Chapter 119: The Sky
Over the next week, Ian investigated the slave ship incident, meeting with several merchants on the list before finally submitting his conclusion that the 'traitorous slave ship did not exist' to Illyrio.
Although Ian already knew the outcome, he understood that the investigation process was also a basis for Illyrio to further evaluate his worth, so he didn't slack off but handled all the details meticulously.
During this time working together, Ian developed a good rapport with Quhuru, the leader of the 'little mice.'
Ian hoped that Quhuru's intelligence network would prove useful in his upcoming struggle against the players hidden in Pentos.
After the investigation ended, Ian didn't leave Illyrio's manse until the end of the month.
During this time, he continued to hone his swordsmanship and attempted to become a true skinchanger.
Originally, Ian wanted to buy a young eagle to raise from a hatchling, but the growth cycle of eagles is not short, and Ian found that he could not afford such a time investment.
So he ultimately chose to have Denzel of Dorne buy back a falcon that had already been partially trained by a handler, its wildness mostly worn away, intending to forcibly take over its consciousness for skinchanging.
Unfortunately, his previous two attempts had failed.
Today, Ian was preparing for a third attempt.
After breakfast, Ian went to the courtyard outside his chambers and walked to the marble fountain in the center of the yard, surrounded by six lemon trees. In the middle of the fountain was a statue of a naked boy, holding a Braavosi blade, in a pose as if about to strike. He was handsome and elegant, appearing to be only sixteen years old, with shoulder-length blond hair.
Ian opened the cage, and a falcon immediately darted out, attempting to fly away.
Unfortunately, a rope was tied to its talons, holding it tightly, preventing it from soaring high, and it ultimately landed on the shoulder of the pale stone statue in the middle of the fountain.
The falcon flapped its wings a couple of times, and finding itself still bound, quickly gave up struggling and fell silent.
The next moment, both falcon and Ian's eyes rolled back.
Ian felt a tearing pain in his head, followed by a sensation of his consciousness leaving his body.
Unlike any out-of-body experience Ian had read about, the instant he tried to control the falcon using the old magic, he lost all sensation and fell into an endless void.
Then he felt a force attacking him, assaulting his consciousness, seemingly trying to crush his will.
Soon, his consciousness began to blur.
Ian knew this was the falcon's mind resisting; the first two times, he had stopped at this point.
The first time, the resistance Ian felt was the most intense; fearing that forcing it would damage his spirit, his first attack was merely a tentative attempt.
The second time, the falcon's resistance was significantly weaker than the first; although still strong, it lacked the fierce determination of the first time.
This time, the falcon's resistance was almost entirely defensive; it seemed to be waiting for Ian to retreat.
But this time, Ian didn't back down. Enduring the excruciating pain, he held fast to his human instincts and launched an assault several times more ferocious than ever before.
Doubt, fear, and trembling—the last of the falcon's emotions seeped into Ian's spirit.
He felt himself melting, dissolving into a vast, white void of the unknown.
The chaos abruptly ceased, and Ian realized that the will to resist had vanished.
The lingering consciousness of the falcon submitted to him.
Gradually, Ian's senses began to return—first touch, then hearing and smell, and finally sight.
Ian-the-falcon stood on the shoulder of the assassin sculpture, its eyes regaining their clarity.
Ian adjusted to his newfound vision; everything became exceptionally clear. He looked straight ahead and saw a small insect on a leaf a dozen yards away. He looked at Cass in the courtyard and noticed their movements were as slow as if in slow motion.
Finally, he saw himself standing on the edge of the fountain, being helped up by Rol, his eyes rolled back in his head.
At this moment, he felt that deep within his consciousness, the sensations of his original body still remained, though very faint.
"Cut the ropes," Ian whispered the order. He discovered that he could still control his body. He couldn't control two bodies simultaneously yet, but he could switch between them freely.
Upon receiving Ian's command, Cass decisively cut the rope binding the falcon's legs.
The next moment, Ian-the-falcon flapped its wings again, soaring into the sky.
The falcon accelerated rapidly; Ian felt as if in the blink of an eye, he was hundreds of feet in the air.
Flying? This is... the feeling of flying?
I'm flying! Ian's falcon flapped its wings joyfully, soaring higher into the sky.
This feeling of lightness, this feeling of breaking free from all constraints—in an instant, Ian seemed to have cast all pressure aside; all he could think about was freedom and flight.
Higher, higher still!
He flapped his wings through the clouds, climbing towards the highest point in the sky.
That's the sun! The sun from this angle is so magnificent... Wait, the sun?
What am I doing? Seven hells!
The moment he saw the sun, Ian's consciousness finally snapped back to reality, breaking free from this unprecedentedly bizarre state. Because in the instant he was bathed in sunlight, he suddenly remembered the tale of Icarus and his wax wings.
This startled him greatly, and he turned and dove down towards the clouds below.
"Of course, the most important thing is not to slip into birds; they're the worst. Humans shouldn't leave the earth. Once you're in the clouds for too long, you won't want to come down. The feeling of flying is incredibly intoxicating.
I know some skinchangers have tried eagles, owls, ravens. When they return to their own skins, they become delirious, staring endlessly at that wretched blue sky." The memories brought back by his skinchanging abilities flooded Ian's mind once more.
Had he almost lost control in just a moment? Flying steadily above Pentos, Ian felt a sense of relief, as if he'd escaped death.
Wait, relief my ass! I'm a falcon now! My wings are real wings, not feathers glued together with beeswax; they won't melt from the heat! Ian suddenly thought absurdly.
The next moment, Ian felt the absurdity of his thought again, because this wasn't some myth. Even though he was thousands of feet in the air, he wasn't actually close to the sun. The temperature here wasn't rising; on the contrary, it was freezing cold.
What's wrong with me? Was his mind becoming sluggish because his consciousness had entered the falcon's body?
Not daring to linger in the falcon's body any longer, Ian quickly flew back to his courtyard, returning his consciousness to his own skin and hastily ending the skinchanging state.
In just those few short minutes, he already felt an immense strain on his mind.
He needed rest.
(End of Chapter)