Chapter 6: Wings of old - I

*Though stormed by so many different things Rafael was finally able to go to sleep and have one peaceful and relaxing day. The group's presence had somehow eased him into this life a little, his entire ordeal so far had been alone and that was indeed scary, but now surrounded by such people, all who have much more experience and age and that was somehow more than comforting. The group was a merry band of soldiers that was as friendly with Jason as they were with each other. Rafael attributed a huge part of that to Jason. Such ease around the commanding officer comes with time and respect. It comes from the faith that their general is there with them, it was really reassuring*

*Rafael woke up to see himself atop a mountain, looking down the valley. The view was astonishing. The snowy mountains, trees covered with snow, the silence all around it was a magical moment. He then felt a surge in his body, felt his feet move, and then he jumped off the mountain down into the valley. For some reason he did not feel any terror this time, rather he was at peace, he was thrilled, he was happy, then he felt a thud, he landed on something, but not the ground, the ground was still lot more beneath him, and then he began ascending again. Around him he could hear the fluttering of large leathery wings; he was atop a large scaly beast that was now carrying him along the vast wilderness with an unparalleled grace*

*Then he heard a voice, a voice so ever so soft and relaxing. Like the very nature itself whispered that in his ears*

"Are you ready? I am coming to see you. I am very close"

*Rafael woke up with a jerk. He opened his eyes to see he was back in the camp and everyone else was up and was getting ready*

"Great another strange dream. Great simply GRREAAT"

"Oh Rafael! You up? Good. Get ready we march soon"

*Rafael naturally felt comfortable with Jason, unlike Gorion. Gorion always gave off the vibe of a strict school headmaster, who would instruct you on the work needed to be done and would give a deadline, and you just had to finish it, doesn't matter how, on the other hand Jason had a very calming presence, a much friendlier approach*

*Rafael got up and started preparing. He didn't have any belonging so he simply washed his face and had a quick meal. After everyone was done, Jason stood up*

"Is everyone ready?"

"Yes sir"

"I can't hear you"

"YES SIR!"

"Today our hunt for the Salamander begins"

"YES SIR!!"

*cheers echoed throughout the group and then with a single gesture from Jason, everyone fell in line, no more sounds were made, they silently picked up their weapons and shields and then fell into a pattern, with equal people divided into two parallel rows marching side by side with Jason in the lead*

"Soldiers March"

*And as one single unit everyone started moving, even in the damp forest the entire band moved as a single unit, their steps in complete unison, everyone's left foot hit the ground at the same time and same with the other foot. Everyone marched silently as Jason came and walked next to Rafael*

"Jason what is Salamander? From the context so far, I am guessing it is not the lizard"

"haha of course not. Like the spirit bear you killed the other day, thank you very much for that, The Salamander is also one of the magical beasts or mythical beasts. To put it in simpler terms, it is a fire breathing 10 feet tall demon, but what makes it tricky is that it can hide its presence. I mean not only going invisible from the eyes but hide its presence altogether, making it almost impossible to track"

"Oh, so are you guys going to hunt it?"

"It's quite simple really, we are going to make it angry by attacking its nest"

"You want to invade the nest of a fire breathing demon? You sure that's a good idea?"

"of course, not"

*saying that Jason grinned from ear to ear*

"But I need to train these soldiers. The front lines are more nightmarish than anything that I can get them here, and if their minds can't handle this, they will never survive a single battle in the front lines"

"I see"

*minute by minute, hour by hour, the soldiers kept marching side by side in complete silence. No words were uttered no noise was made. Rafael did not want to be the first one to be tired so he tried keeping up*

"Alright soldiers, Steady and Halt!!"

*All the soldiers stopped at once and stood, awaiting the next command*

"Soldiers, at ease. We camp here for the night"

*Like one the soldiers dropped their weapon and started setting their camp*

"General you are on water and fuel duty today"

"Oe oe oe that can't be right. It's the third time this week"

"well, you did lose that bet sir"

"Alright, alright, I should have you strung up for pulling such pranks on me. Hey Rafael, want to help me out here?"

*Jason and Rafael gathered as many containers as they could and headed down to the stream. Rafael had only started to appreciate the beauty of this place, the greenery, the ever-present music of the forest and the magnificently colored flowers and insects*

*Soon they reached a stream and started filling water in the containers*

"Jason are you sure the water is clean?"

"This isn't the mundane world Rafael, here each and every one of us respects nature, none of us would pollute it, so rest assured the water is clean and safe to drink"

"Oh okay"

*They picked up the containers and then some firewood along the way and then headed back to the camp*

"Jason if you don't mind me asking, how far is this nest we are going to?"

"You see the highest mountain amidst the three mountains?"

"Yes, the center one"

"Yes, it's on top of it"

"You got to be kidding me. It's going to take us weeks before we can even make it there"

"Weeks? You out of your mind or what? I don't have that much amount of free time on my hands. I will get us on the summit by this time day after tomorrow"

"I don't see how that is humanly possible"

"Exactly my point my friend, it's not but then again, we are not mere humans anymore, now are we?"

"Hmph"

"Quickly now, move your bottom and get the water to the soldiers quick"

"Yes sir"

*moments later they were back to the camp, the site was now a full-fledged camp, various tents were set up, a fire was ready, with a cooking pot over it, many of the soldiers were tending to their weapons and armor*

"We are back with the water and more firewood you lazy ass punks"

"Thank you general"

"I hope you remember the first rule of training I taught you?"

"Yes sir, no use of magic outside battlefield"

"That's what I like to hear. Eat up and rest well. We begin early tomorrow"

*The food was served to everyone in wooden bowls and spoon, regardless of the rank or stature within the army. Everyone enjoyed their meal as if in a banquet and then readied for sleep*

"Help me understand Jason, what's going on? During the march the entire day the soldiers behaved like they should, always uptight, disciplined, always at ready, they treated you like their general, but the moment the march stopped, they teased and played with you and even order you around like a bunch of friends, I really am unable to understand that"

"It's not that difficult my friend. You see on the march they need to see and feel like a soldier, sooner than later they are going to be marching against an enemy they know nothing about, so while marching they should see their general leading, they should be able to have confidence in him, in his power but they should also be disciplined, and always ready to anticipate an attack, any mistake on their part can not only cost us the battle, it can also cost them their lives"

"Alright fair enough"

"But once settled down, these soldiers need to relax, they have been ridden hard the entire day, and in their minds, they are almost as tensed and uncertain as you are, and so they really need that rest, but they will be unable to really relax with their general around, so I open up with them, play their games, lose certain bets, all in all it keeps the mood jolly. Plus, I don't really treat my soldiers like soldiers they become my friends, a part of an ever extending and depleting war family. You see I don't really believe in discrimination, when death doesn't discriminate between us, why should we?"

*Rafael was at a loss of words. Though Jason's appearance was an adult in his prime, it easy to forget that he is centuries old, and such prolong life do come with profound wisdom. So, in reply to Jason's statement he could only smile and nod, and soon they dozed off*

*Rafael once again woke up in the sky. But this time he wasn't looking down a cliff, he was soaring in the sky, atop the same beast he was last time. He had a clear vision of the ground beneath, but couldn't see the beast he was riding. He felt himself hug the beast around its long scaly neck as it flew faster and higher than before. Rafael could feel the wind on his face, no he was a tempest, a storm, a life giver, a wrecker, he was the wind itself. And again, he heard the same voice, a voice so soft, it felt like the nature itself whispered into his ear*

"I am coming to see you. I have waited all these centuries and I cannot wait any more. It's a selfish desire of mine, but you are going to have to forgive me for that. I hope you'll be just as happy to see me"

*Once again Rafael woke up with a jerk. His eyes slowly adjusted to the light, and he could make out the shapes soldiers getting the meal ready, wearing their armor, looking around for their sword*

"It was just another dream Rafael, but god damn it, why do they have to feel so real"

*Rafael got up and began to get ready along with the others, few minutes later, Jason yelled*

"Solider attention"

*Everyone quickly finished what they were doing and then stood in their marching position*

"And March"

*And just like yesterday, all the soldiers marched in tight formation and complete silence, and just like yesterday Jason fell in next to Rafael*

"You seem awfully silent today, anything on your mind?"

"Nothing in particular, just thinking about a weird dream I keep on having"

"Haha, weird dreams come as part of the package. I wouldn't worry about it too much if I was you"

"Yes sir"

*As the day went on, Jason, kept the team on a strict schedule, sparing a few water breaks of hardly fifteen minutes. Marching in the plain was still easy but the real difficulty began once the mountains started. Throughout the march not one soldier did complain or frown. They kept walking as if they hadn't noticed the elevation they had to climb at, but still Jason kept on yelling words of encouragement throughout. By the time they stopped, the sun was already setting down, all the soldiers looked winded but it was only Jason that still looked as fresh as he was in the morning*

"Soldiers attention and Halt"

*The entire squad stopped as if it wasn't comprised of individual soldiers, but rather as if it was a single being. Rafael could see that the soldiers longed for rest, they must be after marching for so long, but their faces had such sharp determination on them as if commanded they would climb the rest of the mountain today itself. Rafael almost pitted the beast they were going to hunt, almost*

"Today we have covered half of the distance we need to cover to reach the nest. Tomorrow we are going to cover the remaining half. Soldiers are you tired?"

"No sir"

"ARE YOU TIRED"

NO SIR!"

"That's what I like to hear. At ease"

*Rafael was shocked at their dedication; they were ready to march further if given the command. But the command of rest was like music to their ears and they fell at once like a block of domino's*

"You have really trained your soldiers well Jason"

"No Rafael, I haven't trained them well, rather we all have trained good together. When I train them, I get to revisit my basics, which over the course of time we generally tend to forget. This keeps my head clear and my roots strong"

*once again Rafael was shocked by how humble Jason was*

"going to help me gather firewood and water?"

"You bet"