Chapter 1.5 - City of Spirits

The old man stepped off the edge, hovering just inches above the ground.

"Don't think about 'how' you're gonna do it, just do it." 

"Easy for you to say, Merlin. I've never done that before."

"Stop thinking as a human and start thinking as a God." 

Calder offered him his hand and Adam took it. The adrenaline started rising as he contemplated how high they were. 

A God is not afraid of anything, the boy thought to himself. With a deep breath he felt his heart decelerate for a second and that's when he stepped into the air. 

"Woooah"

Adam lost his balance after he leaned forward with all his weight. Before he could even open his eyes, a hand grabbed his, pulling it back.

"Imagine the air is solid just like the rock underneath your feet. Picture the blocks you're gonna step in."

Bringing himself together, Adam straightened his posture and was ready to try again when, out of the blue, Calder pulled him closer with a bump.

"And if you call me Merlin again I'll push you down these stairs." 

His tone was very passive aggressive which made Adam let out a smirk. He enjoyed getting under people's skin. 

Jokes aside, the young God was ready for one more try.

Eyes closed, Adam pictured a single invisible block. Without thinking too much he stepped on it but nothing happened. In his head he kept repeating a mantra "Don't look down.". Casually he did it one more time but did not let go of Calder's hand. Adam could hear the old dog giggling but decided to ignore him. 

Step after step, block after block, Adam kept going without looking anywhere. After a couple attempts, he noticed Calder was quiet.

"Calder?"

He tried to squeeze the man's hand but it wasn't there anymore. Desperate, Adam opened his eyes looking for support.

"Don't look down." 

The bearded man was a few meters behind staring at Adam who was hovering above the stairs. 

"Why did you let go?"

"Because you didn't need me anymore."

With both hands behind his back, Calder flew by Adam's side and stopped a couple meter's ahead. 

"Come on. I want to show you something."

Honestly the boy was scared to death to follow him without any help. Being self conscious was the worst, suddenly all the progress was lost. Calder was watching him with a smirk. That old dog was treacherous, he was waiting to have a good laugh. Adam refused to give it to him. 

Eyes locked on the smirk on his guide's face, Adam just pictured himself going to him. He was already flying; he just needed to move. 

At first it went well, but then doubt started to crawl up to his heart and his path began to get shaky. The altitude was fluctuating the more frightened he got. 

"You're doing it! Little baby God."

Calder pulled him closer and gave him a few pats on the back as he finally approached. Adam was shaking from head to toe with adrenaline. 

Looking down for the first time, he was meters in the air. It was a surreal sensation, even if there was nothing beneath him he felt confident once he found balance on his hips. 

Adam wanted to fly away but a loaf of air hit him, making him stumble. Calder held him by the arm, helping him regain his balance. The old man burst into laughter at Adam's scare; his face had gone pale, and his heart pounded in his chest.

"Laugh while you can." 

After having his moment of joy, Calder moved towards the bottom of the hill. 

"Stay close and don't go too fast." 

Adam wasn't used to being picked on, that was always his job. Still, he was having fun in the company of the gray wizard. 

Watching out for the wind, the young God joined the man and they entered the dense forest. The sensation of not touching the ground was liberating. Adam felt like he could do anything, he was already getting used to it. 

The deeper they got the darker it was. The trees went up to 100 meters or more. The trunks were bigger than a car. It was intimidating, but Adam tried to mirror his guide's calm behavior.

A few meters in, a distant chatter emerged from within the forest. It sounded like people—but could it be? They pressed on, and Adam's curiosity burned. He had thought he would be alone in that strange new world.

A sparkle lighted inside of him when behind the trees a city was revealed. 

"This is the City of Spirits." 

Adam never imagined something like that. Buildings and people living between the trees in total sync. Carved on the tree trunks or built attached to them, everything was connected to the forest.

On the floor it was like any other populated area. People walking in all directions or carrying things in old carts, talking in cafes. There was so much going on Adam drifted away into the middle of a square. 

Adam was searching for the source of light that was illuminating that entire place. It wasn't coming from above and there was nothing that indicated electricity, still the was light everywhere.

There were also creatures that looked like humans flying around. The flying beings had many sizes, small like insects or big like humans and they all had wings. Some were translucent, others were made of feathers, it was a parade above and beneath Adam. 

"You gotta be kidding me? Is this Narnia?" 

"Did anyone think you were funny before?" 

"These are faeries, mate! Freaking fairy tale stuff!" 

He was spinning around trying to see it all. 

"This is the City of Spirits, mate." Calder resisted the laugh to not encourage him." Every living being has a soul and those souls can live here after their physical body dies."

"They were all human?"

"No, humans are not the only living things on Earth, you'll soon realize that."

Adam wanted to get closer, so landed near a big fire that was in the middle of the square. It was warm and scented when he touched the ground. 

Something else happened once he got in contact with the floor. Suddenly he knew where everything was, the trees, the people, anything that was moving over or under the earth he could feel it. 

"There's more underground!"

Calder followed him and landed soon after.

"Some Spirits prefer to live there, others prefer the treetops, or the mountains, some even live underwater. It's really up to them."

"They are building something, can you feel it?" 

Adam was excited with that new power. He could see clearly what they were doing even if it was impossible to do so from where they were. 

"I can't. Only you have that power, that's one of the perks of being the Earth God."

The Playboy side of him was euphoric to know he could do something that no one else could. It was like having his own GPS. Using his new ability he felt people moving in their direction, suddenly they were surrounded by all kinds of creatures that didn't resemble anything from Earth. 

Everyone was unique in a way. They all had different colors of skin or fur, some were more human like, others were a mix of human and animal. Some talked, others didn't but Adam could still understand them. After a while trying to make sense of the crowd he noticed they were all praising him and Calder.

"Why are they asking for your blessing too?"