Chronicles of Yugure: PIUD ~Added Redesigned Chapter 2

[Enoki]

R'member those old chapters of m'book that I posted on here a loong while ago? Well, I've gone and redone the first two original chapters, making them more interesting and all 'round better f'er the reader. (To be honest, I think the original versions of these chapters sucked. >v<") I may post the revamped chapter two as well, if ye readers would like that. Anyways, here's the introductory chapter, Day One, in the newly revamped Adventures in Yugure, which is now titled Chronicles of Yugure: Plummeting Into Uncharted Depths.

Day One

Tap tap tap, tap tap tap...

"Enoki, Enoki!" The rhythmic tapping continues to advance from the front room to my bedroom. I groggily awake, grabbing for my wooden clock sitting on my handcrafted night stand. It's carved gears tick at five-forty in the morning.

'Who in the world is at m'door at this time of day?' I try to roll over, pretending that I'm not there.

Rap tap tap, rap tap tap... Boom boom!

"Enooooki!" The voice lingers by my doorway, still knocking. I can feel the fibers of my wooden home vibrating at the pounding it is receiving from my visitor.

Sighing, I realize that this person will not leave until I make an appearance, or wake up the entire neighborhood trying. I pull off my roughly sewn buck skin blanket and wander out of my bedroom. In front of me and my bedroom doorway is my kitchen. I ward off any desires to ignore the caller and raid my cabinets and continue to the next room. The decently sized recreation room, in its usual state of shambles, is the last room I must endure until I reach the front door. I try my best not to step on one of the mine fields of antiquities I have scattered across the floor.

Part of my business as of late is restoring old artifacts for our local museum. I also enjoy working for private owners, including my own self, polishing and fixing any worn down artifacts of ancient beauty. One of my bad habits is to work on the floor, rather than using the workshop table that my mother got me as a present. This leaves me with a dangerously high risk of damaging my projects.

I reach the dark brown oval door. The details are in an off black metal. I switch the latch lock off and turn the lock that sits above the door knob. The cold metal handle makes my whole arm shiver as I turn the knob and open the door.

"There you are! What took you so long?" A falcon head pokes through the door eagerly. What follows is a maroon tiger striped feline body with the forelegs of a bird.

Yes, dear readers, my guest is a gryphon. But what would you expect in Yugure? Humans? Not likely.

"Erick, do ye know what time 'tis?" I ask the over zealous bird brain with an unamused tone. Although he is one of my good friends, he can be overbearing at times. On the IQ scale, he doesn't have much to show for; luckily his good looks save him from being a complete debacle in the society we call home. Now, I don't care for the fancy feathers and stuff-just the character. Even if said character involves waking me up extremely early in the morning.

He nods quickly and trots in place with excitement. "Oh, I know it's early and all, but the Professor wants to see you right away! He said something about a new assignment for you, and it's a big one." I can almost hear him squeal with  enthusiasm.

The Professor, meaning Achilles Blacktalon, was the pride of our realm. He solely invented a machine that could mimic the natural portals strung throughout Yugure. The portals to our world dissipated during the hard times of the Twilight Wars, which were long and grueling battles between the opposing dragon clans if Hikari and Kurai. We still don't know for sure why our portals disappeared, but thanks to Professor Blacktalon, we don't have to worry about that happening again.

Professor Blacktalon didn't normally teach a class, but he made an exception for me and one other student who just graduated from his teachings recently. I've been mostly learning botany, the study of plants. It's been a breeze for the most part, but Blacktalon says that the rest of my classes won't be as easy for me since I had a head start in my botany studies.

I snap back to reality, "An assignment, at this hour? Seriously? Does it 'ave something to do with studying the nocturnal?" I try to laugh but yawn instead.

Erickson shakes his head. "I don't know, he didn't tell me. He just said to come and fetch you. We'll find out once we get to his lab."

I moan and throw my head up in distress. "His lab? But that's all the way on the other side of the First Realm!" I may be exaggerating when I say the other side, but it is still a two or so hour flight to his laboratory.

"Yes, lazy bones, his lab. You seriously should get your nose out of the books and go outside more often. Drop the polishing statues and reading history books act and come with me to the lake sometime. All the gryphon ladies hang out there. You might actually snag a date." Erick teases, elbowing me in the arm.

"Not all the gryphon ladies. And b'sides, I prefer m'books." I mumble in reply and go to grab my satchel off my coffee table. "C'mon, let's get this over with. The sooner we get there, the sooner I can come back to m'bed and actually get a decent hours sleep."

"Oh, I doubt you'll be home before noon." Erick walks outside and sits on one of the supporting beams of my house, which just so happens to be suspended in the trees.

"Perfect," I wave my hands in the universal sign of whoop-dee-doo. "Let's just get goin', okay?"

Erickson smiles and bounces out onto the long porch made for takeoffs and landings. He runs down the porch and leaps of the edge. Snapping his wings open, he glides ten feet away and hovers there waiting for me to follow.

'So much f'er a hot breakfast.' I get a running start after closing the door behind me. My wings unfurl and feel the air beneath them. How good it feels to be up in the sky, chasing the tails of the wispy clouds. Nothing could be more perfect.

"Hey mutt face! Whatchya doin' up so early? Actually getting up like the rest of us normal folk?" A blue jay feathered gryphon cuts in front of us, sneering at me.

There is practically only one thing that can set me off. Only one, and that is calling me a mutt. Being that I'm only half gryphon, I'm not particularly the most popular creature around. My mother met my father not too long after Blacktalon successfully set up the portals to the other realms. He was, or is, I'm not quite certain of his well-being, a Kurai dragon who was actually part kirin himself; and sadly that's all I know about my elusive father.

"My back's getting kinda sore. Do ya mind if I hang my backpack on your coat rack you got going on there, Ignoramoose?"

I'm not that odd looking. To be honest, I think I look rather dashing. My "coat rack" is actually a fine set of antlers, which have a peculiar quality of being made out of petrified wood. They've grown every year since my birth, and I expect them to be glorious once I reach full maturity. My half webbed wings aren't half bad either, if I may add.

'Knowing Skylar, he'll start making fun of m'colors next.' That is all I need right now. I'm up at the near crack of dawn, and I haven't even had my coffee yet. I'm certainly not up to hear how green my fur is, or how a bush barfed on my dragon scales. Sometimes I really wish I had been gifted with the power to breathe dragon fire, but I guess I was cheated out of that one.

"First of all, 'tis pronounced ig-nore-ay-mus. Secondly, I don't even think you know what that means, let alone how to spell it." I growl my harsh words with a bit of pleasure. If my mum were here, she'd surely whack me a good one and tell me to hold my tongue; luckily, she's not.

"Enoki isn't an ignoramus, he's studying wi-"

"With Blacktalon, I know. Why don't you go preen yourself, Pretty Boy. That's really all you're good at." Skylar laughs so hard he does an accidental flip through the air.

"Enough!" A midnight purple she-gryphon rises in-between the three of us and looks us over. "You two are late. And you," she turns and gives a fierce gaze at Skylar, "turn tail feathers and beat it."

You need not to have Shadequill say it twice; Skylar pulls it into high speed and heads in the direction of the lake. We both share our thanks to Shade with a polite bow. She returns it and hovers toward us.

"Come on, Blacktalon is waiting." She speaks softly to us now. Her sleek plum feathers never go out of place. A smile forms on her beak as she turns around to lead us to the Professor's laboratory.

I'm relieved when we finally reach the large structure that hangs in the tallest tree in the First Realm. The sooty feathered gryphon waits for us at the entrance of his marvelous lab, which no one can deny is breathtaking at the least. Hanging below on the limbs of the grand oak tree are glowing crystal shards, that harvest the power of our sun to store its light for later use. For obvious reasons, they are called Sun Shards, and are well known throughout the realms of being the symbol of the great dragon clan, Hikari-the light dragons.

I struggle landing on this particular spot, due to there not being much a space to land. It involves a lot of flapping to slow down and descend nice and easy. Shadequill does it with ease, since she's been coming here for quite some time now. I, only being a student for twenty four years, still need to get some practice.

"Still performing a rough landing I see, eh Mr. Gryphoclaw? We'll need to work on that. Can't be having you stumbling out of the tree, we don't have any insurance." Professor comes to give me a hand. His shiny black leopard fur shimmers beneath the light that peeps through the leaves of the tree branches. Living up to his name, Blacktalon really is black all over. He looks like he fell through someone's chimney. The only thing that isn't black on him is his yellow-green eyes.

Shadequill silently laughs at my gracefulness and I shoot her a smug look sarcastically. We all follow Blacktalon down the branch until we reach the trunk itself. Steps lead upwards toward the lab entrance. I tread carefully, as to not have the Professor lecture me yet again on clumsiness.

Shade politely opens the door for us and we all walk in quietly. I give her a nod to thank her and proceed in. A short hallway greets us as we wander inward. Of course, this takes us to the most magnificent room of them all, the experiments room. Here is where we get to play around with chemicals and gases and have an excuse for it, that is when Blacktalon isn't around to notice.

The room is tall and rounded with many platforms reaching out from the walls. On those platforms are many different tables with projects scattered everywhere. It is usually just Shade, the Professor, and I, but we like to take on more projects than one could normally handle.

Professor Blacktalon clears his throat and sits himself down on his chair that lays behind his desk. "Alright now, time to get down to business. Enoki, as you already know, you have just turned one-hundred-twenty-four. Which means you are now able to travel the realms on your own.

"Our studies of the outside realms have declined into a drastic state ever since we lost contact with them due to our portals crashing into oblivion. We have no clue what's out there anymore, or if the creatures we once knew to be inhabitants of realms are no more. That being said, I've been talking with the Elder Council, and they agree with me wholeheartedly. We've decided that you are the best candidate to explore and catalog the outside realms. You leave tomorrow, so you best get home and pack as soon as you can."

"Woah, Enoki, that's so rad. You get to go meet other species! I'm so jealous." Erick caws with energetic jumps.

I'm speechless beyond compare. I never though I'd get a mission that involves leaving the First Realm right as soon as I reached legal age. My mind keeps telling myself to say something, but all that happens is my jaw moving up and down in a jittery fashion.

"Looks like you actually caught him speechless, Professor. That's something we won't see everyday." Shadequill chuckles punching me playfully on the shoulder.

I still stand silent as they all joke around. "Anyone up for some coffee? I've got a fresh pot on the kitchen heater."

The idea of hot Java awakens my voice, "I'd love a cup. It seems like I'll be needing it."

Day Two

We are standing in the Portal Station, where travelers may go to different realms. My bag sits by the portal I will be traveling through. I'll be traveling lightly, so the only thing coming with me is my satchel, which is stuffed to the rim with stuff.

"Make sure you stay warm, wear your scarf that Shade made you, earmuffs, and mittens that I packed you. I also packed some crumpets in your bag in case you get hungry. Don't talk to any strange creatures, and be sure to use your pepper powder if you feel threatened," my mother nags, preening my feathers.

"Mum," I protest, but she keeps going on. "Mum, okay, I get it, I get it. Please, I'm an adult now. I can handle m'self." I try not to look at her with the tears in her eyes. She has always been very attached to me, for reasons that I don't know; motherly instincts, I presume.

Shade comes up and hugs me. "You be careful out there in the big world. Be sure to draw pictures. I want to see what you got to see once you get back." I smile and nod at her, feeling sad that I'll be missing out on all the fun experiments she and Blacktalon will be doing without me.

"Hey, try not to have too much fun without me." Erickson grins and grabs my head in his arm and noogies me. I push myself away with a laugh, attempting to give him a noogie.

I turn to Professor Blacktalon, who pats me on the back reassuringly. No words are spoken between us, but I know he wishes me luck on my journey.

Taking my bag, I sling it over my shoulder. I bid them all one final farewell, waving as I enter the portal. The magical breeze that brushes by your face as your body goes through the rip in space tingles like tiny water droplets streaming past you.

"C-c-coooold!" I whimper, prancing in an undignified way through the snow covered pathway. Elk blankets would have been a smart move in packing, but alas, I did not do so. The wind blows against my feathers, smearing them every which way, my hot blooded arms shiver at the ice that is thrown at my scales, my fur is already being weighed down with all the snow melting in it.

'Five minutes in and I already look like a disheveled bum.' Snow crunches beneath my feet, making an oddly attractive sound. I have no clue where I'm going-everything looks the same! Far too much white and not enough green. I give up guessing and go to pull out the map Shade had given me from the archives in the back of the laboratory. My satchel jingles and ruffles with noise as I reach for the folded up paper.

"Aha! Oh," I exclaim, pulling it up, only to have it blow out of my hand and into the snowbank a few feet away. Grumbling, I run after the the paper, slipping as I go. My mouth lets out a quick cry as I slide too fast and land headfirst into the snowbank. I blink, looking at the other side of the snow bank. Apparently I have managed to shove my head all the way through the snowbank, leaving my rump exposed to anything that may wish to prey upon me from behind. The lost map flutters in the breeze above my head. A sharp wind blowing in the opposite direction of the original breeze flings the map over my face.

Churrs can be heard somewhere above me in the trees. Quiet wing beats land on a branch with snow. I know this because the snow lands on my head, pushing the map off my face.

"Lost, are you?" A voice calls out. I look around at the forest surrounding me, but see nothing. I take another glance around the trees and spot two bright orange eyes gazing down on me.

'Must be a snowy owl,' I note as I watch the eyes of the bird blink. My body shakes itself out of the snow and I reach for the map, pulling it close to me as if it may try and make a run for it.

"As a matter of fact, I am, noble owl." I reply politely with a bow. I'm hoping that this owl knows his way around the Third Realm with all its snow, ice, and monotonous pattern of snow laden trees. "I've been sent by m'professor to study and catalog the species of the known realms. I hear that there is a saber pack nearby, yes?"

The owl glides down to meet me. "Ah, you must mean the Tsume Pack. Oh yes, they're a few miles away. I could take you there if you'd like. Unfortunately, the High Male and High Female are currently out on a hunt at the time being, but I'd be happy to escort you to the territory's edge."

He peers at me closer, and circles around me with an examining eye. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you? I've never seen someone quite so green-green like the aurora in the night sky." He motions to my emerald scales.

I blush, being embarrassed by the attention. "Well, I'm actually not any one species, so I guess I'm just a new species of sorts. M'mum is a gryphon and m'father is a dragon from Kurai." Awkwardly, I mumble, not knowing what to say. I've never actually taken the time to think about my species genealogy; it hasn't ever crossed my mind.

"Mm, Kurai. Ye best not mention the Kurai to the Tsumes, they are a bit wary of 'em since the Twilight War. I wouldn't worry about it though, they've always been a superstitious bunch. Ah, well, anyways, do you happen to have a name for it, your species?"

'Gee, I wonder why they're like that? What did the Kurai do to get a bad reputation?' My brain wonders curiously. I tap my chin, thinking. "I think, I'll go with something simple, easy to r'member. I think I'll go with... Dracopites herba as the scientific term, or dryphon f'er informal usage."

The owl speaks kindly, "A very studious name for a studious lad like yourself. Now, if you wish to head over to the Tsume Pack with me, do you mind if we stop by my hollow so I can pick up a few things? By the way, the name's Shimo." He tilts his head and turns it to his side that's closest to me.

"I'm Enoki, and that sounds fine." I agree wholeheartedly and follow him to a tall pine. The snowy owl flutters up the branches and reaches a large hole and enters in. His tail feathers can still be seen sticking out of his hollow. He finally returns, holding a scroll in his left talons.

"Alright, follow me." He speaks, stepping farther out on the branch. Shimo spreads his feathered wings up and soars up and over the trees. It's hard to keep a good eye on him on the grey sky, but I spot him, and follow him on the ground, heading towards the cleared path.

I admire his skill to fly in such terrible weather. The wind howls every which way and nearly lifts me off the ground. I can barely walk, yet alone fly in this blizzard.

"So, how long do the blizzards usually last 'round here?" I call out to Shimo curiously.

"Eh, what? What blizzard? This is the normal weather around these parts." He laughed and lowered his altitude to help me hear him better.

We arrive at a fork in the road; an icy mountain range can be seen at the left, far off into the distance-at least a four to five hour trek up to the top of the peak. We take the right instead, leading down a long and uneven pathway jumbled with snow covered pine trees, all of which throw their pebble sized snowflakes at me.

Our walk is quiet, only a few words pass between us. We have mostly given up on conversation due to the wind picking up even more so than before. Its noise is boisterous and ever so relentless against our travels. Shimo alights down on a branch once the weather begins to calm.

"This is where I must bid you farewell. I have business with the High Male and Female regarding their border protection. I'm the security guard, you could say." He winks at me and lands a few feet away.

"I don't know how I can ever r'pay ye f'er y'er kindness. 'Twas most helpful." I bow my head courteously.

"Oh, think nothing of it, lad. It was my pleasure to meet your acquaintance." The owl waves his wing indifferently.

"But I must give ye something f'er y'er services. Oh! I know," I say with a flick of the wrist.

Now, you all must know by now that our world is much different from the mortal world. Full of wonder and unexplainable science, magic as some of the more unconventional may view it. But I can guarantee you that every hocus pocus, spell, and charm that actually do not involve deception has a logical explanation of science behind it-I have proof of it too! I tested my theory on my own self. What I am trying to explain is, we use "magic".

With my flick powder falls from out of my scales. Like mushroom spores, they float slowly with a golden iridescent characteristic about it. Once it lands on the cold earth, I work very hard to keep a neurological connection between my brain and the "pollen" as I have come to call it.

Immediately, three bulbs sprout from the ground, rocketing toward the sun. The white and baby blue accented flower bulbs bloom quickly. I see no reaction from Shimo as they soon mature and wilt with an exceeding rate. I tap the now dried bulbs and with the other hand collect the seeds that the flowers drop, and put them in an empty small pouch I had on my person.

"Here, some ice begonias. I hear they are a popular perennial in these parts." I try to smile an honest smile without looking too much like a freak.

It's my special abilities that kept me indoors most of the time. I could never control it when I was younger. I'd always leave a trail of overgrowth wherever I walked. Not really the best way to impress your friends who already think you belong in the Museum of Nature's Weirdest.

"Thank you Enoki. I can see why you're named after a mushroom; you have a special gift. You take care now."

"And you as well," I call back to him as I wander further up the trail. The den can be seen slowly climbing into view while they hang firmly to the side of a jagged edged hillside. I just hope I'm welcome here.

[Hakumi]

This....Is really good. I simply loved it and I couldn't look away until I got to the end ( And then ended up re-reading it ).

P.S -> Ignoramoose . . . . Beautiful.
- Le Nuzzles , Pandeer Sticker to the Snout -

[Enoki]

This....Is really good. I simply loved it and I couldn't look away until I got to the end ( And then ended up re-reading it ).

P.S -> Ignoramoose . . . . Beautiful.
- Le Nuzzles , Pandeer Sticker to the Snout -

Aaaaa, I'm so happy ye liked it that much. :O <3 Thanke f'er the love n'sticker. I shall keep this f'erever.

[Wyldercat]

This is amazing! Your writing skills are quite on point! this reminds me, I gotta be more active haha

[Enoki]

This is amazing! Your writing skills are quite on point! this reminds me, I gotta be more active haha

Thank ye very much so. Yes, we'd love to see y'er Scuttle booty back in Yugure. ;3