I met the fourth of our company today - At least I think it’s today still. we are still in this infernal dungeon. Cave, if you will, but it feels like a dungeon to me. I’ve scarcely had room to stretch my wings. And with the ceiling mere feet away, I feel cramped as though I were in Ka’ Lieth’s cage… But back to our new companion. Mykal is his name, and he’s a Kaa’ Jah Kushan. It’s strange how reassuring it was to see a Kaa’ Jah among us. Not that I bear any ill will against my Sol’ Kal brethren. In fact, I have great respect for them, as they’ve proven themselves far more worthy of the bonding year than I have. Of course, it’s still early in our journey, but I have a feeling I’ll be leaning on them much for support. Still, it’s good to see Mykal. Jathan, my best friend from the Kalim’ Dor was also Kushani. In a sense, it’s like his spirit has returned to support me. I don’t know Mykal yet, but I’m looking forward to bonding with him as I have with Bingo. Gi’ Kar still seems distant, even though he did open up a bit after the last battle. Battle! I can’t believe I’ve left it out this far. But it will have to wait longer yet.
Since my last entry, much (and at the same time, little) has transpired. We left our families and set off across the Kim-Seth desert. I’ve never seen so much sand and lifelessness. The barren-ness of it all left me feeling rather tired and weak our second week into the journey. I recovered a bit when we came across the well the Elders spoke of. It does me good to know that we are still on track. I have almost no ability to retain my bearings in this endless desert, but I trust in the others’ guidance. After the third week, a giant “Keevah” swept the face of the land. I heard the others say this word, and inferred that it meant the sand storm. I’ve never seen Kiefieh’s fury displayed in such a manner. I can only imagine that she meant to guide us to our destination, because I can’t imagine a reason she would cause such havoc. When I saw the maelstrom of sand on the horizon, I uttered a prayer to the Goddess and she heard me. She directed my gaze to an outcropping of rock to our left. We sought the shelter and found a sizable cave. I praised Kiefieh for her foresight and got set to write about what had occurred. I never got the chance though because Bingo couldn’t sit still for too long. He discovered that the cave was no cave at all. Indeed, it was a man-made thing, hewn right out of the rock. He beckoned us towards him so I stowed my book in my pack and went. In the next room we found ourselves face to face with the spirit of some long-dead man.
He spoke to us about how we were the heroes of Koreb or something. I wonder if all of the bonding journeys start this way. Not that I doubt the old man, but I don’t know what Koreb is, or that we’re heroes. I guess time will reveal all things. There was, however, a really interesting design on the wall. It seemed to be of our planet, but different. It was crisscrossed by sizable rivers and green valleys. Forests seemed to be in some parts of the landscape, where now there are none. I caught a quick sketch of it on the back page of this book. Hopefully I’ll be able to study it some more sometime.
I couldn’t at the moment, though, cause Gi’ Kar grunted his way through a door at the far end of the room, and found himself in trouble. I’d like to say I rescued him, but really all I did was get hurt. He found himself surrounded by four fiends wrapped in bandages. I don’t understand the significance of the bandages, as I can’t imagine anyone being that injured. Maybe they had religious meaning. Either way, Bingo found that bandages burn exceptionally well. I admire his ability to improvise so effectively and think quickly. I must try to remember skills like these for when I need to lead these men. The thought of leading anyone still scares me, but I think I can learn. Meanwhile, I’ve got to learn to take care of myself. It wasn’t until I saw one of the creatures close up that it appeared to be a man - A dead man. Only Ka’ Lieth would create something horrible like that. Bingo took some spoils from the last’s body, and I tried to call upon Kiefieh to heal me. I mis-spoke the power word though, and all I got was a resounding nothing. It was here that our bond-brother Mykal appeared and we said hello. He seemed hesitant to speak to us. I can understand why, I suppose.
We didn’t get to speak much. Gi’ Kar once again pushed ahead and found himself surrounded - once again. This time, he was beset upon by flying metal. There was armor made entirely of metal (a rarity in and of itself) suspended in the air as if being worn. They had helmets and bracers, and their gauntlets clutched swords. My Cha’ Or brothers would have been proud of me, as I quickly maneuvered my way behind one of the foes and ripped it’s helmet off. As though all life had left it, the entire suit fell to the floor and didn’t stand again. The others looked to my example, and helmets flew through the air from my brethren’s blows. I found a medallion tucked in the armor of the one I beheaded and put it on. It had a symbol on the chest, which I assume to be the symbol of Com Durak. Only the god of the earth could have made such suits of metal. I don’t know what the symbol stands for, but my first kill in the bonding year will always be a thing I wish to remember.
However, I don’t wish to remember what happened next. The ever impatient Gi’ Kar forged ahead. I rushed into the next room, not wanting to miss the action and saw a life-changing sight. Three giant beings, similar to my beloved Tauren, yet with the body of a man and much taller (I guess they must have stood about seven feet tall - and they were muscular too! Truly terrifying things), came out of the walls carrying giant axes. But what was more entrancing was Gi’ Kar. When he saw the one in the middle, which was even bigger than his comrades, he let out a ferocious battle cry and hurled his spear at him. The spear went clear through the giant’s chest, and the force of the hit threw him into the wall, where he was stuck by the spear. If Gi’ Kar can do such damage to a giant, what can he do to a man? I don’t want to be on the receiving end of his spear. I got courage from seeing the leader fall so quickly and formulated a plan myself: slide under the legs of the one closest to me and fly up behind him, slitting his throat from behind. I ran with gusto at the beast and executed my plan to perfection. Almost. He saw me coming and took a mighty swing at me with his axe.
My next conscious thought, I was lying on the ground, lying in my own blood. I almost panicked, but I thank Kiefieh that she granted me the presence of mind to speak the words of healing before I died. After I was sure that she mended all my wounds, I rolled onto my feet and saw that the giant that had attacked me was the only one left standing. The other was beheaded, and the biggest one was somehow lying in the middle of the room, far from where he died on the wall. The floors were slick with blood as my friends battled the last one. None of them looked to be healthy at all, so I decided against joining the fray and instead healed my brethren. I just thank the winged Goddess that we lived through this fight. I know that were it not for her power, my party would be short one Seraph. On considering, I suppose these must be creatures of Du’ Al ‘Sol Ter, as he loves to instill terror in others. I wonder if this isn’t some test from the gods to see how worthy we are. I cannot imagine what my Goddess has in store for us here. I just pray we prove worthy.
