WL: Ch 6: Chapter 1

Serene may not have been quite the right word after the previous week’s events, but there was a certain calmness that seemed to permeate the air around the Healing Tree. Its boughs arced out in gentle, graceful curves, tendrils of broad leaves swaying from the branches in a soothing breeze. It was under these boughs, along the edge of the stream flowing between the mass of pillar-like trunks where a dusky harpia and a dingy corva sprawled out in the grass, each hanging a wing into the gentle waters. The corva appeared particularly more at ease with this languid pose than the harpia, who looked to his rider for confirmation of this odd behavior. Their riders stood knee deep in the water near their stryx, the cardinal hued canine with what appeared to be two large combs in each hand as they watched the grime softening out of stryx feathers and tainting the clear flow. 

 

“Yes, that’s it. Always work with the world and it will work with you.” Red said as a clump of semi-rotten leaves fell away from Harken’s wing downstream. “A clean flowing water source will remove most of the dirt for us if we just let it. Stryx feathers are made to hold to themselves, not to other things. And everything else,” the canine held out a comb to Andriel, “We have these for.”

 

Red could tell the young rider was confused by the look they gave the object. To be fair, there probably weren’t many people outside of the strilk islands who had ever seen, let alone used, such tools. “We call it a feather rake and it’s the first tool we use to clean up the feathers where I come from. The long teeth are so we can get all the way down to the start of each feather and move anything stuck or tangled out away from the skin.” She reached out with one hand and held the leading edge of the brown corva’s wing up, placing the comb at the very front of the wing and then sliding it back in the direction of the feathers. “Easy like. You won’t need to use pressure if you go with the feather. And then, after you do that layer, lift the feather and brush the ones under it. We just keep going layer by layer until we get all the way to the last layer. You try.”

 

The furry rider watched as Andriel ran their comb through Bastien’s wing. While she didn’t expect the harpia to behave poorly, it was a well known fact among riders from the strilk islands that if a stryx were to fuss about their feathers being brushed out, it would be the first time when they were unfamiliar with the process. But stryx who were bonded to a rider were far more likely to tolerate their ministrations without any misgivings. Still, there was no denying that the spectacularly marked young harpia had been under scrutiny from the rest of Sol’s city guard after their romp through the sewers. That misadventure had culminated in Eidola’s capture, but had also resulted in him taking a bite from the corrupted Rhakos. Fear in the city was at an all time high as mistrust grew between people and their stryx which, some felt could turn at any time. Much to Andriel's relief, Red had asked one of her connections in the city if they might have something to help prevent the young harpia being tied up in the coliseum with the rest of the corrupted stryx. Her connection had agreed to meet them some time today at the tree.

 

“Red, there you are!” 

 

The call came several hours later- cleaning a dragon bird was no fast process after all. Long pointed ears swiveled to the call, orange eyes following to the source after. “Maja! Good to see you again! And… you’ve brought company I see.” Red’s ears dropped back as she recognized the forms of the Rhakos tucked up by the base of the tree. A gravelly hiss came from behind her as Harken turned his long beak to stare at the Rhakos, half dried feathers trying to bristle up to appear even larger. His hiss was echoed shortly by Bastien as he too spotted the bulky runner stryx. The Harpia’s four wings mantled defensively, though it was apparent one was held a bit closer to the body than the rest.

 

“Relax, relax, no need to fight here. I actually wanted to show you the proof of concept of my latest work. Rhakos! Free of Corruption!” the witch waved an arm over her shoulder at the sleeping stryx. ”You had mentioned you also knew of a stryx who may have been at risk of contracting the Corruption? Is that what it took to finally stop Harken’s screeching?”

 

The corva raised his damp hackles, chest drawing deep at the enchantress’s suggestion that he was anything but in control of his own voice. Oh he would show her with a shriek so loud it would curl her hair… “Harken.” He tilted his beak down to look at his rider, who stuck an arm into his deep neck ruff to scritch at his skin, “Not now. Please.” The brown beast settled for simply letting the breath out in a long rattling hiss. Maja had better count her stars that he liked Red. “Afraid not, Maja,” Red replied as she continued to run her hand through Harken’s nearly dry feathers, “I think it would take more than that to catch his tail. It's our young friend, Bastien, here. Alas I don’t think any of us were really ready for dealing with such close quarters in the sewers.”

 

“I see.” The witch replied, cool eyes scanning over to the four-winged harpia. “Oh, it's you two!" Andriel stepped forward to incline their head respectfully toward the Queen's sorceress. "Hello, Maja." Behind them, Bastien made a nervous sound, flexing his damaged wing. Upon close inspection, Maja found Eidola's teeth had done serious damage. If left to heal on its own it would be weeks before the tissues and bone would support him for flight. 

 

As Maja turned to his rider to discuss options, a tremor shook the ground, tossing Maja back against Bastien and Andriel to the ground. Harken and Red, standing away from the others so Maja could work, turned toward Sol, quickly followed by the other three. From the safety of the Healing Tree, they watched the unnatural eclipse and Andriel gave an involuntary gasp as the cloud of corrupted wisps became the Wraith. Bastien's wound gave a red pulse, causing him to scream in agony and rage. "Maja!" Andriel called out, grabbing the older woman by the arm and yanking her away from Bastien in time to avoid being hit by his good wing snapping open. 

 

Without prompting, Harken leapt onto Bastien's back to restrain him while Andriel went to his head and stroked his wicked beak, trying to soothe him. Maja glanced between Bastien and Sol, clearly recognizing that she couldn't leave the young Harpia untreated and unrestrained to go save Sol, but that quick action was needed to get to the city. "Maja, I think we need to test that proof of concept!" Red called down from Harken's saddle. Neither Andriel or Maja had seen her climb Bastien to mount Harken, but Red had a valid point. Reaching into her robes, Maja whipped out a bottle and turned back to Bastien's wing. "This isn't enough to cure him, just to halt the corruption temporarily." She warned Andriel, holding his injured wing at the elbow joint firmy but as gently as she dared, and poured the substance into the wound. Bastien gave an earsplitting, shrill, echoing screech, but neither Andriel or Maja could risk clapping their hands to their ears. As the liquid moved through the wound, the red light that had begun to glow disappeared and the wound knit itself together, but it was obvious by Bastien's movements it was still injured. 

 

"Can he fly?" Red inquired as Harken moved back to the ground and Bastien stood to inspect his wing. As his chest came into view, Andriel could see a faint red light flowing into his chest where it pulsed softly. A deep unease settled in their gut, but the question of flight so soon jerked their attention back to the conversation. "Is that wise?" Bastien jerked his head toward his rider and growled, "I can fight!" Harken heard the edge of bloodthirsty rage in his voice, though Andriel didn't seem to notice he had even spoken. A feeling of dread settled in the back of his mind and he sent a telepathic warning to Red. Glancing between Andriel and Bastien, a different moment from their first Rhakos encounter came to mind with new clarity. "You and Bastien are not bonded, are you?" Red asked, and Andriel tilted their head inquiringly.

 

Geiger's arrival and immediate defeat brought them back to the present. Maja almost snarled, "Too late to worry about that, Sol and the royal family need us. Andriel! Do NOT let Bastien get bitten again! Especially not by Wraith! Do you understand?" Andriel bristled at the implied ignorance but nodded silently before climbing to their saddle. Maja had already left them to figure out how she could help. "Bastien and I have been together since I was a kid and he was a fledgling. We have a bond, and I trust him." It would have to do, though the unease in the party was far from resolved.

 

Their hectic race to the city passed without comment, Harken and Bastien flying too quickly and too far apart for Red and Andriel to be heard over the wind of their passage. For Red, the flight was just time for their adrenaline to kick into overdrive and to plan with Harken how they could hope to fight such a monstrous sized beast. Suddenly, Bastien shot ahead of them, a scream of rage erupting from his gaping serrated beak, Andriel calling to him to slow down even as they were whisked forward and away. Harken and Red also called out, but the young stryx was beyond reason, a crimson glow pulsing rapidly and at an uneven rhythm at his breast as he pulled away. Harken saw the two pass under an arch, and then their view of Bastien and Andriel was blocked by the huge clawed feet of the Wraith. She stood, roaring, on the other side of the wall, between Red and Harken and Andriel and Bastien. “Harken, drop on her back, as close to the base of her skull as you can!” Red called through their link, knowing Harken wouldn’t be able to hear their physical voice over the Wraith’s. 

 

In the courtyard, Kali had tried to call out a warning that it was a trap, but Bastien had suddenly shuddered under Andriel and crashed to the ground, the crimson glow spreading from his chest, spidering out over his body, a red glow overtaking the natural golden glow his eyes normally cast. Even his Nokt, usually the same gold, had begun to shimmer and pulse, the corrupted red bleeding into the soft gold. “BASTIEN!” Andriel screamed, voice cracking as their throat went raw from the force of the scream. The Wraith stepped forward- there was no need to charge between the small space of the courtyard and her sheer size- beak opening in a wicked, grinning leer, feathered arms opening to display the sword length claws gleaming in the red light. Her advancement was cut short as Harken, with a scream of rage and challenge, flew above the walls to drop, taloned feet first, toward the back of her head. 

 

He struck hard enough that The Wraith stumbled, shaking her head in surprised outrage. How dare the impudent little corva touch her! Her head twisted at the end of her neck, following Harken as he and Red kept her attention off Andirel and Bastien. Andriel turned back to Bastien, having descended from the saddle to come to stand by his face again. The gold and crimson colors mixed, as if Bastien were fighting the corruption. Andriel stroked his beak, lost for words on how to comfort him when it seemed that they were likely about to die. “I’m so sorry, Bastien!” They whispered, suddenly realizing how foolish this whole adventure had been. Their father, Echellius, had been right; this was no place for untrained nobility to be. They should have just stayed home, or even gone back with Sierra when they had the chance. “If we survive this, I WILL make this up to you.” Andriel swore.

 

Behind them, Harken and Red gave a pained cry as The Wraith’s massive tail struck Harken. She had snapped at them to drive them away from her face, herding them in range of her tail which had struck out whip-like, but with the force of a battering ram. Harken smashed to the ground near Bastien, out cold and blood spilling from his beak.  Red managed to roll free so they wouldn’t be crushed beneath Harken, but it was obvious they had been hurt as well. “Andriel, look out!” Red called, even as they called out, “Red! Stay down!” As if in response to the situation, the crimson glow vanished from Bastien’s eyes, the gold intensifying as his Nokt shone out at full brightness, every speck lighting up at once in a golden aura that swallowed him and Andriel. With a challenging scream, he rose to his feet to meet The Wraith’s oncoming form.

 

She opened her maw to answer him, but it quickly turned to pain. Bastien had shot a beam of ice straight down her oncoming throat. Andirel whirled to stare incredulously at her mount, barely noticing the same surprise in Red’s face as they knelt over Harken. Andriel hoped the corva would survive the meeting, but their attention was pulled back to the fight between Bastien and The Wraith. She was writhing, pulling back, trying to climb the wall- to put it between her and Bastien- and Bastien was preparing another beam, the ball of energy seeming to suck the air from around them, the temperature dropping until gooseflesh rose along Andriel’s skin, the cold mass spinning between his teeth and over his cyan tongue. When The Wraith opened her beak to roar at him again, he spat out the ball of ice and Andriel watched as it flew across the small space to smash with a bone snapping CRACK against The Wraith’s neck, cutting off her voice. And then, miraculously, they were no longer alone as more of the citizens of Sol and those who had answered the call to arms appeared to fight The Wraith. With so many standing against her, it ended quicker than Andriel could have hoped. As she fell, the crimson light that had tried to take over Bastien pulsed out once more, dousing the golden glow instantly. As The Wraith fell, so too did Bastien, silently and without warning. With a scream, Andriel tore away from Red and Harken to skid to a stop next to their Harpia. They choked with relieved tears as they felt Bastien’s breath blow out of his open beak. The war was over, for better or worse. Behind them, Harken opened his eyes to rasp at his rider and Red knelt to bury their face in his thick neck fur, their communications kept private in their telepathic link as they voiced their relief of having survived the ordeal. "We're alive." They sighed in shared releif.