Disclaimer: I do not own The Land Before Time series or any of its characters.
Quest of the Lost Souls megacharizard
Millions of years ago, long before the animals of today existed, the world was filled with a large variety of animals which are now extinct. Most of these animals were known as dinosaurs. Most ate plants, others ate meat and others ate both. The life of a dinosaur was simple. Eat, sleep and, in short, stay alive long enough to reproduce. Although their lives were not as complex as the lives we lead today, they found danger to be staring them in the face more often than not. However, most were content to live this way (they didn't really have a choice). But some wanted more than there fair share of what life had to offer, some who believed that they deserved more than their fellow dinosaurs. One of these was a Flyer called Pterano.
Pterano had been banished from the home which his sister and her children lived in. Their home was known as the Great Valley. He had been banished for throwing the lives of five children, one of which was his own nephew, into danger while desperately trying to claim a stone which he believed to possess tremendous power. He was wrong. After he was banished, he searched far and wide until he found a wandering herd, which had not had the misfortune of meeting him before and accepted him as a member. For five years, he travelled with them, being led by the Hollow-horn in charge. He did not wish to follow. He believed that he was destined to rise up and bring Flyers back to their rightful place in the world. He thought Flyers had ruled the world a long time ago until Land-walkers appeared. All the time he was with the herd, he planned over and over on how to get power and, more importantly, revenge on those who had been blind to his destiny…
During the herd's travels, Pterano had found two followers to replace Rinkus and Sierra. One was jet black with a crest on his head. Pterano never admitted it, but he resented the fact that this feature made Pterano appear shorter. He was known as Ark. The other was a dull crimson colour with no crest. He was called Rax. Pterano had never told them of why he had left the Great Valley until the last night of his exile.
The weather was cold that night. Most of the herd had settled down to sleep. Pterano was finishing his story of what had happened.
"-and so, they forced me to leave, humiliating me in front of everyone. But they will pay when I find the true Stone of Cold Fire." he vowed.
"Don't waste your time. The stone is a myth. It's not real." Rax said to him. Pterano had often thought of that but never liked to think that all his struggles may be in vain.
"It must be." he replied. "I was born to lead. There must be power out there somewhere which I am destined to find." Ark laughed dryly.
"There may be no such thing as a Stone of Cold Fire." he said. "But I have heard of a much greater power anyway." Pterano was intrigued by this possibility.
"What sort of power?" he asked.
"Well I have no idea if it's real or not, my father told me that when Land-walkers first appeared on the earth, they took away the souls of the Flyers who use to rule."
"What happened?" asked Pterano, getting more and more excited by the second.
"Without their souls the Flyers, were no longer able to fly as high they could. Now that the Flyers were closer to earth, the Land-walkers had power over them."
"What about their souls? What happened to those?" Pterano enquired.
"My father told me that the Land-walkers imprisoned them in the walls of a large underground cavern. If a Flyer should enter, the lost souls will be released from the rock and give the Flyer incredible power as a way of giving thanks. That Flyer will then be able to fly higher than ever before and rule the land."
"Is the cave real?" Pterano asked, barely whispering by now.
"Oh yes." Ark replied. "I know that it exists. And as a true test for the chosen one who enters the cave, only two entrances exist and each is near impossible to get through."
"What are these entrances?" Pterano asked.
"I don't know." he replied.
"I do." said Rax "One way is through a river. In this river is a tunnel which leads into the cave."
"Wouldn't the cave fill up with water?" asked Pterano. Rax shook his head.
"The tunnel goes up hill at one bit so the water can't get through. Of course if you went that way, your wings would be too wet to fly out again."
"What's the other way?"
"The other way is to take a tunnel through a Smoking Mountain which is nearby."
"What about the fire-water?"
"The tunnel has a sharp turn. Once you get to there, the fire-water would not be a problem."
"I see." Pterano had one last question. "Where is the cave?" Ark and Rax looked at each other.
"The cave is directly underneath the heart of the Great Valley." Ark said.
"The Great Valley?" echoed Pterano. The others both nodded. "Very well. I will return to the Great Valley now that my sentence is over and I will seek out this power. Will you come with me?" he asked them.
"Of course." Ark replied.
"I'm in." said Rax.
"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Pterano. "Let's go!" The three Flyers took to the air flew off into the black sky. "Those elders of the Great Valley shall be the first to pay when I claim this power. They will pay!" Pterano thought to himself as they flew, their bodies silhouetted against the Great Night Circle…
TO BE CONTINUED…