Afterword [Feathers In The Light]

WINGSSS!!!!!!

When I asked my writer friend about this idea she whole-heartedly supported it because she loves the aesthetic of humans with feathered wings. (they're called 'Ica' from 'Icarus' of the old Greek Myth of Icarus and Daedalus)

Something about it is just so majestic. 

I'm extremely passionate about this story idea, and I wish to continue this story as a side project of mine on this site for the foreseeable future (not just the monthly challenge)

My initial vision for this story came from one random anime scene I created in my head when I was sleeping. I'm not joking.

I don't know where this scene in my head came from, but the scene was pretty much this (you can skip ts if ur not trynna read another paragraph):

A shot from the inside of one of those Japanese apartment buildings we see in anime. It's not inside the actual apartment, but rather it's a shot outside the door, pointing towards the city skyline. Sitting on the ledge of the apartment was a young girl in a japanese skl uniform, black tie and black skirt with black hair flowing in the wind, and she had white wings springing from her back (not as big as in Feather In The Light) and beside her was a boy facing the city, with both his forearms resting on the ledge looking back at the 'camera.'

Yah... pretty vague if I say so myself. But the thing that caught my imagination was the juxtaposition between the modernity city life and the regressive nature of wings. 

Like, imagine someone flying through Tokyo's city skyline during golden hour, slipping between the buildings kinda like spiderman, with feathers trailing behind. 

Anyways, I came up with the entire magic/power system of this story.
Again, you don't have to read this if you think it's too long, but I highly recommend checking it out and then going back to the epilogue. Things will make A LOT more sense (as well as the titles of the chapters)

The Ica System
The Ica were all once human. The essence of the Ica's ability to 'sprout' is in the pure light from the sun. (sprouting means for and Ica to break their seal and unfurl their wings for the first time) But only certain people can sprout because they either 1.don't understand the Ica's concepts of freedom (which is why one of this novel's tag's is Philosophical)  or 2.they don't go in one of the pockets. 

Pockets are places on the earth where the sun's light is affected in a way that allows it to seep deep enough into the human spirit for someone to break their seal. 

A human can get their seal or be planted (the burn mark of Spes' back) by inheriting an existing Ica's will, or by living in a pocket and assimilating into the Ica. The key is to adapt to the Ica's freedom.

Then, to break the seal or sprout you must go to a Pocket and go through that pocket's specific rituals. Your wings change drastically depending on the environment of the pocket you were sprouted, and how the light is affected in that pocket. 

The one exception to this rule, is if you were given your seal by an existing Ica (which Spes and Aella were.) This is because the steps are reversed when you inherit and Ica's will. In other words, you obtain the ability to sprout and then it gets sealed away. Meaning instead of sprouting into an Ica of your pocket, you sprout into the Ica who gave you their will. 

To put it as simply as I can: the traditional path to becoming an Ica is like sealing a jar of honey, then gradually filling the jar up telepathically, and when there is enough honey, you break the seal or open the lid and that's how you sprout. It takes and incredibly long time, but you need in order to prepare and transform your body for flight.

But the path of inheritance is like getting an industrial honey pump and shoving it in a tiny jar until it's overflowing so much the jar is gonna break, and then slapping on the seal. This is why Spes' transformation involved her lungs rapidly increasing, and a lot of pain in her muscles. And then when she was sealed, everything went away. 

This also means though, that as soon as Spes breaks her seal she immediately unlocks 100% of her abilities as an Ica, unless the person who donated their will doesn't give all of it. 

Now try to guess what happens at the end of the chapter.

Songs listened to when writing this afterword:
Baby Blue Movie - Cigarettes After Sex
No One Noticed - The Marias
Lovers Rock - TV Girl 
Soft Spot - Keshi