Firefinch (1)

The next day, when Alex woke up, he saw Inger still asleep beside him.

The sunlight fell on his profile, making it look a little pale.

But Finé was not sleeping, pacing restlessly beside the bed.

Alex felt something was a little strange, but he didn't think much about it and got up to wash up.

He looked up and saw a red mark on the mirror.

He gently erased the slightest blemish.

“Is it paint?”

He went back to do his morning exercises quietly on the floor.

Finne flapped her wings, jumped up, and nestled into Inger's arms.

It was almost noon, and Inger still hadn't woken up.

Alex sat down on the bed and rocked him gently.

"Yes? Yes?"

Inger opened his eyes with difficulty and put his hand on his face. "I'll sleep a little longer. Don't make any noise."

Alex took his hand away and said with a smile: "Did you stay up late last night?"

As he was talking, he remembered the sleepwalking incident and his expression became a little strange. "Did you do the experiment with me who was sleepwalking all night yesterday?"

Inger rolled over and kicked him.

Alex stood up with a cry.

But at the same time, he pulled the quilt and said, "Ying! Get up, don't sleep anymore!"

Inger sat up with an irritated look on his face.

This was the first time Alex had seen him being grumpy when he woke up. Now that he thought about it, he also used to sleep in a lot when he was at home, especially in winter. And his family would never wake him up early.

Finne shouted happily, "Yeah!"

After finishing his meal, Inger opened his cane and looked inside. As expected, it was scrapped and the wand was broken into pieces.

These wands are frankly too fragile.

He now wanted a wand of his own more than ever.

If it is only used to protect yourself, then it does not need to be very powerful, just durable enough.

They spent the afternoon exploring the town of Firehill Bird.

People in this town seem to have a great love for birds.

Inger traveled around, asking for information from those who knew the most about the bird legends.

In the end, the people in the town said that Grandma Dusin on the Fire Hill knew the most about the bird legend.

When he went back, it was already dusk.

After dinner, the children gathered under the star tree on the Fire Hill and sat around an old lady with gray hair.

Inger got in on the act.

Granny Duxin sat on a recliner, covered with a blanket, with a gentle smile on her lips, but her eyes were gray and unfocused.

She had a nice voice, with the accent of this small town, and she spoke in a very pleasant voice.

She said that the fire hill bird suddenly descended on this town one day hundreds of years ago, and landed on top of this fire hill, on top of this ancient star tree.

She drew a golden-red light across the sky, as if the sun had fallen to the ground.

The flames wrapped around her were warm and gentle, not even a single leaf was burned. She slept quietly on the branches of the star tree, but her warmth spread to every inch of the town.

Make that cold winter warm like spring.

She helped people survive a severe cold.

People bless, thank and pray for the Firehill Sparrow.

When the real spring came, she flew away, as gloriously as she had come.

But since then, the town has been renamed Firehill Bird.

People in the town began to protect birds, especially those with red feathers.

As Inger listened, he smiled. He might have found the right person.

After the children had gone, Inger went to Mother Dussin.

After greeting her family, he squatted beside the old woman and asked, "Grandma, do you know the phoenix?"

A look of surprise appeared on the old man's face.

She was silent for a moment, then pointed to the lush green star tree above her head and said something irrelevant.

"The star tree has fruit. Can you pick one for me?"

Inger waved his hand lightly in the air, and a star-shaped fruit fell into his hand.

The pentagonal shape and soft golden shell look like a sliced ​​kiwi fruit, and it also has a faint sweet aroma.

"Grandma, this is for you."

Grandma Duxin brought the fruit to her nose, took a deep breath, and said with a smile, "It's still so fragrant after all these years."

Her granddaughter helped her into the room.

"Child, come in with me."

After entering, he found that the room was filled with the fragrance of plants and trees.

That is the smell of various herbal herbs.

This Duxin grandmother seems to be a botanist.

"Child, are you a traveler from out of town?"

Inger smiled. It didn’t really count, after all, his ancestral home was in this territory, but he grew up in the capital.

"Yes grandma."

"Then do you know how long it takes for the star tree to grow?"

Inger shook his head.

He once read a whole book of potion materials for his potion class, which also included a lot of potion plants.

But the star tree is an edible fruit tree, so he didn't know about it before he came here.

"The star tree is a three-year-old plant. It is sown in winter and bears fruit in summer. After three years, it will no longer bear fruit and will die naturally. At this time, farmers will cut down the old trees and plant new seedlings. No star tree has ever lived for more than five years."

Inger was stunned: "But the star tree on the fire hill..."

"Yes, it is several hundred years old. To be exact, it is 834 years old."

Inger took a short breath.

Grandma Duxin continued with interest: "The legend of the Fire Hill Bird has been passed down from generation to generation in our town. I grew up listening to this myth, but I didn't really believe it at the time. I just thought it was a fairy tale to coax children."

"I later went to study at a college in the capital. After I finished my studies, I went home and used professional tools to measure the age of the trees. I discovered this amazing fact. I eventually returned to my hometown and continued my research here."

Inger listened quietly while Mother Dussin continued:

"I have been very interested in the legend of the Firefinch since then, and started collecting bird legends and visiting everywhere, just like you are now. Finally, I discovered the legend of the Phoenix. This legend comes from a woman in a neighboring town. According to her, it is a story told to her by her former neighbor's aunt. But that neighbor's whereabouts are unknown and has disappeared without a trace."

Inger thought that the neighbor must be from the Phoenix family.

The legend that Grandma Duxin revealed next was consistent with what his mother Kalena had said, except that the part about the curse of immortality was omitted.

"The interesting part is that the phoenix will be reborn on the fragrant wood closest to the place where she died."

“The definition of fragrant wood is not very clear, and there is too little data, but the star tree is indeed one of the woody plants that emits aromatic wood.”

"The flames of the phoenix do not burn the fragrant wood, but the star tree has its life extended. I have studied it for so many years and still don't know why."

[This ancient star tree has a tendency to gather magical power. ]

He had felt it just now on the fire hill, but for my mother-in-law who was not sensitive to magic, she probably couldn't understand it.

"Grandma, I want to ask if you know where I can find these things?"

Inger read the material aloud.

"...The tree of life and death...the flower of the immortal bird of the South Sea..."

Granny Duxin murmured.

Finally she shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Inger was not particularly disappointed. He held her hand and just said, "It's okay. Thanks, Grandma. I heard some interesting stories today. It was very helpful."

Grandma Duxin's family warmly invited him to stay for dinner, but Inger thought it was not a good idea to leave Alex alone in the hotel, so he declined and went back.

When he was leaving, Granny Duxin came to the door to see him off. Seeing the star tree, she suddenly said, "Child, come here and take a branch."

Inger squatted down and picked up a fallen branch. Granny Dusin shook her head.

"No, you have to break off a branch from the star tree."

Inger looked at her granddaughter, who gave him a smile.

Grandma Duxin smiled and said, "What are you afraid of? When I was a kid, I often broke off a few branches to play with."

Inger obeyed and broke off a branch.

But the magical thing was that after he broke off the branch, a new branch instantly grew out from the original broken position.

He was shocked by this miraculous new ability.

"This ancient tree has been struck by lightning and cut down countless times over the past few hundred years, but as long as its roots remain in this land, it can continue to grow new."

"Child, I don't know if this will help you, but you can take it away. Fate is a wonderful thing."

Inger finally waved goodbye with a freshly broken branch.

When he returned to the hotel, Alex was sitting alone thinking about playing chess.

"Oh? You finally came back? I'm starving. Did you get anything?"

Inger showed him the branch and said, "If you are hungry, just eat it. I don't know if it counts as a harvest."

"By the way, I discovered that there is a demon stone mine deep under the fire hill."

"What?!"

"But I think it's best to keep it for now."

[If we need to use it in a war, there is nothing we can do. But I hope that day will not come.]

"...Now that you mention it...I feel like you've gained a lot today."

Inger pointed his finger at the chessboard, and back and forth, he captured his black piece.

"Ah ...

"You should play chess more slowly next time," Inger said with a smile. "Are you so impatient when you deploy your troops?"

Alex froze, staring at the chessboard.

"Think of your pieces as your soldiers. If you don't want any of them to die, you need to be careful at every step."

Alex was stunned for a while, and his eyes slowly changed as he looked at the chess piece.

That was the look of a commander.

"Come on, let's order another plate."

Although he said this, he knew it better than anyone else.

In a game of chess, it is impossible for no chess piece to be eaten, whether it is the enemy or your side.

Battlefields are always accompanied by sacrifices; no casualties are something that only appears in daydreams.

However, the person who seriously considered this zero probability possibility was sitting right in front of him.

While teaching him how to play chess, Inger told him the news he had learned.

After hearing this, Alex asked a completely unrelated question: "We know the origin of the Fire Hill Bird, but what about the origin of the Fire Hill?"

Inger dropped a piece. "Your angle is very different, but I have the answer. The magic stone buried below is of fire attribute."

Therefore, the soil in that area is black and gray, and the vegetation above it is prone to spontaneous combustion and cannot survive for long.

And the ancient star tree survived because of the stay of the phoenix.

Now people in the town only know the legend of the Fire Hill Bird, but have forgotten the origin of the Fire Hill.

Alex mentioned the white piece: "This is interesting. I originally thought it was aimless, but now I have to make the wand well."

Inger pushed the chess basket and said, "It's hard to say. There are no accurate clues. It all depends on luck. Besides, I want a magic wand, not to make a magic weapon..."

"It won't be used on the battlefield!" Alex continued as a matter of course, "I've heard that many times."