bree

Rav and I step into the highest chamber of the pagoda, a place he lovingly calls 'Bree's Roost'. As we arrive, she is just getting settled.

"My, my," she squawks, her voice musical and chirpy. "Visitors already?"

"You know I just can't wait to see you, Bree," Rav blushes. She walks over to the far side of the room and inspects herself in the mirror, running her feathers through her long, braided hair. 

"Augs and I, we came to a decision a couple days ago," Rav says. "Something you might be interested in, actually. So before we left, I wanted to talk to you about it."

Bree makes a soft cooing noise as she nestles down into a comfy chair. She folds her brilliant blue wings over her body, and all I can see is a blanket of feathers and her face. Her eyes are sharp and narrow, as always. Carefully scrutinizing every detail. Her beak remains tightly closed, giving her an air of austerity. 

"We're going to the northern country," Rav says, trying to sound casual about it. "I think magic might be involved with this famine, and if I don't help, who will? I am the great Sage of the Clouds, after all."

"Hm. I'd hoped you wouldn't involve yourself. Aren't you in retirement, Rav?"

Bree adjusts herself but says nothing else. 

"Well yeah," Rav continues, trying to build momentum in the conversation. "But adventure calls! You spend a lot of time there. Thought maybe you'd have some...insights?"

Bree nods, closing her eyes and flapping her wings before returning them to her sides. "Some, yes. Indeed."

"Do you wanna...share with the class?" Rav prompts her.

Bree's eyes shoot open, glaring directly at Rav. "Can't you see I'm trying to relax? I've been flying for six hours straight. This is supposed to be the one place I can come and relax, isn't that our agreement?"

Rav looks utterly defeated. Either from her bond with Rav as his Vessel, or her own emotional intelligence, she understands how her words come across. Her expression softens and she speaks more.

"There is no blight in the fields. No disasters. The food grows, and the people eat. But it does not fill. The livestock won't touch the grain. Even the wild birds avoid the fields.

"A man could eat three plates of food and still feel hungry. Tis almost the end of the growing season in the northern country, and yet the stockpiles are empty. Most vexing is that food grown in other places satiates their hunger. It's as if the land itself were cursed. And this unnatural hunger isn't just physical. It makes them...angry. Desperate. Even children have started to lash out." 

"You've seen it up close, haven't you?" Rav's voice speaks my thoughts aloud. The way she talks about it feels markedly personal. She does not confirm, but her stiffened demeanor says everything. 

"Definitely sounds magical," Rav ponders. "What could this be? Is it the Magician of Corruption? Of Disease?"

"The Magician of Crystal has been seen wandering the towns, searching for the source of the issue," Bree informs us. Many humans with corestones have come as well, eager to make a name for themselves. Whoever solves the famine would be regarded as a hero, after all. But this famine is not caused by a Magician, nor a corestone. It's nothing these would-be heroes can fix while they aimlessly flaunt their magic about."

"What is it, then?" I ask, growing curious. Bree turns to look at me for the first time since I entered the room. 

"The ancients describe it as an apocalypse. Famine and War will ravage the land. Disease will spread and bring life unto Death. And then the Magician of the Apocalypse will be born, and the planet shall become their Vessel. This will destroy our world, and in the ashes, a new world will be born. 

"They say this is where the Encephalim come from. The will of a Magician of the Apocalypse made flesh. But, perhaps these are just fairy tales."

"That's some heavy stuff," Rav frowns. "Augs, any stories like that from the moon?"

I shake my head. "We Nephilim are taught that the Encephalim are humans and animals who were exposed to the Machination of Sin."

"Mecha-wha?" Rav looks at me. Clearly he hasn't heard this before. 

"It's a living Arcanic. I don't know if it still exists. Thousands of years ago, it activated...and it corrupted everything it touched. Burning avarice infected the hearts of anyone who beheld it. Uncontrollable rage coursed through their veins, and...one of the stories is that those who were touched by it became overwhelmed with insatiable hunger. They call it 'Gluttony'."

Bree is in deep thought, processing everything I've said with an open mind. "An interesting theory, August. The wisdom of the Nephilim. Hmph. Not something we can overlook easily."

"These aren't mutually exclusive, are they?" Rav says, his tail curled into a question mark. "So what if August is right - sounds like this might be the doing of an Arcanic, hm? And maybe this Arcanic is being used by someone who's trying to recreate this ancient apocalypse."

"A valid conclusion to draw," Bree says, her voice a warble. "But we can neither say it's true or a flight of fancy."

"All the more reason we need to go."

Rav looks from Bree to me, back to Bree again. "If we went to the northern country, I don't suppose you'd like to join us, Bree? Having a native could really help us out."

Bree nods. "I will meet you at the Asteria checkpoint in three days, then. It should take you that long on foot. I'll fly over when I'm ready, and try my best not to keep you waiting."

"A lifesaver, as always Bree."

Bree looks down, brushing her feathers. "By the way," she says. "You were using a tremendous amount of mana just a while ago. I nearly fell out of the sky in surprise."

"Oh," Rav sweats, "Just a little sparring is all."

"Hm. It felt like you opened a gate to your inner world. Quite the technique to use in a spar."

"Blame him, honestly," Rav says, sticking his thumb at me. "Silly Nephilim boy just had to see my inner world technique. He's jealous because he can't and likely never will be able to do it. You know how it is."

"Rav!"

He waves me off. "We can discuss this later, my young protege. Bree! It has been a pleasure. We'll see you in three days at the border, hm?"

Bree nods. "Yes. But for now I must rest. Farewell for now, Rav. August. Oh, and Rav? Give the boy a break, sometimes. You do not need to tantalize him with magic like that. He's strong, from what I can see."

Bree nestles into her chair and closes her eyes, while Rav pushes me out of the room. Today is the day, it seems. We begin our journey to the northern country.