Chapter 6-1

Chapter 6: Flight

“So is he ready yet?” Almonihah asked, barely able to contain his excitement.

Zrathanzon gave Varack'Nara an appraising looking. He was about the size of your average riding horse—minus his wings, of course. His wingspan was more than twice his length. “He should be able to carry you soon. Just wait a few days more.”

Almonihah sighed, disappointed that he hadn't said today. Still, he could wait just a few days.

Maybe.

They walked in silence for a little longer, and then suddenly, Zrathanzon stopped. “Almonihah, there's something I want to make sure you understand,” he said, his voice very serious.

“What?” Almonihah's response was just as serious.

Zrathanzon squatted down so that he was almost looking straight into Almonihah's eyes. “You may ride Varack'Nara if he lets you, but you have to remember, he is still his own creature. You do not own him or control him, and if he lets you ride him, it is only as a favor to a friend, not because he has to.” The Ranger paused for a moment to make sure his words had sunk in, and then asked, “Do you understand what I mean?”

Almonihah slowly nodded. “I think so. Varack'Nara is a friend, not a pet.”

Varack'Nara, hearing his name but unable to follow the Draconic conversation, screeched a bit peevishly, as if to express his dislike of being excluded from such a lengthy conversation. Almonihah grinned a bit at the griffon's timing. This brought an inquisitive screech from Varack'Nara, but Almonihah just shook his head in response.

They made camp a bit early that evening. After they had everything set up for the evening, Zrathanzon got out the tools and materials he had been working with. This time Almonihah got a closer look at what the Ranger was making.

“Is that a saddle?”

Zrathanzon chuckled a bit. “This is part of why I wanted you to wait. It's a lot safer to ride a griffon with a proper saddle. Not to mention it's easier on the griffon.”

“Oh.” Almonihah was silent for a bit, then asked, “So how long until it's ready?”

The older half-dragon chuckled again. “A bit impatient, Almonihah?” Then he sobered a bit. “I said a few days more, and that's when the saddle will be done.”

The next few days seemed very long, but they finally came and went. The saddle was finished, and after a couple iterations of putting it on Varack'Nara and making readjustments, Zrathanzon finally declared it was ready. The saddle was settled into place, the straps tightened, and everything seemed to be in place.

Remembering what Zrathanzon had said, Almonihah went up to the griffon and said, “Varack'Nara, I'm ready to fly with you. You don't mind having me ride, do you?”

Varack'Nara shook his head, then stooped down so it would be easier for Almonihah to mount. Almonihah looked back at Zrathanzon. The Ranger motioned for him to go ahead and get on.

Almonihah studied the saddle for a bit, trying to remember what his mentor had said about mounting and trying to figure out how to put it in practice. After a bit, he carefully put one foot in the stirrup, stepped up, and grabbed onto the saddle itself. After a few seconds of pulling and shifting around, he was finally seated properly in the saddle.

Almonihah bent over and whispered, “Ready?” to Varack'Nara. The griffon nodded his head, then stood up with an enthusiastic shriek. Almonihah, caught slightly off guard by the sudden movement, convulsively gripped the front of the saddle.

Once Varack'Nara was standing, Zrathanzon did one last check on the saddle straps, then asked Almonihah rather pointedly, “When are you going to get strapped into the harness?”

“Oh, yeah,” Almonihah said, suddenly realizing he'd left the straps that were supposed to help secure him in the saddle during flight dangling every which way.

After everything was strapped, buckled, and double-checked, Zrathanzon slowly went over the various signals and riding techniques one last time with both the rider and the ridden one last time. Finally, he said, “Now, I want you two to stay low and take it easy for a while until you're both sure you've got the hang of this. Riding a griffon isn't easy, for both the rider and the griffon, so both of you need to take your time. You shouldn't go too fast or do anything crazy for quite a while. Do you two understand me?”

Both of them nodded. After a moment's pause, as if to give them time to reconsider, Zrathanzon said, “All right. You can start.”

They both just sat there for a moment, as if unsure exactly how to start. Then Almonihah murmured something to Varack'Nara, and he started walking, then running, and then leaped. That leap coincided with a powerful downbeat of his wings, which was followed by another, and then another, as they climbed up above the treetops and into the open air.

Almonihah at first found the whole experience rather uncomfortable—every flap of the griffon's wings translated into a sudden jolt in the saddle, each of which seemed like he was being slammed into the ground. After a little while, however, he started figuring out how to anticipate them and move with them, which made them somewhat better. He still suspected he would find places he never thought could get sore by the end of the day, but it was bearable enough that he could stop focusing on not getting rattled to pieces or out of the saddle and look around.

And what he saw took his breath away.

They were flying fairly low, maybe just ten or fifteen feet above the level of the trees. The trees were going by quickly below them—faster than they looked like they were going when he ran his fastest, and Varack'Nara was just gliding now. He found that he liked gliding a lot better than flapping. It didn't involve nearly so much jerking around.

Now that he was starting to relax a bit, Almonihah found himself grinning. The wind flowing past him felt just like he had remembered... that is, imagined it. Though it really had seemed like a memory. What was that Zrathanzon had said? Something about how his dragon half seemed to remember things?

Soon enough, the sheer joy of flying pushed aside all questions. There was a feeling of... freedom, was perhaps the best word for it, as if slipping the ties of gravity let loose all the fetters of life. The sights, the sounds, and the feel of the wind made an exhilarating mix that made the day to day cares of existence fade away.

“No wonder you spend so much time flying!” Almonihah said to Varack'Nara.

The griffon screeched in agreement.

As they flew, Almonihah grew more comfortable in his seat, though he suspected it would still take a lot of practice before he really moved completely in unison with Varack'Nara, the way Zrathanzon had said an expert griffon rider did. He still had a bit of trouble anticipating the first jerk when the griffon started flapping his wings after gliding for a while, but he could usually do pretty well after that.

They circled back around, heading back towards where Zrathanzon was standing, watching them. As they passed the Ranger, Almonihah lifted up his arms and let out a whoop of joy. As they turned again, heading off in another direction from the clearing where they had taken off, Almonihah looked over his shoulder and saw his mentor shaking his head in what he thought was probably amusement. Almonihah just grinned wider.

After a few more minutes of flying, the young half-dragon began to realize just how sore he was going to be. It was always bad when it started even before he stopped whatever was making him sore.

“Maybe it's time we landed,” Almonihah said wistfully, disappointment at his lack of endurance evident in his voice.

Varack'Nara circled the clearing, descending slowly until he was about at the level of the tree tops, then angling downwards to land. Almonihah didn't realize just how hard of a jerk landing was going to make until it hit him.

“Oooooowwww...” he groaned as something particularly sensitive connected with the saddle.

Zrathanzon grinned as he walked up. “I told you that landing was the trickiest part, didn't I?”

Almonihah simply nodded in mute, painful agreement.

The year passed quickly for Almonihah. He and Varack'Nara flew most days, until, by the end of the year, it seemed second nature to both of them. Their endurance improved, as well, to the point that they could spend several hours in the air without Almonihah ending the day sore, though the griffon did require periods of rest on the ground. Almonihah hadn't thought about it before, but it made sense to him when Zrathanzon explained how tiring flying really was, especially with added weight. It also explained why Varack'Nara ate so much on the days when they spent a lot of time in the air.

Varack'Nara had just about reached his full growth by the time the leaves started falling from the trees. He was just a bit bigger than the big horse breeds that carried armored knights, though it would only be later in his life that Almonihah could truly make that comparison. It made it a bit of a stretch for Almonihah to ride the griffon, even though he had been growing, too. He could still ride, though, and he wouldn't have given up his time in the air with Varack'Nara for anything.

They had to cut down a lot on their time flying during the winter. For one thing, while Almonihah was slowly getting to be more resistant to cold, he would still have needed some much heavier clothing, and for another, griffons weren't particularly resistant to the cold, either. The half-bronze dragon couldn't really complain of being bored, though. His training under both Zrathanzon and Llinos occupied him quite thoroughly.

One day, Almonihah asked a question he had been thinking about for quite a while. “Llinos, you wear that thing around your neck to say you worship Naishia, right?”

Llinos smiled. “Yes, child,” he responded, brushing his fingers across the tree carving in question. “It is one of the many symbols used for Naishia. Not only does it declare my allegiance to Naishia, it is also blessed so as to be used in my druidic magic.”

Almonihah nodded in satisfaction at being right, then asked, “And you wear one to say you worship Bahamut, right, Zrathanzon?”

The Ranger simply nodded his head.

“So... do you think maybe I should get one?”

They were silent for a moment, then Zrathanzon asked, “Is that your way of saying you've decided on a god that you want to worship.”

Almonihah squirmed uncomfortably for a bit, then nodded.

“So which one is it?” Zrathanzon asked, after another moment of silence.

Almonihah answered this question without any hesitation. “Naishia.”

Llinos nodded, then spoke. “I trust you are aware of what worshiping Naishia entails?”

Almonihah nodded again.

Llinos smiled. “Then She will be glad to have you. I think I can arrange for you to get a symbol of your own, if you so desire. I suspect you will also want me to teach you more of the worship of Naishia?”

“Yes,” Almonihah responded.

“I trust this is acceptable to you?” Llinos asked Zrathanzon.

Zrathanzon nodded. “He can choose for himself.”

“Then let us begin.”

Almonihah's training for the rest of the winter was much more focused. Llinos spoke with him of the worship of Naishia, and of the respect and defense of the wild lands of Draezoln that it entailed. He also spoke to him of the principles of druidic magic, though he did not teach him any over this winter.

The winter seemed to pass even more quickly than the year before it had. All too soon it was time to leave Llinos's valley and head back east. Almonihah knew that the possibility of him simply remaining in the valley existed, but despite his newly declared allegiance, he didn't think he could stay in the valley all year. He always felt restless by the time the winter ended.

***************

Well, this was a bit longer of a section. The section about riding Varack'Nara was written at jet cruising altitude. I didn't even do that on purpose, either. The flight is part of the reason this post is longer, though.

A couple really major events in Almonihah's earlier life, here. There's really not much more in his early life. Expect things to jump in a couple of chapters.