Realms of Magic: The Realm of the Gryphons

by TheEighthDayofNight

Chapter 9

“Aquila please, stop!” Kathranis called.

The elf was panting hard to keep up with the gryphoness, who hadn’t spoken a word to him once they were free of the ballroom. She had instead stalked at an ever-increasing speed toward an unknown destination. Kathranis had to limp along faster and faster just to keep up with the suddenly fuming gryphon.

“Aquila, what happened?” Kathranis asked as they turned a corner, and the gryphoness began stalking down another long castle hallway. “I thought the party was going well!”

Aquila stopped, and spun on her heel, her beak twisted in a snarl.

“Well? WELL?” she screeched. “It was going well until that prissy little pony decided to butt in and try to snatch away MY FRIEND!”

Kathranis’ brow furrowed in mild confusion, but he was thankful that she was no longer trying to walk him to death.

“Aquila, what are you talking about? Princess Luna and I were merely talking, something parties are used for quite a lot if my political training was any indication.”

Aquila’s eyes narrowed at his light joke.

“And I suppose your little conversation was about all of the subjects you’ve covered with me, is that it? I’m merely some equal to some foreigner you’ve only just met?”

Kathranis smiled faintly.

“Princess, that is not the case. I have told you about my goddess, but you showed little further interest, while Princess Luna showed a great deal.” He shrugged. “I merely performed as you did during my bath. In this case, Princess Luna showed a greater interest in my world, and so asked all the questions, and so I answered, taking after your feverous example.”

Some of the anger slumped out of Aquila’s shoulders as he spoke, so Kathranis shrugged again and put on his kindest smile.

“Was it not the same with us on our walk here? Did you not question me at length, a favor I returned earlier this evening?”

Aquila huffed and crossed her arms.

“Yes,” she admitted, looking to the side. Her eyes immediately flicked back to meet Kathranis’, and some measure of anger in the form of hostile irritation flashed across her face. “But you listen well Shadowsong. You are my friend first. Tomorrow we are going out into the city, and that blue harpy will not be joining us!”

Kathranis let out a little snort of bemusement.

“Princess, I must express my confusion. Why are you suddenly so… possessive? Have I done anything to turn my back to you?”

Aquila let out a loud sigh and uncrossed her arms.

“No, no, it’s not your fault Shadowsong.” She closed her eyes and rubbed a taloned hand across her brow. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I am just so used to having my every friend being assigned to me by my father, and on top of that, I am supposed to be growing into this politically savvy advisor for my little brother, but I have yet to make a single meaningful political association of any kind without my father’s help.”

Her beak slowly morphed into a smile, and she pointed a finger at Kathranis’ chest.

“That was, until you came along. So far, my every decision since I met you has been spot on, and for once, I feel like I’m doing something meaningful around here. Something meaningful that wasn’t handed to me on a silver platter with an order attached at least.” Her smile brightened a hair. “Snagging a friend that Dad didn’t sign off on at the same time is a blessing from Harmony herself, and I will not let anyone take that away from me.”

She purred and moved closer to Kathranis, sliding her arm through his, while her wing pulled him close.

“So I apologize Shadowsong. My anger was not whatsoever directed toward you. I am merely being protective of my new friend.”

Kathranis looked up to her and smiled.

“I am appreciative of your protection Princess, but may I offer a word of advice?”

A hint of panic flashed across Aquila’s face. Kathranis raised a hand and waved away that panic, his smile still present and true.

“I have not been offended or put off Princess, have no worries, I just wanted to offer something to ensure that our friendship never becomes soured.”

Aquila frowned in thought, then nodded for him to speak, slowly prodding him forward as she did so.

“Friends are not to be possessed,” Kathranis said simply as they walked. “And I’m aware that my words may sound blunt, but they are true. I can be friends with you, and Princess Luna, and there can be no issue. You do not have to like her, she does not have to like you, but so long as you can be civil, all can be well.”

He grinned up at her.

“And I’m sure you’ve had plenty of lessons about being civil.”

Aquila huffed, brushing her head feathers to the side.

“Don’t start. I get enough of that talk from Dranidal.”

“Then she sounds very wise,” Kathranis laughed. “But think about it, would you rather have one friend that is yours, and yours alone? Or a hundred, a thousand different friends, each with stories to tell? They cannot make stories and tell you about new people if you cling too tightly to them. It’s all about the flow of give and take.”

Aquila let out a sigh.

“Fine, fine I get it. Don’t be too clingy. I’ll make sure you have some time to talk with the pony tomorrow, okay?”

Kathranis bowed his head slightly.

“You have my thanks Princess.”

Aquila’s beak shifted into a smile.

“I’ll have more than that,” she said. “You said yourself, give and take. I’m giving you more opportunities to speak with Princess Luna, and I’m taking the opportunity to convert you.”

“Convert me?”

Aquila’s wing tightened and she nuzzled his hair.

“Into a cuddler of course. Mom’s always going on about how I need to wait until I find the right nestmate, but I know that cuddles can be shared between friends, and you, Shadowsong, could use some gryphon-style physical affection.”

Kathranis felt a heat rise to his face, painting his cheeks with an embarrassed blush.

“I didn’t mean the transaction so literally. This is a bit… direct.”

Aquila chuckled.

“We may not have a lot of time as friends, but you know me better Shadowsong. Direct is my middle name.”

Her breath was warm on his ear as she moved closer, her voice dropping to a whisper.

“And besides, we’re here, so there’s no time for arguing.”

Kathranis blinked and realized that they had walked far during their short conversation. He had barely felt the passage, and it was only as Aquila’s grip on him lessened did he realize that the gryphoness had basically carried him to the meeting room. She set him back on his crutches, throwing a wink over her shoulder before throwing the doors open wide.

The room was lightly populated, with only one chair occupied. In it sat Deyenidal, dressed in a modest white dress, and who had her hands wrapped around a deeply blushing Fordred, who sat in her lap. The large gryphoness’s head rested atop Fordred’s, and her beak moved ever so slightly. With the quietness of the room, Kathranis could just barely hear her whispering, but about what, he didn’t know. Whatever it was, Fordred seemed more than content, and he leaned back comfortably against her, glancing up every few seconds, blushing harder and smiling.

As Aquila escorted Kathranis to a chair, the elf spoke as low as he could, and asked;

“Tell me Princess, is Deyenidal… truly interested in Fordred? I worry for him if this is some throwaway thing. He looks to be truly in love.”

Aquila pulled out one of the red upholstered seats and took Kathranis’ crutches. Her eyes flicked to the pair for a brief second, then re-focused on her task.

“I honestly don’t know,” the gryphoness admitted. “Deyenidal is one to sleep around, and her going right after Fordred is evidence enough of that, but this seems different. I’ll talk to her later, make sure she lets him down easy if she intends to let him down at all.”

With Kathranis seated, Aquila placed his crutches on the wall behind him, then pulled out the seat next to him. She sat down, then leaned in conspiratorially.

“That being said, if she is going to pursue him seriously, you’re going to get an upfront lesson on how gryphons take mates, something I won’t explain until it’s happening, okay?”

Kathranis gave her a sidelong smile.

“Trying to keep it a surprise, are you? Should I be worried?”

Aquila giggled.

“Very much. I don’t yet know what adventures you’ve had, but being my friend is going to be a learning experience at the very least.”

Kathranis flashed a grin and winked.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

A blush spread on Aquila’s face, but she didn’t break eye contact, nor did her smile dim in the slightest. That is, until her eyes flicked up. Her beak shifted slowly into an even frown; her eyes filled with a mild since of irritation.

“It’s about time Valan. Where have you been? Sulking again?”

Kathranis glanced backward to find the gryphon prince fidgeting nervously behind him, his eyes fixated on the back of the elf’s head. A quick glance up and down told Kathranis that the gryphon was in good shape, physically at least, and that fact brought a wide smile to his face. He swung his legs around and began to stand to greet Valan. As he went to put weight on his left leg, though, Kathranis felt a jolt of pain race up the bad limb. Thrown off balance by the lightning bolt of suffering, he tried to grab the back of his chair to remain standing, but only succeeded in sending the entire thing falling backward with him.

Kathranis quickly found himself being caught, but he was surprised when the hands holding him up were not Aquila’s but Valan’s. The elf couldn’t help but have a bewildered expression as the young gryphon not only held him up while Aquila picked up the chair, but met Kathranis’ eyes with an expression that told of genuine concern.

“Are you alright?” Valan asked.

Finding himself momentarily too shocked to properly expel words, Kathranis merely nodded. Valan and Aquila both took his silence as a bad sign, and both were quick to settle him back in his seat. It was only after he was settled again in Aquila’s wings did he fight through his shock at Valan’s genuine concern, and he smiled brightly, snagging the young gryphon’s arm in a clasp.

“Well met good Prince,” Kathranis said. “Thank you for the quick catch.” He glanced down at his bad leg. “I am apparently less healed than I thought.”

Aquila clicked her tongue.

“I have no idea why you tried to stand up without your crutches.” Her eyes flickered dangerously at her brother. “Especially not for this antagonistic whelp.”

Valan withered under her glare, looking quite downcast as he fiddled idly with one of his feathers. Kathranis cast a smile Aquila’s way.

“Please don’t be so critical Princess, we all have our rough spots, and distrust is only natural for the unfamiliar.”

He turned his smile toward Valan.

“That being said, I stood merely because I wanted to ensure Prince Valan was alright. The last time I saw him he was lying comatose with a rather large bump on his head, given to him by an orc that has felled giants.”

“So good Prince,” Kathranis continued, “how are you? Hopefully in good health these days? I hope Galdug didn’t rattle you too hard.”

Valan looked up at him, as if he was checking to see if Kathranis was trying to be intentionally cruel. When he found the elf’s smile to be genuine, he let out a little squawk of surprise.

“I-I… I um….”

Kathranis chuckled and spread his hands.

“Come now Prince, I can’t be that intimidating. I’m just one-“

He grunted as two-hundred pounds of gryphon slammed into his chest. A pair of massive wings blocked out most of the light, and a pair of strong arms wrapped around Kathranis’ chest. His grip was tight enough to make it difficult to draw breath. So difficult, in fact, that Kathranis found himself unable to breathe at all.

If Valan noticed the elf’s lack of ability to draw breath, he didn’t show it, because he clung to Kathranis’ chest, sobbing softly.

“I can’t say how sorry I am for how I treated you,” the young gryphon whimpered. “I disrespected and doubted you at every turn, but when push came to shove, you risked life and limb for my sake. You have more honor and integrity than I could ever dream of, and I am so sorry I called you into question Shadowsong. Your tales should be sung of in the heavens, and there is nothing I won’t do to repay the debt I owe you.”

The mention of a debt vaguely irritated Kathranis, but unfortunately it was low on his list of priorities. Being able to breathe, now that was important. Without air, however, he couldn’t tell the gryphon to lighten his grip. All he let out when he attempted to do so was a light gasp, expelling what little air he had in his lungs.

Thankfully, somebody else was paying attention, and he felt someone reaching through Valan’s wings to pull at the gryphon’s tight, hugging arms.

“Let him breathe Valan!” Aquila said.

She pulled Kathranis free of her brother’s embrace, and the elf couldn’t help but take a gulp of fresh, cool air as she yanked him free of the dark warmth of the younger gryphon’s wings. Those feathers really did wonders for comfort, a fact he found again as a larger set of wings embraced him. Instead of a tight embrace, however, this one was far more relaxed, with Aquila’s hands massaging his chest while she shot a glare at her brother.

“What were you trying to do? Smother him?”

Taking another breath, Kathranis let out a loud laugh, smiling up at the gryphoness.

“I could accuse you of the same Princess. I suppose this is more that physical desensitization you were telling me about?”

Aquila frowned at him.

“Has anyone told you that you’re too forgiving? My brother was quite literally crushing the air from your lungs.”

Kathranis shrugged and looked toward the younger gryphon, who had recoiled, his eyes filled with panic. The elf put on a wide smile and sat up, freeing himself of Aquila’s wings.

“What fun is living if you constantly hold grudges over little mistakes?” He made sure to meet and hold Valan’s gaze as he spoke. “I am quite sure you were only expressing your gratitude, and are used to those of a stronger sort, yes?”

Valan relaxed slightly at the elf’s continued smile, and he nodded.

“Y-yes. I apologize Shadowsong. I…”

His wings hugged tighter to his body, and he stared at the floor.

“I’m sorry. I just want to make up for my past failings. I should have listened to Aquila; I should have given you a chance.”

The young gryphon’s eyes began to fill with tears, and Kathranis let out a light sigh, his smile dimming slightly to one of simple comforting. He winced in pain as he inched closer to Valan, but luckily, the gryphon didn’t flinch away. Instead, he remained completely still as Kathranis rested a hand on his shoulder.

“No need for tears good Prince,” Kathranis said, trying to keep his voice soft to preserve the gryphon’s pride. “I’m not angry with you, not even a little. We all make mistakes; it just gets easier to hide them as you get older.”

Valan sniffled and shook his head, cowering further back in his feathers.

“I almost killed you because I wasn’t paying attention,” he whispered. “You almost got killed because you were protecting me, a gryphon who was nothing but cruel to you for no reason.” His eyes shined as he looked up and met Kathranis’ gaze. “Shadowsong, any gryphon in their right mind would hate me for acting so dishonorably. Zefuris already hates me, and I think Aquila does too now.”

His shoulders slumped.

“It’s only a matter of time before Dad gives up on me too. When I woke up he just seemed so… disappointed in me. Zefuris and Aquila had already told him their accounts, and then he asked me what happened.”

“Did you tell him the truth?” Kathranis asked.

Valan snorted.

“It would have been easier fighting a mountain than trying to lie to him. I told him everything, every stupid dishonorable detail.”

Kathranis smiled.

“Then that is all that matters. If you truly believe your honor tarnished, honesty about it is a good first step toward mending any problems you caused.” He sat up. “That being said, you have no reason to feel any sort of guilt or dishonor on my account. While I did not like the disrespect you offered me, I didn’t take any sort of offense, because I am old enough to recognize the fiery rebellion of youth. The tongue is hard to control when one is young, and unfortunately, age is the greatest tamer of such speech. I will accept no apologies or proclamations of debt. There is no dishonor or debt between us.”

Valan’s head shot up, and his expression bled confusion.

“B-but…”

Kathranis held up a hand, silencing him.

“I have spoken, and it is finished. If you believe you offended me, I forgive you. So I have said, and so it is done. I will hear no more on the subject.”

Valan looked simultaneously horrified, and relieved. His beak flapped for a moment, then he nodded jerkily.

“O-of course.”

Kathranis smiled and looked back to Aquila.

“Then all is well. We can-“

“We still need to discuss my life-debt,” Valan said.

Kathranis’ face immediately formed into a scowl, and he turned back to the young gryphon.

“I refuse it,” he said. “You owe me nothing. I acted selfishly to save my own skin, and no more. Saving you earned me faster healing, and prevented me from being ripped apart from your attacking guards.”

Aquila sighed, and a hand grabbed the back of Kathranis’ armor, dragging him into her wings.

“You cannot refuse,” she whispered, her voice nearly silent in his ear. “There were plenty of witnesses, and Valan has already testified before the royal court that you saved his life at least once, if not two or three times. He owes you, and he will be banished, forever dishonored if he doesn’t meet that debt.”

Kathranis looked to Valan to find the young gryphon on the verge of tears once more. This time, however, was far worse. His wings hugged tight around his body, and he was quivering and shaking. His eyes pleaded desperately with Kathranis, begging him to rescind his words. The elf slumped and sighed, closing his eyes.

“I… I don’t like debts. Of any sort. They feel wrong.”

A low whimper reached his ears, and Kathranis felt something bump against his knees. He opened his eyes to find Valan’s tear-filled eyes staring up at him.

“Please Shadowsong,” he begged. “I will do anything, anything at all to enter your service to repay my debt. I need this.”

Kathranis let out another sigh.

“Please explain to me why.” He glanced back to Aquila. “Why must he owe me a debt even if I relieve him of it? I can’t say in words how much the concept of somebody owing me a debt disgusts me.”

“I will answer, if you will tell me why that is,” Aquila replied. “I realize that our culture is new to you, but so far as I know, all races have some concept of life-debt, of owing their savior in some regard. We take it to a higher degree, but would you see nobody pay back debts owed?”

Kathranis shook his head.

“No, but it should be less direct. A life-debt shares far too many similarities with slavery. What if I was a terrible person who happened to help Prince Valan? What if I intended ill of your kingdom, and I made your brother work for my gains because of a debt?”

He looked to the younger gryphon.

“I am not trying to dishonor you, nor discount your gratitude, but I am happy with just that; your gratitude. I would much rather we become friends because I saved your life, rather than you become some sort of servant or ward to me. I have no issues with you repaying debts, but to assign it some value, like a moral bank… that does not sit well with me. It reeks all too much of chains and manipulative contracts that restrict and bind. Better to have you watch my back as a friend than as a servant. It is far more personal that way.”

He cleared his throat and straightened, trying to look at both Valan and Aquila as he spoke.

“I apologize. I don’t mean to demean your value of the importance of personal debts, but I am a creature of nature. I would much rather be bound for life in things such as love, or companionship, not debt. Debt is… ugly. Dark even.”

Aquila frowned lightly, thinking silently on his words. Her brother was not so quiet. A slight whimper escaped his beak, attracting Kathranis’ eyes. The young gryphon fell back on his knees, then bowed his face to the floor.

“Shadowsong, if I cannot enter into your service to repay my debt, then I beg that you kill me with your honorable sword now. You may speak of forgiveness, but I cannot forgive myself unless I do something to pay what you have given me. The very air I breathe is a gift from you, whether intended or not, and I will not become some disgusting honorless thing. I am many things, but I refuse to be so stupid as to not pay back a life-debt.”

The full prostrated gryphon made Kathranis unbelievably uncomfortable, and he glanced back to Aquila for some sort of guidance, since his method of forgiveness and refusal had failed. The gryphoness merely met his gaze silently, watching with an appraising eye to see what he would do. Kathranis looked over to Deyenidal to find the same look. His next action would be judged, and if he mucked it up, any thoughts he had about finding a safe home with the gryphons would be forfeit.

Kathranis looked down on Valan’s back, noticed a small nervous twitch in the gryphon’s wings as he awaited an answer. It didn’t take long for Kathranis to come up with one. Even if the gryphons were overplaying the seriousness of punishment for refusal to satisfy a life debt, Valan needed him to say yes. The aggressive, insulting demeanor that Kathranis had silently associated with the gryphon was gone, for hells sake, the gryphon was face down, begging on his hands and knees. If nothing else, the gryphon needed the chance to regain what he saw as lost honor, and though Kathranis didn’t think that any honor was lost, he had to accept the life-debt. It disgusted him, but he needed to do it, if only to make it easier on the poor creature before him.

The sigh he let out was loud, and made clear his distaste for his words, but Kathranis did his best to bend over, lightly grabbing Valan around the shoulders to lift him up. The gryphon met his gaze eagerly, his wings fluttering with hope as he stared at Kathranis’ face. The elf stared back, trying to conjure up some way to avoid the life-debt, but he found his imagination empty.

He let out a second sigh and he pushed himself to his feet, gritting his teeth and ignoring the pain racing up his bad leg. Aquila let out a small gasp, but a flick of his fingers waved the gryphoness away. He needed to face the dire commitment alone. Valan twitched with nervousness, looking desperately like he wanted to help as Kathranis struggled to stay standing, his leg bones grinding together. One hand held a white knuckle grip on the table, while the other clapped forcefully on Valan’s shoulder, acting as Kathranis’ second balance. Through gritted teeth, Kathranis said;

“Though I do completely forgive you, and believe you owe me nothing, I accept your offer of life-debt, on two conditions.”

Valan’s eyes lit up with nervous delight.

“Anything at all Master Shadowsong. I am your servant.”

Kathranis scowled.

“Make that three conditions. No Master Shadowsong, no servant talk. I am Kathranis or Shadowsong, and you are Prince Valan. You may owe me a debt, but I, and my people, are guests in your kingdom. You could even say that that is a debt.”

“No, actually,” Aquila noted. “I invited you freely, and as part of taking you into our care, your health and well-being is our responsibility. If anything, my failure to keep you safe should incur a life-debt as well.”

Kathranis shot a glare over his shoulder, causing Aquila to smile and raise her hands in mock defense.

“But I will not invoke such if you don’t. Besides, I’m still your caretaker. I will have plenty of opportunities to make up for my failings.”

Kathranis prepared to argue that she hadn’t failed him in any regard, but the pain in his leg became too much to bear, and his stance began to fail. A strong pair of arms wrapped around his chest, and Valan smiled as he gently guided him back into his seat.

“You should rest that leg as much as possible Shadowsong.”

Kathranis grunted as he settled.

“I would rest it more if I wasn’t being confronted so frequently with troubling news and culture shocks.”

Aquila giggled.

“I have a feeling you’ll adapt quickly. Now, your final two terms for my brother?”

Kathranis blew out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. He motioned for Valan to sit, something the gryphon did instantly. The sight made Kathranis wince, but he kept the irritation from his voice.

“The second term is this; I want to know in detail every facet of what paying back a life-debt entails. In my eyes such doesn’t exist, so I need a clear definition of what a life-debt is and how we are to engage one another while it is ongoing.”

Valan nodded enthusiastically.

“Of course!” he said with a chirp. “I can recite you the full honor code, or retrieve a written version if you’d like.”

“Later perhaps,” Kathranis replied. “But I expect to be informed in full. I don’t wish to bring any shame down upon you simply because of ignorance.”

Valan nodded in understanding. One of his hands still toyed nervously with his feathers, though Kathranis was glad to notice that the panic and fear was largely gone from his posture.

“The third term?”

Kathranis chuckled.

“I remember somebody saying that he would buy me a new cloak, since I sacrificed my other one to save his hide from burning.”

Valan blushed, but chuckled.

“I did promise that, didn’t I?”

He looked past Kathranis to Aquila.

“You were going to take Shadowsong into town tomorrow, right?”

Kathranis shuddered as warm feathers embraced him once more, accompanied this time by the feeling of a warmer patch of fur rubbing against his neck. If Aquila’s goal was to get him to enjoy being hugged at random, she was finding fast success.

“After his morning healing session to finish mending his leg, yes,” Aquila answered. “Since you are now in Shadowsong’s service, you may come, but you will be on your best behavior, and you will do nothing to ruin my plans for the day, am I clear?”

Valan shrank back slightly.

“Y-yes. We’re clear.”

Kathranis glanced up at Aquila to find her smiling down at him. He flicked his eyes toward Valan, then up again. When she didn’t respond, he did it again. Aquila’s smile faded for a moment, then her eyes lit up with understanding, and a token of irritation. Irritation that was quickly squashed when she looked at her slightly disheartened brother. She let out a small sigh, and, hugging Kathranis tighter under one of her wings, she extended the other.

“Come here Valan.”

The younger gryphon looked at the offered wing with a look of distrust.

“Why?” he asked. “Don’t tell me you’re going to try to make me cuddle. It’s a life-debt, not a wedding.”

Aquila snorted and rolled her eyes.

“There’s my flippant little idiot brother. Come here now, or I tell that maid you were fooling around with that you hugged somebody so hard you nearly killed him.”

Valan flushed red, pointedly looking away from Kathranis.

“Shadowsong… can that please never leave this room?”

Kathranis grinned.

“I’m not the one to ask. Aquila seems to me to be the one to engage in such gossip.”

A wing slapped the back of his head, while the other waved in the air.

“Sometime to today feather-brain,” Aquila sighed. She tapped her chin in faux thought. “What was her name again? Selenia maybe? Scillia perhaps?”

Valan quickly made his way under her wing to stop the list from progressing, and as soon as he had, Aquila grinned and gave him a hug.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve had the chance to say this,” she whispered, “but I’m proud of you Valan. You did a good thing today. Keep it up.”

Valan glanced up at her in adoration, which quickly shifted to disgust and irritation, a clear attempt to hide his gratefulness for the words.

“I didn’t do it for your approval,” he hissed.

Aquila said nothing, merely smiled. Valan glared at her for a long moment, then blushed and rested his head against her breast.

“But thanks,” he whispered.

Feeling completely alien to the familial moment between the pair of gryphons, Kathranis tried to pull himself free of Aquila’s wing. Unfortunately, with his bad leg, he was nowhere near strong enough to make an attempt at freedom, and all he succeeded in doing was alert the gryphoness to his attempted escape. Her eyes flickered over to him, and her grin widened.

She subtly nudged Valan away, then, as soon as the young gryphon was free, fully smothered Kathranis in feathers. Despite the dress and the armor between them, he could almost feel her fur on his whole back, coaxing him to relax with its warm softness. The feathers carefully brushing his face did nothing to alleviate the feeling, and despite himself, Kathranis let out a yawn. Aquila chuckled and wrapped her hands around his belly, pulling him closer.

“Getting tired Shadowsong? If you’d like, I’m sure I can convince Dad to push the meeting off until tomorrow; then you and I could… relax in private.”

The words, said so soothingly, held some hidden connotation, but Kathranis was far too relaxed to think about what that was. His eyelids were suddenly heavy, and the thought of resting against Aquila again sounded quite wonderful.

Kathranis was suddenly very awake when Valan yanked him free of Aquila’s embrace and back into his own chair. The motion brought a hiss from his lips as his leg smacked into a table leg, but any questions or gripes he might have had to throw at the young gryphon vanished as the doors at the end of the room were opened by a pair of massive gryphons in glistening armor.

Each stood to a side of the doorframe, allowing Zefuris to enter the room next. His eyes narrowed and flicked between Kathranis, Aquila, and Valan, but upon finding nothing obviously amiss, he moved from the doorway, pulling out the chair at the head of the table. As he backed away to stand at the right hand of the seat, a tall gryphoness with flowing crimson robes and a golden crown amongst her white headfeathers entered the room and paused for a moment.

“Queen Scylla Stonetalon!” Zefuris announced.

The queen reminded Kathranis of an older Aquila, especially in her shining green eyes. She looked first to Kathranis, who stared nervously back, unsure of how he should proceed. His bad leg continued to be a hindrance, so even playing his normal diplomatic cards and learning of his ignorance later was out of the question, as he couldn’t stand. He did offer the gryphoness a slight nod and an earnest smile.

The gryphoness returned the nod, but didn’t smile until she looked over to Deyenidal, who was once more focused on Fordred. The elf seemed to be asleep in the gryphoness’ arms, unnoticing of the new additions to the room. The crowned gryphoness chuckled lightly and looked back toward Kathranis.

“Well, I must say that sight is quite encouraging.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Kathranis voiced, glancing Fordred’s way. “Though I do hold a few concerns of how quickly things have progressed, but perhaps that is just my lack of knowledge of gryphon culture.”

The crowned gryphoness tittered and glanced toward Aquila.

“I’m sure you’ll receive an appropriate education soon enough.”

She said no more, clasping her hands behind her back and standing to the left of the chair. Suddenly, a sensation of nerves seemed to wash over Kathranis, and his eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to the still open door. Alarm bells began wringing in his head, and evidently, he wasn’t the only one, because Fordred jolted awake. Kathranis heard Deyenidal purr in his ear something about staying calm, but the elvish wizard flashed him a message in handcant.

‘Can you feel that?’

Kathranis met Fordred’s eyes and nodded slowly, then looked back toward the doorway. The light from the dinning room seemed to end just at the doorway, giving no light to the hallway beyond, and from that darkness emanated… power. Kathranis felt like a caged animal, trapped as something far stronger than he was, far stronger than he could ever hope to be approached. It took all of his well-practiced concentration to remain still in his seat. Unconsciously, a hand drifted down, and tapped comfortingly on a scimitar hilt, but even that motion seemed lacking. The guards at the doors, though they clearly noticed his movement, didn’t seem to care that he had a hand on his sword. Like they knew drawing the blade would be worthless.

The power grew closer and closer, and Kathranis felt sweat run down his back. He had no reason to feel panic, to feel fear, yet both were clawing at his intelligent thought, the animalistic warning signals screaming at him to run far, far away from this power he knew nothing about. He ignored them, but dread continued to build, growing louder as he heard approaching footsteps.

The eternity of approach suddenly came to an end as a tall figure walked calmly through the doorway. Shimmering brown fur poked out from beneath a simple silver-colored tunic and matching breeches. The gryphon had an easy head of height over his guards, and his golden headfeathers gleamed, almost pointing to the dull crown on his head. Golden eyes combed the room, settling on each person for just a moment, before finally coming to rest on Kathranis. The elf felt his throat tighten as those eyes stared into his soul, combing through a lifetime of success and failures. As he tried not to faint from the strain of bearing the weight for the gryphon’s eyes, Zefuris said;

“Now introducing Terran Stonetalon, King of all Gryphons!”

Comments

[Armorer]

Suddenly mentioning that it's easier to fight a mountain than trying to lie gives some context.

[TheReader345]

Noooooo! why did it have to end? i need moar!