//------------------------------// // 109 - The Valravn // Story: Age of Kings // by A bag of plums //------------------------------// Emerald Edge watched from outside the window of Rake the Red’s house as Jewel Pin and Nightfall Gleam shifted a row of harpoons in front of it, followed by a shelf. According to the horseman, they would shift furniture and weapons in front of the doors and windows and keep absolutely quiet to stay safe from the valravn. In her group, Emerald had decided that she, Sombra, Posey and Guard Streak would face the creature, while the rest would stay hidden in the house. Spectrum Song would have protested, but she was still knocked out on the bed from all the mead she drank. Posey had positioned herself on the roof of the house, and was now searching the surroundings with her special vision and with Gabriel’s help, keeping a lookout for anything suspicious. Emerald, Sombra and Guard Streak were on the ground, hiding behind Rake’s wood chopping block and sled. The spymaster was armed with a Saddle Arabian scimitar, as well as her hidden blades. Sombra clutched at a similar sword, and shadows danced around his left hand. Guard Streak held tightly onto his shortsword with both hands, trembling both from the cold and the coming fight. Emerald didn’t blame him. They hadn’t faced or even seen a valravn before and it was a little nerve-wracking to be facing something new. “It will be all right, child,” Sombra said to Guard Streak. “We did not come all this way to be killed by some crow demon.” “D-D-Demon?” Guard Streak went even paler. “You heard what your friend said.” Sombra twisted his sword in his hand. “Crows who feast on dead kings turn into monsters.” “Didn’t you hear Rake?” Emerald bumped him with her elbow. “He said those are just tales. They aren’t actually like that.” “You never know. He could be wrong.” Emerald decided to steer the conversation away from dangerous waters before Guard Streak had a breakdown. “The jarl said this monster has been killing his warriors, but that they are safe inside their buildings. Do you think it could be a spirit like the djinn from Saddle Arabia?” “You mean that it has some kind of intelligence or compulsion that prevents it from entering buildings?” Sombra arched his eyebrow. “It is possible. However, I would prefer to defeat it before it can get into anyone’s home. I do not want to have to test something as risky as this.” “As you say,” Emerald agreed. She looked up into the sky. It had stopped snowing, but the stars and moon were still covered by a veil of clouds. Very few of the torches on the outside of the buildings in the town were kept lit, since nobody was expected to be outside after dark anyway. “Besides,” Rake had told them earlier. “If you keep a light on you, it’ll only serve to make you a more obvious target.” “We do not need the light anyway.” Sombra wisped at his shadows. “With the shadows, I will be able to see through the darkness. And so too will your archer, yes?” “Ah, yes. Posey.” Emerald looked to the roof of the building. She had still yet to master the eagle vision that Posey had been teaching her since the siege on Masyaf. No matter how hard she focused her vision, she just couldn’t get it to see what she needed to see, as Posey had put it. By now she knew it wasn’t the art of straining her eyes, but it was something else she needed to figure out. It was almost like a kind of magic. Back in Equestria, it had been unicorns who mostly dealt with things like that, but here it seemed it was anyone’s game. Emerald peered out into the dark and narrowed her eyes, trying to replicate what she had seen in Saddle Arabia when Moon Tide had come visiting. She recalled the mage appearing blue, the night she returned. Posey had told her that had been eagle vision, to see humans for what they are. She strained and squinted, but the world around her remained dark and lightless. “What are you doing?” Sombra’s voice broke her out of her concentration. Emerald blinked a few times, then rubbed her eyes. “I was just doing something Posey taught me. To see beyond just seeing. Tis how she sees in the hardest of visions.” Sombra looked interested. “Is this some manner of sixth sense?” he asked as he peeked over their cover into the snowy night. “We will need every edge we can get on this creature, should it come.” “It could prove useful to find the beast in the dark, but I still have yet to find out how to tap into this vision at will.” Sombra nodded and went back to looking out. In the distance, there was a loud caw, like that of a raven, only much deeper. Some of the trees shifted, though whether that was from the wind or something else, they weren’t sure. “Something is out there…” Sombra breathed, his breath coming out in foggy clouds before his face. “Weapons at the ready.” Emerald clutched tightly on her scimitar and looked out past the buildings, hoping to see the creature, but at the same time, dreading it. She hadn’t seen a valravn before and she didn’t know what to expect. “And you had to bury that knight’s sword with him.” Sombra looked at Emerald’s steel. “Truly, it would’ve helped for situations such as this. No creature could stand the craftsmanship of your knight swords.” “Your scimitar will do just fine, Sombra,” Emerald said. “It is just a beast. It does not have armor to withstand our weapons.” The cawing came again, louder this time. In spite of the frigid temperature, Guard Streak felt a line of sweat run down his neck. He almost wished that he could be back in the cabin with Spectrum, but he knew deep down that his place was out here with the other warriors. It was part of the knight’s code, and like Spectrum, Streak’s most fervent wish was to be a knight. So he clamped down on his fear and gripped his sword until his fingers hurt. He had to keep Spectrum safe. There was a flutter of wings, then the sound of something gliding through the air. Streak felt a breeze tickle his cheek and he turned, but as soon as he did, the sensation had disappeared and he could see nothing in the dark. “It-it-it’s… it’s here…” Streak whispered and tapped Emerald’s arm. Emerald spun around just in time to hear a bowstring twang from above, and an ear splitting screech that followed. “There. I shall engage it.” Sombra’s eyes glowed for a second, then faded into a shadowy ball and sped out from their hiding spot. Emerald tried to keep track of the moving shadows, but Sombra had moved fast and he was already out of sight. There came heavy footfalls from a short distance away, and Emerald heard Posey’s bowstring singing as she loosed two more shafts from her weapon. A thunderous crash from above was heard, and bits of wood and tile came cascading down onto the snow. A shape slid into view in front of Emerald and she only had enough time to see a black beak under a coat of feathers before the creature got up, rising on two long and thin legs, standing at least half her body over her, then running off behind another house faster than she could emerge from behind her cover.  There was a soft impact and the monster was thrown onto its side, kicking up a huge plume of loose snow. Emerald could see Sombra standing on top of a whirlwind of shadows, hacking at the valravn with his sword and jetting out of range of its beak and claws just in time. His scimitar was dripping with dark liquid as he struck again and again. And then dagger-like appendages suddenly speared out of its wings, one catching Sombra in the left arm. The king fell back and gasped, then warped away in a ball of shadow as the valravn stood and stabbed at the ground where he had just been. The appendages in its wings were bony and sharp, almost like long fangs, disappearing back into its feathers as it looked around for its target. Then it saw Emerald and began stalking towards her. “For Canterlot!” Guard Streak hollered, then charged at the monster, sword held high. The squire was swiftly swatted aside into the snow with a swipe of the creature’s wing. The beast hissed at him, revealing rows of thin needle-like teeth. Emerald used this chance to rush it, holding her sword at her side as she ran. The valravn stretched its wings out to its sides as the spymaster approached, then an arrow sprouted from its chest and it dropped back a step. It cawed, then swiped at Emerald with a wing. She dropped under it, watching as its spikes extended from within its wing, then cut at its side, unsheathing one hidden blade in her left arm and stabbing it repeatedly into the creature’s side where it couldn’t reach her. Her hand soon became caked with the creature’s blood. It smelled foul and was sticky, like the juice from a pickled onion if it had been mixed with swamp water. Guard Streak came back from the other side and slashed it across its leg with all his might. He tore through most of its skinny thigh, splashing blood across his face and the valravn screeched in pain and took flight. “Oh no you don’t!” As the creature left the ground, Emerald leapt up onto a wagon, then used it as a stepping stone to jump onto the roof, grabbing hold of the edge with one hand and pulling herself up. Then with a flex of her legs, she launched herself up to the airborne menace and stabbed her scimitar into its side. The valravn screamed at her, but she would not let go even as the beast flew higher and higher. Soon she was high above the village, barely able to see from the wind in her eyes. Up here, it was much colder and her face was starting to sting; she needed to find a way to get the beast back down. What was worse, her grip on her weapon was starting to slip, owing to the blood that was running down its length. The valravn flailed about in the air, trying to shake her off. But Emerald was not so easily deterred. Extending a hidden blade, she stabbed it into the monster’s hide, anchoring herself there and then using the leverage to pull herself within reach of a wing. It was difficult, but the former pegasus managed to grab hold of a handful of feathers with her free hand. Then she released the hand with the extended hidden blade and swung her arm down to seize her sword.  The monster shrieked and tried to use its clawed feet to dislodge her, but the talons only raked across her armor and did no damage. Still holding on to the valravn’s wing, Emerald braced herself against the creature’s body and with a shout, drove the sword as deep as she could into its chest. The thrust struck home with a spray of dark blood and the valravn screeched loudly enough to wake the dead, then it stiffened and began to fall to earth, where it impacted the ground and made a small crater in the snow, kicking up plumes of the white powder as it slammed into the frozen dirt. Emerald had braced for the inevitable crash, but before she could hit the ground, a wisp of shadow materialized around her waist and yanked her off the monster just as it threw snow and dirt high up into the air.  Emerald opened her eyes slowly, peering into the concerned ones of Sombra. They were sitting on a whirlwind of shadows, and as Emerald began to take stock of her surroundings, Sombra lowered them both onto the ground.  “That was one of the most foolhardy things I have ever seen done,” Sombra said, taking note of all the dark blood that covered Emerald’s form. “But I commend you for your unusual tactics.” “We did it!” Guard Streak ran towards Sombra and Emerald, fumbling with sheathing his sword. “I can’t believe we did it!” Posey dived off the rooftop and landed in a snowdrift. She deftly hopped out and approached Emerald. “Well done,” she said, not even trying to conceal her smile. “Not that I needed validating, but once again you have proven yourself to be worthy of the position as leader. The jarl will be pleased by this, I just know it.” “Wasn’t so hard.” Emerald swiped the blood off her weapon and inspected it. With all the stabbing she had been doing, the blade had chipped a little. “These vikings will be pleased to know their invading valravn has been taken care of.” “And it wasn’t of too much effort as well.” Sombra inspected the injury on his left arm. “And nothing a mage of Canterlot cannot handle, yes?” “I suppose.” Emerald looked at the hole in the Saddle Arabian’s arm. “You really need that looked at.” “Perhaps I should,” Sombra agreed. “We should go tell the others of our success, then get patched up. I am sure they heard the sounds of battle and are worried for our safety.” “An-and I would l-like to get somewhere w-w-warm…” Guard Streak wrapped his arms around his shoulders. Emerald knocked on Rake’s door. “Rake! We’ve done it. The beast is no more!”