As the light from outside the forest met my eyes, I tried to take in each detail I saw at once, but my excitement forced me to lock on to individual elements: We were slightly elevated along the edge of the forest, with a hill that rolled down and met with grass as tall as I, in a field so vast on each side I dare not think of its’ edges. All of this leading to a horizon filled with limitless blue. It looked like the sky touched the ground and melted away from our vantage point, though I’d later learn that this was my first exposure to the ocean. For the first time in my life I saw the sky unabated by trees. Even the clearing of my hometown had the sky isolated in that one space, but out in the rest of the world it seemed the sky could and often did circle the entirety of what the eye could see. I took special note of a large boulder shaped like a spire in the plains which seemed to break the sheer line of the sky and the grass by prodding straight up, almost to the same height as us. Beyond that ominous stone I could see what looked like wooden structures, though only one I would describe as a building. The rest seemed to be flat like roads and leading outward into what I assumed to be the sky at the time. Reflecting on this today, I find it funny how naive I was.
“Hey kid, focus.” I heard Sir Mirroheart speak out to me, slightly louder than I thought necessary until I saw him descending the hill. “Watch how I do this or you might get hurt.”
I took note of his movements, with him using one arm to hold himself in place and reaching one leg forward to find stability, while using the other to secure his movements. The incline of the hill made it look like he was almost laying down the entire time, but he would move his legs out and down every so often to meet at a neutral position again. It was like watching some kind of animal in its’ natural habitat, weaving down a slope it had known all its’ life. So he instructed, and so I followed suit, snagging my ankle a few times before getting into a pattern similar to his and reaching the bottom of the hill not long after.
“Good, and no injuries too. Now, let’s keep going. I’ve got a ship with a friend waiting.” he said it so assuredly, like I was already a soldier of his. I appreciated that because it meant he had confidence in me, or at least that’s how my teenage mind processed it.
“Who’s this friend?” I asked, dusting myself off.
“He’s the captain of the ship we’re taking. A good man named Ike. Though I suppose since you’ve never seen someone who isn’t human physically I should explain, he’s a Quezariel.”
“Kay-zah-ree-ehl.” I sounded the word out and tried to break down what it could mean. After realizing I had nothing to reference this word to, I shrugged and Sir Mirroheart crossed his arms.
“The Quezariel are a Riel variant that lives in and around water. They replaced their ears with fanned fins and there is webbing between their fingers and toes. There are two sets of lungs they use, one for land and one with the gills on the back of their neck. While they cannot hear, they have the most flexible noses in the world. If you’ve ever paid attention to how a pig snout looks, it’s very similar to that, but it can move in all directions a good bit.”
I nodded and began to visualize a fish-like person. He continued as I was lost in thought.
“The ones that live in the ocean are darker in complexion, because they usually live deep underwater where they need the camoflauge. River based Quezariel take on an almost transparent skin, where you can usually make out most of the veins in their bodies. And then there’s the ones that choose to live on land near their water source of choice; these Quezariel develop a mucous membrane on their skin to keep it hydrated while out of the water. AllQuezariel are slightly wet to the touch, but none more so than the land based ones.”
“Ironic.” I nodded. “Seems really useful though, having gills and strong noses. Which type is Ike?”
“He’s a land Quezariel that obviously lives near the ocean. I’ve worked with him a lot over the years.”
The conversation cut short as Sir Mirroheart beckoned me to follow him into the grass of the plains. It was almost like walking through the forest again, dense with greenery and masking the sun from above. What I thought was as tall as me from the hill was actually a good few heads taller, and fairly rigid compared to the grass I was used to. Sir Mirroheart was pushing it out of the way as we went, and occasionally it would spring back with force on my back. Eventually I got into the pattern of stepping down on the blades he moved so they would stay low while I crossed through, and I did so as gently as I could to continue training myself to be light on my feet. I think Sir Mirroheart expected this, as I heard him mutter to himself in what seemed like a positive way, right up to the point that he stopped moving entirely.
“What’s up?” I asked, to which he raised his hand as if to silence me. I did so, and with both of us still, I began to hear what I assumed he was warning me about. The grass was rustling nearby, and this got me on edge. I’d never been here before, so any predators out here would be new too. I think Sir Mirroheart sensed my fears, because I felt a hand on my shoulder and he moved himself back to where I was.
“Stay quiet. I’ll handle this.” he said as his free hand reached to the curved sword at his hip. Before I could ask what was going on, he was gone from my side, and I heard a horrible screech from my left. It was a mixture of a bird of prey call and a human scream followed by the squelching sound of a blade ensanguined, and then a quiet sizzling. I feel sick to my stomach even recalling that similarity.
“June, follow my voice!” I heard him call out to me, and began to make way toward him. Pushing the grass aside was not as easy as he’d made it look, and I began to appreciate that it was already half down by the time I stepped on it. Eventually though I did see Sir Mirroheart, in what looked like a clearing he had cut that seemed wide enough for both of us to stand. At his feet was what I assumed made that horrid noise; A beast with blackened, tarry scales, six legs which housed what looked like paws with four talons, and strange orange liquid spilling from its throat, which was connected to a very crocodilian face. I noticed it seemed to have a tail that was removed, and upon scanning to find it, I saw it a few feet away from Sir Mirroheart, with a barbed edge out the tip. A creature like this was new to me, and I assumed it was part of the food chain out here, but that did nothing to ease my tension when I heard more rustling in the grass around us.
“What… Is that thing?” I asked, to which Sir Mirroheart shook his head.
“I’ve never seen it before, and that’s bothering me as much as it is you, but it wasn’t alone. Be careful, the orange liquid is acidic.” he gestured to the dead one.
“How many?” I asked with a shiver in my voice.
“I saw three. Stay in this clearing with me and we should be fine, they don’t seem too dangerous aside from the acid and the stinger. Let’s stand back to back so our blind spots are covered.”
I did as instructed, and immediately I felt us shifting in a circle around each other. It took until I saw the stinger tail in front of me to hear more from the grass, and it sounded like that same bird call, followed by heavy footsteps in a rapid fashion. All at once I knew we would be attacked, and I wasn’t the only one who knew. Sir Mirroheart had shifted his footing against mine, and I knew he was going to move. It was almost a single moment that I felt his back leave mine and then heard the disgusting screeching again. I, however, was still. I saw the greenery in front of me break open and then saw the creature charging at me, mouth open and filled with three or more rows of teeth, I couldn’t really get a good look. I was too focused on the tongue, which seemed to bear the face of a humanoid in a fleshy pattern that would shift as it moved. My instincts must have kicked in, because as it leapt up to attack, I folded myself backward onto my back and kicked it over, putting it on its back. I stood as quickly as I could, knowing it wouldn’t be down for long, and despite having a practice sword on me, I began to move for the stinger tail of the other one. My wooden blade would surely not be enough to deal with this creature.
I scanned the tail as briefly and thoroughly as those two words would imply together, and picked up a spot I didn’t see anything that looked like it may harm me to touch. The tail was hefty, so I made sure to ready it by pointing it at the direction the creature came from. I was either just in time, or too late, as it was upon me and bowled me down, pinning me beneath it. I closed my eyes and screamed, but I heard it do the same, which both confused and horrified me further. I heard Sir Mirroheart call my name and then felt a great weight lift from my body. Hesitating a moment, I opened my eyes to see him above me offering a hand, and took it with my own trembling.
“That was a wild tactic, June.” he commented. “But it looks like it worked.”
“What do you-” he cut me off.
“Look.” he gestured to the creature I was dealing with, the stinger embedded in its chest and its body seeming to convulse, incapable of screeching as its tongue was swelling up to fill its mouth. The imagery of seeing this creature’s many teeth sinking into its own tongue and watching that orange liquid spill down and melt its jaw was something I will never forget. Sir Mirroheart approached it then, and I closed my eyes as he put the creature out of its misery. I heard nothing but the moisture of its flesh being carved away by a blade before I felt Sir MIrroheart tap my shoulder again.
“It’s over,” he said, “And much as I think we should be using every part of a kill, these creatures don’t seem natural. We should take the bodies with us after draining that acidic blood, so we can study them.”
I nodded, but before he could approach one of them to begin the process, we heard the sizzling of the acid increase. Before we had a chance to take anything off of the first one, it had fully dissolved in its own blood, save the veins that were designed to carry such a dangerous substance. Those remained, but dried quickly and fractured. It was as if the creature refused to be studied. Soon, the others followed suit, with Sir Mirroheart heading for the second kill and lopping off the tip of its tail as well as a few talons before it too dissolved. We decided to take the veins it left behind, as well as one of the hearts, which was still intact. The one I’d poisoned seemed to preserve its internals remarkably well, and so we collected as much of it as we could.
“This has me worried.” Sir Mirroheart stated flatly. “But, for now, let’s give this abomination a classification. Want to do the honors?”
I thought for a few moments about this, as Sir Mirroheart packed the parts of the creature he could save away into the cape of his robes and tied if off around his shoulders for support. I could finally see some form to his body, instead of the red mess of sensory overload he normally was, and he was completely covered even under that robe. Thick chainmail which I could see a layer of gambeson underneath, and cloth underneath the jointed areas of his forearms.
“How about just that? Abomination?” I mused as jokingly as my shaking voice would allow. “If we want to get specific, this is a… Hmm…”
“No, that works.” he stopped me.
“Alright, Abomination it is.” I nodded and finally got a chance to look myself over for injuries. While I was fine physically, I did note my pants had been melted a bit around the ankle and one of my sleeves was torn.
“Maybe when we get into town, I should look for some new clothes.” I commented, to which he nodded. I didn’t see a single bit of damage to his red form, but I did see his blade was melted away too, probably from slicing through their bodies.
“Let’s get to Ike first, and think about that when we get to the mainland, alright?” he and I began to make our way forward, before he stopped and turned back to me. “Oh, and June? Seriously, good thinking and better reflexes. I think I’ll bypass the intelligence test after seeing that display. Regardless of your knowledge, you’ve demonstrated great listening skills and the ability to act in a pinch. Those are the qualities I need in my organization.”
Despite my shaking hands, I was ecstatic to hear this. I was already accepted to the University but now it seemed like my dream would come true after that. I thought to myself about how I was inexperienced and nervous now, I wouldn’t be forever. I’d be stronger and more composed next time we saw these, if ever, and then I’d be ready to protect wherever I was.
Nothing could ruin this upswing in confidence.
Magna Varia 