CHAPTER III:
The Flight of Iris

As he watched his friend go, Mako's grip tightened on his steel forged Long sword and let loose an upwards diagonal strike, starting from his hip and ending with hands raised higher than his head before bringing it back down and depositing it into his two coloured sheath, resting on his left hip, connected to his black leather belt.
A flash of lightning lights up the sky, briefly illuminating Mako, who closes his eyes for a second. When he opens them, his almond coloured eyes burn with life before without warning, Mako starts to run.
Mako's steps are met with the sounds of the rocks beneath his feet, squishing & crunching. Nor the rain or the terrain would deter Mako from what he must do, so he maintained his page and continued running towards the easterly ledge. Upon reaching it, Mako leaped, sailing through the air, flying forwards 3 metres before he started to fall, landing on the sloping descent of the volcano, only seconds after.
Like every other time when Mako had made the leap and landed, he landed with both feet on the ground, one in front of the other and slid down the "Mountain's Ramp."
Being as high as it is, going down the ramp was the quickest way down the volcano, dangerous but quick.
Halfway down the slope, Mako couldn't help but let his mind drift off, losing it to the past as he thought about the number of lives the Island had claimed. Many a Guardian had lost their lives during training, fighting a war that soaked the Isle of Iris in blood, as the Watchers engaged ferocious beasts in battle. The Isle of Iris had seen a lot of action, many a bloodshed, but it had seen a lot of good too. Many a warrior had aspired to greatness, lived joyful lives and on some occurrences, they had even found love.
Master Mako had to regain his focus and fast, he was fast approaching the end, the base of the volcano. It was now time for him to act fast, any second now and he'll be at the base, he'll need to turn fast and hit the man made ramp. At his current speed he'll run straight into the Nogmal tress, a rare tree that only exists in the Mares Realm.
It is a fast growing tree, growing at a rate of 10 feet a year, but luckily it is a very reliable source of wood. Many a sword and shield had been made from Nogmal trees, as well as handles for farming implements, for houses, bridges and many other things. The wood from the tree is very strong, sturdy and never dampens in the rain or gets wet and therefore it never rotted. Nogmal wood literally lasted forever, especially when it was quite fire resistant, which is one of its more negative qualities.
In its natural form, Nogmal trees can grow to a full height of 238 feet, reaching its full height within 24 years. It grows to a width of 2 metres round in diameter and is a natural dark brown in colour. They grow out half as much as they grow up, their branches shooting out wherever they wanted to go. The tree is armed with many spiky thorns, ready to puncture any fool that would run into it, stabbing its prey to death, which is exactly the fate Mako had in store for himself if he didn't make the ramp.
Mako's reaction time was as perfect as it ever has been, he deviated to the ramp with no problems and used his current acceleration to charge up the wooden built ramp, made from Nogmal wood and leaped into the darkened sky. Unlike his earlier leap, this time he really took flight as all the extra momentum from his slide down the volcano aided him, taking him to world above the trees.
This was one of the things that made up a True Watcher, it doesn't matter what you are, a human, a wood elf, an ogre, a mermaid or any other being that had took on the trials of the Watchers and participated in the training. All of that and anything you have achieved or could achieve, it is all worthless. You could be a Watcher that has saved the world a countless number of times and it still would be insignificant if you couldn't abide by one of the Watcher's most important rule:

"To be all You can Be! To Uphold all that is Good, a Watcher must learn to be great."

There are many Good Watchers, but not many Great Watchers, they two are two different kinds of warriors. A Good Watcher is a Warrior with limitations, a mortal, but a Great Watcher was a True Guardian, a warrior who believes anything & everything is possible, therefore they can do anything & everything. One thing a Great Watcher is not however, is mortal. Unlike Good Watchers, Great Watchers are no mere mortals, for they are much more. They are the living embodiment of all that is good and a symbol of Hope, out of the two kinds of Watchers, Master Mako is the rarer kind, a True Guardian, a Great Watcher.
Still flying through the black sky, Mako began to drop, falling to the world once more. Only he did not fall and go splat on the ground, instead he had landed on a branch near the top of a Nogmal tree closest to him and leaped to another branch on a smaller tree before repeating the process, leaping from a bigger tree to a smaller one. Upon each one of his landings, the branches would shake and shiver, but never break, they remained intact as the bright green, rounded 3 cloved leaves drifted off, lazily floating to the surface below.
Mako continued to leap from tree to tree for the next 30 seconds, only to have to stop when he reached the end of the tree line, but he did not stop for long, instead he had only paused for a second before he hurled himself forwards, jumping from the last branch on the last tree and into the air for the last time.
From this point onwards, the only thing below Mako is Dead Man's Beach, the lowest point on the whole Island and out of all the beaches in the Mares Realm, Dead Man's Beach was also the worst. Only a small portion of it was sandy, the rest was littered with a vast amount of stones, millions of them making up most of the beach. Along with the many stones are large, sharp boulders ready to impale any fool who was foolish enough to fall from the top of the cliff. However Mako was no fool, as he fell, falling downwards on a forthcoming collision with a 3 by 5 metre boulder that would split Mako in half upon landing, but Mako would not land.
As he fell, he pursed his lips and blew, releasing a shrill drawn out whistle that carried in the open night sky, through the rain and continued to carry until it reached its intended target, Mako's winged friend who was high up amongst the clouds. The moment it heard it's Master's summons, it dipped its head and commenced his dive.
Flying faster than a speeding bullet, Izal hurried to the beach where it could witness his trusted friend, falling to a beach where it could witness his trusted friend, falling to his potential death that would never come, for the faithful Rven swooped ever so close to the Guardian sensei, so that the Sensei Mako was able to reach out with a steady hand and clutched a single leg. The moment of contact, Mako's grip tightened dramatically on the avian's leg.
Even though it was one hand holding onto the one leg, Mako's strength secured him and prevented him from falling as his avian ally flew him to safety, not even struggling under the duress of the weighty load it now bore.
Izal flew Mako over towards the sandy area of the beach before Mako released his grip on his companion's leg and fell the 15 foot fall. He landed with a soft thud, landing on two solid feet, leaving him standing instead of being crouched down to absorb the impact.
The Journey from the house was at an end, out of all those who had undertook the journey known as the Flight of Iris, Mako was 1 out of 8 who had ever tried it and survived. It was also a journey in which had taken the lives of over 30 potential Watchers. Some where young students eager to prove themselves, where as others were more trained and all too full of themselves, believing themselves to be superior and no longer in need of any further skill development. Many had come and gone, but now Mako was the only one left, the last surviving Watcher to accomplish the Flight of Iris, the rest have all perished, a few from old age and the rest, they died with honour as they all met their end in battle.