In Search of Auria

by Alexis Rojas

  “Thank you for everything. Next time I pass by, I’ll promise to return the favor somehow.”

  To this, Auria reacted by lowering her head in gloom.

  “You cannot come back here again,” she said. “I sheltered you for you are interesting to me. But if others notice you, they will throw your wingless body down to the roots. May your life be good, land dweller Erik.”

  And with that, she closed the door. Erik stood there, wanting to say something else, but it had been a clear goodbye. He went back down through the spiral stairs. The staircase and the environment outside became darker and darker with each step. Near the end, he had to feel his way down for it was completely black. When he finally reached the bottom, he passed between the giant roots and looked back up towards the dim canopy, where Auria was. He really wanted to see her again.

  He then shook his head and sighed, “What am I thinking? Better head back to camp. This place is making me weird.”

  By feeling his way through, Erik cleared the roots and stood still, following Auria’s advice. He remained motionless until he felt a slight breeze coming from his left. If the wind came from the north, that meant east was to his front. He set on forward, struggling through bushes, carefully circling trees, but with the fairy always on his mind. He couldn’t stop thinking about what had just happened.

  “Daystars are real. They really exist!” he said to himself. “And Auria, she’s one good looking… What the hell am I saying? I just discovered a legendary fairy specie and all I’m having is fuzzy feelings. I must be out of my mind.”

  After he argued with himself again and again, Erik saw a twinkle of light at the distance. It was the torches that hung from the camp’s wall. He had done it. He crossed the Forest of Agony and reached the other side! Erik picked up the pace and ran with all his might.

  Dashing out of the treeline, he triggered a sound trap; dozens of small bells attached to a low wire. The moment he tripped it, all the bells sounded with loud clangs. The wire got tangled on Erik’s leg and got ripped off the trees. He dragged it as he ran, creating even more noise. He didn’t bother to release them for he just wanted to reach the camp. Suddenly, a row of torches lit and revealed a dozen archers at the top of the walls, ready to release their arrows. A man with blonde hair and a pointy nose spoke, “Who are you? This is a restricted area. Stop or you shall be shot to death!”

  “Oh, shut it, Godfrey. I’m back, let me in,” yelled Erik.

  “What? Erik, is that you? Quickly men, open the gate!”

  #

  After washing up and being praised by his colleague for surviving the battle, Erik went to see his superior. He would normally report to Captain Gregor Tolbert, but after his tragic death on the battlefield, the title fell to his son, Raymond.

  When Raymond saw him alive and well, his heart filled with joy. He asked Erik what had happened after they parted ways at Tally. Erik explained everything, from the fight with Sebastien “The Beast”, to the moment he emerged from the Forest of Agony. He told him the whole thing, except encountering the fairy. He wanted to keep that to himself. He knew that if he told anyone about it, the word would spread and soon everyone would be urged to find the legendary fairies. Raymond then explained how Erik’s victory against Sebastien crippled the frontlines of the balorian army and that they were losing their evil grip from Somber Petalia.

  Erik asked him about his father. Raymond replied that he was saddened by the loss, but that he had to work through the pain and lead his men. He would stay and fight.

  In the end, Raymond wanted Erik to return to battle and lead his own battalion. But knowing what his friend had gone through, he let Erik rest for a couple of days before returning to the fight.

  The next day, Erik asked permission to wander the forest to see if he could find his way back to the other side. His excuse was that it would be an advantage for the army if they could attack Balora from another area, but in reality he simply wanted to see Auria again. With Raymond’s reluctant consent, he set off into the forest. He did not go empty handed. Other than his sword and shield, he carried two bags; one full of fruits, and the other with a sunflower he “borrowed” from Raymond’s room. He wanted to repay Auria for her hospitality, even though she told him never to return.

  Since everything looked the same in the faint forest, Erik did the same thing he had done the night before: he felt the weak northern wind and travelled in a straight line. This time, towards the west. The hike continued for three hours until he noticed a familiar looking rock. It was the rock he had sat on beside Auria’s tree. Seeing the curtain of ivy on the bark confirmed it; he had arrived. Without any rest, he went straight to the stairs. One would think he’d be tired from all the hiking, but with each step he took, the more energized he’d get. Just thinking about seeing Auria again gave him an overflow of happiness. And somehow he knew she would feel the same thing for him. He went from walking to jogging up the steps; and then from jogging to dashing. He was that enthusiastic.

  He finally reached the door at the end of the stairwell and opened it. He was blinded again, but this time it was not the light of the sun that struck him. All the daystar community was flying around the forest canopy, soaring through the air with their burnished wings. He saw fairies flying from the bottom of the forest carrying baskets full of berries, mushrooms and herbs. Between the giant branches he saw young daystars playing catch, some floating and others sitting. And high above, on the highest parts of the canopy, male fairies darted through the skies hunting for birds. The windows and balconies of their homes were riddled with vines, purposely bent and twisted to make ornate patterns. And the branches that connected the trees had been painted with strokes and curls of white and yellow. It was a whole race untouched and free from the world of man.

  Erik walked to the front door of the house, but before he could knock, it opened from the inside. It was Auria. Her face turned blank when she saw Erik standing there. He was about to say hi when she thrust her palm to his chest. The hit sent him straight to the stairwell door and down the steps.

  “What the hell, Auria!” Erik grunted when he landed on the steps. With an angry pace he climbed back to the top. Auria was still standing, but with a fearful expression. She knew Erik wasn’t going to hurt her, so why did she react that way? Then, a voice spoke from within the house.

  “Girl, what are you doing?”

  Hearing the voice, Erik immediately closed the stairwell door, leaving only a small gap to peek through.

  “Oh, it is nothing,” Auria said, faking a smile, “Just trying to scare one of those disgusting mosquitoes.” An old fairy came out of the tree house. He was hunched and walked with the aid of a polished wooden cane. He did not have wings anymore because of his old age, but he still had the sproutings on his back.

  “Mosquitoes at this height?” another voice spoke, “They must be the strongest of their kind to get all the way up here.” Out came a kid fairy with black, punky hair.

  “Well, Auria,” the boy continued, “we will see you later.” He grabbed the old man under the arms and carried him away, flying to another tree. When they were finally gone, Auria went to Erik, “What are you doing here? You are not to be back!”

  “Calm down, woman,” he said while rubbing his chest. “Why did you push me so hard? I could’ve fallen off the landing.”

  “You are crazy to return. If any of the others see you, they will do just that. They do not appreciate land dwellers.” She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him inside the tree house.

  “Now, tell me what you are doing here?” she demanded, like if scolding an infant.

  “Well, we met under the most painful and confusing of circumstances. You know, with the burning, knifing and dooring. I just want to apologize for all the trouble I caused you.”

  As Auria listened to him, her face softened.

  “And since I ate all your fruits,” Erik continued, raising the first bag, “I brought you a full bag.” Auria took it and looked insi
de.

  “You didn’t have to do this,” she said, making eye contact.

  “Please, accept it as an apology. And also, to show my gratitude for not killing me when you had the chance, I present you this.” Erik picked up the second bag and put it upright on the table.

  “What is it?” Auria asked. Erik carefully pulled down the bag, and when he revealed the gift inside, Auria’s eyes bloomed with emotion.

  “Oh, it is so pretty. I have never seen such an elegant flower. What is it?”

  “It’s called a sunflower. You know, since you like the sun so much, and it has its shape, I thought it would---” Erik cut his sentence short when Auria jumped and hugged him.

  “Oh, thank you so much!”

  Erik shyly hugged her back. He felt her soft, silky wings; the feminine curves on her body; the captivating warmth of her being. She then looked at him and said, “I will put it at the balcony”. She pushed away and took the sunflower. Erik remained still, with a vague smile on his face.

  It went on to be a fine morning, snacking on the fruits and chatting about the “fairy life” up in the treetops. Erik asked her how old was she, and she answered that she had lived through 33 summers. Erik was stunned. She was 33, but her attitude and appearance were of a 22 or 23 year old damsel. That meant the daystars aged slower than humans. But if that were so, Erik wondered how old the elder fairy was.

  Auria explained that the elder was her 120 year old grandfather, named Glorio, and the boy was her 18 year old cousin, called Beam. Erik couldn’t put an age on Glorio, since he was older that any man he knew, but Beam looked like a 12 year old kid. Auria continued saying that Glorio was the eldest of the daystars, and held an authority of wisdom among the fairies. And Beam was energetic and adventurous. He sometimes liked to disappear for weeks in the forest, just exploring and flying around. They had both passed by for a visit.

  Nearing noon, Auria made Erik a meal. She took some of the uneaten fruits and cut them into pieces. She put them in a large wooden bowl with water and submerged her hand inside.

  “What are you doing?” Erik asked. She looked at him and smiled, keeping her hand still at the bottom of the bowl. Suddenly, a bubble burst on the surface. Then another and another, until Erik finally realized she was using the Sear on the water. She made the water boil with the intense heat of her hand.

  “Who needs fire?” Auria joked, making him laugh. She added some spices and some, yellow, sticky lumps of something and stirred the soup.

  When she served it, she called it Writhe Stew. It tasted quite good and earthy. After eating, Erik leaned out to the balcony, enough to not be seen. On the neighboring tree, he saw a peculiar hole beside the door of a house. It was big enough to fit in.

  “Auria, the hole beside the door, what is it for?” he asked.

  Auria went to see, “Oh, that’s the home of a writhe. We make them by carving an upright tunnel, just under the bark of the tree.” Erik wondered what type of animal a writhe was until he saw one crawling out of the hole. It was simply a big, pudgy, brown caterpillar. Its tiny legs moved quickly, carrying its plump body. A fairy kid opened the front door and fed it leaves.

  “So,” Erik said sourly, “the stew I just ate had maggot?”

  “Yes,” Auria answered beaming.

  “…Splendid!” Erik expressed, hiding his disgust with a fake smile.

  He mentally tried to prepare his stomach for what it was about to digest, when he started to hear a drumming. He peeked outward again and saw a male fairy on top of a high branch. He was hitting a hollow trunk with sticks.

  “Hey, Auria, is he playing music?” Erik asked, but he immediately discovered it wasn’t what it seemed. A life-sized crow darted over the fairy and snatched him away, clutching his head with its claws.

  “What the hell!”

  Auria ran outside to the balcony just to see another crow rush by. She ran back in and closed the balcony, lowering the wall painting.

  “Auria, what are those things?” Erik bawled.

  “They are the Corvus. It is bit cloudy; they sometime come when the sun cannot appear.” She then went to the front door, but Erik grabbed her by the wrist.

  “Wait, you can’t go out there. That guy just became their food,” he said.

  “I have to help my kind, especially the children. You stay.” She freed her hand from his grip and went out.

  “Auria, wait!”

  Erik went after her, but when he came out to the landing, it was madness. The corvus and daystars were clashing in the air, a type of battle Erik hadn’t seen before. The daystars ganged up on the birds, grabbing them by the neck and wings, forcing them to crash against the trees. But the crows were too strong. They flapped their sharp wings and cut the fairies with their sharp primary feathers. Others tried to burn them with their hands, but it only caused slight damage to their slick feathery coat.

  Only one had the strength to kill the birds of prey; a male fairy with a vine jacket and wooden gauntlets. He flailed his wings and flew up high. An aura started to revolve around his wings and shifted into his back. The shine ran along his arms and ended in his palms with an outstanding flash. The daystar then outstretched his hands when rays of bright gold shot out his palms, burning and slicing to pieces every corvus caught in the way. The rays waved like water as the daystar changed direction. But, he could only keep it up for so long. A crow whizzed from behind and tackled him. There were just too many flying about. The daystars were losing.

  Erik had to do something. Auria was flying around these monsters. He took his shield and sword and climbed down from the corridor. He landed on a branch where he saw a corvus dragging a young fairy by the foot. The fairy helplessly screamed for help as Erik charged to the rescue. He slammed the bird on the side, making it open its beak and releasing the boy. The crow turned and looked at Erik as if he were its next meal.

  “Not today, you overgrown chicken!”

  The crow cawed as it jumped to him with opened wings. It attacked with a peck, but Erik hopped to the side and cut its beak off. The crow fled away with a high pitched cry. When Erik offered to help the fairy to his feet, the kid refused with a fearsome stare. He got up by himself and flew off.

  “Well, you’re welcome!” Erik yelled. He then ran up the branch when another bird darted for him. It opened its claws to clutch him from above. Erik blocked with the shield, but the bird grabbed it around the corners and lifted him up. The bird flapped its wings with tremendous power, soaring to reach the top of the forest. They passed and whirled through branches and the ongoing battle, until Erik had enough. He grinded his sword against the shield’s rim, slicing off several of the bird’s toes. The bird cried and released Erik. He landed on one of the higher branches, almost rolling off.

  There were lots of houses on that height, with lots of crows pecking at them, too. On the same branch as Erik’s was a grown female fairy protecting half a dozen younglings. These were too young to fly, so she was doing everything she could to keep the corvus at bay. Erik dashed to help. He went to the closest bird, cut off its left wing and kicked it over the edge. The fairy got shocked to see a land dweller, but it only distract her. A corvus bit her hand while another was about to peck her chest open. Erik jumped over the younglings and put his shield over the woman just in time. She then pulled her arm off and punched the bird away, while Erik thrust his sword through the chest of the other.

  “Take them inside,” Erik told her. She gathered up the younglings and hustled to the nearest house. Erik kept the birds at bay until they were safe inside.

  “Come on, you flying roaches! You can’t keep up with me!” barked Erik. But suddenly the birds became wild, cawing in unison and flying in circles above. Erik didn’t know what to make of it, until a shadow loomed over him. The biggest of the corvus had arrived. Erik heard the deafening flapping of its wings and felt the pressure of its gust as it passed over him. It landed on the branch with a heavy thump.

  This crow was different from the res
t. Other than being triple the size of the smaller ones, its color was more grayish than black. It had a crest of blue feathers on the back of its head, and the end of its tail was yellow.

  Erik looked back to check on the younglings one more time. The female fairy was at the door of the house, holding it open for him. But, another fairy pushed her and closed it shut. He heard all the doors slamming shut. He didn’t see any fairies flying or fighting the corvus anymore. It was only him against the flock.

  “Hey, fairies, could use some help here,” he called, but none responded. The great corvus stepped forward. It slowly opened its wings with each step, until they were fully spread. Erik strode backward, trying to think a strategy, but the bird made its move. It lunged its beak forward, almost taking his head off. It repeatedly jabbed on, with him only deflecting the strikes with the shield. It felt like when he fought the giant Sebastien; a lot of blocking and not much room for offense. The bird continued its lunging until Erik got pushed all the way back to the door of the house. With the door against his back, he knocked with his elbow, hoping the fairies would let him in.

  “We cannot! We cannot!” he heard from the inside.

  There was no escaping from the menace. But, beside the door was a hole: the hole of a writhe. While the bird was preparing to deliver a final peck, Erik tucked inside the hole and covered the opening with the shield. He held it from within, but the bird went after him, pecking with force. Every time it hit, it shoved the shield in more and more. If it kept going, it would crush Erik inside the limited space. He groaned in pain after each blow.

  “No!” Auria yelled. She was inside one of the nearby houses watching from a window. She went for the door, pushing other fairies aside, but the powerful male fairy stopped her.

  “You cannot go,” he said. Auria looked towards her grandfather, Glorio, but he shook his head. All she could do was watch in distraught. Her eyes then filled with tears when Erik stopped yelling. The bird had pushed the shield all the way inside the hole. It looked as if Erik had been crushed! Auria turned from the window and buried her face in her hands. The crow turned around and gave a resonant shriek, having the rest of the birds flying and swirling around. But, its victory caw did not last. Erik broke through the bark above the bird and landed on its back. Auria had told him that they carved the homes of the writhes upward, close to the bark. He remembered that.