Welcome back, gang. Well, I've heard that ThunderCats has been cancelled. I'm guessing this means it won't be getting a Canadian airing. Alas, we must go on. And for those of you wondering a wyvern is a dragon with four limbs, one set of wings and one set of legs. Enjoy.

Flight of the Wyvern

Balor continued to look around. They had yet to leave for the Gauntlet and still they were before that giant statue of Sotark that towered over the entire city of Harapa. There was no way that he was going to the Gauntlet, whatever it was.

Then Balor spied a ledge on a nearby building. It was low enough for him to reach if he were to jump. He'd get away from this group, he would!

Balor jumped and instantly three mothmen pursued him. Balor then jumped for a higher ledge on another building, and then to the roof of a building itself.

The mothmen continued to pursue!

Now on the roof of the building, Balor proceeded to jump to another rooftop. When he reached it he heard a horrible noise, a familiar noise! Balor looked and down coming at him were about fifteen Olitiau. Balor gulped in fear.

"Oh, not good!" Balor shook his head. "Not good at all!" Three mothmen and fifteen olitiau and they were all after him. This was overkill! Balor was paralyzed in terror. Both the mothmen and the olitiau landed on the rooftop and the leaders of the two groups walked towards each other.

"Give us the evabon! It has been many years since we've feasted on evabon blood!" The Olitiau leader, a female looked at Balor with hungry eyes. "Thunderan, Nomis, Giantors, Wolos, we want something rare! We want evabon blood!"

"You'll get what is in the prison you guard, witch!" The Mothman Leader pointed a sword at the Olitiau Leader. "Female and male Olitiau alike will only get the blood of the inmates of the prisons they guard! That is the law!" The Mothman Leader then looked over at Balor. "Besides, Sotark himself has selected this boy himself as his future champion!" The Olitiau Leader growled at the Mothman Leader.

"No one denies Iambe of her desired prey!"

"Then Iambe and her brood are traitors to all of Harapa!" And then the two groups clashed. Balor crept away to the edge of the rooftop only to realize he was out of luck. All of the rooftops were too far for him to jump to. If he were to fall he'd probably die and the only rooftop he could get too was blocked by the fighting mothmen and olitiau.

"Balor!" That was the Shaman's voice! Balor looked around. He wasn't anywhere in sight! Was he hearing the Shaman's voice in his head? "Look to the sky!" Balor looked up and flying down at him was a wyvern. The Wyvern landed next to Balor and sat down. "Go! Mount the Wyvern! Escape!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Balor jumped onto the back of the wyvern and instantly the winged reptile took off.

Balor's escape did not go unnoticed. The Mothman Leader turned his head to see the young evabon escaping on the wyvern. He was about to fly after them but then the Olitiau Leader, Iambe, killed him. A blow from one of her powerful wings broke his neck. Iambe starred at the escaping child upon the Wyvern and flew after them. Her daughters could take care of the rest of the Mothmen she had plenty of offspring so these fourteen were expendable.

With a few minutes, the wyvern and Balor were over a lake. Balor looked in disbelief as he saw that the gigantic lake was inside of Harapa itself. The giant wall surrounded even that body of water! Balor shook his head unable to understand what kind of a place this was.

Then came a horrible scream! It was like a banshee! Balor turned his head to look back and flying right at them was Iambe!

Iambe rammed right into the Wyvern, knocking Balor from his back. The Wyvern couldn't even fly to save Balor, he and Iambe were locked in a fight to the death. So all three fell down to the great lake below.

Sotark sat in his throne. He looked down at his court he towered over all of them. Then one member of the court walked towards him. A person whose race originated from the colder climates of Third Earth, he looked vaguely like a komrev combined with a were-tolac. He had owl-like eyes, large claws and an emaciated body. He looked like a skeleton with ash-toned skin. Sotark despised this race. In the ancient times, this race nearly drove the evabon to extinction but now it was quite ironic that one of these people now served an evabon.

"Great Soatrk, I am the general of your army, Ogidnew, I am your champion!"

"For the time being!" Ogidnew starred in shock. What did Sotark mean?

"I am Ogidnew, Slaughterer of Cats, Oppressor of Lizards, Subduer of Birds, Degrader,of Dogs, Destroyer of Petalars! Who else can be better a warrior than me?" Sotark laughed. There was much mocking in his laugh. Ogidnew backed away in fear. "Forgive me, great Sotark! I did not mean to question you!"

"Question me? It is good you question me!" Ogidnew swallowed in fright. He did not like where this was going. "In twelve years time your successor will have become an adult and you will now longer be of any use to me!" Ogidnew's eyes widened.

"A child? In the Gauntlet?" Ogidnew chuckled. "My lord, he might not live to see adulthood."

"He will live." Sotark's voice had become a growl. Everyone in the court had their eyes on Ogidnew. He was being foolish and Sotark knew it. The ruler of Harapa would probably end up striking down the general. "He is an evabon, like me he is one of the firstborn of Third Earth." The term 'First Born of Third Earth' had been used by many from different races. It was an indication that their race was the first sentient race on Third Earth but it was often said by people who held a great deal of power in the world. "Now what is the news on the search for my hammer?" Ogidnew backed away only to back into the serpent who Balor, Kat and Panthro had been brought before.

"It has been found, King of Evabon!" Ogidnew turned his head to look at the serpent. Why hadn't he been told of this? He was the General! Why was the High Priest suddenly knowing more than he did? "It had been found in a farmer's field. You'll be happy to know that the farmers were slain and their blood was used to wash your hammer." The serpent slithered forward and bowed his head. "It awaits you in the temple!" Sotark smiled and stood up.

"To the temple! And Third Earth shall once more feel my power at its fullest!" Sotark and the members of the court left the throne room leaving Ogidnew alone. The general would make assurance double sure that he would not mistake. He would go to the Gauntlet and kill the evabon boy himself that Sotark planned to replace him with. No one would replace him.

On the spirit realm, Procyon and Jaga watched the events unfolding. The two looked into a pool of water in Procyon's pavilion on the floating mountain across the rainbow bridge. Procyon shook his head. Jaga turned to look at Procyon.

"Something wrong?"

"I can't do anything to help!" Procyon placed his sword into the pool causing the images to vanish. "Because of my penance I can only descend to the mortal plane during the cycle of the full moon."

"What of entering the dreams of mortals?" Procyon shook his head.

"Only during the cycle of the new moon." Jaga looked back into the pool of water. He got an idea.

"Then as the friend of your brother and a ThunderCat allow me to advise them." Procyon placed a hand on Jaga's shoulder. Jaga raised an eyebrow in question.

"No, there is one looking out for Balor and the ThunderCats can get out of this situation by themselves."

"You mean he who has become a personification of death, the north and the storm?"

"Aye, he who was born when my race was young." Jaga nodded in agreement.

"No doubt this is a test of some sort." Jaga looked at the pool of water. An image was starting to form. "We can only hope that everyone will pass this test." Procyon and Jaga both kneeled down to get a closer look at the image forming in the pool.

The image showed an army marching. Whose army was it? Where was it going?