.^^ L'Aviateur Rouge's Skeleton ^^

— Devon —

I stepped up to the window, on the top floor of the Tower, and blinked slowly, looking out over a sea of clouds. "How high up is this tower?" I asked quietly, and went to the other side. To the west about a thousand feet, I spotted a castle, one I recognized, that used to be inside the College.

"Isn't that the Tyrant's Castle?" Jalen asked.

"It is, but his name is Johann Faequell. Don't call him the Tyrant, Alright? It's rude." I frowned at him.

His eyes widened. "Wait, So the Mage, Rune-"

"He's Johann's only Son, Yes, though he was born and raised in Ulfavir, basically an Exile. So don't insult his father, firstly because it's rude, and secondly because Rune is likely to take your head off, if you do, and trust me, he can." I explained.

He nodded, looking back at the castle. "The history books say that all the Tyrant ever did was try to go to war, and tax the Rich Merchants of the city to pay for it, but they revolted, instead, and tricked the poor into thinking he was evil."

"The history books are correct, and so why do you still call him the Tyrant?" I frowned.

He shrugged. "I didn't know his name. The books actually refer to him that way."

"Then I'll have to have them fixed. A nickname based in a jealous Fiction has no place in a book of Facts." I nodded, and then blinked again, seeing the clouds drift away, leaving us standing on a giant rock, hovering far, far above the Sanctuary.

I immediately got a little dizzy, and took a step back. "Oh dear... that's high."

Jalen grinned. "I'm gonna go knock on his door!!!"

He darted into the elevator, and I growled, grabbing the lift gate and preventing it from closing. "Squire Jalen Roland... compose yourself! You are a Squire, not a mischievous bother! I don't oppose good fun, but poking at someone who can't see you or react to you, for no reason at all other than your own sadistic amusement, is not only rude, it is cowardly and mean-spirited, and you will be none of those things, or I will beat them out of you, now do you understand me?!?" I hissed.

He froze, and then lowered his head. "Yes, Mentor..."

"Good! Now, get some sleep. We go on your first expedition, soon. You'll need sleep, after the Trial." I commanded, and stepped aside as he stepped out of the lift, and the doors shut after him.

We laid on the pillows, after I made a bed out of a few of the biggest, explaining quietly that they were made of Dragon-Skin, from one that Rune had hunted himself. He grinned at the knowledge, and I nodded, pulling him into a hug.

As I was falling asleep, watching the clouds wander around us, Rune exited the workshop, and smiled, laying a thick fur blanket over us, which I recognized as Bear Fur, not Matron, a very rare fur on Ulfavir, as there weren't any bears living there. I fell asleep from the comfy heat, before I could say anything.

—

I woke up, drawing a knife, and Rune yawned, sleepily, pushing my knife away from his throat, and handing me a cup of strong-smelling liquid which I identified as Coffee, an elvish drink. He handed a cup to Jalen, and nodded, walking over to the only table in the room, and eating some of the food arrayed over it, a mixture of Deep Cuisine and Island Cuisine.

"Eat. Drink. Wake up." He murmured, blinking sleep from his eyes still.

I drank some of the liquid, and sprang up, grabbing some of the food in sync with Jalen. He was used to his father's schedule, so he was already wide-eyed and ready.

Rune sipped his drink slowly, apparently waking up much slower than the rest of us.

"So no one else is going on our little expedition?" I asked.

He blinked slowly, and shook his head. "No... we're going to speak to a few of the craftsmen... find out what they need from the Glaciers... then kill a thing, eat, watch a sunset, leave... and then collect a reward." He spoke as slowly as he was moving, as if his brain was a step below fully functioning, for now.

I hummed. "How long does it take to wake you up all the way?"

He blinked again, his beautiful sky-blue eyes pulsing silver to the rhythm of his heartbeat. "I usually don't sleep a whole night... takes a few hours... to get my mind working again."

I nodded, finishing my half of the food on the table, while Jalen snagged the last link of sausage, and chewed on it as he stretched his muscles for the day's exercise. I joined him, and then looked at Rune. "Alright, then. How do we get down to the Sanctuary? Do we go through a mirror, or...?"

He clenched his eyebrows, and then walked over to the walls of glass, opening a portion, and then casually stepped out.

I squeaked, and Jalen grinned, jumping after him with a boisterous laugh. "WHOO!!! YOU COMING, SCAREDY CAT?!?" He laughed as he whipped away, towards the earth.

I growled and dove after him, catching up faster than I'd thought, because he was using his boots, in sync with the sleepy Rune, and seeming to actually skate in a downward spiral as he dropped; still dropping quickly, but not dangerously so, it seemed.

Seeing that this was relatively safe, I rolled over, pointing my feet downwards, and calmed myself, then began doing the same, until we were all level again.

As we coasted in, Jalen yelped as he misjudged the distance, and smacked loudly into the side of the plateau, thankfully only having about five feet to fall, directly into a pig sty. I was about six feet above him, and managed to hop off the air, and land with only a slight stumble.

Rune steadied me, and then looked over the edge at Jalen, and hummed. "And that, you funny little Squire, is what is commonly known as 'Karma'. Climb back up, come on, get the practice in."

Jalen grumbled, and set a foot against the wall, watching as the talons automatically gripped, then set the other, standing horizontally, with little to no effort on his spine, it seemed. He grinned and hopped, apparently testing the gravity, forgetting that he needed contact with the stone for it to hold.

Rune grinned as Jalen peeled himself out of the mud a second time. "Yes, do remember, it's better to learn this lesson over a patch of mud than a chasm of ice, hmm? One foot stays connected to the surface at all times, or you fall." He seemed to have woken up mostly, with the adrenaline of jumping out of the Sky Tower, and was amusing himself with Jalen's plight.

I knelt at the edge. "Try again, Squire." I commanded him simply, to galvanize him.

He stood immediately, and began walking up the wall with slow, steady steps. "It seems gravity is focused on the arch of the foot and the spine... like I'm walking with an iron bar strapped to my spine... Correct?" He asked Rune, grunting with effort.

"Relax and let it go naturally, and that should go away. Just walk. Trust the boots, stop trying to force them to work." He responded easily.

He nodded, and took a deep breath, then began walking more easily, pausing at the edge. "How do I... Hmm." He flattened one foot, getting it flat on the ground on top of the plateau, then bent both knees slowly, until he was mostly level with us, and stood up.

"There you go, corners like a dream, doesn't it?" Rune smirked.

He nodded, the embarrassment of falling faded away already, replaced by the excitement of the trip down. "Yes! Can I do that again?"

"Sure, we've got time. Go on, do it again, get your bearings with the boots." Rune shrugged, and opened a mirror up to the Tower. "Also, close the door, this time: leaving it open invites in all sorts of birds, and then they shit everywhere, and my pillows require cleaning... it's a big mess."

I sighed, and nodded, letting Jalen jump through the mirror, and he closed the glass door, before leaping off with a flip and a laugh of exhilaration.

"He's addicted to adrenaline, you know. Giving him an outlet might be good... even if it's a reckless one." I sighed.

Rune shrugged. "What you call recklessness, I call the Spirit of Freedom. He's got the ability to survive, and he wants to test himself against the world, see what it's got. I understand that, and empathize."

"But you're basically invulnerable! He isn't!" I frowned.

"So? He'll learn his limits, and how to laugh at them, too!" He laughed, and then waved as Jalen attempted his landed again, overshooting and nearly going over the entire plateau, but grabbing on to a piece of the roof, and climbing back up.

"Okay... third time's the charm?" He grinned.

"We've got things to do. Maybe later." Rune shook his head, and we walked inside, looking for the place Raava had built specifically for the pilots while they were here, a Tavern of sorts. "This Place becomes More like a village every day!" He laughed, noticing the Ale, and the women of leisure that Dashiva had decided to hired on from several different brothels throughout the Isles, even a few Demoness's from the Southern Isles, and Armada.

"I need passage to the Southern Ice Sheets for a contract, as soon as possible? Anyone heading out that way?" I whistled.

One red-skinned man glanced up, and nodded. His voice was soft, and lilting, the Southern language and the accent that followed was a beautiful addition to any voice. "Indeed... mon navire is headed that way tonight, to La Capitale Sud... a bit further to the ice sheets, and a pickup tomorrow at midnight, this is possible, for a small price. It is a change to our schedule, but only a small one."

"When?" I asked.

"Mm... three hours."

"How much to leave now?" I nodded.

"Mmm... I am enjoying this wine... double, for a pretty face." He smiled charmingly.

"Deal." I nodded, and held out a hand.

He shook it, and then stood, downing his wine, then kicking a human sleeping next to him awake. "Come, Alonzo, the route is moved up."

He snorted awake, and rubbed his eyes. "Aye, capitaine!!!... Que?"

"Up, my idiotic Co-Pilot!" The Captain sighed, without any venom. It almost seemed affectionate, from the tone of his voice.

The ship was parked in the meadow that had previously held the Temple of Stories, apparently becoming the area almost all of the flyers were parked for overnight stays, with a few more clearings around the Coal Grove being cleared and then protected with the beanstalks, around the Sanctuary, each with tunnels that led to the main one.

"It is expensive, to leave the ship here overnight, but it is better than flying twenty hours straight, most days, even with two pilots." The Captain, who had introduced himself as Capitaine De Rouge, was explaining to us.

Jalen answered back, his command of the Southern Common impressive. "And so how much is it to buy a flyer? Surely it pays for itself, after a few years, because of the cost of flights?"

The Captain laughed sarcastically. "You would think, Hmm? No, it takes a decade at least, to pay off the Engine. The Frame, depending who makes it, can be less, yes, but the engine... those 'break the bank,' so to speak."

Rune smiled. "Not for very much longer..." he murmured cryptically.

The Captain smiled. "Ahh, a man of mystery? I like mystery." He winked at Rune, who smiled calmly.

"You're Cute, Southie. She's cuter." He nodded at me, winking back at the pretty man smoothly.

I blushed, and punched his shoulder, hard, forgetting his metal-like body, as my knuckles bruised slightly from the impact.

He sighed dramatically. "Ahh, I see... well!!!C'est La Vie! Here we are, arrived to witness my ship, L'Aviateur Rouge!" He stopped, gesturing theatrically at a beautiful red transport, built to look like the skeleton of a feathered dragon, (a southern semi-intelligent breed,) with perfect anatomical accuracy, except for the the red crystal that filled all the gaps, solidifying the structure and covering it in a thin coating.

Rune whistled softly, tracing a hand over the crystal-encased feathers, each individual feather covered and replaced faithfully, it seemed. "Impressive workmanship..." He murmured.

"You like? She is custom, made for me from the body of a Dragonness that tried to eat me, two decades past. As her jaws closed upon my soft flesh, I cried out, my voice strong and true, 'Non! I am too beautiful to die!!!' And she agreed, and she mourned, and she died in my stead, for shame of attempting to rid the world of my beauty forever." He nodded seriously, as if the ridiculous, (though amusing,) story was entirely fact.

"Who was the craftsman? I'd like to work with them, do they still practice?" Rune asked, ignoring the pomp and nonsense.

"I am sure she does, she is a Dwarf, and dwarves simple refuse to die, for at least eight centuries, I'm told." The Captain shrugged, as the breastplate, -the long, solid plate that covered the ribs of the beast as the second layer of armor under the Hide and scales,- lowered on invisible hinges in another display of theatrics, which was impressive, despite the unnecessary work involved.

"Ooh... good. When we're done here, I'll pay you whatever you like to take me to her immediately." Rune nodded, walking up and sitting on one of the chairs on either side.

The Captain smiled. "Open Contracts, always dangerous..."

Rune nodded. "True... triple your usual rate, then." He clarified.

"Better. I accept." He agreed, and they shook hands, and the Captain went into the front of the dragon's ribcage, peering out of the red-tinted windows that were on either side of the clavicle.

I sat down, and looked down, gasping at the ground seeming to fall away, as the floor was also see-through, with that same red tint. I averted my eyes, seeing no need to torture myself, and looked at the wings of the dragon, which unfolded as we rose up out of the field, and the rest of the body also slowly laid flat, as if it was a real dragon in flight.

Electricity pulsed through the feathers of the wings, and suddenly we accelerated forward, though I didn't feel a thing. It was the smoothest ride I'd ever experienced, and the most fun, as well, as the wings began to flap slowly, the feathers shifting individually to angle the craft expertly.

"I'm very impressed, to be honest... I've never seen a craft like this one." I hummed.

The Captain laughed. "And you never will! She is Unique, a testament to the Art that the Gifted Dwarves were capable of, at one point in time, before their Fall!" He nodded casually.

Rune glanced up from the small book he'd pulled out, and was writing in. "This dwarf of yours is a Gifted?"

"No, but the Plans for this ship were made by one. The engine was different, apparently relying on a series of propellers, cranks, and a bubble of hot air of some sort, that would have filled the ribcage... she changed it up a bit, using the elven engine, which opened up all the space." He replied easily.

"Interesting..." Rune nodded, looking at the spine, the only logical place to hide the engine, and the only place currently not see-through to some degree.

I spotted a group of goblin gliders taking off, and pointed them out. "Goblins with gliders, West."

"Oui, Madame, pas de problème." The Captain chuckled, and the copilot cracked his knuckles, grabbing a separate set of controls. The head of the dragon turned at his command, and I gasped as the spine of the beast began glowing, and Rune stiffened.

"Focusing crystal in the spine... yes, a Gifted designed this." He grumbled, rubbing his metal arm, as the mouth of the dragon opened, and a beam of white fire sundered one of the gliders, clipping the second.

The glow faded, and he tsk'ed. "I only clipped the second one, Captain, and there's four more..."

Rune pressed a hand to the wall, and I squeaked when the cargo bay slowly opened, and the Captain growled something unintelligible. "How did you do that?" He snapped.

"I control Tek like this in my sleep." Rune scoffed arrogantly, to my surprise, before leveling his rifle at the approaching gliders, and firing.

The first blast of blue energy slammed into the clipped glider, and it turned into a block of ice, falling into the canopy soundlessly. The next turned one into what looked like salt, making him laugh. The remaining three tried to run, fleeing into the canopy, but he was relentless, firing until all six were in ruins, one way or another.

The cargo bay door closed, and he sat down, cleaning the barrel of his rifle carefully. He paused, and looked at the Captain. "I apologize if I came off as rude, earlier. I harbor an irrational hatred for the little green fuckers."

The Captain hummed, eying the rifle in his hands, then turning back, resuming our path forward, picking up speed. "All is forgiven... That is interesting Tek... you built it?" He asked faux-casually.

"Yes. I am trying to find a name for it, other than 'Magic Cannon'. Perhaps 'OmniRifle'... no, that's stupid." He sighed.

I smiled. "What about 'Rune's Relentless Hunt'? On account of your name, and your nature when using it?"

He blinked, and smiled slowly, then wrote the name in his journal, and finally engraved it into the butt. 'Rune's Relentless Hunt'.