Ribbontail: Enter Emalia
Chapter 26: Float Magic


Author's Note: Please read my artist's comments before continuing. :3
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“So like... how do they get these things to glow?” Purring ponderously at the merchant selling raver merchandise, O’liday held a lit glowstick to his face. He tilted the little glowing object and cocked his head at it, analyzing the purple aura that emanated from it. In the dying light of evening, the stick looked especially lovely. “Dude, check this thing out!”

Ribbontail was seated with PuppetRibbontail before a barrel nearby. She turned, saw O’liday waving the glowstick at her, and feigned surprise. A glowstick in this world? How interesting! But she’d seen such things on Earth many times before; and obviously, O’liday had never observed one for himself.

When O’liday turned back to continue chatting with the merchant, Ribbontail let out a deep, peaceful sigh. She and PuppetRibbontail had been watching the bazaar grow ever less crowded as the day tore on. This had apparently been the last day of the bazaar, as even the merchants began leaving. One-by-one tents and camel trains left, trailing off into the distance and vanishing into the evening desert. Now only the last hundred shoppers lingered, picking through what remaining stands and shops there were.

After a long day of running around, trying to catch up with O’liday’s boundless energy, and hiding from the sweltering sun, Ribbontail felt herself relax.

“It’s almost time to go...” she whispered to PuppetRibbontail, nodding at the vanishing sun, “That lady Infin told us to meet back with her when the sun started to go down, right?”

PuppetRibbontail nodded in confirmation.

“O’liday,” Ribbontail called to the feliulf. Instantly he bid the merchant goodbye to return to his friend’s side, a curious look upon his face. “Come on, we’ve got to go find Infin before she decides to leave on us.”

“Sweet, man, let’s go!”

It took very little time to find the mysterious Emalian merchant. The three friends had to wander about for only a few minutes before they found her, disassembling her stand and taking down her tent and signs. With her were two other Emalians- both of the anthropomorphic variety- that Ribbontail had never met: a hard-muscled, round-bellied pig and a lean ferret businessman, complete with full suit and case. The two of them stood watching Infin as she packed up her things. Clearly they offered no help to her whatsoever.

Ribbontail and her two partners approached with welcoming smiles on their faces, though O’liday tensed up immediately at the sight of her. “Hi!” Ribbontail greeted, “did we get here on time?”

Her eyes glimmering favorably from beneath her mask, Infin nodded towards the two strange Emalians. “Just wait over there with those two, and I’ll be finished in a few minutes. We’ll be heading off soon.”

Following her order with silent obedience, the three friends situated themselves as far away from the two Emalians as possible. They fell quiet.

But it was then that a movement nearby caught Ribbontail’s attention, and she turned to see a procession of large, strange camels. Six in all, the desert beasts stood in a half circle as they seemed to wait for their master Infin. They were larger than the standard camels, with fur more silvery in color than gold. What struck Ribbontail as most astonishing was their eyes: hazy, glowing, almost unseeing, the camels stood there like ghosts.

Four of the camels stood together in a plus formation- one in the front, one behind, and one on each side. To their backs were strapped wooden posts. These posts, thick and sturdy, came to a point to hold together a carriage of sorts. It was wooden, about four or five feet tall. The construction reminded Ribbontail very much of an old 18th century carriage from Earth, the big difference being that it was carried by camel. How this thing would manage on the sloping, treacherous desert was beyond her!

Infin worked silently as she rolled up her few remaining goods and fastened them to the last two camels. It was then that Ribbontail gulped down the knot in her throat. “Hey, miss Infin,” she asked, keeping her voice as polite as possible, “What’s with your camels? Why are they so ghostly looking?”

Looking up from her work, Infin turned and dusted herself off. She nodded once at the camels, saying in a rather affectionate tone, “Zinuur, Hashal, Kayur, Arhil, Khallini, and Elama. Are they not the most beautiful beasts you’ve ever seen?”

Infin’s sudden list of odd names had called the attention of the gathered passengers. Even the two strange Emalians stared at her and her camels, faces alight with inquisitiveness. The merchant saw this and waved her claws. “All Summonings, made to never sleep, eat, or fuss. They’re magical creatures, so don’t worry one bit about them.”

When the trader turned and went back to work tying the load up, Ribbontail felt O’liday’s paws rap her forehead. “Dude,” he whispered, “Those are some sweet camels. I bet this ride’ll be nice n’ easy with those things working all day.”

Ribbontail nodded in an agreeable but kept herself silent, afraid that this statement might offend Infin in some way. But she merely kept to her work and didn’t seem to have heard O’liday. Clearly she was too busy with other things.

After some time, though, she finally completed her task. The two free camels were now weighted with carpets and fabrics; Infin walked along the line of creatures and whispered to them softly before turning to her passengers. “Well okay then,” she said to them all, “It’s about time we go. Come on now, I want to get over this canyon before night falls.”

There were groans from the two men as they gathered up their luggage. Then, as though they knew precisely what to do, they hobbled over and offered their suitcases and bags to Infin, who silently hauled them up into the carriage bed. Ribbontail flicked her ears in interest, noting that the carriage opened with a door much like the ones on Earth did. It was just as she had predicted: it was a stagecoach held aloft by camels!

As the two strangers stepped up into the wagon, Infin turned to regard Ribbontail and her friends with a nod. “Alrighty now, into the carriage with you lot.”

Ribbontail was quick to respond, muttering “Okay” as she and her two friends hurried over to the carriage. Then, right in front of a chuckling Infin, they struggled ungracefully in getting inside. The coach was clearly built for two-legged, taller creatures. Poor Ribbontail found that to get inside she had to haul herself one leg at a time, finally just throwing herself up into the carriage.

Much to Ribbontail’s dismay, all O’liday had to do was step off of her head into the room. “Cheater,” Ribbontail snorted, sprawled on the wooden floor of the stagecoach.

PuppetRibbontail seemed to have an easier time getting up, as she rose herself fluidly onto the support beam, then into the wagon. Immediately Ribbontail and O’liday scampered aside to make way for the guardian. Once the entire gang was inside Ribbontail paused, dusted her fur off, and looked around.

It was shockingly roomy inside the wagon. A little over five feet tall and six or seven feet in every direction, it was rectangular in here, and very blank and wooden. A little light clung to the ceiling of the carriage; lit apparently by a magic of some sort, as it glowed warmly without any electricity. Other than this there were no features except for a bench fixed to the left wall. Not surprisingly, the two Emalian strangers had already situated themselves on this seat.

There was also a little horizontal window opposite the bench. Ribbontail pressed her face against the glass and peered outside, seeing that it faced the leading camels in the train-

“So are we all set then?” came Infin’s voice. Unexpectedly she was standing in the doorway, her good paw on the door as she eyed the passengers inside the carriage. “Did anybody forget anything? I am not turning back once we leave, so you’d best double check your supplies.”

Ribbontail scanned her two friends before checking her harness, taking note that she still had her scroll and picture book. “Yes,” she said, “WE have everything.”

Without a word Infin nodded. Dealing with ignorant Emalians was evidently something that she was used to, as she barely paid the two men any mind; she merely glanced at them, nodded, and latched the door tight.

O’liday, PuppetRibbontail, and Ribbontail sat in a semicircle together, making themselves comfortable. Their two new traveling companions seemed less than interested in them: the large hog began shifting impatiently, while the ferret had pulled out a newspaper and was flicking through it. “Which would actually be nice,” Ribbontail thought, “They don’t look like the friendliest people.”

Having noticed her eyes blur with thought, O’liday crossed his arms. “Still don’t like this idea, dude...” he started. But in mid-sentence his tone seemed to change, and he suddenly sighed and rolled back onto his rear. “...but at least it’s not US doing the walking for once. Phew, I sure could use a break. Wake me up if somethin’ interesting happens, k, pal?”

“Sure,” Ribbontail winked fondly at the feliulf as he then curled up in the floor, snuggling himself up against PuppetRibbontail.

There was a moan from one of the Summoning camels outside then a few mumbled words from Infin. Then, as though this were a warning, the carriage jerked into motion. Caught completely off guard, Ribbontail lurched forward for a split second. But, in what seemed to be only a few breaths, she regained her balance.

“Oh this isn’t that bad at all,” she thought. The prospect of four camels carrying this stagecoach didn’t at first seem appealing. She had figured that lumbering, ungraceful animals such as camels would be the last thing to carry a cart. But shockingly it felt perfectly fine in here: she could not feel a single bump.

After a few minutes Ribbontail felt herself relax, and she curled herself down onto the floor to sprawl out with O’liday and PuppetRibbontail. She yawned to display her comfort and contentment. This was going to be a nice, easy trip.
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It was only about an hour after beginning the trek that they had reached the canyon.  The trip was surprisingly smooth; oddly, the inside of the carriage had no sensation of ascending hills or hitting bumps. Unsurprisingly this threw Ribbontail off, and they reached their destination in what seemed to be no time at all.

The young wolf was sitting with her two dozing friends. Her nose was buried in Kerberos’ picture book when the carriage suddenly slowed to a stop. The groaning of camels outside called Ribbontail’s attention, and her head shot up from the dusty book.

“Hey O’liday, I think we’re at the canyon,” Ribbontail whispered to her friend. When he gave no response beyond a mumbled curse, Ribbontail threw herself to the misty window and peered outside.

Darkness had thrown its cloak over the land, and the desert sparkled portentously with the light of the stars. Glimmering down from above was the moon. It was almost full and shining drearily, just enough to let Ribbontail see.

Her form wreathed in moonlight, Infin stood with the lead camel not far ahead of them. Silently her head panned left and right. From what Ribbontail could see, the creature was taking in the canyon that stretched before them. With held breath Ribbontail watched as the merchant finally shook her head; then she turned and hobbled back towards the carriage.

There was a rapping at the door. Infin’s muffled voice called from outside, “We’re going to be passing over this canyon through the air, so don’t any of you open this door. Understand?”

“Wha? What’s going on, dude?” mumbled O’liday. He rose up to look at Ribbontail, rubbing his face with both paws.

Ribbontail looked down at him and hesitated, unsure of what to say to him. “Infin just said that we’re going to be going over the canyon... through the air?”

The wolf flicked her ears in a most unsure way, her eyes turning to the two Emalians that still sat on the bench across from them. The large warrior-like pig had been sharpening a long sword blade, while the ferret had his face veiled by a newspaper. Expectedly they both ignored Ribbontail’s questioning tone; the most the goddess got in return was a snort from the pig.

“They’re very ignorant,” Ribbontail thought as she snorted irately. She was the only one who seemed truly interested in this process. Throwing herself back to the fore-facing window, Ribbontail squinted against the glare and looked outside again.

Out in the dim wasteland, Infin once more stood at the edge of the expansive canyon. Her glowing, crimson eyes squinted against the darkness. Seemingly, she was judging the exact size of the gap. It was many breaths later that the shadowy being finally did something.

Infin turned back to face all six of her camels, and from beneath that flowing cloak came her furry claw.  It glowed even in the nighttime gloom. Ribbontail blinked, shocked, at the realization that it was not the moon that was illuminating her figure: in her claw Infin held a ball of hovering light. Whitish-blue and almost invisible, the lights bobbed groggily in her palm.

“Hey O’liday! Look, I think she’s doing magic of some sort,” Ribbontail whispered, gesturing for her feliulf friend to come to the window. O’liday yawned in response and shuffled to the young goddess. Automatically PuppetRibbontail tagged behind, and before long the three young friends were crowded before the little window.

Just as the trio had assembled themselves, fully engrossed, Infin flicked her claw and sent the lights flowing in their direction. They swam through the night air like fireflies and vanished before passing.

“What was THAT all about, dude?” O’liday meowed. Quickly losing interest, he flopped onto the floor and tiredly scratched at an itch.

She shrugged and shook her head slowly. “I have no idea. Maybe it has something to do with the float magic, or something like tha-”

But Ribbontail could not finish her sentence, as the carriage suddenly lurched and a gasp escaped her lips. Suddenly a feeling of weightlessness snatched up her body and sent her into a state of dizziness; she felt as though her paws were floating. Glancing at her two friends told her that they, too, felt the abrupt buoyancy. But they were not as frantic as she was, not in the least.

“Wh-what’s happening?” Ribbontail stammered as she inhaled deeply. It felt as though there was no weight on her paws. Scrambling to keep her paws steady, she leaned upon the window and stared out ahead of them.

Ribbontail could barely believe her eyes. Outside- or rather, down below them- yawned the cavernous black abyss. Bizarrely, they hovered above it as though an unseen bridge had been suspended at their feet. Even Infin was outside, leading the front camel, walking through the air as though it were nothing. They were floating over the abyss!

“Whoa, look at that,” Ribbontail whispered to O’liday, who promptly hopped up to stare out the window, “we’re hovering!”

The young goddess felt rather dumb when she laughed alone; O’liday simply stared outside, still half asleep, and yawned. The two Emalians seated on the bench could have cared less. They seemed totally oblivious- or simply uninterested- in the trick.

“How can you NOT be amazed by that?” Ribbontail woofed, rolling her eyes back to look up at O’liday (who by now was beginning to fall back asleep on her head). “That’s incredible. We’re MOVING through the air!”

O’liday gave a sleepy snort and rubbed his snout with the back of his paw. “It’s just like...” he mumbled after yawning deeply, “magic. Haven’t you ever seen float magic before, dude...?”

“This is normal to you guys?”

“Yep. Didn’t you guys have magic... where you come from...?” O’liday grumbled and yawned once more, burying his face in Ribbontail’s ruff. He was speaking half-asleep, clearly, and Ribbontail flicked her head to keep him awake.

Blinking as she turned back to stare outside at Infin, Ribbontail shook her head. “No we didn’t,” she replied, “We could never do stuff like that. Look, that’s unbelievable!”

The sleepy feliulf gave a little shrug. Then, smacking his lips and cracking his paws, he slid off his steed’s head and curled up at the feet of PuppetRibbontail. Clearly he had no fascination with Infin’s magic.  

Ribbontail, however, had a keen curiosity about it. Never before had she observed magic, and watching Infin and the camels walking on air made her mind spin. To think that they themselves were floating through the air, as though it was nothing, was something to ponder. After many silent and tedious minutes the opposite side of the canyon began to melt into sight. Infin gestured to her caravan camels, signaling to them silently that the crossing was successful.

A little pang of joy warmed Ribbontail’s chest. They had done it! At last they had conquered the canyon, with this little Emalian merchant and her strange camels. And with the concept of magic in play, and the safety of the caravan itself, this would be an easy voyage.

“Magic,” Ribbontail thought, a smile curling across her tired face, “How amazing. I wonder what other powers she has?"