Razar looked once more at his map. He liked to be prepared for everything he did. Once he had reassured himself with his course, he folded the map and lay it aside. He grabbed the control stick and disabled the autopilot. His warbird jerked unsteadily, then was stable. He checked the fuel flow, then activated the afterburner. Instantly, he was pressed into his seat by the acceleration. Ahead of him, he could see the start line of the race. on the ground, someone started a stopwatch as he flew through the gate. He was participating in the trans-Chima air race. anyone could take part technically, but only ravens ever showed up. First, he dodged and weaved through the falling jungle. Next, he spiralled twice around the eagle's east spire. Heading in a straight line, he flew toward the outer reaches of Chima, burning fuel at an alarming rate with his homemade injection system.
He tapped his fuel gage, sure that there was something wrong with it. Immediately, it bumped down from 50% to 0%. He swallowed.
The engine sparked as it lost fuel flow. Immediately, the warbird lost altitude, and Razar had no choice but to try and land. He glanced at down at the ground, shocked that he was already deep in the Outlands. Ahead, he saw a clearing with what appeared to be the entrance to a tunnel. He steered his falling vessel toward it.
Feeling suddenly uneasy, Epyphanises opened one eye. It was well into the morning. The sun was already high in the sky. He glanced around, looking for a reason for his alarm. Through the mist, he saw a dark shape with outstretched wings standing over Eris, a sword in her hands, raised to strike. Without thinking, he jumped to his feet and tackled the figure, cutting himself on the sword. Epyphanises rolled back to his feet and grabbed the sword, which he now saw was Laval's. He swivelled around to face the attacker. Stunned, he saw that it was Ruby.
"We trusted you!" he said.
"Ha!" she laughed. "Your race has already forgotten, haven't they? Well, we waited for this time, and finally it has come. It is time to take back what was rightfully ours. The scrolls have spoken of this moment for millennia, and we will wait no longer!"
She jumped back to her feet and grabbed Epyphanises' hammer, swinging it over her head. The half-breed barely parried the blow, sparks arcing from the metal's contact. Eris shrieked and flew to the edge of the clearing, where she cowered, shaking. Epyphanises and Ruby circled each other like panthers.
"Forgotten what? Can't we talk about this like civilized people?" pleaded the eagle-raven. Suddenly, Ruby's legs seemed to weaken and she fell on her knees, burying her face in her hands. The war-hammer struck the ground by her side, bouncing on the damn earth.
"Civilised people?" she sobbed. "Where was your civility when you tore from us what was rightfully ours to satisfy your greed and desire?" she challenged him. Confused, Epyphanises lowered his sword.
"What are you-"?
"Or do your scholars hide the truth from you? Is it kept in your darkest library?"
"What secret? Hey! Won't you tell me what's wrong?" asked the bird, doing his best to present a calm and comforting air. Placing his blade on the ground, he raised his hands and walked slowly over to the dragon, hoping that his gut feeling was right, and that she didn't really want to hurt any of them. He sat next to her and wrapped his wing around her comfortingly. She flinched.
"I've no love for the eagles myself. To them, I'm impure. An outcast. You can tell me what's bothering you."
Ruby sighed, and grudgingly began to speak…