Chapter 44
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After they had filled their stomachs satisfactorily, the pair returned to Teacher Sagi, who had them follow him to a place that Leon had not yet visited; a small stable that held three griffins and their trainer. The stable was located to the east of the school, so in the opposite direction of the students huts, as to not disturb the beasts.
Leon had read a little Greek mythology from his high school years. Unfortunately, these creatures were nothing like the beasts from the lore known to him. Whilst their bodies could be considered somewhat feline, they were brown with yellow and orange stripes. And whilst their heads could be considered somewhat like that of an eagle, the upper portion of their beak was carved like sharp teeth, so that the whole thing seemed as if it was actually the elongated snout of a ferocious animal's skull attached to a brown feathered and furred head. It did not have paws or talons ending it's four legs, but three furred toes, two front, one rear on each, all ending in very long curved claws. It also did not have a lion's tail, but eccentric plumage instead. The mother griffin was also very, very large and it's two cubs could already rival an African bush elephant in size. It was one of this pair that was saddled up with a carrier more than able to comfortably hold the three passengers and their guide.
Leon let out a breath of air trying to steady himself as he recalled that some animals could smell a person's fear and he refused to believe that a griffin was not one such beast. Teacher Sagi leapt lightly into the carriage as if gravity was no match for him, but that was not something Leon had the ability to do. The handler went to grab the steps to allow the two students to mount, but Jin Li just rolled his eyes, swept the smaller boy into his able arms and gracefully followed Teacher Sagi through the air and onto the beast. Leon's heart was beating wildly in his chest, but he allowed himself the small satisfaction that he did not yelp out loud.
The griffin handler sat on a small bench just outside the unsheltered carriage and without words, the griffin jumped up, stretching out it's beautiful feathered wings and catching the updrift of air that it, itself, had caused. Leon's stomach churned somewhat, but he managed to retain his meal as they soared above the tree line. Once comfortably in flight, the griffin's movement seemed to smoothen out and Leon glanced over the barrier separating him and falling, with a slight gasp.
From this height, the curve of the mountain on which their school was located seemed much shallower, but he came to learn just how low down the mountain the outer school was. In the distant west, he could see the towering mountain that held the cavernous secrets he had somewhat discovered and slightly to the north, he could see the monolithic library as it reached for the sky. The griffin flew past the majestic building and over a chasm just beyond it to the eastern side, where a grand bridge connected the alchemist school with a mountain plateau of which a road dominated and split into six. The griffin then flew to the northwest, following the road, before circling the small, rocky mountain that the road disappeared into. With another beat of its wings, the mountain came to be behind them and the martial arts school came into view.
The martial arts outer school was nothing like the scattered, rustic arrangement that was the outer alchemist school. It was a single storied building made of stone that wrapped around a huge square courtyard. This courtyard was not a place to walk through or relax, the courtyard was in fact a small arena with spectator seating. There were a few structures that seemed to protrude from the main building, but these were still connected. There were no detached buildings to be found.
Leon sensed that Jin Li was becoming irritable the nearer they approached the school, but he did not know why. Suddenly, his stomach plummeted as the griffin began to descend. He clapped his hand over his mouth, hoping he would not puke as the flight abruptly ended with a sharp dive and a flick of the griffin's wings. The griffin stable was on the roof of the school, no need to traipse across woodland.
"Let me take you to Teacher Vane, he is in charge of the gateway leading to the inner school," Teacher Sagi told them and both agreed with a nod.
However, the Teacher was waylaid on route by a harried looking woman, who seemed to be at her wits end about something and as he spoke to her, helping her to calm, Leon happened to see a bright eye boy beaming with joy as he laid eyes upon them. He bounced up and down and bounded towards them.
"Jin Li!" The freckled youth with a round face and long, dark brown hair called out. "Jin Li!" Jin Li just scowled.
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After they had filled their stomachs satisfactorily, the pair returned to Teacher Sagi, who had them follow him to a place that Leon had not yet visited; a small stable that held three griffins and their trainer. The stable was located to the east of the school, so in the opposite direction of the students huts, as to not disturb the beasts.
Leon had read a little Greek mythology from his high school years. Unfortunately, these creatures were nothing like the beasts from the lore known to him. Whilst their bodies could be considered somewhat feline, they were brown with yellow and orange stripes. And whilst their heads could be considered somewhat like that of an eagle, the upper portion of their beak was carved like sharp teeth, so that the whole thing seemed as if it was actually the elongated snout of a ferocious animal's skull attached to a brown feathered and furred head. It did not have paws or talons ending it's four legs, but three furred toes, two front, one rear on each, all ending in very long curved claws. It also did not have a lion's tail, but eccentric plumage instead. The mother griffin was also very, very large and it's two cubs could already rival an African bush elephant in size. It was one of this pair that was saddled up with a carrier more than able to comfortably hold the three passengers and their guide.
Leon let out a breath of air trying to steady himself as he recalled that some animals could smell a person's fear and he refused to believe that a griffin was not one such beast. Teacher Sagi leapt lightly into the carriage as if gravity was no match for him, but that was not something Leon had the ability to do. The handler went to grab the steps to allow the two students to mount, but Jin Li just rolled his eyes, swept the smaller boy into his able arms and gracefully followed Teacher Sagi through the air and onto the beast. Leon's heart was beating wildly in his chest, but he allowed himself the small satisfaction that he did not yelp out loud.
The griffin handler sat on a small bench just outside the unsheltered carriage and without words, the griffin jumped up, stretching out it's beautiful feathered wings and catching the updrift of air that it, itself, had caused. Leon's stomach churned somewhat, but he managed to retain his meal as they soared above the tree line. Once comfortably in flight, the griffin's movement seemed to smoothen out and Leon glanced over the barrier separating him and falling, with a slight gasp.
From this height, the curve of the mountain on which their school was located seemed much shallower, but he came to learn just how low down the mountain the outer school was. In the distant west, he could see the towering mountain that held the cavernous secrets he had somewhat discovered and slightly to the north, he could see the monolithic library as it reached for the sky. The griffin flew past the majestic building and over a chasm just beyond it to the eastern side, where a grand bridge connected the alchemist school with a mountain plateau of which a road dominated and split into six. The griffin then flew to the northwest, following the road, before circling the small, rocky mountain that the road disappeared into. With another beat of its wings, the mountain came to be behind them and the martial arts school came into view.
The martial arts outer school was nothing like the scattered, rustic arrangement that was the outer alchemist school. It was a single storied building made of stone that wrapped around a huge square courtyard. This courtyard was not a place to walk through or relax, the courtyard was in fact a small arena with spectator seating. There were a few structures that seemed to protrude from the main building, but these were still connected. There were no detached buildings to be found.
Leon sensed that Jin Li was becoming irritable the nearer they approached the school, but he did not know why. Suddenly, his stomach plummeted as the griffin began to descend. He clapped his hand over his mouth, hoping he would not puke as the flight abruptly ended with a sharp dive and a flick of the griffin's wings. The griffin stable was on the roof of the school, no need to traipse across woodland.
"Let me take you to Teacher Vane, he is in charge of the gateway leading to the inner school," Teacher Sagi told them and both agreed with a nod.
However, the Teacher was waylaid on route by a harried looking woman, who seemed to be at her wits end about something and as he spoke to her, helping her to calm, Leon happened to see a bright eye boy beaming with joy as he laid eyes upon them. He bounced up and down and bounded towards them.
"Jin Li!" The freckled youth with a round face and long, dark brown hair called out. "Jin Li!" Jin Li just scowled.
After they had filled their stomachs satisfactorily, the pair returned to Teacher Sagi, who had them follow him to a place that Leon had not yet visited; a small stable that held three griffins and their trainer. The stable was located to the east of the school, so in the opposite direction of the students huts, as to not disturb the beasts.Leon had read a little Greek mythology from his high school years. Unfortunately, these creatures were nothing like the beasts from the lore known to him. Whilst their bodies could be considered somewhat feline, they were brown with yellow and orange stripes. And whilst their heads could be considered somewhat like that of an eagle, the upper portion of their beak was carved like sharp teeth, so that the whole thing seemed as if it was actually the elongated snout of a ferocious animal's skull attached to a brown feathered and furred head. It did not have paws or talons ending it's four legs, but three furred toes, two front, one rear on each, all ending in very long curved claws. It also did not have a lion's tail, but eccentric plumage instead. The mother griffin was also very, very large and it's two cubs could already rival an African bush elephant in size. It was one of this pair that was saddled up with a carrier more than able to comfortably hold the three passengers and their guide.Leon let out a breath of air trying to steady himself as he recalled that some animals could smell a person's fear and he refused to believe that a griffin was not one such beast. Teacher Sagi leapt lightly into the carriage as if gravity was no match for him, but that was not something Leon had the ability to do. The handler went to grab the steps to allow the two students to mount, but Jin Li just rolled his eyes, swept the smaller boy into his able arms and gracefully followed Teacher Sagi through the air and onto the beast. Leon's heart was beating wildly in his chest, but he allowed himself the small satisfaction that he did not yelp out loud.The griffin handler sat on a small bench just outside the unsheltered carriage and without words, the griffin jumped up, stretching out it's beautiful feathered wings and catching the updrift of air that it, itself, had caused. Leon's stomach churned somewhat, but he managed to retain his meal as they soared above the tree line. Once comfortably in flight, the griffin's movement seemed to smoothen out and Leon glanced over the barrier separating him and falling, with a slight gasp.From this height, the curve of the mountain on which their school was located seemed much shallower, but he came to learn just how low down the mountain the outer school was. In the distant west, he could see the towering mountain that held the cavernous secrets he had somewhat discovered and slightly to the north, he could see the monolithic library as it reached for the sky. The griffin flew past the majestic building and over a chasm just beyond it to the eastern side, where a grand bridge connected the alchemist school with a mountain plateau of which a road dominated and split into six. The griffin then flew to the northwest, following the road, before circling the small, rocky mountain that the road disappeared into. With another beat of its wings, the mountain came to be behind them and the martial arts school came into view.The martial arts outer school was nothing like the scattered, rustic arrangement that was the outer alchemist school. It was a single storied building made of stone that wrapped around a huge square courtyard. This courtyard was not a place to walk through or relax, the courtyard was in fact a small arena with spectator seating. There were a few structures that seemed to protrude from the main building, but these were still connected. There were no detached buildings to be found.Leon sensed that Jin Li was becoming irritable the nearer they approached the school, but he did not know why. Suddenly, his stomach plummeted as the griffin began to descend. He clapped his hand over his mouth, hoping he would not puke as the flight abruptly ended with a sharp dive and a flick of the griffin's wings. The griffin stable was on the roof of the school, no need to traipse across woodland."Let me take you to Teacher Vane, he is in charge of the gateway leading to the inner school," Teacher Sagi told them and both agreed with a nod.However, the Teacher was waylaid on route by a harried looking woman, who seemed to be at her wits end about something and as he spoke to her, helping her to calm, Leon happened to see a bright eye boy beaming with joy as he laid eyes upon them. He bounced up and down and bounded towards them."Jin Li!" The freckled youth with a round face and long, dark brown hair called out. "Jin Li!" Jin Li just scowled.
