Serenade the Dawn

by AtlasAbove

Chapter 1 - Intro

In the grand scheme of things, I cannot say I have accomplished much. I am not a great warrior or berserker; fighting for my clan's honor. I cannot say I would have been a great leader. I cannot say I led our clan to glory our gods. I can, however, say that my time as skald of our clan was not wasted. Although I left soon after coming to age and being appointed my position, I feel I left the clan in good talons.

I am Sven of the QuickTalons Clan of griffons. Like the rest of the great griffon clans, we've fallen on hard times. Food shortages, decreases in hunting grounds, plagues, and an increase of infant mortality has whittled away our once thriving kingdom. My hatching was treasured, as is with all live-born eggs. I was raised in a flight of only five youngsters. At the time, I was only aware of a single flight that was larger from our neighboring clans. Truly, we griffons were cursed.

A simple childhood for a simple griffon, while we accelled in our combat rites, we all quickly had our true talents show through and earned our life-names. I was swept up into the home of Skjor, the current skald, and given my true name. The flight I was born into drifted apart slowly, our differing roles separating us. Skjor drilled the rites of a skald into my mind and instructed me on the use of most instruments to a rudimentary decency. I quickly took to the stringed instruments of our people, the lyre, and the ponies guitar.

Upon my six-teenth winter, Skjor(realizing his time had come) set out on the grand hunt and was never seen again. I took up the mantle of Clan Skald. I memorized the stories and deeds of my people and wove them into song. I took up an apprentice in the flight that had come soon after my own. Aesa was everything I was not in a young chick. Where I had been quiet and introspective, she was bold and boisterous. We were a foil that brought out a grand song for the clan. Other clans would come with meats and trinkets to hear us play their own clans songs.

On my eight-teenth winter, life took a drastic change.

---

"Upon a hill 'cross a blue lake," I hummed, winging my way down from my rocky outcropping of a home. Aesa was at the pools below waiting for me to begin the newest lesson. My golden wings beat the air in a steady thump, a beat to the life around me. The wind sang through my feathers and roared in my ears. I tucked and dived closing the distance quickly in a straight free-fall. At the last second, I pulled out of the dive and thrust my talons into the water, spearing the fish I had been eyeing from my cave. It was a good kill, and a decent sized fish. I flitted over to Aesa, her plumage glinting in the early morning light and a bright spark in her eyes. Her breast feathers had a purple 'V' dyed into them as befit her positon of a skald in training. Before Skjor left, we had finished my symbol. I had a deep blue triangle upon my chest and the tip of my beak was blackened.

Aesa glanced at the fish hungrily, giving a playful swipe at it.

"Ah ah ah, food after you tell me the basic duties of a skald." I waggled a talon on her.
"Come on teach, you know that's basic stuff. Let's eat already, I'm friggen starving," Aesa grumbled.
"You know the rules Aesa, spit em out and let's eat. And stop calling me teach, I'm barely older than you." I said with a smirk.

She quickly mumbled the basic tenets of our calling: Balance, Rhythm, Timing, and Impact. I tossed the fish at her, guffawing as she fumbled to catch it.

"Might wanna work on your Timing there, Aesa." She shot me a death glare. "Start gutting that, I wanna eat when I'm back with the instruments."
"Yeah yeah, go get the crap." She really is lucky she has me for a teacher instead of Skjor. That would probably have been worth a new scar from him. I glanced to my sides, under my wings. Marks from where I had over-stepped myself or failed glared back at me.
"Don't call it crap Aesa, those instruments are your life. Through them you truly speak and they through you."
"Sorry Sven," she said, catching my glance at my sides. "Go get them, I dying to play something."

I gave a quick nod and set off to the village. The skald traditionally lives outside the village in a small cave upon the cliffs, and I had inherited Skjor's cave when he left. It had smelled of old tales and his noxious pipe smoke. I decided to stow our equipment in the cave and found myself a newer home. While Skjor's cave was slightly smaller, it was still where I had grown up; I couldn't just forsake it to gather dust.

Flying along the cliff face, the wind flowing along my wings, a song upon my beak, and time alone with a griffoness. A young skald couldn't ask for much more.

The outcropping of the cave mouth loomed around the bend. I set down quickly, intent on getting the instruments quickly and heading back down to my student. The cave had it's same old lived in feeling. I had kept everything just like Skjor had left it. Old armor and weapons adorned the walls. His nest was bedded with pelts from grand kills he had made. The legends he had written and sung for nearly a century sat along a natural shelf in the wall. His, and my, prized possessions sat in the corner next to his nest.

A time worn yet still beautiful teak guitar and a gleaming walnut lyre sat, oiled and polished twice a day, on stands of mahogany. The quality of work on them was stunning to see and heavenly to hear. I gathered up the carriers and mounts reverently, placed the ancient strings in their cases, and strapped them to my back. The added weight had, at first, been to much for me to fly with. Skjor's had fixed that quickly, forcing me to carry them everywhere until I could almost fly better with them on than I could free of the harnesses.

With the coveted tools of my trade secured, I set out again.

"I hear the songs from the places I was born." I began to hum again. The pools come into view, and the my beautiful pupil(with a delicious looking fish) beckoned me to hurry. Truly, what more could a young skald ask for.

---

I gently placed the cases on the ground and undid my harness. Aesa was lounging on the bank near the water, basking in the warm glow of the sun. I trotted over. I sat down with a goofy look on my face. Aesa glanced up at me.

"What in the world are you making that face for?"
"Hey good lookin'," I said between chuckles. "What's cookin'?" Aesa stared at me like I had grown a second head.
"Sven, how many friggen times do I have to tell you, you aren't funny." She threw her talons up in the air tossed my filet at me in a huff.

I snapped up the fish and fell over laughing. "Hah, you know I am absolutely hilarious, and you're just too jealous to admit it." I poked her in the side. She simply glowered at me for a bit before turning back at the lake.

I sat up next to her. She glimmered in the mid-morning sun. Her golden feathers, preened to perfection, played with the light reflecting off the water. Her deep eyes, surrounded by a purple the same shade as her skald mark. Her bottomless energy held in check by my presence. I paused for a second before beginning my song.

"There was a time
I met a girl of a different kind.
We rule the world,
I doubt I'll ever lose her out of sight."

I inched closer to her. Aesa sat her head upon my shoulder, and leaned against me. I hummed a few cords.

"We are so young, I think of her day 'n day.
I hear the songs reminding me of a friend."

Aesa sighed, a small smile on her face. I wouldn't let this feeling go even if the world depended on it.

"Upon the hill across the blue lake,
That's where I had my first heartbreak.
I still remember how it all changed.
My father said,"

I intertwined my tail with hers.

"Don't you worry, don't you worry, child.
See heaven's got a plan for you.
Don't you worry, don't you worry now."

---

Days went by and seasons changed. The whistling of the wind and the soft crunch of leaves underfoot became the melody of life. The bonfire pit in my cave was well used. Soot had stained the walls nearby with an interesting pattern; the shape of two griffons close to stave off the chill of Autumn. I rose from my bedding, leaving a quiet snoring pile of warmth behind me. I exited the cave and wrapped my talons over the edge of the cliff. The sharp wind bit into me, waking my fully in an instant. I focused as the world around me dimmed. Slowly and meticulously, I filed through the sounds playing around me. Wind, frozen rivers, leaves crunching, a scamper. A heartbeat, I had my prey. I let loose a hunting screech and dove from the precipice. Staying close to the cliff face to maximize my speed and lower the likely-hood of me being spotted, I zipped closer to the ground. Pulling from the steep dive, I rocketed over the ground. The last thing the fox exiting his burrow in search of food was the beat of a wing and talons slicing through the air.

The meal clutched firmly, I headed back up to the cave. Warmth leaked out of the animal, and dripped from my claws. I set back down on the edge of my cave and cut off a portion of the stored fat; flinging it over the edge and into the water below as an offering. The hunt had been good. I grabbed a log from the pile near the entrance and set it across my shoulders before entering. My kill was quickly spitted and the log was added to the fire. I went back to my nest and poked the mass of feathers that had taken my favorite spot while I had been away.

"Come on Aesa, I got us the food, now scoot. You know that's my favorite spot."

The feathers wheezed out a small chuckle, but stayed put.

"Alright, I'm coming in, can't say I didn't warn you." I reached in, pulling my talons into a slight fist to tickle her into submission with my knuckles.
"Stop it dufus, you know griffons aren't ticklish," Aesa managed to sputter out between laughing fits.
"Oh really? I never would have guess," I say as I slide an arm under her. I flip her up into the air and slide in to the warm spot she had recently occupied. She let out a quick squawk and tried to right herself in the air but only managed to fall on top of me. 'All according to plan' I thought smugly. I wrapped her in a tight hug and settled down. She made a happy sound and snuggled into my feathers.

"Food should be done in a bit," I whispered to her. "Let's just relax for a bit."
"All we've been doing lately is relaxing," Aesa said with a pout. "I wanna go out there. Fly and explore. Rule the skies."
"Well...why don't we?"
"Why don't we what?" Aesa questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Why don't we just go and explore? We're both young and can play any instrument put in front of us. Let's go and see the world. Go where the wind takes us and live by the coin we get from our talents." I relished the idea. True freedom. Being in a clan was great and all, but there were sometimes that a griffon really just needed to get away from it all.
"What about the clan? Sklads can't just leave can they?"
I barked a quick laugh. "We don't really do anything for them other than sing at their parties and tribe meetings. Plus, there are many skalds for hire out there. While I think the clan could do to spend it's hoard on some food, personally, I'm sure they have enough to afford a new skald if they wish."
"I didn't realize it was all so fluid," Aesa mumbled quietly.
"Let's do it Aesa," she blushed a little at this. "Let's go see the world. It's at our feet, all we need to do is open our wings and soar."

We mulled over the idea with our bellies full of fox, and our bodies warm with the comfort of a nearby heartbeat.

"You know what Sven....let's see the world."

---

The clan had taken the news well. Aesa and I had made the short flight north to our clan's home cliff and informed them that we were leaving. Our flights had wished us good luck on our adventures and good hunts in our trials. The elders had blessed the trip, and we had left quickly afterwards.

We returned to my cave and gathered essentials. Each of our flight packs contained small necessities and meals to hold us over until we reached our first town. I donned the harness for our instruments and Aesa reverently slid and locked them into place. She also placed our personal sets of wingblades in a side pack. We had each been gifted them after our first flight. We set out quickly; freedom tugging us away from the familiar in a mad dash to a new land. Our wing beats set out the fire and candles of the cave, and we set off into the air.

We headed due south, headed for the land of the ponies in an all out dash. The trip was going to take a few days. We flew during the day, hunted at dusk, and settled in at campsites we eat up or towns we came upon. Four days of continuous flying can be surprisingly boring so I won't bother with the details. One incident to break the monotony was when Aesa accidentally lit her tail feathers on fire when she wheeled around to pounce on my after I joked about her cooking the same thing day in and day out. She didn't laugh when I called her 'smokey butt' either.

---

Crossing the border was a surreal experience. The cliffs and deep forests of our ancestral homes gave way to plains and grasslands. Fields of shimmering green swayed gently in a sweet and soft breeze. The sun beamed down from the sky, not unpleasant in the slightest. I glanced at Aesa, her striking plumage glinting in the light. She had finished her skalds rites and earned her full mark the day before we left. The deep purple triangle stood strongly against the gold of her breast. She had also dyed the feathers around her eyes the same shade and blackened the tip of her beak. She cut a striking figure now, a clean cut griffoness with strong wings and a song always on her beak.

A pair of pegasi rose in front of us. They wore the armor of the Celetia's court, and Aesa tensed at the sight of their wing-blades. I brushed the tip of her wing with my own to calm her as the matched our speed and pulled up along side us.

"You've entered Equestrian territory," the first, a mare of light purple said. "Before we can let you go further, we just need names and to see your freight." She finished with a glance at the cases harnessed to my back. The second, a young stallion that barely fit his armor merely nodded.
"I am Sven QuickTalon, and this is Aesa. We were skalds for our clan and come to Equestria in search of a change of scenery." As we spoke, we descended to the ground. Aesa helped me take off the harness and open the packs. The guards quickly checked the instruments, careful not to touch them, their eye's wide at what I hope would be the workmanship on them. After a few seconds, they nodded and turned to the packs. The colt noticed the wing-blades first.
"Weapon here," he said to his companion.
Glancing over them, she said,"Wing-blades are a tradition among the griffon clans. They aren't supposed to travel without them. Those wing-blades are good quality, but I suspect you won't find a use for them here," the mare chuckled.
"We never had a use for them in the first place," I said back in good mirth. "We're skalds, not warriors."
"I know a bit about the griffons, but I'm not sure about that one. What's a skald?" the young stallion questioned.
Aesa spoke up, finally hearing a topic she loved to talk about. "Skalds keep track of the legends of the clan. We preform at all the events and celebrations the clan has." She finished with a satisfied nod and a small grin.
"Almost like a band, cool." The colt had a goofy grin on his face.
"Well, all of this is cleared. You two are free to enter and leave Equestria as you see fit. The laws are pretty much common sense, and you both seem rather well-behaved. One request though, try to keep your hunting away from the villages and towns. As you know, we're herbivores and some people still have a stick in their ass over stuff like that."
"Sure thing ma'am." Aesa piped while I nodded.
"I do have a question," I started. "Where is the nearest village?"
"There are two cities directly to the south of us at the moment. First is Cloudsdale, although it might have moved a bit. Canterlot is next, embedded on side of the mountain range. As for a village, that would be Ponyville which is just a bit further than Canterlot."
"Thanks for your help, we'll get out of your manes(as you say)," I chuckled at my joke.
"Ugh, how many times do I have to tell you. You aren't funny Sven." Aesa sighed.
"Don't be such a spoilsport," I said, waving to the guards as we headed south again.

With a new life on the horizon, I can firmly say that our first night in Equestria was well spent.

Comments

[Trevosta]

Decent story so far, I can't wait to see where it goes.

[Relevant Heavy Metal]

Bard's Song - Blind Guardian

[AtlasAbove]

1971201
Glad you enjoyed it. I had a great time writing it, so expect more soon.

1971863
Wonderful choice.