This takes place before the events of Mattimeo when Ironbeak and his army are still travelling around in the North.
Note: ~Y~ are akin to the breaks also used in the book.
As usual I own absolutely nothing!
My right wing
The harsh Northern wind blew relentlessly, making the wooden barn shake violently. Mangiz shifted uncomfortably, suspiciously eyeing the roof and walls. They looked as if they could give way at any moment. Down below the rooks and magpies were preening themselves in an effort to straighten their ruffled feathers. Mangiz noticed a few of them nervously glance about, indicating they'd rather find a more secure hide-out for the night but nobeast protested. It was better than staying outside anyway. Two rooks had nearly crashed into one of the rare trees around, whilst Diptail, one of the magpies, had lost his balance, sending him flying into his brothers, resulting almost in all three of their untimely deaths. Mangiz himself had had to use every bit of his flying skills to safely manoeuvrer in the blustering wind as they had made their way to the barn. General Ironbeak, on the other talon, had flown through the storm with the same grace as if it were but a soft summer breeze. The raven sat perched next to Mangiz, calmly rearranging his pitch-black feathers, seemingly unperturbed by the weather outside.
The wind picked up speed. A particularly strong gust slammed into the barn, making the main door bent, the hinges squeaking precariously. Three rooks close to it jumped up, startled, and fled to the other side of the barn. Ironbeak scoffed, "Settle down, chicken-hearts! It is only the wind."
The rooks laughed nervously, "O-of course!" They flinched slightly at the sound of the wind howling outside but stayed put, more afraid of their General reprimanding them than anything, real or not, lurking outside. Mangiz felt a shiver run along his spine at the sound. It was eerily similar to the cries that had been haunting his dreams the last couple of nights.
"My General, I do not like this place." Mangiz whispered lowly so the rest of the army could not hear.
"Why do you say this, my Seer? Have you had any visions?"
Mangiz hesitated for a brief moment; were they visions or simply nightmares? He had not actively sought them out but that did not make them any less prophetic. "Yea I have though I abstained from informing you until their meaning was clear to me."
"Well?" The raven intoned impatiently, "Are they now? What have you seen?"
"I am not certain." Mangiz answered slowly, trying to recall any details of his dreams, but all that came was the cry, much like the howling of the wind, and the scent of blood. And the pain. Excruciating pain, like he was being torn apart, bit by bit. He softly shook his head to clear his mind again, noticing Ironbeak was watching him, still awaiting a proper answer. "There is death in this place."
"Yagga! You worry too much, Mangiz. But fret not. We will not remain here for much longer. This place is unfitting for a conqueror like me. Once the weather settles down we shall leave for better lands." Ironbeak peered down below until he found his magpies, "Quickbill!"
The magpie sprang to attention, "Yes, Sir?"
"Tomorrow we move on from this place," A collective sigh of relief was heard from the rooks, "but before we do, you and your brothers will go out and forage. We need to regain our strength for the upcoming journey. Bring us all there is to find."
Quickbill exchanged a doubtful glance with his brothers before carefully venturing, "Now, Sir?"
"In the morning, you antbrain!" Ironbeak snapped, "Unless you volunteer to go out now. I won't stop you."
"N-no, no, of course not!" Quickbill replied, feeling foolish for his question. "We'll go at first light, Sir!"
"Good." Ironbeak nodded and Quickbill was glad to have saved the situation. That is, until one of his brothers decided to pipe up, "But what if the weather's still bad?" Brightback received a kick from Quickbill for his comment, warning him to shut his beak. Ironbeak glared down at the magpie. "What of it?"
"Well we ca—" Quickbill cawed loudly, startling Brightback out of his sentence.
"Nothing of it, Sir! Weather or no weather, we will forage." Quickbill yelled over his brother whilst Diptail shoved a confused Brightback away. The magpie made a salute with his tail before joining his brothers. Mangiz could just make them out from his position. Quickbill pecked Brightback, whispering stern warnings to keep quiet. Mangiz shifted, turning towards his General, expecting him to be annoyed but was surprised to see a shimmer of amusement in his red-rimmed eyes.
"Perhaps it would be best if I accompany them tomorrow."
"Hakka! There is no need. You are my strong right wing, Mangiz. It is at my side that you belong. Leave the foraging to magpies." Ironbeak laughed but Mangiz simply frowned. Though Ironbeak's words flattered him, his thoughts were darkened by his vision. Quickbill and his brothers were still rather new at this and at times hopelessly reckless. What if the vision was about them? However much Ironbeak might scoff them, the magpies were vital to his army. Without them, they would have no secure line of supplies. The rooks were not very inclined to forage themselves if it could be helped. They needed to focus on fighting.
Noticing Mangiz' mood had not improved, Ironbeak assented, "If you say it is best you go, then go. Perhaps it will make them forage a little quicker if you are there to watch them." Mangiz nodded absent-mindedly. Yes, the sooner they could leave here, the better.
"Yagga! Now! All of you!" Ironbeak addressed every bird again, "Cease your chatter and rest up for the night!" The wind continued to howl and Mangiz doubted he'd get much sleep tonight. Ironbeak turned to him again, "Kraaww! Worry not, Mangiz. If death awaits in this place it shall be I who delivers it." Without another word, the raven closed his eyes and within moments fell asleep. The army was silent. Outside, the storm raged on. Mangiz closed his eyes, banning the sounds from his mind, and thought of the General's promise. Slowly, he drifted into a fitful sleep.
~Y~
Darkness. Still, cold darkness surrounded Mangiz. He couldn't see nor feel a thing. The was only the darkness. All was still until a loud screech pierced the void, reverberating in the air, striking fear in Mangiz' heart. Frantically, he flapped his wings but he remained rooted to the spot as the screech was replaced by the distant cries of suffering birds, panicked birds, but try as he might Mangiz' could make out nothing with his eyes. A flash of white, silently and swiftly, across the dark and a sharp pain in Mangiz right wing. Another flash, more pain. Mangiz cried out in agony. The scent of blood permeated the air. The attacks came in quick succession, ripping at every part of body, until suddenly it stopped. The flashes, the pain, the screech, the cries, even the scent was gone.
His body felt cold, colder than being dipped into the icy waters of the far North, it crept through his feathers, flowed through his veins, leaving him frozen.
Then all feeling left him and nothing remained but utter darkness.
~Y~
Mangiz started awake with such a shock he nearly fell off the beam he'd been sleeping on. He wildly flapped his wings to regain his balance, accidentally hitting Ironbeak in the process. A stifled laugh sounded from below. Ironbeak glared in the general direction but could not spot the perpetrator.
"Mangiz, what is the meaning of this?!" He demanded angrily, turning his glare on his Seer.
"My apologies, my General." Mangiz managed, slowly breathing to calm his racing heart. The vision had felt even worse than before. What did that mean? Was today the day it would come true?
Sunlight filtered through the planks of the barn. First light. Mangiz looked down, spotting the magpies at the main door, ready to leave. "If you'll excuse me, Ironbeak." Ironbeak followed his gaze and though he had thought Mangiz would have changed his mind after a night's sleep, he didn't stop him but nodded his permission. The crow flew down and informed Quickbill he'd be joining them. The magpie glanced up at the General, then back at their second-in-command, afraid this was a test of some sort. Mangiz sighed, "This is no test. Simply proceed as you always would." They both knew that wouldn't happen. There was no way the magpies would mess around and eat their share beforehand with Mangiz around. He would immediately report them to General Ironbeak and Quickbill dreaded the thought of what the raven would do to them if he ever found out.
~Y~
From atop the beam Ironbeak watched them go. Without his right wing with him, there was little to do so he settled down and went back to sleep some more. They'd set off as soon as they were back and had properly eaten. Then Mangiz would be back to his usual self as well.
~Y~
Ironbeak had been right about one thing: the magpies worked a lot faster with him around. But just as Mangiz had feared, they were also reckless; fluttering around in plain sight (which given the lack of much trees or bushes was sadly unavoidable); making a ruckus that could be heard across the sea; not paying attention to their surroundings; not even posting a look-out which, Mangiz hoped, was only because he was currently their look-out. Mangiz called out to them for the fifth time that they should be more careful. Quickbill assured him there was no danger for the fifth time. And for the fifth time Mangiz didn't believe him but said no more. After all, everything did seem peaceful. Perhaps he was letting his nightmare affect him too much. Perhaps that was all it was; a nightmare.
He had told himself that more than five times whilst out gathering but he still didn't believe it.
~Y~
Brightback pulled another berry from the bush, the force of his pull sending a couple more falling to the ground. Diptail gathered them up and added them to their steadily growing pile. When Brightback made a move to eat one Quickbill whacked him with a wing.
"Ooww, why do you keep hitting me, brother?" He complained. Quickbill motioned for him to lower his voice, "Because you keep doing stuff worth being hit for!" He whispered back loudly. Diptail laughed, "Be glad it is only Quickbill hitting you. If you ate that berry you'd be in for much worse."
"Krraw! Mangiz won't notice. And even if he does, can't we just offer him one too?" Brightback reasoned, staring longingly at the pile of berries. They'd never worked so long without taking a bite in between before.
Quickbill laughed, "Bribe Mangiz? Brother, you are more foolish than I had given you credit for!"
"He is only a bird like us. He needs to eat." Brightback replied, then rubbed the spot Quickbill had last hit him with a wing, "Besides, I can take a hit from him if it means eating…"
Diptail dropped another berry on the pile, pushing his brother further away from it. Quickbill jumped in front of Brightback to block him from the food. "Mangiz will not hit you. He will tell the Chief."
"Maybe he won't if-"
"He will." Diptail interrupted. "Without fail."
Quickbill continued, "And you do not want to be on the receiving end of his ire."
For the first time Brightback looked nervous, "What will he do then…?"
"I would rather never find out." Quickbill answered gravely. "Now quit dawdling and gather more berries. The sooner we finish here, the sooner we get to eat."
They did not notice the white shape swiftly descending upon them.
~Y~
A flash of white.
Mangiz snapped his head towards it. There it was! The shape from his vision was floating in the sky! No—it swooped down, straight at Quickbill and his brothers. Madly flapping his wings, he rushed towards them. Calling out would be pointless, they'd simply brush him off. At full speed he slammed into Diptail mere seconds before the white menace struck. Brightback jumped back in surprise, squawking loudly, too confused to react any further. Quickbill flew off into the air on pure instinct alone. Below, he saw a great white owl, claws digging into the very spot his brother had stood only moments ago. A little further off, Mangiz and Diptail were frantically trying to untangle themselves. Brightback simply stood frozen in place, staring in terror at the giant bird of prey. Quickbill wasted no time and flew straight back to the barn.
~Y~
Down on the ground the owl detached his talons and shook the dirt from them. He turned around, looking for the crow who had interrupted his kill and found him struggling free from his prey. The magpie could wait now. The crow would have to pay first. Nobody disturbed his perfect stealth kills and got away with it.
~Y~
Mangiz finally managed to detach himself from Diptail and quickly hopped upright. Diptail followed a bit slower. The great white owl turned its head towards them, eyes narrowing dangerously. This was it. His vision was coming true in this very moment. The death he had foreseen, that had haunted him for nights, had arrived.
"W-where's Quickbill?" Diptail asked, voice high with panic. Mangiz glanced around but the oldest magpie was nowhere to be found. He must've gotten away. Noticing Brightback, Diptail opened his beak to shout at him, "Broth-", but Mangiz cut him off. "Be silent! Do you want your brother to die?" He whispered back rapidly, voice low so the owl wouldn't hear. Diptail promptly shut up, eyes wide in fear, as he stared at the owl, trying his best to ignore his brother so close to the threat.
"Listen." He whispered to the magpie, "Do not bother fighting him. Evade and fly at the first chance you see. Understood?" Mangiz could practically hear Ironbeak caw disdainfully at his words but they had no choice. Diptail was no fighter and Mangiz knew he was no match for an owl this size. Not on his own. He needed to either try and shake him from their tailfeathers or lure him to the barn where the entire army could deal with him together.
The owl raised his wings, his eyes never leaving Mangiz, and with two powerful beats he was in the air. Silent as the night, the owl gained height, then abruptly stopped. For a second, he lingered before swooping down, letting out a high-pitched screech as he charged at Mangiz and Diptail. Mangiz froze. The memories of his vision swarming his mind. The pain, the blood, the fear even more intense now than it had been any night. Diptail dodged out of the way just in time and sped off as instructed. Mangiz tried to move, knew he had to move, but he didn't.
With another screech of victory the owl descended on the crow.
~Y~
General Ironbeak was rudely awoken by the main door to the barn slamming against the wall. Quickbill flew inside, eyes wide, and completely out of breath, shouting something about an owl.
"Hakka! Quickbill, calm down!" Ironbeak ordered as he flew down to confront the magpie who took a few slow breaths and stopped rambling.
"What is this about an owl?" The General questioned. The panic was straight back in Quickbill's eyes. "General Ironbeak! Hurry! An owl is attacking my brothers!"
"What?!" The raven's voice was sharp. Quickbill carried on, "It came out of nowhere! It was so silent and.. and…stealthy! If Mangiz had not seen it in time, Diptail would have been taken by it but he-"
"Yagga! That is not important! There is no time to waste. Quickly, show me where the owl is." Ironbeak followed the panicked magpie outside, cursing his seer. This was exactly why he should not be out foraging! Though Mangiz was a warrior in his own right, an owl was too much for him to handle alone. And magpies were no fighters, they would simply weigh him down.
Quickbill started flying in a direction, Ironbeak on his tail, but the magpie was exhausted from racing back. At this rate they'd arrive too late. "Straight this way?" The General asked. Quickbill had barely finished confirming this or Ironbeak flew past him. The raven heard some shouts about his army but ignored them. The rooks were much slower than him and time was of the essence. No owl was a match for the greatest fighter in Northern lands, anyway.
'There is death in this place.'
Ironbeak sped up his pace even more. His seer was seldom wrong. But General Ironbeak was a bird of his word. If death lies in the future then it would be that of the enemy's.
~Y~
A flash of white.
Mangiz snapped out of his daze and jumped to the side but it was a little too late. Sharp claws raked across his right wing; they had only narrowly missed his neck. Familiar pain coursed through Mangiz as he hopped clear of the owl's reach. The assailant landed in the dirt again. He slowly turned back to Mangiz, hatred and bloodlust evident in his narrowed eyes. The crow checked his wing. Flying off was no longer an option. He swallowed hard as realization dawned on him.
The one dying in his vision was no other than he himself.
~Y~
Diptail nudged his brother back to his senses. Brightback blinked, still confused, "What just happened?"
"What ju—brother, I was nearly killed by that owl!" Diptail exclaimed but realized they had no time for their usual banter. "Look, we need to flee! Hurry!"
He made to fly off when he noticed Mangiz was still with the owl, blood covering the dark feathers of his right wing. Diptail hesitated. Brightback called for him from in the air.
"What about Mangiz?" Diptail asked. Brightback looked back at the crow and the owl advancing upon him. "You said we had to flee!"
"But he saved my life…"
"We can't fight an owl!" Brightback reasoned. Just then Diptail noticed the pile of berries they had been collecting. "No… but we can annoy him."
~Y~
Fear coursed through Mangiz' veins. He was going to die here. His vision would come true, as they always did. This was the end. The owl advanced upon him, not even bothering to take to the air again first. He hopped closer and lashed out with his beak. On pure instinct, Mangiz evaded the attack. Another peck followed and another and another. Mangiz evaded one after the other but eventually one hit its mark. A few feathers were ripped loose in the process. Debilitated by the pain, Mangiz was too slow to avoid the next attack. With a kick from his strong, sharp talons, the owl send Mangiz flying backwards. He landed with a thud. Ignoring the pain, the crow pushed himself up and got back on his talons. If this is where he was going to perish then he would not be doing it laying down.
The owl approached him, agonizingly slowly, as if he knew Mangiz couldn't flee anymore anyway, so he was taking his time to kill him. Mangiz readied himself to perform an evade and attack move. Even without the use of his right wing he knew he could pull off a few good fighting techniques. Once he was close enough the owl made to strike again but stopped short as he was suddenly bombarded by berries. Above, Diptail and Brightback called out tauntingly but Mangiz could clearly hear the fear in their voices. Momentarily distracted the owl glared up at the magpies, sending a promise of death through his eyes. Mangiz' reaction was immediate. He launched himself forward, delivering a couple of pecks at the owl's belly before attacking his talons. The owl screeched in anger and kicked the crow off him. He was outraged. The time for games was over. Ignoring the second barrage of berries he launched himself at Mangiz.
~Y~
When General Ironbeak arrived on the scene, the first thing he saw was Diptail and Brightback fluttering this way and that, throwing what appeared to be their supplies down at a nearly completely white owl. Then he saw Mangiz. Ironbeak shot forward like an arrow, straight at the owl, hitting him at full speed. Right when he made contact, he spread out his wings to stop his advance to avoid getting entangled with the owl. With a few wingbeats, he gracefully landed, watching with pleasure as the owl was catapulted backwards by his blow. The thrill of battle pulsated along his feathers. It had been too long since he had a real fight. The last couple of places they had conquered had been mostly abandoned already. He focused on the owl, every muscle in his body tensed, ready to strike the moment the owl had recovered and continue the fight.
"I-Ironbeak?"
Mangiz' quivering voice pulled Ironbeak from his concentration. He looked behind him and saw his seer staring at him with wide eyes. The raven took in the crow's state: his bloodied right wing, the naked skin around his neck, also bloodied, where feathers had been ripped away, even more wounds on his chest. Fury replaced his excitement for battle at the sight. How dare anybeast do this to his strong right wing?! Ironbeak was glad the owl was still alive, glad he hadn't ended him as swiftly as he normally did, because Ironbeak was going to return every injury he'd done to Mangiz in tenfold. Nobeast assaulted his Seer and lived to tell the tale.
~Y~
Ironbeak? How, when? Mixed feelings coursed through him, confusion, shame, happiness, and still that trace of fear. What was going on? How would his vision play out now? Would the owl still kill him? Mangiz stared into the General's eyes, expecting to see the usual excitement for battle, disappointment for finding his right wing so utterly beaten on the ground, but he didn't see either of those. All he saw rage, anger, fury, and underneath it a little sparkle of something else. Concern…? In all their time together, Mangiz could not remember ever seeing Ironbeak like this. The General wasn't known for his good temper but never before had he seen him so livid. The red edges of his eyes gleamed and seemed to enlarge, like he was being overtaken by a frenzy.
Ironbeak broke their gaze and turned back to the owl. His wings hitched up just slightly, his tailfeathers raised, the feathers along the back of his neck ruffled. Mangiz recognized the stance. The General was ready for battle.
"Yaggah!" He spoke low and slowly, his voice dripping with hatred, "You shall pay dearly for this, owl."
Ironbeak took flight and soared low over the ground at the owl. The great snowy bird screeched as he flung himself at the raven. They struggled with each other, a blur of black and white, on the ground, in the air, it was difficult to keep track. White feathers flew and then white turned to red. The scent of blood hung heavily in the air. Above, the magpies had grown silent, watching in awe as their Chief took on the fearsome white beast in single combat. Mangiz couldn't tear his eyes off the scene, even though he normally didn't quite enjoy watching Ironbeak fight, he was now transfixed.
Ironbeak broke loose from the clash, bringing more feathers with him. He smirked murderously at the owl before spitting the feathers out. Blood dripped down his yellow beak, coating his black feathers in a deep red. The weak sun glistened off the still wet blood splashed across his black form. His adversary had turned more crimson than white and stood, barely able to keep from falling, huffing a little ways off. All the feathers around his neck were gone and Mangiz realized the owl's injuries bore a striking resemblance to his own. Only worse. Much, much worse.
"Consider this a warning." Ironbeak spit out, his eyes focused on the beaten owl. Relief radiated off the owl at those words. Clearly, he thought they indicated the raven would let him go now.
Clearly, the owl was not familiar with General Ironbeak.
Without warning the raven renewed his attack on the owl who was too surprised, and too battered, to respond. A few more slashes and pecks later, Ironbeak had him pinned to the ground. With one talon holding the owl's own down and the other on his chest, Ironbeak posed upon his adversary. The raven leaned in close, beak hovering over the owl's exposed skin. "Hakka! Did you truly think I would let you live?" There was terror in the owl's eyes. Good, Mangiz thought with satisfaction, be afraid.
"Kracha! I will teach you what happens to anybeast that dares lay a claw on my Mangiz!"
The owl opened his beak but all that came out was a sick gurgling noise as Ironbeak ripped his throat open in one fell slash. Blood sprayed out, further dosing the raven who looked upon the dead owl with morbid satisfaction.
~Y~
This was impossible. His visions always came true. Always. But, his vision had been about him dying at the talons of this owl. Mangiz was certain of that now. Yet, the owl was dead and he was still alive. The raven had single-talonly changed his Seer's fate. Mangiz could only stare at his General in admiration. The image of a blood-covered Ironbeak standing triumphantly over his enemy, declaring death upon all who harmed him, defying fate and bending it, albeit unknowingly, to his own will was forever imprinted in Mangiz' mind.
Ironbeak left the fresh corpse and hopped over to Mangiz. The crow suddenly grew nervous. He staggered back on talons, swaying a bit, but managing to stay upright.
"My deepest apologies, General." Mangiz blurted out, bowing his head to his leader. "I have failed you."
"Why do you speak such foolishness, Mangiz? Your foresight has proven true once more." He motioned towards the owl. "See, my Mangiz? There is the death you foresaw." Ironbeak said as he stopped next to the crow, eyeing his injuries. "And it was delivered by General Ironbeak, as I told you it would be." Mangiz knew it wasn't entirely true, knew that this was not what his vision had meant, but he simply nodded. "But still," He motioned at himself with his good wing, "Look at the state I am in."
Ironbeak laughed, "Krah! What of it? You are not me, Mangiz. You fought formidably. Did he not, magpies?" The magpies, who had landed near the pile of berries, where they had been joined by Quickbill sometime during the battle, all cawed their confirmation. "Any rook would have fared much worse than you." The raven continued. "You did not fail me, my Mangiz, for without you those three antbrains would have perished here today."
~Y~
Brightback opened his beak to protest but Quickbill and Diptail shut him up by simultaneously kicking him. "Don't. You know it's true." Diptail whispered.
"Yes, and be grateful his Mangiz survived." Quickbill added. "Else the Chief would have gutted us personally for leading him to his death."
Brightback snickered at the use of 'his Mangiz' but wisely kept his beak shut.
~Y~
Mangiz glowed at the praise but he was well aware of the situation. With his wing damaged, he would not be able to fly for a long while and thus he would not be able to leave with them today. General Ironbeak had left warriors behind before if they proved too injured to carry on. They were welcome to rejoin if they caught up but he would not wait for them. General Ironbeak waited for nobeast.
"Ironbeak, without my right wing, I cannot fly." Mangiz responded meaningfully. Something flashed in the raven's eyes; something the crow did not recognize but it seemed akin to anger yet not.
"Yagga! Quickbill!" The magpie jumped, startled at being addressed so suddenly, but managed a salute, "Yes, Sir?"
"You and your brothers start returning those supplies to the army. Inform the rooks that we will be staying here for a while yet." Ironbeak ordered.
"For how long, Chief?" Quickbill asked tentatively.
"Hakka! For as long as it takes!" Ironbeak yelled back. "And send back two rooks. It is irrelevant who." Quickbill hesitated a moment, seemingly contemplating asking more, but eventually motioned at his brothers to start picking up the berries. When all three of them had flown off, Ironbeak turned back to the crow who was looking at him questioningly.
"Aye, it is as you say. You cannot fly without your right wing." He moved closer to Mangiz, supporting his weight as the crow began to struggle more and more to remain standing, "Krah! Nor can I, Mangiz, my strong right wing."
I love Ironbeak and Mangiz even more in the book than in the TV series and that's saying something. Also, writing the magpies was fun! :D
Hope you enjoyed!
Chibiscuit~