Chapter 864: Singer-in-Caves

It took a few days of fast flight for Leon’s party to reach the village where the Hawks’ ninth-tier elder had based herself from. It was a fairly large place as far as villages went, with space for some three or four thousand people to live in the cramped longhouses that the Hawks preferred. In addition to the longhouses, there were farms in the valley the village overlooked and what looked to be several productive mines in the area.

However, what took Leon’s attention were the large buildings of stone that lay at the foot of a shallow mountain with tall smokestacks that belched far more fire and smoke than would be needed simply to heat the place with fire—not that Leon thought they needed fire for heating given the amount of magic power surging through their walls. It was hard to see precisely what these buildings were, but given the complex network of metal pipes running along the exterior and several massive metal drums poking out of the roof of most of the buildings, he figured they were refineries of some sort, undoubtedly turning whatever minerals were taken from the local mines into usable materials.

The ninth-tier elder they were looking for was fairly easy to find. The village was large enough to have a central gathering hall, and though it was constructed similarly to the one in Raikoraki, it was far smaller. Within, Leon could see several relatively powerful mages huddled over a map on a table, while sitting on the dais and meditating with her magic senses projected was a woman with hair silvered from age pulled back into a long braid. Her face was lined, though hints of residual beauty remained in her high cheekbones and soft smile. Her skin was quite tan, in line with many of the Hawks, and she wore a cloak of brown feathers over her shoulders.

As Leon’s party drew closer, her eyes opened, revealing pale blue orbs that sparkled with intelligence and wisdom. She softly smiled and spoke something to the other mages who then turned in Leon’s direction, but then she closed her eyes once more and returned to her meditations. Leon felt her magic senses pulse outward several more times, though, so he guessed she was keeping track of their quarry, the four monstrous beasts that had been terrorizing their eastern territories for a while.

It took near half a day for Leon’s party to reach the gathering hall. As powerful as they were, moving a thousand miles wasn’t done in an instant. When they arrived, they found the other powerful mages awaiting them rather formally.

“Who goes there?” the lead one shouted, his tone more cautious than unfriendly. He was an older man and possessed eighth-tier strength. Leon guessed him to be one of Singer-in-Caves’ subordinate elders.

“Leon Raime!” Leon declared. “Last living descendent of the Thunderbird!”

The man’s eyes widened, but to his credit, he quickly returned to a fairly neutral expression. The others who stood at his side did likewise, though their shock lasted a few moments longer.

“Leon Raime,” Singer-in-Caves whispered, her voice carrying despite that. “I have heard much of you in recent weeks.”

Leon touched down on the ground, followed a moment later by the rest of his retainers. The others who stood in his way quickly parted, allowing him to enter the gathering hall, his retainers at his back. Even Red took human form to enter in his wake.

“All good things, I hope,” Leon said with a sarcastic smile.

“Hardly,” the Hawk elder responded.

Leon sighed and said, “Well, to dispel any rumors is part of the reason why I’m here.”

“You’re also here to solicit my support,” Singer-in-Caves added, her tone matter-of-fact as if she were simply commenting on the weather.

“Yes and no,” Leon argued. “I’m here to defend people I consider to be my own from powerful beasts running amok amongst them.”

Singer-in-Caves lightly smiled at him as she opened her eyes. She stood up, stepped down from the dais, and bowed slightly at the waist. She didn’t quite lower herself to show the proper respect to a King, but Leon didn’t care.

“You were not gone from my Tribe’s home city for more than five minutes before my fellow elders rushed to inform me that you were on your way,” she said. “I’ve heard other things about you from the Jaguar of the West and the office of the Thunderer. I’ll admit, though, that the words of warning given to me have only left me more… intrigued. I’m glad you’ve come here, Leon Raime, for I would much like to judge you for myself.”

“Am I in need of judgment?” Leon asked with a playful smile. “It seems you’ve been having trouble putting down some monsters, shouldn’t we make that our priority?”

“We’re tracking those destructive carrion feeders,” Singer replied. “They’re no current danger to my people. We have time to speak.”

“And you’d rather talk about me than our targets?” Leon asked.

“You came to my Tribe to offer your protection in return for fealty, I ought to think that might warrant a few questions, aye? If for no other reason than ruffling my Tribe’s feathers…”

“Apologies for any offenses I’ve made,” Leon said with a slight lowering of his head. “I don’t mean to be arrogant, but what I seek to accomplish won’t be won with humility.”

“You sound rather saddened by that, Inheritor of the Most Venerable.”

“I have many interests, all of which demand my time and energy. Had I not been personally wronged by those in the Nexus, and had I not been blessed with my Ancestor’s power, I think I would be perfectly happy staying at home studying the arts of enchanting and blacksmithing.”

“No one’s forcing you to do anything, are they?” Singer asked.

Leon gave her a thin-lipped grin. “I also want to restore my Clan to the glories it once had, to be sure, and that provides motivation enough. Regardless of the precise reason, I’m here to set the foundations for the return of my Clan to universal importance. I already have the support of the Jaguar and Screaming Eagle Tribes.”

“And that’s why you’re here in my lands,” Singer stated again. Leon nodded, and they locked their gazes, neither of them blinking for what felt like hours. Eventually, however, Singer closed her eyes and sighed. “I… apologize for the reception my Tribe gave you, Leon Raime. I was told it was rather hostile…”

“I didn’t find it disagreeable,” Leon responded with a shrug. “They didn’t try to kill me on sight, that’s actually a fairly good outcome given the reception I’m used to getting.”

Singer laughed. “And yet, former wingmates ought not to fight. The Thunderbird and the Heart-Stabbing Hawk are of the same flock, are they not? Partners and confidants, even if one is senior and the other junior?”

“I’d like to think they are,” Leon said.

Singer clicked her tongue in what appeared to be thought, then smiled again and said, “I would ask you not to think too harshly of my people. We have our traditions that we love as much as the Jaguars, and we hold the Most Venerable close to our hearts. But we are a small Tribe, and I am our only ninth-tier mage. The other Tribes ignore us for our small army and remote aviaries, despite our attempts to forge closer bonds with them. I believe this has led to some… insecurities among our leadership, and a lot of anger.”

“I understand,” Leon said conciliatingly.

“I’m glad you do. Our Tribal council worries greatly about how to lead our flocks, and that can lead to them being rude or disrespectful to those whose motives aren’t entirely trusted. These recent incidents with monsters running rampant throughout our lands haven’t helped matters.”

“Understandable,” Leon replied with a gentle smile.

“So… I would like to thank you for coming out here, no matter your reason,” Singer continued. “Any help I can get to put these monsters down, I’ll take.”

“In us, you’ll find a great deal of help,” Leon said as he nodded to his retainers. “We’ll help in any way we can. I also have a proposal for you, if you’re interested. Something that might gain your people more power.”

“Oh? That sounds both intriguing and too good to be true.”

“In a way, it is too good to be true given how it works. But let me ask you; have you ever wanted to fly through the air on wings of your own?”

—

Leon practically quivered in excitement. Despite Nikolaos’ statement of support for using the transformation enchantment, he’d yet to see any use it. To a degree, that was understandable given the sheer complexity of the enchantment, but he’d have thought there would be more people willing to make use of something that could increase their power dramatically.

Fortunately, when he offered it to Singer-in-Caves, she accepted, though somewhat hesitantly. Since the other elders and Chiefs that she’d deployed to the east with were still tracking the monsters and could verify that they weren’t around any villages, Leon and Singer decided to test the enchantment out on her. She was a fairly skilled enchanter, by her own admission, and felt like she could verify if there was anything wrong with the enchantment that Leon gave her.

To that end, after getting the rest of his retainers situated in an empty longhouse, Leon sat down with Singer and started going over the enchantment with her, and she periodically jumped into her soul realm to begin its construction. Given her strength as a ninth-tier mage and the fact that she was nearing a thousand years old, she had great command over her soul realm, and she was finished with building her simplified transformation enchantment by the end of the next day.

And so, Leon found himself standing in the gathering hall on the morning of his second full day in the village, Singer-in-Caves standing in front of him on the gathering hall’s dais, the rest of the powerful mages that were in the city filling the rest of the hall. Leon’s retainers had to wait outside, but they were still close in case they were needed.

Singer took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began to concentrate. At first, nothing seemed to happen, and Leon could practically feel the tension in the room increase with every second until the air felt as thick as molasses.

But then Singer’s aura flickered. Leon might’ve missed it had he not been concentrating on her so completely, but after a moment, her aura began to flex in ways that were impossible to miss. It twisted and spun like the fiercest of tornados, and Leon could sense the weaker mages in the room start to weaken. One seventh-tier mage was even forced to a knee with a cry of pain as Singer’s aura continued to grow fiercer.

And then her breathing hitched, and for a moment, Leon thought that she’d stopped the process. But then she began to shrink, her clothes settling about her and shielding her from view. However, Leon tracked her progress with his magic senses, and he could see her body shrinking down to about half her original height, but growing in other places.

Her chest grew and rounded as her arms cracked, bent, and reformed. Feathers erupted from her skin and the shape of her skull changed. Her eyes opened as she cried out in pain and fear, her pupils and sclera turning midnight black. Her mouth protruded forward and hardened, forming a curved beak that was yellow near her face but darkened to black at the viciously-sharp tip. Her legs yellowed and her skin hardened into scales, her toes and toenails elongating into fearsome talons. Above all, however, her aura grew as her body shrank, her power expanding as the enchantment stimulated her blood. She grew stronger and more in control of her power as she grew more in tune with her bloodline.

In less than ten minutes, it was over. Singer lay on the dais, buried beneath her clothes, her eyes wide, a terrified hawk’s cry coming from her beak.

“Singer-in-Caves!” Leon shouted, shocking the others in the hall so badly that a couple nearly jumped out of their skin. “If you can hear my voice, remember that you can turn back at any time!”

The hawk beneath Singer-in-Caves’ clothes still seemed terrified out of her wits and didn’t react to Leon’s words, so he reached out with darkness magic, calling upon his meager but slowly-growing skill to touch her mind and impart his message. With the transformation enchantment, it was fairly easy to turn back human, it simply needed to be used a little differently to bring one’s human characteristics back to the fore.

This seemed to reach Singer as her breathing slowed and she closed her black hawkish eyes. Her aura calmed and her breathing slowed. The shrieks of pain and fear ceased. And a moment later, her body began to expand again, her feathers receding, her scaled legs turning back to aged skin, her wings turning back to arms. She was still buried in her clothes, and she had enough faculties that, as she grew, she managed to at least somewhat refill them as she grew and transformed back into a human.

Once she’d returned to her normal form, she took a moment to collect herself, and then in a flash of light, she was fully and completely clothed again.

“That…” she whispered in a tone that sounded like equal parts awe and fear. “That was…”

“Terrifying?” Leon asked with a knowing smile. “Painful? Confusing? All of your senses change into something that seems so alien, and yet…”

“… So right?” she finished as a deep smile spread across her face. “That was the most visceral experience I have ever had! My blood felt like it had turned to fire, and yet it sang such beautiful notes that I have only ever heard once before…”

Leon grinned in understanding. He guessed she was talking about when her bloodline was first awakened.

“Elder!” one of the seventh-tier mages in the room called out. “Are you… all right!”

“I am fine, my boy,” she said with a loving smile. In response to Leon’s slightly cocked eyebrow, she explained, “My son, Cloud-Runner.”

Her son was strong and seemed fairly old himself, about fifty years old or so by mortal standards. Leon nodded respectfully to him, though he appeared more concerned about Singer than anything else.

“Do you feel any different?” one of the eighth-tier mages asked. “Your aura does seem… expanded…”

Singer-in-Caves took a moment to think, closing her eyes and turning her magic inward. She opened them a moment later and exclaimed, “My soul realm has grown! Several hundred miles!”

The other elders and mages stared at her for a second with mouths agape, and then a flurry of questions was directed toward her.

“Are you sure?!”

“You didn’t lose track of growth from earlier, did you?”

“How difficult to use was this transformation technique?”

“One at a time,” she growled, silencing her petitioners in an instant. She then closed her eyes and her aura flexed again. She once more began to transform, but this time went much faster, and in a matter of seconds, she was sprawled out beneath her clothing on the dais once more.

And then she began writhing and twisting, attempting to get to her talons. Leon quickly uncovered her, and she managed to struggle upright… only to almost tip over again as she fought to gain some semblance of balance in a body so completely different from what she was used to.

As she got used to herself again, Leon took a moment to appreciate her transformation. Her wings were dark brown spotted with black, as was her long tail. Her head was a lighter shade of brown, while her shoulders and torso were bright red, almost orange. Some of her feathers were lighter and greyer, however, and on further inspection, Leon noticed that her leg scales were flaking slightly.

She chirped and cried out, her beak now unable to form anything resembling human speech. So, Leon called upon his darkness magic again and asked her a simple question.

[Would you like to try flying, or do want to get used to your new body, first?]

She cocked her head, stared at him intently in what he thought was condescension, and then raised her wings and shrieked.

Leon grinned, and then did something he’d never tried before, and reached out with his darkness magic once again. However, instead of trying to communicate with her in words, he instead attempted to utilize a technique that the Thunderbird and Xaphan had both used on him in the past, recalling some training that the Thunderbird and Xaphan had given him regarding it.

He didn’t push words into Singer’s head but instead filled his own mind with thoughts of flight in Thunderbird form, the feeling that filled him, the instincts that lurked in his blood that helped him to take off and move his wings just right in the wind. He took all of these things and began trying to share them with Singer.

Her black hawkish eyes narrowed slightly and dulled as her focus shifted to these new thoughts and feelings. She didn’t move, but as Leon shared with her how it felt to spread his wings and be lifted by the wind, he saw her spreading and angling her wings in just the same way.

Then, as Leon felt like she was getting the gist of it, he began adding in how it felt to use his wind magic to make his flight that much easier and faster. How it magically felt to lift himself by the wings and propel himself forward at great speeds, how it felt to have fine control over the wind and feel it pass through his feathers almost like he were running his own fingers through his plumage.

After about five quiet minutes during which Leon only had to tell the other Hawk mages to be quiet once, Leon felt like he’d shared with Singer everything she needed to know to move her new avian form. Or at least, enough to get started building up her muscle memory.

As soon as he withdrew his magic from her mind, she spread her wings, called upon her wind magic, and took off into the air almost as fast as a bolt fired from a Lightning Lance.

Leon laughed in delight as she shot out of the gathering hall and into the sky, and he found himself chasing after her, the other Hawk mages doing likewise. As soon as he hit the open air, he leaped into the air, his retinue hot on his heels as were the other Hawks, and he transformed into his altered Thunderbird form. His silver feathers shone brilliantly in the sun, his blue crest trailing behind him like a short cape. He joined Singer in the sky, dancing about on feathered wings as their respective followers tried their best to keep up.