Location: Ocean of Flight
Year: 1763
Time: Afternoon (about 2:37 P.M. modern)
Chapter 2: Wrath of the Ravens
"Tenus, slow down," said Imea. "I think King Talos can afford us being 'on time' for the transaction.
"Being on time isn't good enough," Replied Tenus. "We're Ravens, we need to be quick and early."
"I don't think three hours early is what King Talos will be expecting…"
"To be early means to be safe."
"Not for our men, they're completely worn out."
"Really?" said Tenus turning around. "Fine, I guess we'll take a break…"
The ravens sighed in relief and stopped. Quickly looking for a landing spot, they decide to rest on a small island. It was very evident to Tenus that his men were tired but he knew they could not afford to rest long. After all, the blood of speed was given to his father and now passed down to him. Resting was what he scorned most; even more than a hail of crossbow bolts. Not knowing what to do at the moment, he moved up to the edge of the cliff and stared at the sea. He then closed his eyes and began to enter a deep state of mind. This was his way of calming his tireless blood which was needed on a daily basis for control. It had been four days; Tenus thought, since he raked apart a target and his body was itching for a fight. Just thinking of the blood and the chaos in the battlefield was enough to make him dizzy. He knew he had to get out of this habit, but that was a very hard task to accomplish.
"Tenus," said a soothing voice.
Silence.
"Tenus?"
More silence.
"Come to your senses," said Imea softly as she kissed him on the cheek.
"Huh?" Gasped Tenus. "What was that for?"
"It was so I could get a word out of you."
"Well, what is it?"
Imea sat right next to him and leaned her body against his. She then said, "I just wanted to say that you have to slow down at times."
"That's it?"
"No 'that's not it!' I've talked to your sister and she always worries about you because you're so reckless. Your mother also doesn't approve of it and if your father was still capable of flying, he said he'd stop you."
"I'd like to see him try."
"Don't be so arrogant. Before your time, I heard Master Naesala was the most capable and most shameless of our kind."
"That's before he gets shot by a bow. When he gets hit, he's going down like a sack of bricks."
"You might think your fa-
"Because I am."
"Before you cut me off, you might think you're fast, but Queen Leanne always said that even now you are still a snail compared to your father."
"To be that fast means to dodge a volley of arrows that can turn night to day."
"He did…"
"What's your proof?"
"Before King Tibarn abdicated his throne 250 years ago, his last wish was for the construction of a memorial for himself and Master Naesala. The statues will feature the time King Tibarn lifted two armored knights and Master Naesala dodging a hail of arrows from forty of Begnion's elite marksmen."
Tenus got back up and ignored what Imea had said. "It's time to go," he said, "get the men back up."
"As you wish," replied Imea.
As they once more began their hasty approach, Imea flew close to Tenus. She then went underneath him to avoid the rain that had not stopped pouring since they left.
"Why did you come?" finally asked Tenus.
"Umm, Queen Leanne told me to."
"You were never any good at lying."
"I came to protect you."
"I won't be dying."
"I cant risk my betrothed to die in a place like the ocean, what if they never find your body?"
Tenus flew closer to her until he could carry Imea in his arms. He then smiled at her as they flew and said, "You know that's not going to happen."
"You could be surprised sometimes."
"Alder," said one of the soldiers on the ship. "They're almost here, what are your orders."
"Ready the ballistae and arm the crossbows. Tell the mages to line the see with oil, we'll burn it as soon as they try to escape."
"Is that all sir?"
"Not quite, make sure the sacrifice army can delay the hawks about ten miles south of here and tell the thunder users to use the natural lightning to pinpoint their targets. The ravens will see the mistake of being so predictable in their agile efforts, and I will laugh at their stupidity."
"Is that all sir?"
"Gather the men before the ravens arrive, I need to boost their morale a little."
After an hour of preparing and no more than ten minutes left for the master plan, Alder began his short and inspirational speech."
"After a thousand years of peace and little war to follow, it is time for us to decide who will be the rightful species worthy of survival. With Begnion at our side, and Daein at our mercy, we will fight for our lives. Soon approaching from the north is an army of ravens waiting for decimation and far off to the south is the foolish hawk king of Serenes. We will wipe out the ravens and then finish the hawks. When you find the boy, show him no mercy, if he is to live, the war for dominance will never be resolved. My friends, our allies grow every day. With Crimea being the last stronghold that has decided to side with the birds, dragons, and wolves, we will decimate them and continue our march to a better future; a glorious future. 'Strive for what you treasure most' was what the majestic Stefan said many centuries back, do not let his efforts of survival be wasted by today."
"Tenus, an armada of unknown colored ships is up ahead," said Ichi. "Do we go through them?"
"We're not risking a fight," was Tenus's reply. "Transform, fly low, and veer west, we'll avoid them by going through the rocks over there."
"Understood."
"Avoiding a fight?" said Imea. "That's very unlike you…"
"Things change."
As the ravens swooped low through the rocks Tenus felt uneasy. He shifted back to human state and looked around. He listened carefully and looked at his men before looking at the rocks above them. He had noticed the arch the two islands made was a large cave with only two ways out, forward or backwards. Tenus realized his foolish decision as he remembered that ships with no colors were abandoned.
"IT'S A TRAP! GET OUT OF THE CAVES NOW!" he screamed in vain. As they retreated to the back of the cave it had erupted into a wall of fire and they were force to rush the front. Now heading for the front, half a dozen boats appeared and men with crossbows began to fire. Tenus retreated to the back and rallied his men as the ones in the front were slaughtered. "PARENTLESS!" screamed Tenus. "Charge while their reloading! 'Murder of Crows formation!'"
It was a wasted effort as the now reloading men were quickly replaced by wind users and the ravens could not break through. When they had switched back to bows, the hail of bolts killed the survivors of the raging winds. In desperation Tenus retreated to the back along side the dozen or so men he had left. Not knowing what to do, he transformed and readied himself for combat. He thought if they had to die, they could take some of the bastards with them. He rushed in for one of the ships gracefully dodging the hailing bolts and tore right through the front lines. He then plunged his talons into two men and pecked another one in the head hard enough to break it. Throwing the two men against the wall, he noticed he was now in the middle of all the ships. They all aimed their crossbows and he could here the chanting of the mages conjuring wind. Sheer adrenaline took over as he sporadically moved from one point to the other avoiding everything until a bolt pierced through his leg. The sheer pain made him shift back to human form and he floated there helplessly. He could see one of the men on the ships taking the soldiers crossbow before smiling and aiming at him. It was their leader. He stood proud as the shot was now aimed for his chest as he knew it was not going to miss. As it was released, he closed his eyes and waited for inevitability that seemed to never come. He felt his back press against the wall and he saw an untransformed Imea in front of him. She had knocked him out of the way.
"That was close," said Imea. "Don't give up on us now," she said smiling.
"But what can I do?" asked Tenus.
"You can fight for your men, for your lives."
"I can't, were outnumbered."
"Quality wins a war, not quantity."
"That phrase seems to not work at the moment."
"Then fight for me."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm tired, I need to take a nap, and I don't expect to wake soon," said Imea as she pressed herself against Tenus and closed her eyes. Tenus than felt something poking out of her back. He looked over her shoulder and saw a bolt sticking out in the middle of her small frame.
"No… Imea," he whispered.
"It's alright Tenus, I just want you to know that, I wish we got married sooner so that we could have started a family…" was her sad and final reply.
Before he could say anything back, he felt a stinging pain in his hand and he let go of Imea. Staring at her lifeless body, and at his now injured hand, Imea was swallowed by the sea. He then looked at the leader of the group to see that he had fired the bolt with a smirk. Yanking the bolt out of his leg and hand, he felt anger burn inside of him like never before. He transformed and his feathers began to shed and were quickly being replaced. The tips had turned to an ominous blue and his feathers grew to a darker purple rather than typical black. His soft yellow eyes entered a state of bloodlust and turned to a deep red. Feeling the anger in their leader, the remaining dozen shrieked and charged alongside him. They gracefully dodged the arrows before being greeted by razor winds. Before the wind could connect, Tenus gave out a cry and it negated the wind as well as killing nearby men. Those who were far could feel blood trickle down their ears as their crossbows splintered.
There was no mercy and the now defenseless soldiers were being slaughtered like livestock. Tenus had gained the strength to pierce through the wood of the hull and was now sinking the ships that they had killed the crew in. Alder knew that being the last ship left was a bad sign. His men were all slaughtered until he was the last one left. Tenus reverted to human state and landed on the boat.
"A foolish move," said Alder smirking and charging. He then fell off balance as the ravens lifted his ship by its ropes. As he laid on the ground, Tenus took his sword and grabbed him by the collar. He then dragged him to the side of the ship and made him look down at the rocky reef below.
"What are you going to do with me?" asked Alder nervously.
"Let you go," answered Tenus. He dragged Alder to the base of the sail and impaled him by his own sword to it. Not being able to move, Alder looked at Tenus as he nodded to his men and dropped the ship. He then gave Alder one final salute and put a smirk on his face.
"CURSE YOU, YOU BASTARD!" screamed Alder as the ship exploded on contact with the reef and sent his body parts in multiple directions.
"Orders sir?" asked the wounded Ichi.
"Meet up with Talos," answered Tenus.
"What about you sir?"
"I'll catch up."
Tenus dove into the water and recovered Imea's body. He then brought her to a patch of grass atop the island since the rain had stopped. Grabbing a torch from one of the sinking ships, he set her aflame while emotionlessly crying.