5.In the Aftermath (2/3) Live
13.06.1638; 03:27; The Clan's Rookery:
The rookery had been cleaned of the innards of the eggs like of most eggshells. Just seven middle large eggshells, one of every egg, had been placed in front of a fire, in which shaman put some leaves while murmuring some strange words, which nearly sounded like a song.
Demona, holding the little hatchling with the great resemblance to her whom she had just nursed and who was now playing, with the greatest joy, with her talisman in her arms. She had been trained nearly ten years in the art of shamanism and a part of her told her that she would, like with magic, learn forever, but it was still weird for her to feel the walls between the worlds become thinner.... Or more accurately, a hole was getting made.
By this, she remembered again the large difference between shamanism and magic, which people who were untaught in these arts, oversaw so easily.
Magic was the art to use energy, to take it either from the world around someone or to use a medium, which allowed someone to use the magic energy around him better. It was an active art, something the sorcerer had the control about and was responsible to use.
But even in this, there were differences like for example, the mortal magic and the one of the third race. Mortals mainly used magic through mediums or by using the magic around them, which was a bit risky, since on this way they became the medium by their self and the energies could become too much, which led to the death of the sorcerer.
Her former teacher, the Archmage, had always tried to gather thus mediums, like the Grimoran, the Phoenix Gate and once she had heard him murmuring about the Eye of Odin, but Demona had been more centered on improving her magic skills than to gather powerful artifacts. She relied on herself.
The ones who were able to guide magic were like portals that allowed the magic to float. Some were large, others small, some could control the magic better and other tries in magic ended often in wild magic, a kind of magic which couldn't be controlled and thus was a threat for even the sorcerer like his opponent, not to speak of the other person present.
Fay and other magical beings were different. As far as Demona knew, they were mostly composed of magic and thus were their own source of magical energy, which was differently powerful, but most powerful by their leader, Oberon.
This made Fay superior to the mortal sorcerers, since they had to catalyze the magic energy with the help of spells and mediums while Fay simply used the energy they were born with... or whatever way they ever came into this world.
And as far as Demona knew, Dragons were another thing, but she had never met such and so did not know it exactly. Just that there was the time when the Archmage had taken the dragon stone.... But that was another story.
But no magic that she knew could be compared with the shamanism. It wasn't the art to handle energies, but to melt worlds. This was the best way Demona could describe it.
The first time she had called a spirit under the eyes of her teacher and mate, she had used leaves to allow her spirit to call him and it was as if she had tasted something she had never tasted before. As a shaman, it wasn't the thing to summon energy, but to call spirits who had this energy, or the skills they needed. This made Demona feel a bit uneasy, since she had to rely on the help of others for this, even when it was spirits, but she had learned to accept it.
Now she saw to her mate, who stood in front of the fire and started to speak.
"Brothers and sisters, my clan." He started. "Tonight is a wonderful night for us, our hatchlings have finally hatched and so a new cycle of our clan has started. Now, like it is tradition, we will perform the ritual of the arriving, like our clan did since the beginning of time."
With this, he threw another leaf on the fire, which sent a well smelling scent throughout the room and the hatchlings in the arms of their clan mothers seemingly liked it even so.
Then, with some murmuring, Shaman threw the first egg shell in the fire. At once, sparks emerged out of the center of the fire and made a column of dire, coming up about the fire.
Then out of this column, came a spirit. It seemed to be made out of the sparks of the fire itself and it had the appearance of a wolf. Quickly, it floated through the room, to a hatchling with the features of a wolf and dark brown coat, who studied the spirit in pure wonder through large, innocent eyes. Then the spirit went in him like it was just air.
The hatchling gulped in surprise, but the clan mother who held him just smiled and passed her hand over the hatchling's full stomach to calm him down and show him that everything was okay. After this, the little wolf snuggled his little snout at the elder's breast and fell asleep.
Demona saw how Shaman threw another eggshell into the fire and again, a spirit with the appearance of an animal came out off the fire. This time it was a panther and Demona thought she could hear it roaring. It came floating through the air... and exactly in Demona's direction.
The hatchling in her arms seemed to look directly into the panther's fiery eyes that seemed to study her even so. Then the panther leaped directly into the surprised hatchling and vanished.
"Seems that we have something in common," she said to the confused hatchling in Scottish and softly stroke her black hair.
Some time later, the other five eggshells had been thrown into the fire and the rest of the newly hatched gargoyles had got their guardian spirit. Like her mate had told her, these were creatures that sometimes, even when it was very rare for non-shamans, came to their partner to help them. Sometimes they came in their dreams to give them advice, sometimes clan members had said that they had seen them in the woods, but naturally these could have been just simple animals.
On every case the new clan members became their nicknames after these animals and even when these nicknames weren't seen as true names like of humans, they had the function of it.
"Second?" A voice spoke behind her and Demona turned around to see one of the clan mothers, one of whom had escaped from Germany and who had been chosen to care for the hatchlings.
"Yes?" The second asked even though she knew what the clan mother, her clan sister wanted.
"It is time to change them."
Demona nodded, softly stroking the sleeping hatchling's hair and then handed her daughter over to the clan mother who took her and brought her over to the other hatchlings.
~My daughter?~ Demona asked herself. ~No, a daughter of the clan, this is our way~
Demona knew this because as second, it wasn't her job to care for the hatchlings in this way, not until it came to their warrior training. Yet, even though she wouldn't change her position for the world and knew she couldn't take another position other than a warrior... When she saw the female take the hatchling away, a slight pain came over her chest.
She sighed and looked around the room until she discovered her mate who was looking after another hatchling with the features of a bear.
~No,~ Demona thought, ~I have everything I need.~
06.03.1649; 21:23; On the border of the plain:
It was a fresh spring night in the mountains, the snow had not yet completely melted away, but it was clear that life was conquering the territory back that it had lost during the cold months, since the green coming up under the snow.
But the fact that it was still very cold did not bother the proud creatures, which had gathered to teach their young generation the skill, which would become the most significant in their life. Like eons before, it was time for the gargoyles to teach their youngsters the art of gliding, and the powerful winds on this night were perfect for this.
Together with some other members of her clan, the second glided nearly perfectly still in front of the hatchlings who had just a year before left the rookery in order to make room for the new eggs, and now stood, still a bit unsure, in front of the plain.
"Don't fear." Demona told the hatchlings in front of them with a short smile. "This is your first practice in gliding and we will be there to help you." She looked to the dark haired hatchling straight in front of her who had become more similar to her from year to year. This one had already one practice in gliding.
One month ago, the hatchling like her siblings had moved out off the rookery the year before to make place for the new eggs. One of which was one from the second again. She had crept away from the elders, beyond the borders they had made to hold the hatchlings in and went to the edge of the plain. Just to look down on the valley was what she had said afterwards. She had approached near the edge and finally fallen when a stone had loosened. Luckily Demona, watchful by her duties as clan mother and as second, had discovered the absence of the hatchling in time and caught her in the air.
She could have brought her back to the other hatchlings at once, but instead she had decided to show her how elders glided. She had made some loops with her in her arms and the hatchling had laughed by sheer happiness. Demona had then told her that she would always be there to catch her before bringing her back to her siblings.
The hatchlings were not meant to be forced to go over the edge, but by their own decision in trusting the elders and in their own instincts. So this was at the same time, training for both their wings and their souls.
The black haired female hatchling was the first one and with a little run- up she leaped herself in the air, spread her small wings... and the wind held her up in the air.
Demona could barely stop a laughter of happiness when she saw her daughter gliding in front of her and the hatchling seemed to enjoy this even so as a step on her way to becoming like the elders of her clan... Or, even like the second.
But in this joy, she did not concentrate on her wings like she had to and was even distracted by the happy laughter of her siblings beside her who now tried to glide. She completely lost the control of her wings and fell like a stone in the deep.
But the second was there to catch her before she had even fallen half the way to the ground and while holding her daughter on her angle, she whispered, "I'll always be there to catch you."
She then glided upwards and took the little hand of the hatchling in hers, so that they glided beside each other.
"When you glide you have to concentrate on gliding." Demona explained to the hatchling beside her. "The winds can change easily so you have to be careful."
The hatchling nodded and Demona smiled shortly.
"Now glide to your siblings." She said and gave the hatchling freedom to the wind, on which the hatchling glided not greatly, but without falling down, to her siblings and the elders who took care for their safety.
Demona looked on the hatchling with a small smile and then turned her attention to the other hatchlings, since it was her duty as second to look after all hatchlings of her clan and to see how they did.
And what she saw made her smile again. All did well and glided excitedly beside and under the watchful eyes of their elders. It wasn't the best in the art of gliding she had ever seen, but for the first gliding lesson it was okay.
When she saw that some of the hatchlings grew tired, she ordered them to land. They did so, guarded by the elders and Demona landed in front of them. One of them had landed on all fours, but Demona was going to oversee this since it was their first landing.
"Well done hatchlings." Demona explained "with this you have taken an important step to becoming full grown members of the clan." When the noticed the proud looks of the hatchlings' eyes she added, "which is naturally still a long way away. But for tonight it is enough. I know that some of your wings will ache, but don't worry as it is natural and will stop soon and so... I think you have earned an extra large portion of the meal tonight that the elder has cooked at the gathering place."
The hatchlings laughed happily and ran to the gathering place, as there were many things that they liked and eating was definitely near the top amongst this.
She stayed at the place and looked at how the hatchlings, followed by the elders, went to the gathering place, when strong arms embraced her from behind circling his feathered wings around her.
"And how are the hatchlings doing?" Shaman asked his mate softly.
Demona smiled. "Very well my leader, very well." She explained with pride, "they are gifted, clever and eager... as far as I can say for their first day of training."
"Who am I to mistrust the judgement of my second?" Shaman asked with a laugh.
Demona turned around to look at her mate in the eyes. He had become older since the night they had met. It had after all been 25 years since then and he had even become a bit larger, but this didn't matter since he had been biologically as old as she was when they had first met and so they were this didn't matter... still.
But this was future and Demona wanted to live in the present... The wonderful life that she had with her clan and her mate.
06.06.1668; 03:14; On a plain in the valley, far away from the town,:
"I want this faster of you younglings." The second demanded after looking at the young gargoyles practice their fighting skills. "Your enemies will neither have mercy with your weaknesses or with your slow tempo."
Demona looked around and saw with satisfaction and pride how the younglings indeed fastened their attacks on another, even when she did not show it to them. The younglings did well and since, with their ascendance 10 years ago, their true education in the art of war had started, they improved every day.
It wasn't really usual in this clan that the second was at the same time responsible for the training of the youngsters. But since she had shown in many training fights with other clan members that she was definitely the best, not to speak the experienced warriors in the clan, everybody thought it a good idea to let her teach the clan's young ones.
Besides the training in the art of war and hunt, she had, together with her mate, achieved what the clan had accepted, training in the English language and in reading, in order to make the hatchlings fit for handling with humans later in their lives.
Goliath would have argued that in such a way they would understand the humans better and would in the end serve a better understanding of their two races so that through this the humans wouldn't see them as dump beasts.
Demona argued that knowledge was power, a fact she had learned by the Archmage, and to know more about the world around them, which was unfortunately ruled by the humans, would make it easier for the future generations of the clan to survive. Shaman had argued even so, since he had heard from Indian tribes in the west who had, unknowingly, underlined declarations, which handed over their land legally to the whites.
In the end, the clan had agreed, but had combined this with the condition that only those who truly wanted this would be taught in the art of reading and writing. Actually three of them had accepted this and now learned reading by Shaman for one hour a night.
Demona was very happy, seeing a special female hatchling with dark black hair amongst them who was seemingly the most gifted in this.
Even now, standing there and seeing the youngsters practicing their fighting skills, Demona noticed that two hatchlings were doing better than the other, the female with the black hair and her brother who had the features of a wolf with a white coat.
She had even noticed that they spent more time together than with the rest of their siblings, even when it was just games and training lessons they did. It became clear that they felt more for each other than simple friendship between siblings.
~Is it again time for this?~ Demona asked herself curiously and then remembering that she had just been a few years older when she started her relationship with her green skinned brother. She sighed.
~Years truly float fast when you are happy like the humans say,~ she noticed, ~haven't they just learned to glide?~
More than 20 new eggs waited in the rookery to hatch... and again one of the eggs was hers.
In thoughts Demona touched her stomach, it has been again nearly a month since she had laid her egg and she had got her old figure again in less than two nights. A side effect of the spell which made her immortal and something most of the females in the clan, of whom some still didn't had their old figure, were damned jealous of.
Her thoughts returned to the current group of hatchlings, next time it was already time that they learned gliding and her thoughts drifted to a special male hatchling. He had the features of a hawk and deep brown eyes... all in all he was, despite the fact that he had white feathers around his head, damned similar to his father.
~if he would even so jump from the plain if I ask him?~ Demona asked herself. She and the hatchling weren't very close, he was a child of the clan... like her daughter was, just that Demona saw that there was more between them, or she simply dreamed.
But then she noticed something, which brought her back to the present. The black haired youngster and her partner seemingly weren't really focussed in fighting any more and their attacks and counter attacks became more than slow.
"What's this?" She asked them hard both while coming nearer to them. "Do you think that when you are too lazy to fight, your opponent will allow you a break?"
Both younglings starred at the second in shock, they really seemed to have their thoughts on other places.
Demona sighed, as she had a good idea on what they were thinking, but this did not calm her.
"You two against me," she ordered, "now!"
They both nodded, as they knew better than to not follow the second's orders.
They put themselves in front of her, took the standard fight position that their teacher had taught them and raised their swords against the unarmed teacher.
"Well? I don't have all night!" Demona noted when the younglings did not try to attack.
The female took a deep breath and attacked the second with a fast movement of her sword. Unfortunately the second was faster and easily moved out of the swords way and grabbed the youngling by the claws and threw her to the earth while she grabbed the sword at the same time.
With this, she blocked an attack of the other youngling and threw his sword with a hard blow out of his claw, since he held it with just one claw.
Then she held her sword against his throat while she held the female with her foot on the female's back down and doing this so hard that she knew it would hurt.
"I against you two and what are you now?" She asked with a hard glance on the male in front of her.
"Dead," the male answered embarrassed and Demona shook her head.
"No, just defeated." Demona explained hard. "If I were an enemy then you would be dead... Have you any idea why?"
Finally, she released the female from her foot and while she stood up, she studied her and made it clear that she wanted this answer from her.
The youngling swallowed uneasily, under the hard glance of her teacher, but one of the first things she had been taught by her was to stand upright and don't hide herself in front of her like a sheep.
"Well you were better. " She said ".and faster."
Demona shook her head. "To be better means to do something other from this what you call a fighting style," she said and saw with approval how the female winced a bit. "And this is what I wanted to hear from you, but since you can't answer me this then I wasn't faster than you. Maybe we had even the same quickness... if you would take your training seriously and I haven't seen any signs of this yet. I simple saw how you attacked because you had moved in my direction even before your arms did, so I knew where the attack would come from and could prepare. Then you held your sword with both claws while attacking me, which is an even bigger mistake since I could easily take both of your claws and disarm you much easier. You have to train harder, next time I want to see improvements in your stile."
The female nodded under the hard glance of the second, more than a bit embarrassed to be criticized in front of her siblings and Demona looked on the male youngling.
"And you were much too slow, too." she criticized "Your idea to attack me while I was busy attacking her was good, but it was done like that of a hatchling, not like that of a warrior in training. The way you held the sword was wrong for this way of attack since you saw that I already had a sword. So you have to take your sword in both claws so that your sword is both weapon and shield, otherwise it is easy to disarm you how I did. I hope you understand."
The male nodded.
"Shall we continue with the practicing?" He asked, happy to let this lesson of his teacher end.
Demona looked in the sky and saw that the moon was near setting.
"No, this is enough for tonight for you all." she said and saw how the younglings relaxed happily.
She looked to the black haired female who had started to go away with her brother.
"You both stay here." She said.
Demona could see her wincing a bit, a fact she did not take well. She wanted the girl to take her lessons seriously so that one day she would become a fine warrior, but that wasn't likely if she feared her.
When they came closer again to the teacher while the others went away, Demona once more studied her. Indeed she had grown up to a promising female. Even though some of her features were still childish, her dark hair nearly glittered in the night and the deep green eyes really sparkled on her. The horns on her forehead did not seem to grow and were still as large as when they had hatched.
"Yes teacher." The female said and stood now in front of her, beside her brother.
"You know that the clan chooses apprentices in the art of shamanism and we have decided that you have the necessary potential to become such." Demona explained to them and the gray eyes of the male, wolf-like youngster sparkled. "It is a difficult education and a hard way, combined with a great responsibility when you finally become a shaman, but I and the leader agree that you both have not just the potential, but even the strength to become such. If you agree to it."
Both younglings studied her like she had become crazy and Demona sighed. She knew that it was a great honor for them to become the apprentices in shamanism and so with great certainty, would be leader some day, but they still had no idea how hard this could be.
"To make this clear, it isn't fun!" She explained again. "Your warrior training will be continued beside these and I won't tolerate that you lower your effort in this. This means you will have less time to spent with your siblings... You have to regard this when you make your choice."
The male and the female youngling looked in each other's eyes and then both nodded.
"We know that it will be hard teacher," the male youngster said "but we want it."
The female nodded in approval. "It is a great honor for us." She explained. "We want to serve the clan and this is the best way for it."
Demona looked on both the younglings and then she nodded.
"Okay," she said "from now on you both are apprentices in shamanism, I will speak to you later to make clear when your training will start. Then there is still something other." Again she looked on both. "How you know I am searching for apprentices in magic and it has become clear that out of your siblings, just you have the potential."
"Magic?" The female youngling asked surprised.
The elder nodded. "Yes," she explained, "it is so hard and needs time. When you decide to learn it you will have even less time than just with the education to a shaman. And because your training as warriors and as shamans come first, your training in the art of magic would be long... Else you can naturally decide to learn it later, it is your choice."
Both seemed to think about it. Magic hadn't the same fame in the clan as had shamanism, but for luck, it even so wasn't as feared as it had been in her clan and others that she had met.
In the last rookery, Shaman had not found any of them with the potential to be capable of becoming a shaman. There had been three who would surely have become good sorcerers. But when she had asked them, nobody was interested and didn't want to sacrifice any of their free time to learn such.
Even now the male youngling shook his head.
"I am sorry second," he explained, "but I am not interested in such... and it would really need too much time."
Demona nodded calmly and did not show her disappointment. She then looked to the female who seemed to be still thinking about it.
Demona did not have much hope, as she knew that her daughter and her other clan son were close, so there was less hope that...
"I want to learn it." The female explained, much to Demona's and the female's brother surprise.
Demona, who did not show her surprise and happiness, simply nodded.
"I will speak to you later when we start the lesson." Demona explained "you can go."
Both younglings nodded and went off.
They glided through the night back to the plain, when it broke out of the male youngling with the nickname wolf... It was ever usual in a generation that they got the nickname of their guardian spirit.
"Sister why have you done this?" He asked her. "You won't have enough time to be with our siblings any more!"
~To be with me...~ He added in thought
"I will have." The female said, "and I am interested in the art of magic. The second said it is an important weapon with which we could defend our clan."
"Mphh," Wolf snorted, "I would never critic our second's judgement, but what she has shown us of this magic until now were just tricks. I mean, to make fire with a word... Lumirare... Lukimus..."
"Luminus." The female added helpfully.
Wolf nodded. "What is the point in this?"
"She hasn't shown us more of this magic because it is no game." The female said, "magic has to be used carefully, even so like shamanism."
"And you don't do this just because you want to spend more time with our second, Little Panther?" Wolf teased and got, as an answer, a kick of the female's tail hard on his chest.
Wolf grinned, at the full length of his snout. Little Panther was a good sister... and friend, but her temper was nothing he wanted to play with, since she could become damned rough.
Little Panther, how she was called sometimes... and which she really hated, looked hard on him. Every one of her rookery siblings knew that Little Panther totally adored the second, Demona or Great Panther, as she was called sometimes, even more than she was adored by the others. And everybody knew that she would rather die than tell this to her hard teacher.
"I am simply interested in magic!" Little Panther explained "okay?!"
Wolf just smirked at her while they glided further.
02.08.1672; 02:35; On an open place in the wood, far away from the town:
Demona stood aside her mate and looked at the deep forest before her. It was the time of ascending in their clan like Demona had made it with her own rookery.
In her new clan, ascending was much the same as it had been in her old clan, which surprised Demona since there were many differences between Scottish and Indian clans. There were tests to see the art of gliding when the youngsters had to glide a special route in time, the art of fighting where the youngsters had to fight against an elder in order to prove their fighting skills. Then there was the test of mind, where the skills of the youngsters' spirits were tested.
The special youngster, who they were waiting for, hadn't passed the first test so well like Demona had guessed she would and it had shown that she would never be the best or fastest glider in the clan. In the art of fighting though she had been the best and had even been able to defeat the elder she had to battle since he had underestimated the girl. The test of mind hadn't even been a problem for the Little Panther, as she had been experienced in that since she was an apprentice in shamanism and magic.
And the last one, as the ultimate test of all four, which was the test of the hunt. This one was the test that was most important in the tradition of the clan since hunting was seen as an holy act even though Demona knew that this was, unlike Shaman, not seen so hard by all members of the clan. Since the clan could not fully rely on the human's resources, this was even more important and a gargoyle had to supply themselves when they wanted to survive.
Since the whites had arrived and killed or expelled large parts of the game, this had become damned difficult and the game left in the woods had become cautious. But this was no real problem since Shaman guided the hunt.
He had explained to her that since, even in the old days, it took normally days when even the best hunters could not find any game in the woods, the clan did not want to let the youngster wander through the woods for nights. So it was common that the Shaman of the clan called the animals who were willing to give their life and who stood in this area so that the youngster could hunt them.
This didn't let the game become tamed or less willing to defend their life with everything they had and it still made the hunt a test for the younglings who wanted to ascend to full members of the clan.
Demona looked to her mate who had become older... now she could see it on the fact that his feathers had become mostly gray.
He was still fit and every time she saw him and looked into his eyes, she felt a crinkle on her skin by the love she felt for him. But she couldn't oversee the signs of time like the fact that he now glided slower than back then.
"My love?" Shaman asked her, noticing the absence expression on her face.
She looked on him with a nearly guilty expression.
"Sorry, I was distracted." Demona admitted.
Shaman shook his head and replied. "No reason to be sorry. She will be just out there for one hour. Our daughter will need some more time to track down her wild. So her elders can be still distracted."
Demona nodded with a smile. He often called the girl his daughter, like all children of the clan were, but when they were alone together it had another meaning.
"The years have passed," Shaman said "haven't they?"
Demona nodded. "Yes the younglings ascend," she admitted, "and they will surely be fine warriors. The eggs... "
"Yes, but that isn't what I meant," he interrupted her "and you know it my mate."
Demona swallowed while looking into his deep brown eyes that seemed to know her soul like nobody had before.
"The years haven't changed what I feel for you." She explained. "They have just increased my love."
Shaman smiled over his beak and embraced his mate softly, stroking her fiery red hair while she softly stroked the gray feathers around the back of his head.
"Listen my love, I know it is hard for you." Shaman said softly. "But you have to be realistic. I won't be clan leader forever."
"Nonsense," Demona explained, looking deep in his eyes. "You're still the best of all possible clan leaders, nobody doubts on this in the clan."
"My reflexes have become slow," Shaman replied, "and my senses aren't what they were once. You are younger, stronger... "
"Your age brings wisdom," Demona interrupted, "and the clan needs this wisdom."
A part of Demona winced by this, as these were nearly the same words with which Goliath had defended the white bearded leader in 984AD. She had now unconsciously used them to defend her mate... but they still weren't convincing for her, as much as she wished they were.
Shaman had hatched in the year 1558. That made him now 114 years old, which was 57 in Gargoyle age, as old as the Old Soldier had been.
"Then you have to lead the clan." Shaman said with a smile. "Since you are the oldest gargoyle I have ever met."
Demona plucked one of Shaman's feathers off from his head, on which he made a short grimace of acted pain and his mate saw the playful expression in his eyes. Yes his body was old, but his spirit was still as young as it had been when she had first met him and in his arms she felt young too despite the fact that she was over 600 years old and felt sometimes millenniums older.
"Are there any allusions?" She asked playfully, in a voice she would never allow herself in front of the clan.
Shaman smiled and stroked a curl of her hair, which seemed to burn in the silver light of the moon, out of her beautiful face where green eyes sparkled like stars... Oh how he loved her.
"No." He answered softly. "Every time I see you I can't imagine a gargoyle more beautiful than you... and even not a better successor."
Demona sighed. A part of her refused to speak about such, but she knew she had to, as it was her duty.
"I know you're worried about the humans." He said, as if he had read her thoughts and when his mate nodded he added. "As am I. Ever since that preacher arrived five years ago, I see more hostility in the eyes of the humans than before."
"I eavesdropped what he prayed in the church one night." Demona explained. "It is the same stuff I hear the humans murmuring when they think I can't hear them."
"Still the humans need us." Shaman said. "They nod when the preacher calls us demons, but afterwards they seek our help when they have problems. The humans here are more opportune with the choice of their help than their prayers like it."
"Yes there has been this incident last year," Shaman admitted and did not notice how his mate's face darkened. "but these were outsiders, people who have simply come here, heard from us and tried to kill us when we slept even when the humans in the town warned them."
"They say so." Demona said calmly, she did not want to show how much it had really hid her then. To wake up and see this dead and at the same time badly injured humans around her... it took her the illusion she had allowed herself to be completely save.
"The people in the town have learned to live with us and a few really tolerate us." Shaman said "You know whom I mean."
Demona nodded, there was this little, 12 year old boy she had saved 13 years ago, in a cold winter when a snow storm had broke loose and the humans in the town couldn't find him. Finally they had started the fire and asked the gargoyles for help.
It had been a really bad storm even for a gargoyle and Shaman had less hope to find the boy, but Demona searched the woods for hours with the help of her guardian spirit and finally discovered the boy in a cave, he had suffered at hypothermia but else he had been well.
Since this time the boy and his family had been more than grateful for Demona. The child, Michael, had called her even his guardian angel, something Demona had been able to talk it out of him, but since this time adored her, a fact which had not change when he had grown to a young man.
"And the ones who really hate us simply don't move here," Shaman continued "as this area has a bad fame by the humans in the whole region."
"Something I ever feared." Demona admitted.
"The Hunters?" Shaman asked.
Demona nodded, her face now troubled with worry and a slight anger.
He had heard enough from his mate about them to share her attitude against them, but not her fear.
"My love." He said softly, holding her claws. "You said yourself that they haven't bothered you for nearly a century now, so perhaps they have ended the hunt."
Demona smiled sarcastically and replied. "No. The hunt goes on from generation to generation. They will never stop it and we have peace just because they haven't discovered me here yet. When they do... "
"When they do we will face them." Shaman said and took her chin in his claw so that she looked directly into his eyes. "Together, as clan and as mates."
Demona smiled now.
"You're right. Who would dare to stand against us both." She asked him with full belief.
"Yes," he said softly, "but the clan has to be represented by someone more... impressive."
"You're impressive." Demona noted.
"Aye but you are fearsome." Shaman explained. "My love, you already make the ritual every time it is needed. The humans see this."
"You know there has to be other reasons." Demona replied. "I regain my life power endless unlike you or any other gargoyle."
Shaman nodded. "Yes this is a gift precious if used in the right way."
~But I would abandon it for just a night more with you~ Demona thought, knowing all too well that her *gift* was even so a curse.
"My love you...." But before she could say anymore, a rustle in the trees some meters away from them surprised Demona.
At once the mates laid their eyes on this place and they had problems to abandon the surprise of their faces when a gargoyle landed under the tree with a huge animal on her back.
It was Little Panther who now studied her teacher and her clan leader with an unreadable expression. She was beautiful in the light of the moon like her mother and like this, she had dressed herself for this special occasion after the merits of the clan. Feathers that were partly black like her own hair, partly brown and in different other colors were bound in her mane and around her arms. Her face like some other parts of her body had been painted in the colors of red, which stood for the blood, the life of both herself and the prey. White, standing for the world of limbo and brown standing for the earth and showed her even wilder than before.
"Leader! Teacher! I have finished my hunt." She explained with pride in her voice.
Shaman was the first who took the spirit to say something.
"Then show us your prey so that we may see if it is worthy as a gift for the clan." Shaman said and the young gargoyle nodded.
She dropped the dead animal from her shoulders and Demona saw that it was a boar, in whose sides had been punctured with two large holes that surely came from the bloody spear, which was the weapon used for the hunt and now lay in the younglings claw. At the same time Demona noticed that the throat of the boar had been opened, seemingly during the fight since the boar was a large one indeed, not just for a young gargoyle. It must have been damned hard for Little Panther. Demona saw that this hunt hadn't been that easy after all since on the left upper arm of the youngling, there was a large wound going up the whole length of the arm. It had apparently already been cleaned by the youngling already and some bruises showed themselves on the beautiful skin.
"What do you say second?" Shaman asked his mate. "Is this prey worthy?"
Demona nodded. "Indeed it is." She said. "It is more than double the flesh, which is required. Her wounds prove that she has fought hard to get it for the clan and so she proves to have the spirit of a warrior."
She stopped a second when she saw how the young wannabe warrior's breast rose in praise before adding. "But the dramatic scene you made here is less proof of your maturity than showing-off, which I expect from a hatchling and not by one of your generation. Especially not in the ascending to a full grown member of the clan." Demona saw with satisfaction how the youngling tried to hide a wince, not very successfully, by this. "This is nothing that will stop you from ascending, but something I don't want to see again from you. Clear?"
"Yes teacher." Little Panther who seemed to be a bit smaller at this moment said. "I promise I will better myself."
"I hope so." Demona explained. "For now, bring the boar to the plain and let an elder see to your wound after you send your next sibling to come here."
Little Panther wanted to say that she had already took care for this, but a look in the second's eyes showed her that this was definitely not a good idea. So she simply nodded to her and the leader and went off with the dead boar on her back and the spear in her hand.
When she was out of reach for her ears, Shaman started.
"My love was this necessary?" He asked with a slight frown.
"Oh yes." Demona retorted. "This girl has definitely gone too far. I mean who knows how long she lingered already in the tree?"
"Well that was nothing we should be ashamed of?" Shaman said.
"No," Demona explained eagerly, "but I don't want any of the clan eavesdropping and then her showing-off."
"Well the girl is trying to impress us." Shaman said. "Or should I better say you?"
Demona ignored this. "As teacher I have said more than often enough that they haven't to impress me, but to follow my orders." Demona explained. "She could have wounded herself through this!"
"Sure your worried about your child but..." Shaman started, but was interrupted by Demona.
"I am worried about all children of the clan." Demona said. "And I don't want that they bring themselves in danger without reason."
Shaman nodded. "I know and this makes you a good teacher, but I have faith in them." He replied and softly took her chin in his claw. "You have made good warriors out of all of them."
Demona smiled slightly by this praise. "I've. " She stopped short when memories of her own warrior training floated in her mind "learned by a good teacher... the best."
Both gargoyles looked in each other's eyes and then embraced each other.
09.08.98; 01:14; Castle Wyvern, Great Hall:
Unnoticed by the rest of the clan Deborah blinked in wonder. Had she truly heard this? Had Demona called her the best teacher?
~This can't be. ~ Deborah assured herself. ~She wouldn't say so, even back then and surely not after what had happened. ~
But then she saw on Demona's face and in her eyes that they were absence. Her conscience was 300 years in the past since she was bound by her own story. Even when she wouldn't give her a friendly word here, not that Deborah was interested in such, her old pupil was definitely too much sunk in her thoughts to lie and unconsciously, she may have had told the truth.
This shocked Deborah more than a bit... but then she thought of something other.
~What if she meant the Archmage? ~
This gave her a numb feeling in the stomach, but she was definitely not going to ask her... She didn't want it to seem as if she would care what Demona thought of her.
She didn't.
02.08.1672; 23:14; The plane of the clan:
The clan had gathered around the large fire made before the cave. All looked now on the seven younglings standing in front of the fire, on which opposite the leader and his second stood.
"Tonight the clan will welcome these younglings as warriors in its middle." Shaman intoned and looked around his clan. "We have seen these younglings work hard to prove their worthiness in our eyes and we've seen them grow for this year by year."
Shaman looked from one youngling to another. "And every one of you have made us proud in the past years like in the past nights." With this he threw some leaves in the fire on which the fire enlarged and took a blue color. "Now come and take your price."
With this the first youngling, Wolf, came to Shaman who had took the ceremonial dagger out of his belt.
"Swear you to protect the clan with your life?" He asked. "To protect the protectorate. To honor the ancestors and the merits of the clan?"
"I swear." Wolf said with pride.
"Then show your willingness through your sacrifice." Shaman demanded.
As the ritual demanded, Wolf gave his clan leader his right claw who held it in his own claw and Shaman slowly drove the blade of the dagger through the palm of the youngling's claw, which at once filled with blood.
Demona, knowing her duties as second, held an age old wooden bowl decorated with beautiful carved gargoyles under the claw of the youngling until it was full of blood.
"You gave your blood and the clan accepts it." Shaman said and nodded to his second who poured the blood into the fire.
On this a solemn of fire rose and a wolf, the guardian spirit of the youngling, came in a shell of sparkles out of the fire and stood beside him.
"With this your gift is accepted by the clan and by the spirits." Shaman declared. "You're now a full member of the clan."
With this, Wolf slammed his bleeding fist against his breast and bowed shortly before Shaman, before he went back to his siblings followed by his guardian spirit.
The next was Little Panther and so it went on until all younglings had become warriors and adults in the eyes of the clan with their guardian spirits at their side.
"Now a new generation of warriors stand amongst us." Shaman explained. "This is a moment of pride for the whole clan alike and. " With this, his beaked formed into a smile. ". A time of celebration so let us start to honor them!"
With this, some elders started to beat the drum to make music while one elder from the ones who had escaped from the German countries played a flute that she had taken with her. Through this were played old hymns from both the original part of the clan and even so by the newcomers who had since years been apart of it and had so practically created a new clan.
On this happy chatter started and the newly ascended warriors were surrounded and praised by the whole clan. Meanwhile the hatchlings of the last rookery, whose ascending to younglings was still years ahead, happily danced around the fire, more or less in the music's rhythm.
And the clan's second, at this moment, looked around it and smiled. It was a special moment when the young generation ascended to warriors, in each clan. She wished she would have seen the hatchlings... her hatchlings of her first and second clan ascend... if just to reach the adulthood before the warrior training and not just die as eggs or killed as hatchlings by the human's hand. When she had spoken to Shaman about this he had found this as a strange merit to let the hatchlings become adults 19 years after they had hatched and so were just 9 by human terms.
Demona meanwhile had found it strange for the first time that the hatchlings first became younglings before ascending to warriors and so full members of the clan. As younglings they had the right to take part in clan councils but weren't allowed to vote or to explain their thoughts. So they became simple witness of the clan affairs and learned on this way the attitude of adult clan members.
They even specialised themselves somewhat by hanging around with special elders who taught them their skills like making music with the flute, to hunt, to create tools or to learn the art of healing as far as it was possible without being a shaman. Basic skills in these arts were taught to everyone since they were crucial for their surviving, but in the years as younglings the most orientated special in some arts... like shamanism.
Demona saw this late ascending critically since she had good experiences with growing up fast through becoming an adult in those young years, but she understood why the clan's merit here were different from the ones back in Scotland. As isolated as they were in this country, for a long time they hadn't needed being warriors even when this part of living had always been part of them. Since the land wasn't rough, the game numerous and since they had peaceful and loyal human allies (even when Demona still couldn't believe that it gave such), they had never needed to become adults fast.
Whereas in Scotland the land was rough as it had to be considering the clans who lived there... had lived there. Then there were the constant attacks of muggers, the Vikings and later the English, there was no time for a long childhood since the clans needed everyone.
But in Japan there were... but this was again too far away, the present counted.
Demona looked how her daughter embraced Wolf, longer than it was usual between simple siblings and smiled
~Home. ~
09.08.98; 01:21; Castle Wyvern, Great Hall:
Demona sighed, shortly closing her eyes.
"Never since the fall of Moray had I been so happy." Demona admitted with closed eyes and was silent for some seconds, as if she tried to remember those nights.
Most members of the clan just looked on her and they realized deep down that 1000 years hadn't just been an amount of time, but a life.
The elders who had briefly lost the hatchlings that they were supposed to be watching and had noticed the absence of their children herded out the group of hatchlings, that had been secretly listening, to the rest of their siblings.
Finally, Asrial who had listened to the story of her sister with such great interest that she seemingly forgot to think about new inventions or articles in the *Science*, rose her voice.
"What happened then sister? Why was she named Lucifia and not known as Little Panther like she was back then?" Asrial asked, nearly shy. "And if your daughter was a normal gargoyle back then, what made her to the monster we have seen and fought?"
"The humans." Demona growled out with such hate and contempt that it made a part of Asrial and the other gargoyles shudder.
To be continued.....
13.06.1638; 03:27; The Clan's Rookery:
The rookery had been cleaned of the innards of the eggs like of most eggshells. Just seven middle large eggshells, one of every egg, had been placed in front of a fire, in which shaman put some leaves while murmuring some strange words, which nearly sounded like a song.
Demona, holding the little hatchling with the great resemblance to her whom she had just nursed and who was now playing, with the greatest joy, with her talisman in her arms. She had been trained nearly ten years in the art of shamanism and a part of her told her that she would, like with magic, learn forever, but it was still weird for her to feel the walls between the worlds become thinner.... Or more accurately, a hole was getting made.
By this, she remembered again the large difference between shamanism and magic, which people who were untaught in these arts, oversaw so easily.
Magic was the art to use energy, to take it either from the world around someone or to use a medium, which allowed someone to use the magic energy around him better. It was an active art, something the sorcerer had the control about and was responsible to use.
But even in this, there were differences like for example, the mortal magic and the one of the third race. Mortals mainly used magic through mediums or by using the magic around them, which was a bit risky, since on this way they became the medium by their self and the energies could become too much, which led to the death of the sorcerer.
Her former teacher, the Archmage, had always tried to gather thus mediums, like the Grimoran, the Phoenix Gate and once she had heard him murmuring about the Eye of Odin, but Demona had been more centered on improving her magic skills than to gather powerful artifacts. She relied on herself.
The ones who were able to guide magic were like portals that allowed the magic to float. Some were large, others small, some could control the magic better and other tries in magic ended often in wild magic, a kind of magic which couldn't be controlled and thus was a threat for even the sorcerer like his opponent, not to speak of the other person present.
Fay and other magical beings were different. As far as Demona knew, they were mostly composed of magic and thus were their own source of magical energy, which was differently powerful, but most powerful by their leader, Oberon.
This made Fay superior to the mortal sorcerers, since they had to catalyze the magic energy with the help of spells and mediums while Fay simply used the energy they were born with... or whatever way they ever came into this world.
And as far as Demona knew, Dragons were another thing, but she had never met such and so did not know it exactly. Just that there was the time when the Archmage had taken the dragon stone.... But that was another story.
But no magic that she knew could be compared with the shamanism. It wasn't the art to handle energies, but to melt worlds. This was the best way Demona could describe it.
The first time she had called a spirit under the eyes of her teacher and mate, she had used leaves to allow her spirit to call him and it was as if she had tasted something she had never tasted before. As a shaman, it wasn't the thing to summon energy, but to call spirits who had this energy, or the skills they needed. This made Demona feel a bit uneasy, since she had to rely on the help of others for this, even when it was spirits, but she had learned to accept it.
Now she saw to her mate, who stood in front of the fire and started to speak.
"Brothers and sisters, my clan." He started. "Tonight is a wonderful night for us, our hatchlings have finally hatched and so a new cycle of our clan has started. Now, like it is tradition, we will perform the ritual of the arriving, like our clan did since the beginning of time."
With this, he threw another leaf on the fire, which sent a well smelling scent throughout the room and the hatchlings in the arms of their clan mothers seemingly liked it even so.
Then, with some murmuring, Shaman threw the first egg shell in the fire. At once, sparks emerged out of the center of the fire and made a column of dire, coming up about the fire.
Then out of this column, came a spirit. It seemed to be made out of the sparks of the fire itself and it had the appearance of a wolf. Quickly, it floated through the room, to a hatchling with the features of a wolf and dark brown coat, who studied the spirit in pure wonder through large, innocent eyes. Then the spirit went in him like it was just air.
The hatchling gulped in surprise, but the clan mother who held him just smiled and passed her hand over the hatchling's full stomach to calm him down and show him that everything was okay. After this, the little wolf snuggled his little snout at the elder's breast and fell asleep.
Demona saw how Shaman threw another eggshell into the fire and again, a spirit with the appearance of an animal came out off the fire. This time it was a panther and Demona thought she could hear it roaring. It came floating through the air... and exactly in Demona's direction.
The hatchling in her arms seemed to look directly into the panther's fiery eyes that seemed to study her even so. Then the panther leaped directly into the surprised hatchling and vanished.
"Seems that we have something in common," she said to the confused hatchling in Scottish and softly stroke her black hair.
Some time later, the other five eggshells had been thrown into the fire and the rest of the newly hatched gargoyles had got their guardian spirit. Like her mate had told her, these were creatures that sometimes, even when it was very rare for non-shamans, came to their partner to help them. Sometimes they came in their dreams to give them advice, sometimes clan members had said that they had seen them in the woods, but naturally these could have been just simple animals.
On every case the new clan members became their nicknames after these animals and even when these nicknames weren't seen as true names like of humans, they had the function of it.
"Second?" A voice spoke behind her and Demona turned around to see one of the clan mothers, one of whom had escaped from Germany and who had been chosen to care for the hatchlings.
"Yes?" The second asked even though she knew what the clan mother, her clan sister wanted.
"It is time to change them."
Demona nodded, softly stroking the sleeping hatchling's hair and then handed her daughter over to the clan mother who took her and brought her over to the other hatchlings.
~My daughter?~ Demona asked herself. ~No, a daughter of the clan, this is our way~
Demona knew this because as second, it wasn't her job to care for the hatchlings in this way, not until it came to their warrior training. Yet, even though she wouldn't change her position for the world and knew she couldn't take another position other than a warrior... When she saw the female take the hatchling away, a slight pain came over her chest.
She sighed and looked around the room until she discovered her mate who was looking after another hatchling with the features of a bear.
~No,~ Demona thought, ~I have everything I need.~
06.03.1649; 21:23; On the border of the plain:
It was a fresh spring night in the mountains, the snow had not yet completely melted away, but it was clear that life was conquering the territory back that it had lost during the cold months, since the green coming up under the snow.
But the fact that it was still very cold did not bother the proud creatures, which had gathered to teach their young generation the skill, which would become the most significant in their life. Like eons before, it was time for the gargoyles to teach their youngsters the art of gliding, and the powerful winds on this night were perfect for this.
Together with some other members of her clan, the second glided nearly perfectly still in front of the hatchlings who had just a year before left the rookery in order to make room for the new eggs, and now stood, still a bit unsure, in front of the plain.
"Don't fear." Demona told the hatchlings in front of them with a short smile. "This is your first practice in gliding and we will be there to help you." She looked to the dark haired hatchling straight in front of her who had become more similar to her from year to year. This one had already one practice in gliding.
One month ago, the hatchling like her siblings had moved out off the rookery the year before to make place for the new eggs. One of which was one from the second again. She had crept away from the elders, beyond the borders they had made to hold the hatchlings in and went to the edge of the plain. Just to look down on the valley was what she had said afterwards. She had approached near the edge and finally fallen when a stone had loosened. Luckily Demona, watchful by her duties as clan mother and as second, had discovered the absence of the hatchling in time and caught her in the air.
She could have brought her back to the other hatchlings at once, but instead she had decided to show her how elders glided. She had made some loops with her in her arms and the hatchling had laughed by sheer happiness. Demona had then told her that she would always be there to catch her before bringing her back to her siblings.
The hatchlings were not meant to be forced to go over the edge, but by their own decision in trusting the elders and in their own instincts. So this was at the same time, training for both their wings and their souls.
The black haired female hatchling was the first one and with a little run- up she leaped herself in the air, spread her small wings... and the wind held her up in the air.
Demona could barely stop a laughter of happiness when she saw her daughter gliding in front of her and the hatchling seemed to enjoy this even so as a step on her way to becoming like the elders of her clan... Or, even like the second.
But in this joy, she did not concentrate on her wings like she had to and was even distracted by the happy laughter of her siblings beside her who now tried to glide. She completely lost the control of her wings and fell like a stone in the deep.
But the second was there to catch her before she had even fallen half the way to the ground and while holding her daughter on her angle, she whispered, "I'll always be there to catch you."
She then glided upwards and took the little hand of the hatchling in hers, so that they glided beside each other.
"When you glide you have to concentrate on gliding." Demona explained to the hatchling beside her. "The winds can change easily so you have to be careful."
The hatchling nodded and Demona smiled shortly.
"Now glide to your siblings." She said and gave the hatchling freedom to the wind, on which the hatchling glided not greatly, but without falling down, to her siblings and the elders who took care for their safety.
Demona looked on the hatchling with a small smile and then turned her attention to the other hatchlings, since it was her duty as second to look after all hatchlings of her clan and to see how they did.
And what she saw made her smile again. All did well and glided excitedly beside and under the watchful eyes of their elders. It wasn't the best in the art of gliding she had ever seen, but for the first gliding lesson it was okay.
When she saw that some of the hatchlings grew tired, she ordered them to land. They did so, guarded by the elders and Demona landed in front of them. One of them had landed on all fours, but Demona was going to oversee this since it was their first landing.
"Well done hatchlings." Demona explained "with this you have taken an important step to becoming full grown members of the clan." When the noticed the proud looks of the hatchlings' eyes she added, "which is naturally still a long way away. But for tonight it is enough. I know that some of your wings will ache, but don't worry as it is natural and will stop soon and so... I think you have earned an extra large portion of the meal tonight that the elder has cooked at the gathering place."
The hatchlings laughed happily and ran to the gathering place, as there were many things that they liked and eating was definitely near the top amongst this.
She stayed at the place and looked at how the hatchlings, followed by the elders, went to the gathering place, when strong arms embraced her from behind circling his feathered wings around her.
"And how are the hatchlings doing?" Shaman asked his mate softly.
Demona smiled. "Very well my leader, very well." She explained with pride, "they are gifted, clever and eager... as far as I can say for their first day of training."
"Who am I to mistrust the judgement of my second?" Shaman asked with a laugh.
Demona turned around to look at her mate in the eyes. He had become older since the night they had met. It had after all been 25 years since then and he had even become a bit larger, but this didn't matter since he had been biologically as old as she was when they had first met and so they were this didn't matter... still.
But this was future and Demona wanted to live in the present... The wonderful life that she had with her clan and her mate.
06.06.1668; 03:14; On a plain in the valley, far away from the town,:
"I want this faster of you younglings." The second demanded after looking at the young gargoyles practice their fighting skills. "Your enemies will neither have mercy with your weaknesses or with your slow tempo."
Demona looked around and saw with satisfaction and pride how the younglings indeed fastened their attacks on another, even when she did not show it to them. The younglings did well and since, with their ascendance 10 years ago, their true education in the art of war had started, they improved every day.
It wasn't really usual in this clan that the second was at the same time responsible for the training of the youngsters. But since she had shown in many training fights with other clan members that she was definitely the best, not to speak the experienced warriors in the clan, everybody thought it a good idea to let her teach the clan's young ones.
Besides the training in the art of war and hunt, she had, together with her mate, achieved what the clan had accepted, training in the English language and in reading, in order to make the hatchlings fit for handling with humans later in their lives.
Goliath would have argued that in such a way they would understand the humans better and would in the end serve a better understanding of their two races so that through this the humans wouldn't see them as dump beasts.
Demona argued that knowledge was power, a fact she had learned by the Archmage, and to know more about the world around them, which was unfortunately ruled by the humans, would make it easier for the future generations of the clan to survive. Shaman had argued even so, since he had heard from Indian tribes in the west who had, unknowingly, underlined declarations, which handed over their land legally to the whites.
In the end, the clan had agreed, but had combined this with the condition that only those who truly wanted this would be taught in the art of reading and writing. Actually three of them had accepted this and now learned reading by Shaman for one hour a night.
Demona was very happy, seeing a special female hatchling with dark black hair amongst them who was seemingly the most gifted in this.
Even now, standing there and seeing the youngsters practicing their fighting skills, Demona noticed that two hatchlings were doing better than the other, the female with the black hair and her brother who had the features of a wolf with a white coat.
She had even noticed that they spent more time together than with the rest of their siblings, even when it was just games and training lessons they did. It became clear that they felt more for each other than simple friendship between siblings.
~Is it again time for this?~ Demona asked herself curiously and then remembering that she had just been a few years older when she started her relationship with her green skinned brother. She sighed.
~Years truly float fast when you are happy like the humans say,~ she noticed, ~haven't they just learned to glide?~
More than 20 new eggs waited in the rookery to hatch... and again one of the eggs was hers.
In thoughts Demona touched her stomach, it has been again nearly a month since she had laid her egg and she had got her old figure again in less than two nights. A side effect of the spell which made her immortal and something most of the females in the clan, of whom some still didn't had their old figure, were damned jealous of.
Her thoughts returned to the current group of hatchlings, next time it was already time that they learned gliding and her thoughts drifted to a special male hatchling. He had the features of a hawk and deep brown eyes... all in all he was, despite the fact that he had white feathers around his head, damned similar to his father.
~if he would even so jump from the plain if I ask him?~ Demona asked herself. She and the hatchling weren't very close, he was a child of the clan... like her daughter was, just that Demona saw that there was more between them, or she simply dreamed.
But then she noticed something, which brought her back to the present. The black haired youngster and her partner seemingly weren't really focussed in fighting any more and their attacks and counter attacks became more than slow.
"What's this?" She asked them hard both while coming nearer to them. "Do you think that when you are too lazy to fight, your opponent will allow you a break?"
Both younglings starred at the second in shock, they really seemed to have their thoughts on other places.
Demona sighed, as she had a good idea on what they were thinking, but this did not calm her.
"You two against me," she ordered, "now!"
They both nodded, as they knew better than to not follow the second's orders.
They put themselves in front of her, took the standard fight position that their teacher had taught them and raised their swords against the unarmed teacher.
"Well? I don't have all night!" Demona noted when the younglings did not try to attack.
The female took a deep breath and attacked the second with a fast movement of her sword. Unfortunately the second was faster and easily moved out of the swords way and grabbed the youngling by the claws and threw her to the earth while she grabbed the sword at the same time.
With this, she blocked an attack of the other youngling and threw his sword with a hard blow out of his claw, since he held it with just one claw.
Then she held her sword against his throat while she held the female with her foot on the female's back down and doing this so hard that she knew it would hurt.
"I against you two and what are you now?" She asked with a hard glance on the male in front of her.
"Dead," the male answered embarrassed and Demona shook her head.
"No, just defeated." Demona explained hard. "If I were an enemy then you would be dead... Have you any idea why?"
Finally, she released the female from her foot and while she stood up, she studied her and made it clear that she wanted this answer from her.
The youngling swallowed uneasily, under the hard glance of her teacher, but one of the first things she had been taught by her was to stand upright and don't hide herself in front of her like a sheep.
"Well you were better. " She said ".and faster."
Demona shook her head. "To be better means to do something other from this what you call a fighting style," she said and saw with approval how the female winced a bit. "And this is what I wanted to hear from you, but since you can't answer me this then I wasn't faster than you. Maybe we had even the same quickness... if you would take your training seriously and I haven't seen any signs of this yet. I simple saw how you attacked because you had moved in my direction even before your arms did, so I knew where the attack would come from and could prepare. Then you held your sword with both claws while attacking me, which is an even bigger mistake since I could easily take both of your claws and disarm you much easier. You have to train harder, next time I want to see improvements in your stile."
The female nodded under the hard glance of the second, more than a bit embarrassed to be criticized in front of her siblings and Demona looked on the male youngling.
"And you were much too slow, too." she criticized "Your idea to attack me while I was busy attacking her was good, but it was done like that of a hatchling, not like that of a warrior in training. The way you held the sword was wrong for this way of attack since you saw that I already had a sword. So you have to take your sword in both claws so that your sword is both weapon and shield, otherwise it is easy to disarm you how I did. I hope you understand."
The male nodded.
"Shall we continue with the practicing?" He asked, happy to let this lesson of his teacher end.
Demona looked in the sky and saw that the moon was near setting.
"No, this is enough for tonight for you all." she said and saw how the younglings relaxed happily.
She looked to the black haired female who had started to go away with her brother.
"You both stay here." She said.
Demona could see her wincing a bit, a fact she did not take well. She wanted the girl to take her lessons seriously so that one day she would become a fine warrior, but that wasn't likely if she feared her.
When they came closer again to the teacher while the others went away, Demona once more studied her. Indeed she had grown up to a promising female. Even though some of her features were still childish, her dark hair nearly glittered in the night and the deep green eyes really sparkled on her. The horns on her forehead did not seem to grow and were still as large as when they had hatched.
"Yes teacher." The female said and stood now in front of her, beside her brother.
"You know that the clan chooses apprentices in the art of shamanism and we have decided that you have the necessary potential to become such." Demona explained to them and the gray eyes of the male, wolf-like youngster sparkled. "It is a difficult education and a hard way, combined with a great responsibility when you finally become a shaman, but I and the leader agree that you both have not just the potential, but even the strength to become such. If you agree to it."
Both younglings studied her like she had become crazy and Demona sighed. She knew that it was a great honor for them to become the apprentices in shamanism and so with great certainty, would be leader some day, but they still had no idea how hard this could be.
"To make this clear, it isn't fun!" She explained again. "Your warrior training will be continued beside these and I won't tolerate that you lower your effort in this. This means you will have less time to spent with your siblings... You have to regard this when you make your choice."
The male and the female youngling looked in each other's eyes and then both nodded.
"We know that it will be hard teacher," the male youngster said "but we want it."
The female nodded in approval. "It is a great honor for us." She explained. "We want to serve the clan and this is the best way for it."
Demona looked on both the younglings and then she nodded.
"Okay," she said "from now on you both are apprentices in shamanism, I will speak to you later to make clear when your training will start. Then there is still something other." Again she looked on both. "How you know I am searching for apprentices in magic and it has become clear that out of your siblings, just you have the potential."
"Magic?" The female youngling asked surprised.
The elder nodded. "Yes," she explained, "it is so hard and needs time. When you decide to learn it you will have even less time than just with the education to a shaman. And because your training as warriors and as shamans come first, your training in the art of magic would be long... Else you can naturally decide to learn it later, it is your choice."
Both seemed to think about it. Magic hadn't the same fame in the clan as had shamanism, but for luck, it even so wasn't as feared as it had been in her clan and others that she had met.
In the last rookery, Shaman had not found any of them with the potential to be capable of becoming a shaman. There had been three who would surely have become good sorcerers. But when she had asked them, nobody was interested and didn't want to sacrifice any of their free time to learn such.
Even now the male youngling shook his head.
"I am sorry second," he explained, "but I am not interested in such... and it would really need too much time."
Demona nodded calmly and did not show her disappointment. She then looked to the female who seemed to be still thinking about it.
Demona did not have much hope, as she knew that her daughter and her other clan son were close, so there was less hope that...
"I want to learn it." The female explained, much to Demona's and the female's brother surprise.
Demona, who did not show her surprise and happiness, simply nodded.
"I will speak to you later when we start the lesson." Demona explained "you can go."
Both younglings nodded and went off.
They glided through the night back to the plain, when it broke out of the male youngling with the nickname wolf... It was ever usual in a generation that they got the nickname of their guardian spirit.
"Sister why have you done this?" He asked her. "You won't have enough time to be with our siblings any more!"
~To be with me...~ He added in thought
"I will have." The female said, "and I am interested in the art of magic. The second said it is an important weapon with which we could defend our clan."
"Mphh," Wolf snorted, "I would never critic our second's judgement, but what she has shown us of this magic until now were just tricks. I mean, to make fire with a word... Lumirare... Lukimus..."
"Luminus." The female added helpfully.
Wolf nodded. "What is the point in this?"
"She hasn't shown us more of this magic because it is no game." The female said, "magic has to be used carefully, even so like shamanism."
"And you don't do this just because you want to spend more time with our second, Little Panther?" Wolf teased and got, as an answer, a kick of the female's tail hard on his chest.
Wolf grinned, at the full length of his snout. Little Panther was a good sister... and friend, but her temper was nothing he wanted to play with, since she could become damned rough.
Little Panther, how she was called sometimes... and which she really hated, looked hard on him. Every one of her rookery siblings knew that Little Panther totally adored the second, Demona or Great Panther, as she was called sometimes, even more than she was adored by the others. And everybody knew that she would rather die than tell this to her hard teacher.
"I am simply interested in magic!" Little Panther explained "okay?!"
Wolf just smirked at her while they glided further.
02.08.1672; 02:35; On an open place in the wood, far away from the town:
Demona stood aside her mate and looked at the deep forest before her. It was the time of ascending in their clan like Demona had made it with her own rookery.
In her new clan, ascending was much the same as it had been in her old clan, which surprised Demona since there were many differences between Scottish and Indian clans. There were tests to see the art of gliding when the youngsters had to glide a special route in time, the art of fighting where the youngsters had to fight against an elder in order to prove their fighting skills. Then there was the test of mind, where the skills of the youngsters' spirits were tested.
The special youngster, who they were waiting for, hadn't passed the first test so well like Demona had guessed she would and it had shown that she would never be the best or fastest glider in the clan. In the art of fighting though she had been the best and had even been able to defeat the elder she had to battle since he had underestimated the girl. The test of mind hadn't even been a problem for the Little Panther, as she had been experienced in that since she was an apprentice in shamanism and magic.
And the last one, as the ultimate test of all four, which was the test of the hunt. This one was the test that was most important in the tradition of the clan since hunting was seen as an holy act even though Demona knew that this was, unlike Shaman, not seen so hard by all members of the clan. Since the clan could not fully rely on the human's resources, this was even more important and a gargoyle had to supply themselves when they wanted to survive.
Since the whites had arrived and killed or expelled large parts of the game, this had become damned difficult and the game left in the woods had become cautious. But this was no real problem since Shaman guided the hunt.
He had explained to her that since, even in the old days, it took normally days when even the best hunters could not find any game in the woods, the clan did not want to let the youngster wander through the woods for nights. So it was common that the Shaman of the clan called the animals who were willing to give their life and who stood in this area so that the youngster could hunt them.
This didn't let the game become tamed or less willing to defend their life with everything they had and it still made the hunt a test for the younglings who wanted to ascend to full members of the clan.
Demona looked to her mate who had become older... now she could see it on the fact that his feathers had become mostly gray.
He was still fit and every time she saw him and looked into his eyes, she felt a crinkle on her skin by the love she felt for him. But she couldn't oversee the signs of time like the fact that he now glided slower than back then.
"My love?" Shaman asked her, noticing the absence expression on her face.
She looked on him with a nearly guilty expression.
"Sorry, I was distracted." Demona admitted.
Shaman shook his head and replied. "No reason to be sorry. She will be just out there for one hour. Our daughter will need some more time to track down her wild. So her elders can be still distracted."
Demona nodded with a smile. He often called the girl his daughter, like all children of the clan were, but when they were alone together it had another meaning.
"The years have passed," Shaman said "haven't they?"
Demona nodded. "Yes the younglings ascend," she admitted, "and they will surely be fine warriors. The eggs... "
"Yes, but that isn't what I meant," he interrupted her "and you know it my mate."
Demona swallowed while looking into his deep brown eyes that seemed to know her soul like nobody had before.
"The years haven't changed what I feel for you." She explained. "They have just increased my love."
Shaman smiled over his beak and embraced his mate softly, stroking her fiery red hair while she softly stroked the gray feathers around the back of his head.
"Listen my love, I know it is hard for you." Shaman said softly. "But you have to be realistic. I won't be clan leader forever."
"Nonsense," Demona explained, looking deep in his eyes. "You're still the best of all possible clan leaders, nobody doubts on this in the clan."
"My reflexes have become slow," Shaman replied, "and my senses aren't what they were once. You are younger, stronger... "
"Your age brings wisdom," Demona interrupted, "and the clan needs this wisdom."
A part of Demona winced by this, as these were nearly the same words with which Goliath had defended the white bearded leader in 984AD. She had now unconsciously used them to defend her mate... but they still weren't convincing for her, as much as she wished they were.
Shaman had hatched in the year 1558. That made him now 114 years old, which was 57 in Gargoyle age, as old as the Old Soldier had been.
"Then you have to lead the clan." Shaman said with a smile. "Since you are the oldest gargoyle I have ever met."
Demona plucked one of Shaman's feathers off from his head, on which he made a short grimace of acted pain and his mate saw the playful expression in his eyes. Yes his body was old, but his spirit was still as young as it had been when she had first met him and in his arms she felt young too despite the fact that she was over 600 years old and felt sometimes millenniums older.
"Are there any allusions?" She asked playfully, in a voice she would never allow herself in front of the clan.
Shaman smiled and stroked a curl of her hair, which seemed to burn in the silver light of the moon, out of her beautiful face where green eyes sparkled like stars... Oh how he loved her.
"No." He answered softly. "Every time I see you I can't imagine a gargoyle more beautiful than you... and even not a better successor."
Demona sighed. A part of her refused to speak about such, but she knew she had to, as it was her duty.
"I know you're worried about the humans." He said, as if he had read her thoughts and when his mate nodded he added. "As am I. Ever since that preacher arrived five years ago, I see more hostility in the eyes of the humans than before."
"I eavesdropped what he prayed in the church one night." Demona explained. "It is the same stuff I hear the humans murmuring when they think I can't hear them."
"Still the humans need us." Shaman said. "They nod when the preacher calls us demons, but afterwards they seek our help when they have problems. The humans here are more opportune with the choice of their help than their prayers like it."
"Yes there has been this incident last year," Shaman admitted and did not notice how his mate's face darkened. "but these were outsiders, people who have simply come here, heard from us and tried to kill us when we slept even when the humans in the town warned them."
"They say so." Demona said calmly, she did not want to show how much it had really hid her then. To wake up and see this dead and at the same time badly injured humans around her... it took her the illusion she had allowed herself to be completely save.
"The people in the town have learned to live with us and a few really tolerate us." Shaman said "You know whom I mean."
Demona nodded, there was this little, 12 year old boy she had saved 13 years ago, in a cold winter when a snow storm had broke loose and the humans in the town couldn't find him. Finally they had started the fire and asked the gargoyles for help.
It had been a really bad storm even for a gargoyle and Shaman had less hope to find the boy, but Demona searched the woods for hours with the help of her guardian spirit and finally discovered the boy in a cave, he had suffered at hypothermia but else he had been well.
Since this time the boy and his family had been more than grateful for Demona. The child, Michael, had called her even his guardian angel, something Demona had been able to talk it out of him, but since this time adored her, a fact which had not change when he had grown to a young man.
"And the ones who really hate us simply don't move here," Shaman continued "as this area has a bad fame by the humans in the whole region."
"Something I ever feared." Demona admitted.
"The Hunters?" Shaman asked.
Demona nodded, her face now troubled with worry and a slight anger.
He had heard enough from his mate about them to share her attitude against them, but not her fear.
"My love." He said softly, holding her claws. "You said yourself that they haven't bothered you for nearly a century now, so perhaps they have ended the hunt."
Demona smiled sarcastically and replied. "No. The hunt goes on from generation to generation. They will never stop it and we have peace just because they haven't discovered me here yet. When they do... "
"When they do we will face them." Shaman said and took her chin in his claw so that she looked directly into his eyes. "Together, as clan and as mates."
Demona smiled now.
"You're right. Who would dare to stand against us both." She asked him with full belief.
"Yes," he said softly, "but the clan has to be represented by someone more... impressive."
"You're impressive." Demona noted.
"Aye but you are fearsome." Shaman explained. "My love, you already make the ritual every time it is needed. The humans see this."
"You know there has to be other reasons." Demona replied. "I regain my life power endless unlike you or any other gargoyle."
Shaman nodded. "Yes this is a gift precious if used in the right way."
~But I would abandon it for just a night more with you~ Demona thought, knowing all too well that her *gift* was even so a curse.
"My love you...." But before she could say anymore, a rustle in the trees some meters away from them surprised Demona.
At once the mates laid their eyes on this place and they had problems to abandon the surprise of their faces when a gargoyle landed under the tree with a huge animal on her back.
It was Little Panther who now studied her teacher and her clan leader with an unreadable expression. She was beautiful in the light of the moon like her mother and like this, she had dressed herself for this special occasion after the merits of the clan. Feathers that were partly black like her own hair, partly brown and in different other colors were bound in her mane and around her arms. Her face like some other parts of her body had been painted in the colors of red, which stood for the blood, the life of both herself and the prey. White, standing for the world of limbo and brown standing for the earth and showed her even wilder than before.
"Leader! Teacher! I have finished my hunt." She explained with pride in her voice.
Shaman was the first who took the spirit to say something.
"Then show us your prey so that we may see if it is worthy as a gift for the clan." Shaman said and the young gargoyle nodded.
She dropped the dead animal from her shoulders and Demona saw that it was a boar, in whose sides had been punctured with two large holes that surely came from the bloody spear, which was the weapon used for the hunt and now lay in the younglings claw. At the same time Demona noticed that the throat of the boar had been opened, seemingly during the fight since the boar was a large one indeed, not just for a young gargoyle. It must have been damned hard for Little Panther. Demona saw that this hunt hadn't been that easy after all since on the left upper arm of the youngling, there was a large wound going up the whole length of the arm. It had apparently already been cleaned by the youngling already and some bruises showed themselves on the beautiful skin.
"What do you say second?" Shaman asked his mate. "Is this prey worthy?"
Demona nodded. "Indeed it is." She said. "It is more than double the flesh, which is required. Her wounds prove that she has fought hard to get it for the clan and so she proves to have the spirit of a warrior."
She stopped a second when she saw how the young wannabe warrior's breast rose in praise before adding. "But the dramatic scene you made here is less proof of your maturity than showing-off, which I expect from a hatchling and not by one of your generation. Especially not in the ascending to a full grown member of the clan." Demona saw with satisfaction how the youngling tried to hide a wince, not very successfully, by this. "This is nothing that will stop you from ascending, but something I don't want to see again from you. Clear?"
"Yes teacher." Little Panther who seemed to be a bit smaller at this moment said. "I promise I will better myself."
"I hope so." Demona explained. "For now, bring the boar to the plain and let an elder see to your wound after you send your next sibling to come here."
Little Panther wanted to say that she had already took care for this, but a look in the second's eyes showed her that this was definitely not a good idea. So she simply nodded to her and the leader and went off with the dead boar on her back and the spear in her hand.
When she was out of reach for her ears, Shaman started.
"My love was this necessary?" He asked with a slight frown.
"Oh yes." Demona retorted. "This girl has definitely gone too far. I mean who knows how long she lingered already in the tree?"
"Well that was nothing we should be ashamed of?" Shaman said.
"No," Demona explained eagerly, "but I don't want any of the clan eavesdropping and then her showing-off."
"Well the girl is trying to impress us." Shaman said. "Or should I better say you?"
Demona ignored this. "As teacher I have said more than often enough that they haven't to impress me, but to follow my orders." Demona explained. "She could have wounded herself through this!"
"Sure your worried about your child but..." Shaman started, but was interrupted by Demona.
"I am worried about all children of the clan." Demona said. "And I don't want that they bring themselves in danger without reason."
Shaman nodded. "I know and this makes you a good teacher, but I have faith in them." He replied and softly took her chin in his claw. "You have made good warriors out of all of them."
Demona smiled slightly by this praise. "I've. " She stopped short when memories of her own warrior training floated in her mind "learned by a good teacher... the best."
Both gargoyles looked in each other's eyes and then embraced each other.
09.08.98; 01:14; Castle Wyvern, Great Hall:
Unnoticed by the rest of the clan Deborah blinked in wonder. Had she truly heard this? Had Demona called her the best teacher?
~This can't be. ~ Deborah assured herself. ~She wouldn't say so, even back then and surely not after what had happened. ~
But then she saw on Demona's face and in her eyes that they were absence. Her conscience was 300 years in the past since she was bound by her own story. Even when she wouldn't give her a friendly word here, not that Deborah was interested in such, her old pupil was definitely too much sunk in her thoughts to lie and unconsciously, she may have had told the truth.
This shocked Deborah more than a bit... but then she thought of something other.
~What if she meant the Archmage? ~
This gave her a numb feeling in the stomach, but she was definitely not going to ask her... She didn't want it to seem as if she would care what Demona thought of her.
She didn't.
02.08.1672; 23:14; The plane of the clan:
The clan had gathered around the large fire made before the cave. All looked now on the seven younglings standing in front of the fire, on which opposite the leader and his second stood.
"Tonight the clan will welcome these younglings as warriors in its middle." Shaman intoned and looked around his clan. "We have seen these younglings work hard to prove their worthiness in our eyes and we've seen them grow for this year by year."
Shaman looked from one youngling to another. "And every one of you have made us proud in the past years like in the past nights." With this he threw some leaves in the fire on which the fire enlarged and took a blue color. "Now come and take your price."
With this the first youngling, Wolf, came to Shaman who had took the ceremonial dagger out of his belt.
"Swear you to protect the clan with your life?" He asked. "To protect the protectorate. To honor the ancestors and the merits of the clan?"
"I swear." Wolf said with pride.
"Then show your willingness through your sacrifice." Shaman demanded.
As the ritual demanded, Wolf gave his clan leader his right claw who held it in his own claw and Shaman slowly drove the blade of the dagger through the palm of the youngling's claw, which at once filled with blood.
Demona, knowing her duties as second, held an age old wooden bowl decorated with beautiful carved gargoyles under the claw of the youngling until it was full of blood.
"You gave your blood and the clan accepts it." Shaman said and nodded to his second who poured the blood into the fire.
On this a solemn of fire rose and a wolf, the guardian spirit of the youngling, came in a shell of sparkles out of the fire and stood beside him.
"With this your gift is accepted by the clan and by the spirits." Shaman declared. "You're now a full member of the clan."
With this, Wolf slammed his bleeding fist against his breast and bowed shortly before Shaman, before he went back to his siblings followed by his guardian spirit.
The next was Little Panther and so it went on until all younglings had become warriors and adults in the eyes of the clan with their guardian spirits at their side.
"Now a new generation of warriors stand amongst us." Shaman explained. "This is a moment of pride for the whole clan alike and. " With this, his beaked formed into a smile. ". A time of celebration so let us start to honor them!"
With this, some elders started to beat the drum to make music while one elder from the ones who had escaped from the German countries played a flute that she had taken with her. Through this were played old hymns from both the original part of the clan and even so by the newcomers who had since years been apart of it and had so practically created a new clan.
On this happy chatter started and the newly ascended warriors were surrounded and praised by the whole clan. Meanwhile the hatchlings of the last rookery, whose ascending to younglings was still years ahead, happily danced around the fire, more or less in the music's rhythm.
And the clan's second, at this moment, looked around it and smiled. It was a special moment when the young generation ascended to warriors, in each clan. She wished she would have seen the hatchlings... her hatchlings of her first and second clan ascend... if just to reach the adulthood before the warrior training and not just die as eggs or killed as hatchlings by the human's hand. When she had spoken to Shaman about this he had found this as a strange merit to let the hatchlings become adults 19 years after they had hatched and so were just 9 by human terms.
Demona meanwhile had found it strange for the first time that the hatchlings first became younglings before ascending to warriors and so full members of the clan. As younglings they had the right to take part in clan councils but weren't allowed to vote or to explain their thoughts. So they became simple witness of the clan affairs and learned on this way the attitude of adult clan members.
They even specialised themselves somewhat by hanging around with special elders who taught them their skills like making music with the flute, to hunt, to create tools or to learn the art of healing as far as it was possible without being a shaman. Basic skills in these arts were taught to everyone since they were crucial for their surviving, but in the years as younglings the most orientated special in some arts... like shamanism.
Demona saw this late ascending critically since she had good experiences with growing up fast through becoming an adult in those young years, but she understood why the clan's merit here were different from the ones back in Scotland. As isolated as they were in this country, for a long time they hadn't needed being warriors even when this part of living had always been part of them. Since the land wasn't rough, the game numerous and since they had peaceful and loyal human allies (even when Demona still couldn't believe that it gave such), they had never needed to become adults fast.
Whereas in Scotland the land was rough as it had to be considering the clans who lived there... had lived there. Then there were the constant attacks of muggers, the Vikings and later the English, there was no time for a long childhood since the clans needed everyone.
But in Japan there were... but this was again too far away, the present counted.
Demona looked how her daughter embraced Wolf, longer than it was usual between simple siblings and smiled
~Home. ~
09.08.98; 01:21; Castle Wyvern, Great Hall:
Demona sighed, shortly closing her eyes.
"Never since the fall of Moray had I been so happy." Demona admitted with closed eyes and was silent for some seconds, as if she tried to remember those nights.
Most members of the clan just looked on her and they realized deep down that 1000 years hadn't just been an amount of time, but a life.
The elders who had briefly lost the hatchlings that they were supposed to be watching and had noticed the absence of their children herded out the group of hatchlings, that had been secretly listening, to the rest of their siblings.
Finally, Asrial who had listened to the story of her sister with such great interest that she seemingly forgot to think about new inventions or articles in the *Science*, rose her voice.
"What happened then sister? Why was she named Lucifia and not known as Little Panther like she was back then?" Asrial asked, nearly shy. "And if your daughter was a normal gargoyle back then, what made her to the monster we have seen and fought?"
"The humans." Demona growled out with such hate and contempt that it made a part of Asrial and the other gargoyles shudder.
To be continued.....