Chapter 4 - The Dangerous Journey to Occultoria City
Max wasn’t sure how they were going to get to Occultoria City, but when he went outside with the archbishop, his question was answered.
A giant golden griffin was waiting for them. Its outstretched wings covered the group in shadows. Its sleek muscular hind legs prostrated before them.
The griffin had a purple sash that criss-crossed his body. The symbol of the Ergon was displayed prominently right in the center of the sash.
Max was beginning to understand that the Ergon was the symbol of this strange new world.
He pointed to the magnificent creature. “Is this how you got here?”
The archbishop laughed. “Of course it was. You didn’t think I walked here, did you?”
Max shook his head, his eyes fixated on the griffin, which lowered its body as they approached.
Julius explained, “This is the official form of transportation for members of the Imperial Family. The griffin is the king of all creatures. It has the body of a lion - the king of beasts. And it has the head and wings of an eagle - the king of birds. It’s the most majestic creature in all the Supernatural World. So it’s only proper for it to be the preferred mode of transportation for emperors, don’t you think?”
Max nodded, unable to take his eyes off the gigantic creature.
Expressing impatience, the griffin began to paw at the ground, striking up dust.
There were two seats on the griffin and the archbishop began to help Max onto the second one behind the pilot’s.
But, still staring at the griffin, Max hesitated.
The archbishop reassured him. “It’s alright, Your Imperial Highness. It’s tame. It’s used to serving only members of the Imperial Family. In fact, it considers serving the Imperial Family a privilege. That’s what it was born to do.”
As though the griffin knew it was being talked about, it bowed down low before the young prince and made a whinnying sound.
Max stared into its turquoise eyes. The creature had a dutiful and tame look about it. It was indeed a majestic creature.
The archbishop said, “It’s actually yours. What would Your Imperial Highness like to name it?”
Max thought for a moment and then said the most regal name he could think of. “Damien.”
Then, he turned to Damien and petted its back.
The griffin purred.
Its serene demeanor Max feel better, so he climbed into the second seat.
The archbishop climbed into the driver’s seat and placed his crozier and the magical bag with Ariel in it onto the ground by his feet.
Ariel kept jumping around inside the bag, creating much ruckus. “You can’t keep me in here forever. As soon as I’m out, I’m heading back into the Natural World.”
“You’ll have to ignore Ariel here,” the archbishop. “She really doesn't want to return to Occultoria.”
“Why not?”
“I’ll let her tell you herself.”
“But why does she have to come with us?” asked Max.
“She’s your loyal helper, Your Imperial Highness. Your parents gave her to you as a gift.”
At the mention of his parents, Max was alert.
Ariel had mentioned them briefly before, but she had told him nothing much.
Max asked, “What happened to my parents?”
The archbishop hesitated. “I was hoping we could have this conversation later.”
“Please,” said Max. “I really need to know. I’ve never known them. I’ve gone for years without thinking about them and now both you and Ariel mentioned them. I really need to know.”
The archbishop turned around, his kind blue eyes expressing sympathy. “I’ll tell when we get to the Imperial Palace. There are portraits of your parents that I’m sure you would love to see.”
Max nodded. He was eager to see those portraits.
The archbishop asked, “Now, is Your Imperial Highness ready? Please grab ahold of the handrail in front of you and fasten your seatbelt.”
Max did as he was told.
The archbishop said, “Now hold on. It might get bumpy.”
Max prepared himself. He had never even been on an airplane before, let alone a mythical creature, so he had no idea what to expect from flying.
The pilot grabbed the reins in front of him and whipped the griffin once. “Hee-yah!”
The griffin rose from its bowing position and started to move up and then forward.
Max held onto the handrail as his seat shook.
The archbishop whipped the griffin again. “Go!”
Like an airplane taking off from the tarmac, the griffin began to run full speed.
Max watched the creature incredulously.
The griffin began to flap its mighty wings, stirring up a mighty windstorm.
As the icy wind whipped his face, Max shielded it with his hands.
Soon, they were air bound.
As the griffin took off, Max’s heart leapt. He felt like he was on a roller coaster ride. Once, another foster family had taken him to Playland at the PNE - the Pacific National Exhibition - where he had ridden his first roller coaster where he had had a blast.
But this new experience of flying was ten times as intense.
Holding a hand to his heart, he looked around them with a sense of wonder. They were leaving the gleaming lights of the suburbs on the ground below.
Now, they were in the night air, among the wispy clouds, the glittering stars and the gigantic moon.
Max looked down. They were flying over skyscrapers. Soon, the city disappeared to give way to hills, trees, farms, fields, meadows and rivers.
He felt such an exhilarating sense of freedom.
What a thrill!
For a while, they flew in silence.
Max was lost in his thoughts.
Me a prince? he thought.
He couldn’t believe it. But seeing was believing. After all, he, a talking cat and an archbishop were zipping through the air on a golden dragon-like griffin.
As they continued to fly, he began to feel good about the whole situation.
Maybe it was the crisp and fresh night air. Maybe it was the thrill of flying. Maybe it was the sense of liberty he felt.
But he strongly suspected it was because he was about to discover his roots.
All his life, he had been shuffled from foster family to foster family, all the while wondering who his parents were. He never felt like he belonged in the Natural World. In fact, he had often fantasized that he belonged to another family and one day, he would be plucked away, off to meet his real parents in his real home.
And now, he was. Not only did he have parents, but he was being taken to his ancestral homeland, where he truly belonged.
No wonder he had always felt so close to Ariel. She had always been with him, since he was a little boy. Maybe she didn’t fill him in on his heritage because she had wanted to protect him.
Max looked at the archbishop.
The young prince even felt a close kinship to the old man. Sure, he was a little eccentric, but to Max, all old people were.
The important thing was that he felt like he belonged with this strange group of people.
And along with this new feeling of belonging, he was imbued with a sense of duty.
His home world needed his help and he decided he was going to do everything he could to help.
They flew in silence for a little more, and then a while later, the archbishop turned around. “We are entering a force field that separates the Natural World from the Supernatural World. You will feel a slight tingle as we enter.”
Max’s skin stung a little and then the feeling was gone. He couldn’t make out any disturbance in the air, so he assumed the force field was completely invisible.
They were now flying over ocean.
Max asked, “Where are we now?”
“Over the triple border point between Guyana, Venezuela and Brazil. Occultoria City
was built on the triangular peak of Mount Roraima many thousands of years ago.”
Max thought back to his geography class. “We’re in South America?! That was fast.”
“This griffin is faster than a supersonic jet.”
Max looked down. An enormous and majestic castle sat on the peak of the mountain, shrouded in puffy clouds.
As soon as Max saw the castle, he was struck by a strange sense of familiarity. It looked exactly like in his drawing, right down to the symbols of the Ergon and the griffin emblazoned on the top of the castle.
And now, it made sense again to Max. The image in the drawing hadn’t just come to him out of nowhere. He had seen it before. And now he knew where.
Filled with a sense of excitement, he couldn’t wait to land and find out all about his home and maybe even meet his parents.
Amid the whirling sounds of the wind, the archbishop cried, “We’re about to land.”
As they began their descent, the whizzing noise around them grew intense.
Max looked beside them.
A swarm of dark-green shapes was zipping towards them.
The archbishop cried out, “Green gremlins! Hold on tight, Your Imperial Highness. We’re under attack!”
“I thought you said that supernatural creatures can’t attack us in the Natural World.”
“That’s right, but we’re in the Supernatural World now. Here, they can attack us.”
As the swarm approached, Max held a hand to his nose. There it was again, that terrible stench.
The swarm was a fearsome sight in the darkness. Their teeth gnashing, their eyes glowing black, they zoomed towards the group like a bunch of starving and rabid dogs.
The archbishop instructed the griffin to evade the attackers and it did its best, but the Green Gremlins caught up to it.
The griffin roared and then used its sharp claws to bat away some of the attackers.
Some of them fell to the ground below, but the onslaught continued.
A Green Gremlin eyed Max hungrily.
It began to dive toward the young prince.
Max’s heartbeat went into overdrive as he looked on in horror.
***