

Jay frowned. "Oh, ok. But the Kimanche say that you are the God of the Bow, too."

The bird-man rustled his feathered head. "In a way, I am that as well. Your arrows fly through my sky. They, like the birds, soar with my wind to carry them. Without my permission, they would not do so."

"I guess that makes sense," Jay replied, nodding his agreement, "But then, if you are so important and busy, why are you wasting time talking to me? I'm not very important, and there's probably a lot of birds and arrows that need your attention."

Tropine roared with laughter, his feathers swishing. From their depths, a sweet breeze blew the hair back from Jay's face. The scent reminded him of the sweet, salty smell of the ocean that he had been longing for.

"I am never too busy to speak to one of my champions," he explained, gently nuzzling his beak in Jay's golden hair.

"Your champions? What does that mean? Am I one of them?" Jay wondered aloud as he watched the ground beneath him move.

"It means that you have been chosen by many great forces, to do something very important with your life, my young one. And to help you with your journey, I have given you my blessing." replied Tropine.

"But what does that mean? None of this makes any sense to me." Jay shook his head in frustration.

"It means that no bow will ever be too strong to bend at your hand. Your arrows will always fly true. Any bow that you wield, will become an extension of yourself and align with your will."

Jay's thoughts were bouncing around inside of his skull. He had so many questions. In the back of his mind, he was wondering why he wasn't more focused on how strange this whole scene was, but just as quickly as it surfaced, the thought vanished once more and was replaced.

"But why would you give me such a gift? I don't matter and I'm always scared. I can't do anything important with my life." Jay answered, bowing his head.

"You don't know it yet, but someday you will be great, Jay Shang. You will be one of the bravest and most fierce warriors the world has ever seen. Someday, people will tell legends of your deeds."

Jay shook his head in disbelief. "As much as I appreciate those kind words, you are wrong. I want to be strong. I want to protect my family. I have no advantages over anyone, only the new one that you have given me."

Tropine again nuzzled his beak into Jay's hair.

"If they are stronger in body than you are, then you must be stronger in mind. You must learn to use your intelligence to overpower your enemies. Your wit can do much more than tease other children."

Jay blushed, embarrassed that the God knew of Jay's previous encounter with Markus.

"Just remember my little one, the universe aligned everything that it holds within it to put you here, in this exact spot, in this exact time, for a reason." assured the Hawk-God.

"What is a uni-, univ-?" asked Jay.

"The universe is what holds all of the different worlds and all of the stars. Like a big bowl of water with little marbles floating in it."

"There are more worlds than this one?" asked Jay, his head spinning.

"Oh yes. This world, the one you humans have named Erde, is one of infinite worlds that exist within our universe."

The Hawk-God turned his head to look past Jay, and for a moment it seemed as if he was very far away, or maybe, Jay thought, in many places all at once.

The god shook his head and continued, "But that doesn't concern you. What does concern you, is that you work hard and do not lose yourself in the trials that will come." Tropine's massive figure stood, towering above the small boy.

"Wait, don't leave! I have so many questions!" Jay cried out.

From his back, Tropine sprouted wings that spanned miles.

"Be true to your heart, my champion. Master your skills, and your mind. We will speak again soon!"

"Please, stay!" Jay begged, chasing after him.

But it was too late, the Hawk-God had taken off into the sky. The resulting backlash of wind from his wings flapping knocked Jay's feet from under him, and off the edge of the cloud. He plummeted towards the surface of the Erde, his screams ripping his lungs apart.