[Jerik]

  After three days, the winter storm finally blew over, and the sun came out. But we were left with several feet of snow outside our cave. We all had boots, but they weren’t really designed for trudging through deep snow. After breaking camp we started out again, with Dad carrying Mom plus his loaded pack. I had my pack and Mother’s, but we had distributed some of her items among everyone to make it lighter.

  I could see everyone’s breath as we hiked in the icy air. Rather than go up or down the mountain, I noticed Dad tried to keep us near the same elevation as we traversed the mountainside. In the afternoon we had to hike up and over a waterfall, which Dad decided was easier than going downriver which plunged into a steep crevasse. Later we had to backtrack a trail we were on and hike down and around some sheer cliffs to bypass them.

  Dad continued to find stopping points along the way where we could all rest, including Mom. Later each day, during an extended rest, he would hike ahead to find our next campsite and do some hunting. This worked well for us. We relied on Dad’s skills more than ever, or I’m sure we would not have come out of the mountains alive.

  One time, however, after Dad left us to rest, I heard a noise above us on the mountain. It sounded like a yip from a smallish dog. But I was sure that wasn’t what it was. I grabbed a hatchet from my pack and made sure my sheathed dagger was on my belt. Then I told everyone to be quiet while I went to check out the sound.

  It was difficult climbing up the slippery hill, but I did my best. What I found, however, was a family of foxes, the vixen and her three kits. It looked like she was busy digging out her den after a large clump of snow fell out of the tree above them and landed on the entrance.

  I decided to let them be, so I quietly backed up and went back down. I wasn’t really disappointed, it made an interesting story I could share with the family later.

  After 12 days of hiking and camping we finally descended into a valley where Dad found the skeletal remains of several homesteads. Maybe there was a small town there, years ago. The largest house consisted of splintered and decayed wood, most of which was only good for burning. It had overgrown with weeds, bushes and trees. But, after looking around for a while Dad and Mom both decided that this would be our new home.

  Oh boy!

  The next day Dad began the process of clearing the land inside and around the house, with the help of me and my siblings, of course. Our job was to pull weeds and remove small trees that seemed to be everywhere.

  I found an old rusty shovel, which was sort of helpful. At least until I bent and broke the blade while trying to dig up a larger tree. After that it was back to using my hands and some sharp rocks I found.

  Dad was quite busy chopping down the larger trees and hauling them to a wood pile for drying and burning later. He kept some of the straightest ones closer, to use for building material.

  We took turns checking on Mom throughout the day. She slept most of the time in the small shelter Dad had built first for us to sleep in. She had lost a lot of weight and looked very pale. I was very worried about her.

  One time when I checked on her, she was awake and beckoned me to come. I had to get close because she could only whisper.

  “I’m so very proud of you,” she said while giving me a one-handed hug. “You are a wonderful son and great example to your siblings.” After a long pause, she said, “Never be ashamed of who you are.”

  I know she was thinking about how I felt about my affinity, but she didn’t mention it. She soon went back to sleep after giving me a kiss on the cheek.

  After we had cleaned out the inside and around of the house, Dad started the work of salvaging wood and other items from the nearby ruins. Most of it went into the burn pile, but he did find some pieces he decided to save. He gave the task to us kids of trimming the branches and bark from the larger trees which he planned to use for building.

  After he cleared out all the old ruins of the house, he started to build the frame using some logs we had prepared. He was able to use some old foundation stones he found which were still in good shape. After a few more days we had a new floor using the good planks which he recovered from the ruins.

  Our new house was going up surprisingly fast, seeing that the weather kept alternating between rain, snow and sunshine. Luckily there was less snow in the valley than there was up on the mountain. Dad also continued to hunt from time to time so that we would have meat to eat. For variety, we also collected edible berries which grew nearby.

  One night, after everyone had laid down for bed, I had to get up to relieve myself, something I should have taken care of earlier. On the way back, I thought I heard something up in the air. The moon was shining, and, as I looked up, a shadow crossed in front of it. I wondered what it was, but I didn't see anything as I looked up. Whatever it was, it seemed pretty big. I tried to hurry back to the shelter, but before I got there something grabbed me with an iron grip and let out a loud screech.

  My ribs were being crushed again, this time by a large claw. It felt similar to when Pomir grabbed me from behind, only both of my arms were pinned to my side. Of course, I was scared to death, but I reached once more for that warm emptiness inside, desperately hoping it might help. It was a little easier this time.

  As soon as I did, the creature, which I decided was a huge bird, quickly started descending, almost falling out of the sky. Even though it had huge wings which were flapping furiously, it wasn't enough to keep us flying any more. Soon it let out another deafening screech as it crashed into the tops of the trees, bending and breaking many branches in the process. Some of the branches whipped me in my face and legs. It was still thrashing furiously, making it fall in between some trees. The huge claw released me right before we hit the ground.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Thankfully I wasn’t crushed, but I did try to get away.

  About that time dad came running up with his sword and slashed the huge bird on one of its wings. It let out another ear piercing squawk and knocked him away with its beak. The bird tried to fly away again, but its wing was badly damaged. Dad rushed back to attack it with a loud yell, hacking, stabbing and slashing at it over and over. Eventually he stabbed it deep in its huge eye as it was trying to bite him, which finally killed it.

  “There you are, boy!” he said, as he frantically rushed over to me. “Any broken bones or cuts?”

  I was still stunned. I had run away from the fight earlier, but now I just stared at it. Wow, that thing was massive!

  “Huh?” I said as I woke from my stupor.

  I looked myself over, but other than a few scratches, I felt surprisingly better than I should. My dad, on the other hand, looked pretty gory. There was blood all over him with large feathers sticking to some of it.

  “My arm and ribs hurt, but I don’t think anything is broken,” I said, as I moved around a bit.

  He held out his hand to help me up. “Let’s get you back to the family, then I’ll come back and see what I can do with this.”

  “Dad, thank you.” I paused. “I’m so glad you are here. I know I don’t say it much, or ever. But I love you.”

  He looked at me for a few seconds, then reached his arms around me and gave me a big hug. “Me too.”

  I guess we are both going to be covered in blood, now. More stories to tell!

  He walked with me back to our shelter. Both kids were up, looking very anxious. But they were glad to see us both alive. He and I used water from our small pond, which we had made a while ago, to wash ourselves the best we could.

  After checking on Mom, he told all of us to go back to sleep. Then he left to take care of the massive bird. I didn’t know what he planned to do with it. It was far too large to eat. But Dad had hunted some large prey before, so I was sure he would take care of it.

  The next morning when I awoke, I looked for Dad, but he wasn’t there. So I got up quickly, and ran to check on him. When I found him, he had a large fire going, with lots of smoke. He had rigged up several racks where he was drying and smoking large strips of meat. I saw that he had skinned most of the bird, and cut off its head. He had removed much of the meat, but most of the bones were intact.

  “Good morning!” he said. “Did you sleep okay?”

  “Okay, I guess. What did you do with the rest of the meat?”

  He pointed to a large pile of dirt not far away. I guess he buried it.

  “We don’t want to attract more predators, if we can help it,” he said. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t get all of it, so we will have to be wary for a while.”

  “Dad, do you know what that was? I’ve never heard of a bird that large.”

  “Actually, yes. It’s called a roc, but I’ve never seen one until now.” Then he smiled at me. “Congratulations on discovering a rare, almost mythical bird of legend.”

  “Well, I think it discovered me, not the other way around.” We both smiled.

  “Not the way I’m going to tell the story, it didn’t. You need to learn how to tell a decent story, or no one will want to hear them. Haven't I taught you that by now, boy?”

  He was still grinning.

  “Yes, but I’m still learning.”

  “I believe it is a corrupted eagle, its magic makes it huge and strong. I wonder if something like that is why this place was abandoned?”

  Now that I thought about it, why was this place left to rot?

  “Dad,” I said. “Last night, when it grabbed me, I reached for my magic again. That’s when we fell into the trees. Do you think I did that?”

  He thought for a moment. “Quite likely, I would say. A bird that large and heavy shouldn't be able to fly, yet it does. Or, it did until you nullified its magic. I dare say your affinity saved your life last night. I don’t know what I would have done if it had carried you off to its nest.”

  He didn’t say it, but he probably wouldn’t have been able to get to me in time.

  I looked up at the massive bird, roc, I guess. Its wings were a mess, but not extended, and I wondered. “How big is it, do you think? I mean, how long are its wings when all the way out?”

  Dad stood up, looking at it carefully. “That’s a good question. We have to know so we can tell the story, right?” He started pacing along its most extended wing. After a few minutes he came back and sat down.

  “I’d say it was about 40 paces, tip to tip. The body is about 7, from beak to tail.”

  After that he had me stay there while he went back to check on the family and get some rest. Before he left, he decided to leave his sword with me, just in case. He told me to keep putting green boughs on the fire to keep the smoke going.

  I was still there dozing late in the day when he came back, with both Lil and Fin tagging along.

  “For some reason, they both wanted to come see the legendary bird. I don’t know why they would care,” he said as he winked.

  The kids had to climb through the massive bones, though he warned them to not touch any of the remaining meat since it was starting to rot, with lots of flies buzzing around.

  The meat was done by then, so he had us all pack up the strips and hike back to our shelter. He brought one of the massive claws back with him, “to show Mom,” he said.

  That night Dad called another family council.

  He started after we were all assembled near Mom. “Children, as you all are probably aware, your mother isn’t getting better. Before she gets even worse, she asked me to bring our family together so she could say a few things to you.”

  Her voice was so soft we had to gather very close to her. “I love… each of you… so much. I'm very proud… of you.”

  There was a long pause. Everyone had tears in their eyes, including me.

  “Stay… together… Work together… Take care… of… each other… Promise… me!” That was all she could say.

  We all promised her that we would always take care of each other. Then we each took turns doing our best to give her a hug, even though she was laying on her bedroll.

  The next morning, her face gray as ash, she didn’t wake up.