Kelsen Seedgather's Arc

Chapter 2 of 4

Kelsen woke before dawn and headed straight to the coop. Her sparrows needed to learn the basics before anything else. She opened the door and stepped inside. The birds hopped along their perches, chirping softly. She pulled seeds from her pocket and held them in her palm. The sparrows flew down immediately, pecking at the food. Good. They trusted her. Now she had to teach them to come when called, not just when hungry. She stepped outside and blew her whistle once. Nothing happened. The sparrows stayed inside, still eating. Kelsen frowned and tried again, this time holding seeds in her outstretched hand. One sparrow poked its head through the latticework, then flew to her palm. The other two followed. She smiled. They were learning. Every lesson started small, but small lessons built fast birds. By midmorning, Kelsen realized something important was missing. She knew how to train birds to come and go, but she didn't understand what made them fly faster. She needed to learn about their wings, their muscles, how their bodies actually worked. The marketplace library sat at the far end of Mirthwood Meadows. She flew there and pushed through the heavy wooden door. Rows of shelves stretched in every direction. She searched the sections until she found a golden tome sitting on a reading table. The cover showed engravings of birds in flight. She opened it and flipped through the pages. Diagrams showed wing bones and chest muscles. One page explained how sparrows built speed through short, powerful strokes. Another described which foods strengthened flight muscles fastest. Kelsen leaned over the book and read every word. Her sparrows would be fast, but only if she understood exactly how their bodies worked. This was the real beginning. The book's final chapter listed special seeds that helped build muscle. Kelsen copied the names onto a scrap of paper and flew to the market square. She found a vendor selling bags of Super Sparrow seeds mixed with dried berries. She bought two bags and carried them back to the meadow. Near the coop, she set up a bird feeder covered in delicate designs. She filled it with the special seeds and stepped back. The sparrows landed on the feeder within seconds, pecking at the food. Their chirps sounded louder, more excited. Kelsen watched them eat and felt something shift inside her chest. She had the knowledge now. She had the right food. Her flock would grow stronger with every meal, faster with every flight. The dream was taking shape, one seed at a time. But training flights meant tired birds, and tired birds needed safe places to rest. She couldn't let them get sick from rain or wind after hard practice. She walked around the meadow until she found the perfect spot on the outer wall of the coop. She attached a grid of small nest boxes filled with soft straw. Each box had a tiny entrance, just big enough for a sparrow. She tapped one of the boxes with her knuckle. Solid. The sparrows could land here after long flights and rest without getting cold. They could sleep safely between lessons. Kelsen stepped back and looked at everything she'd built. The coop. The feeder. The nest boxes. Her sparrows had everything they needed now. Tomorrow, the real training would begin.