Tales from the Earthen Sky

Telsan soared in an upward spiral. About him spread the sky between Megeth and the Earth. He ignored the encircling buzz of residents on edge with worry, excitement, anticipation, anger. He was looking for Solis, but the kid could be hard to find at times. His news about Faridi yesterday had been upsetting, to say the least. They'd looked all over and asked around town, but no one seemed to know anything about the man.

Until now, that was. And on the day when the Magnates would finally make the big announcement. Gliding high above central Megeth, Telsan looked westward and beheld the new, far smaller neighbor of Ameros, the island that supposedly would be the arena for the games to be held in only four days. How, he didn't know, because there was no way it was large enough. But then, that Harbinger had shown immense power in creating it suddenly and in a very short amount of time, so who was to say what he might still do? Or the Magnates, for that matter. Though their reluctance to do much of anything in front of the townspeople lowered many folks' expectation of them, they came from the same place the Harbinger did, and had learned the ways of the Earth.

He looked to the main square, where people were gathering for the big announcement to be made regarding the festival. Telsan tried not to grumble as much as his friend, but . . . it was high time they made that. Fights had been breaking out throughout Megeth already, regarding the implications of the Harbinger's announcement, which had—though short—been a lot more than the Magnates' words on the matter in the last week.

Telsan dipped his wings and dove toward the central public square, passing a middle-aged woman he didn't recognize. Probably almost a quarter of the town's residents had gathered thus far, and many more would arrive. Telsan didn't hope to find Solis in the crowd, but then . . . something told him that was not where he was. There were Melka and Donnor, standing about the stage area with Headman Bors and Herald Hash . . . but he didn't see Spore. Gliding over, dodging traffic in the air and catching a few looks, Telsan scanned for the third Magnate.

Nope. Well, now I know where he is.

The meeting hall was deserted as Solis expected, or at least it appeared so. The building, part stone and part wood, stood on the ____ side of Megeth and was meant to look imposing. Whether it was was up to opinion, but Solis leaned toward not. Taking a breath and glancing side-to-side on instinct, Solis pushed open the wooden door, not bothering with the knocker. It opened with a low creak.

"Hello?" he called. "Just in case one of you guys was actually—" He cut off as his eyes pierced the back left of the entry room, where he saw a shadow flicker through a doorway. "I see you. Who is that?"

A moment later, after the reticent shuffle of sandals, the Magnate Spore peeked out of the doorway, looking as sullen and unkempt as ever. "What brings ya here, kid? You realize the speech is happening soon?"

"I could, uh, I could say the same for you," he countered. Tucking his right wing, he slithered through the front doorway. "I came to ask a favor."

"About your friend," Spore said with no delay, and not in a familiarly unfriendly manner.

The strange man's knowledge, and his candidness about it, took Solis by surprise. He stopped just inside the doorway. "You know about Faridi? I just want to know if—"

Spore's blank stare caused him to trail off. "No, I don't know about him. Just that you are searching for your friend. You'll recall that we Magnates have a few abilities that the likes of you lack."

The words sounded distinctly out of place coming from the old Magnate, but they made sense. Solis knew that well; he had merely gotten overly familiar with the lot. He waited to see if Spore would divulge any more information, particularly on what he had learned with this power and how, but he seemed in no hurry to explain. So Solis asked again, finishing his query this time.

"Aura," the robed man replied, itching his shoulder just above one wing. "Your aura tells it all. You could call it a scent, a signature, a residue . . . I'm really not in the mood to explain things. I read ya like a book. I can also see traces of recent interactions, especially with anyone you're closely tied to. Your mother, sister, friends. I can trace your companion Telsan, who is . . . I think he's looking for you right now. Seems I might have two on me soon." The Magnate sighed.

Solis was still trying to catch up with Spore's words, so it took him a moment to realize he'd mentioned Telsan just now. "Oh," he said distractedly. "And . . . Faridi? Anything you can see about him?"

"No." The Magnate turned his head away, either in boredom at the conversation or because he knew more but didn't wish to let on.

Solis approached him instead. "Please, sir." It took all his patience to force himself to be respectful. "He's my friend."

Spore turned slowly back to him. "Your friend. I know that. Think that means anything to a Magnate?"

Solis didn't look away. "No, probably not. But I thought if anyone of you three would have any humanity left to care, it'd be you. Why aren't you out there with Donnor and Melka, anyway?"

"I'm waiting."

"Waiting for—" Solis cut himself off this time, realizing he was overstepping.

After an uncomfortable pause, Spore simply said, "There is one who can answer your question, and that's the Harbinger. There is nothing more I can say on the matter, nor my colleagues."

Solis ground his teeth, knowing he had reached the man's limits for patience and talkativeness. This was a clear dismissal, but not entirely a claim to not knowing—rather, Solis suspected he was meant to ignore and not read into the phrase can say. Or perhaps he was meant to. Either way, he nodded sharply and said, "Fine, then. Just so you know, I won't be here much longer to bother you guys. You can't keep me out of the Earth now, whatever your reasoning for that nonsense."

Spore stared blankly at the boy, saying nothing. His eyes flickered down to the tile floor, then back up. "I wish the best for ya, kid. Always have." With that, he turned back away.

Solis thought that was possibly the strangest goodbye he'd ever gotten. Coming from the other two, it would have sounded entirely fake, but from Spore . . . well, it could have meant they'd always kept him away from their secrets for his good, or that Spore secretly wished that Solis could at last get his wish, or just that he feared he might and wanted him to know he didn't hate him. He was well aware that everything they said and did to him was because of his grandmother Fey.

Swallowing down a bad taste, Solis resisted the urge to say anything further and just . . . left. No sooner had he exited the building than a familiar bird face appeared in the sky overhead. "Telsan! Perfect timing."

"Indeed," the Ornis said, sounding only a touch winded. He must have been flying a lot. "Let's get to the square. It's filling up fast."

Solis nodded, crouching and lifting off with his snowy wings. "Phoenix?"

"I think she's with Falla. They're already at the square. But . . ." Telsan eyed him strangely as they gained altitude. "Sol, I think I've got a lead. On Faridi. And . . . I take it you got nothing out of Spore?"

Solis scowled. "Pretty much." It wasn't the truth, but close to it. "What'd you find?"

"Well, it was something Donnor and Melka were telling someone else, about a similar concern. Faridi wasn't the only one who went missing. This other guy was a well-known criminal, so they just chalked it up to that, but apparently he was digging around where he wasn't supposed to be."

"And . . . ?" Solis was more than a little apprehensive about Telsan's next words.

"He just disappeared. They didn't say a peep about him."

"'They' being . . ."

"Yeah. The Magnates."

Characters

Solis Lightwing (SOLE-iss)—The main character, a white-winged boy of unceasing curiosity who longs to see inside the forbidden Earth.

Telsan (TELL-suhn)—Solis’ best friend, a young man of the Bird Tribe.

Phoenix Dolce (DOLE-chay)—Friend of Solis and Telsan, a Flameborn girl of sixteen years. Daughter of Falla Dolce.

Faridi (fuh-RID-ee)—A Tapiq man who frequently volunteers for lookout duty.

Colla—A female Tapiq; often works with Faridi.

Melka—One of the three living Tapiq Magnates.

Donnor—Said to be the eldest of the three living Magnates.

Spore—One of the three living Magnates. Doesn’t say much.

Fey—Late grandmother of Solis, formerly a Magnate who had returned from the Earth and started a family.

Terms

Earth, The—An immeasurable continent that looms over the entire sky. Forbidden to all save those whom the Magnates choose each year.

Megeth (meh-GETH)—Hometown of Solis and his fellow Tapiq people.

Ameros (AM-uh-ros)—Largest island in the southeastern quadrant of the sky, where the Tapiq village of Megeth lies.

Fenaback—Also called the Isle of Colors, this island is home to many elementalists, including powerful families such as the Dolce clan.

Tapiq (tuh-PEEK)—The tribe of winged men who dwell in Ameros and the surrounding islands. As with most tribes, they have adopted some from other tribes and races as their own, while others are visitors.

Magnate—Overseers of the ten tribes who have ascended to the Earth and returned, bearing supposedly infinite knowledge that they choose to keep hidden.

Kinships

Elementalist—One born with a Kinship to an elemental force. They usually lack wings.

Flameborn—Those blessed with Kinship to the power of flame. They form their own wings as needed from tongues of fire that sprout from their backs.

Dustborn—Artists of soil and dust. They fly with wings created from nearby dust particles.

Windborn—Wind kin. Unlike other elementalists, these often grow wings just like any other, though some possess a heightened ability allowing them to fly without wings—and thus lacking them.

Waveborn (aka Watchers)—Keepers of the invisible wards that protect the sky islands from falling hazards. Also, those with the rare ability of sound manipulation.

Wards—Magical barriers put in place by the Magnates and managed by the Watchers.

Dewborn—These control moisture and redirect water.

Stormborn—Creators of small storms and electrical currents.

Snowborn—Bringers of frost and snow on a small scale.

Sunborn—Manipulators of light.

Beastborn—These rare kind, seen largely in the northwestern isles, come in different orders according to a certain class of living creature.

Cragborn—Manipulators of stone.