Fear Grows
47 days since the fall of Traxti City
21 days since Legacy Chaser’s murder
Early Afternoon, Hourglass
Captain Phoenix Wave slumped tiredly onto his chair behind his desk. He of Hourglass just left, and the less said about the ‘meeting’ the better. He rubbed his forehead, trying to ease his building headache. He felt his men would not be able to last long at the pace that He of Hourglass wanted, demanded really. And as much as he wanted to protest to him, something told him that now was not the best time to confront the dragon. Hopefully that would change soon, before it become more than just a concern.
But that wasn’t the only thing that was plaguing his mind. Morale among the guard was low. The destruction of Baltimare had hit them hard, some more then others, as several had family that lived there. Not knowing if their family was alive or not and/or guilt over not being there to help was eating some of them alive. Low morale and being pushed beyond their limits could mean desertion, insubordination, or outright insurrection. He did not want to have to deal with any of those.
Phoenix sighed as he began the process of figuring out how to coordinate the uptick in training. He couldn't just go and have them up their training willy nilly because, not only did Hourglass lack many of the facilities that were standard in Equestria, but what they did have was sub par in comparison. This was because it took time to build everything he wanted or needed from scratch. Time which they were now out of. As he shuffled around some parchments, a single black scale fell to the floor. He picked it up and sighed again.
When Twixt’d had come by in the depths of the night with the guard’s newest orders, he could tell something was deeply troubling the young whelp. He was certain it wasn’t grief as Twixt’d looked like he was going to jump of out his scales in terror. Something had clearly frightened him but he would not speak of it and even went as far as denying anything was wrong. As much as he was tempted to press, he felt it was, at that moment, best not to. Sadly, doing that left him to speculate what or whom caused the fright… but now, he was sure it was He of Hourglass that spooked him.
At that time, he had no issue with the orders he was given. He figured that the Clan was wanting to ramp up the training because they preparing to march out. Now, however, he wasn’t so sure. He was beginning to think that the clan, or at least He of Hourglass, was falling victim to what those in the royal guard called simply the ‘Madness.’ A state where a pony’s mental state was consumed by vengeance. As a ‘former’ officer of Equestria, he was trained to spot the signs and He of Hourglass was displaying them… assuming that the symptoms would be the same for dragons as they were for ponies.
As he thought about it, he realized that the ‘Madness’ did bear striking similarity to the rage growth that he was told to be aware of, but He of Hourglass didn’t seem to be under its effects as his voice was ‘normal.’ It didn’t seem to have an echoing quality to it.
Maybe he was overthinking it, as the effects of having lost two of their own in less then a month would understandably be very hard, and left little time to grieve. He could empathize, as he had lost a few of his own before. It was one of the dangers of serving in the military, even for a country as relatively peaceful as Equestria. For now, he would continue to give the clan time and space to vent, or whatever they needed to do to start the healing process. He was sure that they would come around before too long. But even as he thought that, he found himself wondering if, perhaps, he was being too optimistic.
Twixt’d stumbled out of his parent’s forge. He had no idea how he managed to get out of there unscathed. What he witnessed inside shook him to his core. The entire clan now sported the same cold, murderous, evil eyes that He of Hourglass had late last night. He quickly made his way east towards the griffon camp, not wanting to return to his silo.
Twixt’d didn’t pay attention as he ran. He just knew that he needed to get out of there, and fast. His focus was so strong on that task that he hardly noticed when he entered the griffon encampment. He even ignored the varying degrees of alarms and squawks as he made his way towards the barracks.
“What is wrong High Griff?” Twixt’d did not know who had questioned him other then it was a griffon. He made no attempt to answer. He just rushed inside the barracks and into the ‘officer's’ office. In his haste and panic, he didn’t even close the door behind him. All he could do was lean hard against the desk, with both of his claws digging into the wood.
“What in Tartarus has your feathers ruffled so badly?” Twixt’d could tell it was the same griffon from before, but again, he didn’t respond. He didn’t even turn to face the griffon. He didn’t want to speak, for he knew that if he started, it could come out in waves… As it was, tears were already beginning to form. A smack across the back of his head startled him out of his rapidly darkening mood. “Pull yourself together, or you will spook your griffs further!”
“Well?” The griffon asked irritably after waiting a few moments and getting no answer. He was getting tired of the silence and lack of response from his High Griff. ”What is wrong?”
“My family… the clan, is being consumed by bloodlust…” Twixt’d whispered, desperately trying to forget the look in his parents’ eyes. Those cold, evil filled eyes.
The griff looked down in understanding. Being a warrior himself, he understood bloodlust. It was a dangerous thing for a warrior to have, as it almost always destroyed those under its effect. That is, unless someone pulled them out of it, which, in and of itself, was dangerous and difficult. A griffon under the effects of bloodlust would bring awe and fear to ally and enemy alike. A double-edged sword that could turn the tide of battle for or against the one consumed. A blessing and a curse.
It did give explanation as to why the griffons were given the odd order to train even harder. But there were several problems that were interfering with their ability to do that. One, only half had managed to shake off the effects of this strange land so far, and another group of forty was to arrive sometime in the next five to six hours. Second, his High Griff was suffering, among other things, from an acute case of self doubt. These facts made the griffon ruffle his feathers angrily. His High Griff could not afford to be in this state right now.
“So? You are the High Griff of the Hourglass Eyrie!” The griffon snapped. “A commander! You can not afford to appear to be weak…”
“But that’s just it! I AM!” Twixt’d shouted, his claws digging even deeper into the desk. “I am not Sentinel. He was a warrior and a king. He faced down abominations from the deepest pit of Tartarus without flinching, and ruled Equestria for many, many years… He went thousands years under the burden of rejection from from pony and dragon alike...”
“No, you are not the Alicorn Keeper…” The griffon agreed.
“And I sure am not the firstclaw, He of Hourglass. When he spun you all around, that was merely the tip of his power, and not only that, but he has been learning from Sentinel, the Alicorn Keeper, for several years. According to Sentinel, He of Hourglass has the potential to be far more powerful than he was at the height of his power…“
“Me? I have virtually no magical power as I’m merely a whelp… When He of Hourglass said I was the weakest in the clan he wasn’t kidding. When he said I was five… in actuality I’m not quite five yet… HELL, I AM NOT EVEN A MEMBER OF THE CLAN YET… High Griff Twixt’d HA! Who am I kidding!? All I‘ve ever been is a street urchin… a low life… useless… worthless…”
Twixt’d spun around at the sound of laughter. He attempted to claw the griffon, who expertly grabbed his claw and stopped the attack like it was nothing. The griffon, whose name eluded him still, then carefully and slowly pushed down his claw.
“I have battled my share of dragons in my long life… In battle they are a massive vortex of slashing claws and intense flame. An angry dragon is a sight to behold that can bring seasoned griffons pause... And yet…” the griffon stepped closer to the whelp, “you fearlessly stood up to He of Hourglass, the most powerful dragon and opponent I have ever faced, when his anger burned against us because of four griffons’ trespasses. You are not the Alicron Keeper nor He of Hourglass. You are Twixt’d, High Griff of this Eyrie.”
“I…” Twixt’d was at a lost for words to counter the wise words. They reminded him of Sentinel. The griffon may have stopped his downward spiral about his own worth, but there still was the issue of the bloodlust. “But what am I going to do? What should I do? If things continue down the way they are headed, then… I will… I will have to kill them...”
“High Griff Twixt’d, only you can choose what to do... and you must do so soon, or you will have blood on your claws. Don’t be a fool. Choose correctly.” The griffon stated before he left.
Twixt’d quickly closed the door and collapsed against it, his mind in turmoil like never before. The clan, his family, was being consumed by a bloodlust that would end them... This was worse then when he was a street urchin... then he had nothing to lose, and now, now he had everything to lose.
All I ever wanted in life was to fly, to escape the troubles that surrounded me, and now, now that I have that ability, I feel more trapped the ever...Why did you have to die Sentinel? We… I need you... Twixt’d felt his grief well up once again as he curled up and cried himself to sleep.
Early Afternoon, Edge of Everfree Forest
“What do you want Bearer of Magic?” He of Everfree growled angrily. He was too tired to even feel like smirking over the now trembling pony. “I do not appreciate being awoken like this. Last night was long and tiring and I need to rest up… So this had better be as serious and urgent as your letter claims.”
Twilight’s breath hitched before she began to tell the dragon everything that had transpired earlier that morning. As she managed to finally do so, the words came pouring out. He of Everfree paled at Twilight’s explanation of the situation with He of Hourglass and the Hourglass Clan. By the end of her tale, the green dragon was shaking violently and desperately trying to shrink his bulky frame down as much as possible.
“Please tell me Discord was wrong…” Twilight pleaded, hoping against hope that the draconequus’ knowledge was wrong. She had yet to see the state the dragon was in. “Please tell me that… that…”
“The draconequus is correct about the final initial, and reversible, stage…” The green dragon confirmed. “And as much as even I don’t want to say it, I must. It sounds as if He of Hourglass has hit that stage…”
“What do we do? What can we do to pull him away from… away from...” Twilight failed to finish her question as she struggled to keep herself composed. She had finally noticed the state the dragon was in, and this made her rapidly lose what little hope she had left.
He of Everfree took in an uneasy breath of air. The answer was not exactly going to be a comfortable one, nor one easily accepted. “Not much we can do other than to do as he said.... Give him what he wants: the Nameless One… If all goes well, with his death, his rage should hopefully dissipate… If not, I hope you understand what you must do.”
Twilight gulped and nodded even as tears began to flow. She knew and fought to not dwell on that possibility. “But we can’t figure out how… how to do that... He is so powerful… his attacks so fast… I know there has to be a weakness that we can exploit… but our knowledge of dragon magic vs pony magic mechanics is not as strong as Sentinel’s… and even then… I’m sorry if I’m rambling, it’s just that I’m at a loss.”
He of Everfree sighed and rubbed his face as he tried to figure out how to assist. Normally, he would not even think about giving out secrets to an outsider, but this was not the time for that. The problem, he noted as he thought on this, was that he had a similar problem as the ponies, except for him, it was pony magic mechanics. He started to get frustrated the more he tried to figure out this conundrum. It was days like this that he wished he had taken more time to figure out how pony magic worked. “I, too, am at a loss…” He finally spoke and admitted. “As much as I’d rather not, we have no time to waste. Follow me to my cave, and we shall work on this together.”
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So... Twixt'd is doubting himself... but he's just told how great he is anyway.
It's pretty much what I expected to happen.
And... there's really nothing to do about rage but sate it? That's... not always the way it works with "normal" feelings.
6679786
To be fair its the only thing that He of Everfree could think of... given that is how rage would normally be taken care of... of course rage growth isn't normal rage.... will that be the solution? uuuuuhhh... eeeehhh... maaaaybe... maybe not.
6679819
Hah. I shoulda considered maybe He of Everfree isn't actually very good at calming people down or "friendship" and stuff. So would be pretty much at a loss to figure out what could comfort them in their grief other than "uh... maybe they'll be less angry if they get what they want? Right?"
Yeah, and... Twixt'd being advised by a wise griffon who he's in command of makes it continue to feel arbitrary that he's in charge. Are the griffons about who's the strongest or not? If they are, then Twixt'd falling apart would've been evidence that he's not ready to be in charge at very least. If they aren't, then there's no reason for him to be in charge in the first place. And that guy that advised him seems pretty darn wise and experienced... oh but he's not in the running because he's not
a main characteras... "leadery attitudey" as Twixt'd is.6679853
Well he is a hermit.
A High Griff is determined by combat and a good warrior does not immediately = good commander.
6679871
That doesn't really... answer my frustrations. If anything, you're saying you agree that Twixt'd isn't a good commander, and that there are more qualified examples in the griffons... but are explaining why he still gets to be in charge, and the fact that he's still in charge, despite that, is still frustrating to me.
Probably nothing for it, at this point, though. He's in charge, and I doubt it's going to be undone.
6679910 I didn't say he wasn't a good commander... But he is inexperience...