Tales from the Earthen Sky

The four companions proceeded inward, approaching the slab stairs of Grimstaf VI. Ascending, they glanced at one another nervously. Phoenix took Colla's hand, a gesture which would have looked almost odd had Solis not known well the state that she was in. Frankly, if it were Phoenix that were missing . . . well, Solis might have felt exactly as the Windborn woman did.

And still, he was incredibly nervous. There was something about this island that felt, not only unnatural, but . . . off. The breeze felt suddenly stiff, yet tinged with a tang of magic that made no sense. The edges of his vision to either side felt ever so slightly blurry, as though the stone of Grimstaf warped the air around it like heat.

As they crested the stairs, they got their first glimpse of the surface of the man-made (well, Harbinger-made) isle: the rough brown stone stretched out in a vast, flat arena grounds, with low walls spreading out to the sides from which bleachers sloped toward the center. The surface seemed almost natural, but with clear signs of being crafted, with grooves cut in squarish patterns and diagonal lines racing to connect them. The floor sloped inward here and there, creating divots and even trenches, presumably for contestants to hide in, and a few areas were raised in contrast. Looking over the grounds, Solis couldn't help wonder once more just what games would take place in this location.

The others mumbled similar thoughts, but Solis was too lost in his own to pay much attention. He stood staring, mind wandering to the Harbinger and where he might be at this moment, preparing for the tournament. Yet he couldn't personally oversee each one, so obviously the Magnates knew and were in charge of the proceedings, as they claimed. He thought of Melka and her intensity, Spore and his awkward attempts at honesty, Donnor and his prickliness . . . and what in the sky they would do if they knew he and his friends were here. Perhaps he'd just give them a piece of his mind. What could they do? What could they . . . ?

"Solis?" Telsan asked with worry in his squawky voice.

"Oh." The white-winged boy looked up, aware of his eyebrows retracting as he did so. Was he scowling in his thoughts? Was that why Telsan looked so worried? No, he was trying to tell him something. "Oh," he said more quietly this time, nodding. "Sorry, no . . . I was just thinking about the tournament and stuff."

Telsan bobbed his beak, apparently satisfied with the response, and turned a shrug toward Colla and Phoenix, who still held hands. "Might as well check out the arena a bit while we're here. I think we'll find some clues before long."

"Anyone else really hungry?" Phoenix asked as they proceeded across the cut stones of the arena.

Solis frowned once more, glancing surreptitiously down at his stomach. He wasn't, but he had just eaten a large meal. Well, he could probably eat again anytime, but he had an infamous appetite.

Telsan in particular kept swinging his gaze from one detail of the etched stone to another, as though seeking out suspicious points. They all were, Solis well knew, and it was a given that there were secrets to be found here. The question was . . . could they find them? Or were they cloaked in magic, hidden beyond the ken of mortals?

"There's definitely something . . . off here," Solis spoke up. "I'm sure you guys can feel it, too. It's like my head's getting foggy, and . . . I can't see the horizon clearly."

Colla stopped, nearly jerking Phoenix's hand before the girl slowed down too. Shading her eyes, she squinted into the island's horizon. "You're right. I thought it was just me. That's not . . . do you think it's some kind of magic, or just something about the stone? It's not like we can, you know, say what this material is like, or anything that comes from the Earth." She spoke quickly, and in a tone that hinted she was trying to assuage her own worry.

"It's . . . hard to say," Phoenix said quietly. After a moment, she continued: "Whether it's magic or something else, the powers the Harbinger possesses far outstrip any elementalist, and none of the scholars on Fenaback have a clue about the Magnate's abilities, let alone such a creature of the Earth." She shrugged, either to make a point or in realization that she had said very little in those words.

Solis felt an itch of impatience tingling in his legs, in his spine, in his wings. The urge to take flight and sweep the island quickly. Yet something held him, and indeed all of them, back. It was that nagging sense of dread. Or . . . was it? Had the black-clad messenger left residual magic in the island that messed with one's mind, sowing doubt and fear? Was that what messed with their senses? Obviously, mind control wouldn't make sense if contestants were soon to participate in this very place soon.

"So . . ." Phoenix began, glancing at Colla. "What if we find nothing, and Telsan was wrong?"

"Then . . . we just go back? Quietly?" Solis replied. Although not looking suspicious might be a bit difficult.

"No," said Telsan, stooping to run his fingers over the grooves in the stones. "My certainty has only grown. You guys feel it?"

Feel what? Solis almost said, but instead of replying, he bent down beside the birdman and felt the stone with his own hand. Cool almost to the point of feeling moist, the rough texture of it gave it a surprisingly grounded feel, like something solid and ancient. And yet it obviously wasn't. After a moment, he perceived what Telsan had referenced, a faint pulse that faded as quickly as it came on. It repeated once, then twice, every few heartbeats.

"Could be something about the way he powered the island, if it works on magic or something," Solis mused, not because it made sense to him but because it sounded like the way the Magnates might talk about such things. "Or something like the wards around Megeth. Think this place has wards?"

"Um . . . wards aren't anything like what you're saying," Colla muttered. She and Phoenix knelt and touched the stone, soon nodding as they felt the pulse. Colla amended her words. "All right, that is strange. I don't think a Waveborn's abilities could cause stone to do this, though. You think it's coming from . . . ?"

"Underneath?" Phoenix asked. "Probably."

The four were silent for a moment. "Well," Telsan said, crouching and lifting off with a heavy whoosh of his bronze-feathered wings. "I think it's time to take a real look at this place."

Phoenix flapped her fiery wings, sending waves of heat below her to buoy her body through the air. Colla was not far below her, staggered enough to avoid most of the heat from her wings, which would be uncomfortable even in this afternoon heat. Colla's Windborn abilities made her an exceptional flyer, so she had no trouble keeping up. The appendages of flame gushing from Phoenix's partially exposed back rippled and radiated out behind her, an effect that further helped her in her flight. She was to meet Solis and Telsan up on the main arena floor, unless they had discovered something by now. The women had had no luck finding . . . whatever it was they were looking for.

The two alighted on the eastern stone skyfall of Grimstaf VI, and Phoenix extinguished her wings in a hiss of steam, leaving a faint smoky smell. As soon as her booted feet touched the rock, she felt something off. Skin prickling, she shared an uncomfortable look with Colla. Without a word, the two set off at a run, taking the large steps a couple at a time. Soon, Phoenix had a view of most of the arena floor, and . . . there was something she couldn't identify near the center. She put out a hand to stall her friend, but the woman was already making the same motion to her.

It was . . . a shadow. A bundle of shadow. No . . . it was a woman's form. It seemed to flicker between shapes, but once she saw it, Phoenix saw only a woman. Part of the shadows pooling and snaking about her form appeared to be her hair. There was no sign of Solis. The girl started to turn, to flee the premises and find Solis, but . . . she could hardly take her eyes off of the center of the island and the creature dominating it.

"Phoenix . . ." Colla said softly. "I don't think there's any running from her."

"I know. But . . . Solis and Telsan. Never mind." Suppressing a shudder, the Flameborn girl approached the central space where the shadow-woman stood, passing the stone bleachers on either side as they walked. Phoenix's heart seemed to race itself, and her head felt dizzy with nerves, as she willed her legs to walk normally. It's just a woman. She's not a demon. We'll be fine. Just . . . say hi, be friendly, look innocent . . .

The human shadow flickered, and she stood directly in front of them. Phoenix gasped, making a small yelp in her throat. Had they been pulled supernaturally toward her, or had she cut through space with a single step? The woman was wreathed in whirling shadows, which obscured her form in bursts of visibility. What Phoenix could make out seemed nearly entirely black, and almost . . . she would have said naked, save for strange textures that seemed to overlay her skin, the only part of her that reflected any light. Her hair spilled outward, confusing the eye amongst an array of shadows, while a mist hung about her as well. While the dark woman did not seem to be excessively large of frame, yet somehow she towered over them. Her feet . . . They don't touch the ground.

Phoenix could not have mustered any voice in that moment, as frightened as she was. Fortunately, the woman solved that problem for her.

Lowering her feet to the ground, the living shadow parted her storm and allocated her hair and cloak of darkness toward her back, revealing the unsettling silhouette of a woman with textured shadows for skin. "So you are the gifted," she intoned in a voice that sounded almost absent from her body. "The best this world . . . this sky can produce?"

Phoenix looked to Colla, as though hoping she would respond first.

The woman went on anyway. "Elementalists . . . children born with simple affinities that cultivate into . . . nothing." She rubbed the thumb and fingers of her right hand against each other in a motion that played tricks on the eye. "Really nothing at all. One might view that as a shame." She came near to Phoenix, feet creating pools of blackness on the stone that lingered, and Phoenix was able to make out her eyes, though not her face. Eyes of burning grey, ash stirring in umbral pits. Her gait was smooth, like a cat's, and the combination of her playful movements and eerie cloak of shadows caused the Flameborn girl's stomach to do gymnastics as she passed by.

Circling around the girl, the woman leaned in close, showing that she was indeed a few inches taller, and pierced her with those knowing grey eyes. She whispered something inaudible and then passed over to Colla, circling her in much the same way.

The words hit a few moments later, as the woman was walking away from them, resounding in her head like bells: "Where I come from, meddling is a grave offense. If you play with me, however, your trespassing can be forgiven. So listen closely."

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.

Pim Lightwing—Daughter of Fey of Longfell and mother of Solis and Floris.

Arthur Lightwing—An exterior miner, husband of Pim, head of the Lightwing household.

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—Solis’ deceased grandmother, a former Magnate.

Floris—Solis' younger sister. 11 years old; aspires to be a physician.

Caris—Eldest of the three Lightwing children, now married and residing in the neighboring Tapiq village of Dram.

Falla Dolce—Phoenix's mother, a Dustborn from a powerful elementalist family of Fenaback. Kept her family name due to unfortunate events she'd rather leave buried.

Cytha (SITH-uh)—An Eclipsis slave girl born in the house of Wylo Entras.

Adris—A warrior slave-son who raids and brings loot to Lord Entras, just like Cytha.

Fidge—Biological slave-son of Wylo Entras.

Sim—Fidge's elder brother.

Wylo Entras (WHY-lo EN-trahs)—A greedy Noctis warlord.

Lane—A young Snowborn boy of great talent. Lives with his kind Nana.

Terms

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

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.

Ornis—Also called the Bird Tribe, though this isn’t entirely accurate, as there are multiple; most simply live farther north.

Hiding, The—The six hours in the middle of the day when the Sun’s low-angled course takes it behind the infinite cloud layer that looms beneath the sky world.

Magnate—One of the three living souls of the Tapiq tribe who have ascended to the Earth and returned, bearing supposedly infinite knowledge that they choose to keep hidden.

Order Eclipsis—Most prideful and influential of the Bat Tribe orders, known for their bloodthirst and their ability to shift between human and bat faces.

Order Noctis—Powerful, sneaky, but generally lacking ambition.

Nebula—Capital of the Bat Tribe, home of all three orders. The city is made up of a complex series of tunnels built into a large crater in the Earth.

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

Megeth (Meh-GETH)—Capital city of the Tapiq people.

Grimstaf VI (GRIM-stahf six)—An artificial island created west of Ameros by the Harbinger.

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

Kinships

Flameborn—Kin 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 heightened abilities 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.

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.