Author's Note:
Posted this at the same time as the prologue so that you'd have some story to read after getting all the background information. Enjoy!
Once again please review as it helps me heaps
Disclaimer:
I do not own Lord of the Rings or any of the places, characters, items, etc associated with it. I am not making any money from this piece of fiction and am merely borrowing these places and characters to place in a new situation for you and my amassment.
However, the Rocs, the City of Cirus, Aquila, Pandion, Audax and any other characters, weapons, places, etc associated with the Rocs are my own creation and I lay full claim to them.
One
Reason to FearThe night was warm and the air damp, another beautiful summer night. However high above the clouds the air was crisp. The residents of a city whose existence was lost slept peacefully. All except one, Pandion. The Prince of the Rocs stood at the vast city's edge, leaning against the silver rail of one of the city's many glittering landing platforms. His bright blue eyes staring out across the never-ending darkness before him. He started as a gentle hand was placed on his shoulder.
"Still no sign of them brother?" a feminine voice enquired.
"Nay sister," he placed his thin hand over hers "not even a messenger bird." He turned quickly to face her, taking her hands in his. "Aquila what if something awful has happened to them and I wasn't there to protect them?" She could feel his hands quivering as they clasped hers.
"I'm sure your wife and children are safe Pandion but standing out here worrying over them will not help the situation. Come," she placed one arm around his shoulders and used the other to lead him "let us retire to our bedchambers. I will send a guard to watch for their return." Pandion reluctantly allowed his younger sister to lead him away from the platform. True to her word she instructed a guard to await the return of Pandion's wife and children and notify them immediately of any news regarding the matter.
After making sure Pandion was settling down to sleep Aquila set off towards her own bedchamber. She shivered despite the summer night as she passed an open window that looked towards the West. Something felt off but the Princess of the Rocs was tired and felt the morning was a better time to deal with such matters. Gently caressing an intricately patterned silver ring, she slipped into her room and into bed. As she slept under silken sheets she was disturbed by dreams of raging oceans and war.
"Ma Lady" a soft voice slipped into the Princess's disturbed dreams. "Ma Lady." The voice became louder and more urgent. Aquila allowed her eyes to part slightly but when no light invaded them she snapped them wide open and sat up quickly, gripping the silken sheets of her bed.
"Princess Aquila. Are you well? I've been calling you for some time." Aquila turned in the direction of the voice to see her nurse lit up by the warm glow of a lamp. She stood in her Half form beside the bed; the dull red scarf about her waist indicated her position at the palace. A single long bladed knife hung from the scarf along with a collection of herbs used as medicines.
"Elanus. What is wrong? It is still dark. Why do you wake me?"
"Forgive me ma Lady but you best come quick. It's Pandion" Elanus appeared distressed as she stood in the faint light of her lamp. Aquila swung her legs off her bed and her body gracefully followed. In her Human form she held all the elegance of a princess, dressed in a delicate white sleeping gown she glowed all on her own.
"Then we best hurry." She said, taking her nurse's spare hand in hers. Elanus swiftly nodded and led her from her chambers. They hurried down the spiraling ramp that led to the main part of the castle. Elanus' clawed feet clicking on the tiled floor while Aquila's bare feet whispered softly across them. The warm glow thrown off by the lamp their only guide, though Aquila could navigate the castle in her sleep.
They promptly arrived at a large decorated double door. Elanus quickly pushed one door open and entered the enormous main hall of King Audax's castle. Aquila swiftly slipped through and made her way to her father's throne, which was well lit with fresh torches, while her nurse closed the door behind her. As Aquila approached the three figures by the throne the light revealed them to be the guard she had set to watch for news of Pandion's family, the unmistakably tall figure of her father and the weeping figure of her brother. A look of distress and concern swept across her features.
"Pandion?" His tear stained face looked up and their eyes met briefly before he hung his head again. "Father?" She turned to the King of the Rocs. "What happened?"
"I am sorry ma Lady." The guard beside her father stepped forward. "A Sea Eagle came not too long ago bearing news of Prince Pandion's wife and children. It would seem that both Haliaëtus and her two children Milvus and Isura have been killed in an unexpected attack."
"Oh no" Aquila breathed as she slumped down next to her brother and rested his head against her chest. He wept fresh tears as she whispered gentle words to him "I'm so sorry Pandion"
"The eagle said they were attacked by a creature from the sea while they wandered the beach." The guard continued.
"The sea?" Aquila asked, confused.
"Yes. Apparently the waters have been stirring lately and many of the birds are leaving the shores as attacks become more frequent. There is rumor of war."
A heavy hand thumped against the arm of the throne.
"I will have no talk of war within this city" The stern voice of King Audax boomed throughout the room.
"What if war is upon us?" Aquila rebutted, leaping from her seat "You said the same thing when Sauron re-emerged and yet war broke out bellow us. No matter what myth, legend or Elvish script says we never left Middle Earth! What happens to it affects us!"
"We are safe here." Audax answered calmly.
"You say that but if a force takes over Middle Earth it will only be a matter of time before they find us and destroy us too. Will you not fight to save them and us?" Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked upon the stubborn face of her father.
"They care naught for us. Why should we care for them." He stated flatly as he turned his face from his daughter's.
Tears spilt from Aquila's eyes as she spun on her heels and ran across the great hall. She didn't slow till she reached the doors. As fresh tears fell she grasped the cold metal ring that served as a handle and pulled the heavy door open with ease. The sound of it slamming behind her rung throughout the castle.
"He's wrong. I know he was hurt but surely it's time to forget. So many years have passed" Aquila paced furiously back and fourth across her bedchamber arguing with herself over her father's stubbornness. However as she swept past a huge full-length mirror that occupied the majority of one wall she caught a glimpse of her tear stained face. Her brow furrowed and she reached out a tentative hand to touch her reflection's face. She drew the hand back quickly and her confusion was replaced with anger.
"This is not me. I will not stand idly by and watch them fight alone again! If he won't send armies I will go alone!"
She now stood before the mirror, features set, back straight, hands by her sides and head held high.
"I will help them," she whispered just before a brilliant white light enveloped her. It flashed briefly before dispersing into the night's darkness. As the light faded Aquila was revealed in her Half form, her sleeping gown pooled at her feet. In this form she looked less like a princess and more like a warrior. Her taloned feet supported powerful legs giving way to a finely toned body. Her brown feathering beginning at her hips and growing down her legs till before the knees where the feathers became white, forming a band around each leg. Her bare stomach a pale white before the brown feathering starts again just below her breasts. It grows up, coving them, and ending just above her breasts where again the feathers become white. Her arms and shoulders are bare and she wears a black ribbon around her neck, from it hangs a silver clawed foot clasping a pearly silver ball, a token of the royal family. Half her hair is pulled up in a bun towards the back of her head and is dressed with three Roc feathers, each brown with a white tip.
"Better" she said, smirking at her reflection before crossing the room to a chair, over which a shimmering silver scarf was hung. From the scarf hung a gleaming sword and an oddly shaped weapon. It's handle bound with black leather and it's blade curves round on itself in a series of sharp bends. It somewhat resembles an angular boomerang and the blade is made of mithril so it is light and so it will not shatter. It is known as a Scimerang and is used much as a boomerang is, designed to return to the thrower. It can only be wielded by a few skilled Rocs, as it takes much time and discipline to learn how to use it correctly. Aquila quickly tied the shimmering silver scarf, indicating her position as Princess of the Rocs, about her waist, tying the knot against her left hip and letting the ends of it fall down her thigh. From the left side of the scarf she drew her sword.
"You must be hungry for battle Silmar, for you have see very little of late." The sword gleamed in the moonlight, it's mithril blade strong, sharp and light. It's blade a tribute to the skill and cunning of the Rocs, the right side as straight as any sword but the left wavy from handle to tip. A fighter skilled as Aquila with this sword could disarm an enemy and slay them with surprising swiftness. She returned the sword to her scarf and made for the doorway to her bedchamber.
Quickly and quietly she slipped through the many twisting halls of the castle and was soon out in the tepid night air. She dashed across a courtyard and down the city's main street. She ran past houses and towers before turning down an alleyway, which led to a large tunnel. Just as she slipped into the tunnel a strong hand grasped her wrist. She cried out but her cry was muffled by a firm hand across her mouth. She tried to use her body to swing her attacker off her but found her arms pinned to her sides.
"I'm going to take my hand off your mouth now but you have to promise not to yell" a strong yet gentle voice whispered in her ear.
"Pandion" she whispered back as she turned and embraced her brother. "You gave me a fright I thought you were father and that…"
"I had caught you leaving without permission?" He questioned, cutting her off.
"Yes" she replied firmly. "He will not fight so I will."
"I don't suppose there's any chance you'd change your mind?" He looked deep into his sister's eyes and found his answer. "I didn't think so."
"Come with me Pandion." Aquila pleaded, taking her brothers hands.
"You know I cannot. I am captain of the guard and I take orders from father. Besides, I have only begun to grieve for the loss of my family." His eyes dimmed and a stab of pain laced Aquila's heart.
"I am sorry Pandion. I will avenge their deaths for you."
"Be safe sister" he said, pulling her into his arms "I cannot lose you too." He released her from his embrace and held her at arms length. "Remember you may have forgiven what the race of Men did to us but they may not have forgotten what they now call myth."
"I will keep it in mind. Farewell Pandion. Take care and don't tell father where I've gone till at least daybreak. If he chooses to pursue, I'd like a head start." Pandion smiled at his sister before he let her continue down the tunnel that led to one of the many glittering cobbled landing platforms. Here she stood, arms forming a 'V' above her head and in a burst of white light she transformed into her Eagle form. Without looking back she leaped into the air and with a few swift pumps of her powerful wings had cleared the platform and the city's edge. She was then swept off into the dark of the night on an air current, gliding her way West towards the sea.
To be continued…