Chapter 305: Into the Canyon
A/N: Please check out the Author’s note at the end of the Chapter.
Fable’s leap carried us over the rim of Blue Canyon and into the darkening sky beyond. The sudden acceleration was nothing I’d experienced before, eclipsing any of the times Soltair or Trithe dragged me along. The drop from the initial rim of the canyon to the lower levels was the largest recorded cliff on the northern continent, nearly a half-mile of empty terror.
Korra’s excited holler danced in my ears for a breath before the rushing wind tore it away, drowning out everything but the roar of our descent. Wind grabbed at my hair and clothes like vicious, groping hands, snatching the breath from my lungs and buffering my face. As our acceleration grew, and with it the wind resistance, black spots danced in front of my eyes. For the briefest moment, I wavered on the edge of consciousness, my grip on Fable’s fur slipping, before my scattered instincts pulled together.
"Wind Shield!"
As the words vanished into the screeching wind, four magic circles sprang up around me. A second later, the great buffets of the wind ceased, the air falling strangely still. The sudden change left me stunned for a second before I took an experimental breath, and I nearly let out a grateful sob as sweet breath filled my lungs. Wind Shield was the wind attribute variant of Fire Shield, a spell I’d come across in Thron’s spellbooks.
I glanced back, considering casting the spell on Korra, but one look at her face convinced me otherwise. She was actually enjoying this! With her fifth-level constitution, a little wind and pressure were hardly worth noticing, allowing her to fully embrace the joy of the experience.
Seeing the pure delight on her face evoked a strange sensation in my heart. Against my better judgment, I took a deep breath and peeked over Fable’s shoulder, stealing a glimpse of the scenery. Perhaps now that the wind was gone, I could actually–nope. Not happening. Scarcely had I opened my eyes then I squeezed them shut again, burrowing as deep into Fable’s fur as I could. My entire body trembled violently, my tail going still with fear. That brief sight alone was more than enough to convince me that nothing was exciting or beautiful about heights. Korra was just insane.
It was one thing to know the initial drop was a half-mile, and another to see it first-hand. In that single heartbeat I’d looked, I’d felt as though I was in the arms of the archon once more, soaring over the darkened sea. The canyon was no less vast or endless, nor any less terrifying. The light of the evening sun fell only on the peaks of the crests and ridges within the canyon, dyeing them a sinister red. They were like white-toped waves on a stormy sea. The rest of the canyon was plunged into shadow, the darkness surely hiding a thousand more mysteries and terrors.
Without the rush of the wind in my ears, it was almost tranquil, like we were drifting slowly to earth. Unfortunately, the rapidly nearing peaks testified of anything like that. The seconds passed slowly, filled with the painful thump of my rapidly beating heart. Any moment and we’d hit the ground. Any moment and we’d surely–
A tremendous burst of mana erupted from Fable’s soul, exploding through his veins with the force of a volcano. Golden static crackled throughout his fur, dancing between my clenched hands and legs, sending tingling jolts through my body. A second later, we struck the ground.
The force a fifty-foot-long wolf generates by falling half a mile can not be understated. Before I even realized what was happening, I slammed into Fable’s back, getting a faceful of silver fur. The sudden whiplash sent a painful tremor through my body, but his fur was thick and soft, directly absorbing most of the impact.