MagiStream

Here is a little sneak peak.


Eventually introducing Watermelon, the Peach Pygmy Phoenix. He'll be coming around eventually He may or may not try to make a nest out of a body part of a character...

Lol!

Hehehe.
/glances at Nikko

Ten. A Plethora of Introductions.

Nikko awoke the next morning to sunlight streaming in through the window, bright and warm on his face. Throwing back the blankets, he swung out of bed. He gazed around the room and was mildly startled to see a brilliantly coloured multi-tailed fox gazing steadily at him from the foot of his bed. Her amber eyes gleamed in the sunlight, her tails flicking back and forth thoughtfully. She bent her head out of view and when she rose again, she had a rolled piece of parchment clamped in her teeth.

"I assume that's for me?" Nikko asked the Kitsune. The creature padded over to him, completely silent as she moved. She dropped the letter into his lap and sat at his feet, staring up at him, almost studying him. Nikko picked up the note and unrolled it. It was from Red, naturally. It told him to follow the Kitsune down the cliff and into the cove, and the Kitsune's name. He looked back up at the creature.

"Mala'Shae, huh?" She barked once at him and swished her tails. "You'll not kill me on the way to the cove?" The Kitsune snorted and walked off, hopping onto the lounge that Siobhan had occupied for a short while last night.

Standing, Nikko looked around for his clothes, and found them on the table in front of the lounge, apparently freshly laundered. He dressed quickly and vainly checked his appearance in the mirror. He turned to the Kitsune. "Lead the way."

--

The climb down to the cove was slow going for Nikko. Mala'Shae was agile and light on her paws, and had undoubtedly made the journey countless times before. The sorcerer stumbled over the rocks and slipped several times. His boots were made for trekking through the frozen tundra of the Arkene, not for climbing ocean-side cliffs. His hands were scraped and bloody from scrabbling at rocks and his shirt was ripped on the sleeve. Cursing under his breath, he finally dropped to the sand below him, which was white and fine. Mala'Shae was already waiting for him, batting at a wandering hermit crab with her paw. As Nikko approached her, she stood and walked off to the left.

Nikko followed her, but his gaze was on the ocean. The water was slightly brackish, not the deep navy of the open sea, nor the beautiful cerulean of the tropics, but a mixture of both. In the distance, he thought he saw the fin of a leviathan break the surface. The sky was an early morning blue-grey, not a cloud in sight. Even though they were on the beach, there was only the occasional gust of a breeze. A few sea-birds coasted by, crying out to each other.

The sorcered turned back to look at Mala'Shae and stopped dead in his tracks. He had seen gryphons before - large half eagle, half lion beasts with talons that would tear a man to ribbons in seconds and a beak like finely tempered steel. The grey gryphon that stood before him was larger than any he'd ever seen before - her head was an entire foot above his. Her iron grey feathers were groomed neatly away from her sharp yellow eyes. Her talons were dug into the sand, but Nikko could guess that they were long and deadly. Wings that easily stretched twelve feet were folded gracefully along her back.

She began to walk toward him, and the sorcerer could see her muscles rippling as she moved. He looked to Mala'Shae for help, but the Kitsune was gone. He was about to back up and prepare a defensive spell when he realized that this gryphon was probably a companion of Red. Setting his lips in a straight line, he straightened his back and stared the gryphon directly in her eyes. Then, with a flourish, he bowed deeply to her, the tips of his hair brushing the sand.

The next moment dragged by, and he knew he would either be okay or would be set upon by the gryphon. And then that moment ended, and he felt a nudging on his shoulder. He looked up and the beast was staring at him, looking almost amused. And then she was behind him (she moved with remarkable speed for such a large creature), pushing him forward. With a quiet chuckle, he began walking, the gryphon following beside him.

A short way down the beach he saw Red sitting on a wave-beaten rock, her feet on the mantle of what looked like a giant blue squid. Mala'Shae was playfully swatting at some fish in the shallows.

"Good morning!" Red called. "Moira is charming, isn't she?" she asked as Nikko approached her. He climbed the rock to stand next to her.

"She didn't give me a cowlick like Siobhan did, so she's positively wonderful, love," he replied. He gazed into the water. "What is that?"

"Krackers, my Kraken," she said. "He's not very social, so I'm taking advantage of this." The Kraken, which was indeed a massive squid, gazed up out of the water at Nikko, his yellow eyes distorted by the ripples.

"He doesn't look too friendly," Nikko observed. Red shrugged.

"I've had him since he was an egg. He's a goofball, really, but he doesn't show it much. Do you?" she tapped her feet across his mantle. She looked up at NIkko. "Raistlin had more information for us this morning."

"And...?" the sorcerer prompted. Red sighed and splashed water across Krackers.

"And we ran into something of a bind. We can't just summon Arkenna like that," she emphasized her words with a snap. "When Arkenna and Voltan left the heavensm they relinquished control of the world to their daughters. We need to summon them and convince them to give us a charm of their element. Then we can go to the Arkene and summon Arkenna," she explained. Nikko scowled, his eyes darkening.

"Well that's just dandy. It's going to take us forever to get those charms," he said. He glanced at the magi, who was biting her lip and looking mildly guilty. "Wonderful. What else, love?"

Glaring at him, Red said, "You and I alone can't summon the elemental goddesses. We need a druid with us."

"Nikko gaped at her. "A druid? Are there even any left? And if there are, where in the world are we going to bloody find one?" His voice was escalating. Red narrowed her eyes at him.

"If you'd stop panicking, I'd tell you." Nikko crossed his arms and stared at her expectantly. "Druids were mostly farmers. They had a deep connection with the land. A few hours' ride from here is a very old farming community. I sent Jacob and Elena there this morning to make a few inquiries." Red shrugged and flipped her hair back. "Hopefully we can find a direction to go in from there." She sighed.

Nikko was about to ask her what would happen if they got no leads, but a shrill cry from above cut him off. A slight Razan Quetzalcoatl flew toward them, buffeted slightly by the sea breezes. The winged snake dropped down and wound itself around Nikko's shoulders. The sorcerer remained very still, blinking rapidly at Red as if that would convey his confused thoughts. The magi stood and looked closely at the Quetzalcoatl. She allowed a small smile and stroked the creature's scales.

"This is one of Thane's messengers," she said. "You can relax, he's friendly." There was a small, hard leather scroll case attached to the harness the Quetzalcoatl. She opened it and withdrew the message. She pet the Quetzalcoatl once more and then spoke to it. "You may take rest and drink in the tower, friend." With another, much softer cry, the Quetzalcoatl took off, flying toward the keep. Without wasting another moment, Red unfurled the note and held it so that Nikko could see. it didn't take the sorcerer long to figure out that something wasn't quite right.

"I can't read this. It looks like a bunch of drawings of noodles," he said blankly. Red glared at the note.

"I'm not surprised. This is written in ancient Cyrillian. It's a dead language," she grumbled. The sorcerer gaped at her. Red was almost positive she saw the corner of his eye twitch.

"Is Thane mad?" he asked.

"No, he just likes..." she paused, biting her lip. "Okay, so he might be a little mad." She rolled the scroll up and tucked it into her belt. "Raistlin can translate it, fortunately. We should get this to him as soon as we can."

--

"Thane is up to his old tricks, I see?"

Raistlin moved to the giant table, the note from Thane in his hands. He then approached one of the many shelves and retrieved a black book from it. Settling back down at the table, he flipped open the book and scanned through the pages, looking from the note to the book.

"This won't take long to translate, it's written in the most common dialect," he said quietly.

"When he says it won't take long, how long does he mean it will take?" Nikko asked. Red shrugged.

"Maybe an hour." She walked to the bookshelf across from her and plucked a small volume from it. The book was a nondescript beige colour, with black script stamped across the front that read 'The Companions - A Complete Guide'. She handed the book to Nikko.

"If you're going to be traveling with me, you should probably start reading this. It will tell you everything you need to know about every magical companion the magi connect with," she told him. He accepted the book with a small, appreciative smile.

"I'm sure it'll be useful."

"Well, I want to introduce you to Daiki and Pryce. Come down to the stables with me," she said.

As they left the library, Red turned back to Raistlin. "Send a note down to the stables when you've finished?" she asked. The Naga looked up at Red with a sly smile on his face.

"Of course I will. But, there's no rush now, is there?" There was much amusement in his voice, his lips quirked upward in a smirk. Red pursed her lips at him and shut the door to the library without another word.

--

"There was a man in the doorway yesterday when we arrived. Who was he?" Nikko asked as he absentmindedly flipped through the companion book on the walk to the stables.

"Probably Ronan - he cares for the creatures in the stables. He's very good with them," she said. "Just, try not to stare at him. He gets huffy when people stare at him." Nikko shot her a look, but said nothing. As they approached the large stable, he dogeared the page he was reading and snapped the book shut, tucking it into a pouch on his belt.

The stable was large and made of plain wood. The large door that led into the stable was carved with runes and sigils, and other ornate patterns that reminded him of ancient peoples and deep magics. Aside from those carvings, the two story stable was very ordinary looking. Getting closer, he could hear squawks, whinnies, and half-roars coming from within. He wondered what manner of beasts lie within the stable - he hadn't gotten to hoofed creatures in the book.

Red pushed open the door to the stable and stepped inside. Warm light filtered through high windows, bouncing off the rafters and illuminating the hay dust floating in the air. The sweet, powerful smell of grain assaulted them. Nikko felt that he could curl up in this warm place and sleep for hours, no matter the time of day. The aisles were wide, and both sides were lined with big, comfortable stalls. In those stalls were magnificent creatures, some of which Nikko had never seen in his life.

Enormous black and white horses with wings and gleaming red eyes, friendly looking winged pintos, fierce looking half eagle, half horse creatures, even tiny unicorns. And then a peculiar beast caught Nikko's eye - it was an elegant, powerful looking mash-up of a dragon and a horse. Its coat was coal black, and its horns, eyes, and hooves were a striking shade of violet. As Nikko gazed at the beast, its eye swiveled to look at him, and she gave a roar and blinked at him twice.

"That would be Khisanth," Red told him. The magi approached the stall and tapped on the wood of the gate with her hand. The creature walked over to her, bumping Red's shoulder rather roughly with her head. "She's a Noctis Enox; they're notoriously difficult to train, and she was no exception." The Enox caught Red's shirt sleeve in her teeth and tugged on it, snorting imperiously. Red produced a sugared apple from her pocket and offered it to her companion, who snatched it up and swallowed it whole, then trotted away, her barbed dragon's tail swishing contentedly.

"She seems..." Nikko paused, unable to find the right word to describe the Enox.

"Like a big scaly brat?" Red finished. Khisanth snorted in Red's general direction and stuck her head in her water bucket. With a chuckle, Red unlatched the wooden gate and left it ajar. Leaving the stall, the magi began to walk down the stable aisle, all the way to the end. As Nikko followed her, he noted a creature that looked exactly like Khisanth, but was white and gold instead. There seemed to be more creatures in the magi's world than he first thought.

At the end of the aisle, two large blue and white beasts were being doted on by a man with the body of a horse. A centaur! Nikko had only read about these people when he was a boy, having never ventured far enough southeast to actually see one. The skin of his chest was smoky black, and his horse body was a smooth dun. He looked up at them with golden eyes, his lips quirking upward when he saw Red.

"Welcome home, friend," he said. His voice was deep and warm. Red grinned at him.

"Thanks. Ronan, this is Nikko, a-"

"Your sorcerer friend. Raistlin informed me last evening," Ronan cut in, gazing down at Nikko. The sorcerer was tall, but Ronan was taller. Nikko bowed respectfully to him.

"Good to meet you, sir," he said. The corner of Ronan's lips quirked upward, but he said nothing.

“I’ve prepared Pryce and Daiki for you - now if you would kindly show attention to them before they break the tethers - again,” he said, glancing at the creatures who were stamping their hooves - and claws - on the compacted ground.

“Nikko, meet Daiki and Pryce, two of my Lunar Hippogryphs,” Red said, wrapping her arms around the necks of both of the creatures. They squawked happily, flicking their tails. The one on the left looked over Red’s shoulder at Nikko with a sharp golden eye. “We’ll be taking them to the Arkene with us. They’re excellent mounts and fierce protectors.” The one on the left, Daiki, pulled away from Red and approached Nikko, snuffling at his shirt, his beak clicking softly.

"Hello there, fellow," Nikko said, threading his fingers through the cool blue feathers.

"It's rather good that you get along so well with my companions. They're invaluable to us in this mission," Red commented, stroking Pryce's feathers.

"They're not the dumb animals so many sorcerers make them out to be," he said. Daiki snorted and shook his head.

There were several excited whinnies and much hoof-stomping behind them. They turned and looked to see a friendly looking Tenera Dog trotting toward them, a note clamped in his mouth and his tail wagging merrily. He strode up to Red and sat down at her feet, gazing up at her with adoration.

"Hey there, Admiral!" She bent down and took the note from him, ruffling his fur with her other hand. He rubbed his face into her hand, his tongue lolling. As she continued to pet him, she worked the note open single-handedly and scanned over it. With a small smile, Red looked up at Nikko.

"Raistlin's finished the translation."






That might be the crappiest chapter I've written so far. I hate fillers! But it's getting somewhere.
I wonder what that letter from Thane says...

Loved it anyways. It's good to get an ideal of what Red's home is like. Can't wait for more!

You may think it is crappy but i love it

"Glaring at him, Red said, "You and I alone can't summon the elemental goddesses. We need a druid with us."

Unneeded " at the start of the line

Thanks for the feedback!
Also, there is a new poll up, but I am trying to see if I can get the results from the previous one cleared. So if that happens, I'll update this post and ask you to vote again :3
Okay, thanks to wolfeyedangel, we've got a brand new poll. Please vote!
There are some Things that depend on the results of this poll


By the way, did I mention that I can't publish the next chapter until I have some good poll results?

fillers are necessary in any story

It was nice to see more about Red's keep

Loved it!
lol. Big bad Nikko scared by a gryphon. xD

Yellowfang wrote:Loved it!
lol. Big bad Nikko scared by a gryphon. xD

LOL Moira is huge (because she's 100+ years old), creepy smart, and sarcastic. I wouldn't mess with her.