Chapter 1
Author notes: heyyy! Thnaks for reading! I have high hopes for this story! This is already updated to chapter 17 on wattpad, if you decide to read there, make sure to follow me! Thnak you!
I don’t really remember what happened before I had fell, the only thing I could truly grasp was a stray memory of a friend, Conner. I don’t know what happened to him though. Was he here with me? Was he still up in the above? I couldn’t remember. How could I? Hi. My name is Atticus, and I don’t know where to begin. I suppose it all started when I was up above, the humans call it heaven, but I don’t remember it all too well yet, I think I might have amnesia. I know something happened; I just don’t know what. What I do know however is that I am most definitely not in the above anymore, for lack of better words, I shall resort to the human term for this land, I am in hell.
I sat up to examine my injury’s, for I was most definitely hurt from the fall, when I did a quick overlook of my body I noticed a few things, one, my wrist was shattered, two, I have a few new appendages than before.
I looked around my body and found large, delicate wings, that were very sharp. I found that out quickly after I cut my finger open. I felt around my head and found four solid and sharp horns on my head as well. I found my nails were long, black, and sharp, my teeth had grown and became pointy, and I had strange markings littering my body, I was sure there were more in places I could not yet explore, however. I figured that I should first tend to my wrist, it would likely not heal by itself. How I would find the supplies to help myself, I do not know. I decided that I would make do with what I had, I grabbed a rickety branch from beside me, tore some cloth from my shirt, and grabbed some of the leather string that was wrapped around my ankle. I managed to produce a pretty sturdy splint, it was not the best, but it would have to do for the time being, at least until he could get some assistance. Where would he find that here in these barren lands? He did not know. He looked around, the air smelled dirty, and the ground was without plant life. He could see some festive and almost bright lights up ahead in the distance, hoping that there was even a little bit of help in the place before him, he began to walk towards it. As he was walking, he felt his skin prickle, that was new. He looked around, trying to place what might have been causing the unexplainable fear he felt, but as he turned and looked, he saw nothing, however, the one place he had forgotten to look, was up.
Suddenly he was pulled off the ground and into the arms of a giant lady. I screamed. She covered my mouth and told me too quiet myself.
“You were being hunted, have your parents not told you about the dangers of the barren lands?”
Atticus shook his head.
“I thought not. You’re not from here, are you?” The strange lady asked him.
He shook his head again. “Your young, hmm? 16? 18? Am I close?”
The lady asked him again.
He nodded, letting her know that she was correct in her estimations. She looked at him, as if she were waiting for him to do something, what she expected Atticus knew not.
“I am taking you back to my lands, there we may be able to see if my people end up truly accepting you. Don’t get your hopes up, we don’t tend to take your kind often. Not unless they’re prisoners. I am Mother Meredith, or Queen Meredith, whichever you prefer, you may call me. I am the ruler of the barren land's harpies. We are a secluded group of skilled hunters and fighters. I am sure you have heard of us?” Atticus went to respond but remembered earlier when she told him not too. Meredith saw Atticus’s struggle.
“You can speak now, we are safe. Or…safer than we were before.” Meredith assured Atticus.
“Well…I don’t know of your kind Queen Meredith. As you have already figured out, I am not originally from here, actually, I don’t know where exactly I am from. All I remember was being pushed out from the above and then I woke up here.”
Atticus told Meredith. He chose to leave out the part about Conner, he wanted to figure those memory’s out before he revealed them to someone.
“The above? I see. That does not explain your appearance; however, it does explain the injuries. You must have tried to catch your fall, which is why your wrist is fractured. Maybe your species changed after you changed realms?”
She looked at him, expecting an answer.
“I don’t know what I am actually…I was trying to figure that out myself until I was pulled from the ground and into the air onto a majestic beast with a new and strange lady.” He looked at her with mock anger. “Still, thanks for saving my life, I mean it.” Atticus smiled at her.
“Don’t worry about it kiddo, your almost an adult, I can't just let someone so close to maturity die because they don’t know how to protect themselves. Besides, saving you helps me as well.”
Atticus looked up at her confused. “How does saving me help you?”
“Well kid, you are at the age where you can harbor children, demons, like you, can harbor children, my kind is small, and it is continuing to get smaller, you can help with that, of course this is only if you are willing, but I still will take a risk to potentially grow my kind.” Meredith smiled at him, not at all aware of how creeped out Atticus was, I mean, of course he was, he was not a demon, at least, he did not used to be one.
“Look ahead kid, that’s my home, we are almost there. Be prepared, the landing are the worst.”
She winked at him and with no warning the giant beast took a sharp dive towards the ground. Atticus was surprised and tried to hold on but was unsuccessful as the air caught his wings and flew him in the air.
He grappled around in the air as he flew faster and faster towards where the beast was landing, Atticus fought with the air and his turbulence increased, his fear grew the closer he got to the ground, he hadn’t practiced flying with these new wings and so he couldn’t use them properly. When he finally thought he was going to actually die, his wings found the air current and pulled him up, keeping him from colliding with the rocks in a suicidal dive. He turned his body midair and he fell the last few feet, his body skidding against the small and sharps stones. When his body came to a halt on the ground he heard chuckling behind him, Meredith was standing there, looking at him almost mockingly.
“Meredith! I could have died! But your laughing? I thought you wanted me alive?” Atticus gave Meredith an almost betrayed look.
“You’ll be fine you little imp. You don’t know how to use your wings?” Meredith asked him, looking amused.
“Again, you know I am not from here, why would you expect that I know how to use my wings?” Atticus asked bluntly.
“Then it’s a good thing I saved you, you would have definitely not made it away from the sand beast.” She looked him up and down, assessing him. She leaned down and offered him a hand. Atticus looked at her skeptically and pushed himself off the ground, rejecting her offer.
“Such disrespect little imp.” Meredith rolled her eyes at Atticus.
Atticus followed Meredith as she walked through the gates, however the guards slammed the doors shut in front of him.
“But Meredith said that she was bringing me into the city!” Atticus looked at the guards indignantly.
He heard Meredith call over the wall to him. “Find a way to fly yourself over the wall little imp! Then you can be escorted inside. Don’t worry, your completely safe here.” Meredith yelled to Atticus, laughing.
Atticus tried to call out too her once more, but she was gone. He walked around, getting away from the guards. Atticus had no idea how he was going to fly, it's not like he could do it in the air, how was he going to do it now? He resigned to trying to at least flap his wings, once he got that he could try to do more. He looked at his back and started manually moving his wings, taking his hands and flapping his wings with them. He could feel the muscles moving, after a few minutes of the manual movement he started to slowly let go. His wings kept moving, slowly but still moving. He started trying to move them faster, he got them to speed up minute by minute and once he got a steady rhythm, he angled himself down, trying to catch a wind current. It did not work. He saw a large tree in the distance and went to go climb it, he hoped that it would let him catch the air. He reached the tree and climbed up it, pulling himself to the top. He started flapping his wings again and caught the wind, he was lifted up but then thrown down to the ground once more, he stopped moving his wings as her felt the air lift him which resulted in him falling. He thought that if he could put a little more power into the flapping, he could get up. He climbed up the tree once more and restarted the process again.
He flapped his wings, this time with more power, he felt himself lift off the ground but this time he did not stop flapping. He went higher and higher, but the more he flapped, the higher he went, soon he was much higher than the tree below him and he zoomed forward attempting to angle his wings into the air currents he was successful, his flying was not great, but he could do it, right now at least. His next goal was to get into the fortress, he saw the biggest building and dived towards it, trying the trick from earlier when he was thrown off the flying beast. He fell faster and faster towards the big building and as he was about to hit the ground he opened his wings, catching himself fast and stopping a much harsher fall. He tumbled down like before, but he made it over the wall. He was right at the foot of a large wooden staircase, and he realized the place that appeared big fro the air, was even bigger now that he was facing it head on. His breath was taken away, the place was not perfect, but it was beautiful, nonetheless.
“Hello little imp! Not the best landing I have seen but you have certainly gotten somewhere. I mean, your still not good, but you're over the wall!” Meredith looked down at him.
“You were so nice to me earlier, now you're laughing at me?” Atticus looked at her, a little angrier than before.
“You don’t need to be mad at me, however we do need to work on your flight abilities, or you will not survive long. Little imp, understand that if you can’t use the ability’s that you were gifted down here, you will not live. To be a part of my kind, you must fly. We are harpies. You will fly.” Meredith gave him a stern look.
“But I’m not a harpy Meredith!” Atticus glanced away.
“And? We can still teach you to act as one. We will figure out what you are, but until then we are treating you as we would our own.” Meredith smiled at him, not giving him a choice to argue further. “You have a variety of options here in our community. You could be a nest-mother, they guard the eggs and children, you could be a soldier, they protect the people, you could be a scout, they venture out and look for good territory and appliances for the community, or you can be part of my circle, my circle is a group of creatures that can be given or traded to other community’s for goods or services. This can be chosen if you decide you don’t want to stay here, or you want to go and explore.
Atticus thought about it, he liked the idea of being a scout and becoming part of the circle he liked exploration, but he also liked feeling important, the inner circle job could provide that for him.
“Can I be both a scout and in your inner circle?” Atticus asked her.
“Hmm. I suppose I could make an exception for you. You may.” Meredith told him.
“Then I shall!” Atticus smiled at her.
Meredith looked at him and smiled back, she was going to like this kid.
Word count:2237
