Tale of the Fourth Survivor
The flyer breathed heavily as her eyes scoured the landscape around her. The complete silence of the Cold Time seemed eerie even for the female as all of the sounds she had been used to hear in the warmer seasons were completely absent. The only thing that prevented the world from falling into noiseless darkness was the light of the Night Circle that was illuminating the wide plains surrounding the Land of the Dancing Waters. It was a beautiful sight in many ways but Haste was far from interested in admiring the lonely yet captivating sight around her.
Soon, she moved to look at the other flyers around her. Being left behind from Lenel’s search had been an unpleasant surprise but in the end, it wasn’t any kind of setback for her. Haste even smiled a little as she thought about her situation as now, she could surprise Lenel even more thoroughly once she’d find him again. She would catch the pale flyer and she would take his place in the herd, no matter what. Lenel had already had his moment, now it would be her turn to bask in the glory of leadership!
Slowly, the female turned her hand into a fist as she prepared to give the sign she had shown to her followers. Haste investigated at those around her who were still more than likely loyal to Lenel but even then, the vast majority of the dinosaurs around her answered to her only. She’d make sure that the others wouldn’t hinder her plans in the least and for that, she needed the coming assault to be a surprise to them. Haste turned to look at Grace and nodded to her, implying that the time had come. Suddenly, Haste raised her hand towards the sky and let out a low but loud screech.
Immediately, the silence broke down completely. The flyers who still answered to Lenel were flabbergasted as their companions suddenly started to turn on them in a threatening fashion, not having the slightest idea about what was happening. They were beyond shocked as they saw their companions being beaten or forced into the ground and the last ones who still resisted this development tried to band together while one of them cried in shock.
“What the hell are you doing?! Lenel told us all to work together!” The male yelled but those words hardly mattered to Haste. She walked towards her last opponents, spitting the next words towards them in disgust.
“Lenel’s commands are no longer followed here! That fool will fall this night and from this point on, all of you will answer only to me!” She cried, causing the four dissident flyers to look at her in surprise as none of them had known of their leader’s doubts about Nira’s sister. They were more than horrified by this turn of events but even then, they wouldn’t give up just yet. They had pledged their allegiance to Lenel and they’d hold that oath for as long as they could. Haste looked at them in disgust but even then, she couldn’t foresee what happened next.
One of the flyers by her side suddenly turned to look at the renegade female and cringed deeply. He started to walk closer to Haste and revealed his claws which flashed in the dark of the night. The flyer had left her back completely exposed as she had been more than confident that none of her own would stand against her. He was just about to slash at the other flyer’s exposed neck when Grace suddenly noticed what was happening. She wasted no time charging towards the traitor and crying to her leader in alarm.
“Haste, look out!” She yelled as she tackled the male into the ground. Haste’s eyes flashed open in shock as she turned to look behind her, more than surprised to see the sight that greeted her eyes. While Grace had managed to halt the attack towards Haste, the male had managed to turn that blow towards the deputy and his claws had sank deep into her face and he only made those wounds deeper and more horrifying by the second.
Haste and two of the closest flyers closest to the fighting duo immediately charged towards, trying to take out the traitor as quick as they could. Haste refrained from seriously hurting her former follower just yet as she wanted to hear everything she could from him before sending him into the Great Beyond. However, just before the male’s grip on Grace started to weaken, he managed to kick one last time at her throat, tearing gaping wounds in it. It was at this point that Haste realized that her wounds were most likely deadly but before she would worry for her deputy, she locked the male into the ground and spoke to him in an enraged voice.
“What is the meaning of this, Clearsky? What the hell do you think you are doing? You’ve served me faithfully for fifteen Cold Times yet you throw it all away like this? Why?” The female wasn’t in any way interested about his motives but she wanted to know if there were more probable traitors among her ranks. This situation was a new one for her as thus far, she had thought that she could trust in her followers. However, those thoughts seemed to have died with this betrayal and the male spat on Haste’s face just as he started to speak.
“I served you like you served your sister and everyone else around you! I thought you were more capable than Nira but then I realized that you’d only bring pain and suffering to our entire kind! Besides, I knew Lenel would reward me well if I could tell him that I had taken out his possible competitor. Well… at least I got your deputy.” He said as he glanced at Grace who was grasping for another breath with ever-increasing difficulties.
Haste looked at the other flyer in disgust, not finding anything more to say to him. She looked at the male flyer in revulsion one more time before stomping on his throat with all her might. Clearsky’s eyes flashed wide open as life left his body, causing Haste to turn towards her loyal deputy. However, she lied completely still in the ground and as Haste bowed on her side, she could see the obvious. Grace was already gone, killed by a treacherous bastard in cold blood. Inside, she shuddered as she thought about the fact that she could lie in the ground instead of her deputy. It had only been Grace’s courage that had saved her from that fate.
Even then, Haste wasn’t a flyer who would be terribly shaken by something like this. Her heart had been hardened at the very latest as she had killed her sister and losing her ally meant very little to her. She rose to her full height after a few seconds, noticing that the last vestiges of the battle had been snuffed out. Of the last four flyers to stand against her, two lied dead and the two others were battered into submission. All of Lenel’s followers had been gathered together, clearly waiting for Haste’s decision. The female walked towards them, trying to hide her shock as best as she could. If she wanted to overthrow Lenel, she’d have to make a good enough impression. She cleared her throat silently as she started to speak.
“I’m happy to see that most of you surrendered without a fight. Know that from now on, Lenel will no longer be your leader and that I, Haste, will be the only one who can command any of you. In return for your loyalty, I will promise to rule over our herd justly and righteously. But before any of that can come to being, Lenel will have to fall. How many of you are willing to give up your oaths to that bastard and cast your lot with me?” She asked, willing to get into the main part of her plot as soon as possible. At first, the female was shocked to see the flyers before her simply staring at her in fear but at first, no one seemed to be ready to serve her. After a few seconds, one of them asked carefully.
“But… only Lenel can claim Olres’ powers as he is his heir after all! You cannot return the flyers to our former glory!” He asked with a fearful voice, hoping that objection wouldn’t turn out to be his undoing. Haste narrowed her eyes as she approached the lower-ranked flyer, not amused with his words at all. She looked at him in fear, speaking to him with a trembling voice as she hoped to win Lenel’s loyalists to her side.
“All of that is a lie. Lenel is a moron if he believes there is something here that would make him as powerful as some made-up hero of the past. All of us deserve better than to chase hatchlings’ tales for days on end into a cold hell such as this one. No, I only want to lead our own herd and I’ll do so by protecting us from real dangers instead of pursuing something that doesn’t even exist!” She said, causing Lenel’s followers to glance at each other in fear. None of them liked this in the least as all of them had done their all to help Lenel in his quest. Yet, none of them wanted to meet their ends here either and after a few, heavy seconds, one of them finally bowed before Haste and spoke in a forced voice.
“Very well, Haste. I hope you are a worthy leader for our herd and all its members.” He said, his tone revealing it beyond a doubt that he was saying those words even if he disagreed with them deeply. The others followed their companion’s example and even if Haste knew that they didn’t serve her because of actually supporting her, this would have to be enough for now. She nodded at her new followers slowly, slightly relieved that this part of her plan had been a success.
“So be it. Follow me today and I’ll deem you as an integral part of my herd and your service under Lenel will be forgiven. Let’s go.” She said as she turned towards the forest, knowing that this night would end in either her victory or her joining her deputy in the next world.
Lenel wasn’t sure about whether or not he should be frustrated or amazed as he looked at more and more of the lights gathering around him. On one hand, he was beyond annoyed by the fact that he hadn’t managed to make any progress in his plan just yet but inside, he could feel that something spectacular was happening around him. The forest was starting to look as bright as it was during the day as the orbs of brightness started to surround him and Sireia ever more profoundly. He took a deep sigh as he looked around himself, speaking to his mate in expectation.
“Beautiful, isn’t it, Sireia? I can’t help but feel that we’ll be successful in whatever challenges we’ll be facing.” He said as he looked at the brightened canopy of the trees, just wondering what kind of miracles would be waiting for him in the next hours. Sireia looked at the male in appreciation, not able to hide her own gladness about what was happening.
“Indeed, my love. I just wish they’d speak to us and tell what we have to do or at least where we’re going! This is getting a bit too weird for my tastes.” She said, looking at Lenel with a conflicted expression. She would have wanted to break the silence herself but on the other hand, she knew that this was Lenel’s journey most of all. She’d be happy to share it with him but it was up to her mate to decide the best way to move forward. The pale flyer narrowed his eyes slightly as he heard those words, agreeing with each of the female’s words.
The pale flyer had hoped that the night’s course of action would have been revealed to him as soon as he reached this land but on the other hand, he had to admit that it would have been foolish for him to assume he would become the new Olres without any real effort. Even then, his patience was starting to wear out. He wouldn’t be taken for a fool by anyone and for both his and his mate’s sake, this was the time for him to demand answers. He was just about to speak when he heard a horrified cry from his right side.
“My leader! Lenel! Please listen to me!” The pale flyer frowned as he turned to look at the direction of the cry, immediately recognizing the voice. However, to his shock, before could act, the other flyer knelt beside him, grabbing his wing while sobbing uncontrollably.
“It… it was horrible, my leader! Th… there was… nothing I could h… I’m sorry, Lene…” He started but the other male had already had enough of the other flyer’s apparent panic. Before he could finish, Lenel hit Plunge in his cheek, causing him to stare at his leader with wide eyes. The light-colored flyer stared right at his follower, spitting out his next words with a voice that dipped with outrage.
“Never approach me like that again, fool! And now, tell me where Northwind is or I’ll make sure you’ll regret ever coming back to me!” He said, realizing inside that he acting much harsher than he should have but his nerves were already stretched too far for him to really care. He looked keenly as Plunge started to recite his tale with a tearful voice.
“They… they are dead! Both the first group we were looking for and my companions…they are gone. Including Northwind.” He said, causing the other male’s expression to fall immediately. Of all his followers, he had respected Northwind the most and deep inside, he had even liked his deputy. Northwind had always been a loyal dinosaur who had shown true devotion to him and from Lenel had seen, he had also been a good flyer to those around him. With a heavy heart, he realized that his grip on his herd had just grown much weaker. He was still thinking about those implications when Sireia demanded the lower-ranked male in a sickened voice.
“What happened out there? What could kill so many of our companions! Speak!” She said, equally disturbed by this news. She had seldom spoke to Northwind herself but she knew very well just how important he had been to his herd. Plunge turned to look at the female and he gulped deeply as he saw Sireia’s harsh but compassionate expression. His voice calmed down slightly as he prepared to give his answer.
“We… tried to find the others as you commanded and we did find them… but only after they had been torn to pieces. We were ambushed at that same place by a large sailback and… and his large herd of fastbiters and halfteeth… only I and Northwind survived that horrifying moment.” He said, causing Lenel and Sireia to exchange worried looks. Northwind’s death and the sailback’s appearance were close to the last things they had wanted to hear as that made their position far more risky.
Sireia gulped as she looked into the dark forest, just wondering what she’s do if a bloodthirsty sailback suddenly ran towards her from between the woods. Inside, she had to wonder whether she’d be able to even raise her hand before she’d share her companions’ fates. Shivers suddenly ran through her as she listened to the wind howling within her ears. Even Lenel’s tone was far friendlier than before as he addressed his shocked follower.
“I hope you led that beast as far away from us as possible, Plunge. I hope you made sure we’d never have to see that sailback again.” He said, his voice careful as he spoke. An encounter with a sharptooth at this point would be a disaster and Lenel hoped nothing more but for his wish to be confirmed. However, the other male’s dark expression dampened the pale flyer’s spirits greatly and as he started to speak, the light-colored flyer started to feel his heart grow cold. Plunge himself was visibly haunted by his own words as he stared right at Lenel’s eyes.
“We soon stopped our escape to try to find out how we’d best get back to you. However, that was a terrible mistake as Northwind was ambushed and… and he was tortured horribly before the sharpteeth finally slaughtered him in cold blood. Before his death he… he revealed just what we’re looking for and… and where it is located.” He said, those words finally causing Lenel’s eyes to grow wide with horror. He started to shudder slightly as he put his hands on his follower’s shoulders and asked in a trembling voice.
“Do you mean… do you mean that the sailback is heading here? That… we’ll have to fear for his assault with every passing second?” He asked, the flyer’s expression disturbing Plunge greatly. He had never seen Lenel reveal his fear this profoundly before and that sight was an unnerving one for him. However, his voice was far calmer than before as he gave his answer to the higher-ranked flyer’s question.
“Indeed we do. That is exactly why I wanted to warn you as soon as I simply could.” He said, shivering terribly as he looked at the direction he had come from. Sooner or later, another bloodbath would begin, one that could very well mean the end of his entire herd. Plunge shook his head tiredly as Lenel suddenly turned to look back at him, his voice suddenly taking an outraged, even scary tone.
“How could he? I’ve trusted Northwind my entire life but even then he goes and betrays me like this? I made my worst mistake ever by trusting that bastard in t…” He spoke but to his surprise, the other flyer interrupted him with a low voice. His eyes seemed to bore into Lenel’s as he answered the higher-ranked dinosaur’s smears, the duo’s shared horrors forcing him to defend the late deputy.
“Stay silent about things you know nothing about, Lenel! Northwind stayed loyal to you until the end and he resisted that torture for far longer than anyone, including you, could have demanded! No dinosaur can last for longer if their bones are being crushed to pieces one by one! Show some respect to those who’ve giv…” He spoke but at this point, Sireia stepped forward and kicked the other flyer to his knee, causing him to fall into the ground while wincing in pain. Before he realized anything else, Sireia had grabbed his throat and hit him again in his cheek with a heavy force. The female then hissed in anger, not willing to stand such arrogance from anyone, especially from such low-ranking flyer.
“Never speak to my mate like that again! He deserves much better than to be attacked by weaklings such as you! Make sure this is the last time you’ll ever insult your betters.” She said, releasing Plunge after she had finished. The male dropped into the ground, panting as he looked at the female. His expression was a bitter one as even now, he couldn’t stand Lenel insulting Northwind’s memory but there was nothing more he could do. He merely nodded before speaking in a silent voice.
“Very well, Sireia. I’ll remember those words.” He said, clearly voicing his displeasure. Lenel snorted at the other male’s antics and spat out his next words in annoyance.
“You’re dismissed. Get out of my sight!” He said and Plunge wasted no time doing as told. The pale flyer looked into the darkness for a few seconds before speaking to his mate silently.
“What should we do? We cannot face a sailback out here.” He said, the depth of his concerns surprising even Sireia. It was a shock to her to see her mate’s mood change this quickly but even then, she was here to help him to her best degree. In fact, she loved Lenel’s more compassionate and emotional side as far too many flyer leaders acted as if they always knew everything and that nothing in this world would ever cause them any concerns. Lenel had the same pride and ambition as they did but he lacked the arrogance and pompousness that seemed to characterize so many other male flyers and that was one of the main reasons she wanted nothing more than to be his mate now and forever.
“We can’t, dear. We’ll have to find some open place… or try to get to the main part of our quest quicker.” She said as she nodded towards the floating lights. At first, Lenel was unsure about what she meant but after a few seconds, he understood. He had never wanted to risk this journey by trying to be pushy towards this unknown force but on the other hand, he couldn’t just follow them for hours without even knowing where he was going. If he wanted to ever rival Olres’ glory, he’d have to demand this power for himself and prove he truly was worth it. Lenel took a brief breath as he raised his gaze towards the flying lights and yelled in a loud voice.
“You honored allies of the great Olres, forgive me for my arrogance! But as you heard, we are terribly threatened by a hostile sharptooth and in order to protect ourselves and the sanctity of this place, we need you to give me the same power you gave my ancestor so very long ago! I promise you that I will walk in his footsteps and use these powers to protect you from anyone who would cause you harm as well as to the glory of all flyers.” He said in a loud, steady voice, his eyes keenly locked on the odd beings around him. The male couldn’t help but wonder what they really were but with any luck, he’d learn of that later.
A long moment of silence followed those words as the gathered group of flyers glanced around themselves, waiting for something, anything, to happen. Many of the lower-ranked dinosaurs shuddered visibly as they thought of the incoming assault, praying Lenel could save them from this sickening situation. Sireia cringed slightly as she took a small step towards Lenel, willing to give him all the courage she could. Lenel could hear his heart beating quicker and quicker by the second as he saw one of the lights moving closer to him.
His gaze fell slightly as he heard the ghastly but beautiful voice starting to speak.
“Are you certain you are ready for this, descendant of Olres? We have no need for any kind of protection so it is up to you to prove you are capable of wielding our gift of wisdom and strength for the good of both your kind and the others. But should you fail, you will lose everything you have gained thus far.” The voice said as Lenel crossed his hands. He was far from happy with those words but on the other hand, what should he have hope for? For this mythical power to simply be handed over to him without any further questions? Even if he was beyond fearful at this point, the flyer knew he had only one answer he could give. He’d be certainly overthrown in his herd if he stepped back at this point. Lenel
took a deep sigh as he gathered his courage, looking towards the lights with a proud expression.
“I wouldn’t have devoted my entire life to this quest if I were going to lose courage on the verge of my destiny. I’m ready to go through any test you put me through so bring it on, now!” He yelled, his heart feeling as if it wanted to escape from the flyer’s chest. He frowned as the lights started to gather around him, an eerie feeling starting to rise within him. But even then, he was the dinosaur who would pass on to legends after his death and he certainly wouldn’t fail at this point!
Suddenly, the pale flyer’s head felt as if he were being span around endlessly and deep vertigo started to manifest itself within Lenel’s mind. But even as his conscious started to fail, his resolution never faltered as Lenel sank deeper and deeper into darkness…
“Where they now? Me said we should have followed them far closer!” Petrie said as he turned at his friends. He knew that it was very unlike him to blame others for their common decisions but right now, he knew he had been right. It had been Ortin’s idea to keep a longer distance between their group and that of Lenel’s and it had been that idea that had allowed them to lose track of the other flyers. Ortin crossed his arms and looked at the other boy with a clearly upset expression.
“We had to make sure we wouldn’t be seen before we attack Lenel! Also, you did agree to our plan yourself so keep your complaints to yourself!” He said with a resolute expression even if he agreed with Petrie inside. But when they had headed after Lenel, none of them had known just how dark it would get in this forest after the setting of the Bright Circle. After a few seconds, Petrie took a brief sigh, telling the other boy he wasn’t on the mood to argue.
“Me know, me know. It’s just that… me afraid we lost out here. We only know Lenel head straight north but… we don’t know if he decides to change the direction out here. Petrie not like this at all.” He said, looking askingly at Glide. So very often, she had been able to give some thoughts on how to best move forward and even now, Petrie hoped she could help him somehow. Glide, however, merely snorted as she gave her answer.
“I know nothing more than you do, Petrie. The only thing I know is that we cannot afford to waste time around here. If Lenel gets what he wants, it’ll be all over for us! So let’s go!” She said, immediately heading towards the direction the small group had gone to earlier. However, Ortin was far from confident about that idea.
“How about the sailback we saw earlier? We have no idea just where that monster is.” He said, realizing just how dangerous the trio’s situation really was. Glide, however, rolled her eyes as she turned to look at him, clearly annoyed by that question.
“What about him? In case you didn’t notice, the sharptooth wasn’t even near this place and it’d be extremely unlikely if we somehow met him here!” The girl said with a frustrated voice. Ortin, however, frowned slightly as he gave his answer, his many priorities slowly starting to get on his nerves. He had no reason to be upset with Glide but the stress of this moment was starting to affect his mood greatly.
“Yet, if we do meet him, we’re as good as dead! Just think about it Glide: yes, we have to reach Lenel in time but if we get complacent, we might not be alive to prevent his plans! We didn’t come this far simply to be killed because we’re so damn careless!” He spat out, causing Glide to take a heavy breath as she turned to look upwards. She shook her head a few times in annoyance before she shot back at her companion.
“Then what do you want to do, Ortin? Stay here and wait for some miracle? Or perhaps crouch through the night in the ground and pray we won’t somehow get slaughtered?” She asked mockingly and Ortin’s expression confirmed his growing anger. Petrie looked at the duo sadly, hating how this journey was going thus far. He would have loved to see all three of them throwing their own egos aside at least for now but apparently, that wasn’t to be. The boy sighed deeply before he joined the conversation just before Ortin could rebuke Glide’s poisonous words.
“You both know what we have to do! We must move fast but we also need to stay safe from any possible attacks. Petrie know this difficult to all of us but every moment we spend fighting here, the more time Lenel has to find what he’s looking for! So let’s go and hope we’ll be in time to stop him instead of fighting each other here!” He cried, causing Glide to roll her eyes. She then looked Ortin with a triumphant expression before she headed into the darkness.
“That’s what I’ve been saying all along! I’m sorry, Ortin, but perhaps you should listen to us more next t… Ouch!” Petrie’s eyes flashed open as he heard the girl’s sudden yell from nearby, his blood immediately running cold as he thought about the potential implications. He immediately started to head towards Glide but the next second made him stop immediately. It was as if he heard a ghost from a previous life suddenly speak to him, as if his imagination had suddenly took control over his mind. Yet… the voice he heard next was so very familiar that he’d recognize it anywhere.
“Look where you’re going you stupid beakbrain! Haven’t I already been through enough without you walking over me! Get out! GET OUT!” It simply couldn’t be! Petrie could only stand in place as he stared at the direction of the voice. The words were very unlike him but… but the voice was something Petrie knew he’d never be mistaken over. Suddenly, the flyer’s heart started to pound ever harder and soon enough, he realized he simply couldn’t hold his legs in place. He simply had to go make sure his ears hadn’t deceived him. The boy cried in a loid voice that was far more cheerful than any tone he had spoke on in ages.
“Littlefoot? Is that you? Please, answer Petrie and say it you!” He cried, the longneck’s form slowly coming to his sight from the darkness. Yes, it indeed was him! After all this time, he’d simply find his old friend in this distant land by accident. He grew slightly more worried as he noticed that Littlefoot was covered in countless scars and wounds and he resembled more a skeleton than his old self. Even then, there was no mistaking his distinct color and his face. This was the longneck he had known back in the Great Valley.
However, just Petrie was moving to embrace the other boy’s leg, the longneck suddenly turned towards him and with a quick whip of his tail, sent the flyer into the air before the latter hit the ground in shock. The smaller dinosaur fought for breath as he looked at the skies in deep shock. What… what had just happened? Had Littlefoot just done what he thought? Certainly, there was a mistake somewhere out here. He turned into a sitting position and cried at the longneck with a fearful voice.
“Littlefoot, it me, Petrie! Do… do you not recognize me?” He asked but as his old friend turned to look at him, the flyer’s distress only worsened. There were many deep, fresh wounds just below his left eye and his whole expression dipped with pain and hate. The longneck started to slowly walk towards the flyer, his voice wavering bitterly as he spoke to the smaller dinosaur.
“Oh, I know just what you are. Haven’t I already suffered enough without this place haunting me with visions about my old friends? HAVEN’T I GONE THROUGH ENOUGH? JUST LEAVE ME IN PEACE ALREADY!” He yelled, causing Petrie’s eyes to widen in fear. As he saw the murderous look on the longneck’s face, the flyer suddenly rose to his wings and flew to a nearby branch, hoping he’d be safe in there from the enraged longneck. He frowned as he saw Glide also flying away from the scene, landing on another branch near to him. The girl spoke to her friend in a shocked voice.
“Is this really the friend you were looking for? He’s utterly insane!” She whispered, only a modicum of compassion apparent in her voice. Petrie breathed deeply before he briefly glanced at the female, clearly at a complete loss of what to say. When he managed to form his next words, his voice stuttered deeply as he tried to voice his thoughts.
“Yes, he Littlefoot but… he not himself at all. Glide… please be silent and let Petrie handle this. You too, Ortin.” He said as he nodded to his two friends. Both of them nodded back at the boy, knowing they had very little to contribute to this reunion of the two old friends. Petrie gulped deeply as he thought about what to say next. He felt as if his heart was getting crushed at the mere thought about what had happened to the longneck in the past season. He was completely out of his mind and Petrie didn’t even want to know what had happened to him. After a brief moment, he managed to finally answer the longneck in a meek, worried voice.
“But me truly is Petrie, Littlefoot. Just look at me and you know me speak the truth!” He said, causing the longneck to look at him with a disgusted sneer. It was clear that the longneck didn’t even want to answer that question but he was just too broken to even deny company when he was offered some. His next words were accompanied by tears as he glanced at the flyer again. The latter was getting increasingly sick for Littlefoot’s sake as he listened to his bitter wails.
“I’ve seen you already enough times to know you are nothing but a crappy mirage! I’ve seen both you, Cera, the others, Shorty and even my grandparents during the cursed trials of this place! I thought that at least my failure would release me from seeing my dead friends but apparently I wasn’t even granted that mercy! If you are anything like the real Petrie, go to hell and leave me in peace!” He yelled, kicking the tree Petrie was sitting on. Petrie’s heart ached as he heard those words, exchanging a worried expression with Glide as he thought about those words. Did Littlefoot mean that everyone he had mentioned were dead? Hoping that he’d get through to the longneck, he asked in a soft voice.
“Littlefoot… do you mean your grandparents and Shorty are… gone?” He merely asked, praying he had understood wrong. However, as he saw Littlefoot’s tears intensifying, he realized his hopes had been proven wrong. As the flyer heard the longneck’s next words, his shock only continued tro deepen.
“Do you have to make me tell all about that as well?” YES, THEY ARE ALL DEAD ALONG WITH DAD! I SAW IT ALL WITH MY OWN EYES! I KNEW YOU CAME ONLY TO TORTURE ME FURTHER!” He yelled, making the flyer’s mind go to overdrive. Not even in his worst sleep stories could he have imagined just a grisly fate for someone as kind as the longneck. He leaned towards the tree’s trunk behind him as he thought about it all.
He had never really known Bron nor Littlefoot’s grandparents personally all that well but from what he remembered, they had shown nothing but kindness and grace to those around them. His grandparents had always been a voice of reason in the Valley and to the flyer, they had always been friendly and encouraging whenever they had spoken to each other. They had even sacrificed their position among the herds in order to protect Ruby and Chomper when they had first come to the Valley and again when they were about to be exiled from their temporary home.
Even worse, Petrie knew full well just what those two had meant to Littlefoot. He had always been there to see just how deeply they missed Littlefoot when he was gone, just what kind of joyous reunions they’d have… The flyer could hardly keep his own thoughts together as his reflections moved to Littlefoot’s loved ones.
Inside, Petrie had had a very negative view of Shorty ever since his disastrous visit to the Valley during Littlefoot’s Big Longneck Test but… he also knew the green longneck had never been evil in any way nor had he meant ill. And certainly, he didn’t deserve whatever had happened to him. And Bron… the boy could very well remember the comfort and courage the longneck had given him during their brief times together. Petrie’s voice wavered deeply as he tried to answer to the other male in a shuddering voice.
“Me… me so sorry for all this, Littlefoot! Me so sorry all this happen to you!” He said, causing the other dinosaur to sniff slightly. He glanced at Petrie in annoyance, not really caring about anything Petrie had to say. His voice was filled with loathing as he spoke next.
“Well, no pathetic vision can help me, that’s for sure! I’ll likely wander here forever before I’ll die and it’ll only be a good thing as at least then I’ll be able to join Cera and the others! I have no place to return to! And then you only decided to make everything even worse! Screw you and everything that lives in this cursed place!” It took a moment for Petrie to realize that Littlefoot still thought of him as some vision and even if he was hurt by Littlefoot’s tone, it was still a slight relief to know that the longneck wasn’t actually talking to him. Yet, the mention of Cera caused the flyer to frown deeply as something within his mind told that Littlefoot knew just what had happened to the threehorn. Petrie gulped deeply as he prepared to ask the obvious question.
“Me know this not a funny question but Petrie has to know… what happened to Cera? Did you see her after the Sand Cloud?” He asked, causing the longneck to look at him with a more broken expression, one that was no longer even angry, just horrified. His voice was a heavy one as he answered to the flyer.
“Yes, I did, but only for a short while. She… she never made it out from that desert.” He said, the words hardly intelligible as his tears fell down his cheeks. The longneck shuddered deeply, the situation clearly a terrible one for him. Petrie felt his heart growing heavy as this revelation was the first, total confirmation that one of his friends was dead. Yes, he had suspected that all along but the news of Littlefoot’s survival had sparked a new hope in the flyer but at least when it came to the threehorn, those hopes were now snuffed out for good. Even if he knew it’d hurt him terribly, Petrie spoke to the longneck in a careful voice.
“Me sorry but… please tell Petrie what happened. Me just have to know.” He said but at first, it seemed like the longneck wasn’t even listening to him. He just stared forward without any signs of consciousness but soon enough, the boy started to speak in a faraway, haunted voice.
“It wasn’t long after we lost the others in the sharptooth attack. I was lost and alone in the sand cloud and I was desperate to rejoin the rest of my friends. Those were horrible moment and ones during which I felt more desperate than ever since losing mother. No matter what I did, I couldn’t find my way out of that cursed Sand Cloud… or so I thought.”
Littlefoot coughed countless times as the sand filled his lungs. The sight around him was a chaos of raging winds and flying sand and it seemed to cover everything around him in an impenetrable shroud. Even if the longneck tried to move forward as well as he could, he felt as if he wasn’t moving an inch in any direction. The situation seemed more and more dystopian as the fear for his friends’ survival filled his mind.
Where were they? Had any of them even survived the encounter with the sharpteeth? The boy tried to cast those thoughts away from his mind, declining to accept that even as a possibility! All of them had to be here somewhere! They simply had to! He would leave no stone unturned out here until he’d find every last on of them and take them home to the Great Valley as he had done so many times before! He breathed more deeply by the second as he tried to force his way through the raging winds, knowing that he simply couldn’t afford to waste any more time, not before he and his friends were together again.
As fear continued to grow within his mind, Littlefoot decided that he simply had to move as quickly as he could to maximize his chances of finding the others. Even if it was increasingly difficult, the longneck started to run with all his might. Certainly one of his friends had to be near him and he’d never forgive himself if he wouldn’t be there in time to help them. Luckily, the sand cloud was starting to die down somewhat which increased his visibility at least a b…
Suddenly, the longneck stopped in his tracks as he noticed something that caught his interest. There was a large rock in front of him and there seemed to be some kind of lone form lying beneath it. At first, he wasn’t sure what to think but soon enough, he asked in an unsure tone as he continued to approach the other dinosaur.
“Cera? Is that you?” He asked simply, looking as the female’s eyes flashed open in shock. She looked around herself urgently before her eyes caught a glimpse of the male approaching her slowly. She immediately rose to her feet and cried back to him cheerfully.
“Littlefoot! You did make it after all!” She yelled as she dashed towards the longneck who couldn’t hide his joy at this reunion. The two embraced deeply as they savored the glory of this moment. Littlefoot looked the threehorn at the eyes as he gave his heartfelt answer.
“Yes, it is me, Cera. Have you seen any of the others?” He asked, hoping he’d get some kind of hints from the female but Cera shook her head in clear fear. She looked at the slowly clearing skies of the desert before answering her dear friend.
“Nope. I tried to hide under that rock until those sharpteeth would be far enough. I… I had already thought I’d be the only one of us alive.” She said with teary eyes, her feelings a mix of loss and relief at her friend’s survival. The boy frowned at those words, not capable of judging Cera for trying to wait out the storm before making her next move. Even then, he had to ask the obvious question from the other young dinosaur.
“You haven’t seen any of the others since… that moment?” He merely said, causing Cera to look at him sadly. Her answer was a simple and mournful one but even then, she wouldn’t abandon her kind’s outlook on the world even now.
“I’m sorry, Littlefoot. I’m afraid that… none of the others have survived.” She said, tears starting to flow down her cheeks as she looked at her oldest and closest friend. Littlefoot looked at her in clear regret but even then, he was nowhere ready to give up. After a few seconds, he spoke again to the threehorn, trying to sound at least a bit more encouraging than before.
“We have to believe they did, Cera. I am sure the others got away from the sharpteeth as well. I’ll never forgive myself if any of us got into trouble because I was unable to find them in time.” He said, looking Cera right in the eyes. The threehorn returned that look after a few seconds and even if she was clearly beyond skeptical, she didn’t want to believe in the worst just yet.
“If you say so, Littlefoot, Let’s go then and hope you were right this time as well.” She said, earning an approving nod from the longneck. At the very least they had now found each other so maybe it wouldn’t be impossible that they and their friends could soon be together once again.
Petrie’s breaths grew quicker by the second as he listened to the longneck’s story, not able to believe his ears. His friends had been out there looking for him while he was lying on top of that high mountain, trying to get his wing healed as quickly as possible. If he had only been there with Littlefoot and Cera… how many tragedies could have been avoided? Would there soon happen something that he could have prevented had he just been with his two friends? He could simply stare at the terribly distressed longneck silently when he felt a soft touch on his shoulder. He didn’t even flinch as he heard Glide speak to her.
“I’m sorry about all of this, Petrie. I had hoped we’d get at least a bit better news.” She said, even now having little compassion towards the longneck or the threehorn but she had come to accept that Petrie saw things at least a bit differently. Petrie turned to look at the girl before speaking to her, his voice beyond miserable.
“So had Petrie. Littlefoot completely crazy and Cera dead… why this have to happen?” He said silently, his expression a pleading one as he looked at the girl. Glide wanted to help Petrie in any way she could and soon, her expression lightened as she realized something that made her even smile.
“Hey, I got an idea, Petrie! The longneck did say that something bad happen to him here as well, didn’t he?” She asked, causing the boy to frown slightly. Ortin looked at the girl oddly, clearly more than unsure what the other flyer was speaking about
“What do you mean, Glide? What does that have to do with anything?” He asked, even more suspicious about the longneck than Glide was. The latter looked at her friend with a slight frown before she gave her answer.
“Isn’t it obvious, Ortin? If we manage to prevent Lenel from succeeding, we can try to somehow use this place’s powers to help Petrie’s friend! If they caused at least some part of this to him, they can certainly reverse it as well!” She said, causing Petrie to look at her hopefully. His voice dipped with happiness as he asked the female.
“You… you really do it to Petrie? Are… are you sure?” He said, blinking as he waited for an answer. Before Glide could answer, Ortin decided to join the conversation.
“Are you insane, Glide? This place is worth far more than helping some stupid longneck! We have to make of this land that we simply can!” He said but those words didn’t sit well with Petrie. He stepped forward and spoke to the other flyer, his voice dipping with anger.
“Never say that again about Littlefoot! He the best dinosaur Petrie ever met and even if he act weird now, me sure me can still make him see sense!” He said, causing the other boy to look at him in annoyance but before he could answer, the longneck ended his brief pause in this story, immediately prompting Petrie to look at his friends in a murderous look which told both of them to stay silent again.
Petrie turned back to look at Littlefoot, regretting that he couldn’t ask him any further questions in the fear that he’d decline to recite the rest of his tale. Petrie’s heart ached as he listened to the longneck’s tale but he owed it to Cera to hear just what had happened to her. Littlefoot acted as if he hadn’t heard the three flyers’ conversation at all, his broken voice just as monotonous as before.
“We moved on together for nearly an hour, our thirst increasing by the second. Yet, we managed to ignore that for the time being but to our disappointment, we didn’t find any of the others. However, we were a bit relieved to see that we were approaching the edge of that desert but…” At this point, the longneck sniffed bitterly, causing Petrie to realize the story was going from bad to worse.
The duo’s endless march was starting wear them both off and Littlefoot was growing more and more dispirited as the long minutes dragged on. The longneck continued to stare towards the horizon, not able to cast away the sickening feeling of knowing that finding his friends was getting more and more unlikely by the second. At this pace, he would have to come to accept the unacceptable if there wouldn’t happen any unexpected m…
ROAAAR!
The longneck’s eyes flashed suddenly open as he continued to look behind himself. His heart started to beat horribly as the looked at the desert, knowing full well what that sound meant. He turned at Cera quickly and cried to her in alarm.
“Follow me, Cera! We have to get somewhere safe, now!” He yelled, knowing that the threehorn wouldn’t disagree with him. Indeed, the girl looked at him in horror as she spoke.
“Of course we do but there’s nothing out here! Where can we go?” She asked as the duo ran forward as fast as they simply could. Littlefoot frowned deeply as he ran forward, trying to feverishly find any place that could save him and Cera. The sharpteeth were nowhere to be seen but he knew very well just how much faster the fastbiters were than he and his friend were. Once they were close enough for him to see them, it would already be too late.
“I don’t know, Cera, but we have to t… Wh… what is that?” He yelled as he saw low hills rising in the distance. That in itself wasn’t a surprise out here but there seemed to be some kind of hole in their base. As he moved closer to that spot, Cera cried to him in relief.
“It’s some kind of gorge, Littlefoot! That’s the best place we can hide in out here! Maybe it even blocks our scent from those damned sharpteeth!” She yelled, earning a relieved nod from the boy. He knew that the ravine wasn’t the ideal place to hide in but at this point, it was the only real choice. The longneck glanced at his friend encouragingly, hoping that this discovery would save them from certain death.
“Let’s hope so! It’s better than nothing, at least!” He said as he ran to the opening of the gorge, looking at with slight disappointment. It was wide for enough for any sharptooth but maybe, just maybe, it could hide them from the sharpteeth. It was true that escaping from the predators would be difficult down there but on the open desert, they would be caught certainly. The duo ran into the increasingly deep ravine before Littlefoot finally called to his friend.
“Let’s get behind that boulder, Cera! That’s our best chance!” He yelled and the duo wasted no time doing as the boy had said. Littlefoot panted as he covered into the ground, his lungs feeling as if they were going to explode. He then whispered to the threehorn, hoping the worst was now behind them.
“Stay silent now, Cera. Let’s hope they miss us completely.” He knew it was a fool’s hope but that’s all he and Cera had at this point. The scene around them was utterly silent, even the wind having died down completely. As time went on, the longneck could even allow himself to calm down slightly. There was no sign of any sharpteeth anywhere nearby and there were no more roars to be heard anywhere. Maybe… maybe they had survived? He even smiled slightly as he heard Cera ask him carefully.
“How much longer do we have to wait, Littlefoot? I… I think we’re safe.” She said, looking at the serene sight around her. Even if the longneck hated to act rashly, he had to agree with Cera this time. The two looked at each other’s eyes for many seconds before the boy finally let out a sigh and spoke to the threehorn calmly.
“Very well. We can go on but let’s be careful. We don’t know where they ar…”
Suddenly, the scene changed completely. At first, the longneck saw slight movement from the corner of his eye and before he even realized what was happening, he saw a fastbiter dropping right towards Cera. He couldn’t even move his leg before his ultimate horror was right before her. The sharptooth dropped on Cera’s back, making her scream in deep pain. The beast wasted no time tearing into the girl’s back but at this point, Littlefoot had had enough. Fear completely absent from his mind, he charged at the predator and cried with all his might.
“Get away from her, you monster! Hang in there, Cera!” He cried as he hit the sharptooth in his side, sending the best flying into the ground. Cera looked at the predator with a hateful look and wasted no time charging right at him. Littlefoot looked in shock as he saw the girl’s horn sink into the fastbiter’s throat, causing his blood to stream heavily everywhere around him. The sharptooth gasped in fear as he rose to his feet, bringing his hand to his throat, feeling the terrible wound and realizing the danger he was in. Suddenly, the sharptooth turned around and ran away from the ravine while crying in agony.
“That… that’ll teach those bastards to… never mess with a… a threehorn.” Cera said with an extremely forced voice, looking as if she’d fall to the ground at any moment. Littlefoot ran to her side, just in time to prevent her from collapsing into the ground. Instead, the that process was now a more gentle one but as she finally dropped to her knees and finally the ground, Littlefoot’s heart dropped immediately.
The threehorn’s back was completely torn open along with parts of her neck. The ground was a mixture of Cera’s and the fastbiter’s blood but even then, the longneck wasn’t completely desperate just yet. With some luck, Cera’s wounds could still be healed as the injuries in her neck weren’t quite as severe as they could have been. The boy looked at her with a worried expression as he spoke to her.
“It’s alright now, Cera. Just try to calm down and I’ll take care of you. We’ll get through this.” He said as he looked at the other dinosaur’s pained expression. At first, she tried to look at him with a somewhat encouraging expression but it wasn’t long before even that turned to fear. Her voice was an alarmed one as she spoke again to her oldest and closest friend.
“Look out, Littlefoot! You have to get away from here, now!” She said, looking at three other fastbiters gathering at the edge of the ravine, along with one other that was approaching from the gorge’s mouth. Littlefoot’s heart felt as if it was about to stop completely as he looked at the scene surrounding him, the implications refusing to register in his mind. He turned at the threehorn and cried to her in panic.
“Follow me, Cera! We have to get only a little further away and…” He cried but at this point, Cera rose her head from the ground to look at Littlefoot. Her voice was an annoyed one even if it was still filled with deep pain.
“Like this? Even a flathead… like you should realize that I’m… that I’m done. Leave without me, now!” She said as loudly as she could, eying at the quickly approaching predators around her. Littlefoot stared at her with wide, teary eyes as he pleaded to her in a deep, pained voice. This simply couldn’t be the end! He hadn’t met Cera on the most terrifying day of his life, only to build the warmest and best relationship he had ever achieved… only for that friendship to die out here!
“I cannot leave you out here, Cera! Think of all the things we’ve been through… Think of your dad and Tricia! They want you back in the Valley with them… as do I! Cera, please…” He said with a broken voice, causing Cera to snort at him heavily. Her gaze made Littlefoot’s heart turn cold as she looked at him, the mixture of decisiveness and sadness a sickening one for the longneck. Even then, her voice was also a soft and kind as she knew this would be the goodbye.
“Littlefoot… I would so gladly join them too but you can see as well as I do that I cannot take another step now and any hopes of escape are… are just crap. However, you can still survive this and as my oldest and first friend, I ask you to save yourself. Just think of your own family and about our friends… they still need you! Don’t sacrifice yourself for nothing… not for my sake.” She said while a few tears flowed down her cheeks. She thought about all the days in the Valley she had thrown away as well as the chance to see Tricia grow up and… and to one day have a family of her own.
But perhaps… most of all, she regretted that this was the last time she and Littlefoot would meet each other in this life. Of all the dinosaurs, it had been he who had changed her life for the better and even if she hadn’t always acted like it, she loved him in a way like she did nobody else. Without him… without him she would have died a long time ago and her life would have been much poorer in that case. Littlefoot shuddered terribly he leaned closer to her, not able to believe this was actually happening.
“But… I just cannot leave you here! I just can’t… I can’t leave you to die…” He said in a haunted voice. Hearing himself to say those words made something snap inside the longneck as he had never, ever before had come to accept something that monstrous. Cera had practically always been in his side… she was there when he lost his mother, she was there when he found the Valley… as well on all those beautiful days that followed. It had all been a beautiful dream… but that dream was coming to an end now. With forced movements, the threehorn forced herself almost to her full height but it wasn’t in order for her to try to escape… it was an effort to encourage her dear friend.
“Get out of here now, Littlefoot! Get out of here or I’ll show you that a real threehorn can beat a flathead like you no matter how badly injured she is! Go and tell daddy what happened here! Leave, now!” She said, hitting at the ground as hard as her weakening legs let her. Littlefoot looked at her in shock, her eyes widening as he saw the expression on the threehorn’s face. She had never seemed this resolute before and no matter what, she’d do Littlefoot her last favor even if he didn’t want it. The longneck gasped for air as he looked at the fastbiters who were closing in on him from each direction, knowing this was the moment of goodbye. Not able to hold his tears, he looked at Cera as he turned around.
“I will, Cera. I will. Please… be alright.” He said before starting to run, immediately realizing just how stupid those words were. Even if they had seemed like they’d encourage him, he realized they’d only hurt Cera more. He looked behind himself in growing despair, seeing as the sharpteeth surrounded the poor threehorn who could only sob and cry as her inevitable end approached. The moment he heard his old friend’s last cry was the moment Littlefoot’s world froze still… even if that would be only the first one of the tragedies that would follow him during the weeks to come. His only solace was that the sharpteeth seemed to be content with their meal, deciding against pursuing him any further. With a still, broken gaze on his face, Littlefoot left the scene, leaving the happy days of his life behind forever.
Petrie didn’t even realize that he had been staring into the horizon for minutes on end, only the slight rising and falling of his chest implying he was even alive himself. Littlefoot’s words were too monstrous for him to even believe and that story was even more horrifying than anything he had gone through himself. Poor Littlefoot… first this and if he had truly lost his family as well…
Poor, poor Littlefoot.
Ortin slowly moved closer to the other boy and asked him careful, not even he being able to dismiss the longneck’s heartfelt words completely. Yes, he might still loathe him for being a longneck but even then, the things he had told were just too horrible for him to fathom. The bluish flyer stopped on Petrie’s side and spoke to him softly.
“I’m sorry, Petrie. No one should have gone through this.” He said, not really finding anything else to say. Even then, he wanted to be at least once there for his friend, Petrie didn’t seem to even notice the other flyer’s presence, instead looking at Littlefoot and speaking to him carefully.
“That more terrible than Petrie thought, Littlefoot. Me… me understand just why you act like you do now.” He said, not exaggerating in the least. If he had gone through that and after that, lost his family in addition to his uncle… the flyer couldn’t help but shudder in shock and fear. The longneck, however, was far from happy about his friend’s words. He suddenly returned to his earlier mood, crying bitterly at the other boy.
“No you don’t! You weren’t there during all of those weeks and besides, a shadow of this place can understand absolutely nothing! You already managed to make me feel even worse than before so just get out of here! Things are already bad enough without me being forced to believe that I might one day reunite with any of my friends! Just leave, now!” He yelled again, this time more resolutely than before. The flyer looked at him with a bothered look as the longneck approached him slowly. he couldn’t do that but how could he ever hope to make Littlefoot believe he really was Petrie and not some vision that had just come here to torture him further? However, it was at this point that the flyer’s thoughts were interrupted again by a new shock.
As his dear friend walked closer to the flyer, Petrie noticed something that made him feel even worse. There was a gaping wound in Littlefoot’s neck, one that was still bleeding. With forced movements, Petrie pointed at the injury and spoke weakly.
“Littlefoot… allow us Petrie least to tend to your wound! It look really bad!” He said, hoping that his old friend would be at least that reasonable. However, those words hardly made the longneck stop his approach, the male’s voice getting only darker and darker by the second.
“Simply to make it even more painful? If you won’t leave me this very second, I will make you regret you ever came to haunt me! Let me at least suffer here in peace!” He cried as he hit the tree with his tail, making it shudder heavily. Glide looked at Petrie with a pleading look knowing that what he was about to say next would hardly sit well with Petrie.
“We cannot change his mind, Petrie. We… have to leave him alone for now.” She said, causing the other flyer to look at her as if she had just betrayed him somehow. His voice was a stuttering one as he spoke to the girl, the boy not able to believe what he had just heard.
“Absolutely not! Littlefoot need our help and he might even die because of that wound before we get back! We cannot leave him alone!” He cried but he was even more surprised when Glide answered him immediately with an even harsher tone.
“If he doesn’t allow us to help him and if he doesn’t believe that we’re us no matter what we tell him, there isn’t anything more to us out here! We can’t do anything more to him, at least not before we can help him with Olres’ powers! I know you don’t like it but it’s our only way forward!” She said, causing Petrie head drop towards the ground as he tried to come to terms with it all. Of course, Glide was right but… he couldn’t abandon Littlefoot now that he had found him after all these weeks of searching! Besides, he had to know what had happened to the longneck’s family! Even then, the flyer twitched heavily as Ortin took his hand before he spoke to the other flyer kindly.
“She is right. That is the only way we can help him. I know you don’t want to believe that but that is our only way forward. Let’s go, Petrie.” He said, looking as Petrie stared into the ground with teary eyes. His heart and his brain told him very different answers to this dilemma but even then, the answer was obvious. One option led to only further sorrow and pain while the other could lead to some kind of salvation for both and his friend. With weak movements, the flyer nodded at his friends while he yelled to the enraged and horribly broken longneck with a tearful voice.
“Littlefoot… stay here until we get back. Petrie promise that we will make you feel better than we get back. Please listen to Petrie this one time.” He yelled as the longneck looked at him bitterly. As the trio prepared to take off, the longneck looked at them mockingly, hating himself for even speaking to the flyers who had been only sent to torture him further.
“You’ll never succeed in making those spirits of that long-ago battle believe you are worthy of their help! You’ll see soon enough!” He cried before suddenly cringing and falling into the ground, cringing in pain over the gaping wound in his neck. His mind was a complete mess right now and he had no longer any idea on what to think or believe in. But the one thing he did know was that his friends were gone and he wouldn’t let this place insult their memory any further.
Petrie, on the other hand, cringed deeply as he looked at his friend’s pained struggle, praying that he would be back in time to help him survive this sickening day. Cera might be gone but Littlefoot was still here and by the Bright Circle, he’d make sure he’d survive this ordeal and that he’d return to his old self at least to some degree. The flyer shuddered as he followed his two friends, truly wondering if this journey would have a happy ending.
Lenel struggled for breath as he tried to see something, anything around himself. He felt as if his lungs were being crushed in his chest as he tried to move in the absolute darkness around himself. The sensation was one of the most disturbing ones the pale flyer had ever went through, even more so because he had absolutely no idea about what was happening. Was he dead? Had he lost his mind? Or was this some stupid trick of the lights that acted as some test for him?
As seconds passed, Lenel started to calm down, something inside him telling him that he wasn’t in an immediate danger. Suddenly, he felt that his feet were again touching something solid below himself, causing Lenel’s composure to return quickly. This had to be just some challenge and in the name of all flyers, he’d make it through whatever was to come! He suddenly turned to look upwards and yelled with all his might.
“Stop the games and let me prove my worth! We’ve wasted enough time!” He cried, all of this slowly starting to get on his nerves. He had proven his worth many times over and he’d take what was rightfully his! Suddenly, a small beam of light started to penetrate the darkness and the pale flyer shielded his eyes as a completely new scene started to form around him. At first, he was confused at what he was looking at. It was him, Sireia as well as his herd, including Pterano who was still alive. He was visibly distressed as well as clearly severely depressed. The flyer frowned deeply at that sight, more and more unsure as he heard himself speak to his mate.
“It’s all over, dear. I’ve failed us all. I tried to keep all of us together but… but Nira and Peak wouldn’t listen to reason. Our… our herds will part ways tomorrow for good. You know what that means?” He asked, causing the female look at him in clear worry, clearly as unhappy as her mate was. Her voice was heavy but it was clear she still wanted some direct
answers.
“I do but… but why didn’t you stop them? Surely we could have done more to keep us all in one herd… surely there must still be a way!” She suggested, desperate for some solace. The pale flyer shook his head as he looked at her, already resigned to whatever reality filled his mind. His voice was a demanding but also pleading one as he spoke to the female.
“Like what, Sireia? We cannot force them to stay with us and especially Peak has turned his back to us for good. The only way to keep us together would be to… end both of them and hope their followers would submit to our rule.” He said as he shook his head. He simply wouldn’t do it, not even for his dream. Sireia, however, bowed towards her mate and whispered in a silent voice.
“Aren’t you willing to do that, my love? After all we’ve gone through, are you willing to let this be the end of our lifelong ambition?” She asked, clearly willing to her the male’s decision. The pale flyer raised his head to look Sireia in the eyes and it wasn’t long before he gave his prompt answer. There was no sign of hesitation within it, only clear determination and bitterness.
“And what would I ever prove by doing so? Sireia, Olres managed to unite our kind by always leading kindly and by winning the other leaders’ loyalty and if I now attacked them, I’d never be able to rise to his level. No, I… I just failed.” He said, causing the real Lenel’s expression to fall immediately. He crossed his arms, immediately able to tell what this vision was supposed to say to him. Eve then, he wasn’t in any way moved by this display and he suddenly cried with all his might.
“If you believe you can change my mind like this, you’re all mistaken! I did what I had to do for every dinosaur’s sake and I’m willing to take every responsibility for what followed! Sometimes a leader must do a lesser evil for the greater good and by the Bright Circle, I won’t be intimidated by any of this! My conscience is clear!” He yelled, knowing that the mysterious beings would hear his call. Within his mind, he knew that he would have just been turned around if it had already been decided that he would never pass the tests before him. Lenel snorted as the vision suddenly changed before him into something completely different.
Gone were the gloom and resignation of the previous conversation, it having been replaced by a scene that made his heart suddenly ache in his chest. It was a bright Warm Time’s day, similar to the one to the day he had first met Sireia… and one that lacked none of the happiness of that blessed moment. It was he and his mate… looking at five eggs that were growing more and more shaky by the second. It wasn’t long before one, small beak broke through the egg’s shell, soon revealing the rest of the hatchling’s head. Even if this was just a vision, Lenel couldn’t help but yearn to take his imaginary self’s place. His heart swelled as he saw the expression on Sireia’s face, never having seen her quite this happy before. He could see the rest of his original herd in the distance, all of them willing to give the new parents all the peace they needed.
Unknowingly, Lenel stretched his hand closer to that sight, knowing just what he was supposed to learn from all this. This was a scene of what could have followed had he simply accepted the defeat of the last vision and inside, the pale flyer knew this wasn’t far from the truth. Had he simply embraced his old role as the head of his small herd, he very well could have finally founded a family with Sireia… and likely strived to make his followers stay as safe as possible. In fact, he could be living those blessed days this very moment had he chosen differently in this most pivotal moment of his life.
However, it wasn’t long before the male’s expression grew more hostile again. Again, he raised his head to cry into the darkness, knowing that his path had been the righteous one in the end.
“Yes, I could have had this by now but for what? I know very well that all my children would have known would be constant struggles and fighting against the other flyers! You know very well that I want them to grow in safety and knowing that they’ll live through their childhoods! Don’t even dare attack me through this issue!” He yelled, increasingly annoyed by what he was hearing. Of all the arguments against his actions, this was one of the most outrageous and stupid ones. However, just as the flyer was fuming about that issue, the scene suddenly changed again and the male frowned deeply as he looked at the sight that was opening before him.
“Oh, you sure know a lot, uncle! Or at least you know a lot about these flyer stories! Where you first learn of the Stone of Cold Fire?” Petrie asked, causing Lenel to bring his hand to his chin. This was the first scene where he wasn’t in himself and that made his heart suddenly heavier. His last encounter with Petrie had made him despise the boy deeply but deep down, he couldn’t help but feel a slight sign of remorse lingering.
Petrie had turned his head on him only after the loss of his uncle and Pterano’s loss was still something that bothered Lenel slightly. He looked with a torn expression as his late deputy chuckled deeply and smiled to his nephew.
“It’s a long story, my dear nephew. But believe me, you’ve already taught me more than I can ever teach you during my life. I know pretty very little of real worth. But if you really want to know, I first learned of it during my journey over the Big Water ten Cold Times ago…” He said, the duo’s approving and warm expressions causing the flyer’s face to grow more torn by the second. Yes, Pterano had accepted the plan to assault at Peak and Nira but even then, the leader knew very well he hadn’t had a real choice.
Without that fateful decision, the scene in front of him could be a very plausible one. As the pale flyer looked at Petrie’s cheerful face, he couldn’t help but feel bad for him and all the pain he had been forced to endure. Lenel’s heart seemed to jump to his throat as he suddenly noticed the young flyer’s expression turn slowly ever darker while the sky around him turned black and the frozen sky stars started to fall all around him. Lenel looked at the boy sadly, looking as he lied on all of his four limbs, tears falling to his ground while he shuddered hysterically. It wasn’t long before Lenel turned to look to his right, noticing just what he was observing. Before him lied the lifeless corpse of his deputy, forever tearing
the warm bond he had just witnessed apart forever.
At first, the pale flyer tried to force that out of his mind, knowing very well that dozens of flyers died violently each and every day. This scene was in no way important and this noble sacrifice was more than needed for a greater goal. However… unlike most of the other deaths, this never needed to happen. As Lenel thought of Petrie and what happened to him, he realized he could never look the boy in the eyes and say that losing his uncle and ending the joyous days they had been through together. Especially after he had done the same to one of the poor flyer’s only friends’ family…
As those thoughts filled Lenel’s mind, the scene changed once again. To his shock, he was looking at Peak and his children laughing together in clear and deep joy. The pale flyer could tell they had just finished some flight lesson and he could see that even Peak himself was more than happy by whatever had transpired. It was a very noticeable difference from his usual self as Lenel had only known the orange dinosaur as a forever-angry and annoying moron who only caused pain and fury to those around him. As he looked at the children, he started to feel even worse about it all.
Here they were in front of him, preparing for whatever futures they had before themselves without any worries about what would happen tomorrow. He could very well see depth of optimism and appreciation within their eyes and that scene would have been a happy one… hadn’t he slaughtered this family with his own hands. Lenel tried to tear his gaze
away from that sight, slowly starting to question his own deeds. As he thought about it all, he heard a voice inside his head that made him more distressed than before.
“After all of this, how can you claim your deeds were noble and worthy of our blessing? Have you done anything else besides ruining dozens of lives and ending countless others?” The voice asked, causing the flyer’s brain to ache terribly. In this moment, he could find no real answer but even then… the pale dinosaur never lost his fixation on his final objective. Slowly, words started to pour out of his mouth even if he hadn’t quite thought them out.
“I… I regret nothing! All of the things I’ve done had to be done if our kind ever wishes to live in peace without fearing about the other herds’ attacks all the time! I… I’ve saved countless lives by sacrificing these few! You know that has been my goal all along!” He yelled but even then, the aching in his head didn’t seem to ease at all. Slowly, something happened that made Lenel feel more miserable than at any time thus far in this vision. All of the previous scenes seemed to become one but this time, there was no sign of life in any of them. Or rather, they were some parts of the previous scenes and it was a truly terrifying one.
Before him opened a wide plain full of dead and terribly slaughtered flyers and even worse, he knew every one of them. Among the dead were Peak, his family, Nira and every one of those who had died because of his plan to attack Peak and Nira on that fateful night. Even if the pale flyer would have wanted to deny that fact, he still knew he could have avoided making that decision. Back then, he had believed he needed all of the four leaders’ herds to find this place and to make the claim to being Olres’ successor but right now, it felt so different.
Deep inside, a new feeling started to form. One that regretted that battle without an end and one that hoped that he could stand here today with a pure heart even if that meant that his herd would be a little bit smaller. Suddenly, something seemed to change inside the usually-proud leader as he realized that every one of these flyers had died for nothing. Or rather, they had died because of his pride and arrogance. The male started to shudder as he thought about the monstrous situation but even now, there was some part inside him that told him not to completely give up just yet. But he would have to make amends to pass this most personal of tests.
“I understand now. I did a horrible mistake by launching that attack but even then, I believed I did the right thing back then. My heart was pure even if I did wrong and for that, I apologize!” He said as he looked around himself, hoping that his words would be heard and that he would receive another chance. At first, nothing seemed to happen and for a moment, a new fear started to rise within the pale flyer’s mind. What would happen next? Could he rejoin his herd finally or would there be more sorrows and scenes to come? As the male waited and stood in the darkness, there was one other doubt and accusation deep within him that he couldn’t quite identify. Even then, that made those long seconds even more oppressing but the flyer knew he had no option bit to wait and see whatever would happen next.
However, soon he hoped he would have never even thought those things. The scene started to suddenly become filled with light, causing the flyer to hide his eyes from it. He could hear some hissing sound growing louder and louder and when he managed to finally open his eyes again, Lenel’s mind froze completely. Balls of light started to slowly rise from the corpses of each of the fallen flyers, a development that caused the light-colored dinosaur to take a step backwards in shock.
What in earth was happening? What was the meaning of this? None of this made any sense but even then… he couldn’t ignore the implications of what he was seeing. Were the lights that had guided him here… were they some kind of souls? And had the ones that had died because of him… joined them? Had they already decided that he was doomed to failure in his quest? The lights started to circle around him threateningly, starting to engulf the flyer himself in their mysterious dance. Lenel started to panic as his entire world started to become filled with this odd phenomenon, not able to help but feel that everything he was doing would be for naught.
He tried to fight that fear with all might, trying to tie all of his thoughts around his mission. To the moment where he’d unite all the herds and to the moment when he’d hear his entire kind sing their praises to him… but to Lenel’s growing shock, he couldn’t bring his heart to those thoughts. No matter what, he couldn’t quite rally around the glory of his destiny, his heart reminding him that he was nowhere a good enough flyer to dream about such things. The flyer cursed deeply as he realized he had failed, clinging to the only thing that really mattered to him: his mate.
Lenel’s distress grew only worse as he felt some hands grabbing his feet, dragging him into the darkness below him. As the male looked below himself, he could see bloody flyer hands around his feet and ankles, turning his earlier fear to full-blown panic. Tears started to fall down the proud flyer’s face as he started to stutter with a pitiful voice.
“Forgive me, Sireia! I tried to my best for both of us but… but I failed. But know that all I did was for your glory. Live a good life, my love.” He said as his chest sank into the endless darkness but… but that was the last moment of Lenel’s horrific vision.
Terrible gasping escaped the flyer’s mouth as he woke up, trying to catch his breath as he rose to a sitting position. At first, he saw only dark silhouettes of trees around him which was a great improvement from the endless darkness he had just witnessed. As he lowered his head slightly, he also saw a wide river in front of himself that was partially covered by a thin layer of hard water. Before the male could even starting to worry about his whereabouts, he heard a worried and fearful voice speak to him.
“How are you feeling, dear? What happened to you?” Sireia asked as she stared at her mate’s eyes. Lenel looked at the female with wide eyes, bringing his hand to his forehead, trying to calm down. He could see the rest of his heard looking at him with conflicted expressions, each of them confused by what was happening to their leader. Lenel took a deep breath before asking his mate.
“I… I’m alive. But what happened here? Where are the lights?” He asked, willing to know just how he had moved to this place even if he had been unconscious. Sireia was far from content with that answer but even then, she could understood the male’s eagerness to know what had happened.
“They told us to bring you here for some reason that I do not know. You were unconscious for nearly half an hour and during that time, I couldn’t wake you up no matter what I did.” She said, causing Lenel to look in front of himself and taking another deep breath. At the very least nothing had happened to Sireia during his mental absence but… had he failed or had he passed the test. He whispered to the other flyer in a silent voice, not willing to risk them hearing what he was about to say.
“I… I thought I was going to die. I was alone… alone in the darkness with absolutely no one by my side while being forced to confront everything we’ve done… since we took out Nira and Peak.” He said, really wondering how that ordeal had really ended. Had he succeeded or failed? Even then, at this point the male knew what he had learned during that vision: he hadn’t done all he had for his own but rather his mate’s sake. Sireia looked at the other flyer with a worried expression, not sure what to make of his comments. After a few seconds, she asked him softly, far from worried about what she heard.
“What about all that? We did what we had to and it was all because of those fools. Don’t worry…” She said before Lenel cut her short with a haunted expression. He was slowly starting to calm down but even then, there were some parts that he simply couldn’t get over. As he spoke next, Lenel moved even closer to the female, willing to make sure there was zero chance any of his words would reach the ears of his followers.
“We never had to do that, dear. I thought we needed to but it was all my folly. It really was a mistake and one that many others were forced to pay dearly.” He said, causing Sireia to look at him in clear conflict. This change of heart was a worrying one for her and she wasn’t in any sure why her mate would suddenly act like this. Even then, she wasn’t deeply worried about what to make of the other flyer’s clearly confused words and she simply decided to address him in a kind voice.
“Well, we did what we thought was right. But in any case, what about our quest? Did you find out anything new?” She said, willing to make the male think about more comfortable issues. Lenel cringed slightly as he rose to his feet, clearly thinking about what to say. In a few seconds, he sighed as he started to speak.
“I’m not sure, my love. I really don’t know whether I did the r…” He said but before he could finish, the flyer stopped speaking as he looked in shock at a new sight before himself. The forest on the other side of the water path started to glow with a ghastly light, one that resembled the color of the gleaming spheres that had guided them forward. In this moment, Lenel could simply look at that sight, wondering just what waited for him out here.
Despite his earlier mental anguish and the uncomfortable truths he had learned about himself, this had to be a sign that he was still given a chance to redeem his family. Despite his flaws, the lights hadn’t turned their backs on him and his prize waited out there, finally within his grasp. However, this moment was soon broken when one of the other flyers guarding the scene screamed in a loud voice.
“Gather your ranks, everyone! The sailback and his pawns are here!
It appears as if another major conflict is approaching quickly but its real stakes are still unknown. Stealth’s attack might very well spell the end of Lenel’s ambitions but how does that battle relate to Ruby, Petrie and the shell of a longneck that once was Littlefoot? This chapter got a bit longer than intended as I realized that we needed to hear the longneck’s story only after I had started to write this installment. However, I’m pretty happy with the result and I hope you enjoy this long and sad chapter as well.
Anagnos: I’m extremely happy to hear that as I wanted to up the ante after the two rather low-key chapters. It’s also true that only one group can be victorious in this quest but I would advise against jumping at any conclusions just yet. I don’t know the ending myself just yet but I’ll do my best to avoid making it predictable in any way. The power haunting them all is more powerful than any of the dinosaurs might suspect but it will also make sure not to surrender to the wrong person after Liras’ debacle. It’s good you liked this installment and I hope this new one continues that streak.
DiddyKF1: Yep, that duo’s relationship was the center of the tension of this chapter and Ruby’s mental state is continuing to deteriorate by the second. I wanted their parting to be a shocking one but killing Ducky like this wouldn’t have made her justice and it would have been very cheap to end her tale like that. She will be seen again, that much I promise. As for Northwind, yes, his loss is a setback for Lenel but… well, you’ll see how he continues his quest.
rhombus: Lenel’s character is really quite a mystery as there are moments when he acts like a true leader and there are times when he is a complete monster. Despite his fixation on his supposed destiny, this new chapter tries to also show he hasn’t sacrificed everything on the altar of power.
And yep, Northwind might act hypocritically but he, as well as Lenel, actually believed their plan will help other kinds as well by restoring some long-lost balance in the world. And indeed, the characters are one by one reaching their positions for the final chapters and this new chapter finishes that sequence. All in all, thank you for the long and detailed review!