by Dreagen
“To the tower in the west,” EeNox replied.
“Then you still have a great journey ahead of you, young warriors. Across the plains, through the lowland forests and the Bloodstone Canyons beyond.”
“It’s an arduous trek to be sure,” the bull agreed. “Are you up for it?” The inflection behind his words was clear. It was a call to battle, a warning that a great challenge lay ahead of him.
“I’ll have to be,” Rex replied.
“You make it sound like he’s alone,” said EeNox.
“We’re all in this together to the end,” AnaSaya said, stepping up next to Rex.
“To the end,” reiterated ShinGaru.
“For better or worse,” LyCora said, rounding off the group.
“Then be off,” the bull said, motioning ahead of them with his great frilled head. “And good luck.”
The five of them gave thanks and returned to the journey that still loomed ahead of them like a nemesis that had yet further unseen obstacles lying in wait. The bull and Ridgeback stood side by side as they watched them shrink into the distance.
“So after centuries of peace, war is upon us once more,” the bull said.
“Not necessarily,” the Ridgeback replied.
“No? You heard what they said. Our greatest enemy has returned.”
“Yes,” she said with glowing pride in her voice, “but with villains always come heroes.”
VayRonx ducked to avoid a low-hanging branch as he and the others moved through the heart of the forest. The alpha was unaccustomed to moving his large bulk through the dense temperate lowland forests. He growled under his breath every few meters as thin branches scratched at the edges of his eyes. At times he would clear headspace for himself by removing sections of branches with his huge jaws. “How is everyone doing back there?” he called back, risking taking another branch to the eye by taking them off the path in front of him even for a moment.
“Still keeping pace,” called up VyKia, who was riding on VoRenna’s back.
“I’m rather surprised we haven’t run into any Ridgebacks,” VoRenna added.
“And we’re better off for it,” VayRonx said. “I doubt they would take kindly to other big predators moving through their territory.”
“Indeed,” replied TarFor. “Those Ridgebacks are a motley bunch. Always biting first and asking questions later. We’d have a real fight on our hands should we run into a pack of them out here.”
“All the more reason to get through the lowlands as fast as possible,” VayRonx said, returning his attention to what lay ahead. “NyRo, keep an eye on our backs.”
“Oh, trust me, I have been since we left,” he replied. “I still think we should have stuck close to the river. That’s obviously what they used to slip out from under us.”
“True, but they couldn’t have taken it all the way. Traveling through the forest will give us a better chance of running into someone who has seen them or even stumbling on them ourselves.” VayRonx doubted the words he spoke but saw no harm in trying to reassure the others, and possibly even himself. His senses were sharper than any other’s in the group; he was able to hear and see up to eight kilometers away and smell twice as far in every direction. He knew he stood the best chance of picking up any trace of the teenagers before anyone else; however, it was this fact that also worried him, for he had yet to pick up any trace of their presence, meaning they had traveled much farther using the river than he had originally suspected. How could I have let them run away? Despite having told BaRone that he shared in his guilt for what happened to his daughter, it was the weight of what happened to the whole tribe that weighed most heavily on his conscience and dominated his thoughts the majority of the time. He knew he had to get DiNiya and the others back at any cost, but worried if he would have the power to do so. No one alive today had ever faced a DraGon before the night of the attack, and while it was true EeNara won the war thousands of years ago, victory was not without its price. Several dozen species were wiped out entirely, and the planet itself was ravaged so badly in some places that they had only been repopulated within the past five to six thousand years. The war had also apparently stranded the first aliens on EeNara who would become the SaVarians of today. It was strange to think of what life would have been like back in those days with their entire species being new to EeNara; how strange it would now seem to not share this world with them and the bond both races possessed with one another.
VayRonx shook his head and came back to the present. I will not allow the atrocities of the past to happen again, he told himself. Still, would he and the others really be enough to stop the DraGons this time? So far they had numbered in the dozens, a far cry from the once vast and destructive armies of the days of old he had grown up hearing about in stories. Still, he was not complaining, and would strike down every last one that reared its cruel head in KaNar.
His thoughts drifted over to ShinGaru, and a feeling of guilt and uncertainty began to twinge inside of him. He had watched the boy grow up in KaNar, belonging to no single family but raised by the tribe as a whole. VayRonx had always seen to it that he be treated as much a member of the tribe as any other child it bore. However, despite coming into his own earlier than any of the other children of his generation, and proving to be one of the sharpest minds in all of the Northern Continent, he never seemed fully comfortable opening himself up entirely to others, and thus kept them at a distance. Perhaps now he knew why. All people of EeNara had a deep sense of identity and how they fit within the grander scheme of the world. While it was strange that they all somehow shifted into entirely different beings, to not even know what it is you have become, he could only imagine what it would be like to look in the mirror and see not only a face that had never been your own, but one that was also completely foreign in nature. How difficult it must have been for that boy, he thought, feeling a great sense of failure for not having done a better job of making him truly feel at home within the tribe. To have sensed that there was something so very different about him but never knowing what or why, or even why it kept him from truly connecting with others.
A familiar scent now seized his attention, interrupting his thoughts and bringing him to a sudden stop. “We’ve got company,” he said, raising his nose into the air and breathing in deeply.
“Where?” BaRone asked.
“Ahead of us, and moving quickly.”
“How close?” VyKia asked, trying to peer through the foliage ahead for any sign of movement.
“About eight kilometers…give or take.”
“Dare I ask the nature of our friend?” NyRo inquired, cracking his neck and looking uneasy.
“It would appear that our luck has run out.”
“A Ridgeback,” TarFor declared.
There was a collective groan from everyone as they all noticeably tensed up.
“How many are there, VayRonx?” VoRenna asked, stepping up next to him and smelling the air. “I can only just now make it out.”
“So far all I can smell is one,” replied VayRonx. “But he’s moving with serious intent.”
“Coming for us?” TarFor asked.
“It would appear so.”
“But what can one Ridgeback hope to do to us?” he demanded. “What in the world is that fool thinking?”
“It would seem we’re about to find out.”
They all stood their ground and stared out in front of them, awaiting the first audible footfalls of the oncoming predator that was wasting no time or putting forth no effort to conceal his presence. Several minutes went by when they at last heard the crunching of plants and cracking of branches. Another minute passed, and movement could be seen in the low-hanging branches.
The two DyVorians and OroGon tightened their muscles and bared their teeth, preparing for what could potentially be a sudden and violent confrontation. Ridgebacks, after all, were known for mercilessly attacking convoys and travelers in the wild lands. A small band like theirs, even one made of three big
and powerful predators, would not be enough to deter an attack forever. But why just the one? VayRonx continued to wonder.
Several more minutes passed, and the sound of someone of considerable size moving through the underbrush could be clearly heard.
“Whoever it is,” said TarFor, “they’re making no attempt to conceal themselves.”
“It could mean they mean us no harm?” suggested VyKia hopefully.
“Or they think we can’t harm them,” her brother replied, leaping off NyRo’s back and igniting his flame.
They had all readied themselves for the worst when, just as expected, a Ridgeback came into view right in front of them, coming to a sudden halt. With curious eyes, he scanned the group silently, as if trying to assess whether they were indeed a threat. After a moment of what could have been described as awkward silence, the Ridgeback curiously asked, “You wouldn’t by any chance be from KaNar, now would you?”
“We are,” BaRone replied nervously.
“Wonderful,” the Ridgeback replied with an unexpected levity. “And would any of you be VayRonx?”
Rearing his head back in surprise, the big TarBoranx replied with a stoic look, “I am.”
“Oh, good,” the Ridgeback said, breathing a sigh of relief. “So I’ve finally found you then.”
“Wait,” TarFor scoffed, “you’re saying you were seeking us out?”
“I am, that is to say I was.”
“How do you know my name?” VayRonx asked, taking a step forward.
“Easy now. I mean you no harm.”
“Told you,” VyKia said, glancing down at her brother.
“Oh, shut it,” he grumbled as he folded his arms.
“We respect the fact that we are beyond the bounds of our territory,” VayRonx said, trying to sound more personable. “But I still demand to know how it is you’ve come to know my name, or why you were looking for members of my tribe?”
“My name is RemoKy. I was told to seek you out and deliver a message.”
“What message?”
“And by whom?” added VoRenna.
“Your ilk.”
“Come again?” BaRone said with a look of surprise.
RemoKy saw out of the corner of his eye the OroGon and VyoNyvora slowly positioning themselves on either side of him. Instinct told him to charge his way through and escape, but he could not leave without fulfilling his duty to repay those young SaVarians for saving his life. With another sigh, he began, “Night before last I came across a young SaVarian, a girl, just west of here; a day’s walk or so. She, however, was not alone.” RemoKy paused for a moment, feeling awkward for saying what he was about to. “She was being held captive by what she said was…a DraGon.”
“What?” VayRonx replied in surprise, jutting his head forward so forcefully that BaRone had to grip hold of his neck to keep from falling off.
“Did you say a DraGon?” VyKia asked.
“DiNiya!” BaRone gasped. “Was she all right? Please, you must tell me!”
“Well, she was alive and seemed to be in one piece. Then again, I do believe it’s more of surprise that I am as well, given the nature of our encounter.” He thought back to that dreadful day, impaled high above the forest and thrown close to a kilometers and left for dead, as if he had been in the wrong for defending his own territory and deeming the girl worthy of his protection.
“Explain,” demanded VayRonx.
“I wasn’t looking for her; rather, I picked up an unfamiliar scent. So I went to discover the identity of the intruder and came across a beast unlike any I have seen in all my years. She seemed to be chasing the girl.” Everyone now fixed RemoKy with intense stares, hanging on his every word as if waiting for a revelation. “I managed to give that wicked creature a lesson in respecting boundaries, and learned from your little friend what happened to your home.”
“So you know, then,” TarFor said.
“Did she say anything else?” BaRone asked desperately. “Anything at all?”
“No, I’m afraid,” he replied suddenly, wincing as a pain shot through one of the healed-over wounds on his chest. The young healer had done a remarkable job of getting him back on his feet; however, he would have to take care not to overexert himself for a time until he was sure he was fully recovered. Ignoring the pain, he looked back up and continued. “She was taken by the DraGon before she had a chance to tell me anything else.”
“What happened? I thought you said you had managed to defeat the DraGon?”
“I would have,” he said sourly, “but I was foolish and let my guard down, and in doing so…paid the price.”
VoRenna had noticed the remnants of his injuries, taking note of their precise location on his body, revealing the deadly accuracy and skill of the one who inflicted them. “Tell me, RemoKy, those wounds on your chest are lethal but have recently healed over. You do not possess the power needed to recover from such serious injuries.”
“Right you are,” he said, glancing down. “I had managed to cling to life long enough to be stumbled upon by a group of children.” There was a noticeable shift in the group now. “There were five in all, one of which was a healer.”
“Is she the one that patched you back together?” VyKia asked.
“Yes. A fair-haired female.”
“AnaSaya,” she exclaimed. “How was she? Was she all right? Speak!”
“VyKia!” VayRonx roared, making her immediately cease her interrogative assault. “Calm yourself and let him talk.” KyVina clenched her jaw and complied with a sigh and a nod. “RemoKy, please continue.”
“As I was saying, she and the other four found me practically dead and were kind enough to mend my wounds, thus bringing me back from the brink. I owe her my life, and so am honor bound to repay my debt to her, and by association, them as a whole. That is why I am here.”
“Give us your message, warrior,” VayRonx said.
“They wanted you to know that they are alive and well and in hot pursuit of those who took the one called DiNiya.”
The others stared for a moment in silence, anticipating more but slowly realizing that there was not.
“Was that it?” VayRonx asked.
“Yes,” RemoKy replied.
“They must have said something else,” BaRone pressed.
“Afraid not.”
“Something you forgot, perhaps?” added TarFor hopefully.
“No, nothing. I assure you that was the extent of it, and to be honest it didn’t really sound like they wanted you catching up with them.”
“Well, that was obvious enough when they ran away like thieves in the night,” TarFor replied grumpily.
“Ironic since it was the real thief they’re after,” said NyRo.
TarFor gave him a cross look before folding his arms and resigning himself to his irritation. Meanwhile, VayRonx regarded RemoKy with less apprehension, stepping forward and lowering his head slightly. “Thank you for delivering this message to us. It does our flames good to learn that the ones we seek were unharmed at the time you saw them, and gives us hope they can indeed survive the perils of the wild.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” RemoKy said matter-of-factly. “The forest is no place for children raised in the confines of a settlement.”
“I understand your concern,” said VayRonx. “And it is indeed appreciated; however, these children are…special.”
“Oh?” the Ridgeback replied, pulling his head back and blinking quickly. “And how is that?”
They all glanced nervously at one another, unsure how to explain the unique set of circumstances surrounding the five, or even if they should. At last, after RemoKy’s insistent stare became too much for them to ignore, VayRonx attempted to explain. “They all possess flames of an unusually high power.”
“Can’t be any stronger than mine or any of the others in this area. Besides, even if they did somehow manage to slip through the forest unnoticed, they would still have to traverse the plains, which other members of my kind hu
nt. Not to mention the KarVora herds that graze there are no laughing matter. One in particular is ruled by a bull named MorToff, who, believe me, has a flame that would give even you pause, TarBoranx.” VayRonx snorted indignantly. “Gifted as they may be with whatever talents they possess, they are no match for what awaits them out here.”
“Do not be so quick to trivialize their talents,” said NyRo.
“Especially when one of them is the reason you’re even alive right now,” added VyKia sternly.
“I meant no disrespect. I’m just simply stating the obvious—something you all seem to be unwilling to do.”
“Perhaps it is you who should trust that we are aware of something you are not,” VayRonx declared.
“So it would seem. However, I’m still not convinced what you say is true. Yes, the healer did display extraordinary skill, but that is hardly proof of a uniquely powerful flame.”
“Then come with us,” VayRonx asked. “Help us find them and see with your own eyes what all of the people of KaNar have.”
“A bold offer, alpha, but I must decline.”
“Scared?” TarFor asked.
The Ridgeback shot him a fiery glare. “Hardly, but I did indeed battle with someone who caused a considerable amount of damage to this forest, with seemingly no remorse. I must spread the word that such a threat is about.”
“It’s a DraGon,” said VoRenna. “You can’t ignore that even if you think we are completely mad about everything else.”
“All the more reason to spread the word to all the tribes of the wild. It’s a big place, you know, so the sooner I start, the sooner others can take up the mantel. Now if you’ll excuse me.” With that, he turned and proceeded back into the forest before turning to face them again. “One more thing.”
“Yes?” VayRonx asked.
“That girl and one of the boys…they both had red eyes,” he said searchingly, pausing for what almost felt like effect. “Red eyes mean a red flame, and I’ve only ever heard of one race having one. How can they…?”