The first thing that Bird felt as he stepped out into the night was the overpowering wave of...
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Chapter 1: Welcome to Caleedin
- Location
- Ostia
The first thing that Bird felt as he stepped out into the night was the overpowering wave of scents that washed over him. With the Summer Festival in full swing in the city of Caleedin, merchants from all over the Continent had their wares on display. All sorts of unique and exotic things were brought in, and it was difficult not to get drawn into the excitement.
But with the number of cool things on display, there was an equal number of terrible things.
Namely all those stupid spices, peppers and whatnot.
Bird hated them with a burning passion. He hated their scent, he hated their taste, he wished he could simply rid the universe of anything that tasted or even smelled remotely spicy. It was impossible for him to understand how anyone could tolerate them.
Whenever he was in the vicinity of spicy foods, he lashed out. With flame-coated hands, he slammed against the foods with all of his force and incinerated them, burning to a crisp. Even the strong smell of ash was better than that horrid peppery odour.
His friends found it hilarious. He simply regarded it as his divine duty.
Bird passed by the many stalls of the marketplace, amber eyes analysed them, roving over the goods on display with a critical eye. Truly, all manner of things were here. Scarves, hats, and shirts in vibrant colours, jewelled fanciful swords and daggers, all sorts of jewellery, loud and elaborate children's toys, sweets, and of course there had to be a spice vendor.
Bird's long yellow beak snapped shut as he turned away in a dismissive sort of fury. He barely could contain his flames, sparking as they were in the palms of his hands. Potent fury shone in his eyes as his nostrils took in the scent of the spices and herbs.
He closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe in and out steadily, counting in his head to calm down. He didn't want to make a scene here, not in this public place.
One, two, three, he counted, breathing heavily. He was standing in the middle of the street, probably being a rather big nuisance. Bird was a large bird-man, even by the standards of his species. He was nearly two metres tall, actually. The crowd parted around his rather imposing figure as he stood in the street, trying to calm down.
Four, five, six...
What had Talia taught him? Anger was never the way, she had always chided him after his spice-induced rampages. Or at least not this destructive anger, she had amended after it had been clear that he would never halt his hatred of spicy things. Clear your head, think calmly and rationally.
Seven, eight, nine...
Bird opened his eyes, his sharp yellow eyes refocusing on his environment. He could still smell the putrid scent of those spices, but it was a peripheral awareness at this point. He was calm. Bird clenched his hands and quelled the rising tide of flames that had before threatened to pour out of his palms in a divine smiting.
He was calm. He was fine.
Or at the very least, he wouldn't do anything illegal. Not in public. Not where he could be caught. Destroying the merchant's goods was something to be left outside of the daylight hours when he could be caught and better suited for the shady night.
Or perhaps, Bird mused, I can do something about these abominations now. It wouldn't be illegal, really...
Bird walked with purposeful strides over to the spice vendor's stall. The moustached, portly merchant behind the counter of the stall shrank back a bit instinctively. Bird cut a rather imposing figure, casting an easy shadow over the comparatively small man. His distinct avian features probably also helped in the intimidation department.
"I'll take it all," Bird's surprisingly soft-spoken and gentle voice sounded strange from his wickedly sharp curved beak.
The merchant paused for a moment, eyes widening and sweat beading down his forehead, "Pardon?"
"I'll take it all," Bird repeated patiently for the man, "I'll take everything in your stall."
"Ah, I-I don't think that--"
A heavy clunk of a burlap sack full of coins could be heard over the man's quiet stuttering and protest, which halted at the sight and sound of the bag. His eyes widened further.
"Will these funds be sufficient?"
The merchant, with shaking hands, took the bag and weighed it carefully in his hands. He took a peek inside, and his heart stopped at the sight that awaited him inside.
Gold. Gold coins. Lots of them.
Hesitantly he placed the sack on a balance scale that he kept behind the counter. Sweat poured in rivulets down his face and he absently wiped his forehead with a handkerchief as he weighed the bag.
The end result made his knees weak and his countenance pale.
That was a lot of money.
"Will these funds be sufficient?" Bird, ever the patient one, repeated his query and waited for the merchant to regain his bearings, "To buy everything in your stall, that is."
The vendor silently estimated the value of everything at his stall. The number that he came up with was... far exceeded by the amount that this bird-man stranger had offered him.
"Ah, yes. It is. Would you like the, uh, change?"
"You keep the extra," Bird replied, with the closest thing his beak could come to a smile, "Could you put it all in a bag for me, though?"
"Of course," the vendor scurried to put away the sack of gold safely in the back of his stall, searching for a few bags to put the spices in, "How do you want them organised?"
"Ah, you misunderstand me," Bird said, "I want them all in one bag."
"Are..." the vendor began, "Are you certain?"
"Absolutely."
The merchant shrugged, taking out a suitably enormous bag, pushing the piles of assorted herbs and spices into the bag. It pained him to see his precious wares mix together and become disorganised, but business was business, and this was big business.
In only a minute, the merchant had pushed everything in his shop into a single bulging bag, which he struggled to even get over the counter.
"I'll take it from here," a huge muscular arm grabbed the sack and easily hoisted it over the counter of the stall. Bird turned and began walking away, waving over his shoulder to the vendor, "Thanks, mister."
"Have a nice day, and thank you!"
Bird had hardly walked even ten steps from the stall before he set the bag down on the street.
He glared at the bag, a sharp contrast from the relatively personable aura he had held with the merchant, "So we meet again, my eternal enemy."
Bird raised his muscled arms over his head, to the midday sun. His beak opened suddenly and he cried out with an ear-piercing avian screech. His hands began to smoke and catch fire.
"It is by the celestial will of the gods that I strike you down today!" Bird screamed pounding his flaming fists against the sack of spices, "Burn in inglorious divine suffering, devil-spawn!"
Passerbies took notice of the bird-man and took care to make a wide parting in the stream of people to give Bird his... space.
"Mother, what is he doing?" A child pointed to the rampaging bird-man, who at this point had torn his shirt off and was running around the bonfire that the sack of spices was becoming.
"Praise be! Praise the gods! Shed divine light on this glorious day! Another vanquished enemy is burnt away on this blessed day!"
The mother had no answer.
But with the number of cool things on display, there was an equal number of terrible things.
Namely all those stupid spices, peppers and whatnot.
Bird hated them with a burning passion. He hated their scent, he hated their taste, he wished he could simply rid the universe of anything that tasted or even smelled remotely spicy. It was impossible for him to understand how anyone could tolerate them.
Whenever he was in the vicinity of spicy foods, he lashed out. With flame-coated hands, he slammed against the foods with all of his force and incinerated them, burning to a crisp. Even the strong smell of ash was better than that horrid peppery odour.
His friends found it hilarious. He simply regarded it as his divine duty.
Bird passed by the many stalls of the marketplace, amber eyes analysed them, roving over the goods on display with a critical eye. Truly, all manner of things were here. Scarves, hats, and shirts in vibrant colours, jewelled fanciful swords and daggers, all sorts of jewellery, loud and elaborate children's toys, sweets, and of course there had to be a spice vendor.
Bird's long yellow beak snapped shut as he turned away in a dismissive sort of fury. He barely could contain his flames, sparking as they were in the palms of his hands. Potent fury shone in his eyes as his nostrils took in the scent of the spices and herbs.
He closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe in and out steadily, counting in his head to calm down. He didn't want to make a scene here, not in this public place.
One, two, three, he counted, breathing heavily. He was standing in the middle of the street, probably being a rather big nuisance. Bird was a large bird-man, even by the standards of his species. He was nearly two metres tall, actually. The crowd parted around his rather imposing figure as he stood in the street, trying to calm down.
Four, five, six...
What had Talia taught him? Anger was never the way, she had always chided him after his spice-induced rampages. Or at least not this destructive anger, she had amended after it had been clear that he would never halt his hatred of spicy things. Clear your head, think calmly and rationally.
Seven, eight, nine...
Bird opened his eyes, his sharp yellow eyes refocusing on his environment. He could still smell the putrid scent of those spices, but it was a peripheral awareness at this point. He was calm. Bird clenched his hands and quelled the rising tide of flames that had before threatened to pour out of his palms in a divine smiting.
He was calm. He was fine.
Or at the very least, he wouldn't do anything illegal. Not in public. Not where he could be caught. Destroying the merchant's goods was something to be left outside of the daylight hours when he could be caught and better suited for the shady night.
Or perhaps, Bird mused, I can do something about these abominations now. It wouldn't be illegal, really...
Bird walked with purposeful strides over to the spice vendor's stall. The moustached, portly merchant behind the counter of the stall shrank back a bit instinctively. Bird cut a rather imposing figure, casting an easy shadow over the comparatively small man. His distinct avian features probably also helped in the intimidation department.
"I'll take it all," Bird's surprisingly soft-spoken and gentle voice sounded strange from his wickedly sharp curved beak.
The merchant paused for a moment, eyes widening and sweat beading down his forehead, "Pardon?"
"I'll take it all," Bird repeated patiently for the man, "I'll take everything in your stall."
"Ah, I-I don't think that--"
A heavy clunk of a burlap sack full of coins could be heard over the man's quiet stuttering and protest, which halted at the sight and sound of the bag. His eyes widened further.
"Will these funds be sufficient?"
The merchant, with shaking hands, took the bag and weighed it carefully in his hands. He took a peek inside, and his heart stopped at the sight that awaited him inside.
Gold. Gold coins. Lots of them.
Hesitantly he placed the sack on a balance scale that he kept behind the counter. Sweat poured in rivulets down his face and he absently wiped his forehead with a handkerchief as he weighed the bag.
The end result made his knees weak and his countenance pale.
That was a lot of money.
"Will these funds be sufficient?" Bird, ever the patient one, repeated his query and waited for the merchant to regain his bearings, "To buy everything in your stall, that is."
The vendor silently estimated the value of everything at his stall. The number that he came up with was... far exceeded by the amount that this bird-man stranger had offered him.
"Ah, yes. It is. Would you like the, uh, change?"
"You keep the extra," Bird replied, with the closest thing his beak could come to a smile, "Could you put it all in a bag for me, though?"
"Of course," the vendor scurried to put away the sack of gold safely in the back of his stall, searching for a few bags to put the spices in, "How do you want them organised?"
"Ah, you misunderstand me," Bird said, "I want them all in one bag."
"Are..." the vendor began, "Are you certain?"
"Absolutely."
The merchant shrugged, taking out a suitably enormous bag, pushing the piles of assorted herbs and spices into the bag. It pained him to see his precious wares mix together and become disorganised, but business was business, and this was big business.
In only a minute, the merchant had pushed everything in his shop into a single bulging bag, which he struggled to even get over the counter.
"I'll take it from here," a huge muscular arm grabbed the sack and easily hoisted it over the counter of the stall. Bird turned and began walking away, waving over his shoulder to the vendor, "Thanks, mister."
"Have a nice day, and thank you!"
Bird had hardly walked even ten steps from the stall before he set the bag down on the street.
He glared at the bag, a sharp contrast from the relatively personable aura he had held with the merchant, "So we meet again, my eternal enemy."
Bird raised his muscled arms over his head, to the midday sun. His beak opened suddenly and he cried out with an ear-piercing avian screech. His hands began to smoke and catch fire.
"It is by the celestial will of the gods that I strike you down today!" Bird screamed pounding his flaming fists against the sack of spices, "Burn in inglorious divine suffering, devil-spawn!"
Passerbies took notice of the bird-man and took care to make a wide parting in the stream of people to give Bird his... space.
"Mother, what is he doing?" A child pointed to the rampaging bird-man, who at this point had torn his shirt off and was running around the bonfire that the sack of spices was becoming.
"Praise be! Praise the gods! Shed divine light on this glorious day! Another vanquished enemy is burnt away on this blessed day!"
The mother had no answer.
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