A Storm For the Ages

by DmitriTheWriter

Chapter 4: The Rule of Two

The seas were rough on the eastern shores of Griffonia. The sky was rife with storm clouds, and lightning tore through the clouds, threatening to blast Chrysaor's ship to the ocean floor. He feared nothing on the waters, however, as he considered it his home turf after millennia of sailing and raiding coastal towns.

The shore was rugged with cliffs and fjords rising about fifty feet, not a safe place to dock anywhere. Chrysaor sailed for 15 miles before spotting a shadow upon the cliffs.The storm clouds made it difficult to make out the details, but Chrysaor was fairly sure that he was looking upon a griffon. The shadow unfurled its wings and flapped, hovering in place, its beak pointed towards Chrysaor's ship, and seemed to stare interestedly at Chrysaor's bracelet, as if trying to decipher the odd inscriptions on it.

"Who goes there?!" He spoke with a booming voice that echoed across the cliffs. It seemed fit for a king, or the king's chief general.

"I should be asking you the same thing. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't drag you to the ocean floor right now," Chrysaor spoke calmly and steadily, brimming with comfidence

"Was that a challenge to me?!"

"Perhaps. It depends on what you make of it,"

"If it's a battle you want, it's a battle you shall have, knave!"

The shadow griffon unsheathed what looked like a dagger from a scabbard on his right foreleg. Out from that dagger shot bolts of lightning that narrowly missed blasting Chrysaor's ship. Chrysaor adjusted his bracelet and tendrils of water rose fifty feet to the cliffs' edges. The shadow had already soared away, and the next thing he knew, Chrysaor felt a massive thump on the starboard deck of his ship.

Chrysaor twisted his bracelet once more and spontaneously generated a thick wall of ice, just in time to protect him from one of the shadow's lightning blasts. Despite its thickness, the ice wall shattered like glass. Chrysaor then decided to fly away, still staring down the shadow griffon whilst raising hundreds of gallons of seawater. The water morphed into a massive wave, which crashed onto the ship, capsizing it. The shadow was fast, though, and managed to fly away from the now capsized ship.

"Wow, you are good," The shadow said.

"Millennia of experience can do that to you,"

"I think you'd be the perfect pony to join forces with me and share in the spoils of war,"

"Join forces?"

"Yes. Hello, my name is Wolksfeuer, how are you?" Wolksfeuer extended his right forepaw. Chrysaor did not accept it. "You see, thousands of years ago-"

"Ah yes, it's always thousands of years ago, isn't it?"

"Will you let me finish?" Wolksfeuer furrowed his eyebrows. "Ahem. Anyways, thousands of years ago, there were these three powerful artifacts created to help any worthy griffon, or pegasus at the case may be, to take over what is rightfully theirs. You seem to possess Nibelung, the Ring, er, Bracelet of Power, based on your manipulation of water and ice. What I have in my paw right now is the Spearhead of Might, and to recreate Gungnir, the Spear, I'll need the Hilt as well."

"I don't suppose you know where that is?"

"I have an idea on where it's probably hidden,"

Inside his mask, Chrysaor raised an eyebrow. "Where?"

"Canterlot."

"Canterlot?"

"Yes, Canterlot. I believe that makes sense. Celestia would hide the Hilt there so that it can't be used against her. Not after the war."

"And?"

"I want you to go to Canterlot and retrieve the spear hilt, covertly if possible. But don't hesitate to murder some guards if necessary."

"Wolksfeuer, your plan is all well and good, it's good to have grandiose dreams and all, but what exactly is in it for me?"

"What exactly is in it for you?"

"Did I stutter? Yes, that's what I asked. You can't expect somepony to do a job for free."

"Well I can give you anything you desire,"

"Oh really? Can you now?"

"Yes. Tell me what you desire, and it is yours. Once I control the universe, I mean,"

"Even the throne of Cloudsdale?"

"Oh, especially the throne of Cloudsdale. In fact, I can build you a throne fit for the Emperor of the Skies,"

Chrysaor's wings extended as he pondered exactly what that meant. "Emperor of the Skies. That would be the perfect 'Buck you.' to my father, if he's even still alive,"

He turned to Wolksfeuer. "I'm in. I'll be your apprentice or whatever you want to call me,"

"Good. Your first task is to go to Canterlot and retrieve the Hilt for me,"

"Alright. Thing is, I've been on the sea for thousands of years. I don't exactly know what Canterlot looks like,"

"Oh, it shouldn't be too hard to find. If you go towards the mountain at the center of Equestria, you should find Canterlot on the mountainside. Not exactly the smartest way to design a city, but I guess when you're as big of a megalomaniac as Celestia..."

"You know, you're a bit of a megalomaniac too,"

"Did I ask for your opinion?!"

"No, but I'll give it anyways,"

"Be at Canterlot by mid-morning tomorrow! We shall meet on these cliffs again when you succeed,"

"Alright,"

Chrysaor took off due east for Equestria, summoning forth tailwinds to arrive faster, leaving Wolksfeuer to go back to staring at the sea and ranting to no one, his favorite pastime.

"Enjoy your moment in the sun, Equestrians, for soon there will come a day of reckoning, and I shall be there to witness it. With spear in hand, I shall burn down your entire world and laugh with glee as the Royal Sisters beg for mercy. But there shall be none, just as there was none 1,200 years ago! The Second Gryphonic Golden Age has begun!"

Wolksfeuer raised his beak to the sky and cackled madly, which was his second favorite pastime, before turning back to bring order to his new land.

Author's Note:

So what do you think?