MangoScribble

Montem Vagari

Warm silvery sunlight sneaked through the early morning mist and landed on Ryan’s face, slamming through his eyelids like a ten ton truck. He rolled himself out of his baggy sleeping bag while making various groaning noises that mimicked the sound of a dying animal. Ryan opened his eyes, only to be greeted by a gush of wind carrying countless little grains of sand. I hate the desert. He reminded himself.

He scanned the horizon, not missing a giant mountain residing in the distance that seemed to be moving ever so slightly. As his eyes adjusted themselves to the blinding sunlight, the figure slowly came into focus and morphed into a behemoth tortoise. The ancient city -Varien- was perched atop its magnificent ivory shell, glimmering in the sunlight. Its obsidian skin sharply contrasted with its creamy shell, absorbing the light of dawn.

The ancients called them the montem vagari, or wandering mountain. Engineered to house humanity on their backs, the montem vagaris were absurdly strong and sturdy. Yet no one knew how or why they were brought into existence, only that these creatures were at least a few thousand years old.

Ryan couldn’t help but admire the oversized land turtle, despite having seen them for the hundredth time. Glancing at the messy blue bundle of feathers laying at his side, Ryan crouched down and patted the head of his lazy companion. “Morning, sleepy head.”

The large bird slowly opened its eyes and promptly closed them again while making a noncommittal groan. He shook his head. Phoenixes were known for their unfathomable loyalty and dedication to their masters, yet his was nothing like that at all. Ryan briefly wondered again if they had given him the wrong specie and made a long sigh. Maybe it caught the lazy bug from me. He smiled wryly.

Well, there’s nothing i can do. I doubt a few more hours would kill them. Ryan shrugged, laid down next to the phoenix and took another nap.

It wasn’t until noon that they departed again toward the city of Varien. The majestic figure of the tortoise when viewed from the air could take anyone’s breath away. The two arrived within the hour and started circling the bay area, waiting for a landing confirmation with a few other riders. None of the other flying mounts had more vibrant feathers than his, however.

The air control tower, upon the sight of his phoenix, immediately signalled their confirmation by waving the message flags. Several officials came to greet him when he landed, stating their standard welcome speech.