It didn't take long for a few of the other flock's to take notice as Aldric and Harden sloshed through deep mud. They all gawked and gazed nervously along the coast as the two boys' figures slowly faded into the distance.
After a few moments, the boys all began to slowly make their way to the beach for a closer look. The crowd grew quickly as the boys within were all shoving to get a good view. Some of them hesitated at the edge of the passage before stuttering and deciding against following.
"Are you sure this is a good idea Al?" Harden asked, gazing behind them at the growing shadow of bustling boys.
"You know, now that I think of it, I don't think I've ever had a bad idea," Aldric said, smirking slyly. Harden chuckled softly, as he thought to himself he realized Aldric was right. Of the ideas he'd come up with, none of them had been bad.
Then he thought back to the first meeting in the phoenix den. Though he was beaten badly, he didn't count that as Aldric's fault. He chuckled again under his breath before picking his pace back up.
He gazed out in front of them to see the wall of storm clouds, rapidly growing closer. The closer they got the more he could see. The wall of clouds moved like nothing he'd ever seen before. It's bulbous and almost inflated surface rose and fell as if breathing.
The flashes of lightning painted unique patterns across the black clouds. When the boys stood just inches from the storms mouth, the boys halted. They gazed up at the storm, trying to find its end. The end they seeked was non existent as their necks strained further back.
When their eyes refocused on the wall just before them, they gulped in unison. Harden felt a deep rooted fear of the storm that seemingly only grew larger now that he was within touching distance.
Aldric felt a sense of wonder and envy of the storm. Something so magical, and powerful, unlike anything he'd gotten the chance to study. The way the clouds moved, and the light flashed. The silhouettes of unknown sea beasts as they whipped around the spiraling winds.
His mind searched for the how, but couldn't conceptualize how such a thing came to be. The toll something like that would take on the body frightened him in a way nothing else ever had. Then, his mind wandered to the architect.
His weak frame and milky eyes. He thought about the goo he'd watched the man drink, and he thought back to the storm.
"He broke himself," Aldric muttered, his eyes gaping.
"W-what?" Harden asked, his attention never diverting from the wall of black.
"N-nothing. C'mon, let's get ready," Alsric stumbled, quickly dropping into the mud and drawing the craftsman's rune.
"Won't that put the window in the mud?" Harden asked, glancing down at his friend in confusion.
"First I oughtta make sure I can actually do it. I'd hate to leave an eyesore out here," Aldric insisted, focusing his energy into the small glyph. It puffed and popped, and in the mud, a small wooden-framed window with murky blue glass appeared.
Its shape was slightly off-center and rough around the edges, but otherwise passable. Aldric and Harden studied the small window before raising it to the sun. The rays of light shone through the glass and created a vibrant rainbow in the mud.
"Think that'll do?" He asked, handing the glass to Harden.
"It's perfect," Harden said, feeling the weight of it in his hand.
"You take that one," Aldric said, nodding at the boy's small hand. "My desire lies in the big one." They didn't exchange words, rather soft smiles before Aldric focused on the rippling sea of clouds.
"I need you to maintain the walls while I do this. It would take too much energy to do both," he added, gazing at the two sheets of mud keeping the water from submerging them. Harden placed the window in his pocket and got down.
He placed his hands along the lines of the stretched runs and began to focus his energy. Aldric waited until he was sure his friend was secure and released his hold. His energy surged as the walls faltered slightly. The boys gazed nervously as they creaked and breathed a sigh of relief when the quaking halted.
Aldric closed his eyes, and breathed deeply. He felt his anger bubble up as he thought back to the ravens den. He remembered how he'd been thrown from his dorm for advancing, and how his friend was treated just for knowing him. The energy pulsed through his veins, warming his body slightly as he felt his power surge.
He felt the pressure in his sternum as his arm extended in front of him. A single finger aimed at the storm, and his eyes peeled open. The silver color radiated brightly as he met Harden's eyes. This was the hard part; he'd have to cast a rune without physically drawing it.
He didn't know if it was possible, or just how hard it would be. He just knew that if he was going to succeed in the aviary, he had to expand his abilities. That meant pushing himself considerably farther when not in the classroom.
Slowly, he used his finger to draw a large circle as if tracing the outline. He added parallel lines where he believed they'd be, and he released his energy, bleeding it into his invisible rune. His veins quickly went cold, and he felt a sudden dread and lightheadedness.
He felt his legs beneath him begin to quake, and his eyes grew heavy. He knew that feeling, and knew what came next if he wasn't careful. Again, he focused some of his energy on restoring his energy. A pulse of warmth broke through his frown veins, and he felt a flush of life within him.
Suddenly, the invisible rune puffed and glowed brightly. Harden stepped back, gaping at the symbol in the air. A loud clamoring came from the beach, all voices they couldn't make out. The symbol warped and stretched along the storm, creating a very unique, rounded shape.
With another pop and puff of smoke, a shimmer of blue danced along the muddy floor. Aldric stumbled and fell to his knees, breathless and weak. His vision blurred every few seconds as he tried to regain his breath.
In front of him, a blue streak of light slowly broke into the whole rainbow. Above him, Harden laughed hysterically, shouting words Aldric couldn't make out.
"You did it!" He caught, his hearing slowly coming back. He peeled his eyes from the mud and looked up in front of him. Along the wall of the storm, a large wooden-framed mirror broke the surface and revealed the rippling sea beyond.
Islands came into view, as did large smoke stacks from distant ships. Dolphins flipped and shouted together as seagulls hunted for their meals. Aldric's eyes widened as he slowly trembled to his feet.
"I-I did it," he said, breathing hard. The pair watched the world beyond the aviary for a moment, their smiles never wavering. Then, without warning, the atom clouds swirled and swallowed the window. The light from outside broke through a small pinhole before vanishing completely along with the boys' smiles.
Before they could argue or contemplate what went wrong, a large block of hardened mud and rock erupted from the ground in front of them. The pair stumbled backward slowly, watching the mud curiously. The mud swiftly slid along the walkway toward them, swooping them up and sliding them along the pathway.
They tried fighting, but were unsuccessful as the mud made traction impossible. Before long, the mud stopped abruptly, launching the boys onto the beach. The swarm of boys had seemingly vanished, as had their adversary. The sheets of mud Aldric had made crumbled back into the sea, and the two halves of water slammed together.
The waves rippled aggressively and splashed the pair of them with enough water to soak their socks. It didn't take long for the water to calm down again and ripple as if nothing had happened.
Aldric glanced around the beach but saw nobody around. Atop a hill in the distance, he saw a figure in a long coat limping away on a cane. He watched as it disappeared before flopping back into the mud.
He did it. Even if it was short-lived, he'd managed to cast without a physical rune. Now it was time to learn to utilize that skill effectively. He was ready to advance further.