Bane
Disclaimer: See chapter 1. Reviews are welcomed, flames are not.
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Chapter 6
Sixteen-year old Firefox was traveling through the massive tree canopy farther north of the Vale than he should've been. He knew the surrounding forest, as did most of the k'Valdemar scouts. He'd played and worked in these huge ancient trees since he was twelve, plus trained by Darian's best friend and the Vale's scout master Wintersky.
By the looks of the trees and signs of the landmarks around him he realized that he wasn't within Valdemar's borders any longer. Firefox estimated that he was at least a day's travel from any known settlements or farms. In fact, he knew he was three days from the Vale itself. It was a certainty he'd be in for a huge lecture for going so far from the Vale alone without back up.
Well, at least he wasn't quite alone. Beside him were two beautiful snowy owls. One was Hedwig and the other was her mate Godric, an unattached snowy who had taken a liking to her not long after arrived. The male snowy later accepted the bird bond with Firefox.
Over time he'd learned how to deepen his connection to his owls, to mentally connect with them. There was something about working around magic that affected all creatures.
As far as Firefox was concerned, Hedwig was his friend first and his owl second. He'd always known she was very intelligent, but the first time he heard her mentally answer him was a cherished memory.
It amused him that the pair thinking of nesting soon. Then again, with Hedwig's mother-henning, sometimes Firefox felt he was their fledgling and full partner in the bond.
The reason Firefox was this far north was he needed to find some rare herbs for Sanctuary. Several scouts had been sent out, in many different directions looking for these herbs.
A new plague had started up again and the herbs they were searching for were hopefully one of the ingredients for the cure. It was the main reason why he was traveling alone. He could cover more ground faster if he didn't have to accommodate a partner's slower pace.
His thoughts went back to his days at Hogwarts and potions classes. Firefox, as Harry Potter, had never been a great student in potions. That had more to do with not only how he had been taught, but also who his teacher was. Firefox still did not have any love for making potions despite his great respect for healers and what they did.
Another reason for him to be this far out was a rumor of wild gryphons. Who would've thought that there would be gryphons here in this world?
Gryphons were interesting creatures. Those he'd grown up around here in the Vale were magic personified, and looked nothing like the images he had seen around Hogwarts.
For one thing, they were highly intelligent and mages in their own right, even if they looked to be half eagle and half lion.
Gryphons, according to the history of these lands, were highly intelligent creatures and fierce fighters.
Wild gryphons, however, were a different story. No one is too sure where they came from and they barely tolerated humans. They live in the mountain ranges that separate Valdemar and the Northern tribes.
Now he wished he had brought one of the younger, more adventurous gryphons with him. If nothing else it would be someone else to talk to.
As if his thoughts turned to reality, he suddenly heard the distress call of a young gryphon.
Firefox paused in his tree-top traveling to get a bearing on the distress cry. He signaled the pair of snowys to take point and cover.
'Great, if there are problems, I'm alone. Help is at least three days away.'
As he moved through the trees, the distress cries were getting louder. It was a loud keening that sent chills down his spine. He hoped it was just trapped and needed help to get free. And prayed that the parents were in a 'help first - attack later' mood.
However, nothing prepared the young mage-scout for the sight he stumbled across.
The massive tree canopy gave way to a rocky out cropping. It led to the foothills of the Ice Wall Mountains, which protected Valdemar and the southern countries from incursion by the northern tribes. There were few passes that allowed access to Valdemar, including the mage-made pass that lead to the Forest of Sorrow.
A fledgling gryphon and what looked like its mother were huddled together, tethered by strong ropes and wire mesh. The adult gryphon was bleeding heavily and straining on the wire mesh to free herself. The fledgling was young and also looked to be bleeding.
A group of men that had the markings of the Blood Bear Clan were standing around another adult gryphon while a mage was drawing markings on the gryphon and the ground around him.
Firefox bit back a groan. Just what the Vale needed - another blood-path mage! Mages that followed the blood-path were those that sought the path of darkest magic, with no respect for life. They sought the darkest of magic's that lead to death and torment. From what he was told by his parents – Riddle was a good example of a Blood Path Mage.
'If I remember my lessons, Darian had taken care of the last one a year or so before I arrived at the Vale.'
The young mage remembered hearing the tales of Darian and Keisha's epic trek north to find his parents. After finding them, Darian had been challenged to a duel of magic by a blood-path mage.
'Those are the markings I'm sure Darian hoped never to see again,' he mused as he readied an arrow. Firefox knew he couldn't really stop the warriors standing guard and survive, but he could disturb whatever that mage was doing. 'Not sure what he is doing but it doesn't look good.'
He needed to get word back and summon help! Suddenly two snowy owls dropped down beside him.
:Hedwig. Go to Darian. Get help! Blood path mage. Three days from the Vale. Blood Bear Clan. Send help. Need a pair of gryphons. Go! Godric stay with me! Need you as back up.: Firefox focused his mind to imprint the landmarks into his beloved owl's mind. She would be able to convey the message to his mentor when she arrived back at the Vale.
:I go! You help fledgling.: Hedwig answered in his mind as she hopped onto his shoulder to nip his ear in affection.
:Be safe, Hedwig. I can't lose you.: he called to her as she launched herself back into the forest.
:I will stay.: came the husky voice of the male owl in the back of Firefox's mind. :Female is hurt. Male is near death. Not sure of the fledgling.: he reported from his view point on the nearby limb.
Firefox powered up an arrow, fletched with one of Godric's feathers, with his more destructive magic and let it loose. The moment it left the bow he was moving to a different position. As a scout, he had been trained to use the trees as cover and to move silently.
The arrow found its mark as it hit the center of the ritual circle and exploded, erasing part of its blood stained markings. The male gryphon struggled a bit more within the circle but even Firefox could see that the poor being was dying. The female renewed her efforts to break free.
The Blood Bear clansmen roared out their anger as the mage shouted orders in their guttural language. Thanks to the years of hanging around Jendey and the rest of the warriors of the Ghost Cat Clan, Firefox could understand most of what the mage was shouting. What he could make out wasn't good.
Firefox mentally ran through the rumors and intelligence that had been coming out of the northern tribes lately, as he settled safely out of sight into a different part of the forest's edge.
The wrongness that many of the mages had been feeling for years had become stronger. Rumors and stories coming from the far north were troublesome. Some stories couldn't be verified, and those that could be weren't good.
The tree cover here was more of a half circle against the rugged terrain of the foothills and there wasn't much Firefox could do. He did use his own inner magic to cast notice me-not-spells on himself and Godric, but he knew they would find him sooner or later. He couldn't let that mage complete whatever ritual he was doing.
The mage shouted orders and several of the men moved to pick up the male gryphon. The mother and fledgling were ignored as they packed up.
A couple of the Blood Bear warriors moved out under the trees but didn't look up. They seemed nervous about entering the leading edge of trees.
'Makes sense, I suppose,' the young mage thought as he moved to shoot another arrow, pouring magic into it. 'They're more used to the small groves of poplars and aspens than the gigantic redwoods and oaks of the Pelegir Forest.'
He let loose an arrow as one of the warriors walked under the tree he was hiding in. The arrow wasn't for him but for the one holding the wire mesh trapping the female. Firefox needed an ally down there and an old shin'a'in proverb came to mind, "There's never anything more dangerous than an angry mother."
The arrow found its mark and sliced through the mesh even as the magic it was imbued with dissolved a good portion of it. 'Sorry lady but that's the best I can do.'
He was already on the move again. The clansmen shouted in anger as the wounded gryphon broke free. The chaos his actions caused helped as Firefox rained more arrows down on those clansmen that tried to stop her.
The mage, seeing that the ritual was lost, shouted for retreat. Some of the clansmen grabbed up the dying male and headed back up the mountain, leaving the badly wounded female and the fledgling behind.
The mage cursed as he shot off a random bolt of lethal magic at the tree line in hopes of stopping whoever was shooting the arrows. The only problem was Firefox wasn't in the line of fire. He knew better than to remain a stationary target in the face of overwhelming odds.
Once he was certain that they had all left, and no one was watching and waiting, Firefox slipped through the trees to the forest's leading edge.
The female was still hissing and threatening and the only reason she wasn't chasing after the Blood Bear clansmen was the fact her one wing drooped with several arrows puncturing it.
Upon closer inspection the fledgling looked to be unharmed. Most of the blood covering it appeared to be from its mother.
Firefox noted that it was almost ready for its first flight. He cautiously checked the young gryphon and saw no visible signs of damage. That didn't mean anything, yet.
The female collapsed as the young gryphon finally freed itself from the mesh. Firefox knew he had his work cut out for him. How was he going to help and heal the wild pair that now had even less love for humans?
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A/N: Finally some action!
We had a couple of reviews that we wish to address.
First: You guys rock! We won't give away the plot, but a few of you have guessed where we are going to go with this story. However, you just have to keep reading to see if you are right or not.
Next: the Shin'a'in do worship the four aspect of the goddess: Mother, Maiden, Warrior, Crone. However, she is also known as the Star-eyed Goddess by their cousins – the Tayledras.
Lastly, we've already said, there will be no pairing as of yet for Harry/Firefox. He isn't ready for it. So just keep reading, you may be surprised.
Until next time. – GF and The Frau.