I made my way down stairs and left through the hidden entrance of the tree. I was a bit peeved by that kid's reaction but it can't be helped. Even still, that kid may be a weenie…But those bubbles were really cool! However, as I was thinking about that kid's power I suddenly heard the latch of the tree's hidden door behind me. I turned around to see him partly standing through the doorway with his crazy hair. It seemed like he was still somewhat scared, and was almost shielding himself with the door. "H-hey, I…I'm sorry…I was just surprised is all. I p-promise I'm not always like this…C-can we start over…?" He said while avoiding eye contact. "Pff-Hahaha! Yeah, we can do that. My name is Sid, you don't have to be so timid y'know? We're probably the same age as well, we should be friends!" I said with a big smile. "He he… Y-yeah… You're right. I'm sorry, I have lived here alone for a long time so I was kinda shocked when you showed up out of nowhere… My name is Darwin, Darwin St. Devaughn." He said as he hesitantly came out from behind the door. "So Darwin, why are you here all alone? I mean this place is pretty amazing but, how did you get out here to begin with?" "Uhhh W-well, I used to live here with my mom, but she had to go somewhere a long time ago. But I'm hoping that I can go find her someday! Since she left it's just been me here, but from time to time I'll also get some nice visitors that bring me food! So I never really starve or anything ha ha…When she had to go away, she only left behind 3 things… one of them was me, the other was that book you threw earlier… and the third was this." He said as he began producing a bubble from his finger tip. "Damn, I sincerely apologize for damaging your mothers book Darwin." "N-no no, it was my fault, I shouldn't have reacted that way. But it did make me feel good that you enjoyed my bubbles. The reason why I send them out into the air is because I was hoping my mom might seem them someday from wherever she is, and that way she'd know I was alright… B-but instead it brought me a new friend, so it looks like it wasn't all for nothing ha ha…" I could hear the sadness in his voice when he spoke about his mom, I knew somewhat how he felt. After all, I was searching for people I cared about too. "Hey Darwin, you said that your mom left behind those bubbles right? Can I ask what you meant by that?" "Huh? Oh, yeah well before she left she told me that I had to be strong a-and so she passed on her bubbles to me. These bubbles were originally hers, but she left them to me and I have been caring for this power ever since." Interesting. So it's possible to pass on a blessing too huh? "By the way Sid, u-umm do you also have a power? Like how you were able to hit me from inside my bubble?" "Woah woah woah I didn't hit you alright, it was a flick, just a flick!" Darwin then pointed to the red welt on his forehead. "Okay so I flicked a little too hard, that's my bad. But yes, I too have a blessing. You can't tell anyone tho okay? I am trying to keep my powers hidden, that's why when I use it, I stick my hands in my pockets." When I finished speaking, I stuck one hand out forward and sent it through a waypoint as if I was going to flick Darwin in the head again. My hand disappeared and reappeared right before his eyes. He was very startled and flinched at the sight of my hand ready to flick him. Of course I didn't flick him again, I just took my hand back and said, "Just kidding! It was a joke, Haha. Sorry Darwin, I swear I'm not going to flick you again." "W-what was that?! How did you do that?" He questioned. "This is the power that's going to help me find my friends." I said as I peered into the palms of my hands. "I call it Traveling hands. One day I just woke up here out there, deep in the forest and had this power." "Y-you woke up in the forest? That's very strange. I was wondering how you ended up out here. The forbidden forest is not somewhere you would likely meet people, it is filled with deadly beasts that will kill you without a second thought. That's why my mother chose this tree as a home, since it's not connected to the mainland. E-even on the coast I sometimes see large beasts passing by. Y-you must be an amazing person to have survived out here." He said with astonishment in his voice. "Haha, well It's a long story but I haven't exactly been alone out here this whole time." As if on cue, I heard Dutch bark loudly. The sound of her bark made Darwin jump. As Dutch approached us with her sword in her mouth, Darwin ran and hid partially behind the door of the tree again. "It's okay Darwin, this is Dutch. She's my friend that I met out in the forest. I promise she will do you no harm." I said as I patted Dutch on the head. She began wagging her tail and walked over to Darwin slowly. She gently placed her sword on the ground in front of her and sat calmly in front of Darwin. "U-um h-hello D-Dutch…" Darwin said with his usual nervous stammer. He shakily raised his hand towards her and softly rubbed her head. "W-wow… she's so soft ha ha…" he said with a nervous smile. "See? I told ya so! Haha. Oh! Actually, there is something I really need to ask you, Darwin." "S-sure Sid, ask me whatever you want." He said as he continued to happily let Dutch. "You said that people visit you here sometimes and bring you supplies, do you know when they might come next? I really need to find a way to cross the ocean and I was hoping you might be able to help me." "Ah! Yes um, well I'm not entirely sure when they may come next. The people that visited me were old friends of my mother. They are actually a family that come here to harvest certain fruits that grow on the cliff sides to use for their tavern's famous alcohol. The fruits usually grow year round due to the climate, so most of the time they usually visit every 3-4 months and bring along supplies to help me while I wait for my mother. I haven't exactly been keeping track of the time since they last visited, but I'm sure I could find something in my home that would give us a good indication of how much longer we have until they visit again." He said with certainty. "Okay! That's perfect, you lead the way Darwin!"
He led me up the carved stairs to the room we first met. Dutch followed along close behind me. When we reached the room all of the pages from the book I had thrown were all over the floor. This made me feel very guilty after actually speaking with Darwin. I immediately began picking the pages up off of the floor and stacking them. "Oh n-no you don't have to do that Sid," Darwin said. "I can pick those up later." "No no, this was my fault. It's the least I can do." I replied. As I continued to pick up the pages Darwin joined in and we started making stacks of the pages near us. However, I began to notice that many of the pages on the ground were completely covered in what appeared to be diagrams of different plants and animals, even some beasts. There were numbers written in strange formats and all kinds of notes. "Hey Darwin, you said your mom left you this book right? Was she some kind of researcher?" "U-um yes. She was an incredible scientist. She researched all kinds of different things. I actually have kind of taken after her…I find this world very fascinating. I've learned a lot about all kinds of different species of living creatures. I h-have studied her notes pretty extensively." "Woahhh that's so cool!" I said in awe. "You must be really smart Darwin, I grew up in the slums of Bane… So it was pretty difficult for us to learn about the world." "Oh wow, so you're from Bane? Th-That's pretty far away from here…how mysterious… You said it was difficult for us to learn?" He questioned while continuing to stack pages on the ground. "Yeah, I grew up with my two best friends Ivan and Oli… But I'm not too sure where they are now. Something happened… and we all got split up. That's actually why I am trying to set sail across the ocean. I have to do whatever it takes to find them." Darwin seemed very interested in what I had just said and looked up to lock eyes with me. "I know how y-you feel… I think I would do just about anything to try and find my mom… but I'm too much of a coward to leave this place. I don't know where she is, but I would give anything to be able to explore the world and research with her…" Darwin said in a solemn tone. "Hey don't worry Darwin, I'm sure she'll come around soon! And if you want, you can always come with me! Maybe we'll find clues about your mom on our travels, you never know right?" "R-really? Do you mean that? C-could I really come with you?" He said with a hint of desperation. "Of course I mean it! The more the merrier! Besides, I'm gonna need as much help as I can get to find my friends. It would be incredibly helpful to bring someone along that knows a lot about the world. Maybe you can teach me some things?" "Y-yes! Absolutely!" He said excitedly. "O-Oh! I found it!" He exclaimed as he held a piece of paper into the air. Darwin stood up and ran over to a table at the far side of the room. As if realizing he forgot something, he turned around quickly before reaching the table and shot a bubble over to the stacks of pages we had made on the ground. The bubbles enveloped the stacks of pages and proceeded to float into the air. "Don't worry about those Sid, I can put them all together later." He said with a small smile. Dang, those bubbles are so cool! I thought to myself. It makes sense now why there were items floating through the stairwell when I first entered the tree. Darwin must keep things inside the bubbles if he needs to get to them later.
I hurried over to Darwin who was now sitting at the table with the page spread out in front of him. There was a large drawing of what looked like the sun a moon cycles with scribbled and small writing all around it. "Hmm I can't really make out what any of this says." I said allowed. "N-no worries Sid." Darwin then formed his index finger and his thumb into a circle and a concave bubble formed in the open space. This kid just made his own magnifying glass?? He then proceeded to read the lettering on the page while looking through his fingers up close to the lettering. From what I could tell, this writing was some kind of astral calendar based on the movements of the sun and the moon. I had never seen anything like this before. "Hmmm, from what I can tell based on the sun cycles, it's possible that they could arrive here any day now. That's lucky for us!" Darwin exclaimed. "Nice! So we don't even have to wait that long, that is indeed lucky." I responded. But as we were looking over the page, a piece of parchment that was adorned to the wall above the table caught my eye. There were many different pictures and drawings on the walls as well, but this piece of parchment was different… The drawing on this piece of parchment was quite terrifying. It depicted a massive bird of some sort. But the picture itself seemed to emanate darkness itself. Just what is that thing? I decided not to think much of it at that moment and it eventually slipped my mind.
Now that we knew Darwin's benefactors would be arriving sometime soon, we mostly spent the next couple days hanging out in and around the giant tree house. Darwin explained to me that this tree is actually called a Magnifigum tree, the largest species of tree within the world of Gaian. What surprised me however, was when he told me that the treehouse was actually what Darwin considered an adolescent compared to others. He specifically stated that the Magnifigum trees located in the kingdom of Cashmere are at least five times larger in size and that's why there is an area within Cashmere called the Giant wilderness. Hearing that made me really excited knowing that I would be heading to that Kingdom soon. Dutch spent most of the days sleeping high up on the tree branches or chasing bubbles floating through the air. Everything was very peaceful while we waited patiently. Unfortunately, this peace did not last long…
Sometime early one morning, the sunny sky suddenly and rapidly became dark. Large looming thunder clouds began overtaking the sky and rain began pouring fiercely. It was a large storm that was hitting us from the ocean. Darwin's massive tree house even began to sway from the powerful winds. At first it seemed like your typical storm, but out of nowhere we spotted something when looking through the window. Up high in the sky, a massive dark entity was seen soaring through the storming weather. "W-w-what was that!?" Darwin shouted. Dutch began growling fiercely after the appearance of the entity. She immediately rushed down the staircase, and out the door of the tree. "Dutch hold on!" I yelled after her. I chased after Dutch down the steps and into the raging storm. "Dutch you shouldn't be out here! Please come back!" She had run out towards the edge of the stone spire and was barking into the storming sky. I ran to her side and knelt down while trying to shield myself from the oncoming rain and wind. As Ditch continued to bark into the sky, a massive bolt of lightning shot down through the clouds and into the ocean. The lighting was so powerful it split the clouds completely dispersing them in the air. As it hit the ocean, a powerful wave of energy radiated across the surface of the sea below. Out of the opening in the clouds, a massive figure of a bird appeared. Its enormous wings spread across the sky in a beautiful and yet terrifying manor. As the bird effortlessly flapped its wings, a powerful gust of winds dispersed all of the thunderous clouds as if they were nothing in the face of this great beast. I remembered at that moment the drawing I had noticed on Darwin's wall… There was no mistaking it, this had to be the same beast… So why did Darwin have a drawing of it? The gust of wind from the bird's wings nearly knocked me off my feet. All the while, Dutch had the most ferocious look on her face as she barked into the sky. When all of the clouds were dispersed from around the massive bird, I was finally able to see it clearly in the sky. Its body was as black as night. If it wasn't for the dim light of the sun barely peeking through the storming sky I never would have been able to see it at all. It's eyes glowed a fierce golden hue, and due to its feathers it almost seemed like it was wearing a crown. It's image was fitting… This beast was clearly the king of the sky's. In one fell swoop, the massive bird folded in its wings and dove bombed towards us. It moved so fast that all I was able to see was its massive body fly down below us in an instant. It only appeared as one black flash before it was completely out of sight. Before I could even react, Dutch immediately turned around grasping her sword in her mouth. She began growling in the direction behind us. I was afraid of what I was going to see, but I turned around trying to prepare myself to face this monstrosity. Lighting continued to fill the sky, and through the darkness of the raging storm I could barely see anything. But with the flash of the lightning, maybe ten yards away from us appeared the form of a person.
I had no idea what had happened to the massive bird that seemed to disappear just as quickly as it had arrived, but now I sat here in this hell of a storm facing an unfamiliar person who seemed to emanate the same terrifying aura as the bird in the sky. "Who the hell are you!?" I yelled out through the downpour of the rain. Even though I said it, I felt like I already knew…
The man walked towards us slowly. Although Dutch seemed like she was ready to pounce with her blade at any moment, neither of us moved as he approached. He was average height, but adorned a ragged black cloak. He had dark greasy hair, and dark eyes that seemed to stare right through me. Before he could get any closer, out of panic I instinctively threw a punch as hard as I could in his direction. Through my blessing, I should have struck him square in the jaw… but he effortlessly blocked it with just the palm of his hand. "Hmph, a child who hasn't even transcended his power thinks he can strike me aye? The times have certainly changed… To think this stray mutt would be accompanying you as well… So, where is it boy?" He said in a serious and frightening tone. Dutch immediately jumped in front of us brandishing her sword and growled at him as if saying "This is your only warning, don't come any closer." "Woah there," he said while innocently putting his hands up. "Come now, there's no need for that. After all, you know I could just sink this place into the sea… Along with your little friend hiding in the tree." He smirked and glanced at the tree that was swaying in the storm. This person's pressure was incredible, I felt like there was an immense weight on my chest just from being this close to him. I was struggling to breathe and hold my composure. What was I thinking? I thought I could punch this man, but if I take one step closer I feel like my life will end right here and now. "I did not come here to fight as hard as that may be to believe. You asked who I am? But that is privileged knowledge. However, since you seem to have some sense of courage I will reward you with my name. I am called many things, though you shall address me as Vulcan. I am here for one reason and one reason alone. Nothing else interests me. If you do not comply, then my interest will grow further in the wrong direction boy. Now… wherever you have been storing it, it would be best to bring out that item now…" I had no idea what he was talking about, an item? "C-can I speak?" I managed to blurt out. Vulcan stared at me expressionless with his cold and intense eyes. "The Beast Bugle." he uttered "It belongs to my master." His words seemed to completely push Dutch over the edge. She barked at him like a wild dog and launched herself at him. She spun her body in the air while twisting her blade at an immense speed. She looked like a whirlwind among the thrashing rain that poured down around us. Her blade swiftly slashed towards him, but as the blade struck his body a plum of black feathers fluttered out around him. With a swipe of his hand, he sent Dutch tumbling backwards through the muddied ground. "You mutt… You may think yourself to be loyal, but I have never faltered in my convictions. You know nothing of what I have done or will do…I am here only for the bugle. Hand it over to me, and I will spare these children. Do not take my kindness lightly." Every word he spoke was like a dagger in my gut. I was paralyzed with fear. This person was a monster in human form and I was simply an insect in his way. I finally realized what he was talking about and quickly reached my hand through the waypoint. I couldn't let anything happen to Dutch or Darwin. Perhaps I was being foolish to think this thing would actually spare us, but I couldn't allow this to go any further. I pulled back my hand and revealed the golden horn I had taken from the strange man in the forest. "Is this what you are looking for?… Vulcan." I asked as calmly as possible. Vulcan with his emotionless face simply peered at the horn in my hand and then spoke directly to Dutch. "You see? That wasn't so hard." Dutch turned towards me after picking herself off of the ground. She barked at me angrily as I held the golden horn in my hands. I felt like she was telling me to put it away. But for some reason, I felt like Dutch and this man have been having a conversation this whole time. I had no idea what to think of this situation or what any of this man's words meant. The only thing I could think of at that moment was to ask a single question. "V-Vulcan. I will give you this horn if you can answer one question of mine. That's fair trade isn't it?" I stated as confidently as I could manage. Vulcan seemed completely taken off guard by my words, as his eyes slightly widened. "….. How bold you are, child. As it is not my place, I cannot reveal too much. However, I will answer a single question as the price for the Bugle. I am not one to take unwantedly." As he spoke, he gazed at Dutch who was still snarling in his direction. "Out with it boy. I do not have much time." I didn't have much time either while I was trying to think of a question, but this person was clearly a powerful being. I didn't know what his intentions were or why he wanted this deadly horn in my possession. In a matter of seconds, many thoughts crossed my mind. Ultimately, based on my intuition and information I had received from Gwyn… I came to a conclusion. "… Vulcan, please tell me where King Fritz is." For a brief moment, I swore that I saw Vulcan smile. For some reason, Dutch stopped growling and turned to look at me as if she too was surprised by my question. "Ask a different question. That is not something I can answer." "Is it that you can't answer it? Or is it that you won't?" I replied. "Is that what you wish to use your one question for?" Dammit… this guy really isn't giving me any room for negotiation here. "No, that is not my question, just an inquiry… If you are unable to answer that, then perhaps you can tell me how to get to where he is?" Once again, I swore I saw him smile even if it was just for a moment. I had no idea what this man or beast was thinking. "That was the correct question." Vulcan replied. "The Kingdom of Cashmere is a very large place. Within it lies an area called the giant wilderness. However, it is currently not a place you or anyone else is able to visit so easily… Instead, you will need to gather others with strength and knowledge in order to enter that place. Not only that, you must garner renown and respect if you wish to do so. Simply speaking, go to where you were already headed. What lies before you is a path only you can take…" Vulcan finished answering and held out his hand. His words had given me quite a lot to think about. There was clearly something much greater going on then I had initially realized. With the horn in hand, I slowly approached Vulcan. He wasn't even that far away from me, but each step seemed like I was traveling a great distance. A distance between a being of great power and how I was in that moment. Reluctantly, I handed the mysterious golden horn to Vulcan. He took the horn and immediately turned and began walking away. Before he reached the edge of the stone spire, he looked over his shoulder at me and said, "a last word of advice… If the path you have chosen is blocked, simply make a new one." And with that, his body began to change and morph into a massive entity of feathers and darkness. What was once a man, now became the tremendous beast that had descended down upon us before. He spread his wings and with a single mighty flap he shot into the air, leaving a blast of powerful wind in his wake that was strong enough to throw me off of my feet and onto the ground. After he was gone and out of sight, the raging storm seemed to leave with him. I stood up still thinking about the information Vulcan had given me. "C'mon Dutch, let's go inside." I said as I began walking back to Darwin's tree. Dutch followed behind me quietly.
When we got back to the top of the tree house, Darwin was wrapped up in his hammock shaking from fear. "Darwin, it's just us." I said calmly. His head shot out of the hammock and he clumsily fell out of it just like when I met him for the first time. "W-w-what w-was that!?" He shouted as his teeth chattered. I was still trying to process that entire event. Inevitably, my gaze wandered towards the wall with the drawing I had seen before. I walked over to that drawing and pulled it off of the wall. I turned around and presented the page to Darwin. "This… What can you tell me about this?" I asked. At the sight of the drawing, Darwin became very serious. "Are you saying… that the monster in the sky was this beast right here?" He said while tapping the page. "… Yes. Please tell me everything you know about this creature." I responded. "W-well… Alright then Sid. To tell you the truth, everything I know about that monster is from my mom. So my knowledge on it isn't entirely certain. But I will tell you everything I know." Darwin stepped forward and took the drawing from me. He then placed the drawing on the ground and sat with his legs crossed. I sat down with him and prepared myself to learn whatever I possibly could about that man. "From what my mother told me, this creature has been sighted all across the kingdoms in the world. It appears whenever large wars break out, or when the world becomes filled with death. My mother called it… King Vulture, and also the Omen of the dead. She came across it at some point in her travels long before I was born. She said that during a large dispute between two kingdoms that monster appeared in the sky with a massive group of smaller vultures deemed the black kettle. She said that as the battlefield became riddled with corpses, King Vulture simply circled the sky high above as if waiting for the perfect moment. As the two kingdoms retreated back from the battlefield, The king descended upon the sea of corpses with his black kettle in tow and began devouring all of the corpses in sight. She said that the sight of it was unnerving and horrific. By the end of it, not a single corpse was left on that plain of war. It was as if nothing had happened there at all." "That sounds horrible!" I exclaimed. "Y-yes, that's what I thought at first too. However, from what my mother described he was actually helping everyone in the long run." "Huh? How would devouring corpses help?" I questioned. "My mother told me that at the time the war between the kingdoms was actually started because a disease outbreak took place that was rumored to have spread through the trade between the two kingdoms. It was said to be a flesh eating disease, one of the worst ever recorded in humanity. Due to the spread of the disease, many people died and an astronomical amount of people were left infected. Both kingdoms blamed the other for the spread of this disease and eventually went to war over it. H-However, by doing so they were actually passing the disease between each other even further through the spilt blood, the numerous wounds, and especially the accumulating dead bodies during battles. It was said that their entire armies faced countless infected wounds and disease by the end of the war. That's when the King vulture and his black kettle come in. Instead of leaving the countless bodies to rot, they instead consumed them preventing any further spread. I-in fact, if the bodies were left to rot, my mother said that the entire land and fresh water would have been contaminated by the spread of that disease." I could tell that Darwin was really fascinated by this story, and to tell you the truth, so was I… Vulcan… he was actually a good guy? "Darwin, I think I'm starting to understand what kind of creature this King Vulture is. Have you ever heard of the animal wardens?" I questioned intently. "W-well, that's a bit more difficult to explain. OH! Wait, I think I understand what you're saying Sid. That would make so much sense!" Darwin shouted as he made his own revelation about the King Vulture. "The Animal wardens are considered legendary beasts that served the Monkey King, though no one has seen him for centuries at this point. However, even in the Monkey king's absence these Wardens still remain. In some cultures and kingdoms across the world these wardens are still revered as protectors and others even view them as special deities. It would make sense that this monster is also a warden of the monkey…" Darwin said as he began to stare intently at the drawing of Vulcan. It seemed like Darwin had something more to say but was hesitating to talk about it. All the while we were talking, Dutch was laying at the far end of the room staring at us intently. "Darwin, if you have something else to say just spit it out. We're friends, you don't have to hide anything from me." Darwin looked away from the drawing and met my eyes with a very serious stare. "Sid… you've been asking a lot of questions about this beast but I'm not exactly sure why. Before I say anything else, could you please tell me why you want to know all of this?" I knew that this question was bound to come up at some point. There's no reason to hide anything else from Darwin, he has already been brought into all of this as soon as Vulcan appeared at his tree. It's my fault for involving him, I'm the one who had that mysterious horn to begin with. Though, I still wonder how Vulcan was able to tell that it was in my possession… it's not as if I was storing it on my body… interesting. "Alright Darwin, I guess it's time I tell you the whole truth." I ended up explaining everything to Darwin, about the gate that acted as the catalyst for all of these events and even how I met Gwyn. The whole time Darwin just stared at me with vacant eyes and his mouth agape. When I brought up that I needed to find the monkey king and my friends I thought he was actually going to faint. However, Darwin seemed to come to his senses and stood up clenching his fists. "S-Sid! I can't believe you have had to endure so much! Please let me help you any way I can! I'm sure that If I travel with you there's definitely going to come a time that I can find my mother. Please allow me to join you!" He shouted as he bowed to the floor. "Woah woah, you really don't have to do that Darwin haha, of course I was going to take you along. I am going to need all of the help I can get after all."