The waves sounded as if they were hushing the wind with each coming tide, only to be abruptly awakened by the sound of a bird''s cry! Atop the gigantic basin, a young man lay with his legs crossed and arms rested behind his head. His eyebrows peaked upward at the sound of the cry, but neither eyelid actually opened, his long, draping black hair covering the runic markings bore into the huge structure! The water within, collected by thousands of years of rain, swayed back and forth calmly, glistening like liquid crystals in the sunlight above.


    “You’re the last basin left. The others have turned to fountains and lakes by now… don’t you want to grow up?” the boy mused to the very structure he sat atop. His eyelids finally opened to reveal a set of light brown, almost amber-colored eyes. “Or do the clouds simply refuse to give you the chance?”


    He watched the white masses of vapor float high above him with an idle gaze, which was only broken when the bird cried again, this time closer. Turning his attention to the horizon, he sat up on the edge of the basin, his legs dangling into an abyss of no return with a relaxed composure. To those new to the land of Nillitacni, the sight he set his eyes upon would be… jarring.


    “Armony! Armony! I have news!” was all he heard as he spotted the fifteen-foot wingspan of his friend, their beak piercing the air currents like a blade, followed by the rest of their humanoid, yet feathered, body. “A large ship docked in Orcoa’i this morning! Word of a new trade is spreading like wildfire, but everyone’s being tight-lipped about its use!”


    Armony, the boy who sat over the basin, opened his eyes wide at the information given by his well-excited and clearly informed friend. Before responding, though, he peered back to the water, which sat hundreds, if not thousands, of feet below him in the basin, the calm echo of its waves soothing the boy. “Whose flag was it?”


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    “That’s the thing!” the birdfolk responded, her index finger lifting studiously as she landed. “All they bore was a red circle within a circle on a white flag, never even seen it before.”


    Armony ran his fingers through his hair, the reflection from the waves far below giving a marble-like pattern to his dark skin. “Well, that’s ominous. Who else knows- er- who else have you told?”


    They shook their head aggressively when he asked. “I’ve only told you, why?” her head tilted to the side, eyelids narrowed on Armony and the posture he sat with. It was one of someone who held confidence in their chest yet didn’t quite have a path set before their eyes. Armony’s feet, meant to travel roads unknown, swayed there as he thought over what his friend had told him.


    “Then it looks like we’ll be checking it out. If the others are accepting of whatever this ‘new trade’ is, then it’s high time we get to the bottom of it.” The boy’s eyes flashed teal and then back to hazel as he averted his gaze to the bird. “Thanks, Harize. I’ll start making my way there-we’ll need the others.”


    With but a nod, Armony spun around where he sat and kicked off the outside of the basin with both his hands and feet!


    Just barely freefalling now, Armony kicked off the face of the cliff before gaining momentum, sending him in a diagonal arc toward the ground, which lay hundreds of feet below! His long hair painted his trail like a brushstroke of pure black, both eyes flickering with a greenish tint as he looked through the air, down toward the town that lay below. His eyelids, even in the strong wind, narrowed with annoyance before he tilted his head down in his plummet!


    Meanwhile, Harize stood atop the basin, blinking idly as she watched her friend speak and then jump without even so much as a ‘see you later,’ which brought both of her winged arms to a crossing, the large folds of feathers inverting into Harize’s large forearms. For that of birdkin ilk, their physical strength was apparent and far bigger than their peers.


    “Well, alright, could’ve at least said to fly safely…” The Kaka’u scratched her crown feathers before waltzing off the edge.