Fire. Fire, death and loss. These were things with which he was familiar now. These were the things in his life that would remain constant. They were his past and they would be his future, he knew that as surely as he knew that it would take a force greater than death itself to keep him from his goal. Fire and death, loss and restitution. And revenge, there was always revenge.
Chase BrightPlume shook his head sharply to clear his thoughts. The darkness that his moods put him in was alluring, but would serve no purpose at the current time. Stretching his wings out wide the young griffon rose smoothly, his feline tail flicking with suppressed emotion as he stood in the dim light of the cave. Allowing himself a moment to fully calm down he turned his gaze to the back of the cave where another griffin slept.
Ailith had always been the larger of the two siblings. Where Chase packed lean muscle for flying, his twin had worked rigorously to gain the bulk and weight ideal for fighting, which she excelled at. The martial arts had been her calling from birth, dominating her smaller twin in the majority of their frequent scraps as cubs, and controlling the battlefield in sparring sessions during their later years. Chase’s natural agility and craftiness had seen him the victor on a few select occasions, but it was his sister that truly possessed the warrior spirit.
Convinced of his sister’s current wellbeing and continued slumber, Chase padded softly to the entrance of the cave, looking out over the valley he had called home. The half-light of early dawn suffused the land with an unearthly atmosphere as he gazed out at the plumes of smoke that still rose from the wreckage of his once-village.
The attack had been swift and brutal. In minutes, the majority of the small community’s able-bodied fighting force had been wiped out. The invading host had appeared as if from nowhere, using fire to spread confusion burning down lodgings even as their occupants woke in terror.
Griffins were combative by nature, and every able-bodied cock and hen had rallied, but to no avail. The adults of the village lay dead and smouldering in the street, the chicks too young to fight had been taken by the invaders. Chase and Ailith had returned from an extended hunting trip to find their lives changed forever.
Tears of mourning had been shed, but warriors could not afford such luxuries as extended grief. Their parents lay dead and buried, killed in the doorway of their house, which had been burned to the ground, but their brother’s body was nowhere to be found. Young as he was, the attacking force had another fate set aside for him... One that Chase would give his life to prevent.
Snapping out of his reverie, Chase rebuked himself. Now was the time for action. The day was young and the journey ahead an arduous one.
“Ailith” he called softly, his sister’s eyes fluttering open, instantly alert. “We’re wasting daylight.”
“Yeah, yeah” she replied, rising onto all fours and padding over. “What’s for breakfast? I’m a growing girl Chase.”
“Whatever you can eat in the air” Chase responded evenly. “We cannot loiter, we both know what’s at stake.”
The reminder instantly sobered Ailith up. “Sven...”
“Sven.” Chase prepped his primaries as he stood on the precipice of the cave entrance, the light breeze ruffling his feathers. “Before we leave we should pay a visit to the armoury, we’re going to need every edge we can get.” With no further ado, he allowed himself to fall gracefully from the cliff, wings catching at the air and levelling him into a glide. Pushing himself harder, the young griffon whipped through the sky, closely followed by his sister as they flew down the valley heading for home.
A short flight later, the pair found themselves at the heavy cast-iron doors of the armoury. Dug into the cliff face, the structure was the sole survivor from the attack, and while the door showed signs of an attempted forced entry, it appeared that the invaders had failed to gain access.
Chase stepped forward, standing at the base of the great doors. The Gwyar Gate was one of the few small magics still possessed by the griffon race, and one that these outsiders had failed to grasp. Using one of his talons, he calmly sliced a small cut in his shoulder. Pooling the blood that seeped out in his palm, he laid his reddened claws against the great door.
The blood of a griffon, given willingly in times of violence was the key, the catalyst that would see the great doors swing open. With a thin screech as metal scraped against metal, the armoury lay open in front of them, in all its glory.
Neither sibling had seen the interior of the great war room before, very few in the village had. Peace had occupied the land all their lives, and while both were well versed in the art of combat, the sight before them caused Chase to draw breath.
Half of the room was dedicated to weapons and armour; rows and rows of leather and steel that gleamed in the light that filtered through dozens of slots in the cliff face. Swords and spears lay stacked in a corner, while numerous other exotic blades lined the wall. Getting over his shock at the contents of the room, Chase made a beeline for the claw-blades, griffin gauntlets that sprung into sharpened blades when the wielder flexed his or her talons.
Ailith on the other hand, had crossed the room to peruse the vast selection of travel supplies. When Chase turned around after admiring his new gauntlets he saw his sister ripping into a hunk of dried and salted meat.
“Ailith!” he cried, disgusted. “Do you even know how old that stuff is?”
“Tastes fine to me” his sister managed to garble around her breakfast. Chase gave a frown.
“That’s just weird” another thought came to him with sudden clarity; “Come to think of it, why IS everything in here in such good condition? These weapons could have been smelted yesterday!” he shrugged, surrendering the point- there was no logical explanation and as such the answer could only have been some kind of magic.
“Ah yes, thank you for reminding me” his sister said gleefully “Now, what to pick?” Chase laughed at her expression, the spitting image of a young chick in a candy shop. Leaving her to her search for the perfect weapon, he perused the racks of leather flying armour for one in his size.
Several minutes later, both griffins clad in full leather travelling armour (the few steel sets in the room were far too heavy for long distance flying) and armed for the journey to come. Ailith had selected a large hand-axe, which now sat buckled to her armour, underneath her left wing for easy access. Next were the supplies.
Making his way across the room, metal-clad claws clicking against the stone floor, Chase pulled a set of travelling pouches from a rack. The bags were designed to fit snugly to his sides, under his wings, and could carry rations of dried meat that would last several days. Strapping them on, he noticed Ailith doing the same, his sister careful not to restrict access to her weapon.
Once the rations were securely stowed away the pair turned to leave the armoury. As he did so though, movement caught Chase’s eye. The door had been left open throughout their preparation, and his muscles bunched up as he realised that this could be the enemy, one of the murderers who had killed his people and stolen his brother.
Dropping into a crouch, Chase heard his sister do the same. A quick glance revealed questioning eyes- she hadn’t seen or heard anything. Chase stayed low as he crept around a stack of shelves, waiting with baited breath for any sign that would betray an enemy presence. Nothing. He waited a full minute before he allowed himself to relax slightly, he must have been seeing things. Taking a step forward, he craned his head around the shelf, eyes widening as he came face to face with... Himself.
“Hah!” Finally rising from his crouch, Chase let out a bark of laughter that had his sister craning her own neck around the shelf in confusion.
A mirror, that was all it had been. Chase’s laughter subsided quickly though. Stepping out from behind the bookshelf into full view of the mirror, his eyes darkened once more.
As he gazed into his reflection the creature that stared back was a stranger. Clad in the full armour, iron studs shining, gauntlets gleaming in preparation for the slaughter that was to come, the image disturbed him and something deep within shied away from the sight. The griffin that met his eyes in the mirror was a killer with eyes as cold as ice, who would stop at nothing to see his goal met, his brother returned.
As he turned back to his sister, his voice was as cold as his eyes, all previous mirth wiped from his face.
“We need to go” he said.
Ailith’s own eyes hardened at her brother’s change in demeanour. “We do” she replied in agreement.
“I’m scared.”
At this, Ailith started, looking up sharply she met her brother’s eyes. Before she could find the words to respond, he had already continued.
“I’m not scared of dying. I’m familiar with death, and would gladly give my life to save Sven” he stated.
“Well, what then?”
“What I’m afraid of is that by the time we save him, I will have become something that he may not even want to be rescued by.” With that last cryptic remark he stalked from the room and threw himself from the cliff edge, rising back upwards on the thermals, and disappearing from sight.
Ailith let him go. His words resonated within her own mind. Was either of them truly prepared for the journey ahead? But a more pressing question pushed its way into her head after it. Was there any other choice? Could either of them sit back without acting as their own brother was stolen from them? She knew the answer to these questions as certainly as she knew that Chase did too. With a running jump she leapt from the cliff after her brother.
She’d known that this was where he’d be. The blackened timber and tattered pieces of cloth and fabric that scattered the ground were the only remaining pieces of the old dwelling. Griffin lodgings were simple; the old house had been a small affair- three bedrooms, a bathroom and a living space in the centre. But it had been their home from birth, and as Ailith dropped to the ground next to her brother, metres from the very spot that her parents had been slaughtered a knot of white hot rage formed in her chest.
“I’m ready now.” Chase’s words were clear and even as he gazed upon the wreckage of his family home.
“Whatever fate throws at us, I’m ready for it.”
“We should start at the nearest pony town” Ailith suggested, relieved at her brother’s words. “We still don’t know anything at all about who was responsible for this. We need leads.”
“Agreed” replied her brother. “Ponyville is only a small settlement, but it’s just two days flight away. From there, we can plan our next move.”
“I know the way. If we want to reach Ponyville by nights-end tomorrow we will need to fly quickly and leave soon.” Ailith sighed as she stared down at the rubble of their house, it was all too sudden a change.
Chase spread his wings to take off.
“Wait” Ailith darted forward. Something had caught her eye amongst the rubble. Shifting aside several pieces of broken wood revealed the object in question. A crumpled helmet, great gouges ripped down one side, surely a fatal blow to the wearer.
“Those rips are from a gryphon’s talons” Ailith realised out loud. “Father was wearing his claw blades when we buried him, you don’t suppose...”
Chase smiled sadly. “That sounds like our father, he’d fight to the bitter end. Looks like this murderer bit off more than he could-“
“Chase!” His sister interrupted him, her voice streaked with a fear he’d seldom, if ever, heard from her. He looked over at her sharply.
“This insignia, it’s...” her voice cracked.
She turned the helmet towards him and he swore loudly.
“Fly” he said urgently. “Fly now, we shouldn’t have loitered so long. If they really are... they could return at any time.” He scowled at his sister’s lack of response. “LET’S GO!”
As the two griffins took to the skies, wings beating with all the strength they could muster the morning sun beat down upon their shoulders, a constant entity. Mocking them. Tormenting them. But all things must come to an end, and if it meant bringing down the sun and the moon themselves, Chase would find his brother and have his vengeance. One way or another.
Even as they fled, Chase’s mind was at work. Not an hour ago he’d had every reason to believe in the possibility of their victory. This new revelation changed everything. They were outnumbered and outclassed, but where there was an iron hard will, there was a way. So as he sped through the skies to meet his destiny, Chase steadied his thoughts and began to plan.
