Chapter Text
I was lying on the ground, I lay there panting, trying to look straight up at the sky. The beating of those enormous wings sent gusts of wind against my face, making me increasingly nervous. The great bird landed beside me, shaking the ground. *So that’s where earthquakes come from,* I thought as I struggled to get up. When I finally managed to compose myself, I knelt before the bird and spoke:
"Sacred Simurgh..." I began, keeping my eyes on the ground.
*Rise, child.* For a moment, I was confused; was he communicating with me? Was he inside my head? I obeyed and stood tall before him.
"I was searching for you; I faced great challenges to reach you."
*You desire something. I know you do. I do not promise to grant it; I shall be fair and judge you just as I would any other man.* "
Yes, I came looking for something." I was still reeling from everything that had happened. I had left home with no real hope of finding him, yet I had prayed,to whatever deity might be listening,to guide me to him.
"I don't want you to go." My mother must have said that ten times over.
"I know, Mom. I just need you to understand how much I need this." I said, and she simply looked at me with sadness.
I closed the door behind me and set off on my adventure.
*The request must be made calmly. I want you to reflect upon it, so that you ask for the right thing and do not confuse yourself. Seek the soul, not the flesh.* Simurgh spoke as if his voice were inside my head; at times, I wondered if I was merely imagining the words myself, and I doubted. *Perhaps this is just an ordinary bird and I’m delirious; none of this makes sense.* Then I looked again and realized the truth. That enormous bird, bearing features of mammals and humans alike, could not be a fake. It was truly divine.
"I admire your courage; I never would have done it if I had a family," Farhad admitted as we left the city.
Farhad was an orphan. Generally, parents who couldn't accept their children's natural gifts would abandon them. My friend was born an elemental—one of the mages who controlled nature. It was a power I had always envied; he could create mud figures with just a touch, and they always turned out better than mine. Perhaps Farhad’s gift wasn't the reason he’d been abandoned, but I never asked him much about it.
In the end, I took Simurgh’s advice to give my wish more thought. After weeks of hard travel to get here, I needed a rest. I headed toward a nearby village in search of shelter.
"At least we have tents," I recalled Farhad saying on our first night alone.
"We should be walking; it would save us time."
"You must have hit your head. There are probably huge monsters out there."
"Create a tornado and blow them away, it would be fun and give us the energy to keep going," I said, lying in his sleeping bag.
"You know I can't do that yet. When we find Simurgh..." he began.
"If we find him..." I grumbled.
"We *will* find him! I’ll ask him to expand my abilities, to make me more competent."
I chose not to mention that he was already competent. What did I know about being an elemental, anyway?
When I arrived at the village, the sun was getting ready to set. People were leaving work and heading home. Watching the scene, I decided to follow two women and waited until they reached their house. I took a deep breath, put on my best "abandoned puppy" look, and knocked.
"Hello! Are you lost?" the tall woman asked. She had large eyes, so dark that it looked like there were holes where her eyes should be.
"Actually, I need a place to stay." I shrugged and made myself smaller, trying to look harmless. She asked me to wait and went back inside. Great! She was never going to let me in. I’d been a fool; I should have just camped by the Bird River. But I’d lost all my camping gear. I was just about to turn back when I heard the door open again. It wasn't the scary woman, but another woman with a big smile on her face.
"Hello! Sorry about Laila. I’m Irsia! We can put you up for the night—come on in," she said, opening the door wide. I stepped inside, practically hopping with joy and thanking the two women profusely. Laila remained quiet, but, contrary to what I had expected, she wasn't wielding a scythe to kill me. The two of them let me bathe and have dinner with them.
Irsia is a very kind, talkative woman. She is a shapeshifter; she can alter her physical form. Most mages of this type transform into animals. Perhaps it was a mistake to mention that my own companion was also a shapeshifter, as the woman couldn't stop talking about animals and shapeshifting. Laila and I watched in silence, and she seemed genuinely happy to see the other woman so animated. Not that I like prying into other people's lives, but it is obvious that they are in love. At the end of the evening, I retired for the night. I had forgotten to ask which magical discipline Laila practiced, but I would soon find out.
*Wake up early in the morning; it is important that your spirit be awake when I meet you.*