The Raptors

Chapters

The Mission
The Event
The Discovery

The Mission

The planet of Equis is home to many different species, Ponies, Griffins, Dragons, Changelings, and the list goes on, but what about those not marked down in the Canterlot Archives, or catalogued by the Crystal Ponies in their huge library? There is but a single species left undiscovered by the world of ponies, a species that lives on the distant continent of Raptoria. The species simply call themselves, “Raptors”. They are a land based predator species that evolved from intelligent pack hunters that roamed Raptoria’s surface eons ago. Evolving into a group of hunters and warriors, the Raptors of Raptoria are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to guerilla warfare. They often opted to using a long sword made of steel, but will don leather or hide armor to help maintain flexibility when movement was key. Masters in the art of the hunt, they will either opt to hunt alone for themselves, or gather some friends and feed multiple families.

Today though, is about the Raptor named Welvarin, a mercenary for hire in the city of Soraris. He was the single member of his own mercenary faction, “Lone Ranger”. The Raptor in question sat alone in a darkened tavern near the start of a night. He was still working off last week’s pay, a rescue mission that gave him more gold than he knew what to do with, and so did the thing he did best, just before killings living beings: he drank. Taking another swig of the flavored mead his kind had developed, he brought the wood mug high into the air as he drained its contents. Setting the mug down calmly, sliding it to the other end of the table where the bartender took it and began to wipe it clean. The tavern was mostly empty at this hour, smelling of booze and cigar smoke, it was a hub for information and an invaluable center of intelligence for him. It wouldn’t be another hour or so until people really began to roll in, but the few that were already here were Raptors he knew, other mercenaries getting ready for the nighttime rush. Among them was Cervanin, scout for the merc group “Green Scales”, and another he knew more personally, the lovely Deferva, and member of the faction “Female Ferocity”.

He chuckled at the very thought of the name, sure it wasn’t a great name, but a name doesn’t make a mercenary group what it was, no, it was the Raptors serving in one or the equipment they had, but mostly the members of the group. The jingle of the doorbell meant little to him as he ordered another drink, the bartender sliding him a full mug of his favorite mead. Taking a sip at the frothing liquid, Welvarin heard an armored figure take a seat beside him. Still paying it little mind, he blew off some of the froth, making it easier to get to the ichor beneath it.

That’s when he felt a tap on his right pauldron.

He looked to the figure, who wore a black hood. Great, the shady kind, the pay was always good with these guys, but info regarding the mission was generally on the down low.

“Are you Welvarin Sacred Claw?” asked the figure, not looking directly at Welvarin, and speaking in a low tone.

Welvarin swished the liquid around a little, “Who wants to know?”

“Soonen High Tide,” was the only response, which caused Welvarin to pause.

“High Tide? What does he want? And why didn’t he send himself to get me?” inquired the merc, taking another swig.

“He asked me to make sure the message was relayed, he has found something that may mean his life to the Cult,” said the hooded figure, waving off the bartender as he approached the newcomer.

Welvarin chuckled, “Something to do with the Sun Lovers eh? I knew they were trouble, what’s the job, protection?”

The hooded figure nodded, “Yes, he’ll need a faithful bodyguard, someone not in the Cult, and someone he knows well.”

Welvarin took another sip, savoring the rich flavour, “Me team up with High Tide again? That was many cycles ago, and even after all of our ordeals, we went our separate ways.”

“He is aware, but in order to give you a standpoint on how serious he is, Soonen is willing to pay double your last paycheck, the one you earned five days ago.”

Again Welvarin paused, “What did he do? Find proof that the sun is alive or something? He’s had guys digging out at the ocean for seasons upon seasons, but I never really thought anything of it…”

“That was all I was told, what he has found or why he asked you are things I was never informed of. I am but a middle man, do you wish to accept the job, or not?” asked the messenger, turning just slightly more towards Welvarin.

The Raptor in question swished the remaining contents of his mug, watching as the yellow liquid slide around the aging wood with ease. Downing it all in one gulp, he slid the mug to the bartender, tapping the table.

“Check please.”

After exiting the tavern, Welvarin was shown to a Draco pulled chariot, creatures that resemble a dragon, but are dumber, and walk on all fours. It was a three hour trip to the dig site, and Welvarin took the entire time checking his equipment. His armor was in well enough repair, his pauldron’s were metal while his breastplate and greaves were Draco Scale with steel knee guards. His boots were lined with sheep wool, and covered in steel, except or the soles, which was instead Welve Leather. His favored weapon was the bow and arrow, tools rarely used by Raptors since the feathers used as fletchings for the arrows were rare. The bow was forged from the finest Xendium, a rare metal that had cost him a fortune to acquire, then even more for it to be shaped into a fine weapon. It was stronger than any alloy, rare at best, and had a black sheen to it, though also had a light undertone of red. The arrows were made from a small supply of things, arrowheads of steel, shafts made from the lightest Jerryum tree and fletching from the feathers of the rare Braveheart birds. He unsheathed his backup dagger, a simple steel construct with a slow curve meant to cut through the toughest natural armors.

The cart came to a stop at a rainy dig site. Jumping from the chariot, Welvarin did not eve wait for his guide as he began to make his way to the place he suspected Soonen to be; indoors.

He approached a large tent made from tan canvas and entered through the nearest flap, looking around inside, “Soonen?”

A slightly shorter figure turned around from some charts, looking at Welvarin, “Ah, Welvarin! So good to see you again!”

Welvarin chuckled, shaking the slightly shorter Raptors claw, “As with you Soonen, I was told you found something that might put you in trouble?”

Sooned clamped up suddenly, “Not here, the Cult of the Sun has eyes and ears everywhere, it’s best I just show you.”

Welvarin nodded, following the scholar outside, and towards a large pit. He saw that there were carts full of polished

and aging stone, some of which appeared to be part of ancient statues and even some pieces of rotting paintings. He didn’t recognize any of the craftsmanship, and he had traveled from one shore of the continent to the other looking for work, delving into ruins with entire teams and emerging alone and scarred. No, this art style was a lot smoother, like the architects had used some sort of device to mold the very stone into what shape they wanted it. He soon found himself following down a set of makeshift stairs, and down into the earth where the entrance was revealed. It was an intricate stone archway with words embedded into it, words he could not read, and being fluent with every language found on the continent, ancient or modern, this puzzled him.

“What does it say?” he asked as they entered, some Raptors still quarrying rock and dirt.

“It’s a welcoming of some sort, I haven’t created a direct translation, but we know that it’s not native,” replied Soonen, waving for Welvarin to follow.

Welvarin nodded, “I figured as much, but why does it have you so worried?”

“The answer to that question lies deeper within, a room we uncovered a few days ago, a room like no other.”

Welvarin stopped Soonen, “You’re making no sense old man, I need to know what we’re dealing with here.”

Soonen sighed, “It’s a ritual chamber of some sort. Not only that, it was indefinitely important to these people because they enchanted the very rock to never age, the ceiling encrusted with jewels that make light as if they were stars, and floor of the most polished and shining marble I have ever seen, even after all these centuries. But what we found at the end of the room is what has me so worried. It was a book, a picture of a sun and moon, and a tome that has somehow survived the ages. In it were words I have spent day and night translating, why was this room so important to them that they had to use magic to make it everlasting? What kind of magic did they use? And that’s when I found out about… them…”

Welvarin sighed, “Them? Who is them? And why aren’t you talking like a sane person?”

Soonen grabbed him, “Shh, not here, in the chamber, follow me, we’ll be alone.”

Welvarin raised a brow, but nodded and followed him down a musty hallway, “Now as far as we can tell, these people were rather prosperous. Mastering magic and architecture, they lived peaceful and full lives. But, when a natural disaster separated this city from the mainland it once called home, and joined us here on Raptoria, the people died off, or were evacuated. Probably died off though, since they left the ancient tome here.”

Welvarin nodded, and had to admit, for being buried under tonnes of rock and dirt, the ruin was doing rather well, in fact, one might accuse it of being more of an abandoned home than an aging pile of rubble.

“Another thing that makes this place so interesting is that as far as we can tell, they were a land based people, so why they would have an intricate city such as this built underground, is beyond me.”

They soon arrived at a tall golden door, which caused Soonen to look around for any suspicious activity. After making sure they were alone, Sooned opened the doors, and the resounding light nearly blinded Welvarin. After his slitted eyes adjusted, he felt his jaw fall, and tried to speak but merely muttered nonsense. It was a lavish room, floor shining like the sun and ceiling painted like night, or perhaps it was obsidian, either way each held an incredible sheen, and caused light to reflect around like it was daytime all the time. The walls were decorated with columns of marble that helped to reflect the light again, and hold the hefty ceiling up. He was lead to the back, where Soonen sat upon a pedestal.

“Now, do you really want to be involved in this old friend, or do you wish to return to your home and continue with your life as it is?” asked Soonen, looking at Welvarin more seriously than he had seen the light hearted old scholar.

Welvarin nodded, sitting beside him, “Of course, that’s why I’m here. I’ve been hunted more than a few times in my life, each in which soon found my survival skills came from experience, not a hand guide.”

Soonen nodded, “Very well. The tome I found told tales of a pair of princesses, not just your average girly and

spineless ones, oh no these royal sisters are famous for taming a huge area of land and claiming it as their own, a land called Equestria. Now, these princesses were not only immensely powerful, they were also a race called Alicorns, a race of immortal quadrupeds that had an incredible handle over magic. They were so powerful, in fact, that they took control of the very sun and moon.”

Welvarin stood still for some time, then proceeded to burst out laughing, “Ar-are you serious? I mean really, I know you area smart guy going to a college and all, taking lessons on how to decipher languages obviously puts you at a higher standing point than me, but come one, immortal quadrupeds that have control of two of the hugest masses that you scholars know about? Even the Cult’s High Priest would be laughing at you.”

Soonen sighed, “And that is why you are following the map I found stashed among its pages.”

Welvarin stopped suddenly, “What?”

Soonen stood up, “I found a map hidden among the pages supposedly written by a “Golden Aura”, a priestess here at the city, and it details how to return to Equestria since she knew she could not do it herself. It has a star chart, land marks, and, I don’t know if it’s reliable, but approximate distances as well. I already have a ship and crew hired and I just need someone to protect me should a member of the Cult have somehow snuck aboard.”

Welvarin shook his hands in denial, standing a shaking his head, “No no no no no, I’ve been on enough voyages to know that following a map found in some musty old ruin is never accurate.”

“Just look around you Sacred Claw! We are in a room devoted to a pair of goddesses who rule a land far to the west, and you, of all Raptors, are not jumping, climbing, and fighting for the chance? What happened all those cycles ago, when you wanted to race off into the woods in search of those fairies everyone talks about, when you swung your first sword and declared yourself a mercenary, or when you joined me and we discovered a ruin filled with priceless artifacts?!” spouted Soonen, outraged that he was being challenged in an area Welvarin held no authority in.

Welvarin turned for the door, “I grew up old man, I suggest you do the same, or maybe the Cult will have your head, and don’t expect to see me at your funeral.”

With those words, Welvarin walked out of the room, shutting the great gold doors behind him. Soonen stood stunned in the shining room, looking down at the polished floor, he sighed; there were preparations to make for the trip…

Welvarin shrugged off his last piece of armor, deciding to go home early that night. Falling into his bed, he proceeded to cover himself up, lying upright in his bed and looking at the worn ceiling. He sighed, he hoped that Soonen would be okay in his travel, and he was sure that there were others mercs he had to have dealt with before, so there was no need to worry about anything, right? And yet, there was a constant nagging at the back of his head…

You should have agreed… you should have agreed… you should have agreed…

Shaking his head, he tried closing his eyes, settling in the bed and trying to catch some sleep. And then there was that nagging again… and again, and again. Perhaps there was a reason he had considered going at the site, after all, he was getting ready to “grace” his thirty fifth birthday soon, and had to admit he wanted some more adventure in his life before he reached his half-way point. The thought never left his mind, and he periodically checked the moon out his window, seeing it had moved a considerable distance since he first left the tavern… He should have agreed…

Getting out of his bed, renewed with vigour by the fact that had entered his mind he donned his armor, stowed his blade and bared his quiver and bow. Dashing out his front door and barely having a mind to lock it on the way out, he took the next available carriage in the city to take him back to the dig site.

As Soonen oversaw the final piece of supplies stored in the ship, he turned back to the mucky road that had carried away his bodyguard. For once he expected the opposite of what he hoped for, and was surprised to see another carriage coming back down the way. At first a small bit of fear entered his stomach when he thought that the Sun Cult had found out, but felt it drain away with the early morning breeze as he saw Welvarin jump out the rear, running like a boy late for school. As Welvarin reached him, he smiled.

“Had a change of heart?”

Welvarin nodded, “Yes, as much as I deny your sun and moon goddess theory, you might as well have someone you know aboard to help.”

Soonen chuckled, reaching for the contract that he had in his rear pocket, and signalling for a quill and pot of ink, “I thought as much, good to see that there is still some of the old Welvarin Sacred Claw in you yet.”

Welvarin let a sly grin form on his lips, “That there is, and he itching for an adventure.”

Welvarin signed the parchment with the produced quill and ink as he always did, and shifted his quiver on his back, only hoping that they had food for one more seems, in his haste, he had forgotten to pack food.

Once aboard, he turned to see Soonen joining him, “Actually, if I may ask, why are we leaving so soon?”

Soonen tapped a piece of pristine white paper, “By the map I hold here, we have to leave now in order to arrive by day at that land.”

The scholar had a word with the captain and the sturdy looking Raptor began barking commands. Soon, the sails were falling, men were running about and climbing ropes like monkeys and the boat creaked as it moved. Soon, they were off, leaving the shore behind. Welvarin watched from his place on the boats railing, watching and smiling as the shore disappeared behind an early morning fog. Welvarin brought in the smells of the sea through his nose, smells he had been missing for cycles…. After feeling the chill of the morning and knowing that until they broke the fog there would be nothing to look at, he moved below deck, and began to search for a place to sleep.

Meanwhile upon the shore of Raptoria, a cloaked figure watched as the ship left the port, a sun symbol adorning his robes.

Luna looked up suddenly, realizing that she was being watched. She was sitting alone in her private chambers, a small hearth crackling in the background as she read a book.

“Oh um, hello, and what are you doing here? … … … What do you mean a story? You needed a pony in the first chapter or it wouldn’t be accepted? Well then, I must admit I am flattered, out of all of the ponies in Equestria you chose me- wait, where are you going? Don’t leave yet IhavesomanythingsIwantedt-”

The Event

A fire crackled nearby. It was not the sort of fire you heard when you sat at home in front of a stone hearth with tea or coco and a good book, no this was a raging inferno that swallowed Welvarin’s vision. The heat was intense, making his scales seem like they were going to pop off. He didn’t know what to do. He was staring wide eyed at a fallen beam, a beam that had landed on a body. The body had been carrying him, running from the heat. The fire was nice enough, it had not done anything to him yet, and it allowed him to see everything around him, even kept him warm. The body had always said that a fireplace was the best thing ever; it kept you warm, and allowed friends to chat in comfort. But this was not a hearth, and it was keeping him a little too warm.

Moving towards the body, he recognized it, but it was hard to depict, for the face was all burnt up. It looked like… He knew that body.

…

“Mommy?”

There was no reply. It was mom, the one who taught him all the things, the one who fed him all the tasty treats, the one who told him about the hearth, about how fire could be warm and soothing.

She never said that fire could destroy a heart.

He began to do the only thing he knew what to do when he was alone, he wailed. But this was no mere wail of a lonely toddler; it was as much that as this was a campfire for a mouse. No, this was the cry of a creature that had just lost his mother, caretaker; his hearth of warm fire. As he cried, his tears dried on his scales, and he crouched down to the body, shaking it. It hurt his hands to touch her, but he didn’t care, she said that she would always be there.

“Mommy, we have to go! We gotta go mommy! Come on! You said so! You said so!”

He continued to try and get her up, but the body would do nothing but burn his hide. He continued to cry, even louder this time, outdoing the raging flames in their intensity. There were voices now, and the hissing of fire like a snake that had been struck. Again the hissing came, and Welvarin looked to the source. The voices were louder now that some of the fire had been silenced, and there were men. They rushed around the dancing fire, though the dance was more of a defensive barrier than a display of beauty. He shook the body again, but she wouldn’t move.

“Come on mommy! You promised me that we were going to town tomorrow! I wanna see a Draco mommy! You gotta get up!”

The voices were more prominent now, orders being given, the hissing of the snaky fire as it was beat back by its old rival water. Finally the fire had to retreat to the center of the old home, and towards Welvarin. He felt it creeping upon him as the dry wood floor allowed the spread of the flame like rain on a rock. Suddenly the hissing was directly behind him, he even felt some of the freezing water touch his tail. A large arm wrapped around him, and he began to cry again as his mother became smaller in the distance. As soon as they were out though, a loud crack sounded and the old home collapsed, sealing the fate of Cervanha Sacred Claw. He was set down by the thing that had picked him up, and shaken loosely by it.

“Wake up Welvarin! Wake up!”

The words echoed in his head, “Wake up Welvarin!”

Welvarin’s eyes shot open, and he drew his dagger, instinctually driving his would-be assailant into the wall, holding his dagger firmly at the Raptors neck.

Soonen raised his hands in defence, “Welvarin! Calm down man, it’s me!”

Welvarin began to slow his rapid breathing, slowly drawing the dagger away and storing it in its sheath, “What is it Soonen?”

Soonen had a claw on his chest, and was breathing hard, “The men… it’s been too many days now, nearly a full moon cycle…”

Welvarin heard the sound of creaking boards above them; no one was supposed to be on the deck at this hour.

“I think… I think they’re planning a mutiny,” Soonen finally finished, looking up at the roof.

Welvarin snarled, “A mutiny?! Don’t they know that we’re only a few hours off of shore?”

Soonen nodded, “Yes, I told them the amount of time we we’re going to need in order to get to the new land, but none believe me. They all think since we’ve reached our halfway point in food and water that they should cut their losses and turn the ship around. Worst of all, I think the captain may finally agree…”

Welvarin looked up again as more creaks sounded, undoubtedly the men getting ready, “The captain has been loyal this entire time, what makes you think that he’ll surrender his ship to them?”

“I don’t think he’ll surrender it, but he’s become less and less convinced each day we have gone without landfall. We haven’t even seen a single island or land fairing bird, let alone a bird at all. He knows when land is near, and so far, the signs have not shown themselves to him.”

Welvarin sighed, tapping his dagger, “Then what do you want me to do? Slaughter our only way home? I trust you Soonen, but I will not doom us.”

Soonen shook his head, “No no no, but try to convince them, you are a strong Raptor, and have seen many places, they seem to respect you for your wisdom on sailing, and all manner of things for that matter.”

Welvarin opened his door, looking down the hall, “Very well, but if that does not work I will not wound them, a single man down could doom a vessel to any degree.”

Soonen nodded, “I had hoped as much from you, take care Welvarin, I’ll gather some things in case you fail.”

Welvarin did a two finger salute, and creeped down the hall. The old ship creaked and groaned as the sea had her lulled to sleep with its gentle rocking. Welvarin did well to stay light on his feet, for the ships slow swaying could easily topple an unprepared Raptor. He found his way to the steep stairs in the dark, musty belly of the boat, and began to climb it, slowly as to try and stay quiet. He reached the top with squeaks even a mouse could not hear. He made his way towards the captains quarters, already seeing a single Raptor outside the small room. He made his way up, but was stopped by a blade, shining silver in the moonlight.

“What business do you have with Mister Draco Hide?” the guard asked, no emotion in his voice.

Welvarin eyed the blade, “I wish to speak to him about what may happen, if it isn’t already underway.”

“It is, and I hope, for your sake, that you’re on our side,” said the guard, opening the door for him.

Welvarin made no notice to the guard’s simple kindness and entered. Inside the quarters the meeting had just began, and he was the last attendant. A half circle had been formed around the captain, who sat at his desk, the grizzled sailor eyeing each of the men with curiosity.

“Gentlemen?” the captain asked, keeping watch on everyone in the room, save for Welvarin, who he had yet to notice.

A single Raptor stepped forward, “You know why we’re here. You’ve had to heard that there is no land out here.”

The captain nodded, “Yes I have, and they are false. I believe in Mister High Tide, he is an excellent scholar and has made double sure that his co-ordinates were correct.”

“To hell with the scholar!” bellowed the Raptor, “I have a wife and children at home, yes we all need the money, but no they do not need a widowed mother!”

The captain’s eyes began to scrunch, “If you think you are getting hold of this ship, then you have another thing coming… Welvarin, is that you? Don’t tell me even you have false thoughts?”

Welvarin made his way around the desk, “That I don’t, I’ve worked with Soonen many times, and not once has he ever made a mistake translating an ancient text or misread a map. What he found is proof that there are other lands out there, we must simply find them.”

The same Raptor snarled, “To think that even a Sacred Claw would believe a simple old scholar, is it not your family home that was burned to the ground by scholars because they refused to let them search your basement for artifacts? I hear that the Sacred Claw family had been holding that home for generations.”

Welvarin grabbed the sailor by the throat, slamming him against the desk and holding his dagger to the back of his head, “Speak of my family as if they were fools again and I’ll kill you.”

The captain looked up as the rest of the men drew weapons, pointing them at Welvarin.

The merc chuckled, “I’ve faced down a herd of Draco’s before with nothing but this dagger I have in my hand, and fashioned this custom armor from their hides and you dare to challenge me? I’ve sailed more into the unknown than any of you will in a lifetime and you dare challenge me? I’ve climbed mountains as tall as the mighty Moonstone Tower and you DARE challenge me?!”

The sailors looked at each other, knowing of his feats, and now wondering just who they were dealing with.

“A Sacred Claw does not make money like just any other family, it is in our tradition that we must do something outstandingly courageous or we must leave the family home. Do you wish to know my trial?”

The men backed off a little, and the one beneath his knife began to quiver, “I climbed Mount Char and fought off the dragon Sear Wing.”

A single blade dropped, and a younger crewmember ran out of the room, leaving them all a little confused.

Welvarin threw the member he had held beneath his blade back to the crowd, “But I will not attack any of you. We need a full crew in order to get to Equestria and back, even a single man down could doom us, that’s what I say.”

The men looked at each other, the one who had been spared joining them. Welvarin watched as they huddled together, muttering beneath their breath to one another. Both he and the captain looked to one another, then back to the group, awaiting a response.

They broke apart, their supposed ringleader sighing, “We have decided to postpone our mutiny… We will allow one day for this land to appear, and then we are forcing this ship around.”

Welvarin looked to the captain again, who chuckled at their sudden change in heart, “Heh, I will still not allow it, but good you are able to see reason to an extent.”

It was then that the ship made a larger than usual lurch, the boat creaking as it nearly capsized. The men looked at each other in panic, and again the boat lurched, but this time with a deep rumble beneath them that sounded awfully like that of a monster.

They all raced out of the room, captain included, and looked over the sides, catching the glimpse of a massive tail. Beneath the decks Soonen awaited Welvarin, spending his time translating more of the book. As he looked over the map again, he saw a few symbols he had missed. Scolding himself for being so irresponsible, he began to translate them. Writing it down slowly he began to decipher the message on a separate piece of paper. As he finished, he felt his heart skip a beat and began to race to the stairs, the paper falling to the floor with the words “Beware the Leviathans”.

As he reached the top, he spotted the men looking over the edge and joined them. He watched as the water seemed to froth a little from recent activity and took a large gulp. He wasn’t able to see a thing in the dark water, and so was about to go and warn them about the beasts that roamed this area before a massive eruption of water and hollers of surprise caused him to turn around… and the huge sea creature to look at him. It was mostly green, with a white underbelly and was about three stories tall, wide as a house and with teeth the size of greatswords. It grumbled deeply before letting out an ear piercing screech. As it eyed them all, trying to decide who would make the best meal. Then another noise sounded from deep below, a low rumble that shook the boat with its very presence and made the Leviathans eyes widen before it tried to swim away.

The rumble sounded again, but it was so intense now that Welvarin could feel his armor rattling and his head hurt. The Leviathan dived beneath the waves, only to have a second creature emerge from the waves… only this one made the Leviathan seem like a Perch. The head alone was easily twice as large, if not larger, and its eyes alone looked like they could swallow the ship whole. It continued its path upward, and even made its tails leave the water for an instant. It had two tails, and was at least forty stories long, taking the Leviathan in one gulp. As it descended it dawned upon all of them how a big of a splash a monstrosity the likes of that could make.

“Brace yourselves!” The captain commanded, grabbing hold of the thick railing.

The others obeyed without hesitation, and looked up as a huge crash akin to that of thunder pounded their ears, and a massive wave began to form. Welvarin watched and gulped as it rose thirty feet high, and cast a shadow using the moonlight. He felt himself pretty much attaching his body to the railing as the wave smashed into the boat, easily ripping away at the mast and cabins as if they were tinder. Welvarin heard the railing creak, and crack, groan and bend, but not break. He sighed in relief as the boat began to settle. Looking to the other sailors, a slow chuckle began to break out among the men. They did a few high fives and quick hugs until another shadow loomed over them. Looking up Welvarin saw the tails of the massive fish looming over the boat, at least twice as long each. He began to run towards the railing again but the tail was faster to come down than up, and the boat the flung into the air from the proximity. Welvarin felt as if he was weightless for a moment, and then looked down as the water began to fast approach.

He straightened his legs before crashing beneath the surface of the water, feeling the shock of the near ice water. Welvarin slowly opened his eyes to try and see, he looked around the dark water upon success, unable to see much of anything. He heard the faint sound of something else crashing in and turned to see another body, only this one was impaled on a long stake of wood. He felt the current change very rapidly, and looked around as the water began to beat on him. He swore that a section of the water seemed darker than the rest, which was until a massive glowing yellow eye opened mere meters away from him, revealing the monstrous fish’s elaborate reticle. A single blink happened slower than he thought possible, but still managed to push him back. He began to surface as the great beast accelerated. He breached the surface of the frigid water, feeling himself shiver as the cold water soaked his undergarments. He felt a change in the waters current again and sighed as a shadow loomed over him. Not even caring anymore, he allowed the great fishes tail to fling him into the air with a thunderclap, and was soon above the clouds. He blinked upon realizing how high he was, looking around and finding himself at the moot point of his flight, hovering above the cloud bank.

Despite feeling a trickle of fear take root in his heart upon beginning to fall again, he couldn’t help but find the view more tranquil then even the sunset on Moonstone Tower. He felt a feeling of longing as he sank beneath the clouds. As he fell, the cloud began to cling to his body, wetting his scales again and chilling him more than the water ever could. The air rushed past him as he tumbled back to the sea, sounding as if there was a cyclone surrounding him. He spread his cooling limbs out, trying to slow his fall and squinted his eyes as the wind clawed at them. He aimed for the sea again, and could see the huge wake left behind by the fish. Sighing with relief, he fell the last few hundred feet as peacefully as possible, again straightening his legs and taking a deep breath before landing feet first in the water.

As soon as his momentum lost its energy, he began to swim to the surface. He was a lot deeper than anticipated, and began to feel light headed as the icy water chilled his tiring muscles, his air supply diminishing. Spots began to enter his vision as he rose, and he felt his limbs go numb. He never gave up in his struggle though, and breached the surface gasping for air like a fish out of water. Barely able to stay above the waves, he looked for anything to rest on. Lady Luck smiled upon him at least once this night as a large section of the boats hull floated near him. He clambered onto its inviting wooden frame, collapsing as soon as possible, and felt unconsciousness creep into his body. Numbness fell over every inch of his flesh, and his vision finally fell to absolute blackness.

A large boat baring the emblem of the Sun Cult upon its main sail soared through the water. It was followed by two other, a supply ship, and military class ship. A Raptor in a white cloak watched as the water was littered with boat pieces, random Raptor corpses and barrels. He stared forward with an absolutely static expression, never blinking and gaze never wandering from their current course.

A Raptor in black approached from behind, falling to one knee before the white cloaked Raptor waved for him to rise, “Sire, the ship was destroyed by unknown forces.”

The white cloaked Cult Priest nodded, “I noticed.”

The lower ranked Brother blinked, “But of course sire; may I know what we are to do now that the Heretics have been vanquished?”

The Priest sighed, “You have obviously not gone over the list of Raptors as I instructed.”

The dark cloaked Raptor shuddered from the ring of a blade as it pierced his stomach, “Perhaps I will find another more competent than you. Welvarin was on that list, which alone makes their operation a threat.”

As the body dropped the Priest cleaned his shining dagger on his corpse, “Along with the blasphemer Soonen, who have already attempted to beseech High Priest Reveta’s power. Welvarin Has escaped countless assassination attempts, and Soonen has being searching for a way to topple us for cycles. The chances of them being dead are minimal at best. Reveta has ordered me specifically to comb the beaches or continents of Equestria thoroughly, until the bodies are found… or made… We do not need more of our precious information revealed. The sun scorched Raptoria for seven days without end as the moon stood still 1000 years ago, if not for the Cult, we would be ash.”

He stepped away from the corpse, which was thrown into the ocean by two other black cloaked brothers. The white cloaked Priest returned to his luscious cabin, “We would be nothing but ash…”

The Discovery

“Are you sure Casagin? Tree Ructs are dangerous…” whispered Welvarin as he followed his older brother through a dense forest, teeming with insect life.

His brother was seven years older than he was, and was a skilled hunter, “They are only dangerous to Raptors that do not know how to hunt them.”

Welvarin gulped, “But I don’t know how to hunt them…”

Casagin sighed, “Do you want to eat, or not?”

Welvarin nodded very quickly, “Yes, yes I want to eat!”

Casagin covered his younger brother’s muzzle with a firm grip, “Shh… Welvarin, you’re ten years old, you need to learn

how to fend for yourself, I’m not always going to be there to help you, and neither is Delwin. You of all Raptors should know that…”

Welvarin looked at his feet, fit firmly with brown boots, “Sorry big brother, I like to forget sometimes.”

Casagin nodded, “We all do buddy, we all do…”

Just then a high pitched screech is heard, and a flock of birds fly away. Both Raptors froze, Casagin moving first by drawing an arrow and notching it onto his hunting bow’s string. The brother moved ahead slowly, Welvarin copying his older brother’s actions and placing the nock of the arrow onto the bow’s snug string. A small amount or rustling was heard and the brothers paused again, Welvarin making sure to mimic his brother’s actions perfectly, knowing full well many Raptors had gone hunting Tree Ructs and had never returned. They crept towards the sound of clicks and warbles as whatever was making the noises began to pick at branches. Casagin held a claw up, quickly causing his brother to stop midstride. The elder sibling carefully moved some branches and looked towards the noise, only to have the leaf he moved be ripped away by a large set of jaws.

The Tree Ruct whooped as it lashed out with a long arm, of which was tipped with razor claws a few inches long. Welvarin’s heart stopped as he saw the beast. Ten feet tall, avian, a long neck and feathered wings attached to its back. It’s arms alone were three feet long and the claws, one quarter of a foot. Casagin jumped back, releasing his arrow and watching as the creature whooped in surprise, batting the arrow away with lightning speed.

“WELVARIN, RUN!”

Welvarin heard his brother, but it was as if he was very far away, and he couldn't quite make out what he was saying. The ‘Feathered Dragon’ spotted him and whooped as its long neck reached out to make the noise, and then quickly receding again. It charged him; though Welvarin just stared in disbelief… he was going to die… As the beast terrifying face launched towards him, he heard a distant voice.

“WELVARIIINNNN!!!”

Welvarin’s eyelids shot open, his breathing rapid. A single thought was going through his mind: Why am I so damn cold? His question was answered by wave as is washed over him. He slowly began to gather his bearings, seeing that his little piece of wood had made it to some kind of shore, and that he was still alive. Shivering, he began to stand, checking his equipment in the process. He still had his knife and bow, but all of his arrows had sunk in the waves as he was tossed around. Looking around, he heard the chatter of birds on the wing. Small birds fluttered around on the early morning breeze, warming up in the sun’s rays and searching for food. He sighed, seeing his breath. Rubbing his arms, he began to make his way inland.

He opened a latched satchel at his side and retrieved a small canteen of water. He opened the top, looking inside and making sure it was full. Next he made sure that a small tin in the satchel was secured, and that none of his emergency bread was wet, or it would get moldy. Finally he tested his flint and steel, earning a few sparks upon striking them together. He tightened the strap and placed everything in its rightful place before setting out, into the unknown. There was a forest not far from where he stood, and he trusted it had plenty of wood to burn.

A boat rested not far from the shores of the new land, a boat whose sail was bleached white and bared a sun. The Cult had made land during the night and was quick to set up camp and begin to resupply. The Priest in his silken white robes was alone on the landed boat, writing in his personal logbook so he had something to report to the High Priest when they returned. After he had finished, he placed the quill in a special case, the ink was capped and stored and the book was placed in his nailed desk. Rising from his Draco Hide chair, the Priest made his way out of his cabin and onto land. He walked calmly into the camp, and stood at a special alter. Many of the Brothers were already gathered there, and a few of the sailors as well. As soon as every Raptor was attending, the Priest smiled warmly, and opened his holy book.

Soonen dragged a small board onto a nearby flat rock and laid it horizontally. He sighed, sitting on the board and looked at the shifting waters of the ocean. In his arms he clutched the golden tome from the ruin, though it had just made a trip through the salty ocean, the book looked no worse for wear. He opened it, finding the pages to be absolutely dry. He smirked, of course the enchantments protected it from water.

“The magic weaved into this book are incredible, obviously the work of a master warlock. Simply marvellous…” Soonen mused as he inspected the pages.

There was not a single tear, marking or stain on its pages, as if they were indestructible, shining ever onward for him to have hope in. He looked to the surrounding terrain, they were definitely not on Raptoria, the trees were wrong. A completely different genus.

He smiled, “And those clods on the boat thought I was a fool. Bah to them, hmm?”

He stared at the book, “Of course you played your part in this as well. Good job by the way, getting me this far. I can die contently now.”

He laughed aloud upon realizing what he was doing, “Well here I am, talking to myself and a book. Oh well, could have gone worse.”

The Captain leaned against a tall oak tree. He was panting, nearly out of breath to breath. He had stayed awake all night in order to stay afloat; he was not blessed with a piece of driftwood to drift upon. He lay against the tree for a few minutes before gradually standing up and stretching. He looked for any signs of other survivors and began to march down the beach. The Captain walked alone, the strong breeze of the sea cooling him slightly while the early morning sun cast its naked rays upon him. It wasn’t far before he saw another boat on the shore. He felt his spirits rising upon seeing it, and smiled before dashing down the beach. He didn’t get far before he spotted silken white tents and flags bearing the Sun Cults emblem. He stopped dead in his tracks the moment he saw these signs, and slowly began to creep into the forest, praying to the gods he was not found. The moment he passed into the dank woods the Captain sprinted deep into the woods, hoping to find refuge among its leafy embrace.

Welvarin warmed his hands by a small fire he had managed to build using some deadfall he had found and old goats beard off the trees. His armor steamed as the water evaporated from the heat, he kept his armor on only because anything could sneak up from behind and catch him unaware. In this new land, anything was possible. He began to plan how to survive here. He obviously needed to find some good sized birds to kill in order to get some feather to make some fletchings for arrows. He could set up some simple snares to catch smaller game until then. He also needed to find a stream to draw water from, and perhaps find a way to hunt off any of the animals that went there to drink. After the fire had begun to die down and his armor dried, Welvarin doused it with a little water from his canteen, and stirred it with a thick, living branch. After it cooled he made his way deeper into the woods, where there was water, there were berries.

The woods were a little thick, but were nothing compared to the jungles he and Soonen had trudged through before. He occasionally heard the flitter of birds or the chirp or an insect, but the forest showed little signs of life. It was beginning to become brighter as the day progressed, which allowed Welvarin to see more in the woods because of its light canopy. He had made it a considerable distance before the sound of water was heard. He breached the thick brush to enter an area free of trees, a small stream had cut a swath from the forest, letting in the most light he had seen for the past hour.

Welvarin sighed, and spotted a ford in which he could cross if he needed to. Deciding to stay on his side of the stream for now, the Raptor simply filled his canteen. Welvarin looked around, trying to spy out an area that would be ideal for a campsite. He found an eddy down stream that allowed him to hide away from anything crossing the ford and was far enough down that his camp wouldn't be so blantantly obvious. He marked the place down mentally, and then proceeded to walk down the length of the stream a little more. It curved heavy to the left before progressing more forward than anywhere he had seen so far. He followed it until his heard an unfamiliar chirp. He looked up at the trees and scanned their branches for any signs of life. He soon spotted a nest in a tree a few meters away, right next to the stream. It was an older nest, the greying twigs used to build it showing age an the amount of droppings below suggested it was a spot they often came to. The birds he saw though, were like no other.

They were beautiful, having orange heads and red bodies, eyes seemably one color, a lighter yellow that stared at him with the intensity of an inferno. The bird eyed him curiously, as if it was trying to recognise him. He approached the tree caustiously, thinking about how to get a fresh meal. It was then he saw the amount of feathers that had been molted over the years it had stayed there, and he thought otherwise. Soon, he was beneath the tree, the flame colored bird watching carefully as he picked up the few feathers that lay around the base of the tree. He examined them carefully and then placed them in his satchel. They were oddly warm, like the dead coals of a recently extinguished fire.

The bird watched him as he left, settling in its nest and marked Welvarin down as non-hostile. Welvarin himself could not but turn back and admire the birds beauty once again, even if it was that of flame, the bird had a certain elegance that made him feel as if it knew it was beautiful and did not plan to cover that fact up any time soon. Welvarin eventually looked away and made his way back to camp, and picked out a stone from the river that was mostly flat, then placed it on the ground and took out the feathers he had aquired from the birds tree. He took out his dagger and tried to cut the feather. Welvarin expected it to simply slice through the birds usually fragile feather stem, but instead felt as if he had been pressing against the rock itself. He picked the feather up to make sure that was not the case, and was even more surprised when it had not fallen in half.

He tried again, but felt the resistance increase with the pressure he exerted onto the feather. Welvarin was not one to give up so easily though, and knew that if the feather was this resilient, then it would make for an incredible fletching. He soon found sparks beginning to fly from the feather. Despite this, he continued to apply pressure. He tried sawing at the feather, though this simply caused more sparks. He soon found himself fearing that he would cause an untimely forest fire. After about five minutes of sawing and a slowly increasing amount of sparks, he heard the blade make a solid clink as it collided with the rock. He looked down at the Raptorian craftsmanship and found that the steel was glowing red. He looked down at the rock to see it was also red. He knocked the feather to the grassy forest floor and carefully picked up the end he had severed. It was no warmer than dead coals after a fire had been extinguished...

Welvarin stared at the rock, then back to the feather, then to the rock again. He repeated this process until he was sure that it was the feather that caused all of the heat. Welvarin began to take the feathers out of his bag and examined each one. They were like your average feather, similar to one another but just barely different, imperceptively so, making each one unique. The only difference was that they were warm, even after sitting around for so long and pressure caused them to omit sparks. They were obviously some kind of evolutionary change so that the bird was never cold and could perhaps be used for self defence if they were squeezed by the predator attacking them. A thought crossed his mind, and he approached the water. Dipping the feather in, he let it sit for a moment in the stream water until his hand became numb and took it out. He took the feather in his other hand and was unsurprised when it retained its heat.

Welvarin chuckled, "Gods I wish I had a coat or something made of these..."

Welvarin thought about it for a while, "Or maybe just some armor full of it..."

At that moment, Welvarin decided it best not to kill the fancy flaming bird. No, instead he thought he might be able to befriend it, and perhaps get some more feathers for warmth and fletchings and fire starters too. Welvarin stood up and began to walk towards the bird’s nest again. This time when he got there, the bird saw him coming, and nestled itself back in it’s aging nest.

Welvarin looked up and chuckled, holding a feather in one hand, “Why didn’t you tell me these were slightly explosive under pressure?”

The bird chirped, then went back to resting.

“Uh huh, no I didn’t ask, but that doesn’t mean that you couldn’t tell me,” Welvarin stopped for a moment, “look at me, talking to a flipping bird…”

The bird rustled it’s feathers, making a sound that was something similar to laughter.

Welvarin shook his head, placing a hand on his forehead, “And now it’s laughing at me, great, I guess all the years of killing and surviving have taken their toll.”

It chuckled again, this time Welvarin chuckled with it, if you couldn't beat it, join it in laughter because you know that your alone on what could be a small island. Welvarin soon calmed himself down, smacking his head a few times to make sure nothing was loose before sighing at the realization of what he had just done. Welvarin leaned against the the birds tree, sliding down its length and looking at nothing in particular in the distance and krrping a blanc face.

Even after all of his adventures and raids and assasination attempts, it had never occurred to him that he might get stuck on what could be an island with no one but a bird to talk to and nothing but water to drink. The latter made him shudder with realization that he was going to be completely sober for the rest of his life. It was then that the bird hopped out of its nest and landed on his shoulder with surprising grace.

Welvarin eyed the beast quizzically, never before had he seen a bird act like this in his entire life. Birds were generally very timid creatures and often flew away if he ever got within a few meters of one, and yet, here was a incredibly beautiful and large bird resting on his shoulder pauldron, staring at him with those intense orange eyes. He felt as if he was being comforted, and smiled, the birds eyes telling him everything would be okay. He reached up carefully with his left hand, and gently scratched the birds chin. It cooed with delight, and spread its wings, showing its pleasure in the action.

Welvarin continued to smile, and scratch its chin, "I think I'm gonna call you... Flare? How does that sound?"

The bird cooed again, though wether it was in agreement or simply because he had found a good spot was unknown to Welvarin. Welvarin let his hand fall to his side and looked up at the bright blue sky peaking through the healthy leaves of the swaying tree. He felt the bird settle on his shoulder, content, and a slight breeze drag the smell of flowers over to both of them. He sighed, maybe living here wasn't going to be so bad after all...

It was then his stomach reminded him it was lunch time.

Welvarin merely displayed an annoyed face as the peace was broken by his reminder that he was in fact a living creature that required food to survive. Welvarin stood, his new bird friend wobbling as he did so, and began to walk back towards the ford in the river, planning on checking that area out for an immediate source of food. Flare did not leave his shoulder, apparently planning to tag along with him in his hunt, or maybe he just liked having his very own Raptor chariot, the way he was sitting there, it was hard to tell what it was.

He soon found the ford that he had spotted earlier, and proceeded to carefully cross it, though Flare did not seem to like taking risk because he jumped off of Welvarin's armor the moment he stepped foot onto the rocks. He didn’t blame the bird though, with all of the things he had done thus far in his life, balancing acts were not one of them. Some of the rocks were further apart than others and so he had to hop to them as the stream water rushed between the rounded stones, making white froth that floated a small ways down the stream. As Welvarin made it to the other side, Flare landed on his shoulder again. He merely chuckled at the bird’s mistrust, and continued into the woods, well lit in the noonday sun.

A Pegasus patrolled the far eastern shore of Equestria; he was on his first patrol of the day, yesterday his partner had turned in sick and so he had to handle the entire shoreline by himself, meaning he only got about half done it before he felt like his wings had lit on fire and he had to return to his cloud outpost for a good night’s rest. He did like his job though, all he had to merely do was enjoy the spectacular view all day and investigate any odd disturbances he found along the way, making sure Equestria wasn’t about to be attacked. Tensions between Equestria and the Griffin Kingdom were always high at their very best, and even if the Griffons weren’t known for their navy, that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t sneak in through one of Equestria’s most peaceful and beautiful areas, it actually meant it was even more likely they would try to do so. He caught a small updraft and glided for a short while before flapping his wings a few times to retain his altitude, eyes slowly scanning the landscape below.

His trained eye caught a trail of smoke ahead, it was faint, meaning it probably wasn’t a forest fire, but it still required attention. He adjusted his wings slight so he would glide down, and began to approach the smoke in the woods.

Welvarin carefully roasted a bird relative to that of a quail over the fire, using a spit he had made. Flare seemed a little bit despondent about roasting another bird, but couldn’t help itself when the scent reached his nose, cooing with delight in the expectation of a meal.

Welvarin simply rotated the spit with a slight smile, “First you freak out when I actually kill something, next thing I know you remember that you’re a bird of prey.”

Flare merely began preening.

Welvarin returned to the task at claw, turning the handle slowly and allowing the bird to cook evenly all over. He had plucked the feathers prior to its cooking of course, and had actually found the time to make three arrows as Flare made a fire. The bird was a smart one, it sentient levels of intelligence, even, and knew full well how to use its feathers to make a fire. Welvarin was grateful for its kind personality and steadfast passive behavior, not caring who it was it helped, just that it helped in some way. Welvarin was unsure whether it was female or male, he thought it might be male, but it had a slightly sleek and feminine look, even if it was sitting there eyeing him it was both male and female, never wavering from its examinations.

It was then the bird looked up from its careful work, eyes watching an incoming creature in the sky it had never encountered. Welvarin caught its gaze and turned to look at the afternoon sky. He spotted the large dark spot and saw how Flare examined it like it had him. It was a rather large airborne creature, and he wondered if it was edible. There was still one more meal after this, and he wouldn’t mind getting a meaty breakfast. He retrieved his bow and one of his less than accurate homemade arrows and took aim. After the creature had glided closer to them, obviously attracted by the smoke of their fire, Welvarin let the arrow fly free. It soared upward perfectly, and Welvarin was sure that it was going to land on its mark, until it veered heavily to the west as the creature dove to the east, and proceeded to increase its speed. Welvarin kept calm though, and grabbed his final two arrows before taking cover in the woods, Flare following him in.

A low whistle whizzed by the guard as he made his way to the smoke, an arrow! He rolled into a dive, and began to charge the creature he had spotted, who nabbed something before ducking into the woods. It didn’t look like a griffin, but that didn’t excuse it from attacking a royal guard. He saw that it had a bird with it as he landed, it looked like a Phoenix… but they were only supposed to follow those with kind and true hearts, so it may have been a relative of the flaming bird. As he landed in the camp, he spotted the roasting bird and gagged, carnivores were such disgusting creatures. He gave chase to the large creature, and soon found another arrow was fired at him. In this space though, he had precious little time to dodge it and so it bounced off of his armor, obviously not a war arrow. He dropped low, diving behind a tree and peeking out, looking for his assailant through the thin tree of the Whitetail Woods.

He saw the edge of a pauldron barely poking out from a slightly larger oak tree. The guard drew his sword, and began to creep towards the tree he saw the shoulder armor from. As he neared, the guard took another peak to see that the creature had moved on, silently as well. He searched much more wearily now, this was a trained soldier, and one who could fire an arrow while retreating and hit his mark as well; fortunately it seemed he was a renegade as his arrows were low grade. As he scanned his surroundings, the guard was unable to see his target, and felt his breath catch in his throat as a branch snapped to his left.

He jumped out of the way of another arrow, this one just barely scraping the back of his neck, he estimated if he hadn’t moved it would have hit a jink in his scaled neck piece. He heard a voice; it spoke in a language he did not understand though it was filled with disdain. Before he knew it the Creature stepped out from cover and drew a dagger. The guard jumped back as the creature stood up to its full height, easily dwarfing him and perhaps even Princess Celestia. The armor it wore was nothing like griffin or Equestrian, being modeled specifically to fit the bipedal frame of the reptile-like monster it protected, odd symbols carved into the small pauldrons during their creation. The shoulder plates were made of metal, as well as its knee and elbow areas, but the rest was made of a material he had never seen in his life, it appeared to be organic. The beast looked a little surprised now that they were looking directly at one another, and for a moment the guard saw it falter.

“B-By order of the Royal Canterlot Guards you are hereby charged with attempted murder and a campsite that does not pass regulations,” stated the guard in a manner that suggested hours of practice.

The tall creature’s combat stance weakened as it heard the words, and began to speak as well, “What?”

It had said something, but it was in a different language.

The guard sighed, never lowering his blade, “Do not resist arrest or you’re only going to make things worse for yourself. Now I just need you to lay down your arms and allow me to arrest you and I’ll get a translator to sort this all out.”

“What?” it said again, the same word, a repeat?

It was then that the Phoenix he had seen earlier showed itself, and flared its wings in the guards face, lighting itself on fire and causing him to yelp in surprise at the sight. He was barely aware of the sounds of the escaping monster as the Phoenix began to cool down, and then chase after the huge lizard. The guard regained his bearings and yelled for them to stop, but the protest fell upon deaf ears as they retreated. The guard wasted no time joining them in pursuit, taking to the air and flying above the forest's canopy.