~Chapter 7- The Sky Deity~

A red blur blazed across the bright blue sky, leaving a shadow of outstretched wings on the plains below. The twelve-year old Corri rode her red sparrow, Rojo, over acres of farmland, her scarlet hair waving behind her.

She flew above a familiar farm, with a couple of horses and lambs grazing on the pastures, a bright red farmhouse for those animals, and a modest home. Behind the house were a rooster and a hen, bird creatures as large as the house and incapable of flight. Apparently, the eggs they laid were very tasty. A structure surrounded by simple netting kept them contained.

Corri and Rojo descended towards the home. Meg, a little red-haired girl who was afew years younger than Corri, darted out of the house holding a training bow.

"Corri's back!" The little girl shouted and waved in excitement at Corri's return. Behind Meg was her mother, Cecil, a woman sharing the same bright red hair.

"How're you doing, Corri?" Cecil asked.

Corri undid her goggles, stepped down from Rojo, and pulled a bag down from Rojo's saddle, "Good! I have gifts for all of you!"

Meg excitedly ran up to Corri to see what gifts she had brought, several trinkets from the Sky Lands.

Corri had been traveling through the Skylands, and every once in a while, she'd come down to visit various people on the ground. She saw her brother Aero at Lupine Lake, visited Ruben on Platt Mountain, and she even managed to track down Nout and Temp in the Ralosian Isles and visited their new home.

She would've liked to have visited her cousin Jirro, but as far as she could tell, he was always on the move, too difficult to track. Much like herself actually. Corri made a point of visiting Cecil's farm a few times as well.

Cecil's father, Wilvur, and her husband Joe were working on a structure near the chicken pen. The greyed and potbellied Wilvur halted the project to go and see Corri. All of them were happy to see her whenever she decided to come by, though she never stayed long.

"I was just dropping by. I'm going to head back to the Sky Lands tomorrow morning," Corri explained over dinner.

Wilvur grimaced. He didn't like the sound of that, "Actually, Corri, would you mind helping me and Joe with a project out back? We're trying to build a pen for that rooster and hen. It'll take a long time between the two of us, but with you around, we should finish fast."

"Dad! You can't go asking Corri for favors every time she comes by," Cecil chided him.

"No, I don't mind. I'll help you finish, then I'll head out."

Corri lifted great wooden beams to the place where the pen would be set up, carrying one along each of her shoulders. She shared the same great strength that her father and brother had, though she wasn't quite on their levels. Still, lifting the beams that would make up the structure of the building was nearly effortless for her.

After doing enough projects with Wilvur, she learned not to use his tools, knowing she'd likely damage them in the process. Besides, she'd be faster without them.

While they worked, Meg climbed atop of the massive hen and adorably tried to get it to fly like Rojo. But a bird like that was incapable of flight.

Corri dug up the ground quickly with her bare hands where the poles would be placed, while Wilvur and Joe slowly dug out another. As she worked, she noticed Wilvur glancing at her often, often appearing as if he was about to say something.

When Joe headed to the house for water, Wilvur finally spoke up. "Hey, Corri. Mind if I ask you something?"

Corri steadily lowered a beam of wood into the hole she dug up and began gathering dirt back into it, "Go ahead."

"You and your brother are really strong. What about your parents?" Wilvur asked, slowly digging up dirt as he spoke.

"Well, I never knew who my mom was. But my dad is really strong. I don't think there's anyone as strong as him in the whole world," Corri said to the old man.

"I see," Wilvur paused for a moment, "Y'know, you look a lot like my other daughter, Bonnie."

Corri already knew where he was heading with this, "Did you talk to Cecil about this?"

"I have."

"Well, I told Cecil my dad is Razan. After talking to her for a bit, I think we both figured out that I'm probably Bonnie's daughter," Corri explained, having already gone through this before.

"Yeah... it does look that way," Wilvur stopped shoveling, "She never really liked this sort of work. The life she had on this farm. She hated the farm even more after her mum passed away. She was always eager to see the world, kind of like you. I think that's why she ran off with your dad. Never came back."

Corri stopped doing her own work and looked at Wilvur. The man who was most likely her grandfather. They couldn't quite make eye contact with one another.

"You'll come back, right?" Wilvur asked, showing a surprising amount of vulnerability in that moment.

Corri paused before saying, "Of course! You don't have to worry about that."

Corri was able to finish up the rooster and hen houses, and soon she was off. She and Rojo took to the skies once again to explore.

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Corri and Rojo flew past many land masses levitating high in the air among the clouds. The Skylands. These lands were said to have been blessed by the Goddess Ralosia and sent skyward, all of them bearing bountiful fruit for the people who lived on them. The red-haired girl wanted to see all that they had to offer. When she looked directly below her, she could see Platt Mountain and Challenger's Lake.

Challenger's Lake was the place of the tournament. Corri and all her friends agreed that they'd meet again at the next one, and if she was going to go, she was certainly going to compete. At the last tournament, she lost during the preliminary matches. She wasn't going to let that happen again.

Though Corri had certainly gotten stronger and improved her technique, she knew she would have trouble in the tournament as she was now. She would have to push herself.

She saw a series of floating islands in close proximity to each other, and she had an idea. She guided Rojo to land on one of those islands. She jumped off the bird and began to stretch.

"Okay, Rojo. I'm going to jump from island to island on my own, okay? But if I happen not to make it and fall, I need you to catch me," Corri said to the Red Sparrow. It stared down at her, picking at its feathers as she finished speaking, "Perfect! Just keep an eye out for me."

Corri looked at the nearest island to her. It was lower down in elevation to her, but it was still pretty far. She was pretty sure she could make it though. Corri sprinted to the edge of the island she stood on, jumped, and propelled herself towards the other island. She soared through the air before landing on it.

She immediately looked for another island in the air and found one that was a little further away and went again, successfully jumping to that one as well. She vaulted from island to island, testing how far she could push herself each time. But eventually, her appetite grew disproportionate to her abilities, and she jumped to an island that was just out of her reach.

Corri fell through clouds, whistled, and looked around for her bird. A crimson blur streaked through the air and flew down alongside her. She reached for the saddle and pulled herself onto the bird before it leveled out in the air.

"That's enough training for today."

Corri continued around the Sky Lands and felt a sort of resonance, as if something was calling her. She came upon a peculiar-looking island, one that had the shape of an eye. Corri looked down below and noticed that the island's shape and size matched that of Challenger's Lake, almost as if this Sky Land was torn directly from the ground. When she flew, over she saw a great statue of at least 15 meters in height at the center of the eye-shaped island. A statue of the Goddess.

Corri and Rojo flew down the island and approached the statue. The resonance she felt only grew stronger. She only felt this sensation once before. She dismounted from her bird and walked closer to the statue, representing the Goddess with her hand outstretched wearing Golden Gauntlets and flowing white robes.

A shadow appeared behind Corri, "What are you doing here, young one?" When she turned, she saw the form of a giant Owl behind her. It was the Sky Deity, Ool.

"Hi, Ool! Long time no see!" Corri greets happily.

"These are sacred grounds young one. Mortals such as yourself are not allowed upon it," Ool said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I had no idea," Corri responded calmly.

"It is fine. I am aware you are new to the Sky Lands," Ool said respectfully, "However, I must ask you to leave."

Corri hurried atop Rojo and prepared to fly off, but stopped herself, "Hey Ool, I came to this island because I had this feeling when we got close to it. I felt like it was calling me. I only felt that once before back in the desert. Would you know anything about that?"

Ool's eyes dilated, but he spoke calmly regardless, "Desert? Where in the Desert?"

"I'm not exactly sure. We found this underground temple in the sands because of it."

Ool clearly showed shock on his face, but he tried to hide it, "That ... is odd. But pay it no mind. I'm sorry to ask you again, but you must leave, young one."

"Of course. Sorry about the trouble," Corri signaled Rojo to fly, and they left the eye-shaped island.