➵

Dealana got comfortable on the cloud formed by Makani, who she learned was the father of Cress, the tavern owner she helped awhile back. Facing the possibility of a trial, the rather laid back man was sharing one of the tribe's sacred stories about the Thunderbird, an animal important to their history, way of life and the very magic they tend to specialize in.

"To understand the origin of Tempest Magic, we must go to how it all began, hundreds of years ago in a small village called Zephyranthes, where two orphan siblings lived in the forests just along the outskirts. They didn't have much but they had each other and it was a bond that they believed could withstand any storm." Makani began.

"Giro! Giro!" A young girl with blue hair so pale that it almost seemed white shouted as she ran through the small village, her bare feet hitting the ground. A small tuft of bangs covered her left eye."Giro! Giro! You'll never guess what!" Her visible eye shining with so much excitement she felt as if she might burst. She was nearing the dense forest that bordered one side of their settlements.

She was so excited and determined to share great news that she didn't even notice when a passing kid a few years older than her stick his foot out to trip her. The girl fell on her face and the sound of something shattering echoed in her ears. She gasped, quickly scrambling to her knees to find that her surprise was ruined. Broken crystal lay at her knees while the boy and his friends laughed.

"Look at the orphan freak!" He crowed before he picked up the largest piece of shattered crystal to inspect it in the light. "What's this? A crystal? Aren't those worth a lot?" He sneered looking at the girl, who had tears pooling in her eyes.

"I bet she stole it!" One of the girls accused pointing a finger at the sniffling girl.

"I didn't- I didn't steal it!" The girl shouted back angrily. She just wanted to bring the crystal to her brother, she found it in a cave on the other side of the village. She had hoped that it was indeed valuable so they might finally be able to afford food and not have to worry about foraging for once.

"Then where did you get it?" The girl's main tormenter demanded. The girl remained silent, not wishing to reveal something so special to the other kids. She just knew they would destroy the beautiful place she stumbled upon. Even the crystal in front of her was already broken off of a large crystal through natural means.

The boy didn't seem to please with her lack of response and kicked the girl in the side. She fell back to the ground with a small whimper. "I said, where did you get it, freak!?"

"Back off!" A new voice shouted. It sounded slightly older and definitely masculine. The small group of bullies looked up and paled upon seeing a boy who carried a staff made of twisted vines. He had blue hair the color of the sky with a similar tuft of bangs covering his left eye, and an angered expression on his face upon seeing the girl on the ground.

The girl looked up and gasped. "Giro..." She whispered before looking back at the shattered crystal. The bully crossed his arms and smirked, the crystal still in one of his hands.

"What are you going to do about it, you're just as much of a freak as your sister!"

The girl's older brother, Giro, moved forward, the staff gripped firmly in his hands. The closer he came the less confident the bully felt. Eventually, the bully finally decided he would tactically retreat but not before throwing the remainder of the crystal at Giro and successfully striking him above his eye. Giro shouted in pain while the bullies made their getaway.

"Giro!" The girl quickly picked herself off the ground and rushed to her brother's side. "Giro, are you alright?" She asked as her gently tried to remove the hand Giro held to his face. Her eyes narrowed for a second before widening at the sight of crimson liquid dripping from between two of his fingers. "Oh, Giro..."

She was quick to pick up the shattered remains of the crystal into her sewn pocket before the two siblings headed to their shelter in the forest, away from the relentless bullies of the village. It wasn't much of a house, rather a collection of materials built up to form three walls around the base of a large tree. The tree was one of the biggest in the forest and many of the roots protruded from the ground and offered small crevices large enough for the small children to hide in before they finally added the walls.

"Giro, please let me see," She pleaded, wanting to help her brother. "I want to help you bandage it." Giro reluctantly moved his hand away and the girl inhaled sharply at the sight. He had a cut above his deep blue eye and blood flowing from it only made it seem worse. The girl dashed about their home before returning with a few supplies.

She tenderly used a rag and bowl of clean water to wash away the blood to see just how big the injury was. It wasn't too big, but it would leave a scar above his eye. She wrapped a few strips of her long shirt to become a bandage. Giro sighed in despair as she did this. If the situation were reversed he would do the same thing, but that didn't erase the fact that they gave everything they had and it was still so little. They didn't like living the way they did, but they would gladly sacrifice what little they had for each other.

"Thank you, Haizea," He offered her a sad smile while she finished making sure the bandage would stay in place.

"I would do anything and go anywhere to help you," She smiled.

"Together we weather the storms," He finished with a much brighter smile than before.

➵

"Weather the storms, huh?" Dealana remarked as she listened to Makani's story. While the man seemed laid-back and lazy, his personality changed when he told stories, his eyes lighting up with passion as his tales seemed to come to life. She noticed that he used his hands when he spoke and sometimes would manipulate the shape of the clouds to further express his story.

"The storms of life," Makani nodded. "It is one of the foundations to our way of life. We weather the storms and grow stronger, but most importantly, we grow stronger by weathering them together."

"That was the most sophisticated thing to leave your mouth, Makani," Chief Ruby commented while petting the bird who had begun to pick at wisps of the cloud and build a nest. Makani pouted at the woman while Dealana smiled.

"You wound me," He complained before jumping back into his story. "That was only the beginning of their journey, and we haven't even gotten to the Thunderbird yet..."

➵

"Haizea?" Giro asked as they gazed at the stars from one of the tall branches of the tree.

"Yeah?"

"What was it that you wanted to show me?" He wondered. He had come when he heard her excited voice but the bullies had gotten to her first. Haizea looked down, guilty about the broken crystal before pulling a shard from her pocket.

"I wanted to show you a crystal I found in a cave near the other side of the village," She admitted. "It was so beautiful but then I fell and it–"

"Ander tripped you," Giro corrected.

"Right," Haizea nodded feebly. "Ander tripped me and it fell. I didn't think you'd want to see it after he used it to hurt you...I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, her hands curled into fists. Giro no longer watched the stars and placed a comforting hand on Haizea's shoulder.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," He told her. "Don't think for a second that any of it was your fault." Haizea looked at her brother with tears pooling in her eyes.

"Giro!" She burst out sobbing, launching herself into his arms nearly causing them to topple from the branch.

"H-Haizea! Be careful! We're gonna fall!" Giro momentarily panicked. He wrapped one arm around Haizea and ran a hand through her pale blue hair while he admired the broken crystal shard in his free hand. It had broken into a jagged shape. "Huh, would you look at that." He remarked.

Haizea poked her head up slightly to see how the crystal shard he held resembled a lightning bolt illuminated by the moon and starlight."Even though it broke, it's still pretty," Haizea said fondly. Giro tilted the crystal allowing the color to become iridescent in the light ranging from a pretty violet to the same dark blue color of the night sky.

➵

A few days later, Giro was checking the traps he'd crafted in hopes of catching fish in the river. By weaving sticks together, he formed a basket that would close if a fish swam inside and set off the small string. However before he could even make it to the river, a shrill cry pierced the air causing Giro to jump in surprise before looking up.

Overhead, against the sun, he could only see the shadow of a magnificent bird with long flowing feathers. Almost as soon as it passed over, dark clouds rolled in bringing rainfall. Giro stood with wide, awe-filled eyes as he stared up at he cloud covered sky, raindrops falling down his face.

Instead of checking the river, Giro opted for following the mysterious bird in the rain. His bare feet splashing in the forming on the forest floor before he took to the trees in hopes of catching up quicker as the bird seemed to be uninterested in stopping to rest.

He finally managed to catch up when the bird perched on a lone, dead tree amongst a small clearing. Giro gazed in wonder at the mottled gray feathers that appeared silver in the bits of light peaking through the growing storm clouds. The bird flapped it's large wings, giving another battle cry. The boy's lips parted as he witnessed the bird's electric blue eyes light up as if filled with lightning before the very element struck the tree and the bird in a flash.

The tree was burnt, singed and somewhat on fire as the lightning faded and the thunder rumbled. But what Giro was fascinated by was the fact the bird still perched, lightning crackling along its perfectly uninjured body. If anything, it looked better than it had before the lightning struck. The hawk lifted off again with a powerful flap of its wings, more distant thunder rumbling in the distance as it did.

Before it flew away leaving Giro to only stare, their eyes met. Just for a moment, Giro could've sworn he felt a jolt of lightning course through his body too.

➵

"So the Thunderbird has magic?" Dealana asked in awe, looking to the bird nestling itself among the cloud. Makani grinned at the enthusiasm shining in her eyes.

"Not just any magic," He clarified bringing Dealana's gaze to meet his in curiosity. "Thunderbirds use Tempest Magic." Dealana's eyes widened hearing this and before she could say anything more, Makani spoke again. "The Thunderbirds taught the first Tempest Mage."

"Do you all use Tempest Magic?" Dealana wanted to know.

"We know enough to complete the first trial," Ruby hummed as she sat up, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the sun shining down on them, warming the clouds. "Only a handful of mages in our tribe choose to focus solely on Tempest Magic, Makani is one of them. He's considered a Master in the art." Makani only scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment, a faint blush dusting his face.

"Personally," Chief Ruby continued, her hand set aflame in white fire. "I use white fire magic, but that's just me. There are a few others, like Cress who use different magic too, but we all understand the basics of Tempest Magic."

"Can I learn more about your tribe after the trial?" Dealana inquired. Makani was once again observing his surroundings while Chief Ruby hummed in thought.

"I suppose we can share a bit of our way of life, but only if you succeed in the trial." She decided. Ruby opened one eye to see the excitement building in Dealana and chuckled. "You share as much determination and enthusiasm as Giro and his sister."

"Speaking of," Makani segued brilliantly back to the story. "It wasn't long before Giro's fascination of the Thunderbird lead him to tracking and learning everything he could about them, carving in his poor writing in a tree with every bit of information he could..."

➵

"Giro, if you spend anymore time studying that bird, you're going to become one!" A teenage Haizea laughed as her brother reread over his work, making sure he didn't miss a thing. The two siblings had fortified their home and it was taking shape as they progressed in their way of life. They still didn't have much, but they adapted and made it work.

Haizea had taken to using fallen and broken off crystals to make cups and dishes that they could wash in the river. But before that, she found two similar shaped shards and attached them to a thin braided vine cords to make matching necklaces for the siblings.

"I can't get it out of my mind, Haizea! It was years ago and I can still remember everything so vividly! The lightning struck but the bird wasn't affected at all! It was like instead–"

"Instead, the bird was empowered by magic," Haizea laughed and hugged her brother. "I know, big brother, you've told me this story so much it's the only one of your stories that I can remember and recite on my own."

Giro felt his face flush in embarrassment. "How was your trip into the village? Nobody hurt you did they?" He asked, changing the subject.

"It was fine, I met a girl who wandered in a few days ago. She's really pretty, Giro she has the most stunning freckles that you can see only in the right lighting. I think you'd like her if she wasn't already hanging out with Nerea and Ander's crowd." Haizea recalled. "I don't think she liked being with them much, but that could be wishful thinking."

"Did you go to the crystal cave too?" He inquired. Haizea shook her head.

"No," She replied sadly. "Too many of them were hanging around and I don't want them to discover and ruin the natural beauty of it." Giro nodded with a soft hum in response before looking out the window at the sky.

"I'd better check the traps before it gets too dark," He realized.

"Be safe!" Haizea told him before moving to the area they designated for cooking.

Giro made his way to the river and had found only empty traps. Sighing, he began to search around for berries and other fruits when the familiar cry of a bird echoed in his ears. His gaze immediately scoured the sky before taking off to follow the noise as the clouds rolled in much like they had years ago.

The boy with hair the color of the sky bounded along until he reached the same clearing as before, this time the bird seemed to be waiting for him on a lower branch. Giro just observed the creature in awe. His visible eye met the hawk's electric blue ones and felt the familiar tingle of lightning through his veins before the bird flapped its mighty wings.

Only this time, the lightning struck Giro.

It didn't hurt, rather it felt invigorating. The lightning faded but Giro could still see bolts of it crackling along his arms as thunder echoed. He felt more powerful than he ever had and he wasn't even hurt after being struck. It was like magic. He looked back to the bird and it flapped its wings again, softer this time, as if trying to convey a message.

Giro mimicked the bird's wing motion and the lightning that filled his body shot out and hit the trunk of the tree in a blast of power. Giro couldn't believe his eyes and elsewhere, his sister had a similar incident only with the crystals she collected from the cave.

Both siblings spent the night talking about what happened before they began to grow and learn more about their newfound magic. Haizea learned through crystals in the cave that seemed to possess a form of magic that allowed them to sense and feel the life around them while Giro learned from the Thunderbird. Giro discovered that Thunderbird's power and magic was not limited to lighting and thunder but most other storms. It traveled with the winds and brought storms across the land wherever it passed by. He found that he could channel the storms and weather into magic and cast spells with the right control. He let the storm's power flow through him.

Giro became the first Tempest Mage and he and Haizea were the only ones capable of defending the very village that hated them from a monster that had a taste for humans. Together they fought using their magic before the village realized that the two orphan siblings weren't as they assumed. They had power and yet they never retaliated against their horrid treatment.

Slowly, the village apologized and asked for forgiveness, which the siblings graciously gave. In the midst of the attack, Giro had carried the girl Haizea spoke of to a sheltered place just in time to avoid the monster's attack. Her name, he learned, was Isla and a few years of Haizea pushing them both together, they eventually fell in love.

The siblings and often Isla continued to live in their home amongst the forest and tree, and lived just as before, not wanting to give up the little they had. Often times, Giro would journey and follow the Thunderbird to learn of the different storms he could channel. Isla would join him as she had a sense of adventure that could rival Giro's fascination for the beauty of weather.

➵

"But no matter what, Giro and Haizea would do anything and go anywhere to help each other. Together they weathered storms." Makani finished leaving Dealana in awe. It was a wonderful story and with the vivid story telling she could almost envision everything Makani described. "Now that you know a bit of the history of Tempest Magic, you should be ready to tackle the trial ahead." He smiled.

"It's almost time," Chief Ruby uttered as they watched the sky turn grey and storm clouds rolled in. She, Dealana and Makani got off the clouds and wandered to the center of the storm ravaged clearing, after a moment, both Ruby and Makani stepped back a few steps. Before Dealana could question anything, a loud shrill cry that rumbled in the air like thunder echoed in her ears.

Looking overhead, a much larger Thunderbird soared overhead before perching itself on the single, barren tree in front of the young Dragon Slayer.