The Auric Insignia Read online

  - Hey Roarke!

  - Yeah?

  - Just so you know, as far as plagues go, you’re okay.

  Roarke smiled as he continued walking away to the sound of the funny face-battle of the ages resuming with fervor.

  - So what now?

  She handed him an Idu fruit she had been holding.

  - Here’s breakfast, you can eat it on the way but try to actually get some in your mouth this time. I have something to show you.

  - You saw that?

  - No, but I see your face right now.

  - What do you mean?

  - The juice from the Idu goes from transparent to opaque when it dries, you have a bad case of gold face going on.

  Roarke cursed the duo for knowingly letting his embarrassing appearance go by unremarked as he imagined them laughing at his folly.

  - We are coming up on a spring, so you can wash it off.

  - Great, I’d appreciate it.

  - We thought about doing this yesterday but we need the light to do it justice.

  Roarke’s interest was piqued but he decided to downplay his excitement.

  - Okay.

  They kept walking, going by the road leading to the hot springs, they crossed the brook that slithered like a snake through the forest, but not before stopping to let Roarke wash his now itching face.

  - It’s so cold!

  - It starts way up in the mountains as a large river, before splitting up into smaller streams like this one.

  They crossed the border that separated Braida from the surrounding wilderness and set off west from there. Just as Roarke was going to ask if they still had a long way to go, Korri stopped.

  - We’re here, well sort of.

  Roarke felt utterly and completely underwhelmed. In front of them stood a tree, a great tree, but compared to the things he had seen lately, he couldn’t help but feel it was a bit anticlimactic.

  -Eh, where’s here exactly?

  - You’ll see at the top.

  Displaying her agility, Korri launched herself into a spin, landing several feet up on the trunk of the tree, after which she used her claws to quickly scale it. Before Roarke could really decide what to do, she had already vanished from his sight.

  - And how do you think I was going to get up there!?

  His question rang unanswered between the giants looming over him. As opposed to the trees within the Braida, that grew in a way that facilitated climbing for someone as ill-equipped as Roarke, these trees offered no such aid.

  - Great.

  He heard a sound, a sound he recognized, it was the song of a blackbird. Roarke looked around, trying to spot the singing avian, but with no luck. Thankful that Marel and Ippan wasn’t there to mock his feeble human senses, he continued searching but to no avail. The sound rang again, this time closer and even more beautiful than before. He gave locating the source one last chance and this time he saw it, a black shape that was barely made visible by the dark green background. Hanging in the wind, the shape turned in the air, maneuvering between the trees, coming ever closer, at high speed.

  - That’s not a bird....

  As it came closer Roarke could see that his eyes had deceived him, as the shape far exceeded the size of any blackbird. Like a jet black arrow, it shot down towards where he was standing, speed blurring all details as it descended. Just before it would have crashed into the ground, it turned slightly, subtly changing its trajectory, making the would-be crash a swift landing instead. The flying Kappa was the size of a human, standing slightly shorter than Roarke himself, he saw as it stretched to its full height from its initial landing pose. A slim female body standing confidently on the clawed feet of a bird. Her body was covered in the black feathers that had caused Roarke’s initial confusion as to her nature. Completely black eyes were drawn into focus by the yellow rings that encircled them. Starting at these rings, red stripes of feathers ran by the temples, before finally ending in a spiky windswept pixie cut, comprised of feathers in equal parts scarlet red and coal black. Feathery wings that looked like they had been chiseled from onyx, grew from her back, stretching to their full length of what Roarke guessed must have been at least fourteen feet, before folding in on themselves. Her aureolin talons dug their powerful claws into the earth, flexing in and out, like they were eager to close around something with a bit more substance.

  - So you’re the new one, eh?

  - New one?

  - You don’t know yet?

  The constant mysteries started to get to Roarke, leading to him answering with more heat than he had intended.

  - Know what!?

  The Kappa looked like she was unmoved by his vehement outburst and answered with a chuckle.

  - You’ll see, big boy.

  - “You’ll see”, is that the official Kappian motto or something?

  Instead of answering him, the Kappa once again spread her wings and took a hold of Roarke’s arm, whilst at the same time bending her knees in preparation for what came next.

  - Are you ready, big boy?

  - What, no!

  As the last vowel came screaming from Roarke’s lungs, they set off. Seemingly unaffected by the extra weight, the winged woman shot off at great speed, with Roarke hanging on for dear life with the arm that had been granted something to grip. They rose quickly and without hesitation, Roarke watching, powerless, as the canopy up above grew closer. Seeing a space that Roarke had not, his far more excited flying companion tilted in the air, neatly passing through the opening to the open sky above. Like diving into a completely new world, Roarke was greeted by the sun’s warm rays, unobstructed by the forest roof that now acted like the ground, in this new world of clouds and open sky. Not stopping there, they continued upwards before, after an aerial pirouette, Roarke’s heart skipped a beat as he felt the previously iron tight grip on his arm loosened.

  He was falling, falling without hindrance. Panicking, he grasped after something to slow his currently destructive pace, but found nothing but thin air. Before his mind could reorganize in coherent thoughts, he felt two hands firmly grab him before calmly leveling out, initiating a slow, graceful landing on some sort of construct integrated with one of the tops of a tree.

  - I asked you to please bring him up here, not scare him half to death.

  - He looked a bit pale so I thought I’d give him some fresh air.

  - You will have to forgive Stari, Roarke. She often forgets to view things from the perspective of someone who does not have wings.

  - Oh Plista please, he was in no danger, I had it under control.

  - He did not know that though, did he?

  Stari bashfully kicked loose a dead twig and mumbled a half sincere apology. Roarke was standing on his knees, holding on to a branch with both hands, barely paying attention to what was being said. His hands were wringing the wood in his hands, staining it with sweat as his heart still pounded fast.

  - Roarke?

  - Uh, yeah?

  - What are you doing?

  - Nothing.

  Korri went up to Roarke and squatted by his side, taking his hands from their security, holding them in hers.

  - Don’t.

  - Don’t what?

  - I’m, I’m scared, okay? I’m fucking scared of heights.

  - Roarke?

  - Yeah?

  - Scared together, right? Trust me.

  She slowly pulled him to his feet, and after a while, she released her hold on him.

  - Look around you.

  Tentatively, he loosened his stiffened muscles to see that they were standing on a platform, similar to the nests he had seen before, within Braida. Dead logs and branches were lodged together to create a solid floor which eased his panic. Present, beside Roarke himself, were only three, Korri, Plista, the wise Kappa from the day before, and Stari, the daredevil Kappa of blackbirds.

  - You won’t fall off, and even if you would, Stari would catch you. Right?

  Stari’s obstinate attitude crumbled under Korri’
s stern gaze.

  - Alright, alright, I get it, big no no on all the fun stuff!

  - Now, if we are ready to continue... Roarke, would you be so kind as to join me at the edge over there?

  Roarke walked slowly over to the spot that Plista had pointed out, testing his footing carefully before shifting his weight. Plista in turn, took flight and positioned himself on a branch that was part of the wooden barrier that signified the end of the platform. Normally short in stature, the Kappa now sat on level with Roarke’s face.

  - In front of us lies the south. What do you see?

  - I see the Horned Mountains.

  - Ah yes, the Horned Mountains, a name coined by Gota originally. Ominous name, do you not agree?

  - I suppose.

  - Of course that is not the original name, The Ymbens are their original name when spoken by Kappian tongues.

  - Why did he change it?

  - Most likely as a part of creating an image of danger, to keep people away.

  - And nobody is afraid of the Cuddly Puppy Hills.

  - Haha, precisely. Do you see that top, the right one of the two horns, do you know what humans built there?

  - I’d imagine nothing, we don’t build that far north.

  - It’s been abandoned for some time but it is still there, Brownwatch, was its name when it was in still in use.

  - Brownwatch? That can’t be right.

  - And why not?

  - Because Brownwatch lies to the south of my cabin, I pass it every time I go into to town.

  Plista’s puzzlement loosened and he let out a bitter laugh, devoid of joy.

  - That sly monster knows no bounds.

  - What are you talking about?

  - I will take a wild guess and say that Brownwatch is named after some local legend about a normal man turned hero, as he fought off some evil.

  - Yeah uh, that’s actually spot on, how did you know that?

  - Fewer and fewer things in this world remain hallowed when even history gets tainted, but I guess history is written by the victors.

  - I don’t understand what you’re talking about.

  - There was a watchman Brown, a long time ago. He was a guard positioned on that mountaintop, giving it its name, in a time that has faded into legend in the minds of those not as long for this world as we Kappas. He was a kind, hardworking man that despite different circumstances, came to be in the same situation you are in right now, Roarke.

  Roarke debated whether or not he should say something, but instead held his tongue and waited for clarification.

  - Because of the then new, boldly placed outpost, it was only a matter of time before Brown came into contact with the Kappa of Vanalf. But Brown, like yourself, but unlike almost all others, acted with kindness instead of cruelty born out of fear and ignorance. He befriended me and we began devising a plan, a plan to restore balance to a world set askew. A plan I now wish to share with you, in hopes that you will agree to it.

  Roarke looked across the platform, to where Korri was sitting, listening to Stari passionately explain something. Roarke could see her unfocused stare and noticed that one ear was turned away, facing him, giving tell that her interest lay elsewhere than in what Stari was talking about.

  - Do I actually have any choice?

  - Truthfully, no. Whether or not you agree to what I have to say, that choice is yours. However, because of what has transpired and because of the path you have entered, both through chance and by your own volition, it is highly unlikely that you would be allowed to reenter human society, as it stands today.

  - Well then that’s your answer, isn’t it?

  - Before I proceed, I must express my deepest condolences to under which circumstances this has come to pass, I wish we could have met under different terms.

  - What done is done. If I had the chance to go back and change, to choose another path, I honestly don’t think I would.

  - I am glad to hear it.

  Plista let out a short breath and corrected his sitting position before he carried on.

  - Like I said earlier, as our friendship grew, it became overtly evident that Brown was different than most others. He saw the truth in what I told him, resonating with the observations he had made himself, concerning his own kind and its place in the world. He vowed to help but didn’t want to punish mankind for what ultimately, was not its fault. Our mental exchanges gave birth to an idea, based on a theory, a theory that the life forces, wrongfully detained, would, given the chance, return to their rightful and natural place within the balance. The plan was to remove Gota from the crumbling shoulders of the world, in hopes that the damages made, could receive the time and breathing room required to heal.

  - Sounds like an arduous and ambitious plan.

  - Fatally so, as it would turn out. Our endeavor was smothered in its early stages as Brown was murdered, by his own wife no less, who had been acting under Gota’s control. And now you tell me that his effort to save us all has been turned into a fable in service of the very forces he aimed to overthrow. A poor recompense for a life wasted, helping those who didn’t even know they needed it.

  - I’m sorry.

  - So am I, but life is for the living and now we have the chance to make the difference Brown never got the chance to do.

  - I don’t know what difference I can make, but if I can, I’ll help you.

  - And I welcome your aid, but do you realize the responsibility I am asking you to shoulder? If we succeed, and if our theory proves correct, it still leaves humanity in the dark.

  - What do you mean?

  - A child led astray will still remain lost even though its deceiver perishes. What humanity will need, if we succeed, is a new Kappa.

  Roarke grasped what Plista was suggesting and it took him by surprise. Roarke contemplated the implication in Plista’s words, and his eyes drifted over to where the others were sitting. This time, Korri had abandoned all pretense and met his glance with a face painted in cautious hope.

  - Okay.

  - Okay?

  - Okay, I understand and I accept.

  ***

  Our dream of a better world

  They were walking in an outspread formation along the path leading back to human civilization. Rain was pouring down, drenching the foliage until it ultimately came running down on those caught below. After bringing Roarke’s answer to Korri and Stari atop the platform, Plista had called for the aid of his other fellow brothers and sisters. His plea had been met with hope by some, and with scepticism from others. Besides Plista himself, Marel and Ippan had agreed to help, citing boredom as their main reason, even though Roarke knew they cared, under all the jokes. Stari, the young and hotheaded Kappa, had been the first to volunteer her services to the cause, after which she had barely been able to contain her elation. Ama was the most outspoken against the quest, saying that humans couldn’t change and that Roarke had probably influenced their minds, and only agreed to join in order to keep an eye on the “human”, insisting on only referring to Roarke as such. Refaz, the younger brother of Ama, the Kappa of foxes, had in turn joined in an attempt to keep an eye on Ama. The last members of their party was Roarke’s earlier traveling companion Korri, and her sister Vaya, who had both been privy to Plista’s wish of resurrecting his old plan. The remnants of wolves, foxes and so forth, had remained to tend to, and protect their one last true safe haven, the trees of Braida, standing as a last defense, should the Kappa’s mission fail.

  As they were coming up on the northern entrance to the Blackhorn pass, going into more and more craggy surroundings, Roarke lifted his head, trying to catch a glimpse of the supposed original Brownwatch. The obstructing leafage coupled with the rain that splashed in his face when he looked up, rendered the attempt futile and he subsequently abandoned it. His numerous attempts however, caught the attention of Marel and Ippan, who was walking right next to him.

  - You can’t do it, see your own forehead that is. Believe me, we’ve tried.

&n
bsp; - I don’t doubt it.

  - A dream of ours that simply ended in a wasted afternoon.

  - One of many, I’d wager, but time spent chasing a dream is never really wasted, I always say, however stupid.

  - Whoa, you’re so deep I can’t even see you anymore....

  The three of them laughed in union as they sauntered along, towards dangers unknown. As the laughter died out, Stari swooped down from above the trees, landing in front of them.

  - You see anything up there, sister?

  - You mean besides jack shit? Not much, it’s a real storm up there.

  She beat her wings vigorously to rid them of any remaining water.

  - I thought you wanted some action, Stari, here it is.

  - Not what I fucking signed up for, I hate getting wet. Anyway, has Ama and Refaz returned yet?

  Ama and his brother had taken it upon themselves to scout ahead to minimize the risk of being taken by surprise.

  - No, not yet, but if we know those rays of sunshine, they’ll probably wait up ahead, unless they’d suddenly feel the need to socialize.

  Stari accepted Marel’s words without any further consideration and turned to face Roarke.

  - I just came from the guys in the back, Plista wondered if you wanted to visit the true Brownwatch?

  Roarke looked up at the tops that loomed over him, with seemingly no end, making his hands moist with more than rain.

  - Do we have to fly?

  - Plista is already on his way up there now, so unless you can climb a three hundred foot sheer drop in about ten minutes or so, you don’t got much choice, big boy. Or are you craven?

  - Just don’t fucking let go of me this time!

  - Pff, okay buzzkill, let’s go.

  - Roarke, be a dear and let out a holler if you were to fall, so me and Ippan can get out of the way.

  - Love you guys too, smartass.

  They cleared the canopies to the sound of Marel’s and Ippan’s guffaw being drowned out by the howling of the wind, now blowing unhindered, lashing around the black peaks. This time Stari held on tight with both hands so they would not get torn apart by the strong gusts, as they made their way around the right peak of the mountain range’s namesake. Coming around, Roarke could see a broken staircase cut into the mountain, withered by the elements and the test of time, leading up to a small level surface that held the ruins of a stone house. Sitting by the partially broken down wall facing them, was Plista, waiting in silence. Rain hit like a thousand tiny needles, smashing into Roarke’s face without mercy as they landed beside the vertical drop that started a few feet from the edge of the house. Roarke felt calm having solid ground beneath his feet again and quickly stepped away from the edge, feeling like he was going to fall any second. He approached Plista, who rose and ushered him inside the busted doorframe whilst Stari took to the air once again.