2.46 – Ravencrest

We flew incredibly fast, flitting over the trees, the air rushing past our face.  The world going by as a blur we flew in a straight line directly where I knew Holver to be.  

As the sky began to darken the rain continued to pelt us with thick droplets.  The wet feathers began to stick to our skin.  Our pace began to slow as we started fighting the weight of the water.

I could feel Juliana’s wings beginning to tire, every beat of the wing began to feel more laboured.  A pain began to throb on our sides.

Juliana descended into the forest landing on a branch under some leaves, stretching her wings and shaking her feathers clear of water.

She then used our beak to preen the feathers flicking water and fanning them out.  Our body began to feel a little lighter.

The drops of the rain on the leaves sounded like a roar, the dark clouds in the sky indicating this downpour was not going to end soon.

I felt frustrated at this weather, slowing down our journey.  We couldn’t be too obvious so we couldn't fly as a dragon, but flying as a bird in this weather meant losing our ability to fly due to exhaustion.

After another ten minutes of rest we took off again, the rain had finally begun to ease to a drizzle.  We continued to fly above the forest in the rapidly darkening sky, our feathers staying a lot dryer than before.

After another what felt like hours of flying through the dark we came across where I knew Ravencrest was.  We landed on a pile of rubble that would at one stage been a gate.

The place was completely empty, trees growing up through what once was a thriving city, several buildings collapsed, others their roofs open.  I forced Juliana to change back to our Nharlyri form.

“I would like a quick look around if you don’t mind?” I asked.

Juliana nodded, “Certainly your grace.”

I walked along what used to be the main road, familiar memories running through my head.  Flashbacks of seeing the bustling streets, street vendors plying their wares and taverns trying to tempt you in with the smell of their special of the day.

Now all that remained were piles of stone with some buildings still standing barely, looking like they may collapse at any moment.

As if from memory I retraced my usual footsteps to the tower, where I had lived with Illara all those years.  The building somehow looked like it was still undamaged, a heavy contrast to the surrounding city.

I cautiously walked up to the wooden door, and gave it a push, it seemed to be locked.  I walked around the building to where I knew there to be a climbable part of the wall.  

I caught myself letting out a small laugh, remembering the time Illara and I had locked ourselves out of the building and Fae hadn’t heard us pounding on the door.  I had then looked around the building and noticed this subtle path up to a high window we never kept locked.

I began the climb.  I jumped and clasped my fingers onto a slightly protruding stone, then scrabbled my foot finding another.

I then used that foothold to push up the wall again, reaching for a slight indent where another stone had been slightly loose.  My fingers found the gap, my feet again scraping against the stone to find another ledge.  I put some weight onto the foot, causing it to slip, I found myself dangling by my finger tips sending a wave of pain through my hands.

It seems Juliana’s body is not quite as nimble as Drisnil’s was, last time I had tried we can scaled the wall without issue.

I found my footing again, this time remembering the technique from Drisnil’s body, this time gaining enough grip to once again launch myself up the wall to the narrow window ledge.

I caught the ledge with an outstretched hand, swinging my other hand onto the ledge.  My arms were beginning to ache, but I mustered the strength I had left to pull myself up to the window, and gave it a small tug.

The window somehow opened like before, a felt a wave of relief flow through me.

I opened the  simple frosted window wide and climbed in, finding ourselves in what was the bathroom.  The same bath looking as it once did many years earlier, as if time had somehow been stopped.

Juliana looked around the room, “Is this building familiar to you?”

I nodded, “Yes, I lived here with Illara most of my previous life.”

“Oh, why is it so well kept?” Juliana asked.

“I do not know, I find it quite strange this is one of the only buildings still intact in this city”  My voice had dropped to a whisper without me realising.

I reached back and closed the window before continuing through the rest of the tower.  We opened the door to the hallway, despite it being dark our eyes adapted well.  The floor was not dusty, and the wooden floor seemed just like I remembered.  We moved across to the main bedroom, carefully opening the door.

Inside was the bed I spent my nights in with Illara, combined with the piles of paperwork we never really got around to sorting from Norman, piled in a corner.

I carefully walked up to the bed, and smelled the sheets, they were fresh, like they had been recently made.  The bed did not even look slept in.  Who would go to the effort of keeping this place so well kept?

We walked down the familiar steps into the main lounge, a large open area.  Norman’s old desk was still stacked with papers from when Faie used to work on her new spells.  It looked as if she may return to continue once more.

The fireplace was unlit and Norman’s old chair stood empty beside it.  The beanbags I had made still placed on the floor.  A flashback of Illara sitting cuddling together in front of the fire, just watching the flames dance, me playing with her hair came flooding back.

The sudden sense of loss returned, causing tears to suddenly form in the corners of my eyes.

“What do you want to do?” Asked Juliana.

“I think we should leave, Vera, Igasnov and Toby are still in danger, we may even find answers in Holver.”  I replied, beginning to climb back up the stairs.

We found our way back to the bathroom and opened the window, Juliana then climbed carefully out, again hanging from the windowsill before closing the window and then letting go of the wall as we changed once again back into a bird.

Juliana, following my innate sense of direction, began to fly toward Holver, leaving the ghostly city of Ravencrest behind.