The Copper Band
By: SilvorMoon
p If the days were stifling, the nights were all but fatally suffocating. When the sun was up,
the air was heavy and muggy, casting a grey haze over what could have been an otherwise
pleasant city, and the scents on the wind were of mold and garbage. It was always hot, and even
breathing could get difficult at times, so that mothers kept their frailest children indoors where the
air was purer, and older men and women leaned on canes before their time for fear of dizzy spells.
It was cooler at night, but the haze remained, a cold, biting fog that burned the lungs and froze
faces into blank expressions when they would have preferred to smile. Strangely enough, the fog
tapered off and vanished by the time it reached the furthest edges of the city. You could even see
the stars, sometimes, if you were lucky enough to live in the outskirts of town. Beyond the city
limits, the air was clean and clear, almost sweet, but nobody went there, not if they cared for their
lives. Guards stood at the gates of the city to prevent people from straying, and to be caught
scaling the walls or digging escape tunnels meant instant death.
P At one of the gates, the one most distant from the king's palace, and therefore, the most
neglected, two guards leaned boredly against the rough stone walls, hoping that enough of their
body heat would seep into the bricks to keep at least their backs warm. They rubbed their arms
and shivered, sometimes pressing their hands to their faces in an effort to thaw their numb noses.
p "How much longer 'till our shift's over, Zeel?" asked one of them.
p The second guard scanned the sky. "Captain said to stay put until the moon reached it's
high point. That'll be another couple of hours."
p "We'll both be frozen stiff before that happens," said the first guard. "Not even a cup of
soup to warm our hands."
P "Quit your griping, Frak. We're getting paid good money to stand here and do nothing.
You won't get a better offer than that."
p "Guess you're right... Say, what's that over there?"
p "Over where? I don't see anything."
p "Not inside the gate. Look outside, up on that hill. There's a sort of a light."
P Zeel stared out into the darkness. On the hill was a collection of pillars and stones, ruins
left over from a better time. They had always been there, and, once they had gotten over their
superstitious fears, most of the city folk ignored them. However, tonight, there seemed to be a
pale blue-green-white glow emanating from the forgotten temple. The guard's features creased in
concern.
p "Think we should check it out?" asked Frak nervously. Here in the cold, foggy darkness,
the tales his mother had told him as a wide-eyed child were coming back with full force.
p "Might be a trick," Zeel muttered. "Someone using illusions to lure us away so they can
escape."
p "Might be evil spirits," said Frak.
p "No such things," scoffed Zeel. "Look. If there iare/i evil spirits, we'd best leave
them alone. If it's a trick, we'd best stay put. If it's someone who's sneaked out, it wasn't by us.
Let someone else get in trouble."
p "You're right. Best to just stay here," Frak agreed. "So, how much longer?"
p "I told you, a couple of hours. A little less, now that we've wasted the last few minutes
arguing."
p "All right, all right. Don't have to bite my head off."
p Frak sighed. Two hours, and then he could go home to a bowl of stew and his pretty
young wife and get himself properly warm again. Two hours to kill... He turned his gaze back to
the top of the hill, where the only action of interest was going on. Yes, there was definitely a light
up there. It looked almost like it was moving.
Pcenter~*~/center
p When Skull landed, he was hit instantly by a rush of cold air. He looked around, blinded
by the sudden darkness - it had been sunny where he had just come from, and his eyes weren't
ready for this. He heard a startled squawk that could only have come from the Firebird, and
Cedar's hand reached for his. He blinked a little, trying to adjust his vision. Gradually, the light of
the stars and the Elemental Bird on his shoulder revealed that he was standing on a level patch of
brown stone, surrounded by columns and arches reaching up toward a clear cold sky. Behind him
loomed a square stone structure with a gaping doorway full of shadows. It was not where he was
supposed to be at all.
p "What happened?" he asked aloud. "This isn't Tien, is it?"
p "bIt most certainly is not,/b" said the Firebird in disapproval. "bWe've been
moved again./b"
p "Uh-oh," said Skull. "You mean like when we ended up in Florida?" He looked around
nervously, as if he expected a second Chronavius to appear... or maybe the original. He never had
learned the fate of his strange enemy. Might he be lurking around somewhere, waiting to launch
another attack?
p "bSomething like that. We are on a fair-sized planet in the Ikula galaxy, located in the
Beta Quadrant of the universe. The time is approximately three Earth-years before we arrived in
your city of Miami./b"
p "A long way from home," Cedar commented. "Should we try again?"
p "Would it work?" asked Skull. "If somebody brought us here, they might not like us
leaving so soon."
p "But it might be an enemy," Cedar pointed out. "Might be dangerous to stay."
p "bPerhaps yes, perhaps no,/b" said the Firebird thoughtfully. "bI'm sensing a
familiar aura somewhere nearby... within a few miles, I should say. I would like to stay long
enough to investigate more closely./b"
p "Humph. And so we must risk our safety for your curiosity?" asked Cedar.
p Skull had stopped listening. There was something else nagging him, something he couldn't
quite put his finger on, but it was undeniably there.
p "I think the Firebird has the right idea for once," said Skull, ignoring the bird's scathing
glare. "Something here wants us to stay... I don't know why, but I think it's friendly. We're here
for a reason."
p Cedar paused, looking around. Her fingers touched the Crystal of All Times, and it
glowed faintly in response. She nodded slowly.
p "I think you are right," she said. "Someone good is here. They need us."
p "bRight, then,/b" said the Firebird. "bYou can look for whoever it is if you want
to. As for me, I intend to look up an old acquaintance or two. It may be that I can find some
allies./b"
P Without waiting for any words of agreement or argument, he unfolded his blazing wings
and soared off into the night, heading toward a cluster of lights in the distance. Skull watched him
go with a shrug.
p "Hope he doesn't cause any riots," he said.
p "Should we have let him go?" asked Cedar. "He can get in so much trouble."
p "iTrue,/i" said a voice, "ibut he could get into more if he listened to our
conversation. He is not worthy of trust in his present manifestation./i"
p Cedar and Skull jumped, looking around for the speaker. The air in front of them seemed
to shimmer and thicken, becoming a thin mist, then a fog, then a bank of roiling storm clouds.
Before the glowing shape formed in the heart of them, Skull already knew who to expect.
P "Garudan!" he said.
p "You know this creature, Eugene?" asked Cedar, looking with wonder at the storm-being.
P "We met... I mean, we're going to meet... I mean... What time is it?"
p The Thunderbird chuckled, though not unkindly. "iWe have met, and we will meet, and
I am pleased to meet you again. Lady Cedar, I am Garudan, known as the Thunderbird. I offer
you such poor welcome as I can to my home. This world is known as Oryllia, and I am its sworn
protector./i"
P "Thunderbird..." said Cedar thoughtfully, head bowed in concentration. Then she looked
up as realization hit. "The Lost Planet! This is the Lost Planet my father has told of - the one that
disappeared years ago. Why is it still here?"
p "iIt never disappeared at all, fortunately. That is the stuff of legends,/i" answered
Garudan. "iThe true story is one that not even your honorable father knows. However, if you
would both be so kind as to walk with me a little way, I will tell you the whole story. Indeed, that
is why you have been brought here. Eugene, Dark Falcon, you made a promise to me that you
would help me save my people. I will not hold you to that promise - it was my doing, in part, that
led to their downfall, and there would be justice in making me pay the full price for my crimes -
but I do want you to know the history, and what part you are playing in it. What I am about to tell
you is the story of the Dark Falcon./i"
p "History?" Skull repeated. "You mean, someone had my job before I did? I thought the
Firebird created the Dark Falcon powers for ime./i"
p "iHe did take part in their creation, but it was eons before you came along,/i"
Garudan replied. "iCome. There is much to discuss./i"
p The Thunderbird turned and glided slowly into the dark temple. Exchanging glances of
uncertainty, Skull and Cedar followed.
p Inside the temple, it was dark and cold, which Skull had expected. However, it was not as
cold as it was outside, and the darkness was held at bay by the Thunderbird's pale blue-silver
glow. It proved to be much smaller than it had appeared from the outside, layered in shadows as it
was. Inside, it was only a square room with flat walls and a small altar of some sort, with a rough
image of a plumed bird hanging above it. The walls were painted with pictures, like cave
paintings, and Skull moved to inspect them.
p "iPictograms,/i" Garudan explained, "ipainted thousands of years ago to record
our story. Some of them ought to look familiar./i"
p "Yeah. This one's the Firebird, right?" asked Skull, pointing at the multicolored bird-
shape, faded by long years. "And that's you, and that's the Dark Falcon. But who are these other
guys?"
p The patch of wall that Skull was examining featured a large and fairly detailed image of
the two Elemental Birds and, not one, but three costumed heroes. The Dark Falcon's black and
crimson was still easy to make out, even after centuries of neglect. To the left of that picture was
another, less distinct figure, painted mostly in white, trimmed with some other color that might
have once been red or orange. To the right was one in the silvers and blues of the Thunderbird.
Someone had apparently mixed bits of mica or something else glittery into the paint, for the silver
trim on the costume still sparkled.
p "iThose two were once companions of the Dark Falcon, his teammates. They are called
the White Peregrine and the Storm Raven,/i" Garudan explained. "iThey were one of the
first organized groups of heroes in the universe, a powerful force against evil. They were known
as the Knights of All Times. We meant for them to last that long, but things did not fall out
according to our intentions./i"
p "I have teammates?" asked Skull. "Where are they? Why aren't they helping me?"
p "iThe team disbanded ages ago. You see, the team was created, not only by the
Firebird, but by me as well. I gave power to the Storm Raven, he to the White Peregrine, and the
Dark Falcon was meant to be the combination of both our powers, thus, the leader and most
powerful. It didn't work out like that, I'm afraid. Make yourselves comfortable, and I'll tell you
the whole story from the beginning./i
p "IYou have probably guessed by now that the Firebird is my brother. We were both
hatched from the eggs of a being called the Sunbird by some, and sometimes the Phoenix. She
was only a Near Immortal, capable of being injured or killed if a force with enough power is
aimed at her. Yet, her beauty was such that she was briefly taken as a consort by one of the True
Immortals, and my brother and I were born of that union. Because of our heritage, we rest oddly
in the great scheme of things. We are neither true mortals nor Immortals, but somewhere in
between. We were given this privilege by the Powers that Be: that we should be made True
Immortals if we abided by certain rules - namely, that we must conduct ourselves in the manner of
such beings. We were forbidden to eat mortal food, lie with mortal women, or commit certain
reprehensible acts, such as murder. As long as we followed these rules, we would remain
Immortal, but breaking the rules would result in a reduction in our status, to Near Immortal or
even mortal, depending on the seriousness of the deviation./i"
p "But... Firebird eats the same things we do," said Skull, who was having a difficult time
following the Thunderbird's antiquated speech, "and he said he had a wife, I think."
p "iThat is true, but I will explain it later,/i" said the Thunderbird. "iSuffice it to say,
in the beginning, my brother and I were very careful to do as we were told and act only in ways
that befitted Immortals. The universe was a place of wild magic, in those days, where the forces
of Good and Evil were still roughly organized and still beginning to understand just what they
represented. We took the opportunity to choose among those warriors there were the bravest and
strongest, and they became our champions./i"
p "What about me?" asked Cedar. "Dark Falcon, White Peregrine, Storm Raven... where is
the Gold Eagle?"
P Thunderbird chuckled again. "iMy brother still has some abilities, and there is power in
that crystal you carry. You are a new creation... but that is not a bad thing. You have done very
well. Someday, when my world and my power is restored, I will see to it that your image adorns
my walls along with these others./i"
P Cedar nodded. Somehow, she didn't doubt that the Thunderbird would keep his promise;
he seemed as honest and trustworthy as the Firebird was secretive and deceitful.
p "Go on with the story!" Skull urged. "What happened to the Knights?"
p "iThey did just what Knights were supposed to do - protected the universe from villains
and fought evil where they found it. However, I regret to say that their mentors did not behave as
admirably. As the Knights gained fame and glory, we became jealous, not only of them, but of
each other. We argued over whose avatar was the greatest, and over which of us had the most to
do with the Dark Falcon's success. In the end, our quarrels grew so heated that we declared
eternal enmity with each other, and the team was broken apart. We both retreated to our chosen
homeworlds, he to your world of Tien and I to this place, Oryllia... What do you think of it?/i"
p "Well, it's..." Skull foundered for words. "It's kinda chilly."
p He was a bit afraid that the Thunderbird would be offended, but the bird only laughed
again - a little sadly, Skull thought.
P "iIt was once a beautiful world,/i" he said. "iIt was very much like Tien, in some
ways. It was a summer world, a place of artisans and scholars. The two worlds were allies, once,
before things fell apart, but once my brother and I made our vows, they separated from each other
completely. The two worlds followed the example of their protectors and cut off all
communications between each other, and my world in particular became proud and standoffish.
Oryllia became so cloaked in secrecy that the Tienese took to calling it the Lost Planet. It's very
sad, really./i"
p There was a pause, as the Thunderbird contemplated the events of the past. Skull fidgeted.
Outside, the wind was howling, tossing random cold drafts into the room, and he tried to suppress
a shiver. The room seemed to be getting darker the longer he kept his eyes fixed on the glowing
thing in front of him, until it seemed that Garudan was the only thing left in the universe. He
looked so lonely, so sad, so ifrail/i with the dark fog showing right through him. What had
happened to him to make him look like that, so different from the cocksure Firebird? As if on cue,
the Thunderbird began to speak again.
p "iThe Firebird was the first of us to fall. After all, fire is his nature. He is much more...
mercurial than I am. He became enamored with a sorceress-woman, a lady Pyromancer, whom he
took for his wife. I am given to understand that their children were the founders of the race of
Aerials. I think it is fortunate that the union did not last long./i"
p "He broke up with her or something, didn't he?" asked Skull. "Firebird said she had a bad
temper."
p "iDid he?/i" asked the Thunderbird, surprised into laughing. "iHe would say
something like that, wouldn't he? She did have quite a temper, I recall. She was a beautiful
woman, but she had a weakness for power, and the Firebird promised her all she wanted if she
went along with his whims. When she finally began to learn how deceptive her husband could be,
she decided to create a better means of borrowing his magic./i" He nodded in Cedar's direction
as he added, "iShe decided to create the Crystal of All Times./i"
P "This was created?" asked Cedar, touching the copy of the stone that hung at her throat.
"I though it just... was."
p "iPhysical things never just are,/i" Garudan corrected gently. "iShe made the stone
as a gift for him, flattering him by telling him it was created for the true mastermind behind the
Knights. She'd enchanted it with a wishing spell, and she told him that it would give him whatever
he desired. Instead, it trapped him within the stone, where it absorbed much of its power, so that
she could use it as she willed. When she grew tired of it, she left it on Tien and went out in search
of other adventures. It was passed down through the generations until you two finally broke
it./i"
P "And the Firebird gave me three wishes," Skull supplied.
p "iIt was required. The wishing spell was never lifted, so you had to make your wishes
to set him free./i"
p "Oh," said Skull. "So that's why he was being so pushy about it."
p Garudan looked interested. "iCould you elaborate a little on that?/i"
P "I dunno. He just kept telling me what kind of wishes to make, like he thought what I was
wishing for was dumb."
P "iCouldn't he have waited a little longer?/i" asked the Thunderbird, mostly to
himself. "iYou'd think he would have at least done bsome/b thinking while he was
imprisoned!/i"
p "He was not very nice," said Cedar. "He thought Eugene should not wish to save my
father!"
p "iOf course he did,/i" Thunderbird answered bitterly. "/iThe terms of the spell
were that it would trap only those whose wishes were selfish. Since your friend made his wishes
with others in mind, he remained safe, and the spell was broken. If he had been thinking only of
himself, he would have fallen into the same trap as the Firebird had./i"
p Skull went wide-eyed with alarm. "You mean he was out to get me?"
P "iIndubitably,/i" answered Garudan.
P "But why?" asked Cedar. "What did Eugene ever do to him? He set him free! Why would
he try to trap him?"
p "IBecause it would have given him control over him. That, I think, is the one thing
Fenikus loves more than anything else. He was bad about it before, but he grew even worse when
he began losing his powers. Being able to manipulate people makes him feel like he still has
power, and he will go to great lengths to get it./i"
p Skull nodded. "He does boss us around an awful lot, now that you mention it."
P Garudan nodded. "iI believe he gave you the Dark Falcon powers because he saw you
as weak-willed and easy to manipulate - possibly because you seemed more concerned with others
than yourself. Controlling the Dark Falcon would have given him a kind of power again. He
misjudged you./i"
P "He did?" asked Skull. "When?"
P "iAt various points. I seem to remember something about you threatening to strangle
him?/i"
P "Oh, yeah, that."
P "When did that happen?" asked Cedar.
P "Way back, when we had that little argument about the Firestrike monster."
P "And you threatened to strangle him?"
P "I was trying to get him to apologize."
P "IWhatever the reason, you proved your independence, and he would not stand for
that,/I" Thunderbird cut in. "iAnd that is why he decided he needed to be rid of you./i"
P "Rid?" Skull repeated. "You mean, like, killing me? But he didn't!"
P "iHe tried it,/i" answered Thunderbird. "iWhy do you think he found it so
important that you should go in single combat against the most powerful and evil man in the
universe?/I"
P "I knew it!" said Cedar. "I iknew/i he couldn't be trusted! Did you hear that,
Eugene? He was trying to kill you!"
P "I don't believe it," said Skull. "Why?"
P "iBecause he doesn't like you. He does not trust you. In his mind, if you are not
working for him, you are likely to turn against him, and he will not stand for that. You must be
wary, Eugene. I fear he will make a second attempt to remove you from his path./i"
p "I'll be careful," Skull promised.
P "What about you?" asked Cedar. "You haven't said anything about yourself, yet."
p Thunderbird sighed. "ITrue. And that is what I wanted to tell you... it is not easy. I
lasted longer than my brother did, but eventually, I was stricken with the same disease. Just as he
did, I tried to find a loophole in the laws that ruled me, allowing me to retain my powers and still
have the same lifestyle my brother was enjoying. I eventually encountered a powerful sorcerer
who offered to help me get my way in exchange for part rulership of Oryllia. I agreed, and that
began my downfall. The longer the arrangement went on, the more of my immortality I lost, and
the more I became dependent upon my helper. Little by little, he took control of my world and
siphoned away my powers, until he became my absolute ruler, and I his servant, a twisted version
of my former self. You might have even called me a monster./i" He paused, deep in thought.
Finally, almost inaudibly, he added, "iI created two monsters, really. He became what you
know as Lord Zedd, and I became Chronavius./i"
P "What?!" exclaimed Skull and Cedar together.
P "iI was lucky to meet you, back on Tien,/i" said Thunderbird. "iIt was meeting
you
that turned me around. By that point, I had lost most of my memories of who I was. I was down
to almost nothing - a warped version of my former shape and some of my former power. Zedd
didn't even recognize me at that point. But my encounter with you reminded me that I used to be
something more, and I turned on my master. I think he killed me,/i" he added, as an
afterthought.
P "But you don't look very dead to me," Skull protested.
P "iDon't I? I was under the impression that you ordinarily couldn't see through living
beings./i"
p "Oh. Good point."
P "iBecause I was once an Immortal, and because I died for a good cause, I have been
gifted with partial life - perhaps what you might call a ghost,/i" said the Thunderbird. "iI
have been returned to this place with the mission of undoing what I have done. My mission is to
save Oryllia from the grip of evil, and to reclaim the lost half of my soul./i"
p "Soul?" Cedar repeated. "How can you lose your soul? I cannot imagine what half a soul
would look like."
P "iIt is one of the ways I bound myself to this world,/i" Garudan explained. "iMy
soul is bound inextricably to that of the true king. Towards the end, Zedd demanded that I make
him the next king of Oryllia. I still had enough presence of mind to refuse, so he did the next best
thing: he put the true king into a state of stasis. He is not dead, so the soul link is still there, but he
cannot work with me any longer, cannot give me strength. As he and I weakened, so did Oryllia,
and thus Zedd was able to take full control of the world and me. I am powerless to reverse this
process. You must find the king and awaken him. Only then will I be able to drive out the evil that
affects this world and return my home to what it once was./i"
p "Hold up a minute. Let me get this straight," said Skull. "Do you know what you're
asking me to do? You're not just asking me to fight off monsters anymore. You want me to go
into a planet that the bad guys have already taken over and help you take it back, and you want
me to do it by waking up a dead king. It's impossible! What are two people, a bird, and a ghost
going to do against a whole planet?"
p "iActually, I think it's going to be mostly you and Cedar,/i" said Garudan
thoughtfully. "iI have very little power to spare, and I doubt my brother will be of very much
help. There are too many things on this planet that he will find enjoyable to want to alter it, and as
I said, he may not be inclined to help you. You are going to have to be rather more self-reliant
than usual./i"
P Skull rolled his eyes. "Great. Thanks a lot. That's really encouraging."
P "iOn the other hand, there is one thing you have to look forward to,/i" said Garudan.
p "Oh? What's that?"
P "iWhen you find the sleeping king, he'll be able to help you. The King of Oryllia has
always been the traditional carrier of the Storm Raven powers./i"
P "Now you're talking!" Skull exclaimed. "I could use someone like that on my side. Where
is he? How do I wake him up?"
p Garudan hung his head regretfully. "iI'm afraid I do not know. Zedd hid him
somewhere and kept the location a secret, closely guarded by his most powerful hiding spells. He
knew very well what would happen if I were to ever find my missing soulmate./i"
p "Oh, great," Skull muttered. "You don't believe in making things easy, do you?"
p "iI would very much like to make things easy for you if I could,/i" Garudan
answered, so gently that Skull felt ashamed for snapping. "iIt is just that, without my soulmate,
my powers are greatly hindered. I can't even... talk to you that easily. My... power is fading.
Corporeal presence becomes... very difficult. I am weakening. I must... go./i"
p "Wait up!" said Skull. "There are still things I need to know!"
p "iI can stay no longer. Seek the Band. They will.../i"
p Before the Thunderbird had a chance to say just what the Band would do, his image
seemed to lose all its light, and then he swirled away like the smoke of a snuffed candle. Skull and
Cedar were left alone in the cold, dark temple.
p "What do we do now?" asked Cedar.
p "I guess we do what he says - seek the Band," Skull replied, "and the king. The Storm
Raven."
Pcenter~*~/center
p Two voices were arguing. You could hear them echoing down the lavishly furnished halls
of the king's castle, rebounding off cold stone or muffled by moth-eaten tapestries and stained
carpet. Luxurious as the false king cared to make his home, there was still no escaping the blight
that had fallen upon the city, and even new and imported objects fell into disrepair almost
overnight. Still, the lady of the castle had enough power to keep her rooms comfortable, and it
was from there the voices emerged. One was the lady herself, her normally cool, controlled voice
brittle with suppressed anger. The other was a man's voice, deep and resonant, but raised a half
octave in plaintive desparation.
p "Charla, darling, listen..."
p "I don't want to listen, and don't call me darling. We're through."
p "But Charla..."
p "No buts. I'm tired of you, all right? We're finished. History. End of story."
p "Can't you at least consider a little while? You've always been the only one for me. I'm
willing to forgive and forget if you'll do likewise. I still love you, Charla."
p Charla regarded her lover (or, in her mind, her former lover) with a hard stare. She was, in
her way, strikingly attractive, though some would hesitate to call her beautiful. If she had beauty,
it was the same kind of harsh beauty that rested on the city, something lovely that had fallen. She
was still long-legged and graceful, and she carried herself with the haughty pride of a queen. Her
hair was long, flowing, and brilliant red-orange, seeming to shift colors in the candle light as if it
itself was burning. The only thing that robbed her statuesque face of perfection was her mouth,
which was a shade too thin-lipped, as if it had been pressed shut too often. Her eyes were dark as
coals and hard as jet. The most remarkable thing about her was her skin, which was an utterly
inhuman shade of pale orange.
p As for the man, there was nothing immediately evident to show why his lady was spurning
him. Physically, he should have been the answer to any woman's prayers. Tall, well-built, and
enviably tanned, it was hard to find anything that could be counted as a fault. He was dressed in
pure white clothing that almost seemed to glow, and his eyes were a singularly luminous shade of
aquamarine. His hair was chestnut, but when the candlelight caught it, it threw of the same red-
orange shimmers as the hair of the lady.
p "I don't want to consider," said Charla stubbornly. "I don't even want to think about you
anymore. You were no good back then, and you're still no good now. Besides, I've found
someone new, in case you haven't noticed."
p "Have you?" asked the man with an odd note of interest. "And who might that be?
Anyone I know?"
p "The king, who else?" Charla retorted. "iHe/i has ireal/i power around here,
which is more than you ever had."
p "I have power you know nothing about. I haven't let my world fall into ruin... unlike some
people I could mention. Are you as compatible with your new love as you were with me?"
p "We have a satisfactory arrangement, thank you," said Charla curtly.
p "Aha!" chuckled the man. "A satisfactory arrangement. An arrangement. That sounds
quite romantic. He must be quite the charmer."
p Two spots of red appeared on Charla's face. "He can be, when he wants to be. This is, as I
said, an arrangement. We both know what we want, and we fulfil each other's expectations. What
more do we need to have?"
p "Love," answered the man simply. "Admit it, you care nothing for him."
p "Yes," she answered bluntly, "and the same goes for you."
p "You're too cruel. Can't you give me a chance to prove myself to you? Name what you
will, and I will do it for you."
p "Go jump in a lake," Charla snapped. "I've heard that promise before. That was what you
told me when you conned me in to marrying you, and look at what I had to go through to get rid
of you."
p "You haven't gotten rid of me. I'm still here. Does that not prove my devotion?"
p Charla sighed. "You are a tiresome thing. I wish you would go away."
p "I hear weakness there," the man said, smiling slightly. "You lie as well as I do, and I see
through your lies as you see through mine. We're a remarkable pair."
p "Yes," she said. "We were quite a pair."
p "Tell me about your new lover," he said. "Is he treating you well? Is he taking proper care
of you?"
p "When he chooses to."
p "When he chooses? That will never do," said the man, feigning concern. "Face it,
Charla. You aren't happy here, and we both know it. What is this new man you've found? A lover
or a business partner?"
p "I never said anything about love. I told you flat out it was an arrangement. You know
nothing about love, none of you, only greed and heat."
p "Warmth," the man corrected. "You need someone to be there for you when you feel
lonely. Aren't you lonely in this cold place? Don't you need a warm hand to touch you?"
p "Go away," said Charla. "You don't love me and you know it."
p "You don't care and you know it."
p Charla let her eyes meet his. "Maybe I don't."
p In one swift motion, they were together, locked in a kiss. She allowed herself to savor the
feeling for only a moment before pushing him away.
p "Not here. Not now," she said. "He might come and find us, and then we'll both be in
trouble."
p "Later, then?"
p "Maybe," said Charla. She sighed. "Look. I'll make you a deal. You make yourself useful
to me, and I imight/i just let you stay."
p "More arrangements?" asked the man.
p "Yes. That's it exactly. An arrangement to keep you from driving me up the wall. You can
hang around if you'll live up to your promise and obey my orders. Got it?"
p "Of course, Charla. Whatever you say," the man replied. "I can give you the power you
crave if you trust me."
p "That's what you said when I married you," Charla sighed. "Now, get out of here. The
king will be returning soon, and he won't be happy to find you here. I'll call you when I want
you."
p "I will be listening. Farewell, my darling."
p "I told you not to call me that. Goodbye, Fenikus."
p And with that, the man bowed and vanished in a flash of light. In his place was a gleaming
bird with rainbow feathers and piercing blue-green eyes who swooped out the window with a
singularly smug expression.
Pcenter~*~/center
p Skull stood at a distance to look down at the city. The fog lay over it like eons of
accumulated cobwebs, enveloping it all in an eerie gray veil. Lights peeped wanly through the
thick haze, and the moisture caught the light and refracted it until it looked as if the fog itself was
glowing. The only shapes that could be seen were dark and forbidding. The only thing within the
city that seemed to be free of the clinging mist was a castle on a hill, a sharp spear tip thrust
through the smoky barrier. From a distance, it looked so attenuated that it looked as if it would
collapse if someone only sneezed at it. The whole city was surrounded by a high wall. Its top
glittered faintly in the moonlight, revealing sharp bits of metal and glass to slash the hands of
anyone foolhardy enough to attempt scaling it. There were gates in the wall, but the faint
movements and glints of metal that he could see through them warned Skull of armed guards.
P "I don't think they're going to let us in voluntarily," he said.
p Cedar half-smiled. "Advantage of being bird. No one has to let you into anywhere."
p "Yeah, well, I'm not a bird. You're going to have to give me a lift," Skull replied.
p "Aren't you going to turn into the Dark Falcon?" Cedar inquired.
p "With maybe a bunch of monsters waiting down there to pounce on me? No way! I'm not
that stupid," Skull replied. "I don't want anyone around here knowing I'm a one of the good guys
until I know they aren't out to get me."
p "Don't like the idea of you going in there unprotected," said Cedar, frowning uncertainly.
p "I can transform any time," Skull assured her, touching the Firebird amulet. It was warm,
even in that frigid place. "You've gotta admit, we are kind of noticeable when we transform."
P "True," Cedar admitted. She considered, looking over Skull's multicolored clothing. "Are
noticeable anyway. Should look for a disguise, I think."
p "That's a pretty good idea," said Skull, giving his tie-dyed T-shirt a critical inspection.
"But I don't think there are any of those around here. We'll just have to be careful, and hope our
luck holds out."
p Cedar nodded. She tossed her head, letting her long hair swirl around her face as her
outlines blurred and shifted. Soon there was only a large rose-gold bird perched where there had
been a human girl moments before. She fluttered her wings and rose into the air, circling her
friend a few times before she swooped down on him, caught his shoulders, and lifted him up into
the air. For a moment, she struggled under the shift in weight and balance, but then her wings
caught and updraft from the cliff face, and she soared towards the cold stars.
p They landed just inside the city limits, only traveling far enough inward so that the guards
wouldn't see or hear them. The air was still and sticky inside the city, difficult for Cedar to fly
through when she was carrying such a weight. Skull wasn't heavy, as far as humans went, but
Cedar was small and light, and there was only so much lift she could generate without a breeze to
ride on. As it was, she was more than happy to land in a deserted alley and catch her breath while
her companion looked around.
p Skull blinked and squinted through the fog. It was dark, and the street lamps dispensed
little more than smoke and a few feeble flames, but he still thought he could get a good idea of
what things looked like in his new location. Memory helped him; the architectural style was not
far removed from that of the city on Tien, though it was built of native dark rock instead of the
pale sandstone he was used to. More than anything, it reminded him of his brief visit to the
Theives' Garden, where the walls were crumbling and the streets were filled with shadows and
filth.
p "This is what Tien would look like if we had let Zedd get hold of it," said Skull.
P "Can't happen now, can it?" asked Cedar in her accented bird-speech. "You stopped it
frrrom happening. It vould have happened if you hadn't come."
p "Aw, I don't know about that," said Skull. "Something would have worked out. I just
helped a little, that's all."
p "No," said Cedar firmly. "I rrremember. The first time I came to your world, I vas told
that Tien had been destroyed in the var vith Zedd - nothing left. If you had not come, Father
vould have died in the assassination and Zedd would have had the Crystal of All Times. You
changed everything."
p Skull shrugged, uncomfortable with the idea. "I just hope I can do the same thing for this
place. It sure needs cleaning up."
p Cedar nodded. "Vhere to first? You lead."
P "Umm... Let's try that way."
p He pointed to one of the broader and cleaner streets, where there were vague signs of life.
Shadowy people were shuffling along the edges of the avenue, darting furtively in and out of
alleys or shops. He glanced at his multi-hued clothing again and winced.
p "Maybe you'd better fly, Cedar," he said. "People are going to notice me enough even
without a giant bird on my shoulder."
p Cedar nodded. "Stay out of trrrouble," she said, and took to the air.
p Skull watched her go, feeling a bit forsaken. It was dark and cold and lonely, and he
would have felt a lot better if she could have stayed close by to advise him, but he didn't want
anything to happen to her. The more time he spent with her, the more he came to realize just how
important she was to him. There was a lot to be said for having a friend like her - loyal,
intelligent, beautiful, caring...
p His warm thoughts were drowned out by a bout of shivering, and he began walking faster,
trying to thaw himself out. It was icold/i! The leather jacket that had almost been too warm
on Terra Venture and completely superfluous on Tien was proving invaluable now. He pulled it
tight around himself, turning up the collar to hide his neck and ears, and then shoved his frozen
hands in his pockets. One of them brushed against something soft, a feather that Cedar had once
lost and he had kept as a souvenir. He had often pondered the meaning of that feather. Cedar had
told him once that if you kept part of something, it connected you to it and it to you for as long as
you had that one piece. Just as his Firebird amulet bound him to Tien and to the Firebird himself,
he had a superstitious sort of faith that keeping the feather would also keep him from ever being
separated from his friend.
p While he was walking and thinking, someone else was standing and watching. He hovered
at the mouth of an alleyway, doing nothing more than turning his head slowly to observe the
passers-by. His clothing seemed to be little more than a cloak sewn of old rags in drab colors,
grays, browns, and blacks, giving him a cloak of invisibility nearly as good as if it had been magic.
His hair was the same sort of color, a deep brown-black, and it hung in his face, giving him a
certain anonymity. He spoke to no one, barely even moving, but there were a few lonely travelers
who nodded to him in a guarded way. He was so still and so silent that Skull walked past without
seeing him - at least, not until the man called.
p "Hey! Hold up there!"
p Skull levitated a few inches and looked around frantically to see who had shouted.
p "Over here," said the stranger impatiently. "Get over here. I want to talk to you."
p "I don't know if that's such a good idea," said Skull, backing away slowly. "I'm here on a
mission, and I don't have a lot of time, so-"
p "A mission?" the man repeated. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You aren't with the
Hand, are you?"
p "I... I don't think so," said Skull.
p "You have to know," the stranger replied. "Around here, you're either with the Hand or
the Band. There's no middle of the road. If you're not with us, you're against us."
p "Well, I'm kinda new around here," Skull prevaricated. "I don't really know anything
about it. What are the Hand and the Band?"
p "iThat/I explains the Hand," the man replied.
p He jerked his thumb in the direction of a monolith that stood in the center of a crossroads,
raised high on a pedestal for all to see. There were letters etched roughly on its surface. Skull was
surprised to see that, though the words themselves were more or less in English, the letters
weren't far from the Tienese alphabet. With some effort, he was able to make out the message:
None are beyond the sight of the Master, who rules his city with an Iron Hand. The last two
words were written particularly large, as if they were endowed with some special meaning. Below
the writing was an indistinct scratching that looked to Skull like a bolt of lightning.
p "What's that supposed to mean?" Skull asked.
p "The Iron Hand is the name given to the king's men, his warriors who hold the city under
his sway," the man explained. "Those who oppose the king are called the Copper Band. So...
whose side are you on?"
P "Whose side are iyou/i on?" asked. "You aren't going to take me apart if I give the
wrong answer, are you?"
p The man held up his right hand. "I swear I will do you no harm, unless you choose to
provoke me. I swear it on all I hold most high."
p "Oh. Well, in that case, Garudan told me to seek the Band, so I guess I'm with them,"
Skull replied.
p "Good choice," said the man, smiling. "I am Pyrin, leader of the Copper Band. Pleased to
make your acquaintance... Did you just mention Garudan?"
p "Yeah," said Skull. "He's the one who dragged me here. I think he must have wanted me
to help you... or maybe it was the other way around."
p "Whatever it was, I'm honored to have met a friend of the Thunderbird's," said Pyrin, and
he sounded like he meant it. "You have to come meet the rest of the Band at our hideout.
Quickly, now, before we're seen."
p "Wait a minute. I have to call my friend," Skull replied. He whistled a pair of sharp notes
through his fingers, one of the few talents he'd possessed that his friend Bulk hadn't. Hearing the
notes, a wheeling bird stopped her circling and dropped out of the sky to perch on Skull's
shoulder.
p "You shouldn't have done that," said Pyrin nervously.
p "Why not? Cedar's trustworthy," Skull replied. "She's a friend of Garudan's, too."
p "It's not that," answered Pyrin. "Someone could have heard you!"
P "But there's no one around!" Skull protested.
p "There will be soon! Didn't you read the sign? The eyes of the king are everywhere!
Run!"
P Before Skull could react, Pyrin grabbed his wrist and began tugging him through the
alleyway. Cedar gave a startled squawk and took to the air again, flying alongside of them, and
Skull struggled to keep up. He'd always been fairly fleet of foot, and he'd thought his training as
the Dark Falcon had kept him in good shape, but he was slow and clumsy compared to Pyrin. The
man moved like the wind and made nearly as little sound. The only noises were the dull pounding
of Skull's footsteps, his hurried panting, and the soft rush of Cedar's wingbeats.
p Then there was another noise, the unwelcome sound of someone shouting.
p "Hold it right there! Halt, in the name of the king!"
P Pyrin, in the lead, skidded to a halt ten feet away from the alley's exit... and from a row of
armed men. Being further behind, Skull had more time to assess the situation, and he decided
invisibility would be the safest thing for him. He slipped into one of the plentiful shadows, and
Cedar followed his example. The guards hardly noticed; they had eyes only for the leader of the
Band.
p "Well, Pyrin, we meet again," said the guard in the lead. Like all of his men, he was plated
in a partial suit of armor over his dark clothing, but he had a red shoulder cape that marked him as
a man of authority.
p "Thorald," Pyrin spat. "What do you think you are doing, interfering in the lives of
innocent citizens? Shouldn't you be out looking for criminals instead of pestering me?"
p "You are a criminal," answered the one called Thorald. "You're guilty of plotting against
the king, high treason."
p "I haven't plotted against the king. I've done all in my power to support him," Pyrin
replied. "Unfortunately, there is the matter of the usurper you choose to serve..."
p "The old king is dead," Thorald snapped. "Anyone who believes otherwise is a fool, and
deserves to be punished just for that."
p "The king sleeps, and when he awakes-"
p "When he awakes, the Elemental Birds will return to bless us all, the rivers will flow with
wine, and little pigs will fly around the moon." Thorald's voice dripped sarcasm. "I've had enough
of your impertinence. You won't slip through my fingers this time, old rival! Prepare to be
eliminated!"
P Thorald drew his sword and shouted a war cry, leading his followers to crowd around the
defenseless Pyrin. Suddenly, their rush was halted by a double burst of blinding lights. When their
vision cleared, they found the alley lit by the light of a fiery bird, illuminating a masked man in
dark armor.
p "You leave my friend alone," said Skull quietly.
p "Interloper! How dare you interfere?" Thorald demanded. Skull felt mildly uneasy; thus
far, the war leader's face showed more anger than fear.
P "I am the Dark Falcon," he said, "and I've been sent here by Garudan the Thunderbird to
bring back the real king, so I'd be worried, if I were you."
p There was a murmur among the soldiers at the mention of Garudan; clearly the name was
one that commanded some respect, or at least consideration. Thorald, however, looked startled
for only a few seconds before he collected himself.
p "What's the matter with you clowns?" he snapped. "Don't you know a bluff when you
hear one? This is nothing but a man in armor, just as you are. He is nothing to be afraid of."
p "But the bird..." someone protested weakly, eying Gold Eagle with unease.
p "That is not the Thunderbird," said Thorald. "If you're going to be frightened by a simple
bird, you have no place among the Iron Hand."
p "You don't know who you're dealing with!" Cedar shrieked. With an avian scream, she
dove at the Hand leader with claws flashing. He ducked too late, and glared up at her with a line
of red marking his face. Her talons had just barely missed his eye.
p "Get that mangy pigeon!" he shouted.
p "Don't talk like that about her!" Skull shouted back, and the battle was on.
P It wasn't long before Skull began to regret getting involved. Fighting a lone monster was
one thing. So was fighting a bunch of empty-headed Putty Patrollers. Fighting with a dozen armed
and armored skilled fighting men was another matter entirely, and he did not like it one bit. Even
his enhanced abilities weren't enough to keep him from taking a few hits, and soon he was
smarting all over from stray sword slashes. Complicating matters was the fact that these were
humans, or at least something very close to human, and he felt squeamish about the idea of even
hurting one of them, much less destroying one as he could a monster. He concentrated on keeping
them away from Pyrin, shielding the man with one outstretched wing. Cedar, in turn, protected
her partner as she always did, but her claws were little use against steel armor. Little by little, the
heroes were being worn down, and Skull couldn't think of anything to do about it.
p Fortunately, he didn't have to. With an icy blast of wind, every lamp on the street blew
out, plunging the alley into an intense blackness that even Gold Eagle's flaming plumage barely
dented. The fog that had hung disinterestedly over the scene was awakened, moving in eager
waves to coalesce into a shimmering cloud that interposed itself between the Hand and their
intended prey, and the soldiers drew back in awe. The storm cloud flickered with lightning,
lightning that formed itself into the shape of a glowing bird. He riveted his pale lavender eyes on
the armed men.
p "iAvaunt!/i" he commanded. "iAway with you, infidels! This is my chosen, and
traitors such as yourselves will not be permitted to harm him!/i"
p The soldiers were duly impressed. There was a clatter of dropped swords and clanging
footsteps as they fled into the safety of the night. Thorin watched his men go with disgust on his
face, but even he was unnerved by the sight of the Elemental Bird. He glared at Garudan, locking
his angry eyes with the bird's ageless gaze. Whatever he saw there convinced him that fighting
would be unwise, and he turned to join his men. To say he ran away would be overstatement, but
he made good time for a man who wasn't frightened. Garudan nodded slightly and turned to
Skull.
p "iDo not count on me being able to save you like this again,/i" he said. "iBeware.
Fear has its uses, but it is seldom permanent. The Hand will be back, and they will be angry./i"
p "Thanks, Garudan," Skull replied. "I'll be more careful next time."
P The Thunderbird nodded again, and then faded slowly back into mist. Skull and Cedar
allowed themselves to blink back to their natural forms.
p Pyrin was staring at Skull with unveiled astonishment. "What manner of man are you?"
p "Just an ordinary guy with really weird luck," Skull replied, shrugging and averting his
gaze. He didn't like being stared at like he was some kind of marvel... or an Elemental Bird.
p "Whatever you are, you're someone I wouldn't want for an enemy," Pyrin decided. "With
friends like you, I am sure the king will be restored."
p "I'm not as great as all that," Skull insisted. "I would have been toast if Garudan hadn't
showed up to help me. Getting your king back isn't going to be easy."
p "But we will. I'm sure of it," said Pyrin optimistically. "I never expected it to be easy. By
the way, I don't think you ever gave me your name."
p "Oh. It's Skull... Well, actually, Eugene, but I like to be called Skull."
p "Don't know why," Cedar chimed in. "Eugene is perfectly good name."
P Pyrin's eyes went wide all over again. "It talks!"
p "Of course she can. She's an Aerial," said Skull. "And she's not an it. Her name is Cedar."
p "An Aerial! That explains it," Pyrin replied. "We must discuss just how it is you came to
be here - later, when we're in a safer place. It is dangerous to be here - the king's eyes see all
corners of the city."
p "How can he do that?" asked Skull. "You mean, with spies or something? Like the Iron
Hand? But we chased them away!"
p "Not spies. He has no need of them," Pyrin replied. "He is a powerful sorcerer - some say
he was once the greatest in the universe before an accident curtailed his power. However, he still
finds it easy enough to direct his gaze wherever he wishes and see what his people are doing. We
have to hide carefully indeed to keep him from finding us."
p "Sorcerer?" Skull repeated. There was a tiny little suspicion tickling the back of his mind,
trying to put itself into words. "Does he have a name?"
p "We don't like to use it," said Pyrin, looking a bit sheepish. "It's superstition, I suppose,
thinking that we can bring down his wrath just by mentioning his name, but we always just refer
to him as 'the king' or 'the master.' Maybe we just don't want to have to think about him too
hard."
p "Well, if I'm going to fight him, I'm going to have to think about him," Skull pointed out.
"What's his name."
p "It's Zedd. Lord Zedd."
p "Zedd?" Skull repeated. "But I - I - I thought he was dead!"
p Pyrin hung his head sadly. "If only. There was a rumor out for a long time that he had
been destroyed by some hero or another. I even remember hearing that Zordon himself gave a
medal to the man. But it turned out that he was only injured, and he came back here to see to
regaining his powers. His strength has been reduced, but his mind was warped by pain and drugs.
He is more cruel and evil than ever."
p "No. It can't be. I won't believe it," said Skull flatly.
p "You can't deny it," said Pyrin gently. "Denial gets us nowhere. Now is the time to fight."
P "NO!" Skull shouted. "I won't believe it! I won't believe it!"
p Wild eyed, he turned and ran down the street, dashing blindly into the night. He didn't
care where he was going, just so long as it took him far away from everything. He ran until his
throat was raw from gasping the cold air and his muscles burned from the abuse. At last, his
strength ran out, and he collapsed in some dark, frozen corner to cry his heart out. He cried not
only for his broken dreams of being a hero, but for misleading Zordon and all those people who
had trusted and counted on him, and for bringing this squalor and terror down on Oryllia. He
cried for the world of Tien. He hadn't been able to change anything after all - Zedd would destroy
it just as Cedar had said he would have done if her hero hadn't intervened. Skull cried especially
for Cedar, who he had failed so abysmally. She had looked up to him and trusted him, and he had
betrayed her faith. She would probably never want to look at him again. What was he ever going
to do without her eternal loyalty and optimism? Finally, he was emptied of tears, and he slid into
an exhausted sleep.
p It was some time later that Cedar found him. She almost passed him by, but there was
something that seemed to be calling her, drawing her to him. He was curled up in the darkest
corner of a dead-end alley, shivering in his sleep.
p "Poor Eugene," she whispered sadly.
p Shifting into half-bird form, she stretched out one wing to wrap him in warm, sweet-
smelling feathers, and she felt his shivering subside. Curling up close to him, she, too, fell asleep.
To Be Continued
By: SilvorMoon
p If the days were stifling, the nights were all but fatally suffocating. When the sun was up,
the air was heavy and muggy, casting a grey haze over what could have been an otherwise
pleasant city, and the scents on the wind were of mold and garbage. It was always hot, and even
breathing could get difficult at times, so that mothers kept their frailest children indoors where the
air was purer, and older men and women leaned on canes before their time for fear of dizzy spells.
It was cooler at night, but the haze remained, a cold, biting fog that burned the lungs and froze
faces into blank expressions when they would have preferred to smile. Strangely enough, the fog
tapered off and vanished by the time it reached the furthest edges of the city. You could even see
the stars, sometimes, if you were lucky enough to live in the outskirts of town. Beyond the city
limits, the air was clean and clear, almost sweet, but nobody went there, not if they cared for their
lives. Guards stood at the gates of the city to prevent people from straying, and to be caught
scaling the walls or digging escape tunnels meant instant death.
P At one of the gates, the one most distant from the king's palace, and therefore, the most
neglected, two guards leaned boredly against the rough stone walls, hoping that enough of their
body heat would seep into the bricks to keep at least their backs warm. They rubbed their arms
and shivered, sometimes pressing their hands to their faces in an effort to thaw their numb noses.
p "How much longer 'till our shift's over, Zeel?" asked one of them.
p The second guard scanned the sky. "Captain said to stay put until the moon reached it's
high point. That'll be another couple of hours."
p "We'll both be frozen stiff before that happens," said the first guard. "Not even a cup of
soup to warm our hands."
P "Quit your griping, Frak. We're getting paid good money to stand here and do nothing.
You won't get a better offer than that."
p "Guess you're right... Say, what's that over there?"
p "Over where? I don't see anything."
p "Not inside the gate. Look outside, up on that hill. There's a sort of a light."
P Zeel stared out into the darkness. On the hill was a collection of pillars and stones, ruins
left over from a better time. They had always been there, and, once they had gotten over their
superstitious fears, most of the city folk ignored them. However, tonight, there seemed to be a
pale blue-green-white glow emanating from the forgotten temple. The guard's features creased in
concern.
p "Think we should check it out?" asked Frak nervously. Here in the cold, foggy darkness,
the tales his mother had told him as a wide-eyed child were coming back with full force.
p "Might be a trick," Zeel muttered. "Someone using illusions to lure us away so they can
escape."
p "Might be evil spirits," said Frak.
p "No such things," scoffed Zeel. "Look. If there iare/i evil spirits, we'd best leave
them alone. If it's a trick, we'd best stay put. If it's someone who's sneaked out, it wasn't by us.
Let someone else get in trouble."
p "You're right. Best to just stay here," Frak agreed. "So, how much longer?"
p "I told you, a couple of hours. A little less, now that we've wasted the last few minutes
arguing."
p "All right, all right. Don't have to bite my head off."
p Frak sighed. Two hours, and then he could go home to a bowl of stew and his pretty
young wife and get himself properly warm again. Two hours to kill... He turned his gaze back to
the top of the hill, where the only action of interest was going on. Yes, there was definitely a light
up there. It looked almost like it was moving.
Pcenter~*~/center
p When Skull landed, he was hit instantly by a rush of cold air. He looked around, blinded
by the sudden darkness - it had been sunny where he had just come from, and his eyes weren't
ready for this. He heard a startled squawk that could only have come from the Firebird, and
Cedar's hand reached for his. He blinked a little, trying to adjust his vision. Gradually, the light of
the stars and the Elemental Bird on his shoulder revealed that he was standing on a level patch of
brown stone, surrounded by columns and arches reaching up toward a clear cold sky. Behind him
loomed a square stone structure with a gaping doorway full of shadows. It was not where he was
supposed to be at all.
p "What happened?" he asked aloud. "This isn't Tien, is it?"
p "bIt most certainly is not,/b" said the Firebird in disapproval. "bWe've been
moved again./b"
p "Uh-oh," said Skull. "You mean like when we ended up in Florida?" He looked around
nervously, as if he expected a second Chronavius to appear... or maybe the original. He never had
learned the fate of his strange enemy. Might he be lurking around somewhere, waiting to launch
another attack?
p "bSomething like that. We are on a fair-sized planet in the Ikula galaxy, located in the
Beta Quadrant of the universe. The time is approximately three Earth-years before we arrived in
your city of Miami./b"
p "A long way from home," Cedar commented. "Should we try again?"
p "Would it work?" asked Skull. "If somebody brought us here, they might not like us
leaving so soon."
p "But it might be an enemy," Cedar pointed out. "Might be dangerous to stay."
p "bPerhaps yes, perhaps no,/b" said the Firebird thoughtfully. "bI'm sensing a
familiar aura somewhere nearby... within a few miles, I should say. I would like to stay long
enough to investigate more closely./b"
p "Humph. And so we must risk our safety for your curiosity?" asked Cedar.
p Skull had stopped listening. There was something else nagging him, something he couldn't
quite put his finger on, but it was undeniably there.
p "I think the Firebird has the right idea for once," said Skull, ignoring the bird's scathing
glare. "Something here wants us to stay... I don't know why, but I think it's friendly. We're here
for a reason."
p Cedar paused, looking around. Her fingers touched the Crystal of All Times, and it
glowed faintly in response. She nodded slowly.
p "I think you are right," she said. "Someone good is here. They need us."
p "bRight, then,/b" said the Firebird. "bYou can look for whoever it is if you want
to. As for me, I intend to look up an old acquaintance or two. It may be that I can find some
allies./b"
P Without waiting for any words of agreement or argument, he unfolded his blazing wings
and soared off into the night, heading toward a cluster of lights in the distance. Skull watched him
go with a shrug.
p "Hope he doesn't cause any riots," he said.
p "Should we have let him go?" asked Cedar. "He can get in so much trouble."
p "iTrue,/i" said a voice, "ibut he could get into more if he listened to our
conversation. He is not worthy of trust in his present manifestation./i"
p Cedar and Skull jumped, looking around for the speaker. The air in front of them seemed
to shimmer and thicken, becoming a thin mist, then a fog, then a bank of roiling storm clouds.
Before the glowing shape formed in the heart of them, Skull already knew who to expect.
P "Garudan!" he said.
p "You know this creature, Eugene?" asked Cedar, looking with wonder at the storm-being.
P "We met... I mean, we're going to meet... I mean... What time is it?"
p The Thunderbird chuckled, though not unkindly. "iWe have met, and we will meet, and
I am pleased to meet you again. Lady Cedar, I am Garudan, known as the Thunderbird. I offer
you such poor welcome as I can to my home. This world is known as Oryllia, and I am its sworn
protector./i"
P "Thunderbird..." said Cedar thoughtfully, head bowed in concentration. Then she looked
up as realization hit. "The Lost Planet! This is the Lost Planet my father has told of - the one that
disappeared years ago. Why is it still here?"
p "iIt never disappeared at all, fortunately. That is the stuff of legends,/i" answered
Garudan. "iThe true story is one that not even your honorable father knows. However, if you
would both be so kind as to walk with me a little way, I will tell you the whole story. Indeed, that
is why you have been brought here. Eugene, Dark Falcon, you made a promise to me that you
would help me save my people. I will not hold you to that promise - it was my doing, in part, that
led to their downfall, and there would be justice in making me pay the full price for my crimes -
but I do want you to know the history, and what part you are playing in it. What I am about to tell
you is the story of the Dark Falcon./i"
p "History?" Skull repeated. "You mean, someone had my job before I did? I thought the
Firebird created the Dark Falcon powers for ime./i"
p "iHe did take part in their creation, but it was eons before you came along,/i"
Garudan replied. "iCome. There is much to discuss./i"
p The Thunderbird turned and glided slowly into the dark temple. Exchanging glances of
uncertainty, Skull and Cedar followed.
p Inside the temple, it was dark and cold, which Skull had expected. However, it was not as
cold as it was outside, and the darkness was held at bay by the Thunderbird's pale blue-silver
glow. It proved to be much smaller than it had appeared from the outside, layered in shadows as it
was. Inside, it was only a square room with flat walls and a small altar of some sort, with a rough
image of a plumed bird hanging above it. The walls were painted with pictures, like cave
paintings, and Skull moved to inspect them.
p "iPictograms,/i" Garudan explained, "ipainted thousands of years ago to record
our story. Some of them ought to look familiar./i"
p "Yeah. This one's the Firebird, right?" asked Skull, pointing at the multicolored bird-
shape, faded by long years. "And that's you, and that's the Dark Falcon. But who are these other
guys?"
p The patch of wall that Skull was examining featured a large and fairly detailed image of
the two Elemental Birds and, not one, but three costumed heroes. The Dark Falcon's black and
crimson was still easy to make out, even after centuries of neglect. To the left of that picture was
another, less distinct figure, painted mostly in white, trimmed with some other color that might
have once been red or orange. To the right was one in the silvers and blues of the Thunderbird.
Someone had apparently mixed bits of mica or something else glittery into the paint, for the silver
trim on the costume still sparkled.
p "iThose two were once companions of the Dark Falcon, his teammates. They are called
the White Peregrine and the Storm Raven,/i" Garudan explained. "iThey were one of the
first organized groups of heroes in the universe, a powerful force against evil. They were known
as the Knights of All Times. We meant for them to last that long, but things did not fall out
according to our intentions./i"
p "I have teammates?" asked Skull. "Where are they? Why aren't they helping me?"
p "iThe team disbanded ages ago. You see, the team was created, not only by the
Firebird, but by me as well. I gave power to the Storm Raven, he to the White Peregrine, and the
Dark Falcon was meant to be the combination of both our powers, thus, the leader and most
powerful. It didn't work out like that, I'm afraid. Make yourselves comfortable, and I'll tell you
the whole story from the beginning./i
p "IYou have probably guessed by now that the Firebird is my brother. We were both
hatched from the eggs of a being called the Sunbird by some, and sometimes the Phoenix. She
was only a Near Immortal, capable of being injured or killed if a force with enough power is
aimed at her. Yet, her beauty was such that she was briefly taken as a consort by one of the True
Immortals, and my brother and I were born of that union. Because of our heritage, we rest oddly
in the great scheme of things. We are neither true mortals nor Immortals, but somewhere in
between. We were given this privilege by the Powers that Be: that we should be made True
Immortals if we abided by certain rules - namely, that we must conduct ourselves in the manner of
such beings. We were forbidden to eat mortal food, lie with mortal women, or commit certain
reprehensible acts, such as murder. As long as we followed these rules, we would remain
Immortal, but breaking the rules would result in a reduction in our status, to Near Immortal or
even mortal, depending on the seriousness of the deviation./i"
p "But... Firebird eats the same things we do," said Skull, who was having a difficult time
following the Thunderbird's antiquated speech, "and he said he had a wife, I think."
p "iThat is true, but I will explain it later,/i" said the Thunderbird. "iSuffice it to say,
in the beginning, my brother and I were very careful to do as we were told and act only in ways
that befitted Immortals. The universe was a place of wild magic, in those days, where the forces
of Good and Evil were still roughly organized and still beginning to understand just what they
represented. We took the opportunity to choose among those warriors there were the bravest and
strongest, and they became our champions./i"
p "What about me?" asked Cedar. "Dark Falcon, White Peregrine, Storm Raven... where is
the Gold Eagle?"
P Thunderbird chuckled again. "iMy brother still has some abilities, and there is power in
that crystal you carry. You are a new creation... but that is not a bad thing. You have done very
well. Someday, when my world and my power is restored, I will see to it that your image adorns
my walls along with these others./i"
P Cedar nodded. Somehow, she didn't doubt that the Thunderbird would keep his promise;
he seemed as honest and trustworthy as the Firebird was secretive and deceitful.
p "Go on with the story!" Skull urged. "What happened to the Knights?"
p "iThey did just what Knights were supposed to do - protected the universe from villains
and fought evil where they found it. However, I regret to say that their mentors did not behave as
admirably. As the Knights gained fame and glory, we became jealous, not only of them, but of
each other. We argued over whose avatar was the greatest, and over which of us had the most to
do with the Dark Falcon's success. In the end, our quarrels grew so heated that we declared
eternal enmity with each other, and the team was broken apart. We both retreated to our chosen
homeworlds, he to your world of Tien and I to this place, Oryllia... What do you think of it?/i"
p "Well, it's..." Skull foundered for words. "It's kinda chilly."
p He was a bit afraid that the Thunderbird would be offended, but the bird only laughed
again - a little sadly, Skull thought.
P "iIt was once a beautiful world,/i" he said. "iIt was very much like Tien, in some
ways. It was a summer world, a place of artisans and scholars. The two worlds were allies, once,
before things fell apart, but once my brother and I made our vows, they separated from each other
completely. The two worlds followed the example of their protectors and cut off all
communications between each other, and my world in particular became proud and standoffish.
Oryllia became so cloaked in secrecy that the Tienese took to calling it the Lost Planet. It's very
sad, really./i"
p There was a pause, as the Thunderbird contemplated the events of the past. Skull fidgeted.
Outside, the wind was howling, tossing random cold drafts into the room, and he tried to suppress
a shiver. The room seemed to be getting darker the longer he kept his eyes fixed on the glowing
thing in front of him, until it seemed that Garudan was the only thing left in the universe. He
looked so lonely, so sad, so ifrail/i with the dark fog showing right through him. What had
happened to him to make him look like that, so different from the cocksure Firebird? As if on cue,
the Thunderbird began to speak again.
p "iThe Firebird was the first of us to fall. After all, fire is his nature. He is much more...
mercurial than I am. He became enamored with a sorceress-woman, a lady Pyromancer, whom he
took for his wife. I am given to understand that their children were the founders of the race of
Aerials. I think it is fortunate that the union did not last long./i"
p "He broke up with her or something, didn't he?" asked Skull. "Firebird said she had a bad
temper."
p "iDid he?/i" asked the Thunderbird, surprised into laughing. "iHe would say
something like that, wouldn't he? She did have quite a temper, I recall. She was a beautiful
woman, but she had a weakness for power, and the Firebird promised her all she wanted if she
went along with his whims. When she finally began to learn how deceptive her husband could be,
she decided to create a better means of borrowing his magic./i" He nodded in Cedar's direction
as he added, "iShe decided to create the Crystal of All Times./i"
P "This was created?" asked Cedar, touching the copy of the stone that hung at her throat.
"I though it just... was."
p "iPhysical things never just are,/i" Garudan corrected gently. "iShe made the stone
as a gift for him, flattering him by telling him it was created for the true mastermind behind the
Knights. She'd enchanted it with a wishing spell, and she told him that it would give him whatever
he desired. Instead, it trapped him within the stone, where it absorbed much of its power, so that
she could use it as she willed. When she grew tired of it, she left it on Tien and went out in search
of other adventures. It was passed down through the generations until you two finally broke
it./i"
P "And the Firebird gave me three wishes," Skull supplied.
p "iIt was required. The wishing spell was never lifted, so you had to make your wishes
to set him free./i"
p "Oh," said Skull. "So that's why he was being so pushy about it."
p Garudan looked interested. "iCould you elaborate a little on that?/i"
P "I dunno. He just kept telling me what kind of wishes to make, like he thought what I was
wishing for was dumb."
P "iCouldn't he have waited a little longer?/i" asked the Thunderbird, mostly to
himself. "iYou'd think he would have at least done bsome/b thinking while he was
imprisoned!/i"
p "He was not very nice," said Cedar. "He thought Eugene should not wish to save my
father!"
p "iOf course he did,/i" Thunderbird answered bitterly. "/iThe terms of the spell
were that it would trap only those whose wishes were selfish. Since your friend made his wishes
with others in mind, he remained safe, and the spell was broken. If he had been thinking only of
himself, he would have fallen into the same trap as the Firebird had./i"
p Skull went wide-eyed with alarm. "You mean he was out to get me?"
P "iIndubitably,/i" answered Garudan.
P "But why?" asked Cedar. "What did Eugene ever do to him? He set him free! Why would
he try to trap him?"
p "IBecause it would have given him control over him. That, I think, is the one thing
Fenikus loves more than anything else. He was bad about it before, but he grew even worse when
he began losing his powers. Being able to manipulate people makes him feel like he still has
power, and he will go to great lengths to get it./i"
p Skull nodded. "He does boss us around an awful lot, now that you mention it."
P Garudan nodded. "iI believe he gave you the Dark Falcon powers because he saw you
as weak-willed and easy to manipulate - possibly because you seemed more concerned with others
than yourself. Controlling the Dark Falcon would have given him a kind of power again. He
misjudged you./i"
P "He did?" asked Skull. "When?"
P "iAt various points. I seem to remember something about you threatening to strangle
him?/i"
P "Oh, yeah, that."
P "When did that happen?" asked Cedar.
P "Way back, when we had that little argument about the Firestrike monster."
P "And you threatened to strangle him?"
P "I was trying to get him to apologize."
P "IWhatever the reason, you proved your independence, and he would not stand for
that,/I" Thunderbird cut in. "iAnd that is why he decided he needed to be rid of you./i"
P "Rid?" Skull repeated. "You mean, like, killing me? But he didn't!"
P "iHe tried it,/i" answered Thunderbird. "iWhy do you think he found it so
important that you should go in single combat against the most powerful and evil man in the
universe?/I"
P "I knew it!" said Cedar. "I iknew/i he couldn't be trusted! Did you hear that,
Eugene? He was trying to kill you!"
P "I don't believe it," said Skull. "Why?"
P "iBecause he doesn't like you. He does not trust you. In his mind, if you are not
working for him, you are likely to turn against him, and he will not stand for that. You must be
wary, Eugene. I fear he will make a second attempt to remove you from his path./i"
p "I'll be careful," Skull promised.
P "What about you?" asked Cedar. "You haven't said anything about yourself, yet."
p Thunderbird sighed. "ITrue. And that is what I wanted to tell you... it is not easy. I
lasted longer than my brother did, but eventually, I was stricken with the same disease. Just as he
did, I tried to find a loophole in the laws that ruled me, allowing me to retain my powers and still
have the same lifestyle my brother was enjoying. I eventually encountered a powerful sorcerer
who offered to help me get my way in exchange for part rulership of Oryllia. I agreed, and that
began my downfall. The longer the arrangement went on, the more of my immortality I lost, and
the more I became dependent upon my helper. Little by little, he took control of my world and
siphoned away my powers, until he became my absolute ruler, and I his servant, a twisted version
of my former self. You might have even called me a monster./i" He paused, deep in thought.
Finally, almost inaudibly, he added, "iI created two monsters, really. He became what you
know as Lord Zedd, and I became Chronavius./i"
P "What?!" exclaimed Skull and Cedar together.
P "iI was lucky to meet you, back on Tien,/i" said Thunderbird. "iIt was meeting
you
that turned me around. By that point, I had lost most of my memories of who I was. I was down
to almost nothing - a warped version of my former shape and some of my former power. Zedd
didn't even recognize me at that point. But my encounter with you reminded me that I used to be
something more, and I turned on my master. I think he killed me,/i" he added, as an
afterthought.
P "But you don't look very dead to me," Skull protested.
P "iDon't I? I was under the impression that you ordinarily couldn't see through living
beings./i"
p "Oh. Good point."
P "iBecause I was once an Immortal, and because I died for a good cause, I have been
gifted with partial life - perhaps what you might call a ghost,/i" said the Thunderbird. "iI
have been returned to this place with the mission of undoing what I have done. My mission is to
save Oryllia from the grip of evil, and to reclaim the lost half of my soul./i"
p "Soul?" Cedar repeated. "How can you lose your soul? I cannot imagine what half a soul
would look like."
P "iIt is one of the ways I bound myself to this world,/i" Garudan explained. "iMy
soul is bound inextricably to that of the true king. Towards the end, Zedd demanded that I make
him the next king of Oryllia. I still had enough presence of mind to refuse, so he did the next best
thing: he put the true king into a state of stasis. He is not dead, so the soul link is still there, but he
cannot work with me any longer, cannot give me strength. As he and I weakened, so did Oryllia,
and thus Zedd was able to take full control of the world and me. I am powerless to reverse this
process. You must find the king and awaken him. Only then will I be able to drive out the evil that
affects this world and return my home to what it once was./i"
p "Hold up a minute. Let me get this straight," said Skull. "Do you know what you're
asking me to do? You're not just asking me to fight off monsters anymore. You want me to go
into a planet that the bad guys have already taken over and help you take it back, and you want
me to do it by waking up a dead king. It's impossible! What are two people, a bird, and a ghost
going to do against a whole planet?"
p "iActually, I think it's going to be mostly you and Cedar,/i" said Garudan
thoughtfully. "iI have very little power to spare, and I doubt my brother will be of very much
help. There are too many things on this planet that he will find enjoyable to want to alter it, and as
I said, he may not be inclined to help you. You are going to have to be rather more self-reliant
than usual./i"
P Skull rolled his eyes. "Great. Thanks a lot. That's really encouraging."
P "iOn the other hand, there is one thing you have to look forward to,/i" said Garudan.
p "Oh? What's that?"
P "iWhen you find the sleeping king, he'll be able to help you. The King of Oryllia has
always been the traditional carrier of the Storm Raven powers./i"
P "Now you're talking!" Skull exclaimed. "I could use someone like that on my side. Where
is he? How do I wake him up?"
p Garudan hung his head regretfully. "iI'm afraid I do not know. Zedd hid him
somewhere and kept the location a secret, closely guarded by his most powerful hiding spells. He
knew very well what would happen if I were to ever find my missing soulmate./i"
p "Oh, great," Skull muttered. "You don't believe in making things easy, do you?"
p "iI would very much like to make things easy for you if I could,/i" Garudan
answered, so gently that Skull felt ashamed for snapping. "iIt is just that, without my soulmate,
my powers are greatly hindered. I can't even... talk to you that easily. My... power is fading.
Corporeal presence becomes... very difficult. I am weakening. I must... go./i"
p "Wait up!" said Skull. "There are still things I need to know!"
p "iI can stay no longer. Seek the Band. They will.../i"
p Before the Thunderbird had a chance to say just what the Band would do, his image
seemed to lose all its light, and then he swirled away like the smoke of a snuffed candle. Skull and
Cedar were left alone in the cold, dark temple.
p "What do we do now?" asked Cedar.
p "I guess we do what he says - seek the Band," Skull replied, "and the king. The Storm
Raven."
Pcenter~*~/center
p Two voices were arguing. You could hear them echoing down the lavishly furnished halls
of the king's castle, rebounding off cold stone or muffled by moth-eaten tapestries and stained
carpet. Luxurious as the false king cared to make his home, there was still no escaping the blight
that had fallen upon the city, and even new and imported objects fell into disrepair almost
overnight. Still, the lady of the castle had enough power to keep her rooms comfortable, and it
was from there the voices emerged. One was the lady herself, her normally cool, controlled voice
brittle with suppressed anger. The other was a man's voice, deep and resonant, but raised a half
octave in plaintive desparation.
p "Charla, darling, listen..."
p "I don't want to listen, and don't call me darling. We're through."
p "But Charla..."
p "No buts. I'm tired of you, all right? We're finished. History. End of story."
p "Can't you at least consider a little while? You've always been the only one for me. I'm
willing to forgive and forget if you'll do likewise. I still love you, Charla."
p Charla regarded her lover (or, in her mind, her former lover) with a hard stare. She was, in
her way, strikingly attractive, though some would hesitate to call her beautiful. If she had beauty,
it was the same kind of harsh beauty that rested on the city, something lovely that had fallen. She
was still long-legged and graceful, and she carried herself with the haughty pride of a queen. Her
hair was long, flowing, and brilliant red-orange, seeming to shift colors in the candle light as if it
itself was burning. The only thing that robbed her statuesque face of perfection was her mouth,
which was a shade too thin-lipped, as if it had been pressed shut too often. Her eyes were dark as
coals and hard as jet. The most remarkable thing about her was her skin, which was an utterly
inhuman shade of pale orange.
p As for the man, there was nothing immediately evident to show why his lady was spurning
him. Physically, he should have been the answer to any woman's prayers. Tall, well-built, and
enviably tanned, it was hard to find anything that could be counted as a fault. He was dressed in
pure white clothing that almost seemed to glow, and his eyes were a singularly luminous shade of
aquamarine. His hair was chestnut, but when the candlelight caught it, it threw of the same red-
orange shimmers as the hair of the lady.
p "I don't want to consider," said Charla stubbornly. "I don't even want to think about you
anymore. You were no good back then, and you're still no good now. Besides, I've found
someone new, in case you haven't noticed."
p "Have you?" asked the man with an odd note of interest. "And who might that be?
Anyone I know?"
p "The king, who else?" Charla retorted. "iHe/i has ireal/i power around here,
which is more than you ever had."
p "I have power you know nothing about. I haven't let my world fall into ruin... unlike some
people I could mention. Are you as compatible with your new love as you were with me?"
p "We have a satisfactory arrangement, thank you," said Charla curtly.
p "Aha!" chuckled the man. "A satisfactory arrangement. An arrangement. That sounds
quite romantic. He must be quite the charmer."
p Two spots of red appeared on Charla's face. "He can be, when he wants to be. This is, as I
said, an arrangement. We both know what we want, and we fulfil each other's expectations. What
more do we need to have?"
p "Love," answered the man simply. "Admit it, you care nothing for him."
p "Yes," she answered bluntly, "and the same goes for you."
p "You're too cruel. Can't you give me a chance to prove myself to you? Name what you
will, and I will do it for you."
p "Go jump in a lake," Charla snapped. "I've heard that promise before. That was what you
told me when you conned me in to marrying you, and look at what I had to go through to get rid
of you."
p "You haven't gotten rid of me. I'm still here. Does that not prove my devotion?"
p Charla sighed. "You are a tiresome thing. I wish you would go away."
p "I hear weakness there," the man said, smiling slightly. "You lie as well as I do, and I see
through your lies as you see through mine. We're a remarkable pair."
p "Yes," she said. "We were quite a pair."
p "Tell me about your new lover," he said. "Is he treating you well? Is he taking proper care
of you?"
p "When he chooses to."
p "When he chooses? That will never do," said the man, feigning concern. "Face it,
Charla. You aren't happy here, and we both know it. What is this new man you've found? A lover
or a business partner?"
p "I never said anything about love. I told you flat out it was an arrangement. You know
nothing about love, none of you, only greed and heat."
p "Warmth," the man corrected. "You need someone to be there for you when you feel
lonely. Aren't you lonely in this cold place? Don't you need a warm hand to touch you?"
p "Go away," said Charla. "You don't love me and you know it."
p "You don't care and you know it."
p Charla let her eyes meet his. "Maybe I don't."
p In one swift motion, they were together, locked in a kiss. She allowed herself to savor the
feeling for only a moment before pushing him away.
p "Not here. Not now," she said. "He might come and find us, and then we'll both be in
trouble."
p "Later, then?"
p "Maybe," said Charla. She sighed. "Look. I'll make you a deal. You make yourself useful
to me, and I imight/i just let you stay."
p "More arrangements?" asked the man.
p "Yes. That's it exactly. An arrangement to keep you from driving me up the wall. You can
hang around if you'll live up to your promise and obey my orders. Got it?"
p "Of course, Charla. Whatever you say," the man replied. "I can give you the power you
crave if you trust me."
p "That's what you said when I married you," Charla sighed. "Now, get out of here. The
king will be returning soon, and he won't be happy to find you here. I'll call you when I want
you."
p "I will be listening. Farewell, my darling."
p "I told you not to call me that. Goodbye, Fenikus."
p And with that, the man bowed and vanished in a flash of light. In his place was a gleaming
bird with rainbow feathers and piercing blue-green eyes who swooped out the window with a
singularly smug expression.
Pcenter~*~/center
p Skull stood at a distance to look down at the city. The fog lay over it like eons of
accumulated cobwebs, enveloping it all in an eerie gray veil. Lights peeped wanly through the
thick haze, and the moisture caught the light and refracted it until it looked as if the fog itself was
glowing. The only shapes that could be seen were dark and forbidding. The only thing within the
city that seemed to be free of the clinging mist was a castle on a hill, a sharp spear tip thrust
through the smoky barrier. From a distance, it looked so attenuated that it looked as if it would
collapse if someone only sneezed at it. The whole city was surrounded by a high wall. Its top
glittered faintly in the moonlight, revealing sharp bits of metal and glass to slash the hands of
anyone foolhardy enough to attempt scaling it. There were gates in the wall, but the faint
movements and glints of metal that he could see through them warned Skull of armed guards.
P "I don't think they're going to let us in voluntarily," he said.
p Cedar half-smiled. "Advantage of being bird. No one has to let you into anywhere."
p "Yeah, well, I'm not a bird. You're going to have to give me a lift," Skull replied.
p "Aren't you going to turn into the Dark Falcon?" Cedar inquired.
p "With maybe a bunch of monsters waiting down there to pounce on me? No way! I'm not
that stupid," Skull replied. "I don't want anyone around here knowing I'm a one of the good guys
until I know they aren't out to get me."
p "Don't like the idea of you going in there unprotected," said Cedar, frowning uncertainly.
p "I can transform any time," Skull assured her, touching the Firebird amulet. It was warm,
even in that frigid place. "You've gotta admit, we are kind of noticeable when we transform."
P "True," Cedar admitted. She considered, looking over Skull's multicolored clothing. "Are
noticeable anyway. Should look for a disguise, I think."
p "That's a pretty good idea," said Skull, giving his tie-dyed T-shirt a critical inspection.
"But I don't think there are any of those around here. We'll just have to be careful, and hope our
luck holds out."
p Cedar nodded. She tossed her head, letting her long hair swirl around her face as her
outlines blurred and shifted. Soon there was only a large rose-gold bird perched where there had
been a human girl moments before. She fluttered her wings and rose into the air, circling her
friend a few times before she swooped down on him, caught his shoulders, and lifted him up into
the air. For a moment, she struggled under the shift in weight and balance, but then her wings
caught and updraft from the cliff face, and she soared towards the cold stars.
p They landed just inside the city limits, only traveling far enough inward so that the guards
wouldn't see or hear them. The air was still and sticky inside the city, difficult for Cedar to fly
through when she was carrying such a weight. Skull wasn't heavy, as far as humans went, but
Cedar was small and light, and there was only so much lift she could generate without a breeze to
ride on. As it was, she was more than happy to land in a deserted alley and catch her breath while
her companion looked around.
p Skull blinked and squinted through the fog. It was dark, and the street lamps dispensed
little more than smoke and a few feeble flames, but he still thought he could get a good idea of
what things looked like in his new location. Memory helped him; the architectural style was not
far removed from that of the city on Tien, though it was built of native dark rock instead of the
pale sandstone he was used to. More than anything, it reminded him of his brief visit to the
Theives' Garden, where the walls were crumbling and the streets were filled with shadows and
filth.
p "This is what Tien would look like if we had let Zedd get hold of it," said Skull.
P "Can't happen now, can it?" asked Cedar in her accented bird-speech. "You stopped it
frrrom happening. It vould have happened if you hadn't come."
p "Aw, I don't know about that," said Skull. "Something would have worked out. I just
helped a little, that's all."
p "No," said Cedar firmly. "I rrremember. The first time I came to your world, I vas told
that Tien had been destroyed in the var vith Zedd - nothing left. If you had not come, Father
vould have died in the assassination and Zedd would have had the Crystal of All Times. You
changed everything."
p Skull shrugged, uncomfortable with the idea. "I just hope I can do the same thing for this
place. It sure needs cleaning up."
p Cedar nodded. "Vhere to first? You lead."
P "Umm... Let's try that way."
p He pointed to one of the broader and cleaner streets, where there were vague signs of life.
Shadowy people were shuffling along the edges of the avenue, darting furtively in and out of
alleys or shops. He glanced at his multi-hued clothing again and winced.
p "Maybe you'd better fly, Cedar," he said. "People are going to notice me enough even
without a giant bird on my shoulder."
p Cedar nodded. "Stay out of trrrouble," she said, and took to the air.
p Skull watched her go, feeling a bit forsaken. It was dark and cold and lonely, and he
would have felt a lot better if she could have stayed close by to advise him, but he didn't want
anything to happen to her. The more time he spent with her, the more he came to realize just how
important she was to him. There was a lot to be said for having a friend like her - loyal,
intelligent, beautiful, caring...
p His warm thoughts were drowned out by a bout of shivering, and he began walking faster,
trying to thaw himself out. It was icold/i! The leather jacket that had almost been too warm
on Terra Venture and completely superfluous on Tien was proving invaluable now. He pulled it
tight around himself, turning up the collar to hide his neck and ears, and then shoved his frozen
hands in his pockets. One of them brushed against something soft, a feather that Cedar had once
lost and he had kept as a souvenir. He had often pondered the meaning of that feather. Cedar had
told him once that if you kept part of something, it connected you to it and it to you for as long as
you had that one piece. Just as his Firebird amulet bound him to Tien and to the Firebird himself,
he had a superstitious sort of faith that keeping the feather would also keep him from ever being
separated from his friend.
p While he was walking and thinking, someone else was standing and watching. He hovered
at the mouth of an alleyway, doing nothing more than turning his head slowly to observe the
passers-by. His clothing seemed to be little more than a cloak sewn of old rags in drab colors,
grays, browns, and blacks, giving him a cloak of invisibility nearly as good as if it had been magic.
His hair was the same sort of color, a deep brown-black, and it hung in his face, giving him a
certain anonymity. He spoke to no one, barely even moving, but there were a few lonely travelers
who nodded to him in a guarded way. He was so still and so silent that Skull walked past without
seeing him - at least, not until the man called.
p "Hey! Hold up there!"
p Skull levitated a few inches and looked around frantically to see who had shouted.
p "Over here," said the stranger impatiently. "Get over here. I want to talk to you."
p "I don't know if that's such a good idea," said Skull, backing away slowly. "I'm here on a
mission, and I don't have a lot of time, so-"
p "A mission?" the man repeated. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You aren't with the
Hand, are you?"
p "I... I don't think so," said Skull.
p "You have to know," the stranger replied. "Around here, you're either with the Hand or
the Band. There's no middle of the road. If you're not with us, you're against us."
p "Well, I'm kinda new around here," Skull prevaricated. "I don't really know anything
about it. What are the Hand and the Band?"
p "iThat/I explains the Hand," the man replied.
p He jerked his thumb in the direction of a monolith that stood in the center of a crossroads,
raised high on a pedestal for all to see. There were letters etched roughly on its surface. Skull was
surprised to see that, though the words themselves were more or less in English, the letters
weren't far from the Tienese alphabet. With some effort, he was able to make out the message:
None are beyond the sight of the Master, who rules his city with an Iron Hand. The last two
words were written particularly large, as if they were endowed with some special meaning. Below
the writing was an indistinct scratching that looked to Skull like a bolt of lightning.
p "What's that supposed to mean?" Skull asked.
p "The Iron Hand is the name given to the king's men, his warriors who hold the city under
his sway," the man explained. "Those who oppose the king are called the Copper Band. So...
whose side are you on?"
P "Whose side are iyou/i on?" asked. "You aren't going to take me apart if I give the
wrong answer, are you?"
p The man held up his right hand. "I swear I will do you no harm, unless you choose to
provoke me. I swear it on all I hold most high."
p "Oh. Well, in that case, Garudan told me to seek the Band, so I guess I'm with them,"
Skull replied.
p "Good choice," said the man, smiling. "I am Pyrin, leader of the Copper Band. Pleased to
make your acquaintance... Did you just mention Garudan?"
p "Yeah," said Skull. "He's the one who dragged me here. I think he must have wanted me
to help you... or maybe it was the other way around."
p "Whatever it was, I'm honored to have met a friend of the Thunderbird's," said Pyrin, and
he sounded like he meant it. "You have to come meet the rest of the Band at our hideout.
Quickly, now, before we're seen."
p "Wait a minute. I have to call my friend," Skull replied. He whistled a pair of sharp notes
through his fingers, one of the few talents he'd possessed that his friend Bulk hadn't. Hearing the
notes, a wheeling bird stopped her circling and dropped out of the sky to perch on Skull's
shoulder.
p "You shouldn't have done that," said Pyrin nervously.
p "Why not? Cedar's trustworthy," Skull replied. "She's a friend of Garudan's, too."
p "It's not that," answered Pyrin. "Someone could have heard you!"
P "But there's no one around!" Skull protested.
p "There will be soon! Didn't you read the sign? The eyes of the king are everywhere!
Run!"
P Before Skull could react, Pyrin grabbed his wrist and began tugging him through the
alleyway. Cedar gave a startled squawk and took to the air again, flying alongside of them, and
Skull struggled to keep up. He'd always been fairly fleet of foot, and he'd thought his training as
the Dark Falcon had kept him in good shape, but he was slow and clumsy compared to Pyrin. The
man moved like the wind and made nearly as little sound. The only noises were the dull pounding
of Skull's footsteps, his hurried panting, and the soft rush of Cedar's wingbeats.
p Then there was another noise, the unwelcome sound of someone shouting.
p "Hold it right there! Halt, in the name of the king!"
P Pyrin, in the lead, skidded to a halt ten feet away from the alley's exit... and from a row of
armed men. Being further behind, Skull had more time to assess the situation, and he decided
invisibility would be the safest thing for him. He slipped into one of the plentiful shadows, and
Cedar followed his example. The guards hardly noticed; they had eyes only for the leader of the
Band.
p "Well, Pyrin, we meet again," said the guard in the lead. Like all of his men, he was plated
in a partial suit of armor over his dark clothing, but he had a red shoulder cape that marked him as
a man of authority.
p "Thorald," Pyrin spat. "What do you think you are doing, interfering in the lives of
innocent citizens? Shouldn't you be out looking for criminals instead of pestering me?"
p "You are a criminal," answered the one called Thorald. "You're guilty of plotting against
the king, high treason."
p "I haven't plotted against the king. I've done all in my power to support him," Pyrin
replied. "Unfortunately, there is the matter of the usurper you choose to serve..."
p "The old king is dead," Thorald snapped. "Anyone who believes otherwise is a fool, and
deserves to be punished just for that."
p "The king sleeps, and when he awakes-"
p "When he awakes, the Elemental Birds will return to bless us all, the rivers will flow with
wine, and little pigs will fly around the moon." Thorald's voice dripped sarcasm. "I've had enough
of your impertinence. You won't slip through my fingers this time, old rival! Prepare to be
eliminated!"
P Thorald drew his sword and shouted a war cry, leading his followers to crowd around the
defenseless Pyrin. Suddenly, their rush was halted by a double burst of blinding lights. When their
vision cleared, they found the alley lit by the light of a fiery bird, illuminating a masked man in
dark armor.
p "You leave my friend alone," said Skull quietly.
p "Interloper! How dare you interfere?" Thorald demanded. Skull felt mildly uneasy; thus
far, the war leader's face showed more anger than fear.
P "I am the Dark Falcon," he said, "and I've been sent here by Garudan the Thunderbird to
bring back the real king, so I'd be worried, if I were you."
p There was a murmur among the soldiers at the mention of Garudan; clearly the name was
one that commanded some respect, or at least consideration. Thorald, however, looked startled
for only a few seconds before he collected himself.
p "What's the matter with you clowns?" he snapped. "Don't you know a bluff when you
hear one? This is nothing but a man in armor, just as you are. He is nothing to be afraid of."
p "But the bird..." someone protested weakly, eying Gold Eagle with unease.
p "That is not the Thunderbird," said Thorald. "If you're going to be frightened by a simple
bird, you have no place among the Iron Hand."
p "You don't know who you're dealing with!" Cedar shrieked. With an avian scream, she
dove at the Hand leader with claws flashing. He ducked too late, and glared up at her with a line
of red marking his face. Her talons had just barely missed his eye.
p "Get that mangy pigeon!" he shouted.
p "Don't talk like that about her!" Skull shouted back, and the battle was on.
P It wasn't long before Skull began to regret getting involved. Fighting a lone monster was
one thing. So was fighting a bunch of empty-headed Putty Patrollers. Fighting with a dozen armed
and armored skilled fighting men was another matter entirely, and he did not like it one bit. Even
his enhanced abilities weren't enough to keep him from taking a few hits, and soon he was
smarting all over from stray sword slashes. Complicating matters was the fact that these were
humans, or at least something very close to human, and he felt squeamish about the idea of even
hurting one of them, much less destroying one as he could a monster. He concentrated on keeping
them away from Pyrin, shielding the man with one outstretched wing. Cedar, in turn, protected
her partner as she always did, but her claws were little use against steel armor. Little by little, the
heroes were being worn down, and Skull couldn't think of anything to do about it.
p Fortunately, he didn't have to. With an icy blast of wind, every lamp on the street blew
out, plunging the alley into an intense blackness that even Gold Eagle's flaming plumage barely
dented. The fog that had hung disinterestedly over the scene was awakened, moving in eager
waves to coalesce into a shimmering cloud that interposed itself between the Hand and their
intended prey, and the soldiers drew back in awe. The storm cloud flickered with lightning,
lightning that formed itself into the shape of a glowing bird. He riveted his pale lavender eyes on
the armed men.
p "iAvaunt!/i" he commanded. "iAway with you, infidels! This is my chosen, and
traitors such as yourselves will not be permitted to harm him!/i"
p The soldiers were duly impressed. There was a clatter of dropped swords and clanging
footsteps as they fled into the safety of the night. Thorin watched his men go with disgust on his
face, but even he was unnerved by the sight of the Elemental Bird. He glared at Garudan, locking
his angry eyes with the bird's ageless gaze. Whatever he saw there convinced him that fighting
would be unwise, and he turned to join his men. To say he ran away would be overstatement, but
he made good time for a man who wasn't frightened. Garudan nodded slightly and turned to
Skull.
p "iDo not count on me being able to save you like this again,/i" he said. "iBeware.
Fear has its uses, but it is seldom permanent. The Hand will be back, and they will be angry./i"
p "Thanks, Garudan," Skull replied. "I'll be more careful next time."
P The Thunderbird nodded again, and then faded slowly back into mist. Skull and Cedar
allowed themselves to blink back to their natural forms.
p Pyrin was staring at Skull with unveiled astonishment. "What manner of man are you?"
p "Just an ordinary guy with really weird luck," Skull replied, shrugging and averting his
gaze. He didn't like being stared at like he was some kind of marvel... or an Elemental Bird.
p "Whatever you are, you're someone I wouldn't want for an enemy," Pyrin decided. "With
friends like you, I am sure the king will be restored."
p "I'm not as great as all that," Skull insisted. "I would have been toast if Garudan hadn't
showed up to help me. Getting your king back isn't going to be easy."
p "But we will. I'm sure of it," said Pyrin optimistically. "I never expected it to be easy. By
the way, I don't think you ever gave me your name."
p "Oh. It's Skull... Well, actually, Eugene, but I like to be called Skull."
p "Don't know why," Cedar chimed in. "Eugene is perfectly good name."
P Pyrin's eyes went wide all over again. "It talks!"
p "Of course she can. She's an Aerial," said Skull. "And she's not an it. Her name is Cedar."
p "An Aerial! That explains it," Pyrin replied. "We must discuss just how it is you came to
be here - later, when we're in a safer place. It is dangerous to be here - the king's eyes see all
corners of the city."
p "How can he do that?" asked Skull. "You mean, with spies or something? Like the Iron
Hand? But we chased them away!"
p "Not spies. He has no need of them," Pyrin replied. "He is a powerful sorcerer - some say
he was once the greatest in the universe before an accident curtailed his power. However, he still
finds it easy enough to direct his gaze wherever he wishes and see what his people are doing. We
have to hide carefully indeed to keep him from finding us."
p "Sorcerer?" Skull repeated. There was a tiny little suspicion tickling the back of his mind,
trying to put itself into words. "Does he have a name?"
p "We don't like to use it," said Pyrin, looking a bit sheepish. "It's superstition, I suppose,
thinking that we can bring down his wrath just by mentioning his name, but we always just refer
to him as 'the king' or 'the master.' Maybe we just don't want to have to think about him too
hard."
p "Well, if I'm going to fight him, I'm going to have to think about him," Skull pointed out.
"What's his name."
p "It's Zedd. Lord Zedd."
p "Zedd?" Skull repeated. "But I - I - I thought he was dead!"
p Pyrin hung his head sadly. "If only. There was a rumor out for a long time that he had
been destroyed by some hero or another. I even remember hearing that Zordon himself gave a
medal to the man. But it turned out that he was only injured, and he came back here to see to
regaining his powers. His strength has been reduced, but his mind was warped by pain and drugs.
He is more cruel and evil than ever."
p "No. It can't be. I won't believe it," said Skull flatly.
p "You can't deny it," said Pyrin gently. "Denial gets us nowhere. Now is the time to fight."
P "NO!" Skull shouted. "I won't believe it! I won't believe it!"
p Wild eyed, he turned and ran down the street, dashing blindly into the night. He didn't
care where he was going, just so long as it took him far away from everything. He ran until his
throat was raw from gasping the cold air and his muscles burned from the abuse. At last, his
strength ran out, and he collapsed in some dark, frozen corner to cry his heart out. He cried not
only for his broken dreams of being a hero, but for misleading Zordon and all those people who
had trusted and counted on him, and for bringing this squalor and terror down on Oryllia. He
cried for the world of Tien. He hadn't been able to change anything after all - Zedd would destroy
it just as Cedar had said he would have done if her hero hadn't intervened. Skull cried especially
for Cedar, who he had failed so abysmally. She had looked up to him and trusted him, and he had
betrayed her faith. She would probably never want to look at him again. What was he ever going
to do without her eternal loyalty and optimism? Finally, he was emptied of tears, and he slid into
an exhausted sleep.
p It was some time later that Cedar found him. She almost passed him by, but there was
something that seemed to be calling her, drawing her to him. He was curled up in the darkest
corner of a dead-end alley, shivering in his sleep.
p "Poor Eugene," she whispered sadly.
p Shifting into half-bird form, she stretched out one wing to wrap him in warm, sweet-
smelling feathers, and she felt his shivering subside. Curling up close to him, she, too, fell asleep.
To Be Continued