It was dark for a long time, though the half-dragon didn't fully acknowledge this- couldn't in his state of exhaustion as his body was forced to heal itself much faster than it was used to by the potions and medicines his friends gave him. There was oddly no fear except for those dreaded nightmares of falling as he slept peacefully and his fellow warriors tiptoed around him as if he was a fragile piece of glass. Perhaps that was why he slept for as long as he did, because like it or not- the world outside his dreams was absolutely boring!
A fact he found out as soon as he woke up from his week-long nap.
Though he was quite surprised to be greeted by the sound of Captain Sparklez's voice as well as the familiar voices of a few other people that he had never actually spoken to in his life- and one or two that he had. It seemed like half of the captain's council was inhabiting the fortress perched in the middle of the city, smack dab in the middle of Riverview- the largest park within any city's walls.
Riverview was a large chunk of forested land- in fact it was the very piece of land that the town had first been built around- not within because of the nature of the forest. To put it simply Riverview forest was a highly magical place; energy radiated from the forest and called out to all magic users within miles of the area so strongly that no one would have ever dared to cut down a single tree. The trees there were ancient things, some were larger than houses while others could have been mistaken for bushes or twigs sticking up out of the ground. So many cures for ailments and all sorts of discoveries had come from the flora and fauna of the forest over the many years the city had grown that the people were fiercely protective and proud of Riverview. Packs of rare gryphons flew seasonally into the city to make their nests high up in the tallest trees of Riverview forest, diving this way and that to amuse the Minecraftians watching on the streets below. The rivers and canals that looped this way and that through the city all tied in some way to the massive ring of water around Riverview- half of the waterway manmade and the other half the natural horseshoe curve of the mighty Obsidian River, who's waters were so deep that they remained a pitch black even in the brightest day, the sun's rays simply could not make it down to the riverbed. Riverview over the years had started to integrate with the city little by little as people planted trees and flowers only found within the forest and transformed the plains that their homes set on into extensions of the massive park. Trees that glowed different colors lined the roads in some places, in others there were trees that seemed to made of diamond or gold, or simply grew ores on them like fruit. It was a beautiful city and Riverview had made Gryphon King City what it was, as well as providing the perfect place for the fortress of the Gryphon King, a tradition that was still kept even to that very day.
Currently Captain Sparklez was the Gryphon King, after the last King had died in a gruesome battle against the squids near the beginning of the war. Troops had been scarce back then, not many people had realized the threat the squids posed- hadn't realized the fact that they were already taking over coastal towns until they'd started burning whole villages to the ground when the people there wouldn't submit. Sparklez was one of the many warriors over the course of time who'd been chosen to keep the peace in Gryphon King City and protect Riverview- a tradition that had started long ago, though how it had, Bodil wasn't sure…he'd have to ask Sparklez to tell the tale sometime.
Though he had to admit Riverview was probably one of the best places you could wake up in, and the fortress certainly had the best view whether or not a person was knowledgeable in the lore of the place. A snowy white gryphon invading his balcony to bask in the warm rays of the morning sun was definitely not an unpleasant sight- though for a second he took a step back and wondered if it wasn't Bluehorse. But when it simply snorted in reply to his call of the warrior's name- he immediately knew it had to be a normal gryphon as she would have not just snorted at him in annoyance and kept sleeping the day away.
Bodil wasn't allowed out of bed for another boring two or three days in which he mostly spent sleeping and tossing bits of crumpled writing paper at the gryphon for the creature to bat around on the floor. One of the maids nearly had a heart attack when she saw the creature inside his room, lapping up a warm bowl of milk that Seto had brought for the animal- though that was the only excitement he got out of those few tiring days of doing absolutely nothing. Meanwhile, Bluehorse was running around talking to Sparklez and Sky about possible alliances between their armies and the Savior agency as well as meeting with the others to discuss strategies to kill off the Brokens or get in contact with her agency. Seto had a library of books to go through and the sorcerer was practically in love with the towers of books by the sound of it, so Bodil took to telling him to go marry the library every time he wasn't allowed up out of bed which annoyed the sorcerer enough to provide a bit of entertainment. Antvenom was off who knows where and always showed up for the meetings and at least a visit or two every day, but at least he was allowed to walk around and explore wherever he pleased. Bodil would've much rather have been exploring Riverview with his new gryphon friend whom he'd named Snowy after her sleek white coat- not an original name, sure but it fit her quite well and it was the only thing she'd respond to after trying at least a hundred other names.
Finally when he was allowed up out of bed the very first thing he made sure to do was to set up a small, harmless explosive on the underside of Captain Sparklez's chair as his own personal greeting- the explosion was much like that of a pop-rock or perhaps a small firecracker without as much flame. The effect was much better than he intended it to be with everyone in the room leaping at least a foot in the air and Sparklez falling out of his chair and onto the floor- a stunned expression on his face that lasted for at least a good five minutes as he simply sat where he'd fallen.
"Why….?" He questioned rather innocently as if thinking aloud…then of course he blamed one of his second-in-commands, Tom Syndicate for pulling the harmless prank since the man was laughing so hard. Which of course made Bodil laugh even louder as he allowed the argument to go a bit further before chucking one of the explosives on the floor for everyone to see.
"Did you like your present?" He laughed as everyone in the room tried to hold back the laughter bubbling up in their throats…oh how he loved his job. This is what they got for sticking him in bed for two whole days and not even letting him walk to the kitchen to get something to eat, and there would be so much more chaos in the days to come that would have his name scrawled all over it.
"Not as much as you'd think, sir." The captain replied as formally as always, though his lips were pulled up in a grin as he grabbed another chair and set down in that one as well- another burst of fireworks setting off as Bodil laughed even louder, nearly falling to his knees in mirth.
"Great, now I don't trust the chairs…so I think I'll stand for the duration of this meeting." Sparklez sighed, not wanting to set off any more of Bodil's little traps unless he wanted to set his office on fire. Though knowing Bodil the plan was so well thought out that it more than likely had a ninety-nine point nine percent chance of not setting his office on fire. Which was as much as he could hope for.
The following week was spent sorting through maps and records- keeping one eye on the watch towers and an ear tuned to the alarms especially in the long, dark Minecraftian nights. The few warriors that had seen the Brokens routinely took night watches on the walls, especially Bluehorse and the half-dragons with their excellent night vision coming in handy instead of the temporary potions that had to be drunk every half-hour or so to keep the effect strong and alive. There were flickers of movement far off in the grass that could not be pinned to skeletons, zombies, or even spiders- there were fleeting shapes that vanished as quickly as they were spotted, but somehow this eased the warriors' fears. Gryphon King was too large of a city for the beasts to attack- it was too well guarded- and there were too many defenses. The creatures knew they would be cut down before they stormed past the first wall and so kept well back, no doubt waiting for the moment when their victims would emerge from the city walls. They were effectively trapped, but there were more ways to get out of Gryphon King than by land- if needed they could board a ship and sail to the village of Salty Cove and follow the roads a day or so back into the mountains and to SilverDale. It was that simple, though there were many ways in which the team could leave the city with relative ease and they were quickly thinking of all sorts of ideas- some plausible while others were not.
At the moment Bodil was working on his latest project- resupplying himself in the way of explosives which was a simple task for a demolition expert like himself once he had the appropriate tools and supplies for the job. He'd almost completely finished restocking what he'd used in the battle that had thrown him to the ground and was trying to work on an explosive that could not be detonated by the explosion of another explosive. Which would hopefully prevent what had happened earlier in their travels from happening again. The half-dragon wasn't too fond of watching the ground speed towards him and feeling the painful impact that was inevitable under such circumstances- true he hadn't been far off the ground when he had been thrown off balance, but he'd also broken four ribs and his left leg in the fall among an assortment of burns, cuts, and gashes from the fire of the explosion and the road-burn.
There were always a few problems that needed to be worked with, but the explosives he was making now would be good, actually working prototypes- the only problem with them that he could see was the possibility that if the pressure built up too much everything within a few feet would be burning in much the same fashion as if he had thrown a Molotov cocktail down. Which was not good- considering the fact that it could likely shower everyone nearby in a flaming powder that would cling to their clothes and work its way into their lungs…which would be a painful death to say the least. Though at the moment that would only happen if the flame-proof casing was crushed or smashed in some way and the flame on the fuse melted a few of the components of the fuse to the actual explosive because of the crushed casing. Then and only then when the chemicals that would cause the dangerous reaction meet- and well then…things would be on fire...and many people would be running around screaming as their lungs were fried from the inside out.
Not a pleasant image…especially considering it could happen to him very easily.
Hopefully Bluehorse could lend a hand quickly enough under such circumstances that no one would be dead by the time the fire went out. Though the Brokens would likely be easily able to pick them off then and rip them all apart to the Doppelganger's content. He shook his head at the images of snapping jaws and glimmering fangs- of the ground racing closer and closer as a terrified shout left his lips and he still continued to fall no matter how wide his wings were spread. Rubbing sleep out of his eyes he sighed heavily and began cleaning up the desk so Snowy wouldn't get into the gunpowder while he was asleep. He'd seen how eagerly she went after creepers on his night watch duties and feared she'd eat the harmful powder if he left it out as he usually did when he worked at home, though it didn't bother him to clean it up at all.
He rubbed the gryphon's head affectionately as he finished putting everything away and grinned as her deep, rumbling purr filled the silence of the room. Outside the world was dark, the bright lights of the city seeming like closer reflections of the wide array of stars and the moon spread out so far overhead- he wouldn't have minded flying on a night like this…but not in the city and not with the Brokens around just beyond the walls.
It was enough to sit and watch the stars though, it was enough to marvel at being alive after a fall like that. To still have his wings whole and intact- for their whole group to have made it to the city alive and well…it was a miracle and he couldn't have been more thankful.
In another part of the fortress Captain Sparklez sighed tiredly as he leaned back in the leather chair, idly flipping through a few old history books about the city. Ever since Seto, Sky, Ant, Bodil, and Bluehorse had showed up nearly everyone was trying to pitch in to help bring down this new threat to Minecraftia. It wasn't as simple as it first seemed to be- the group had been here for nearly two weeks already and still there had been no word from Seth Bling who was likely so far out on the islands that it would be impossible to contact him and Sparklez had no idea where any of the other redstone experts might have been or he would have called them in by now. One expert known by the name Cyanide Epic was off working on some project out in the mountains somewhere, but Sparklez had never met him personally though Sky recognized the man's name immediately- Cyanide had to be the closest to them, but no one knew exactly where he was. The area that the man could be in was a wide swath of snow covered forests to the south-west of Gryphon King where the taiga swept down to meet the mountains and forests surrounding SilverDale and the towns nearby- thousands of miles of land…thousands and there was no guarantee that the man would even have the knowledge to repair the technology.
It wasn't hopeless though, not by a long shot- they hadn't even gotten to the oldest records in the library yet, and those were more than likely the ones that would reveal to them the information they needed…though they were working their way back so they wouldn't miss out on anything that might mention something useful to their cause. The lines of text were slightly blurred on the page, after so long sitting here and reading everything was a bit blurry and he finally decided it'd be best to put the book down for the night and go to bed. Heaving a sigh he pushed himself up and strode across the room tiredly- it had been a long day, so many meetings and so much paperwork in addition to all the research he'd been helping his friends with. It was tiring work, but someone had to do it and he would gladly bear the burden as long as his city and the people here were safe.
But if Minecraftia fell, so would Gryphon King- and that was something he could not allow to happen even when his friends were luring those dark creatures to his doorstep- to the very gates of Gryphon King. He smiled sadly as he passed a mirror hanging on the wall by his door- catching the dark circles etched beneath his eyes by the long days and nights along with the stress of the present events. It was not like him to worry this much- it made him long all the more for when he lived and trained on the island of Mianite in the Ianite college alongside a few of his other friends, though they took to different schools. Tucker and Sonja going the way of diplomats and advisors, Tom leaning towards warfare, while he walked the path of a peacekeeper that had eventually ended up putting him in the position he was in now. He didn't regret it- not now and not ever, even though it was a tough job it was one he loved.
Here he had the power and authority to sniff out tyrants and thieves- to snuff out the corrupt members of his guard- of his army- of his country and throw them into the rubbish where they belonged before they could steal the food from the starving children and the medicine from the ill, old widows sitting alone in their empty homes. Here he could serve his people and protect the city that he had grown up in as a child; that he had missed during the war, during his adventures before the war, and while studying on the island of Mianite. His worst nightmares were those of the city burning to the ground- of the trees of Riverview cut down and burnt in smoldering piles- of the bodies of gryphons and people lying dead in the streets. A sight that had at one point in the city's history been real when a Gryphon King had failed in his duties to listen to his people- had disregarded their warnings that the mobs were venturing too close to the city's walls and their concern about the lack of guards was unnoticed. It had gotten the royal family killed- all except for the son, a son that handed down his reign to Sparklez personally and the warrior kept the story close to his heart, not wanting to repeat the sad tale and pay for it with his citizens' lives.
His footsteps echoed on the walls and high ceilings of the place, though the building was far from quiet- there was always something going on in the fortress, especially when guests arrived. The King could hear the sound of Tom and Antvenom going over the benefits of one-handed versus two-handed swords in battle- an occasional comment from a female's voice…perhaps Bluehorse or Sonya. For a moment he considered walking past, but now that he was up and moving he wasn't so tired after all and it was only just now ten-o'clock anyways, so he swept into one of the small libraries that the fortress boasted and flopped down into one of the empty chairs. He was surprised to see so many people in the room- nearly everyone from Ant's group was here except for Bodil and Sky, Sonya and Tucker sat on the couch and Tom was leaned against a bookshelf haphazardly as if he had no worries that he might knock it over. Though it had so many books piled on it that it was unlikely the green-skinned man would be able to push it over by simply leaning against it, or so Sparklez hoped- he'd hate to have to explain to the main housekeeper why the ancient vase depicting the good deeds of the great dragon Sapphira was lying in pieces on the floor…he had to get that thing moved- sooner or later it was going to meet the inevitable fate of all fragile objects in the immediate presence of the group of over-energetic warriors.
"Look, I see your point, mate…but I still have to say duel-wielding doesn't replace striking distance. So let's just agree to disagree." Tom was saying as Sparklez tuned into the conversation after calling out a quiet hello and replying to a few of his friends' questions and greetings in turn.
"And when you're not good with a sword then what good does it do you…Tom?" He teased, lifting an eyebrow above the red rim of his sunglasses.
"Aw, shut your face Sparkly-Pants!" The man grumbled playfully as a few people laughed along with the warrior who had made the joke.
"Don't you mean Sprinkle Pants?" Antvenom chimed in, getting more laughs in reply.
"My pants aren't sparkly and I don't wear pastries!" Sparklez complained in fake annoyance prompting more laughter.
"That's it! I'm hiring an artist to sketch you wearing a suit made of sparkly doughnuts!" Tom bellowed and slammed a book down on a nearby desk in confidence, though Sparklez knew the man would never follow through on it and if he did the Gryphon King was going to have a hard time explaining that to anyone who visited him on diplomatic missions from lands outside of Minecraftia.
"Please do not do that- I will pay you in golden apples to not do the thing which you have just spoken of and I will be very not happy with you if you go through with that plan!" He teased right back in a slightly nasally voice which was meant to amuse, sure that Tom wouldn't actually go through with his plan.
"Damn it Sparklez, don't tell me what I can and can't do with my money- I'm gonna go out and hire an artist first thing tomorrow and go to the damn bakery and get you a damn suit made out of doughnuts!" His friend exclaimed, Tucker was rolling on the floor by this point- nearly hyperventilating at the absolutely ridiculous commentary playing out in front of them. Bluehorse was close to banging her fist on the table and Seto had his face buried in his book- trying so hard not to laugh which was failing quite miserably.
All was right in the world- all was perfect in this moment, whether or not the Brokens were watching their gates. Whether or not there would be a war to fight, however long it would last and how much destruction it would cause, there were still moments to be happy and unafraid. There were still moments that beat back the dark bags under the eyes and relieved some of the stress that so often got bottled up inside. And damn it all, if he had to wear a suit made of pastries to make his friends laugh their heads off just so he could remember their smiles when chaos reared its ugly head and the Brokens leaped for their throats…he'd do it in a heartbeat.
If Bodil's new friend Snowy didn't chase him around the fortress in an attempt to eat the sweets.
Boy, that gryphon was going to be spoiled rotten by the time she left with her flock for the northern mountains in the fall- if she ever left at all, there were plenty of people who'd made gryphon friends and the friends never quite tended to leave their new buddies. Especially when they got as spoiled as Snowy- the gryphon ate meals with them for King Notch's sake! Much to the dismay of a certain maid that nearly fainted every time she saw the beast, which might have been precisely why Bodil allowed the gryphon to follow him around when she would obey no one else.
He laughed at the thought of the half-dragon chasing him and Snowy through the halls as the big, winged cat chased after the maple bars making up his suit coat…now that would be a sight. Though one he would more than likely never see and if he did- he would no longer consider himself lucky.
A/N: Well it's taken me long enough, hasn't it? Sorry...first week back at college was rougher than I expected it to be and I've had this sitting on my computer for two days now ready to go, I wanted to wait and write the two oneshots for Fireside Tales that go along with this to give more background on just what the Gryphon King is...but then I realized it's been about a little over two weeks...so- here it is. Sorry there's not much going on- but it's being set up okay?! And tell me what you think about Snowy...keep her- don't keep her? Personally I think she'd look badass in a set of Savior's steel or diamond armor- right?