The Bone Valley dinosaurs are just a motley assembly of dinosaurs spotted in the Land Before Time movies, or in The Age or Reptiles comics, with a Spinosaurus thrown in for good measure. I am well aware of the fact that many of them did not share a time line (The time of Dimetrodon I actually did not know about, but thanks to a kind reader for informing me. A Dimetrodon does appear in the first Land Before Time movie, so I didn't think it'd be a problem to have a few in this story) how these Sauropod Graveyard dinosaurs might have appeared in the Age of Reptiles however is utterly, utterly changed for my own needs. I feel kind of bad about that for some reason . . .

InThe Adventure of Bone Valleystory the dinosaurs of Bone valley are organized and led by Ravener, a deinonychus with a striking resemblance to Neckbiter (if you haven't figured out why, this prologue may help explain some things) Ravener wants to expand his influence, this is not necessarily an attempt to conquer everything, being a dinosaur the very idea of conquest is alien to him, and he has no intention of leaving his comfortable sauropod grave yard. It is however an attempt to send his minions out to hunt in the prey rich--at least compared to the canyon--territory of other predators, who can either take it as it comes or get killed trying to do something about it.

First Passage . . .
The Lost!
"You need to watch Gara." Halla said firmly. "I know I can trust you with the responsibility, my dear."

"Hmm? Did you say something?" Neckbiter scoffed, ignoring her as he glared at Dark Eye and One Claw who were about to go hunting. How he hated Dark Eye!

"I asked you to watch Gara. I know I can . . . uh . . . can I trust you with this responsibility?"

"Yes, yes, of course!" Neckbiter waved her words away like flies.

"You will watch Gara?" Halla demanded, disbelieving.

"Whatever." Neckbiter growled. "Stop speaking to me."

Halla shook her head, she wanted to make sure but she didn't have much longer before she was left behind, so she decided to have faith in her mate and set off with the hunting party . . .

Neckbiter noticed her going and was taken aback! Why hadn't she told him that she was going hunting? Oh well, no matter.

Then the deinonychus noticed the infant staring up at him. "She left you behind too?" He scoffed incredulously. "Honestly, what an irresponsible parent!" He cried. With Halla gone, who would watch the hatchling? They only had one left, if anything happened to it . . . well Neckbiter certainly wasn't going to watch it.

He decided to leave it where it was, what were the odds of something bad happening to it?

But the little creature tried to follow him, so he roared at it to scare it off. It scurried away and he went about his business chuckling to himself.

Gara ran like lightning for the log his mother had crossed over on. Where was she? Why had she left him with his scary father?

She'd get a good squawking to once he found her . . . if he found her.

As the little deinonychus wondered where he was he failed to stop and look around. Failed to understand that the faster he ran the further away he got from home and safety.

And so his little legs moved all the faster. As he ran through the early morning he began to hear new sounds . . .

One of them had to be his mother! He rushed off in the direction of the nearest one, or at least what he believed to be the nearest one.

He came to a hill and leapt onto a protruding rock to get a good look at what was below him . . . and at what he saw was a loudly snoring dinosaur, it was huge and its back was covered in plates, from its tail came three great spikes, and a fourth that seemed to have been broken in half.

Definitely not mama, the little Deinonychus thought. He turned away from it and was about to run away very quickly when the rock came loose and fell, knocking Gara face forward, the little dinosaur tumbled and rolled down the hill, hitting the spike tailed dinosaur in the head.

The bigger dinosaur opened one weary eye, and examined the little deinonychus.

Then Gara heard something loud rolling down after him, and leapt over the stegosaur's head just in time to avoid the rock.

The stegosaurus was not so lucky, and the rock rolled right into its head.

It got to its feet and roared in outrage, Gara turned and ran away as fast as he could, the stegosaurus followed after him, and it was easy to tell it was enraged! The little dinosaur ran like his life depended on it!

There was a loud crashing sound, a terrible roar that made Gara and the spike tail freeze in terror, suddenly a giant meat eating monster appeared, knocking a tree down as it exploded out of the vegetation.

The tree nearly landed on Gara, who hopped out of the way quickly! The spike tail turned and ran as fast as its four legs would carry it, and the two fingered predator followed after it, both leaving the baby deinonychus alone, terrified.

He was unsure of where to go . . . but he decided that since he had gotten lost by going forward, if he kept going forward he would reach the safety of home sooner or later.

So he bolted straight ahead, determined to reach home as soon as possible!

His little heart was pounding, whether because he was tired, or still scared he had no idea, all he knew was that he couldn't stop, he had to get home, had to find his mama, had to be safe!

He came to a fast running river, he slowed and stopped, breathing hard he looked back and forth, there didn't seem to be anything dangerous, but this definitely wasn't home.

Still, he was thirsty, and he remembered mother and the other adults leading him and the other infants to bodies of water where they could drink . . .

So he leaned forward and drank.

He saw fish in the water, and found he was hungry. He lunged forward to catch one, grabbing for it with his two small hands.

The fish swam away effortlessly, and Gara leapt after it, landing in water so deep that only his tail could touch the bottom! He squawked in panic and tried to run . . .

But his legs moved slowly, and he didn't seem to be moving . . . at least not in the direction he wanted!

Squawking about it did not seem very effective either, no one was coming to help him. He just kicked his legs and flailed his arms trying to escape the water, but it pulled him and pulled him, pushed him and pushed him, the stream ran quickly and took the little deinonychus with it!

Gara heard an oncoming roar, not like the roar of that spike tail, or the roar of that two fingered sharp tooth . . . it was different . . .

He screeched and water began to pour down his throat, soon he was completely underwater, he screeched again, this time under water!

His legs kicked wildly, his tail thrashed, his arms struggled! His little head broke the surface in time to see strange bushes ahead of him . . . no . . . those weren't bushes.

The roar became louder, it prevented Gara from thinking. What was that roar? Why did those bushes look so . . . not right?

Of course! The had trunks, and only trees had trunks! Buy why could he see the tops of the trees and not the bottoms? Were they floating along in the water?

No more time to think about it, suddenly he was falling, being pulled down by the water!

He looked down . . . no up! No it was down, he was tumbling down through the water, the ground rushed up at him, and when the roaring didn't fill his ears, the water did!

Now he understood the roar he heard was the sound of a water fall! He'd heard of those, they were supposed to be beautiful. This was definitely not beautiful.

He hit the lake below him with a terrible splash, he tried to get to the surface but he was still being dragged under, the roaring water pushed him further and further down!

He closed his eyes, he kicked his legs, he waved his arms, he tried not to breathe.

Suddenly he felt himself rise up out of the water . . . high up out of the water!

He opened his eyes in surprise and saw the water far below him!

Yes, he was going back up the waterfall! He realized now that to get home he had to go back! All the way back! In the other direction, not the front one!

Then he realized something else . . . his tail was in something's mouth! He turned his head to see a small head attached to a long neck raising him above the ground.

He snarled at it, and it dropped him in surprise, letting out a howl of shock. Gara fell down, down, down!

SPLASH! Right into the water!

The pair of long neck dinosaurs began to grunt back and forth to each other excitedly as Gara struggled through the water back towards the bank.

When the little deinonychus reached it he snapped at them and roared his most threatening roar and bared his fangs at them.

The two long necks looked at each other, and did not seem very afraid at all. Gara realized quite suddenly that something so big had no reason to fear him! They seemed rather amused when they lifted their great big feet up and brought them down on him!

The little dinosaur bolted as fast as he could, avoiding the large feet that threatened to smash him!

The little carnivore thought bitter thoughts to himself as he ran for his life.

And he kept on running long after the sounds of stomping faded, he looked around, tired, desperate, frightened.

He didn't like being frightened! It was a terrible feeling and the more he realized how frightened he was the angrier it made him!

He wandered through the woods now, certain that if he got lost in the woods he could be found in the woods.

He smelled several different scents, and heard several different sounds, but nothing familiar. He wandered aimlessly . . .

Finally, too tired to continue he set himself down in the shadow of a great tree and closed his eyes.

But that's when a third long neck decided to knock the tree down! For the second time that day Gara leapt out of the way as tree came crashing down towards him! Tree stars flew all about and baby long necks--tiny compared to their parents but still bigger than Gara--fell upon the leaves with abandon!

How many more dinosaurs could there be in this area? Gara was bewildered! He leapt over the tree, which was rapidly becoming a barren log, and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him!

He ran on until finally he came out of the woods! But where was the pyramid? He stood on the edge of the woods, looking out at the wasteland before him.

It seemed an endless expanse of rock and dirt, how could such a lush forest simply end in something so different?

He heard a noise from behind him, and having suffered through enough trials to know by now that confrontation should be avoided, he dove for cover.

Hiding in the bushes the little deinonychus looked out and saw . . .

More deinonychus! These ones did not look familiar . . . but if they were deinonychus! They must be part of his clan, they must be headed for the pyramid!

They were unpleasant to look at, most of them had so many scars Gara was surprised to see they were still alive. He fell in behind the pack which moved across the rocky desert. Surly he'd be home with his mama soon, where it would be safe and quiet.

Black Tooth, named for his rotting grin, stared at the column of deinonychus returning to the canyon. Outcasts, exiles, his people.

They were weary, some looked as if they might not even be able to hold themselves up against a strong gust of wind! They were old.

The deinonychus had never been the power in the canyon, they were the minority, second class citizens even. They were only able to survive by working together.

The canyon was filled with rouge predators, and mixed packs made up of exiles. Conditions were so poor that the hatchling to survive its infancy was rare, and the one to live into adulthood was rarer still.

It was a vicious cycle, the ova raptors and other egg-nappers stole the deinonychus eggs, the deinonychus hunted the egg-nappers and stole the ova raptor eggs, the ova raptors hunted the deinonychus and ate the egg-napper's eggs, the two finger that ruled the canyon had no eggs and hunted everyone.

The fan backs slithered about and ate anyone they could catch, the dome skulls didn't seem to eat anyone, but they did make sport of crushing deinonychus hip bones with their powerful head butting attack.

The various flying predators ate anyone who wasn't weary enough, and the diseases and illnesses killed anyone who wasn't strong enough.

But just before he was killed in a raid by velociraptors, Black Tooth's father had told him that it would be one of their kind who killed the roaming two finger and that the one to do it would be called the Reaver.

That deinonychus would be much darker in color than the average, and Black Tooth had shared this legend with the rest of his pack when he took control. It gave them a reason to continue reproducing, despite the fact that out of the past five broods no hatchling had lived to adulthood. Now, finally Black Tooth's own mate had produced just such a hatchling.

A little female, already darker than any of her siblings. Black Tooth had already dubbed her the Reaver.

Why a darker hide would help with the destruction of the roaming two finger, Black Tooth couldn't guess, but he'd spent so much time assuring his pack that his father's prediction would come true that he believed it himself.

As he lost himself in thought he noticed something trailing behind the returning pack, a small black something.

Black Tooth rushed down from the mouth of his cave to investigate, barking an order to the two pack hunters taking up the rear.

How they had failed to notice that they were being followed was shameful! They must have been blinded by old age! Black Tooth's hunters turned and stared at the little thing that had followed them, and now Black Tooth, who was sure that his eyes were perfectly all right even if the one on the right tended to haze over from time to time, could see quite clearly the little deinonychus.

His hide was as dark as mud, the stripes on his back, his entire tail, legs and arms were completely colored black.

Most importantly, he was a male.

Black Tooth's father had said that the Reaver would come . . . he had not necessarily said that it would be born. And why would a savior be female?

It all made sense now . . . but what if he was wrong?

A thousand thoughts raced through Black Tooth's brain as his two hunters charged for the little deinonychus, which didn't seem to realize that its own kind would be very happy to eat it.

Black Tooth quickly snapped out a new order, and the two advancing hunters stopped their attack just before it would have become too late.

The hatchling looked up at him as if it were trying to recognize who he might be. Was he lost? An exile? Had his pack been killed?

Did it even matter? He was here, and he might just be the Reaver!

Black Tooth decided then and there to claim this hatchling as his own, he'd call him Rend, and his own hatchling's name would be changed from Reaver to Maim.

Whichever one of them could kill the tyrant king of the canyon would be the one to wear the title of Reaver.

Second Passage . . .
The Graveyard!
Maim glared at Rend, her twin. The two were the youngest members of the hunting party, and constantly competing. The pack's leader, Black Tooth seemed to encourage the competition, even encouraged the two to fight.

Maim would have killed Rend long ago if she could have, but he was clever. She was a little bigger, but he was stronger, and a proper ambush opportunity had never presented itself to her!

Until now!

The situation was chaos! It had started when the pack found the tracks of an old long neck. Why the long necks came here to die was a mystery to Maim, and she didn't really care either since they provided the canyon carnivores with much needed nourishment.

However when they caught up to the long neck it had already been killed by a pack of velociraptors, Half Tail, the leader of the hunt, had decided to steal the kill from the small pack, which the deinonychus pack had done.

But then the raptors returned with friends, and had swarmed over the kill sight, outnumbering the invading deinonychus two to one.

Rend was beset by a trio of raptors, and only Maim was close enough to help. Together the three would be no match for them . . . but if she just looked the other way . . . her brother, her rival, would die.

On the other hand she had a better chance of escaping with her own life if she helped Rend and he helped her.

What's a girl to do?

Maim hesitated a moment longer, hoping one of the raptors would get lucky and solve the problem for her, and when that didn't happen she roared a warning roar and charged forward!

Her killing toe claws went to work immediately on the first of the smaller, red predators, Rend lunged for the shocked raptor and crushed its skull in his powerful jaws.

How dare he? Here Maim had come to save him, and he dared to steal that kill from her? He'd done it to spite her, she was sure of it! He was always taking what was rightfully hers!

Eyes wild with outrage, Maim leapt over Rend and slammed into a second raptor in midair. The two fell to the ground, clawing and biting each other, Maim got up first and stomped on the other dinosaur, pinning it down as she bit down on the other raptor's chest, ripping into its rib cage and killing it.

Blood flowed over her long pink tongue, energizing her! She roared in exhilaration, and also to scare the other raptors. In bone valley a clash between packs usually ended once one clan had killed enough of the other's members.

But the raptors still held the numeric advantage, Half Tail, the leader of this hunt, and a few of his other veteran hunters struggled against twice their number in the red, yapping monsters. Another deinonychus, secluded from the rest of the pack was overwhelmed by five of the yapping creatures, Maim wished that she had helped him.

It would have made it easier to justify not helping Rend.

Rend finished the third raptor just in time to sneer up at her. His look alone told Maim that he was pleased with himself for having killed two when she only killed one.

She scowled at him and they rushed to Half Tail's aid.

But Rend slowed and fell behind, for an instant Maim thought he might be too scared to continue, then she felt the sharp pain in her tail!
Rend bit down on it, the scum was attacking her! He pulled her back and she fell to the ground. He stepped on her back to keep her from getting up, she roared at him, expecting his jaws to come down on the back of her head at any moment.

But as she thrashed about she saw what had made her twin stop her.

The two fingered predator rushed into the fray, it didn't care who it killed, it seemed intent on simply slaughtering everything standing between it and the long neck carcass.

It leapt onto the kill, and landed right on top of one of Half Tail's hunters and two of the raptors. It roared a threatening roar and bit down on Half Tail's half of a tail, and threw him up so high that Maim thought he might land on the top of the canyon!

But he didn't make it that high, instead he splattered into the canyon wall, causing a minor rock slide.

The two fingered predator was the king of the canyon, covered with the scars of a thousand battles from a thousand smaller carnivores who thought they might stand a chance against it, it glared in the direction of Maim and Rend, turning its head to glare at them with its great left eye, and roared at them, threatening, daring them to come.

Maim looked at Rend, he was smiling. He nodded towards the left side of the larger predator, as if Maim should try to attack from there.

Maim glared at him incredulously, he had to be insane!

But he was already slowly stalking towards its right side. Maim decided to do advance . . . slowly.

Rend barked an order to her . . .

Faster!

Without even thinking she bolted, running past the larger predator, which turned its head to follow her with its great eye! It opened its jaws and turned its head ready to close a vice on the young pack hunter, and Maim was about to run right into the trap!

But suddenly the two finger threw its head back and howled a terrible roar!

Rend had latched onto its neck, claws and teeth ripping away at the beast's vulnerable neck, and clawing his way up to the top of the head!

The two fingered monster had very small arms, he swung his head from side to side trying to catch Rend, Maim could have ended her rival right then by simply leaping onto the back of the monster's neck and knocking Rend off, instead she ran in front of its great eye and roared threateningly at it.

Ludicrous that such a small opponent should threaten it! But it could see her, it could not see Rend, it followed her and roared at her, she ran.

And Rend did . . . whatever it was he thought he could do to that thing.

Suddenly the two finger let out a terrible roar, but it was different from the other roars.

It was a roar of pain, and surprise! Maim turned around and saw Rend perched on top of the two fingered dinosaur's skull, his claw dug into the king's left eye, blood pouring from the wound!

Rend leapt down from the rex's skull, triumph displayed on his face, and a look of horror came to Maim's.

What was he? Why was he? Why wasn't she?

Rend landed softly on his feet, and gave his sister a cocky nod.

Then the king bit down on him and tossed him aside!

Maim felt a rush of mixed feelings, Rend was dead!

He had to be, she did not know that he had landed softly in the guts of the dead long neck, and was merely dazed.

She roared at the tyrannosaur, getting its attention.

It was blind, she realized. That was how Rend had snuck up on its right side, its right eye had been blinded some time ago. Now its left eye was blinded as well, if she never acknowledged her rival's abilities in any other way, she would admit that Rend had been observant.

And clever! She roared and led the sharp tooth on, letting it follow her.

At first it was slow, confused and cautious, but gradually it became more sure of itself, and it followed her, running at full speed!

She led it to the wall, and it slammed into it head on!

The rocks slid down to crush it, Maim leapt away quickly, but not quick enough. The rock slide consumed her too, burying her as well as the two finger!

But the rocks stopped before they could burry her completely. She looked around frantically for any kind of help, or any kind of predator! She realized she must have run far out of the pack's territory, perhaps she had even left the raptor territory, which meant she could be anywhere, anything might come now!
She head a low rumble . . .

And the two fingered predator's head irrupted from beneath the rubble! It roared in outrage, Maim lowered her head, accepting her fate.

And Rend, thrice cursed Rend leapt over her head and onto the canyon king's. He attacked the base of its skull with utter abandon, urging painful roar out after painful roar from the larger predator!

Finally the two finger's head slumped, and it simply died. Rend sent Maim a cocky glare.

Maim just averted her gaze, refusing to believe it as she struggled to dig herself out.

Suddenly Rend was by her side, throwing clawfulls of rock away from her, and a trio of their own kind--what was left of their fifteen member hunting party--appeared to assist.

They seemed in awe of Rend, and why not? He had killed the canyon's reigning king . . .

Hadn't he?

Before the death of the tyrannosaur neither Rend nor Maim had ever heard of the prophecy that had revolved around them, the Reaver candidates.

Neither had ever been told that killing the larger predator was expected of one of them, Rend--er Reaver suspected this was to keep them from setting off to find the two fingered menace before they were ready.

Reaver, who had been known first as Gara, then as Rend, thought on his new name.

He didn't really care for it any more than he had cared for Rend, or that other name, which in truth he could not remember.

Like Maim, the death of his adopted father mattered very little to him, what mattered was that he controlled the pack, and it was time for a change.

He had grown up in this canyon, and he hated it, it was time to change everything about it, make it his own.

He was the king now, or at least he would be.

Word spread quickly that a mere pack hunter had slain the great and fearsome canyon king. Maim's contribution--much greater than Reaver allowed her to believe--was completely forgotten in the story telling.

But the fame gave Reaver the tool he needed to seize control. Most of the canyon's population had been mixed packs of predators doing what they had to just to survive in the first place, now that the canyon's deinonychus clan had been decimated Reaver set out to take control of the other carnivores as well.

Having been the one to kill the two finger--and done it so effortlessly, according to the legend--that had kept everyone in fear before after the first few challengers were slaughtered Reaver was seen as something more than a mere pack hunter, and his word became law.

Not two seasons after Reaver had claimed the title, and the power that went with it he began to hear whispers and rumors of the Great Valley. A valley surrounded by mountains and filled with flat teeth.

He was fulfilling his destiny. He was going to bring a better life to the carnivores of the bone valley. They would start by exploring the world around them, sending mixed packs into the lush forests of Reaver's childhood memories.

And sooner or later they'd find this Great Valley.

END