by Tora Moon
“That’s my friend, Glork. He’s a Phengriff. He won’t hurt you.”
“They’re dead, all dead …” the little girl wailed.
“No, they’re not. We saw the tracks of marching people, so some of your clan has survived.” At the questioning look on the girl’s face, Rizelya nodded. She heard the other Phengriffs land, and then Blazel stepped behind her.
“It’s true,” Blazel said. “Can you tell us what happened?”
“Can you save them?”
Rizelya shook her head. “We don’t have enough people with us. What’s your name, little one?”
“I’m Dreana de Posanreande. I woke up and wanted a drink of water. I was in the kitchens when I heard a loud noise. I haven’t ever heard anything like it. Lights flared and beamed from the sky. I was scared and hid in the pantry. A big sack of flour hid me good. I heard screaming and I stayed where I was. The screaming stopped and the lights went away. I waited and waited for the pack to find me but they never came. When I crawled out, there were bodies everywhere and I ran and ran. And then you found me.”
“How long ago was the attack?” Blazel asked.
“Three maybe four days ago, I think.”
Blazel stood up and shook his head. “Her clan will be at the crater by now. We need help to rescue them.”
“They aren’t the only ones,” Rizelya said. She stood up, still holding Dreana in her arms. “The guard-packs are missing too.”
*Then let us fly,* Graak said.
Dreana cringed and held tighter to Rizelya. “This is Graak,” Rizelya said.
“He’s big …” Dreana’s eyes were huge.
“Yes, he is. We won’t ride on him. We’ll ride on my friend, Glork.”
Glork stepped forward and bowed to them. *I am honored to carry one so brave.*
“But I wasn’t brave. I hid.”
*You were brave to hide and survive so you could tell us what happened. You are but a little girl. You did the best you could do.* Glork reached out and ran a knuckle gentle over Dreana’s cheek. *There is no shame for surviving, little one. Come, I will take you away from here to where it is safe.*
Tears slipped down the girl’s face. “Will you rescue my clan-pack?”
Glork nodded solemnly. *We will do our best to bring them back home.*
He then crouched down for Rizelya. She placed Dreana on his back in front of her and then looped the straps around them both. She lightly squeezed his sides with her knees to let him know they were ready. His powerful hind legs bunched as he leaped into the air. Dreana’s gasp floated back to her as Glork beat his wings to fly higher.
They flew back toward the plains. When the moonlight shivered off the silvery water of Storengher River, Glork began to descend. He landed on the riverbank where soft grasses cushioned the ground. Graak and Broogk were already down. The other Phengriffs landed a few moments later. After Blazel helped loosen the straps and lifted Dreana off Glork’s back, Rizelya realized the injured scout hadn’t landed yet.
“Where’s Baekeek?” Rizelya asked Glork worriedly.
*He is coming. He will be here soon.*
She helped him remove the riding harness. He sighed, and then rolled on the ground, moaning with pleasure. She left him there and went to join Blazel and Dreana, who were digging a fire pit. Dreana trailed Blazel down to the river’s edge and helped him gather rocks. Blazel understood better than she did what it meant to be without a clan-pack. Rizelya walked along the river and found enough wood for a fire. Once the fire was lit, she put a pot of water on for taevo, dug out a travel bar and handed it to Dreana, then pulled out another one for herself.
Graak padded to the fire and sat down with them. *We shall sleep for a few hours and then fly again.*
“What about Baekeek?” Rizelya asked. “He just arrived. He won’t be able to keep up with you.”
*No, he cannot. Only myself and Glork will be flying back with you. The others will follow at a pace suitable for our injured scout. Get what rest you may.* He padded into the dark to rejoin his flight.
It felt like she’d just gotten to sleep when Graak prodded her awake. Rizelya groggily put the riding harness on Glork and fastened it on. Once she was settled on Glork’s back, Blazel handed her the sleeping child. The two Phengriffs were larger than the other scouts, and each beat of their wings took them farther. Without the smaller Phengriffs to slow them down, they raced through the night.
Dawn saw them winging over Strunland, and homesickness rushed through Rizelya. Even though no one could see her, she waved and blew blessings to her home and clan. Would she ever get to sleep in her own bed or laugh with her pack mates?
They stopped to rest and eat shortly after passing Strunland Keep. Groaning Rizelya climbed back on Glork. The rest stop had been too short. Dreana had talked Blazel into letting her ride with him, so Rizelya was able to press forward and lay on Glork’s back. She watched the familiar country of her home pass beneath them. She recognized Strunlair Keep as they flew over it. Were her sister Naila and her father Histrun still there? Were her girls, the other Talents she’d added to her squad-pack, still waiting for her to return? At the thought of them, tears pricked her eyes. She missed her squad-pack, even Keandran. Where had he gone? She prayed he was safe and finally happy.
The landscape below her changed into mountains and forests as they passed by Strunhelos Keep and into the White Mountains. In another octar or so, she saw the lands surrounding the Sanctuary. The Temple’s crystal dome shone in the sun. Graak led the way down to the courtyard next to the Supreme’s audience chamber. Rizelya loosened her stiff fingers so she could get off Glork. Wisah, Chariel, and Aistrun ran out to meet them. Jaehaas followed, still limping.
Rizelya felt better with some of her squad-pack at her side as she strode toward the audience chamber. Her legs were a bit wobbly and, unasked, Aistrun paced beside her, his arm around her waist giving her support. Blazel carried the lone survivor of Posanreande Keep, her small arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
The audience chamber was crowded with priestesses. Standing among them were Leistral and Eidstrun. Rizelya wondered why they were here. She’d expected them to still be at Strunlair Keep.
“What have you found out?” the Supreme demanded. Then she saw the little girl and her voice softened. “Who is this child?”
Blazel stepped forward. “This is Dreana de Posanreande. She is the only one who escaped the attack on her keep by the invaders. Those who were not killed in the fight were taken into the Barrens, and we presume to the crater.”
The Supreme’s eyes widened and a collective gasp went through the audience.
Rizelya leaned against her helbraught, exhausted. She stood up straighter. “The guard-packs were not in their fortresses. The Malvers monsters range unchecked in the Barrens.”
*The invaders have established a stronghold in the crater,* Graak said. *My scout was only able to get a quick glimpse before he was attacked, but it seems the missing guards were prisoners. There were a number of Posair men working in the crater. He could not tell if any of them were from the keep. He did not see any women or children.*
“We saw the invader’s ship,” Blazel said. “It’s large enough to hold thousands of people. This is clearly an invasion force.
The Supreme’s face tightened in anger and her fingers drummed a staccato on the arm of her throne. Her rings chiming against the crystal. “We can only pray they have survived. It is clear the invaders are not peaceful. We must protect our people and our land. We should drive them from our home. But,” she nodded toward Leistral and Eidstrun, “word has reached me the Malvers monsters are as bad or worse than when you first arrived here, Rizelya. Whom do we fight?”
Even though it seemed a rhetorical question, Rizelya answered. “We must fight both if we are to survive.”
“So many will be killed,” the Supreme said sadly.
“It will be worse if we don’t fight,” Blazel said.
*We will join you,* Moraak
said. *After hearing this, I know this is the madness our mystics have warned us about.*
Chariel nodded, her face white. “They will kill and kill until nothing is left if we don’t fight.”
“Will all of your people fight, Moraak?” the Supreme asked.
He shook his head. *No, only the three hundred I brought with me.*
“Then we must pray they are enough.” The Supreme stood up, the rings on her hands sending sparks of light throughout the room. Her voice filled the room. “Send word to every province and clan. We are at war. With the attack on Posanreande Keep and the guard-packs at Shandir’s Crater, the invaders have already declared war. They must be stopped, and sent back to where they came from or destroyed. All who can fight will be called to the Warrior’s service.”
War! The word reverberated through Rizelya’s mind. The last war had nearly destroyed the Posairs. What would a fight with these strange invaders do?
Epilogue
Late that night, the Supreme finally sent everyone away from her audience chamber. She staggered into her apartment, making it the to the door of her bedchamber when the enormity of her decision hit her. She clung to the door frame as the tremors shook her frail body.
War! Her mind shuddered at the thought of the conflict to come. How many people would cross into the Mother’s Womb as a result of her decision? Too many.
She crossed the room, and sank into the chair by the fireplace, needing the warmth of the fire to chase away the chill in her bones—and in her soul.
Why had the invaders come to their world? What could they possibly want? She thought about where they had landed. There was something about Shandir’s Crater that drew them to the crater and her world. But the only thing inside the crater was malignant magic. If the kidnapping of the guard-packs and Posanreande Keep didn’t prove the invader’s evil intentions, their wanting to make use of the malignant magic did.
Her people fought to survive against the Malvers monsters every day. To them, it was a normal way of life. No one alive could remember a time when they didn’t have to fight. But this fight would be different. This time it was against people not from their world. The technology—the magic—that was needed to fly between the stars was far beyond anything the Posairs had. She thought of the projectile weapon the scout had described. How could her people stand a chance against something like that? She could only trust the Goddess would provide a way for them to do so. Perhaps She already had by sending the prophecy to Chariel that led to reestablishing the alliance between Posair and Phengriff.
She sighed at the thought of the Phengriffs. They far exceeded her expectations. She had been awed by the magnificent sight of Moraak’s golden wings and fur, his size, and his intelligence, and she had had the advantage of knowing about them. While Blazel and Rizelya’s team had been gone, she’d researched the old manuscripts and had learned how the Phengriffs had been developed during the Great War to fight the Malvers’s creatures.
In the intervening years, the Phengriffs had become much more than those who had created them had ever dreamed. She looked forward to learning how their culture had grown and changed without direction from their Posair creators. In her mind’s eye, she imagined what a city full of Phengriffs, swooping and diving, would look like, and had a moment of regret that her calling forbade her from leaving the confines of The Sanctuary.
The warmth of the fire soon had the Supreme’s eyes drooping closed and her chin resting on her chest as she fell asleep. The snap of a log jerked her awake, and pain radiated down her left arm and clenched her heart.
“No, not now,” she gasped as she clutched her chest.
Struggling to breathe, she fumbled in her dress pocket for the small container of pills her healer had prepared for her. Finally, she opened the tin, and with shaky hands put one in her mouth, grimacing at the bitter taste. After a few moments, the pain loosened its grip on her heart and she was able to breathe more easily.
“Please, Goddess,” she prayed, “help me survive to lead my people through this hardship. Let me survive long enough to teach my successor all she needs to know.”
Always before, the new Supreme would be born when the old one was still young enough to raise and teach her successor. But there hadn’t been a white-eyed child born in the Supreme’s lifetime and she was nearing her end. The latest episode with her heart made her fearful there wouldn’t be time for her to train the new Supreme.
She slowly and carefully stood up and readied for bed. As she lay in the dark, her thoughts drifted back to the vision she’d had years ago when she’d first questioned why her replacement hadn’t been born yet. She’d been shown then that a new kind of Supreme would be needed and would come in a different way. She had watched for the signs in all the priestesses she trained, but hadn’t seen the woman in her vision. Where is she?
Appendix
THE CAST
POSAIRS
The ending of a males name indicates the clan-pack they were born into. The appellative ‘ke’ precedes the current clan-pack; ie Teledon ke-Strunlair would be someone born to the Ledonlair clan-pack but is now living in the Strunlair clan-pack.
The women don’t need the same deep ties to their birth clan-pack as the men so their names do not reflect their clan-pack. If they need to identify their clan-pack affiliation, they give their birth clan-pack name first preceded by “de”.
Aistrun – (Aye-strun) co-Alpha with Rizelya; Strunlair Keep; Rizelya's squad-pack
Ambrelya – (Am-brel-ya) Red; Haasneh Keep
Beladi - (Bell-ah-de) - Double Red with Yellow; Clan-pack Alpha of Strunlair Keep
Belistril – (Bell-ih-stil) Keep Alpha of the Haasneh Keep
Bestrun - (Bae-strun) male Keep Alpha of Strunell Keep.
Blazel – (Blay-zel) born and raised in the Sanctuary, no clan affiliation
Bohandran – (Bo-han-dran) male Alpha of the Strunland guard pack
Brachen (Bray-chen) - Brown - head healer; Strunhemde Keep
Bren - a healer - Red with Green and some yellow; Strunell Keep
Celedon - (Cel-eh-don) - guard at the Santuary; Ledonlair Keep.
Chariel (Char-ee-el) — Charcoal Gray; a Gray Priestess; The Sanctuary
Dehali - (Dee-haa-lee) - Red and Yellow; Strunland Keep; Rizelya's squad-pack
Dolhaas - (Dol-haas) male; Haasneh Keep
Dreana – (Dre-an-a) a young girl; Posanreande Keep
Drustrun – (Drew-strun) from Strunell Keep, male Alpha partner with Shaydan
Eiden (Eye-den) – Yellow, twin to Eidstrun; Strunland Keep
Eidstrun - (Eyed-strun) male, twin to Eiden; Strunland Keep; Rizelya's squad-pack
Faelyn – (Fae-lyn) Brown; a healer; Strunlair guard-pack
Gehan (Gay-han) - Yellow and Green; Strunven Keep
Grazeen (Gray-zeen) - Green and Brown; Strunven Keep
Histrun – (His-strun) former Strunlair Clan-pack Alpha; Strunland Keep, Rizelya's father
Jaehaas – (Jay-haas) a centaur, Haasneh Keep
Kaelhaas - male; Haasneh Keep
Kaieli (Kai-ee-le) – Brown; Strunland Keep; heart sister to Rizelya
Kami Tami - Yellow, identical twin to Tami; Strunell Keep
Keandran - (Kae-an-dran) male; Strunlair Keep; Rizelya's squad-pack
Kelstrun - (Kel-strun) the male Alpha of the Strunland Keep
Keshanal - (Khe-shan-al) - Keep Alpha of Strunell Keep
Laenstrun - (Lay-en-strun) Laynar’s twin brother and Alpha partner; Strunheim Keep
Layhalya (Lay-hall-yah) – Keep Alpha of Strunheim Keep
Laynad (Lay-nad) - Red; Alpha of a Strunhamde, a major keep in Strunheim Territory. Older sister to Laynar and Laynal
Laynal (Lay-nal) - Red and Yellow; Strunheim Keep, younger sister of Laynar
Laynar (Lay-nar) - Red; Strunheim Keep, granddaughter of Layhalya
Ledelstrun - (Lay-del-strun) tracker; Strunhemde Keep
Lehaas - (Lay-haas) horse master; Strunell Keep
&nbs
p; Leistral - (Lay-ee-straal) Red with Green; Strunland Keep; Rizelya's squad-pack
Leistrun – (Lay-is-strun) a young warrior; Strunland Keep
Lorstal – (Lore-stal) Red; pack alpha; Haasneh Keep
Maellyn (May-lyn) - Brown with Red; Strunven Keep
Maendy (May-end-ee) - Brown, a helstramiester; Strunven Keep
Maheli – (Ma-he-lee) Red; Alpha of the Strunlair guard pack
Naila (Neigh-la) – Red and Yellow; Keep Alpha of Strunland Keep; Rizelya’s sister
Nestrun - (Nay-strun) male Clan-pack Alpha of the Strunlair
Oldhaas - (Old-haas) a centaur; Haasneh Keep
Raeleen (Ray-leen) - Brown with Yellow; Strunven Keep
Rizelya (Rye-zeel-yha) - Red with Brown
Rolstrun - (Rolstrun) male; Strunlair guard-pack
Saehala (Say-hall-la) - Red and Green; becomes the Keep Alpha of Strunven Keep
Saehalstrun - (Say-hal-strun) twin to Saehala, becomes Keep Alpha of Strunven Keep
Saffren (Saff-frien) - Blue with some Green; Strunven Keep
Selestrun - (Say-les-strun) Keep Alpha of Strunheim Keep
Shandir – (Shan-deer) legendary hero from the Great War, a White Priestess of the Sanctuary; the huge crater in the south is named after her, Shandir’s Crater.
Shaydan (Shay-dan) - A Red with minor Green and Brown; Strunell Keep
Sujeen (Sue-jean) – Keep Alpha of Strunven Keep
Tami - Yellow, identical twin to Kami; Strunell Keep
Teledon – male from Strunlair Keep
Telekhaas - (Tel-ek-haas) Alpha of Haasneh Keep
Teraposan ke Strunlair - (Ter-ah-po-san) Keep Alpha of Strunven Keep
The Supreme – the leader of the Posairs. A White Priestess and lives in The Sanctuary
Wisah (Wee-sah) – White and Grey with some Blue; a White Priestess; The Sanctuary; Naila’s daughter, Rizelya's niece
Zehala - (Zay-hal-ah) Naila and Rizelya’s mother
PhengriffS
Phengriffs live in flights of several generations. Most flocks can be mixed bird-type species; except the three flights a Phengriff must be born into.