Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign - By Phillip Jones Page 0,50

the saddle. The wolf secured the straps under his front paw and then looked over his shoulder to speak. “How are you cubs doing back there? The first flight is usually the most difficult.”

Sam hesitated, amused about being called a cub. “I’m doing fine, for the most part. How long are we going to be on this thing before it lands?”

An unexpected voice shouted from the direction of the eagle head. “I’m not a thing, human!” The griffin’s head snapped around as it shrieked. “My name is Soresym! You will refer to me in a respectful manner when speaking of me in the future. I should roll, snatch you up, rip you apart and then drop you to your death for your ignorance. You will watch your tongue, or I shall pluck it from you.”

Though startled, Sam was quick to apologize. “I meant no offense.”

The beast grudgingly turned his head back into the direction of flight. “We should be landing on Angels Platform by dusk,” Soresym informed. “Beyond, you won’t be traveling with me any longer. My kind only travels between Angels Platform and the Temple of the Gods. After this, you’ll be traveling with the hippogriffs.

The griffin looked back over his shoulder again. His eyes were piercing as he glared at Sam. “I don’t enjoy transporting your kind. I can’t stand to be near any of you, or any of the other wretched beasts on this world.”

“Then why do it?” Sam queried.

“The gods require us to do so in order to live within the cliffs beneath the temple. I would not be doing so now, but Bassorine requested my services. You should’ve walked down the steps. You’re not of noble blood.”

Sam apologized again and then looked at Mosley, but on this occasion, he chose his words carefully. “Is it my imagination, or does every glorious creature on this world understand how to speak English? How can any of this be possible?”

Mosley laughed. “Not all of us ‘glorious creatures’ have the ability to speak your language. Most speak their own. Only those of us who live in service to the gods can speak every language of the worlds.”

Sam nodded. His mind took a turn as he looked at Shalee’s watch. It’s a good thing this works off kinetic energy, he thought. Sam determined by the position of the sun, combined with the griffin’s explanation of when they would land, that the Peaks seemed to be similar to the days on Earth.

Mosley took note of the peaceful look on Shalee’s face. “She will sleep through the night and most of the next Peak. There are many landing platforms scattered across the lands of Southern Grayham where we can spend the night. I’m sure she’ll be happy about that.”

From the way it sounded as Mosley continued, the hippogriffs flew during the day, unless ordered by the kings of Southern Grayham. It was only possible to fly to one landing platform each day because of the distance between them.

“I’ll make the arrangements necessary for the night once we arrive,” Mosley said.

Sam looked at Shalee and wondered how he was going to explain everything. He still had a hard time believing what he had learned, let alone trying to make sense of it to someone else. Animals talked, griffins and hippogriffs acted as airborne transportation, and that was just the start of it. Magic, gods, swords, kingdoms, and everything he thought to be myth were true. He knew nothing of the culture, or even how to speak with the people to make the transition. For the first time in my life, I am truly out of my element, he thought.

Sam wandered as he thought about Earth. He had so many questions for Bassorine, and yet, this “so-called” god was not around. “How convenient,” he mumbled. He looked forward to their next meeting. He could not wait to ask the question that bothered him most. Why do I know Bassorine’s face?

Sam moved his hand through Shalee’s hair. She was his definition of sublime, and she had been leaning against him during the entire flight. He concluded much of his attraction to her was because she was his only anchor to anything normal. He pulled her close as he tried to stop staring at her face.

After flying over the Blood River, a name Sam remembered from his mental snapshot of the map inside the temple, he knew it would not be long before they landed. When he saw the platform standing high in the distance, he