ALL NOVEL Chapter 003 – Flight
[282AC]
Early the next morning Phenex was already standing at the edge of the cliff, near their little abode. His mother kneeled before him, straigthening his clothes and fixing his hair, radiating worry and anxiousness at his impending departure.
“Are you sure, you don't want me to prepare some food and water for you? Maybe a thick coat and a few daggers as well? Let me just gra-“
“Mother. I am a phoenix, you don't have to worry about my well-being. I am more worried about you Mother. Don't forget to eat something when I am gone, and maybe go and visit Uncle Anton. He would love your company.“
“Nonsense, what mother doesn't worry for her beloved child? Come here, hug your mother good bye.“
Saying so Allyria pulled Phenex in a crushing hug, that made Phenex happy to be born as an immortal creature, as he hugged her back, while restrained his immesureable strength.
“I love you, my little firestar. Be careful out there.“
“I love you too, Mother. I will be back soon.“
With that Phenex simply transformed into a spiral of harmless flames that flew over the edge of the cliff, before manifesting the form of a hauntingly beautiful azure coloured crane. The edges of his wings and long tailfeathers in colours that made them look like they were on fire.
Even though his true phoenix form was a bird made out of pure fire, he could still choose to take on the physical form of any bird he wanted, no matter their looks. The crane form was the form his father had preferred and he also liked it very much, though he also enjoyed the fire-coloured eagle form.
Only a few flaps of his wings and he was already out his mother's sight, becoming faster and faster with each movement of his wings. Were it not for his incredible eyesight and the speed of his thougths being much faster than a normal human, he would probably not even see were he was going.
As Phenex flew through the sky at a lightning speed, he thought about his destinations. Essentially he wanted to fly all over Westeros and take a look at all important places that were there, before flying towards Essos.
He was doing this for practicality, as one of his phoenix powers was the ability to teleport in a shower of flames to any place he had seen or been before. So his plan was to take a look at the most important locations in Westeros, before doing the same in Essos.
Finding them all in one day was rather easy, as he had remembered their locations from maps in the library and knew their general location from the show already.
Also, as the embodiment of Fire, Life and Rebirth he could sense all life around him for thousands of kilometers easily enough, so it was easy to find a city or castle, where a lot of people gathered.
His speed was so great that when it was only midday, he had already flown over Sunspear, Oldtown, Highgarden, Storm's End, King's Landing, Dragonstone, Casterly Rock, Riverrun, Pyke, The Twins, and Winterfell.
Right now, he was approaching The Wall and Castle Black. He could already see them from dozens of kilometers away.
Slowing down as he approached, Phenex landed directly on the wall a few hundred meters away from the outpost and guards stationed on top of The Wall.
Looking over the frozen tundra that was the 'True North', Phenex concentrated and spread out his senses as far as he could. It was then that he felt the presence of beings entirely different from humans.
He knew instinctively what they were: Direwolfs, Snowbears, Giants, Shadow Cats, Ice Spiders and other magical creatures. And of course there were plenty of humans too.
He could also sense a few distinctly different presences, which probably belonged to the Children of the Forest, the Three-Eyed-Raven and the ice-cold dead and malevolent presence of the White Walkers.
And he knew that some of them could feel him, as he wasn't the least bit subtle in his explorations.
He could sense their power clearly, their presence and life energy being the most accurate indicator. And he also knew that he could turn this Land of Always Winter into fiery hell with little effort, so there was no reason to be afraid of them.
Suddenly he saw a raven approaching and landing next to him, its presence was somewhat covered and intertwined with another presence. The bird was only a third of Phenex's current size, and bowed its little head after landing next to him.
'Three-Eyed-Raven. Just the one I wanted to meet.'
Phenex just sent out his intention to meet, before directly taking off towards the location he knew the Three-Eyed-Raven stayed at. And even though he tried to hold back his mental presence almost entirely, the small bird still recoiled as if receiving a strong blow from his message.
A phoenix was naturally incredibly powerful as a true mythical creature and uncountable number of inheritence cycles had resulted in Phenex's mental presence being truly titanic. He could probably kill another being by simply forcing his own mind onto theirs, shattering their conciousness.
A few short moments later he landed in a clearing with a small hill and in a swirl of fire transformed back into a small child with shoulder-length dark hair and eyes like fire.
On top of that hill a great weirwood tree was standing tall, surrounded by several great boulders. Phenex saw the small Children of the Forest come out of the tree and directly prostating themselves before him.
The memories of his father informed him that they saw him in a similiar fashion as one of the Old Nature Gods they worshipped, knowing him to be an immortal and all-powerful being.
Phenex could feel their veneration and devotion clearly, but he could also sense their fear and terror that hid beneath the surface. One of the Children didn't postrate itself, but approached him while keeping its head down, not daring to look up at him.
'Leaf', Phenex remembered, her looks almost indentical to hers from the show.
Arriving before him, Leaf began to address him: „Ruler of the Fiery Sky, we are honoured by your presence. May I inquire about the reason for your visit and if the Children of the Forest can be of any help to you?“
“Take me to the raven, I want to have a word with him.“
“As you command, Lord.“