Rodrigues - Quzil Scarlett: & the Kingdom of Durkinbird

Notion Press

Old No. 38, New No. 6
McNichols Road, Chetpet
Chennai - 600 031

First Published by Notion Press 2017
Copyright Daryl Rodrigues 2017
All Rights Reserved.

ISBN 978-1-947851-74-0

This book has been published with all reasonable efforts taken to make the material error-free after the consent of the author. No part of this book shall be used, reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

The Author of this book is solely responsible and liable for its content including but not limited to the views, representations, descriptions, statements, information, opinions and references [Content]. The Content of this book shall not constitute or be construed or deemed to reflect the opinion or expression of the Publisher or Editor. Neither the Publisher nor Editor endorse or approve the Content of this book or guarantee the reliability, accuracy or completeness of the Content published herein and do not make any representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose. The Publisher and Editor shall not be liable whatsoever for any errors, omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause or claims for loss or damages of any kind, including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage arising out of use, inability to use, or about the reliability, accuracy or sufficiency of the information contained in this book.

Chapter 2

Gateway To A New World

T he giant golden tree had opened into a golden gate while Quzil stood there stunned by its sight. He clenched his feather tightly and a wide smile spread across his face.

Its here he whispered, Its finally here! he said and his eyes opened wide like an owl, the ticket to my adventurous journey is finally here! he screamed in delight and at once dashed into the gate and kept running into the light. Suddenly he realised that what he was running on seemed to be a wooden bridge and around him was the blue sky but that didnt stop him from running and then he jumped! Without a second thought he jumped and looked like a ballerina gracefully flying in the air when he realised the air was unusually cold and a bit foggy. It were the clouds. Quzil found himself standing in the sky among the clouds, thousands of feet from the ground.

Uh oh he said, he didnt have the courage to look down below him and decided to turn back but when he turned his head to see the golden gate, it shut close and the wooden bridge he was standing on vanished. He fell down towards the ground screaming, yelling out his lungs as the wind hit his face, he helplessly cried for help as he fell when he noticed a rock like thing floating in the air in front of him. As he got closer he realised that it was in fact an island, an island that was floating in the air, there was some sort of a town on top of it and its foundations looked like an inverted mountain top. He passed by it but couldnt full grasp its elegance but as the fell further he saw something even more elegant and astonishing. He saw a whole swarm of it, a huge assemblage of floating islands spread in the air like a bunch of lotuses in a pond, it looked beautiful and for a second Quzil almost forgot that he was falling from the sky until he saw another floating island right below him. There was nothing he could do but swing his hands around in false hope as the distance between him and the island cut closer. He saw pillars on the island and tall trees which had windows in them and people too but they were different from the ones he knew in his world. They had wings attached to their back. Some were walking, some were flying when a few of them noticed an object in the air that was coming towards them with great speed.

Help me! screamed Quzil as he fell, he got so close that he was about to hit one of the tree tops in a few seconds. The tree top was just inches away from Quzil when he stopped or rather he was stopped. He looked below him and saw the branches of the tree waving in the wind when he realised the strong grip on his shoulder. His body began to move and now he was flying above the trees when he looked up to see who had saved him. It was a girl with brown hair and brown wings that had saved Quzil from getting his nose flattened.

Whats happening? he inquired.

Shut up and stay still, or we both fall down the bird-girl scolded him. Her hands had grabbed on to Quzils shoulders so tightly that he had to spread his arms open that made him look like a scarecrow in a cornfield. Quzil had tons of questions to ask this girl but he had been asked to not speak and so he let the little birdgirl take him where she thought would be safe ground. She flew him over the floating islands while he stared at all the bewilderment he couldnt take in. They were all covered in greenery, the vast lands that were masked in trees and tall grasses and a lot of skyscraping treehouses too, from below the islands slipped streams of water which broke out into sprinkles and watered the tangled roots below it. It was just like he had read in books.

One by one they passed several islands where each one had a diverse and radiant difference than the previous one and each one seemed to have birdmen with different coloured wings. Some of them he saw had jet black hair and black wings that resembled crows, some had dark green wings that resembled parrots while some had light brown wings with dark patches in between that resembled owls. Quzil also saw that these birdmen were flying in and out of treeshouses with several windows in it and wondered whether they lived in it. They flew for a few more minutes until they arrived to an island where only the brown winged birdmen could be seen. Quzil wondered whether this birdgirl belonged to this island.

Um, excuse me? he said innocently to her Weve been flying for quite a long time now, it would be great if you could put me down

Sure came a reply and the grip around Quzils shoulders loosened.

She let go of his shoulders when they were still in the air. Quzil went through the same phase again of falling to the ground but this time there was a lake to save him. He fell into the water with a splash and struggled a bit to stay to its surface, he hadnt lost the feather. The birdgirl landed on the shore and drew a sword from her scabbard that was stuck to her hip.

Who are you? she shouted fiercely, And why have you come here to Durkinbird? Are you a spy? Quzil wanted to answer her questions but before that he decided to come out of the water. He was a bit offended by what she had asked, was he a spy? of course not. He got out of the lake completely soaked. The birdgirl was waiting for him on the shore with her sword pointed at him, she had almond-brown eyes and hair that was tied into a short pony tail, she wore a dark brown dress that looked like a knights suit.

Why did you do that? he asked as he approached her.

Stay still wingless creature! she said and pulled a whip out of a back pocket. It was really a vine but it seemed like it could move.

I dont know why you have come here or what evil plan you have against us harpies but I wont let you fulfil it! she tossed the vine at him that strangled his body, if you didnt know harpy is a half human half bird creature.

Im not a spy nor do I have an evil plan said Quzil innocently.

Well see about that she said sheathing her sword and picking up Quzil by his collar, Now you do as I tell you to or the consequences will be foul Quzil agreed and chose to walk, he didnt want her to draw her sword again. They walked through the forest that seemed to never end.