MAGOS ACADEMY: The Magician's card

CHAPTER III

   Amedee and I spent hours and hours talking about practically everything and nothing at the same time. The way we act towards one another makes it seem as if we've known each other since before we were born, but the thing is, we just met an hour ago or so.

     Amedee even took her precious time to tour me around the area. It was quite interesting, to say the least. The afternoon sun was peeking through the trees of the forest, and its light shone on the still water of the lake. I devoured the sight one last time before I focused my attention back on Amedee.

     She was walking me towards the opening of the Arnbel forest behind their cot, on the other side of the Argami Lake. It was one of the many perks the Faralei have. They can access the forest whenever they want, as it is only a couple of meters away. One of the many things I can't do since we lived in the center of the village, and just coming down here takes me an hour or so. Talk about cardio.

     We talked and talked until we reached the entrance. I plan on trekking down into the forest to visit the raven post before I go home. Based on my calculation, I think it will take me an hour to reach it as it is on the other side of the forest.

     I invited Amedee to accompany me, but she said that she had already gone to the tower earlier this morning. Guess it's just me now. After bidding our good-byes, I started to take the long walk, constantly looking back every now and then. The sun was setting, and if I didn't hurry, the forest would be consumed by darkness, which I didn't want to happen. Mother said that there were a lot of dark creatures lurking in the forest at night, so she incessantly warned us not to go alone, or if necessary, just don't go at all.

     The Arnbel forest was just like any other forest, not that I ever went to another forest. Logs, twigs, and fallen leaves were all over the forest floor, making it hard to walk silently as twigs cracked underneath my loafers as I made my way across the moist soil of the earth. It's not that the forest is silent; left and right, you can hear the birds singing, insects churring, squirrels chattering, and the wind whistling around, disturbing the leaves.

     My greenish orbs didn't fail to scan the area for any creatures hunting for a snack, my hand clutching the pouch full of fresh fruits that Amedee had given me. The leaves of the trees rustled as a warm breeze of July blew by. The slanting rays of the setting sun gave a warm orange tinge to the sky. My eyes searched the Arnbel forest, hoping to find the grey, timeworn tower through the spaces between the leaves of the trees.

     A moment later, when I looked to my left, the raven post tower soon came into view. A sigh of relief left my lips as I figured that it wasn't a long way away. Weaving my way through the dozens of trees and jumping over many roots, I found myself standing in the clearing. In front of me stood the tower. A score of ravens flew in and out of the tower. They raced away towards their destinations. I wasted no time and made my way to the entrance of the tower.

     There were even hundreds of ravens, doing whatever it is they were doing. A white-necked raven flew towards me as I entered the tower. It was looking at me as if it could see through my very soul. No longer than a second, it started talking to me with a deep voice. "I believe you are the young willow."