Hooray! Another chapter of Far Away Home.
Happy birthday Sky, and I hope you have the best day ever tommarrow!
Thank for your all the artwork you've made for me over the past three years, and I hope you enjoy the last official chapter of the story. The eplilogue will be posted as well at some point, to tie up all the loose strings still fluttering around.
Hope you and all the other readers enjoy it!
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Part XII: Sky’s Trial (B)Where had Sky flown off to this time?
Littlefoot was slightly annoyed as he thought again what the group of them had gotten into. The blue wingtail had talked over exactly what he had planned to do just before they reached the outer edges of the Feral Forest, and yet the longneck still couldn’t see exactly how everything could work out to plan.
After a long discussion, Star had insisted that she would lead Sky to the Elders’ Tree (apparently that was the ruling body of the wingtails) to confront them about the charges they had laid down and set everything right again. Glide had been adamant that he would be going with them wherever they went, and he seemed to act in a way that went opposite to the fighting words he had shouted earlier. It was yet another strange quality that the longneck didn’t understand… why not just admit that Sky was family now instead of playing games? The black wingtail’s spite did not make sense.
“The trees here are really, really big,” commented Ducky passively as she pushed aside a branch with one of her arms. Courteously, she held it up so Spike could pass and he murmured in appreciation.
“Ow,” uttered Ali briefly as she pushed her way through a mess of sticks and limbs, “this place is too cramped… we should try another way.”
Littlefoot pushed on as he always had, providing a good example to the others.
“Sky is in here somewhere,” the longneck insisted, “we have to keep looking.”
Pushing his neck through the thickets, Littlefoot caught a familiar scent in his nostrils. It smelt like… like…
“…Ruby?”
“Which way did that wingtail say he was?” barked a mysterious voice behind the thick vegetation, “I don’t want to spend all day pushing around in this mess…”
“Can we please go back? I don’t like this at all.” questioned another voice from beyond. This one was a lot more familiar.
“Ruby… is that you?” called out Littlefoot.
He was so excited, his voice was a bit more jumpy then usual. How was it possible that the runner could be here in the Feral Forest… of all places? Littlefoot thought that the wingtails hated runners with a passion.
“Littlefoot!?!” he heard the runner shout from behind the thickets, “I can hear you, but I can’t see you!”
“Hang on,” called back the longneck.
“What… who are you talking to girl?”
Pushing through the underbrush, Littlefoot forced his way painfully past the worst of it and burst through to what looked like a dark but open clearing. Right away, he noticed an almost fully grown fastrunner and a strange kind of sharptooth looking up at him.
“Littlefoot!” called out Ruby excitedly, “I can’t believe you’re here… I didn’t think we’d see you again!”
“By all that swims!” barked the strange sharptooth, “are you a longneck? … I didn’t think there were any of you around here.”
The longneck lowered his head, and Ruby and he touched noses in greeting.
“Wow, you’re so big!” remarked the runner excitedly, “I almost don’t know who you are.”
“I could say the same about you too Ruby,” replied the longneck with a smile, “you’re starting to look just like your mom.”
“What’s going on, who are you talking to?” asked Ali as she finally caught up and got through the bushes behind Littlefoot, “Ruby? How…what are you doing here?”
“Two longnecks!?!” exclaimed Siak.
“Ali too,” continued Ruby, “but then that means…”
Ducky, Petrie and Spike caught up too and there was a joyous but confusing reunion. Both sides had tons of questions, and it was only made even more complicated by Swiftwalker’s arrival into the circle. After a few minutes of exchanging stories and getting caught up on current events the important questions started:
“Where is Cera?” asked Ducky with interest.
“She’s around here somewhere,” declared Siak, “but the Great Circle knows where… she had a bone to pick with some wingtails for one thing or another.”
“Sounds just like Cera,” answered Littlefoot with a smile, “and what about Chomper?”
“I don’t-”
“Over here.”
Ruby was interrupted by a quiet, but assertive voice. All heads turned towards a gap in the trees where dusk was advancing down the horizon. A single adolescent sharptooth stood there in the half light, his familiar face a mix of sorrow and relief.
“Chomper!” called out both Ruby and Littlefoot at once.
Almost as suddenly as he appeared, the sharptooth turned and his heels and dashed away. He was much bigger now then he had ever been when Littlefoot knew him, but it made no difference. Out of the entire group, the fastrunners and Littlefoot rose to their feet and went after him with all due haste.
“Chomper it’s me, Littlefoot,” the longneck called out desperately over the light thudding of his footsteps. The fastrunners had already pushed way ahead.
The chase came to an end at the edge of a stony ridge. The great circle was halfway set already and its glowing light was made all the more red by the traces of volcanic ash that still remained in the air. Chomper stood on the edge of the prepuce, looking out towards the lands beyond in the west. Soon, they would be his new home.
“You are going, aren’t you?” questioned Ruby, but it was more of a statement.
Chomper turned around sadly and nodded.
“I really, really wish you could stay,” said Ruby like she was about to cry.
“Me too.”
Ruby stepped forward and hugged Chomper, who was now slightly bigger then she was. Swiftwalker stood beside her, but his expression was unreadable. A moment later a loud, long sharptooth roar echoed throughout the lands beyond.
“My mommy and new daddy are waiting,” added Chomper with a hint of sadness, “goodbye Ruby.”
“Goodbye Chomper.”
The fastrunner had to wipe a few tears from her eyes as the sharptooth moved to get on his way.
“Goodbye Littlefoot,” ended Chomper as he turned towards the longneck that had raised him from an egg, “…I hope for you that we don’t meet again.”
It was delivered without malice, but caringly from a friend to a friend. The sharptooth had already jumped down the ridge when the longneck finally composed himself.
“Chomper you don’t have to go!” Littlefoot shouted as he halted at the edge, “Wait!”
“He’s already gone,” stated a familiar voice from the trees above.
Littlefoot, Ruby, and Swiftwalker turned towards the source of the statement to find it was the navy blue wingtail that two of them had met before. Aizon was busy wiping off his glasses like nothing important was happening, an action that gave Littlefoot a poor first impression.
“Who are you?” demanded the longneck impolitely, still upset from his friend’s sudden departure.
“He Aizon,” interrupted Swiftwalker with a bit of indignity, “good wingtail… you give him lots of respect.”
The longneck held his tongue for a moment. He didn’t mean to sound so rude.
“I understand your feelings… it is never an easy thing to watch a good friend go. It is a sensation I have regrettably experienced many times,” continued Aizon, “you are Littlefoot… one of Sky’s travel companions am I correct?”
“Yeah,” answered the longneck, “do you know where he is… we have been looking for him.”
Aizon looked unblemished.
“You do not need to worry,” the navy wingtail mused, “he is quite alright at the moment… but if it will continue into the days ahead I cannot say.”
“What do you mean?” inquired Littlefoot with a hint of worry.
“Sky is to stand trial tomorrow before the Council of Elders when the great circle is at its highest. It would be in his best interest and yours if you and your companions were to attend.”
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Morning came all too soon for the group of wingtails that now rested in Star’s family tree. Sky slept pleasantly with his love at his side, dreaming about all the things he wanted Cloud to be and all the things he was going to teach him. As the great circle’s light rolled through the leaves and warmed away the dew, a loud squealing woke both Sky and Star suddenly. The scarlet wingtail reacted quickly, checking to see what was the matter with her newborn son.
Cloud was squawking repeatedly as if in a great amount of discomfort. His mother tried to calm him down, but was unsuccessful.
“Hush now, its okay…” reassured Star through the tirade of noise.
“Do you think he’s hungry?” asked Sky with concern.
“Yes he must be,” concluded Star, “… I think we have to go fishing.”
There was a harsh swooping sound, and Glide burst through the leaves and came to a perch on the same branch the other two were sitting on. In his mouth was a freshly caught water swimmer… so fresh it was still twitching.
“How convenient,” remarked Sky, “it appears your brother has brought us some breakfast.”
“For you and the hatchling,” the black wingtail insisted as he set it down next to Star.
He shot a sharp glare at Sky and departed suddenly, drawing a sigh from the blue wingtail. Apparently these jabs were something he would have to get used to.
…
Word of the time and place of the ëThree Trials’ spread almost as quickly through the Feral Forest as word of Sky’s return had the previous day. Concluding their morning fishing and hunting almost all the wingtails in the forest had opted to attend. Adding in the additional land walker attendees, the Elders agreed hastily to move the location from the Elders’ Tree into the only place big enough to accommodate them all – Sonicron Hill.
Now a place of both infamy and glory, the trees on all sides were full of wingtails and other fliers. Runners occupied the lower reaches, and looked on with curiosity in what would normally be a wingtail matter. Littlefoot, Ali, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, Ruby, Swiftwalker, Siak, Gentry and Thylo all sat together forming the oddest herd that had ever entered this sacred place. A few of the more conservative wingtails disapproved, but overall it was overlooked in anticipation of the highest matter of the day.
Those to be tried stood in the middle of the hill facing the Sonicron, where all nine elders – both old and new – sat with their leader at the head. Cinceel had been removed from her temporary hold on the position in favour of the more highly respected green wingtail Theanol, much to her displeasure. Aizon was also present amongst their ranks, even though he wasn’t a member of their circle. It was a mark of the standing he now held that his word was to be weighted with the others.
Of Eybron’s thirty wingtails, fully twenty five of them now remained and they all stood in a line, their faces marked with shame at their predicament. Ending off the line was Sky, appearing confident but nervous, and an extremely angry Glide. The black wingtail was furious when he found out he was to be tried along with his now brother in law. He had done nothing but sacrifice for these cursed Elders and now they made him stand amongst the traitors and villains on the ground? He despised them now almost as much as he did Eybron, perhaps more.
“We Elders have agreed that while you twenty five under Eybron’s service were acting under his orders, you do bear some responsibility for the crimes against our race you have committed,” proclaimed Theanol to the general agreement of the rest of the council.
“Amongst these are the kidnapping of hatchlings of other races…”
“It’s about bloody time,” said Gentry as he nodded with dignity. Cera also seemed pleased, but not as much as she was to be with Littlefoot and the rest of the gang again.
“… kidnapping fellow wingtails and imprisoning them without due cause or consent…”
Star and Glide both shifted in recognition.
“… and inflicting undue cataclysms upon our world using our precious relics without due cause or consent…”
A few of the elder wingtails shifted uncomfortably at the hypocrisy, including Aizon, but none spoke out.
“… and finally planning and carrying out murder on your fellow wingtails.”
All wingtails who were gathered knew about the night of terror that Eybron had inflicted upon the Feral Forest, including his killing of the master of the Tree of Relics many weeks before.
“For these above crimes,” continued Theanol with authority, “we sentence you into indefinite service to Aizon, to aid in his quest to unlock the past and future wonders of our race. Like our ancestors before us, we must leave something more for our children then tales of treachery and destruction.”
The navy blue wingtail smiled slightly in approval, and many others around cheered at the verdict. Many had expected the elders to be unmerciful and order decapitations, starvation streaks, or worse but thankfully their decision was more enlightened. As victims Eybron’s henchmen, many of the gang were not sure what to make of it. Some like Littlefoot and Cera felt they had gotten off lightly.
At Theanol’s urging, Eybron’s twenty five took off and left the clearing, rejoining their families in the trees and leaving only Sky and Glide left to stand judgement.
“If they give you the death sentence,” whispered Glide hardly, “then fly away as fast as you can… I will guard you.”
Sky’s heart jumped a bit at the mention of such a horrible fate, but he answered back.
“Why are you helping me?”
The black wingtail scowled.
“Because it would mean my sister has to raise her son on her own… something I will not tolerate.”
Sky nodded slightly. It made sense.
“Glide, son of Allisan please step forward,” declared Cinceel with a hint of distain.
The black wingtail obeyed, but reluctantly.
“Well…” began Theanol with a bit of enthusiasm, “you are of great interest to us Glide. You might be asking yourself why you are here today in the place of those who have dishonoured their race, but you need not raise your feathers. You are here not to be punished, but to be rewarded.”
There was an uproar of cheering from the wingtails present in the trees, and even a few land walkers too. Ruby was happy, and Gentry and Thylo were too. He might not be a nice wingtail by words, but actions meant more then that and to that entire side of the gang he was nothing short of a hero. For once, the black wingtail genuinely smiled… he hadn’t been expecting this at all.
“The others and I did not take long to decide that your conduct has been nothing short of exemplary, and your zeal and dedication to our creed and to your entire race is a model to all the young wingtails present today. You are one of our kind’s greatest ambassadors to the other races, and your exploits contributed to the healing of the rift between our previous enemies.”
Aizon left his perch on the Sonicron and flew down to where Glide was standing in disbelief. Soon the navy blue wingtail was before him.
“On behalf of my compatriots in the Elder’s Council,” stated Aizon, “I offer you the position of Master of the Tree of Relics. Do you accept?”
“Yes,” answered Glide sternly but with a hint of excitement, “I guess we are even.”
Cinceel shifted uncomfortably at the comment. She alone out of all the elders had wanted him punished, but the weight of the other seven and Aizon forced her to concede. Unfortunately their ëencounter’ where he almost killed her was pushed under a rock for now.
Aizon flew back up to his original position, and Glide took off too joining his sister in the trees above. A smirk of accomplishment adorned his face. Maybe he would just let Sky get killed… he could be a much better father then him anyway. No, he had to keep his word. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.
“Sky, step forward,” uttered Cinceel loudly with anticipation. She was looking at him like a freshly caught fish – this was her playtime.
Sky swallowed with nervousness. This was it.
By the general emotion of the crowds of dinosaurs watching the trial, things just kicked up a notch. There was complete silence as every one of them – both wingtail and land walker – watched Sky take a small step towards the elders.
The rumours, gossip, and outright lies surrounding Sky had created a bit of a legend in the Feral Forest surrounding him. Winglings were told not to go out at night, lest Sky capture them and take them away. More seriously however the adults believed him to be a villain of the worst kind. Some said he was responsible for the great winds that blew down trees, and others said he had long fanged teeth for devouring other creatures whole. To see him now, in person, was almost beyond belief.
It was Theanol who broke the silence.
“Do you still possess the Occular?”
Nervously, Sky nodded. Reaching into his wing, he removed the eyeglass and placed it on a rock near his feet. Theanol bowed his head slightly in approval.
“You are indeed one of the most interesting wingtails of our time. Stories of you, both truth and lies, have been circulating here in the forest for almost two generations. We in the past have forgotten you, accused you, and condemned you. Today, we will set things straight as they should be. We the Council of Elders were unable to decide your fate in conference. Some called for your demise… others called for your vindication…”
It was clear that Cinceel had been the former, and Sturgeon the latter.
“So we now give you a chance to speak. Tell us your story and omit no details, for your fate will surely depend upon it.”
Folding his wings neatly, Sky rotated around on his feet to get an impression of the type of crowd he was going to be talking to. Everyone seemed highly attentive, except Thylo who looked kind of bored. With a slight smile, the blue wingtail began his story.
“It all begins with another wingtail,” insisted Sky as he turned to face the love of his life waiting for him up in the trees, “the only star in my sky.”
…
The blue wingtail told them everything from the moment his quest began, his many months of searching for the Eye of the World, and eventually him finding it. Placing the Occular on the dais, and discovering the reason why Benzon abandoned it so long ago. Aizon nodded slightly with agreement, as if he had known all along. Sky carried on to explain that the reason he did not come back home was that he felt that it was too dangerous, so he planted some vines in hopes they would grow up to hide it. He skilfully omitted his dealings with the sharpteeth from the tale, seeing that it wasn’t entirely important.
Continuing, Sky talked about moving from place to place and meeting those of many different races. Eventually he reached the Great Valley, where he made all the friends present before them today.
“So you are telling us that the group of land walker guests before us today have travelled this far on your account?” questioned a male elder from the circle.
“Yes,” answered Sky without hesitation or shame.
“Is this true?” asked Theanol with curiosity as he turned towards the entire gang.
“Of course,” insisted Littlefoot.
“I guess…” added Cera half heartedly, earning a dirty look from Ali.
“Sky is one of our best friends… he is,” contributed Ducky enthusiastically.
“Very well,” commented Theanol with a wave of his hand, “…continue please.”
The blue wingtail then spoke of their travels, and how they became split up to due ëracial disagreements’. It was a concept that pretty much all the wingtails and runners knew very well. Continuing, Sky touched upon pretty much every part of their journey from being hounded by Tyron’s sharpteeth to getting caught in a volcanic eruption. Eventually he reached the part about facing off against Eybron and defeating him in a fight over the Eye of the World.
“So you are directly responsible for Eybron’s death?” shot Cinceel out of turn, interrupting the story.
“Yes,” admitted Sky, “I killed him but-”
“You see?” pushed Cinceel towards Theanol, “he is a murderer as well as a thief and a liar.”
“From what I have heard today Cinceel,” answered Sturgeon, “I see nothing but truth in his words… and I also believe that Eybron deserved every bit of what happened to him.”
“How dare you speak of him that way?” screeched Cinceel, “he was nothing less then a hero who desired the destruction of our sharptooth enemies. I might have gone along with you condemning his servants, but I’ll be having none of this!”
“Eybron was a monster,” shouted Sturgeon back, “and you set him loose!”
“Enough!” called out Theanol with anger.
It was enough to silence both the council and the crowd. In the void of silence that filled the clearing, a lone scarlet wingtail glided down to join her companion on the ground.
“I did it!” insisted Star so that everyone could hear her, “…I killed Eybron.”
It was enough to gather cries of shock and surprise from the crowd. Even the Council of Elders balked for a moment… they hadn’t been expecting this.
“What are you doing girl?” questioned Sturgeon, but it was too late.
“He tried to mate with me against my will. Sky tried to stop him but it was not enough… I burned him to death with the Eye… his own creation.”
“What?” uttered Cinceel, “what conspiracy is this… she’s trying to cover up for his crimes, can’t you all see that?”
“I can see that there is a lot more to this story then meets the eye Cinceel,” replied Theanol, rocking on his feet a little bit in thought, “…Aizon what do you make of this?”
The navy blue wingtail looked down upon the scene below, furrowing his tiny beard with curiosity. After a moment he answered.
“It is definitely possible,” Aizon concluded, “though I doubt it is a very nice way to die.”
“Assuming it did occur though,” pressed the elder green wingtail, “would have us condemn Sky of murder on this account?”
There were a few gasps in the crowd. They hadn’t expected the question to come up so forwardly and naturally there were supporters on both sides.
“Given the circumstances and the high amount of doubt surrounding whether our defendant actually committed the deed and if it was entirely warranted, I would say no.”
Once again, there was an uproar from all present with many shouting vicious attacks, words of relief, or other random bouts.
“Order!” insisted Theanol with a tinge of annoyance.
“I agree fully with Aizon,” Sturgeon felt the need to add.
Cinceel made a show of growling her disagreement at Sturgeon, but Theanol had already made his decision.
“Very well,” declared Theanol, “then it is my decision that Sky will not be held to account regarding his actions against Eybron by our Council.”
The green wingtail waited calmly this time for order to restore itself amongst those gathered. Given the high amount of emotion in the air today, it was wise to show patience.
“Which leads us to one of the important periods of the deliberation,” continued Theanol, “…have you Sky had any dealings with sharpteeth in the service of Tyron?”
Sky shuttered a little bit. He had been expecting to avoid the topic entirely, but now it all came down to this. The blue wingtail thought of his son, and all of his friends. It was true, he had done it… but as a wise wingtail had once told him: It is okay to lie when it benefits those being lied to. He made his decision.
“No.”
“Lair!” shouted Cinceel, “how dare you insult your elders and your race with-”
“That’s enough Cinceel!” shot back Theanol, with enough force to shut her up.
The green wingtail spread his wings, as if it was time for the final judgement. Everyone present was paying attention now, and all the elders hushed into complete silence.
“It is clear to me that there is a lot more to this story that what has been told, and indeed it is foolhardy for us as the eldest of the wingtails to attempt to make a decision based on our own deliberations and the evidence – or lack thereof – given here today. But, it is not the wingtail way to delay matters of such importance, so in accordance with our laws the decision of what to do with you Sky is mine and mine alone.”
Theanol looked from side to side at his fellow compatriots in the Council of Elders. On the left side were Aizon, Sturgeon, and a few others who were more moderate and on the right side were Cinceel and the hardliners that still saw the correct path in Eybron’s ways and would see Sky removed entirely. He would need to make a decision that appeased them both. He had to consider guests here as well… some of which held great respect for Sky and may turn violent if the sentence was too harsh.
“Sky… it is my decision that while your guilt cannot be proven in matters of collaboration with our enemies and betrayal of your race, your reluctance to return to the Feral Forest with one of our most precious artifacts despite being commanded to do so is an affront to our authority and must be punished.”
The green wingtail paused for a moment, not just for effect, but to refine the idea he had in mind appropriately.
“For this crime, I hereby sentence you to banishment from the Feral Forest for ten seasons, beginning at the moment the Great Circle disappears below the horizon.”
Theanol barely had time to finish before the entire clearing exploded. Some were enraged that he had dodged death, others were overjoyed that the Elders had gone back on their earlier proclamations. Overall the feelings were mixed, but none were as happy as Sky. As Star hugged him tightly and cried tears of relief, he celebrated inside that at sometime in the future, he would see his son again.
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