Chapter: 1 - Lucid dreaming or just reality?
The sounds of my mouth giving out a grunt, followed by the snap of chopped wood, reaches my ears as my arms swing the axe downwards. I breathe in quick succession as I lift the axe back from the tree stump before me, resting the handle of the axe on the shoulder to my right. I look in the corner of my eye, and see the elderly, mythical creature watching me from the porch outside the cabin. Yeah, mythical creature. I've been in this place for around a couple of days, and I've seen more of these gryphons than I would ever have done back home.
I won't deny it, but I did yell out in shock when I saw one for the first time, and I may or may not have tripped over and landed on the floor. Of course, the shock wore off pretty soon when I realised I'd been imprisoned by them. I was being transported to some noble or something in the mountains of this country, who was looking for some exotic status symbol. You get three guesses who that turned out to be. The worst part is that he wasn't alone in his thinking, and I just barely escaped when a rival noble had sent his own band of mercenaries to retrieve me. In the ensuing chaos of it all, I managed to scatter into the wilderness in nothing but a long fur robe. After finding I'd given them the slip, I had torn parts off the robe and wrapped them around my feet and hands.
It was after some time, and exhaustion, that I found myself outside of a log cabin in the middle of nowhere, at an altitude which did NOT agree with my fear of heights. I promptly collapsed and wasn't able to stand back up, the journey of sprinting and not being able to stop for rest sapping me of my energy.
That's when the inhabitants of the cabin found me exhausted at their door, and took me in when they figured out that anything wearing clothes can't be uncivilised. Or, at least, not that much of an animal. I was still conscious when they brought me in, so I was able to thank them repeatedly before they shared some of their limited food with me, their kindness unwavering. I point towards them being older to the fact they were kind to me, but I'm not really sure.
"You've chopped us enough wood there, boy. Why don't you come and have a rest." He speaks from his porch behind me, the sound mixing with the gentle sound of the mountain breeze.
Agreeing with him, I lay walk over to the porch and climb the single wooden step onto the planks making up the porch. Laying the axe down against the cabin's wall, I spot the seat beside his and sit down next to him. Given that the seat is much larger, almost like a sun lounger for the quadrupedal stance gryphons sit in due to their lion genetics, I am able to recline into a much more comfortable position.
"I'm grateful for the work, but you don't have to chop the firewood for me. I may look old, but us gryphons are known for being hardy and strong, regardless of being of a much older generation." He says beside me, his smile noticeable on his beak. I'm not even sure how a beak can have a smile, but I have no right to question something as mundane as that when I'm sat next to a mythical creature.
"It's the least I can do, it really is." I reply back, my own smile gracing my face. He simply sighs to himself, content to at least humour me in my efforts. My eyes turn to the castle-like structure higher up in the mountains, above the snow and pine trees.
"What do you know about the lord who lives there?" I ask, pointing up to the fortress atop the mountain range.
"Only that he's a nasty piece of work, just like the rest of them." He grumbles, claws slightly raking the wooden seat he is sat on. I turn to him with a curious look on my face.
"Like the rest of them?" I ask, interested in the old bird's words. He turns away from the castle and looks me in the eye.
"The lot of them are rotten, always have been. Ever since that one lord bested the high king, he employed his followers to be the new rulers of each of the provinces. They're about as good rulers as I am a pony." He mumbles. "Anyway, I think it's time we go inside, can feel the chill getting stronger." He says with a more content voice, rising from his chair as I do the same.
The inside of the cabin is what you'd expect from being a good distance from any sort of settlement, but not too far so you can't eventually bring supplies back if they can't be obtained from the land itself. Materials like metal and actual crops. There's a small fireplace made of cobblestone integrated into the log wall, the fire within crackling pleasantly whilst a small pot boils a broth over it, hung up by a metal pole like a swing. There's a double bed, slightly larger than those I saw back in my own world, whilst my own bed was a hastily-made bundle of cloth and wood in the corner. I couldn't complain, as I was basically just a stranger taken in to spare me of the cold nights outside. A thick fur carpet is laid in the centre of the cabin, the fur from possible a roving bear.
There isn't a combination of a table and chairs, but instead a short table propped up on the carpet I mentioned, where the two gryphons and I sit on to eat and talk amongst ourselves. Above the fireplace, a sword hangs proudly within its scabbard. When asked on the origin the weapon, they simply replied that the sword was a gift from their son, who has long been within the service of the local lord as a officer in his army. The sword is simple in design, a similar style to those used in Medieval Japan by samurai warriors, with the traditional fittings made from brass and cross-guard in the shape of a diamond. The fuller, a deep groove, runs down the back of the blade which reduces its weight so it can be swung more rapidly.
I'm then offered a seat at the table by sitting on the carpet as the elderly male gryphon joins me, his wife standing over by the fireplace stirring the pot hung over the fire. I start to think, lost in thought, on if this is actually real or if I'm still convinced this is just a dream. I frown. If this isn't a dream, how could I even ask myself the question even though as you dream you cannot ask the question. Confusion sets in, and I simply resort to making out patterns in the antique wood of the table in front of me.
"You alright there?" Asks a concerned, gruff voice from across the table. I look up with a frown still on my face, into the face of the elderly gryphon. I breathe out, before turning my frown into a light smile.
"I'm fine, Belthorne, really." I say silently with a content smile on my face. His face doesn't lower in concern.
"If you say so." He replies with a sigh, turning to his wife as she walks over and takes a seat at the table, sitting in a feline position on the lush carpet.
"Can I ask about something?" I say to him, his eyes squinting playfully before he chuckles.
"Sure, anything." He answers.
"Are the lords of this country as bad as they seem?" I ask.
"Oh, yes they are." Replies back the elderly gryphon, Maroon, over her shoulder as she stirs the pot.
"They've been dragging us all down with their greed and disregard for those below them." He adds, with a deep frown across his features.
"Why doesn't someone fight back? Take the control from the tyrants and restore the country to how it should be?" I remark.
For a second, I question whether I should even take the word of two gryphons to gauge the tyranny of a country I had been in for at most a couple days. But, the part of my mind which still finds this to be a dream throws that logic away because I just want to satisfy my own inner desire to conquer, as is within all humans. Even if they aren't tyrants, I'd still enforce a humane government which would definitely be better than that of wannabe human-enslavers. Bowls of soup and bread are then set in front of both me and Belthorne, before Maroon joins us with her own food. I try to hold off shoving the food into me, my hunger brought on by working constantly trying to pay back the two gryphons. Once I'm finished, I simply remain seated whilst listening the sound of the fire crackling and the crickets outside. After a minute, I look to Belthorne and speak:
"I should overthrow them." I state with a deadpan look. The gryphons stop eating, turn to me and then begin to whisper to each other. I let them finish before Belthorne looks me in the eye.
"Are you sure?" He asks with an emotion poorly hidden behind his face.
"I am sure. I can do it." I answer with determination. Belthorne smiles broadly before turning to Maroon, who is also smiling, though her smile is smaller in scale to that of her husband's.
In almost an instant, the sword inside its sheath, from above the fireplace, is shoved into my hands, the only sword they owner, and I was being walked tot he door. Laughing nervously at the situation, I begin to walk my way through the door as the couple ring out suggestions on where to go first, but their ideas simply adapt to become my own as I formulate my own ambitions with them as the inspiration. Turning back, I smile awkwardly as I wave goodbye. They wave back before returning to the cabin. Turing back to the dimly lit road before me, the only light being haphazardly placed lanterns attached to wooden beams, I sigh into the night as I shake my head in disbelief.
"What have I got myself into?" I ask out loud to myself, but content with the path I have chosen for myself. Maybe this will write me down in history, with this just as the beginning.
Unbeknownst to me, the faces of Maroon and Belthorne eye me through the window of their log cabin, turning to each other with uneasy looks with a mix of hope behind their eyes.
