Chapter 341: Above the World
The path leading up to the stone spire was rough and steep. It would have been impossible for me to climb it alone, but on Fable’s back, it was barely worth noticing. Several groups of soldiers passed us by, groaning with pain and dripping sweat, but they always made sure to stop and salute us. The gesture seemed respectful, but they probably just wanted a break from the grueling training that required them to lap the titanic rock formation. With any luck, they wouldn’t mention meeting us. I shuddered to think of what Elinore might do if she learned I was gone before I made it safely back to my tent.
The monolith was even larger up close, looming so impossibly it seemed to curve over us, blotting out the sky. The walls were smooth and sheer, broken by the occasional fissure or rocky outcropping. The trail around the base had been beaten into the stone by the relentless footfalls of thousands of soldiers, yet there was no path to the top, no approach by which one could reach the zenith.
"You want to climb that?" I asked, unable to tear my eyes off it.
Korra nodded, and I shuddered, my enthusiasm draining away. Perhaps I should have listened to Elinore, after all. Even thinking about climbing this monstrosity had to count as a strenuous activity, right?
"Oh, no backing out now," Korra said, smiling evilly. "You agreed to this, remember?"
I shook my head, gripping Fable’s fur tightly as she climbed on behind me. "I...I don’t think I can. Please, Korra, I really don’t think–Fable! No, wait!"
I swallowed my protests as Fable leaped forward, digging his claws into the blue-tinted stone like it were wet clay. I screamed and threw my arms around him, clinging to his neck for dear life as the entire world turned on its side. Gravity clawed at my hair, pulling it out behind me in rippling waves of crimson. Korra sputtered as it enveloped her face, but quickly pushed it aside with a peel of laughter.
"Isn’t this great!" she cried, her voice lost in the wind.
Fable continued to speed up, shooting up the side of the spire like a squirrel climbing a tree. The acceleration drew moisture from the corners of my eyes and flung them out into the air behind us, glittering drops in the sky. My stomach lurched each time Fable dug his claws into the stone, the entire world spinning with every bound.