After removing every nasty splinter with tedious care, I look up from my comforting white sea of leaves and my head instantly woozes at the sight of the blue tree's canopy. Its so high and there are so many branches! This must be the biggest tree in the whole world!

A tiny, pearly white, petal-shaped leaf falls from above and lands on my forehead. Sending a greeting.

I wonder if I can even reach that high up? I think I should just explore the base first, then try to fly up, maybe there'll be some lower hanging branches to aim for?

I shake myself free of all the leaves that had piled atop me and I circle around the trunk while keeping an eye up above. I see lots of branches, none of them very low. Also, I didn't think about how long it would take to do a lap around the trunk, so I give up after about 10 minutes. I'd be here all day if I went the whole way around!

I'd rather just go upwards! Risk it for the biscuit!

A quick check tells me my Mana is full, Health also! Now's my chance. I know its a super long way up, I couldn't even place a guess at how high, but I believe in Cinders to push me higher than ever before! And if I can't make it, I probably, hopefully, with my talons crossed, won't die.

I can still flap with my own strength! I'm not 100% reliant on Cinders to fly, only about 90%, should I end up falling, I can aim for a big pile of leaves and not a solid root, I should survive. Happy thoughts! I will make it!

I clamber up to the highest reaching root for takeoff, not that it'll make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things, but every little bit is reassuring. I slowly flap in preparation, feeling the fire in my heart stirring in excitement as I take in the dizzying heights.

My wings come to a stand still as they reach their zenith, sparks of yellow flame lashing out from between my feathers as I'm unable to contain the amassing fire. The wind, once again, seems to magically sweep up the countless leaves around me, sparing them from the drawing destruction building within me. Way to go wind! Nice timing again!

"Cinders" I exhale, accompanied by the biggest flap of my life ever... so far.

The root beneath me erupts in a wave of flame as I shoot up vertically to the skies. I don't look back to take in the aftermath of my flap, I physically and mentally can't. I can only hope I haven't set the whole island on fire, that flap was more explosive than I thought it would be.

The distant treetop doesn't appear to get any closer from my initial Cinders, but the trunk parallel to me does indicate I have gotten higher. If it wasn't for the blurry trunk I would of thought I haven't moved at all! A testament to high even the lowest branches are!

I feel my speed rapidly wash off from the launch, slowing me tremendously. I raise my wings up above my head just before I come to a halt and another vent of Cinders and spray of flame sends me accelerating once more, although not as much as before, that was a real flap. The process repeats over and over, slowly draining me of my Mana all for the purpose of reaching those tantalizing branches that own the sky.

A thought occurs to me. Is this even considered flying? I don't see any other birds shooting out flames from their wings like me. I'm kind of cheating. Yesterday I couldn't even get higher than a meter! Today I'm... well I don't want to look down and check, but I'm sure its higher than a meter. Flying like this feels surreal. Its amazing, revitalizing, welcoming and special, but a bit unfair. I'm glad to be born as a Pheonix! I wonder what I'll have achieved by tomorrow? Could I even fly to the sun? I want to fly across the whole world!

This tree is but a stepping stone! A very high stepping stone... a very, very, very.... A leaping stone? That sounds more accurate. Tis but a leaping stone. My wings are actually getting tired. I'm only flapping about once every 8 seconds, but they're big flaps! I have to be as efficient as possible with my Mana! My instincts tell me so.

"Cinders" I caw out, climbing higher, higher than any bird has ever been.

The branches have definitively gotten closer, they're just so far away it's hard to tell, its subtle, and the tree's thickness has been fairly consistent, it hasn't gotten any narrower as it gets higher. How high am I? Other than noticing the air's thinness, It's hard to tell how far up I've gotten. I decide to sneak a brief glance at my feet as I go for the next Cinders.

Hmm.

That's concerning.

I was just half joking when I thought of it earlier, but... it might actually possible, that I'm scared of heights?

I tear my gaze away from the ground of white and firmly lock eyes with my goal. No way! I couldn't be scared! Birds fly, that's what we do. I am a bird. The best bird. Bartlon said so. I'm sure everyone gets queasy on their first flight? Not that I'm going to look down again to confirm, once was enough. At least was able to confirm that I have made it pretty far! As expected of me! I am amazing!

"Just keep flying~ Cinders!"

"Just keep flying~ Cinders!"

"Don't look down~ Cinders!"

"Fly, fly, fly~ Cinders!"

"What do we do? We fly. Fly. Fly! Cinders!" I encore my little song over and over, adding little whistle trills and tone inflections to spice up each performance so every rendition is special. My song is the only noise to fill the air.

I like to sing, it helps me pass time and distract me from very scary falls, perfect for the current situation! The once distant blue canopy crawls closer with every repeat of my reassuring tune, so close it feels as if I could reach out and peck it. Just several more flaps and I will be able to do exactly that!

I flap on, spanning the short distances in quick bursts, feeling my overtaxed mana nearing depletion. Some thing I haven't noticed before, but if I focus on the fire in my heart, I can feel the mana being used. Maybe If I pay enough attention to my heart I might be able tell how much mana I have without even looking at my status! That would be great! Its quite annoying when my status explodes behind my eyes. It gives me a small headache every time and the way it makes my vision all muddy and blurry is terrifying, I don't like it, even if it is very useful

"Cinders" I call out for the final time, my voice a little hoarse from constantly singing and Cinder'ing. Lucky too, as my mana would only a allow for maybe 4 or 5 more flaps.

My talons clack against the bright blue wood in unison and I flop to my stomach, giving my poor wings a much needed break. A large exhale escapes my beak and I take comfort in laying down. Who knows how long I had been flapping? At least Cinders made the task far easier than doing it normally, flying up here would be impossible!

Looking around I realize that there are no other birds around, I'm completely alone. The lack of birdsong is a little unnerving. Strange. Birds and trees are usually inseparable! maybe it really is impossible to get up here unless you're a Pheonix? The creaking and groans of this ancient tree are the only sounds to be heard, and the aren't very comforting, sounding more like grunts of pain and suffering, which they very well might be, this tree is old. My imagination making it seem scarier than it is.

I bob my head up and down, mentally dispelling the paranoia. Its still a little frightening though, the screeching noises contrasting to the natural splendor of this humongous tree.

Pushing myself to my feet and shaking off the fallen leaves from my body, I shoot up to a higher branch with Cinders. With nothing of interest revealing itself yet I can only explore until something appears! There's bound to be something hiding in this canopy!.There's still plenty of branches above me, each holding the promise of hidden treasure. No clue what it would be, but I'm guessing something neat! I don't want to think about how upset I'll be if this turns out to be a fruitless venture

I flutter from branch to branch, igniting a few unlucky leaves on the thick branches in the process. My mana replenishing slowly without the need to constantly use Cinders as I make my way higher and higher.

The view from up here is nice. Being in the center of the forest and so high up offers a welcoming panoramic scene. Emerald green jungle trees of varying heights and description fade to dense forest as they near the sky piercing mountains that surround the vista, almost as if this jungle was the extend of the world and the mountains were the border that prevent you from falling off the side. Just a silly thought of course, Between the gaps of the mountains I can see more mountains in the far distance promising more fantastic sights. How I wish to fly to every stretch of the world... once I get more mana...

It's another 10 minutes of aimless flying until something worth investigating comes to my attention among the endless, blue branches. Two things actually.

The first being a very large, rock solid, shiny pale green type of nut hanging precariously from the thin outer branches. The size of me! Not very exciting, but still interesting. It might be tasty? If I can figure out how to crack it open.

The second discovery is far more fascinating, putting the tasty looking nut to shame. It's also something I would of never expected from this tree in particular! I mean the wood is healthy, the leaves are falling happily and the tree as a whole stands proudly over it's peers, dominating the entire jungle. Yet, despite the indications that this tree is alive and strong...

The trunk is hollow.