The HaRT Knight Decaverse

Heir of Magic

Chapter 04

Moondrake

The Moondrake ship shot through the clouds and darted across their surface, sending cottony plumes in every direction. The voyage had taken the entire day; the sun was already setting, coloring the ocean of clouds a golden-pink as it dipped beneath them. Flocks of winged creatures periodically flew up to the ship, curious about the strange visitor in their domain.
Alexander and Dante stood on the quarterdeck, out of the way of the moondrakes who were all hard at work. It took precise and difficult aeroturgy to keep the ship in the air and rushing forward. Half of the crew maintained the pocket of fast-moving air beneath the ship, while the other half served as aeroturgic rowers. Claus moved around constantly, making sure no one made a mistake, for as he put it, “The slightest mistake could tear the ship to pieces.”
Apart from the mighty admiral, the only other moondrakes who did not row or keep the ship aloft, were Ai-Ai and Faulkner who weren’t on the ship at all. Clause had sent them flying ahead and scout the skies to ensure they did not run into any trouble. For the entire voyage, Alexander had been curious about what trouble the moondrakes expected to run in to, but as dusk slowly gave way to night, he got his answer.
The crow moondrake Ai-Ai swooped down onto the ship like a projectile and came to land on his knees before Claus. “Grand Admiral! There is a regiment of scouts on muscawyrm ahead.”
Faulkner, the kite moondrake, appeared a second later and also fell to his knees. “It’s the Shadow’s Hand, Admiral.”
“Who?” Alexander asked Dante.
“The Shadow’s Hand, the servants of Cain’s Black General,” Dante said in a whisper. “Can we lend help, Claus?”
“We came prepared for this eventuality,” Claus said as he walked to the center of the ship and opened a trapdoor out of which rose a large, polytope object made from slick black substance like obsidian. Runic markings covered the object and every flat surface played host to a complex pentacle similar to those Dante used for his Gate Magic. “This is a smaller version of the Optohedral Obscuroveil that hides Moondrake. It requires a tremendous amount of energy to work, so I won’t turn my beak up at your offer of aid.”
“I’ll help too,” Alexander said.
Dante looked hesitant for a second, but he nodded. “You should have the necessary control over your power to manage this. Just concentrate and don’t manifest too much of your energy. Try to match mine.”
Alexander nodded. Dante had shown him how to perceive the thaumaturgic energy of others the previous night when he had created an argentari without the septim wizard’s aid.
“Ai-Ai, Faulkner, you help too,” Clause said to the only other people on the ship not busy keeping it in the air.
They all stood around the Optohedral Obscuroveil in a circle and placed their hands on the cold flat surfaces. Auras of energy sprang to life as each of them manifested their thaumaturgic energy into the magic device. Claus’s aura was ivory white while the other two moondrakes each produced a different shade of gray, Dante’s was its usual reddish brown, and Alexander’s a mixture of ruby and azure.
The magic device hummed as the energy flowed into it. The pentacles and runes glowed. A stream of obsidian colored energy shot from the top of the device like water from a whale’s blow-hole. The pillar of power reached up higher than the ship’s mast, and slowly, the energy spread outward in a thin translucent membrane that formed a sphere that swallowed the ship and everyone on it. The second the sphere closed around them; the sounds of the outside world vanished, and not a moment too soon.
Four flying creatures appeared in the distance and rapidly approached the ship in the sphere of invisibility. At first, Alexander thought the flying beasts were dragons, but as they got closer, he saw he could not have been more wrong. These creatures were more like giant insects than fire-breathing lizards. They had elongated bodies covered with a slimy exoskeleton and six long, thin legs. Their four long, transparent fore-wings made a loud buzzing sound as they flew past the ship. Astride the beasts were abominations clad in leather armor that were scorched with a brand shaped like a hand.
Once they were out of earshot, the ship gave a huge lunge and shot higher and out of the flight path of any more monsters. Clause’s magic aura was the first to vanish and everyone else followed suit. To Alexander’s surprise, sweat covered everyone else who breathed hard, as if they had just run several miles.
“What were those creatures they were riding?” Alexander asked as the black veil of invisibility around the ship dissipated.
“Muscawyrm,” Dante said. “They’re creatures your uncle brought back from some far-off land. He’s been breeding them in the Zubhra Mountains to serve as flying steed for his army. But they are far from the worst things he’s brought back to Primoris from his travels when he was in exile.”
“Well, let’s just hope we don’t run into any of those worse things,” Claus said. “I would prefer the rest of the journey to be a little less eventful.”
The Moondrake got his wish. The rest of the trip was as uneventful as can be expected from a flying ship. It was mostly taken up by Dante filling everyone in on all the horrible creatures Cain had collected over the years. As important and fascinating as this was, Alexander had difficulty focusing. He had always heard tales of the flying city of Moondrake, one of the twenty-two wonders of the world. A magnificent city that many would see from a far—until it had to go into hiding from Cain—but that only a handful of privileged individuals would ever get to visit.
About two hours after they had passed Muscawyrm, Ai-Ai and Faulkner returned to the ship, just in time for the fore-deck to vanish.
“Dante, look,” Alexander said as whatever had devoured the fore-deck crawled across the rest of the vessel.
“—creatures that look like giant geckos—what?” Dante cut off as he saw the ship vanishing before his eyes.
“We have arrived,” Claus said.
The ship continued to vanish, inch by inch, until finally, the veil swallowed Alexander and everyone else on the quarterdeck, and then, the city of Moondrake was below them. It was like a city built in the cradle of a crescent moon. The ship passed through the forest of giant buildings that reached up to the skies in which they were already suspended. Moondrakes flew from building to building and even though it was nighttime, the real moon—which was so close to the flying city it seemed to surround it—illuminated the city.
The ship gave a tiny jerk as it slowed down. Gently, it sank to a dock surrounded by open sky instead of water. A crew of moondrakes on the docs helped those on the ship to lower the vessel into a ring with their aeroturgy. The ship fit perfectly into the ring and everyone released their magic. Ai-Ai and Faulkner each grabbed a piece of rope tied to the gangplank and took off over the side of the ship.
None of the other moondrakes needed to wait, instead they all spread their wings and flew off into the forest of buildings before them. Only Claus stayed behind with Dante and Alexander.
“I will lead you to the city center where the celebrations are being held. There, I will leave you as you will dine with the King tonight,” Claus said.
“Celebration? What are you celebrating?” Alexander asked.
“Welcome to Moondrake, gentlemen.” Claus indicated to the city with his right arm. “You are the first land-born to set foot here since Angelus himself.”
“Angelus was here as well?” Alexander asked.
“Yes. Who do you think taught him aeroturgy?” Claus said as he led the way down the plank to the sky dock. “Now come, everyone is waiting for us at the celebration.”
As they walked down the cobbled streets, Alexander could not help but stare open-mouthed at his surroundings. Everything was so tall and huge. He thought for a moment about how Ai-Ai and Faulkner had stared curiously at them on the beach. The flat landscape surrounded by water must have been every bit as strange to them as this is to me.
When they finally reached the square where the party was already underway, the loud drum music stopped and everyone there turned to stare at the visitors. Alexander looked to Claus for guidance, but the admiral had vanished into the crowd of his people.
“Welcome, my dear guests,” an ostentatiously dressed moondrake called from where he sat on a cushion on a raised platform. The moondrake resembled a peacock with bright iridescent blue feathers with shades of green, especially in the beard that had been waxed into a sharp spike on his chin. He stood up and spoke with a powerful voice as he said, “As you all know by now, today Moondrake does something that she has not done for thousands and thousands of years. She welcomes two land-born men into her loving embrace.” The King signaled for Alexander to join him on the podium.
“Long have we moondrakes had to live with the sins of our ancestors,” the King went on once Alexander moved to stand next to him, silently followed by Dante. “Many still condemn us for our selfish action during the War of the Prime all those millennia ago. Instead of uniting with our brothers against the Trozian threat, our ancestors fled to the skies, building this very city to escape the threat. But now that darkness once more spreads across the lands below, we will not make the same mistakes as our ancestors. This time, all will know, that we, the people of Moondrake were the first to help the true Prince of Tír na Angelus. They will remember us as the first step in overthrowing the darkness. We will train the best chance we have to defeat Cain. The true heir to Tír na Angelus, Alexander Angelus!”
The Moondrakes roared with jubilation and agreement to their King’s words. Then they fell silent immediately as the King began to speak again. “But tonight, we will not trouble ourselves with matters of such ill spirit. Tonight, we celebrate!”
The crowd of moondrakes exploded with approval. The drum music beat out once more and wine and mead flowed as Moondrakes danced, laughed, and ate. Two parrot moondrakes, places cushions on the dais beside the King who said, “Please, Prince Alexander, sit, sit. Join me in a drink.”
“Thank you, Your Grace,” Alexander said as he lowered himself onto the cushion.
“Please, lad. No need for such formality, just call me Ogie’iso, or even just Ogie if you prefer.”
A servant appeared behind them and poured a sweet-smelling liquid the color of a clear sky into three golden, bejeweled goblets. Alexander took a sip and smiled. “This is delicious, Your—Ogie. I’ve tasted nothing like it.”
“No, I wouldn’t think you would have. It’s moondrake wine, made from Sora Grapes that can only grow here in our city. We used to export casks of the stuff to the major cities of the world below, but, since your uncle came into power, we’ve had it all to ourselves.” The king laughed. “Every cloud has a silver lining, heh boy?”
“I suppose,” Alexander said with a forced smile.
“Ah, and speaking of lining,” Ogie’iso said, handing his goblet to a servant and snapping his fingers. Another servant appeared and handed the King a wrapped package. “It is a tradition—a rarely implemented one, but one nonetheless—that whenever Moondrake receives visitors, that we offer them a gift of welcome. On behalf of all Moondrake, I wish to bestow upon you one of the grandest gifts we have to give.” Ogie’iso handed the parcel to Alexander while a falcon moondrake handed a similar one to Dante.
They unwrapped their gifts, two scarlet cloaks made from a material smoother than the finest of silk. Alexander’s cloak had a golden hue to it whenever the light fell upon it at the right angle, while Dante’s was a simple bright scarlet. The inside of both cloaks was midnight black with no patterns at all.
“Put it on and thank the King for the wondrous gift,” Dante whispered only loud enough for his prince to hear.
Alexander did as advised and whirled it over his shoulders and tied it around his neck. It felt pleasant against his skin, like the warmth of a fire on a cold night, like the silky cool embrace of water on a sweltering day.
“Thank you, Your Grace, for your kindness and that of your people. This truly is an amazing present,” Alexander said.
“Yes, thank you, King Ogie’iso. These are truly wondrous gifts,” Dante said.
Ogie’iso nodded his approval before he yelled, “Now, let’s drink!”
As everyone else descended into deeper levels of inebriation, Dante leaned closer to Alexander and said, “I have a gift for you as well, My Prince. It is nothing as extravagant as a phoenix cloak, but it will also be useful in our journeys.”
This announcement from Dante piqued Ogie’s interest again. Happily, and even more excited than Alexander, he waited to see the gift. From his bag, the wizard pulled out a long parcel wrapped in brown paper. He placed it in front of Alexander.
“Well? Open it, Alex. I want to see,” Ogie said with excitement.
“Uh, oh, of course. Sorry,” Alexander stammered, flustered by the King’s curiosity. This King is quite a strange creature, he thought. He behaves just like a child whenever he doesn’t need to act like a king.
Alexander unwrapped the wizard’s gift and sighed with delight at the sight of the glistening item inside. Two curved swords, sharing the same silver sheaf, one at each end. He grips the leather-wrapped hilt of one sword and pulled it free. It wasn’t like the double-edged leaf-shape swords he had used while part of The Golden Spear. This blade was almost twice as heavy with a single forward-curving edge that swelled slimly before receding once more towards the point.
“They’re a new style of blade, designed to be especially effective at slicing and piercing,” Dante explained.
“They’re magnificent, Dante. Thank you,” Alexander said, feeling the balance of the sword.
“It is a pleasure. But they are nowhere as special as that cloak you are wearing,” Dante said. The Prince wondered what was so great about this cloak that Dante was so amazed by it. The wizard seemed to hear the unspoken question as he said, “It’s a phoenix cloak. It’s woven from real phoenix feathers, in a way only moondrakes know how. Phoenix feather is one of the Wizard Banes. An entire cloak made of it means the wearer is immune to magic attacks. It will also resist extreme temperatures; neither heat nor cold will ever be an issue as long as you wear this cloak. And it can even do this,” Dante took out a dagger and held a piece of his cloak in his hand. He cut the cloth—which proved it would not make the wearer invulnerable—and as Dante let the two pieces fall back down, the cut cloth smoldered. The two pieces came back together and reunited as if never damaged.
“Yes, we of moondrake are very proud of this creation of ours. We truly hope you will enjoy its uses, Prince Alexander,” Ogie looked pleased with his guest’s astonished face.
Some servants now brought strange fruit that did not grow anywhere on the land below. Alexander ate everything placed in front of him so as not to insult his hosts. They also brought him another goblet filled with moondrakeian wine. He drank it slowly, not that he needed to. Since the age of sixteen, his angelian physiology had made it impossible for alcohol to affect him.
Ogie, Alexander, and Dante spent the rest of the night in polite conversation. The King was particularly interested in hearing the tale of Alex Twin Blade and the Fall of Sharktooth. When Alexander finished, he was greeted by resounding applause from everyone close enough to have heard the tale.
The sun was rising before the King finally declared the festivities over. He then gave a slight bow to Alexander, who copied the gesture, and Ogie’iso set off to his chambers. Another servant came to lead Alexander and Dante to the chambers they would use during their stay.
It was a ground-story room, and as most moondrakes liked to live high up, it had not been used it for a long time. It was a simple room, but comfortable. There were large pillows, like the one they had sat on at the celebration, strewn everywhere. Dante thanked the servant and moved straight for a bed.
Alexander was just about to do the same when the servant said, “One more thing, Prince Alexander. Grand Admiral Claus wished me to inform you that your first lesson will begin at midmorning in Saniel Park.”