Today is what… The third day? Yeah, that's right. It is the third day so far in this wonderland turned wasteland. And honestly, I’m doing pretty fine. I mean, being titled as the savior of the local populace has it’s up side. While I’m not getting ridiculously sized meals or being adorned in gold, it is way better than being lost, hungry, and alone in the wasteland.
So that’s definitely a plus in my book.
Speaking of being hungry, my stomach now has finally agreed with my now digested food. From now on, I will take smaller bites of food. Now that I’ve learned my lesson to chew my food, I felt quite full after dinner with Titan. Obviously after eating a big dinner, you need to take a big shit. Well, I’ll gotta say it was about the same experience with my old human form. It was shitty, and not entertaining. Unsurprisingly though, these griffons don’t have any form of plumbing to speak of. So said shit went into a bucket.
A shitbucket.
…
I’m bad at jokes and I know it.
And I will never stop~
Anyways, Titan had requested me again to his throne room. Said room also happened to be the dining room and served as the courtroom when needed. And I can’t even be mad, if anything, I’m kinda… Pleased? I think? Well, I never understood how those fantasy worlds had gigantic castles/homes but wasted the space with exaggerated sized rooms. So at least he makes use of the available space he has. Now that I think about it, this is more realistic and kinda smart on his part. More space for storage and whatnot. I wonder if back in the ancient days, did our castles followed a similar pattern? Probably not.
I was drawn from my thoughts as the guard that had been escorting me had announced my name to Titan. Looking up, I saw Titan sitting on his throne. Well, now that I think about it, it wasn’t technically a throne to begin with. Hell, it wasn’t even a chair. What was it then? Well first off, there were 6 gigantic fluffy pillows sewn together on top of an old king sized bed. Annoyingly, the old box springs creek with his movements. I guess having a pillow throne makes sense when considering that griffins are half cat… And it does look comfy…
“Chronicle! Good to see that you’ve finally awaken. I have a proposal for today's events!” Titan started. For being a city lord with bulking mass of muscles, he can be quite eccentric. At least when he sees or talks about me… I really don’t want to see him disappointed, at least, for my own sake.
“And what would that be Titan?”
“I say that we should go on the Hunt! Slay a mighty beast and feast on our spoils together!” Damn, he is really excited today. At least he isn’t suggesting to fight me to the death. Hopefully, it stays that way.
“You know what, sure. I’d actually like to get out and stretch my wings. That might be fun.” I replied with honesty. I’m well rested over by now and my wing do feel a bit sore just hanging there. Not like there’s Youtube or any from of entertainment to watch around here.
“Great! After I don my armor, we shall venture southeast. There we shall find amany monster to say!” Oh no, please no more dragons.
As expected of a king like person, Titan’s room was big, butr his closet was even bigger. Why? I don’t even know. At first I thought he was gonna ‘don his armor’ as he said he would, but it seems he changed his mind to let's play dress up.
“How do I look Chronicle?” Titan asked, taking on various heroic poses.
“Well, you look absolutely terrifying to fight against. That’s for sure.” I answered, gawking a bit at how badass and just well, terrifying he looked.
For example, his helmet-mask combo is of the ‘I’m going to enjoy devouring up everything you know and love’ kind of scary. He had a full faceplate that covered his entire head, only leaving an opening for his lower beak to move. The head gear was comprised of two parts; the mask and the helmet. The mask part was made entirely of a smove nonreflective light gray metal. Then what was the scary part?
There was this seemingly transparent layer of black and red that constantly waved and formed mixed patterns. The parts around his face and feathers formed patterns of oozing blood and fleshy muscle. The beak was whitened with random sprouts of red dripping downwards and black veins crawling and bulging with the rest of the flesh like mask. And lastly ware the eyes. They were a constant inferno of spiraling yellow orbs with bright orange pupils that burned the flesh around it.
“Really? Is that so?”
“Yup, that mask is a real life horror movie.”
“I believe you mean that it is powerful?” He suggested, not knowing what a movie is. For some reason I thought he would. I should have expected that since I’m in fairytale apocalyptia.
“As powerful as it appears to be, yeah.” I answered, still being creeped out.
“Well yes it should be, for it is a magical mask. More specifically, it is called The Mask of Mortal Mentality. And yet again, you prove yourself true Chronicle.”
“How so? It’s just a mask, creepy in its own right, but how does it prove anything?”
“Not all as it seems Chronicle. For this mask does not only instills fear in the enemy, but the wearer can hypnotise lesser willed or weak minded beings. This mask is said to have brought entire groups into complete terror and fear for their lives. But as expected of the true Chronicle, you are strong and unaffected by its magical deception.” He praised while still wearing it.
“I’m not so sure about that. The damn thing looks like a mess of red and black sewn flesh.”
“Is that what you see? I’ve never gotten that description before…” Titan began to mumble under his breath for abit, the mask seeming to change expressions with his thoughts.
“I’m afraid to ask how you got your hands- err… Talons on that mask.”
“If your expecting a tale of adventure, then I’m sorry to say that there isn’t one. I found the mask deep within this place, past the floors and under all of the stones. There is a room filled with odd trinkets and some blades of the old world. That is where I stumbled upon this mask.With the small journal I found with it, this mask is a powerful relic belonged to one of the seven high commanders.” Titan said, taking said mask off and finally ending all the shivers down my spine.
“Who were these high commanders?” I asked, finally able to feel relaxed.
“Well, the best way to describe these heroes is in their legends, but I’ll save though stories for another time. But one thing you should know is that they are more commonly referred to as the seven great griffons. They are the ones who united all griffons and brought about the second empire. They are the founding mothers and fathers that built the structures that still stand. The seven finished construction of these castles years before the great war of the Master and the Apprentice; the war that ended the reign of the gods.”
“More history that I know nothing about… And why am I getting star wars vibs?”
“And from the few records and books that I have read, this place wasn't always a city. For in the glory days of the past, this place used to be a fort of sorts. A small one as it might be, was important and has been used as a checkpoint between the bigger and still standing castles of Ascension Empire.”
“Woah. Hold it! Did you just say that this place, a large doubled walled fort is simply an outpost? How big are these castles?” I asked, hoping that it was nothing too ludicrous like skyscraper heights like in Attack on Titan.
“Oh trust me Chronicle, they are a grand sight to see. To my knowledge, there are the five castles in the wasteland- Quick, follow me, I’ll show you.” Titan abruptly began leaving the room, leading me down the halls. We made two more turns before we came to a stop at a reinforced door. Titan, with excitement on his face, grabbed a chain from under his feathered neck and drew a large key. Unlocking the heavy door, we entered into the dark room. Then, unexpectedly, the room lit up with bright crystals lights being the source.
“Amazing, isn’t it Chronicle. The lights of the old world still work in this room.”
“Reminds me a bit of home.” I thought out loud, glancing over a wall spanning shelves filled to the brim with books. Most of said books looking like their about to fall apart or easily tear upon touch.
“Welcome to my personal study. Here I have a map of the known wasteland.”
“Known? You don’t have any world maps?” They don’t have any maps of the planet? Or a globe? Eh, this place is fantasy turned wasteland, might be a square minecraft world for all I know.
“Well… No, I don’t. I have only the areas that my cartographer has visited.” He admitted. Leading me to a large table against the wall, there we found the map nailed to the table. After getting a closer look, I saw that the map was finely painted with great detailed while keeping a artistic style.
“This here is my map Chronicle. I’ve had an artist scour the wasteland and draw out all the fine details. From the heights of the cold killing north to the southern borders of the dragon lands, I am proud to say that I have the most updated and accurate map in the wasteland. Along here in the west, we have the many mountains ranges that separate the inhospitable and rusted over coast from the rest of the wasteland.” Titan explained. The entire west edge of the map was nothing but high and jagged mountain ranges. Apparently, nothing can survive over on the coast, because entire place was engulfed with what I can assume was magical nukes. These high mountains mainly served as natural protective barrier between onslaught of whatever this “rust” was. So that was important to know, I guess.
“While my cartographer mostly graphed and mapped all around the major holds and towns, the rest of the lands have enough needed detail. These red blobs and shaded outlines here Chronicle, are the lands still claimed by rust and will kill anything that enters. These five here are the majorly known Rusted Zones. If not venuring on the main roads, make sure to stay clear of it from at least one mile from the zones for your own sake.” Titan showed, pointing out finely detailed red outlines and what to look out for.
“Sorry to interrupt you, but what is Rust? I keep hearing you talk about it, but I don’t know what it is exactly. Is it like a form of Radiation?” As I questioned, I got a stern look before that dropped to a frown. I don’t know how he does that with a beak, maybe I’m seeing things differently? By the looks on Titan, I’m guessing he just remembered that I’m completely foreign to this world.
“Rust is a horrible and incurable poison that still kills many. A terrible magical weapon it is, only ever used in the final acts of Great War. Just a cut from a rust infused object such as a shard of the stuff can be enough to doom any living being. Before you ask Chronicle, I don’t know how it works, nor do I ever want to. I don’t know why there are still rust zones, they are just there and still kill life.” He told, seeming to know my thinking. And totally not creepy. I wonder what symptoms means your infected?
“As how to tell if some griffon is infected? Feathers fall off, skin boils, burns, and peels off in bloody burnt orange. Muscles harden stiff and rip apart like old fabric. The Rust quickly grows all over and falls off the infected, turning flesh to flaky ash. Within a mere day, the Rust can consume a griffon and leave nothing left. Just a small pile of undone life.” Titan told, expressing a bit of sorrow in his description.
“Damn, this Rust stuff sound like a chemical weapon on magical steroids. Just… Damn.”
“I’m glad you see our suffering Chronicle. Not many purebloods bother to pity us, when they are nearly immune to the rusting.” I quickly perk up, looking back up at him.
“Wait. Does that mean I’m immune to it?”
“Well… Since you are undoubtedly the most purest of Purebloods… Yes, I believe you could be immune-” OH THANK THE SPOOKY SKELETON ON THE GOLDEN TOILET! That’s a relief! Yay! No super cancer for me!
“Ehh. Back to the map here Chronicle.” Drawing back my attention to the map, Titan pointed down near the very mid southern part of the map.
“Here is where we are located Chronicle.” Dune City was located low middle that was more leaning to southern part of the map. Looking down from us, I saw that south of us was some small mountains that curved to the southwest and off the map. On the very southern mapped edge by the small mountains, there the town that was burned down. The town itself was labeled Diamond City.
“These Golden Diamonds symbols here, represent as the Great Castles I was talking about earlier. Do you want to know about them?” I simply nod, intrigued as what these places are about.
“Well, a short day trip north of us is the closest castle to us, which is surrounded by dead dry land. The area that surrounds it is simply known as The Bygone. It is a very inhospitable place with a number of dangers, monster and griffons alike. The area is not completely lawless mind you, but crime is usually dealt strictly with death. While I’ve long forgotten what the castle original name was, it seems so has the rest of its citizens. Now that I think about it, that is quite strange…” Titan looked down at the floor zoning out in deep thought.
“So… What is the castle referred to as? It’s not just called That Castle, right?” With my questions bringing Titan back from his thoughts, he looked up at me with the answer.
“Oh, it’s simply referred as the Bygone Castle.” Now seeming to remember what he was doing, he looked back at the map.
“Back to the topic, the place has long since seen better days. While I have only ever visited the castle once, I won’t and don’t recommend going there. The air was thick enough to choke on, the griffons living there are in constant civil distrust, and the whole structure seems to be on the brink of collapse.”
“Sounds similar to the middle east.” I mumbled under my breath.
“Now if we go north, past the Bygone, we land on a mining village called Rad Reach. Nothing too important beside the poisoned metal that is mined there. I ask you to be weary of any red metal blades Chronicle, for they make quite the deadly cut. Now follow the old stone road up northeast and you reach Windhelm Castle. As the name implies, it is much colder climate with strong wind. Said to be strong enough that Griffons could just glide on the strong winds.”
“Sounds fun, but I’m guessing that it is dangerous?” I inquired, gaining a nod from the large griffon.
“Indeed it is. Weak wings will only get buried under the heavy wind and snow. Honestly I would rather be in control of my flight as I don’t put my faith in such luck.” I give him my best ‘are you serious?’ face I could.
“O’really?” It seems that he caught on to my jesting this time.
“Even if you don’t recognise the great power you hold, I see how important your destiny is. Your displacement by the higher powers has a purpose, Chronicle. There reasons may eliud us, but they are reasons by gods nonetheless.”
“It’s not about my new dragon slaying abilities; I think the powers are ficking awesome. I just honestly don’t feel that I’m suited for being some other worldly Messiah. I mean, I’m no great leader, nor am I some military trained conqueror. Never have I ever wanted that kind of responsibility; to have the power over so many is just daunting.” Titan smiled, as if reliving an old memory.
“Ah yes, I remember reading a book about a great wizard; a pony called Trotter, or was it Potter? Whatever the name was, the pony is said to be the father to ponykind magic. The great wizard said something that suits this situation perfectly. ’Perhaps those who are best suited for power are those who have never sought it.’”
“Yeah, I think I’ve heard something like that too. We have a story about a young hero called Spiderman, a man who gained superpowers and fights crime. What I remember is that he was told a quote by his uncle about how great power comes great responsibility.”
“A truthful statement to be fair as I’ve had to deal with quite a few responsibilities myself when I took the throne from King Direwing.”
“You took over this city?”
“What? Me? Complete takeover? Ha! No, far from that. I… Well, I had made many alliances with the residents here in overthrowing him from power. King Direwing was a… Uncaring ruler at best. As forcing down strict taxes and a few other things quickly gained him unpopularity. As of how I took the throne? Well, that is an adventure I will tell. Come, sit.” Titan walked over to a chair and jesting his talon hands for me take a seat. Sitting down, I saw pull out a scroll from his desk.
“My ascension to becoming king is not of battle. While I am a warrior at heart, but I did not take this city over by force. To simplify the story, I use the laws of this place to my advantage. You see Chronicle, how this city works is with the traders, for they have always held a good say as what happens here. So whoever owns the big business, holds a key as to how thing run here. But under King Direwing, policies changed to more of a dictatorship, but a lot of the old laws and customs still applied. Such as this.” Handing me the scroll, I carefully opened it to find that it was titled as the Dune City’s Rules of Trade.
“The laws written here state that if a Griffon who hold 30% or more of city trade has the right to challenge change to the King’s laws, and question his right to holding the position of power.”
“So you bought up the market and challenged him to a one on one duel?” I questioned, gaining a silent chuckle from Titan shaking his head.
“Not quite simple as that my friend. As I’ve said, I made many alliances; one of main deals was all of the in-city traders. Eventually, I would claim total ownership of all local business for one month. Though I promised to pay each member for their troubles and many more agreements once I ascended to the throne. That consortium of pacts totaled up to 26% hold over the city trade, which was not enough. So to reach that 30% mark, I made a pact with Rad Reach. I would promise them one year free of taxation immediately when I claimed power. In return, I was to be given total control and hold of their cursed metalwork trade for one month.”
“So then what? Did you make any other deals?”
“No, the pact with Rad Reach gave me 39% trade hold, which gave me the right to challenge King Direwing’s law. Since he was ignorant of the laws and believe his word is law, he torn apart my demand and order for my death. But before he could do such, I declared my challenge to his rule to the city. And for once in his life, his wings were tied down from his high throne. Obviously, with me being the better warrior and not some fattened tyrant, I killed him and claimed the rights to king.”
“That is… Quite the story Titan, but I got a question. If you are a king, then why do you have everyone calling you a lord?”
“If I were to be a king, I would need to have a castle to rule in, and as I said before, I don’t own one. Besides, the title of king was self appointed by Direwing himself. And I rather not be entitled to such things as I rule in shared power, while kings rule in absolute.” He answered, taking back the scroll and storing it back into his desk.
“Yeah, you totally don’t have a freakin’ castle. So how long have you’ve been the king- I mean, Lord of Dune City then?”
“Under my leadership? I’ve had Dune City running fine and prospering for 3 years so far. As you can see, I’ve long since made things better for the griffons living here. But with the west splitting into war, I fear that times ahead will be rough. Weather we be selling a sword of a sack of grain, trading with the either faction makes us a ‘justified’ target.”
“Sounds like a bad business to deal blindly there, but I’m guessing with less trade the demand for paid goods will get higher?” My question seemed to bring a greedy smile to Titan’s beak. With me being turned into a griffon, I somehow knew he was smiling even though griffons don’t have any lips.
“Very keen of you Chronicle. Yes, the risks in travel will rise, but the prices for goods themselves will rise higher. But I fear that Dune City has, or will be seen as a target to the Raven Enclave.”
“Why is that?” My questioned seemed to frustrate Titan before he sighed it away.
“Chronicle, you know so little and need to know so much. To to answer the many questions you will undoubtedly have on this subject, I must help you understand the upbringings of the Raven Enclave. So first, let’s go back to the map.” Rising from our seats, I followed titan and looked over the map once again.
“Starting from Dune City, if we go on the old highway roads west, past this small town of Novac, brings us into the lands of the Skywalker Family.”
“Skywalkers? What are they, Jedi?” I joked, though Titan didn’t seem to understand the reference. He also was angry about being interrupted again.
“Um, sorry. Please continue.” Taking his hard gaze away from me, we returned our attention to the greatly detailed map.
“As I was saying, the Skywalkers are a… Family of business, trading throughout in the wasteland. Owning very rich lands, they consider themselves royalty. They have old machines that rids the salt from seawater. Though they don’t just make their money with fresh water. With the waters of life, they now have fertile lands to grow crops and wildlife that flourish all around. Do know that the Skywalkers aren’t the only ones to have mastered this as the northeast holds green life as well.”
“Now the Raven Enclave reside directly north of the Skywalkers, their home is a underground castle that is built within and along the great raven mountains. The castle is known as Raven Rock, and from what I know is something referred to as a bunker; a place to hold things of great importance and served as something abbreviated as an H.Q. Whatever it means, I know that it is important.”
“Don’t you mean headquarters? Because that’s what HQ mean. From what I know, Headquarters is a term meaning a stationed base for the head of command or organization. At least, I think so.” I suggested, now seeing the metaphorical gears turning in his head.
“I think you could be right about that Chronicle, for it would indeed suit such a place. Besides the name, the castle itself is in all regards, a unbreakable fortress with it being part of the mountains itself. The gigantic shield shaped door that is said to be the purest of metals and remains impenetrable. It serves as the only entrance into the mountain, and serves as the only exit out.”
“That sounds like some airtight security alright.” I comment, gaining a smile from the bronze griffon.
“Indeed. Now, getting into the details, Raven Rock opened its gates 18 or so years ago. Griffons clad in black armor came in conquering and burning the lands around. The Skywalker’s griffons were their first target and suffered slaughters of anyone who wasn’t pureblood. Those who were Pureblood were taken back into the depths of Raven Rock, never to be seen again. They continued on doing this for 6 years, small skirmishes and a few dozen battles along the way. Now after years of choking off the Skywalkers from escape, the Raven Enclave had begun to form up an invasion of the Castle. For the Skywalkers, in their seemingly hopeless situation, a silver lining was found.”
“The White Queen, Winter Shatter-Shield sent in 7,000 battle hardened soldiers to repel the invaders. The battle was bloody, the casualties were high, yet the Warriors of Windhelm fought on hard and ultimately saved the skywalkers from their pairal. Slaughtering the many of the Raven Enclave, the cold warriors drove them back to Raven Rock. The black griffons escaped and sealed their unbreakable tomb. The Raven Enclave would remain silent, locked away until ten years later, the titanic door opened, once again releasing the raven black killers. Unexpectedly, instead of sending out a message of war, they sent a message of peace to Windhelm, asking to negotiate.”
“In their message, they claimed to be leaders of the Ascension Empire or at least they are the descendants of them. The Enclave told that they had hailed from the destroyed coast, were the Capital Griffonstone once stood. With such an outrageous claim few actually consider it to be the triuth. Understandably, the Skywalkers refused to partake in any talks with them and so did Queen Winter, but the nobles of Windhelm pushed on in seeking out their claims. Why? Well, to make a mess of situation much simpler Chronicle, no griffon wants to fight another war; Raven Enclave or not. The many resources had dried up in the north are still today strained and stretched thin, leaving little to waste.”
“So begrudgingly, the two parties talked and started to make a shaky relationship. I don’t know much as what they discussed, but it seemed that the Enclave had learned their lesson. That is what it appeared to be until a year ago, a bloody coup was made in Windhelm which ended with many dead. The Queen Shatter-Shield escaped the chaos and retreated to Fort Warbeak with the loyal legions in toll. Though when they arrived, the fort had been besieged under the enclave’s magical fire, dooming hope of safety. With no secure location left, the loyal surviving 2nd, 3rd, and 7th legions retreated south seeking refuge at Skywalker Castle.”
“Um, sorry to interrupt, but what are all of these Legions?” I asked, seeming to have hit a fuse within the bronze winged griffon’s mind.
“Well now, since you're as smart and mannered as a hatchling, I’ll just break away from my great storytelling and answer the obviously more important question!” Titan lashed out, seemingly growing another foot over me which did all the more to terrify me.
“Sorry, I was never a good listener in school! So please don’t kill me.” I meeped out cowardly. I had no shame of being afraid either because who could blame me? He was currently the enraged griffon version of Mike Tyson. I don’t have any of my weapons on me, beside my sword, so I was doomed... Or so I thought.
“I… Apologize for my outburst Chronicle. I have a great hate for being interrupted, the feeling being treated as a lesser consumes me with rage from time to time.” Titan lowered his aggressive stance, his feathers now unruffled and coming back down to reasonable eye level.
“Good to know, I uh.. I forgive you.” I reassured, nodding my head back to the map. Titan being happy with my words, the big griffon cleared his throat before speaking.
“There are seven total Legions of Windhelm. At the top there is the 1st Legion of Leaders, for they are the griffons being the appointed rulers and leaders. Next is the 2nd Legion of Knowledge, the protectors of history, customs, knowledge, and records. And from what I’ve heard, some guard their knowledge to death. If you haven’t noticed, the fine griffons in plated armor are the 3rd Legion that represents Honor. They are made up of the lawmakers, guards, peacekeepers, warriors, and smiths. Now the ones in the city are the Royal Guards to the Queen herself. Now the infamous 4th Legion of War, they are the warriors who make up the bulk of Allen Claw’s Army. I’ll tell you about him later.”
“As of the 5th Legion of Sky, they are the great griffons who can control the harsh winter weather and own the northern skies. During the coup, many 5th Legion’s members were split between joining the traitors or remaining loyal. Sadly most sadly joined the traitors as their leader is under Allen’s command. The 6th Legion is of the Home, comprised of citizens of the fair working class such as Carpenters, Dealers, Farmers, and many other trades. Lastly, there is the 7th Legion of Spells, as they manage the use, teachings, and understandings of the magical art. Surprisingly, nearly all of the 7th escaped the entire coup. I think they just might have foreseen these events...” Titan’s thoughts trailed off for a few second, before shaking his head.
“Now back the damned Raven Enclave, they have likely stirred these events to unfold and are possibly working with the current leader in Windhelm. That leader is General Allen Claw, head of the group calling itself White Sky. Now this ‘White Sky’ controls Windhelm and I fully believe that the damn traitors are collaborating with the Raven Enclave. This means that the next target in their sights will be the Skywalkers. Now the reason that we are a target is because of what this city is. We are the last trade point of the East and the West. Cut off Dune City, cut off any hope of help from the Westerners.”
“If that’s so… Are they gonna take over now? In fact, how do you know this Enclave will do that?”
“Well… I admit I don’t know their plans Chronicle. Rather I just think of it as if I were in their black boots. I would probably continue with the plan the Enclave tried last time, because it worked so well before Windhelm got involved. The only change I would make this time would to rid any possible outside factors could interfere.”
“Well… Then why haven’t the Enclave invaded us yet?” I asked, gaining a low chuckle from Titan.
“Ah, now that is the question that has been plaguing me Chronicle. The Enclave has been quite for nearly two weeks now, and the only interesting thing happening lately is you appearing on my doorstep.” His smile returned as he stretched his large silver bronze wings.
“Beside all the impending doom, I believe we have a hunt to begin.” Following close behind, we left Titan’s study room, readying ourselves to stalk the wastelands.
“Please god, no dragons this time.”