Part VII: Eybron’s Culling
A line of potent yellow covered the horizon from north to south, proclaiming to all who looked upon it that the morning was on its way. The smaller flyers had already risen from their slumber in the Feral Forest, keen to feed before all the larger and more aggressive wingtails filled the skies. There was almost no wind, as if the darkness was in no hurry to escape the encapsulating resonance of the dawn… and resonate it would, for even the Abyss Lake was hesitant to move its shallow waters anywhere fast. The Whirlpool had settled down into a dull roar, nulling its usual dominance of the waterline and revealing the glorious and fertile floor of the lake.
The Abyss Lake was an odd and wondrous place, and so it was when the first wingtails found it nearly two dozen generations before. Being large and inquisitive fliers, it was only natural that such a place of convergence would attract them to stay longer then their normal migratory patterns would allow. Because of the Lake’s unique drainage it had no rivers flowing out, but rather was emptied purely via the Whirlpool into an as yet unexplored system of caverns below the surface. Wingtails were not the best of swimmers and sometimes one would dive too low or strike too deep, only to be sucked into the vortex and drowned. Being somewhat superstitious, the surviving birds believed this place to be a refuge for the dead, where the living did not go. Whether it was true or not though was anyone’s guess.
Chomper was surprised at how easily their escape had gone. Riding on Glide’s back the view was quite incredible, and the calm stillness of the air was not lost on him. It was almost too quiet.
“I don’t know where they have taken Ruby,” lamented Chomper, “I can’t smell her anywhere.”
Glide sneered.
“If Eybron was using you hatchlings for something to do with the Sonicron, it would follow that she was taken there now wouldn’t it?”
The black wingtail certainly had a hard time being nice, even to his friends. This was something that Chomper was used to though, since he had had a few such encounters with Thudd that went the same way. Sometimes he wished that the fast-biter would come around, but that could only happen when Thudd came to respect him and in the sharptooth world there was only one form of respect – dominance. Maybe Glide was the same way, only being friends with those who he could look up to as stronger then himself. Such a strange way of thinking.
“Whoa!” said Chomper as a sudden drop made him nearly loose his grip.
“Hold on tight sharptooth… if you fall I’m not going back to pick you up,” The black wingtail grumbled.
Suddenly a familiar scent hit his nostrils with a potency not matched by most other dinosaurs, and it was a bad scent.
“I just love flying just before dawn,” remarked the lighter of the kidnappers almost whimsically as he soared up next to Glide’s right side, “it makes me feel fresh and ready to take on the day.”
“And you know what I love about it?” added the darker kidnapper spitefully, who had also flown up on their left side, “throwing little whelps back into the cold dark caves where they belong.”
Both Chomper and Glide growled at the same time, for different reasons.
“Where did you friend-stealers take Ruby?” snarled Chomper, baring his teeth, “tell me before have to I hurt you again!”
Neither one of them balked at the threat; if anything it only made them both even more smug. Up here in the air was their domain, and the sharptooth and his carrier were at a severe disadvantage… or so they thought.
“Hah, what about you Glide… any words before we drag you back to where you belong?” the lighter one mocked.
The two wingtails made ready to do their signature double grab move, as surely even a fighter like Glide couldn’t take on two of them at once. For a moment, the black wingtail was silent and stared forward as if he hadn’t heard them.
“Only this!”
In an impressive display of aerobics Glide flipped over onto his back in the air and grabbed both of their legs, just as they moved to do the same to him. Before either one of them realized what was happening he did a chartwheel in the air, using the momentum to kick away the lighter wingtail sending him spiralling off course and away from the fight. Glide kept his hand tight on the darker one’s leg and completed his circle in the air with a hard punch directly to his face. He screeched in shock, and recoiled.
“Not as easy as you though was it?” remarked Glide as he pushed away, and hovered in the air.
The dark wingtail shot him a look of pure hate that was all the more menacing as a droplet of blood ran down his face. With a feral hiss he dove again at Glide and missed, taking a sharp swat to the body from the black wingtail’s winged tail. Enraged at his lack of success, he charged again hissing and spitting as he attempted to land a single strike to no avail.
The whole time Chomper hung on for his life, just as Glide had said to do. The black wingtail may be mean, but he is one heck of a fighter and the sharptooth found himself marvelling at the manuverability and technique his carrier displayed as he engaged the hated kidnapper. Finally the dark wingtail pushed his luck too far, and jabbed with his wing only to have his hand grabbed out of the air by Glide. Unable to get out of the black wingtail’s grip the kidnapper flailed and snapped with his beak, but the positioning was too bad to do any damage. To his horror, Glide was dragging him down further and further towards the water.
“I really hope you can swim…” shined on Glide as the rushing air passed over them both like a hurricane in the steep dive.
Seeing he was doomed, the dark wingtail screeched for help from his brother, who was way too far up in the air to be of any assistance. With a smoothly practised sweeping motion Glide swung his attacker below him, and with one hard kick drove him down deep into the water. Pulling out of the dive, the black wingtail didn’t even bother to look back.
“Can I stop holding on now?” asked Chomper with concern and fear.
Glide nodded silently.
“Wow that was totally awesome!” exclaimed Chomper with energy, “you totally kicked their stuffy beaks into the dirt!”
Glide smiled.
“I’m not the reigning champion of the Fish fights for nothing.”
Neither of them caring about the fate of their attackers, the black wingtail and his blue sharptooth companion carried on towards the Sonicron and the rescue of their friend from the clutches of Eybron’s schemes.
…
It took some creativity, but eventually the lighter of the kidnappers was able to tow his brother into shore. The dark wingtail was soggy, bruised, bleeding, and above all else was adamantly furious.
“Thanks for the help brother,” he seethed as he shook his wings to dry and dry them off, “you knew perfectly well I was no match for Glide alone and you let him do this!”
“Serves you right,” commented the lighter wingtail, “you should learn to control your temper.”
“Oh, throw me a bone here,” growled the darker one as he wrung out his left wing, “if we don’t get those two back into the caves soon…”
“Then Eybron isn’t going to be pleased,” finished the lighter one, “we should–”
As if death itself was calling out to them, the sound of a dozen ravenous hisses came from the brush nearest to the beach. Both of the wingtails looked over, only to come face to face with a dozen, hungry eyes. The fast biters had them surrounded, and some were licking their lips. Amongst the pack was of course, Thudd… after all he wasn’t about to give up on a free meal.
“Sharpteeth?” uttered the light wingtail in surprise, “but… there aren’t supposed to be sharpteeth here…”
He was right, but being right does not necessarily mean you are safe. In a moment the fast-biters bounded forward, and a few shrill screeches later it was over.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was early… so early in fact that Eybron was having regrets about having his little ëgathering’ at the expense of some extra sleep. He concealed a yawn with one of his wings, before returning to the task at hand… and that was planning Sky’s demise. It wasn’t just Sky he planned on getting rid of though, and he had envisioned a kind of culling of sorts. In his mind there was only the end… the means mattered very little, and that end was today two-fold. If all goes as planned he will be rid of both of his greatest enemies, and hopefully their cohorts in the process.
The entire thing hinged on the Sonicron of course, Benzon’s ancient horn that survived through the ages and had outlived it’s creator by whole generations. The great wingtail had discovered that sound was a dimension of its own – a physical force that can be manipulated to an end. Much like the sounds a prey makes can give itself away to the predator, or the jumping of fish can reveal it to the wingtails above.
“My lord,” informed Barrau as he swooped in, “we’ve brought one of the children as you requested… a runner.”
How curious… he didn’t remember his aides capturing a jungle runner. All the better to prove his point he supposed, since it could easily be disposed of once it had served it’s purpose.
Ruby’s carriers, a pair of greenish wingtails, came in following right behind her – making sure to aggressively push her forward to make an impression in front of their master. The fastrunner was looking tired, bruised, and most of all scared. Gathered in the trees all around were Eybron’s wingtails – twenty six of the largest, meanest flyers she had ever seen. Every one of them glared down at her with a look of abhorrence and hate, as there existed such a strong racial rift between the wingtails and the jungle runners that, if ordered, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill her on the spot.
The clearing where they stood manifested at the top of a large, arching hill that overlooked most of the Feral Forest, and in the distance could be seen lands far beyond. The trees stopped before the hill’s peak, being large and imposing enough to hold Eybron’s entire cadre but also to give way to the excellent view. At the top of the hill sat the Sonicron, and it was the very first thing to catch Ruby’s eye. The breeze had picked up, and there was a faint whistling emanating from the perfectly concaved tube that only added to the dark eeriness of the scene. She didn’t like this at all, and as she was moved towards the white wingtail as he rested on the ground, she was more nervous then ever.
“The elders will be arriving shortly… shall I send for Star as well?” mentioned Barrau.
“Yes,” responded Eybron, rubbing his chin a bit in thought as he did some silent calculations about the event to come, “I wouldn’t want my mate-to-be to miss the big show.”
“As you wish,” replied the brown wingtail servant, but before he left he couldn’t resist his curiosity, “If I may ask… what is it that you plan to do my lord?”
Surprisingly Eybron seemed receptive to the question.
“I think I’d like to send our blue friend a little… message. Unfortunately it will probably be the last one he will ever hear,” relished the white wingtail.
“But, we don’t know where he is… how can we possibly–” began Barrau.
“I have my sources,” interjected Eybron, and as he said so he turned to a distant willow where a large, malevolent flyer sat and watched the proceedings far away from wingtail eyes, “Carry on with your duties Barrau.”
“As you will,” bowed Barrau as he set off.
With that business attended to, the menacing white wingtail turned to his next order – the runner child.
“H-hi,” stammered Ruby as he stepped towards her, “this is a really nice home you make your home in, if I could–”
She was cut off as he gripped the sides of her face, turning her head to face directly towards him. It was an aggressive and dominating gesture that immediately silenced her vain attempt at a greeting.
“Listen to me,” began Eybron, “you will not speak unless I tell you to, you will not move unless I tell you to. If you try to escape, you will not only die but you will suffer… am I clear?”
Ruby nodded as she began to shake in fear.
“There are twenty-six of my best wingtails here, watching your every move. Some of them lost brothers and sisters to your kind – and others, lost their hatchlings as well. They will show you mercy only as long as I tell them to. Here, I am the master… a kind of god if you will. Do you understand?”
Ruby nodded again, this time faintly.
“DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?!” shouted Eybron.
She nodded harder.
“Good,” said Eybron, and he tossed her aside onto the ground lightly, “ensure she remains here while I deal with the council.”
On her face, in the dirt, Ruby began to cry. For the first time she realized just how far away from home she actually was.
…
Within fifteen minutes not only had Star displeasurably arrived, but so did the elders and what seemed like half the wingtails in the entire forest. News spread really quickly in such a small community, especially if it concerned such a great happening. Nobody really knew what they had shown up to see, nor did they care. Exciting things didn’t happen in the Feral Forest too often. As usual, Cinceel and Tenebron were the last of the elders to arrive, positioning themselves surprisingly close to the ground on the branches of a dead tree. Without the setting of the Elders’ tree, they had to improvise.
“I look forward to your enacting our justice, Eybron,” Cinceel admitted sceptically, “perhaps you would be so kind as to ëreveal’ to us what you plan to do so close to our homeland and without Sky in your possession?”
“Indeed,” added the eldest of the elders, the old male who only spoke when necessary.
A crescendo of whispers broke out amongst the gathered wingtails, and all eyes were now centred on Eybron, who jumped into the air and glided gracefully up to where the Sonicron rested.
“I’m sure you all know about this creation… about it’s past, and possibly a bit about it’s purpose,” started Eybron as he ran a finger down the side of it.
“A useless relic, what’s your point Eybron?” shot Cinceel, who was clearly in a bad mood at being woken up so early.
“Perhaps,” admitted Eybron slyly, “or perhaps just ëmisunderstood…”
And the white wingtail began his speech, selling those gathered on his blighted plan.
While this occurred, Star couldn’t help but notice the poor runner flanked by two massive wingtails who didn’t seem to care about her obvious distress. As a teacher and lover of all children – even those of other races – she just couldn’t bear to let it be that way. With a light push, Star soared down to where Ruby was being held. The wingtails who watched Star for Eybron took care to follow her to the ground.
“Hello, you look like you need a friend,” said Star courteously as she extended a hand to the fastrunner. The guards looked on in disgust.
Ruby rubbed her eyes, and took Star’s hand. The scarlet wingtail pulled her in closer, and comforted the runner under her wing.
“Thank you,” whispered Ruby, so the other wingtails wouldn’t hear.
“… and so with the power of sound, I was able to make the earth itself tremble before the wraith of all who would oppose our power. Today, I will do so again… and when it happens the elements will reach up and drag Sky to his doom… as befits such a traitor.”
The whispers had evolved into uncovered speech and gasps of wonder. Eybron was playing right into the superstitious nature of his fellow wingtails, and they were buying every line of it. Even Cinceel, so it seemed.
“Alright Eybron,” the noxious elder said as she yawned, “go ahead and show us this justice you have promised so I can go back to sleep.”
“Very well,” the white wingtail responded.
With a short hop and another glide Eybron was standing in front of Star, and Ruby tried to burrow herself into the scarlet wingtail’s feathers for protection. He approached and, with a look of lust on his face as he stepped closer to Star, ungentily yanked the runner from under her. Star did not resist.
“One day you’re going to get what’s coming to you Eybron… mark my words,” Star hissed softly.
“Oh I will get exactly what’s coming to me dear… and that is you.”
He tried to lick her face, but Star was too fast for him and dodged it. The white wingtail pouted, before turning to the rest of those gathered, Ruby struggling to get free of his grip.
“My fellow wingtails, it is now time for me to give you exactly what you want – justice.”
“GIVE ME BACK MY FRIEND!”
Chomper jumped out from behind the bush where he had been hidden. He was snarling with his teeth fully bared, ready to kill if he had to.
“Chomper!” Ruby gasped.
“A sharptooth hatchling…” taunted Eybron, “and he’s come to rescue his next meal… how cute.”
It wasn’t long before Glide emerged as well, tall and weathered as any of the other wingtails present. It was his presence, as well as the scars and dried blood that still covered him, that caused the crowd of wingtails to go dead silent.
“Glide!” gasped Star with shock.
“And Glide too… come home at last?” teased Eybron.
“I have a bone to pick with you Eybron, and a chance to return all the pain and misery you have caused me,” Glide declared as he cracked his knuckles, “I’ve already put down your pathetic jailors.”
The entire crowd of wingtails burst with outrage, either condemning Glide as a lair or demanding answers from Eybron for the accusations. This was turning into quite the scene. It wasn’t until Cinceel screeched at the top of her lungs did order descend once more.
“Eybron…what is the meaning of this? Explain yourself,” She uttered in anger.
Tenebron just shook his head, and didn’t say anything.
“This matter can wait until later,” hissed Eybron, “right now we have justice to be served, starting with this runner… move it!”
The white wingtail shoved Ruby violently, and she grabbed the edge of the Sonicron to prevent herself from falling.
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” piped Chomper as he dashed forward, so fast that Eybron didn’t even notice him while he concentrated on Ruby. With a practised leap the sharptooth snapped onto the white wingtail’s tail with his jaws.
Eybron snarled, a snarl completely unlike even a wingtail would make when in pain. It sounded like a bloodthirsty animal. One hard trash and Eybron had thrown Chomper away, taking a good part of his tail feathers in his mouth with him.
“KILL THE SHARPTOOTH!” Eybron shouted.
The entire place erupted into chaos. As the guards descended out of the trees they rammed into other wingtails who were fleeing, or otherwise so invigorated that they took to the air. Only a few actually reached Chomper, but when they did the sharptooth was able to dodge them, for a time.
“Glide,” shouted Star as she pointed at Ruby, “Glide help her!”
So much was happening at once, he didn’t know what to do. On one wing Eybron had taken a hold of Ruby, and shoved her head into the narrow end of the horn.
“SCREAM!!” he bellowed, “SCREAM OR YOU DIE!!”
Ruby was so confused and in pain that she had burst out crying, and couldn’t hear Eybron’s demands. Else ware Barrau finally caught up with Chomper.
“Gotcha!” the brown wingtail said with relishment, and slowly he squeezed the sharptooth tighter and tighter until almost all the air had been pushed out of his lungs. Chomper was dying.
“GLIDE!!” shouted Star, but he couldn’t hear her.
Glide had made his choice.
With a cold, hard blow he connected right with Barrau’s face, hitting him so hard it amounted to an instant concussion. Another sweep of Glide’s wing and Chomper was out of his grip and on the ground, gasping for air.
Eybron could see the child wasn’t going to do what he wanted, so he took matters into his own hands. Lowering his head he snapped with his toothless jaws as hard as he could into the frontal lobe of Ruby’s tail, and she screamed.
Glide, who had been on his way up to free the fastrunner, was driven to the ground by the intensity of the sound. All around the clearing the chaos faded as wingtails covered their ears, or crashed to the ground in surprise. The sound was so pure, so terrible that none of them could move their arms from their ear holes for fear of losing their hearing. After a few seconds, the sound stopped.
As if reanimated, all around the clearing the wingtails slowly rose to their feet, some of their ears still ringing. Even Glide was feeling woozy, and could only remark at the total and complete silence of the moment. It was if the entire Earth stood still, waiting for the end to come.
Just as it seemed the sound would not return, Eybron smiled as the earth rumbled. Slowly at first it resonated, but it soon picked itself up as the pitch of the still vibrating Sonicron hit critical levels. Soon the wave of crushing sound moved on, and carried through into the distance picking up speed. In it’s destructive path trees feel down, cliffs collapsed, and columns of age old rock shattered their death throes.
As Ruby watched wide-eyed, lines of the tears still covering her face, the wave of sonic death descended towards the Black Mountain, and the Verdant Valley that lied directly on the other side.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
