Exile Tribute Set: Offering

The group had managed to shake their fears a little bit by the time they’d reached the edge of the sacred grounds, and in fact they’d made it there in record time, much faster than they’d anticipated originally.

 

“Hey, since sunset isn’t for another half an hour, why don’t we stop and find our offerings for the ritual?” Asher suggested as they soared over the treetops in the direction of the sacred stones. Gulo hummed approvingly, but Xibalba shook his head.

 

“No, the sooner we get there the better. We have to keep going.” His voice was stern, but Exile huffed at him. How the hell will we even start the ritual if we don’t have an offering?

Exile was surprised when Xibalba turned his head to look back at him, a disapproving glare shot his way. Had he read his mind or something…?

 

“Well then you can go to the ritual site and we’ll stay back for a bit, Xibalba. We need our offerings to even start the ritual.” Gulo interjected. Asher took that as a sign to veer off their flight path, descending towards the river they’d passed just a few minutes earlier. Gulo followed, leaving Exile alone with Xibalba momentarily. Xibalba sighed but said nothing, continuing his path forward. Exile didn’t want to be left alone with this weirdo, so he followed after the other two down to the riverside.

 

Exile hovered through the gap in the trees below, right down to the river’s edge where Gulo and Asher were already standing above the water, watching a group of trout swimming against the current out in the middle of the river.

 

“We can’t just wade out there, we’ll scare them off. And if we fly our shadows will do the same. How do we get to them?” Asher wondered. Gulo pondered the question for a moment, trying to find a way to get the trout.

 

“Why don’t we hop across those rocks that’re sticking out across the river?” Exile pointed to the stone surfaces that were jutting out of the flowing waters, ones that were very close to the group of trout.

 

“Good idea. They’ll be slippery to stand on, but I’m sure we can catch at least three that way if we’re careful.” Gulo commended Exile’s sharp thinking. Exile felt proud as he followed Gulo and Asher over to the rocks, stopping as he leaned over the riverbed.

 

“Who’s first?” Asher asked from her spot just at the edge of the riverbank. Gulo and Asher both looked at Exile, who assumed the answer was him.

 

“I’ll do it. Stay close, in case I fall.” Exile stepped foot on the first stone, immediately latching his talons into the soft, damp moss clinging to the rock. It was slippery for sure, but he figured if he was careful enough he wouldn’t end up soaked by the end of it all.

Once he stepped off the first rock, he heard Gulo follow, then Asher as the line moved along. Soon enough they reached the middle of the river, the water spraying onto their feathers and making them slick.

 

“Alright, there’s the group of trout, Gulo, you hold onto my tail and I’ll lean out, Asher you hold onto Gulo to be the anchor.” Exile instructed. Asher huffed.

 

“Why do I have to be the anchor? I’m the smallest!” She pouted. Exile rolled his eyes at her.

 

“Do you want an offering or not?” Exile taunted. Asher sighed and grabbed Gulo’s tail, defeated in her argument. Gulo held onto Exile’s legs and tail, and watched as the shimmering harpia carefully leaned out over the river, just close enough to lunge with his beak and score a large trout.

He tossed the trout over onto the riverbed, where it flopped lightly for a moment before going still. Good, one down. Looking over, he noticed a pair of familiar emerald eyes watching their antics. Great. So they had pressure on them not to screw it up.

 

“What’s taking so long? Get another fish!” Gulo hissed, clearly straining to hold Exile steady.

 

“Yeah yeah, I’m going.” Exile muttered, snatching up another trout. At this point the trout had moved slightly further away, which would make the next catch a difficult one.

 

“I’ll have to lean a bit further out for this last one, everyone hang on tight!” Exile called back to the others. He felt Gulo’s grip tighten, ready to pull if things went wrong. He leaned just a bit forward, feeling his talons slip against the moss. He didn’t fall, but Gulo almost lost her balance.

 

“Sorry.” He apologized as he leaned even further towards the water, head hanging just behind the biggest trout of the group. He quickly struck, pulling the fish from the water and tossing it aside with the other two.

 

“Alright, pull me in!” Exile instructed. Gulo wrenched him upright, almost toppling poor Asher into the river. After a disgruntled squawk from the smaller harpia, she scurried back to shore, Gulo and Exile following quickly. The three picked up their prizes, deciding who got which one.

 

“Why do I get the puny one? Yours are huge!” Asher complained. Exile shot her a warning glare.

 

“You get what you get. Did you catch these fish? No? You just helped make sure I didn’t fall. If anything, I should get the biggest.” Exile retorted. Asher growled but had no bite behind it, merely turning away.

 

“Well well well, seems we’ve got our offerings. Can we get going now?” Exile nearly leapt into the river at the sudden voice, turning to see Xibalba seated next to him. How did this guy get around so quietly?!

 

“Geez, don’t sneak up on others like that, it’s not funny!” Exile chastised, but quickly corrected his tone as Xibalba stared him down. “Yes, we can go.”

 

Without another word Xibalba lifted off into the air again, leaving the other three to clutch their offerings and follow.

The sun was now almost completely set, just the glow from the horizon illuminating the sky. The ritual ground could be seen from afar now, the stones lit with glowing veins. The location was elevated, as close to the sky as possible. Exile felt a rush of excitement flow through him; this was it! They’d finally be able to see the fabled Sacred Stones in person, and even make an offering to Galyx!

 

As the group finally landed, the original trio was in pure awe. Fireflies buzzed all around the area, bioluminescent plants scattered along the base of each stone. A large stone circle was arranged in the center, made up of slabs of shale and infused with the area’s natural growth by now.

 

“This is spectacular…” Asher said breathlessly. Gulo nodded, jaw dropped. Exile simple admired the area, not seeming to notice that Xibalba had made his way around to the other side of the area. Suddenly, once he was noticed, the air seemed to shift. The once welcoming aura of the place changed to one of discomfort as Xibalba muttered words that Exile couldn’t really hear or understand.

 

“Uh, what’cha doing?” Gulo asked the royal, puzzled. Xibalba didn’t respond, only lifted his head towards the sky and continued to mutter his arcane phrases. In a flash his eyes snapped open, just in time for a flash of red lightning to illuminate the area. The false eyes across Xibalba’s body almost seemed to glow, shuddering in anticipation. Xibalba’s eyes bleached white, leaving his black pinpoint pupil that was all too familiar to Exile. Oh gods, don’t tell me… He brought us here as sacrifices…

 

“Xibalba!” Gulo called over the sudden gust of wind that enveloped the area. Xibalba ignored her, spreading his wings and taking to the skies. He ascended, high above the ritual grounds, another gust of wind knocking the trio over and into the center of the shale circle. Xibalba opened his jaws wide in a murderous laugh that echoed throughout the area. Asher and Gulo looked up at him in fear, but Exile was only filled with rage. How dare he… He used us! He only wanted us for his own damn purposes, nothing more!

 

“Xibalba! Get down here and fight! Unless you’re going to hide like the coward you are.” Exile screamed into the wind, finally getting the royal harpia to look at him. His eyes bore a hole through the shimmering harpia, but Exile stared daggers at the royal. Suddenly, Xibalba dove down, set on divebombing straight into Exile. Exile knew this might be their end, that an impact from a stryx that size at that speed would kill them both. He didn’t care. He just wanted to free the world from another threat.

 

“Go on guys, get the hell out of here!” Exile slammed into Gulo and Asher hard enough to knock them away. Asher fled into the safety of the trees while Gulo turned back towards Exile.

 

“I can’t leave you, we can fight him! Asher, get your tail feathers back here!” Gulo insisted, but Exile shook his head.

 

“There’s no time. I’ll see you guys again someday.” Exile called over the whipping winds. Xibalba was locked on target, dropping fast from the sky. Gulo had no time to argue. She simply nodded teary eyed and booked it to the treeline where Asher stared in terror.

 

“Come get me you bastard.” Exile whispered, closing his eyes and preparing for impact.

 

But it never came.

 

Instead, there was a bright flash, and a streak of pure white struck Xibalba, knocking him back and off course. The royal flailed to keep his balance, but was clearly injured. He braced for impact, crashing through the trees and landing somewhere in the distance with a loud bang, then a splash. He must’ve hit a lake, most likely the one that the river led to.

 

Exile opened his eyes to see that the wind had stopped and the cloudy sky had become clear, a large starfield making itself apparent in the sky.

 

“...Galyx?” Exile whispered breathlessly. He heard Gulo and Asher approaching him, concerned shouting coming from the two.

 

“Exile!” Gulo ran up to him, Asher following quickly, tears in her eyes.

 

“Are you guys alright?” Exile’s only thoughts were about their safety. As long as Xibalba hadn’t hurt them, he’d be fine.

 

“Us? What about you?!” Asher exclaimed. Exile was still panting heavily, stomach doing flips over itself, his heart in his throat still.

 

“Yeah. I’m fine. I think… I think Galyx saved me. We brought those offerings, and even though we didn’t do a ritual, he was here. He struck down Xibalba and saved my life.” Exile felt lightheaded. Suddenly, branches could be heard snapping in the forest. Something big was making its way towards them.

All three of the harpias prepared for a fight, eyes narrowing and feathers prickling as Xibalba’s familiar frame came into view. But he didn’t lunge for them. He didn’t even approach. He merely stood there. Watching, waiting, thinking. Exile hissed at him, baring his teeth. Xibalba’s left wing was injured, feathers scorched where he’d been hit from the side. He was in no fit shape to fight, and he knew that.

 

“We’ll meet again, who knows when. Maybe in another life. Maybe in another universe. But one thing is clear; I will have what I want.” Xibalba growled. What in Galyx’s name was he talking about?

 

Xibalba left no time for debate. He fled back the way he came, disappearing into the darkness.

Exile let out a deep exhale, relieved they didn’t have to fight in the end.

 

“Come on, let’s get to the nearest civilization. We’ll at least be safe there. We can head home in the morning.” Gulo said. Asher nodded in agreement. Exile turned and took one last look at the view of the sky from the Sacred Stones, sending a silent thank you to Galyx, or whatever entity had been there to protect them that night, and took off after Gulo and Asher, heading for the closest town they could find.

 

Exile

2007 words-40 AP

Extra stryx-3

Flockmate-3

Tribute-4

Total= 50 AP

 

Gulo

2007 words-40 AP

Extra stryx-3

Flockmate-3

Tribute-4

Personal-3

Total= 53 AP

 

Asher

2007 words-40 AP

Extra stryx-3

Flockmate-3

Tribute-4

Personal-3

Total= 53 AP

 

Xibalba

1183 words-22 AP

Extra stryx-3

Flockmate-3

Total= 28 AP