That Was Un-aspect-ed

Camellia nearly fell off the platform back into the ocean below.

“A… talking bird?”

“I am a deity.”

Camellia looked over the edge of her makeshift rocket. It should have fallen down by now. The whole thing hovered in the air, held up by some invisible force. “Are you doing this?”

“Indeed.”

The view from up here was captivating. Camellia took a moment to let it all sink in. Each gulp of fresh ocean air tasted of salt and seaweed, a comforting scent. For the first time in this new world, she heard the lap of the tide from far down below.

Carefully looking at the environment above the surface, she realized how large the land above The Bed truly was. A massive island towered behind her, some hundreds of meters off, dominated by thick, lush jungle and a gargantuan volcano. At the top, rings of clouds circled the caldera. She let her gaze fall down its slope. Past the thick greenery, a wide, open patch of rock and sand emerged, supporting a large, healthy city. Cream stucco walls supported red-tiled roofs, and the streets stretched out all over the flat expanse of sand and rock at the jungle’s edge. An image came to Camellia’s mind. An event Amanda always raved about. Renaissance faires, were they? Close to the city’s limits, the ground crumbled into white-sand beaches that would have been a perfect advertisement for a tropical resort.

“Dryside,” Camellia whispered, nearly breathless.

“Indeed. You wish to ascend?” The eagle before her interrupted her sightseeing.

“Y- Yes, um… What is your name?”

“I am called Owashi. King of all eagles.” The regal human voice, emanating from the very clearly toothless and lipless orange beak before Camellia, unsettled her.

“Hello, Owashi.” Camellia bowed as much as the limited real estate of the tiny platform allowed. “May I ask… Why are you here? And why are you keeping me afloat up here?”

The eagle cocked its head to the side. “Do you not wish to be blessed with a Deific Zooionaspect?”

“Huh? No, I do, just— Oh. Oh my god,” Camellia gasped.

The bird nodded. “I see you have figured it out.”

Camellia whispered, “You’re…”

With grandiosity only the king of the biggest birds could express, Owashi spread his wings wide, making his silhouette even larger and more intimidating. He announced, “With ingenuity to find your way through an impossible task…”

His stare bore down on Camellia.

“With the heart to overcome physician limitations and soar into the sky...”

Those wings really were fantastic.

“And with the vast knowledge to both aid your allies and best your adversaries in combat… You have proven yourself worthy.” Owashi folded his wings back in and bowed his head. “I offer you my blessing.”

Camellia was speechless.

Looking back up, Owashi spoke with royal grandeur. “Become my champion. Embody the aspect of the great sea eagle. Grasp your destiny with your own two hands.”

The sound of the waves below kept them from pure silence.

“I… I accept!” Enthusiastically, Camellia nodded her head, almost falling off the mattress due to her excitement.

Birds shouldn’t be capable of human expression, yet Camellia swore she saw the corner of Owashi’s beak curl up into a smile. “Then, Camellia Renoir, be blessed, and go forth with the aspect of the eagle.”

A wave of warmth washed over Camellia’s entire body, flowing from her head to her toes. It had a strange energizing effect, and she shuddered. She felt different, capable. Powerful.

Owashi flapped his wings. “And now, in your new life bearing my blessing, the first trial of many begins.” With a final parting gust, he bellowed, “Good luck!” and vanished in a puff of yellow-gold mist.

As soon as the minor deity disappeared, Camellia began to fall.

“Wait, wait, wait! Come back, Owashi!” Camellia screamed. It was of no use, for he was gone. Thinking quickly, Camellia estimated she had been maybe a hundred meters above the surface of the water. She had a little less than five seconds to figure something out before she crashed into the waves. Well, now it was more like three.

Better think quick, Camellia.

Perhaps it was the same insane part of her brain that came up with this whole plan in the first place, but something inside Camellia told her to jump. She had little time to decide. Closing her eyes, she trusted in herself and leapt forward off her platform.

A surge of power flooded through her the moment she jumped, as if she had broken a dam behind her with just her legs. She screamed and felt the power course through her. It concentrated on her back. She willed it to flow and felt a great pain in her shoulder blades, like they’d been dug into with a knife.

In an instant, it was over. The pain subsided. She looked down, and the ocean stood still beneath her. Huh? What? She leaned forward and immediately swooped downward.

“Whoa!”

In her periphery, a yellow-gold glow radiated from behind her. She carefully looked back.

Sprouting from the bottom of each of her shoulder blades, in those spots which had burned so painfully moments before, she saw them.

She had two massive, golden spectral wings.