《A Hand-Woven Universe》26. Unfathomable
Advertisement
In another part of Tapestry, a tall lithe figure stumbled over his robes and was sent sprawling onto the ground. Around him everyone who had been going about their own business looked over.
"Are you okay Liter?"
"Yeah, yes. Sorry." He scrambled to his feet and rushed to smooth out his robes. As he was smoothing them out, he noticed a small fray at the end of one of his sleeves. He stared daggers at it for a moment before shaking his head.
"Pardon me," He smiled and waved at the people who had stopped to watch him. Once he walked off in a hurry the people who had been watching couldn't help but smile. For as long as they have known him, Liter had always been this way.
After he rounded the nearest corner he began looking around, making sure he was out of sight. In his hand appeared a length of root that seemed ordinary at first glance, he checked it carefully for bruising before sliding it back into his pocket.
Liter covered his head with the hood of his robes and suppressed his energy. He walked through the smaller side streets of Tapestry city and stayed out of peoples' way.
Eventually he came to a large square hut of a building.
He grit his teeth and his eyebrows furrowed, he hesitated with his hand in his pocket. It was only a moment though before he set his mind in order and made quick strides to the back door of the building.
A wave of spices and ingredients washed over Liter when he entered the kitchen. All around him were jars of a special medicinal soup, and in the center of the room was a pot a few times the size of a person.
Liter stood there for a while. Looking into the soup as ingredients were brought to the top by the heat and then would sink back down.
"I'm sorry…" He grit his teeth harder and took a deep breath before throwing the root into the soup. He watched as it floated on the top for a while, eventually though the root liquified and diffuse throughout the pot. Undetectable.
Advertisement
As if a ghost, Liter then disappeared too.
…
Whoosh!
A large feathered set of wings spread out catching the air and lurching to a slower fall. The sudden jolt caused the feathers Noone was holding onto, to detach themselves from the creature’s body and Noone found himself unexpectedly dangling by the rope he had tied to the creature’s feet.
Noone was only a few thousand meters above the ocean at this point. This was as close as he wanted to get while diving at the speed he had achieved when plummeting using the bird.
Any closer and he honestly wasn't sure if he would be able to slow down in time.
The idea of the bird dragging him deep into the ocean at the speed they were moving was not something Noone wanted to experience.
Noone took a deep breath and climbed back up onto the bird’s corpse, instead of holding on to the plumage as he had been though, he worked his way around the side of the creature and onto it's back.
Because of the sheer size of the creature, Noone had plenty of space to stretch out. And with the bird working as a wind-break, he wouldn't need to worry about being blown off. Noone stretched his arms out, laying stomach down across the creatures back.
When he had been free-falling before hitting the clouds, Noone had realized that subtle shifts in his body weight would allow him to move around in the air.
Now with the large bird-turned-glider at his disposal, he figured that leaving his landing point up to fate would be silly.
Noone shifted his body to the left and the large creatures body started to bank slightly, aiming towards the cliffs.
"Perfect." A smile encroached on his face, he was looking forward to being able to brag to Adria and Liter about this. He could only imagine what the looks on their faces would be.
Noone continued to experiment with turning the bird, paying attention to the ocean below. When he looked out to the deep-sea, he could make out waves in the far distance that were as tall as he was now.
Advertisement
When he saw this, it filled him with trepidation. Even though they were an incredible distance off, it was still too close for his comfort. He felt small when he looked at them.
Noone was pretty much waiting out the minutes at this point. He was on trajectory to land in the waters close to the cliffs. If he had been free falling at this point still, Noone would most likely land several hundreds of meters into the ocean. While still relatively shallow, Noone had never swam before, and was not in the mood to test his chances.
The idle curiosity of a young man could not be underestimated though, and in a few moments, he was standing along the spine of the bird underneath him. His arms were spread out as he attempted to keep his balance.
Noone’s eyes were shining with delight that any young man could understand. At this moment he felt like the king of his own world.
This was, of course, a short-lived dream. As soon as he got too comfortable and attempted to bank the bird, it flipped completely over tossing Noone over the side, dangling him underneath.
Noone felt his heart drop out of his chest the moment before the rope had caught him. He resisted the urge to check if anyone had seen that embarrassing moment and scrambled back up onto its body.
He cleared his throat and resigned himself to laying splayed out across the creatures back. He would be hitting sea soon anyways, so he convinced himself it didn't matter too much, and that he had not been thrown from his throne.
He watched the world pass by quickly underneath him.
The blue of the ocean was like nothing Noone had ever seen. It truly was unfathomably large. The bird began to fall closer and closer to the water, when it finally touched down Noone would be within a hundred meters of the shallow waters at the bottom of the cliff.
Noone held on tight and braced himself for the impact. Although his vertical dropping speed had reduced quite a bit as the creature came closer to sea level, his horizontal speed was still extremely fast.
The bird’s feet touched the water first, and its speed was immediately slowed. Noone gripped tightly onto the wings. Suddenly, before Noone could react the body of the creature impacted the water and flipped the bird over entirely.
Noone was unable to hold on and the rotational force threw him into the air. He had less than second to react to the sudden throw.
His eyes were wide as he tried to get his bearings, before suddenly he was hit by a wall of pressure.
His body was dragged under the ocean as the bird tumbled and got wrapped up in the rope Noone had used to attach himself to it.
The first thing he noticed was the water wasn't as cold as he had been expecting. It didn't shock the breath out of him or stun his mind. However, the force of the water caused him to entirely lose himself.
He felt the weight of the water disappear for a moment and gasped for a breath. Before he could close his mouth though, he was dragged underneath again. Noone violently coughed out a lungful of air and sea-water. His body becoming battered by the ocean current.
After a few more tumbles the momentum of the bird finally came to a stop. The corpse began floating on the sea.
Noone was quick to follow, grabbing onto one of the wings of the creature and hoisting his upper body out of the water. He threw up some sea water that he had accidentally breathed in during the tumbling.
"Damn…" He choked, trying to cough out any water left in his lungs. His throat, nose, eyes, and lungs were stinging immensely. "That's rough." Noone stayed draped on the wing for a moment, giving his body time to readjust. He had managed to land rather close to the cliff wall, so the water in this area was not nearly as turbid as it could have been.
"Damn…" He groaned again. Finally, Noone stopped panting and began to kick his legs, pushing the bird’s corpse towards the cliff.
Advertisement
The Dog at the End of the World
Lucky Lachlan is just your average mutt. He's been living with his Girl for as long as he can remember and he'd do anything for her. He might have to do more than he bargained for. One day when he awakened from his mid-day nap, he saw a box. It had no scent and floated calmly in the air. Greetings Lucky Lachlan! You have been chosen. The End is coming in three days. Prepare yourself! Thanks to Kieran Pierce for the lovely cover! Dog at the End of the World is a participant in writathon.
8 208The Orphan and the Thief
From the very beginning it was all Toad’s fault. A blundering, quick-talking thief, he was the one who cut a deal with the dangerous Edward P. Owl: track down the ingredients to the Seeking Solution, or else. Twenty-five thousand gorents, he’d said to her. That was all it took for Melena, a lonely orphan with a knack for potions, to pack her bags and join in on the quest. From the majestic forest of Holly-Harp Wood to the labyrinth caves of Dunthur to the frigid waters of the Blackens, they search for Owl’s ingredients. Toad and Melena must face sea dragons, cave monsters, birds as large as wagons, kidnappers, and thieves. Toad’s in it to save his head – cross Owl and start digging your own grave. Melena’s in it to get paid so she can start a new life, one that includes her missing brother. But you really can’t trust thieves. The Orphan and the Thief is also available on Kindle and in paperback via Amazon.com. Thanks for reading!
8 204Acheron
Acheron, keeping you, and your family, safe, by keeping them…where they belong! Support the United Systems Alliance penal system, for a safer tomorrow. Great commercial. But that place is a total hellhole worse than death for many, and everybody knows it. The convicts are even having children. They’re supposed to be sterilized, but that costs too much, if the scandals are to be believed. Either way, Dan doesn’t care. He has a job to do—and that’s to get that lizard-ambassador out of there. How her ship crashed on that rock in the first place is an interesting mystery. Something big is at play here...
8 81A WORLD TRAVELLER
Qin after goign to other worlds has finally ended up in the one piece universe. Can White beard stoop his OPness ? " NO " Can the world government stop his OPness ? " NO " Is the world of One piece ready for QIN ? " NOOO OO " Follow Qin on his journey to show people his OPness.
8 232Courier
Zoe Blanco moved to New York after fleeing the small town she grew up in and the Purity Church that controls it. The Church believes in keeping humanity pure. This means none of the NanoPCs known as Frames or any other cybernetics that most of the rest of the world uses and enjoys everyday. Upon arriving in the Big Apple, Zoe is picked up by her cousin and witnesses a courier weaving their motorcycle through traffic. Zoe envies the courier's freedom. Couriers transport data and on occasion small objects for anyone willing to pay the price. Secured delivery is guaranteed and no questions are asked. Like having a human servant in this corporate owned world, using couriers is seen as a status symbol for the wealthy and corporate elite. New York's criminal underground uses couriers for similar reasons. This gives the hundreds of couriers in NYC steady work. After weeks of not finding a job while living with her aunt and cousin, Zoe turns to her slicing skills to steal credits from the Purity Church and turns to the mob so she can get a loan to pay for the internal secure storage space a courier needs and a frame for herself. After making an unlicensed run or two, Zoe finds employment with a transport company and truly starts her life as a courier. This story is a mix of light scifi, cyberpunk, slice of life, a dash of action, and a smidge of fantasy. Slicing is what hacking is called in this story. Credits are currency in this story.
8 165Omen Philosophy (Web Novel)
“Pain, suffering, and revenge beget the dark path. A path deep and narrow much like an abyss. Only the best of the best shall rise and claim Sovereignty. For indeed, the world is unbound. Such is the way of The Omen.” Omen Philosophy - The Path Of the Omen When his life’s goal of revenge was finally fulfilled, he disappeared. Longing to be an unknown existence, he finds a place on a new planet. The life of the "Angel of Death" would come to an end and the new life of becoming a ruler was inherited. Follow the story of multiple characters and their grand epic in the world of Soa. The main character, Jinn, would come to inherit a tribe of sentient people and lead them in this strange and chaotic world. (synopsis a work in progress)
8 216