Born to Fly

Part 1

On the one hundred and fifty-fourth day of year 963, classes were in session at the Bird Land West Academy. It was here where the young citizens in the Land of Birds were given their fundamental teachings in preparation for adult life. In the seventh and final juncture, Master Metrion was giving a lecture to senior-level students on bird-wing structure and flight mechanics.

 It was a pleasantly warm and sunny day as the students were all gathered on the campus training field. A slight breeze surfed through the atmosphere, making the air smell and feel fresh. The grass field went on for what seemed like forever. It was the perfect place for flight training.

"The shape of a bird wing is designed for air above the wing to move quickly and air below to flow slower. This causes the air below the wing to remain in contact longer than the air above it, which facilitates the upward motion or backstroke of the wing. Any questions before I continue?"

Many of the students looked confused. One girl raised her hand.

"Yes, Neira?"

"I'm a little lost, sir. Could you go over that one more time?"

Metrion took note of the confusion as he looked at the faces of his students. "Very well, but perhaps this time I should demonstrate it for you all."

The master held his arms out with his palms facing forward. There was a reason why all of the students and schoolmasters wore the activity vests and left their arms uncovered. In an instant, Metrion's arms had formed into full-blown raven wings. They were completely covered in sharp-looking black feathers, which looked like swords that were lined side by side. The white portion of his eyes darkened completely, making them look like black pearls. He also had a thick and slightly curved beak where his mouth and nose previously were.

Then, with a hint of excitement in his tone, Metrion said, "Now everyone, join me by activating your maneks."

"Finally!" shouted a boy in the group. "I've been waiting all day to stretch my wings."

Soon he was part boy, part yellow canary. Other students followed suit and transformed as well. Twenty-three students were present on the field, displaying their special bird-manek transformations. They had the maneks of owls, parrots, swallows, finches, and gulls. Some were birds of prey such as hawks, falcons, and buzzards. Poor Neira, who raised her hand earlier, just so happened to have the manek of a flightless bird. She was an emperor penguin.

As Master Metrion went on about the importance of the overlapping feather arrangement during flight, one student stood at the back of the group, still in his base human form. His name was Mory. The seventeen-year-old boy was not paying any attention to the master and stared off at the sky instead. He thought there was no reason for him to watch the lesson since his manek was not from a bird species. There was no need to transform either. It would just be a reminder to everyone, including himself, that he did not belong there. He was cool with laying low until it was time to go home. This plan failed when Mory's worst enemy, Terias, approached him.

"What's the matter, loser? Does the squirrel boy not want to show off his awesome power in front of the class?"

The tone in his voice was laced with mockery. Mory could sense Terias's usual arrogant smile, even though it was hidden by a black beak that had a band of yellow at its base. His eyes were shiny black spheres encircled in rings of gold. He was a tall lean boy, a few centimeters taller than Mory. His hair was short and blonde, styled in a way that suited his manek, the sharp-shinned hawk.

"What's it matter to you?" replied Mory.

"I haven't seen your squirrel form in a while. I'm just curious to see if your manek still makes you look like a moron. Hmm . . . that's perfect. Mory the moron."