hoped no one would come before then.
I felt a surge of joy when I got on the bed of py with my first attempt. Even better, I could hold myself without too much strain. I found it interesting how some skills tended to improve between practicing, not always during. Manipulating pyforial energy had always been that way for me.
I let the energy dissipate, catching myself with my hands.
Now for the next step . It was time to see what rising into the air was like.
I positioned myself where I figured I’d be practicing until lunch, almost directly beneath Swenn’s balcony. It was just about high enough where a fall from there certainly would break bones but probably not kill me. I made the bed of py, the phrase “deathbed” not lost on me, and got myself onto it, my arms and legs spread to distribute my weight.
I figured I could hold myself for about a minute, but that was just supporting my weight. I still had to lift my body into the air. I tried to ignore the worry that I would have no idea whether someone was watching me, for I couldn’t exactly look around while lying flat against the energy.
I willed the energy straight up. A childlike laugh burst out of me as I shot into the air with tremendous speed, my stomach fluttery.
I still rose, closing my eyes to focus on going up. The best part about this was how the energy stayed close to my body, making it the same effort to control no matter how high I went.
I rose higher, feeling like I could go all the way to the clouds if I wanted.
But I still have to get down , I reminded myself.
I opened my eyes, expecting to be maybe ten feet off the ground. Gods, I was higher than Swenn’s balcony! Panic almost made me lose control.
Breathe, calm down, keep focus.
The ground looked so far away. Fear threatened to stop my heart as I gasped.
I lost control.
Suddenly I was falling!
Trusting my hands more than my ability to catch myself with py, I grabbed the railing of Swenn’s balcony, getting my whole right arm over it while clutching the top with my left.
My feet flailed to find purchase while my heart pounded in my ears. The gaps between each metal bar of the railing were too thin for me to get my foot through, but I managed to turn my left foot and stick in a few toes worth of my shoe. The rest of my effort went into my arms as I used them to pull myself up and get my other foot into a gap.
I didn’t know if Swenn was in his room and had heard me crash into his balcony. The wooden doors were closed, but they could fly open at any moment. If he saw me barely hanging on, he certainly would shove me off, probably smile as I fell. He’d claim he never saw me.
I tried to hurry. One of my feet slipped. I held back a scream.
Half of my weight was on my arms, the other half on three of my toes. I could feel them slipping as I tried to get the other foot back into a gap between the railing.
I looked down. Gods, the grass was so far away. Nonetheless, I contemplated falling while I still had the choice. I would be ready to catch myself with py. But would it work?
I was losing strength and sweating. I had to make a decision.
If I fell, then I’d have to float back up here later, and two hells how I didn’t want to do that. I pulled with all my strength. I didn’t try to get my free foot in a gap, focusing everything on lifting myself with my arms.
I got my stomach over. My legs followed and I fell onto the balcony, not caring about the pain running through my body. I scrambled over to the corner so that if Swenn opened the doors they wouldn’t reach me.
It took a while for me to regain my breath and calm my rushing heart. I crawled over to the railing to look below. The inner courtyard still appeared empty. It also seemed Swenn hadn’t heard me, if he was even in his room.
Or had he heard me and now he was summoning the guards?
I pushed my ear against the thin wooden door. A faint voice came through from the other side.
“He got the payment he deserved. Just
I felt a surge of joy when I got on the bed of py with my first attempt. Even better, I could hold myself without too much strain. I found it interesting how some skills tended to improve between practicing, not always during. Manipulating pyforial energy had always been that way for me.
I let the energy dissipate, catching myself with my hands.
Now for the next step . It was time to see what rising into the air was like.
I positioned myself where I figured I’d be practicing until lunch, almost directly beneath Swenn’s balcony. It was just about high enough where a fall from there certainly would break bones but probably not kill me. I made the bed of py, the phrase “deathbed” not lost on me, and got myself onto it, my arms and legs spread to distribute my weight.
I figured I could hold myself for about a minute, but that was just supporting my weight. I still had to lift my body into the air. I tried to ignore the worry that I would have no idea whether someone was watching me, for I couldn’t exactly look around while lying flat against the energy.
I willed the energy straight up. A childlike laugh burst out of me as I shot into the air with tremendous speed, my stomach fluttery.
I still rose, closing my eyes to focus on going up. The best part about this was how the energy stayed close to my body, making it the same effort to control no matter how high I went.
I rose higher, feeling like I could go all the way to the clouds if I wanted.
But I still have to get down , I reminded myself.
I opened my eyes, expecting to be maybe ten feet off the ground. Gods, I was higher than Swenn’s balcony! Panic almost made me lose control.
Breathe, calm down, keep focus.
The ground looked so far away. Fear threatened to stop my heart as I gasped.
I lost control.
Suddenly I was falling!
Trusting my hands more than my ability to catch myself with py, I grabbed the railing of Swenn’s balcony, getting my whole right arm over it while clutching the top with my left.
My feet flailed to find purchase while my heart pounded in my ears. The gaps between each metal bar of the railing were too thin for me to get my foot through, but I managed to turn my left foot and stick in a few toes worth of my shoe. The rest of my effort went into my arms as I used them to pull myself up and get my other foot into a gap.
I didn’t know if Swenn was in his room and had heard me crash into his balcony. The wooden doors were closed, but they could fly open at any moment. If he saw me barely hanging on, he certainly would shove me off, probably smile as I fell. He’d claim he never saw me.
I tried to hurry. One of my feet slipped. I held back a scream.
Half of my weight was on my arms, the other half on three of my toes. I could feel them slipping as I tried to get the other foot back into a gap between the railing.
I looked down. Gods, the grass was so far away. Nonetheless, I contemplated falling while I still had the choice. I would be ready to catch myself with py. But would it work?
I was losing strength and sweating. I had to make a decision.
If I fell, then I’d have to float back up here later, and two hells how I didn’t want to do that. I pulled with all my strength. I didn’t try to get my free foot in a gap, focusing everything on lifting myself with my arms.
I got my stomach over. My legs followed and I fell onto the balcony, not caring about the pain running through my body. I scrambled over to the corner so that if Swenn opened the doors they wouldn’t reach me.
It took a while for me to regain my breath and calm my rushing heart. I crawled over to the railing to look below. The inner courtyard still appeared empty. It also seemed Swenn hadn’t heard me, if he was even in his room.
Or had he heard me and now he was summoning the guards?
I pushed my ear against the thin wooden door. A faint voice came through from the other side.
“He got the payment he deserved. Just
Similar Books
