Chapter Six: Survivor

Year 203 of the 82nd Era, The Era of the Dying Lands; e82-203

Mid Spring

Savannah of Yellow Flowers; Edge of the Yellow Petal River

Rain poured from the sky and the earth smelt of blood.

A young earthborn, longneck, whiptail, horizonback, flathead, sunseeker mare was curled around a lone egg, her tears mingling with the rain. A tiny, dusky-mocha foal lay against the mare's belly, her dark-wintergreen eyes filled with confusion and terror. She bleated at her dark-ashy-scarlet mother, but Thundersoul squeezed her dark-amaranth-pink eyes shut, tears spilling down her snout.

Thundersoul sported no horns or frills like the hornfaces on the other side of the Yellow Petal River in the Meadow of Sunshine. Though she was much larger than them, her massive size was just a hindrance. Not even her deadly whip-like tail could do anything against the demon that took her baby away. The young mother desperately wished she had horns or even the nimble speed of a quicktoe. Even the thumb spikes of a spikethumb would have been better than her bumbling body. She lost two of her children because she couldn't move fast enough.

However, as her crystalborn companion had reminded her, Thundersoul still had a surviving foal and one egg left.

The sunseeker longneck turned to look at the woman, Amaranthine Lullaby, and her young daughter, Bright Dawn. Thundersoul's and Amaranthine Lullaby's stories were similar despite their differences.

Carefully, the dark-ashy-scarlet sunseeker nudged the fragments of eggshells that remained in the nest she had dug over a moon-cycle ago. More tears mixed with the rain as she stared at the shattered fragments of one egg and the remains of another egg that a foal had just hatched from. How? How did she lose two of her first hatchling so quickly? Why?

"Why'd she have to attack? Why'd she have to take my babies away?" Thundersoul looked at Amaranthine Lullaby, who was humming a soothing melody to Bright Dawn, trying to calm her daughter with the eminence-purple magic of her song. "Maybe-maybe we should go look for Lotushaze. My baby has to be out there somewhere. He—"

The look Amaranthine Lullaby gave the grieving mother broke her heart more. The tawny-haired woman stroked her daughter's sopping wet black hair as she continued to sing her a sweet lullaby, following the same melody that Thundersoul recognized from the many times Amaranthine Lullaby sang to calm her, just the words were different. Each time, the words were different. All her deep purple magic needed was a melody.

As the song ended, Bright Dawn didn't fall asleep in her mother's arms like she normally did. Instead, the four-year-old crawled over to the lone egg and cradled it on her lap, eyes half-lidded with sleep. "I keep egg safe. No more bad sharpteeth take babies."

"Careful," Thundersoul whispered, barely able to keep her voice audible as she nudged her remaining egg from the girl's grasp. She then pulled her dusky-mocha hatchling onto Bright Dawn's lap. "Keep Rosesoul safe. I will watch over my last egg, okay?"

Bright Dawn just sleepily nodded, stroking the foal's back.

Thundersoul watched the two. Rosesoul looked more like her father than Thundersoul. The stallion wasn't with them. He had gone looking for a better home. He and Thundersoul knew the lands had been changing and had wanted to find a safe place to raise a family, but it wasn't long before Thundersoul found herself gravid. They had traveled the lands as far as they could until Thundersoul had to lay her eggs. After laying all four eggs, Thundersoul's mate continued to search for a safer place to raise their family.

Sometimes, in the back of her mind, Thundersoul hoped that it wasn't the presence of Amaranthine Lullaby and Bright Dawn, who had been with her for moon-cycles, that had secretly driven him off. Amaranthine Lullaby gave birth to Bright Dawn when Thundersoul was still an adolescent. The sunseeker had been with the Song Weaver crystalborn for years.

The young mother edged her egg closer, raising her dark-amaranth-pink gaze to the rain. Thundersoul was a dark-ashy-scarlet, her dorsum a burnt-ashy-scarlet, and her underside ashy-scarlet. She was average as could be for a sunseeker, other than she was without a herd, traveling with two crystalborn, and having just hatched three out of her four hatchlings without a mate beside her. Still, she at least had her parents.

The elderly sunseekers stood some distance away, wading in the cool waters of the Yellow Petal River. Her father, a dusky-ashy-cobalt sporting a burnt-ashy-iris dorsum and a dim-ashy-lilac underside, was chewing on some water greens, no doubt thinking about the recent happenings. His mate stood beside him. She was a dusky-ashy-rose and sported a burnt-ashy-cerise dorsum and dim-sepia underside. They were Lilachaze and Rosedust. Thundersoul looked nothing like them, but that was because they adopted her long into their old age. Nonetheless, they loved her just as much as their blood-children and blood-grandchildren.

Once more, Thundersoul turned to the fragments of eggs around her last hatching child. She didn't want to think about the two she had lost anymore. Her sole focus now was hatching her last child and taking care of Rosesoul. She needed to be there for them. Once she knew they were healthy and fed, she could grieve for the two she had lost.

The young crystalborn girl, Bright Dawn, sniffled, wiping away a tear from her eye as she stroked Rosesoul's head. Even though her mother's magic had calmed her, it didn't take the terrifying memories away. Thundersoul remembered the day Amaranthine Lullaby had come to her and her parents, belly swollen with a soon-to-be-born Bright Dawn. The woman didn't say much about her backstory, only that she needed somewhere to stay.

That had been almost five years ago. That was before Thundersoul left her herd and before she met her mate. At first, Amaranthine Lullaby was going to leave Thundersoul and her herd soon after her child was born. But she found their company, especially that of Thundersoul, too likable. She couldn't bring herself to leave the herd, which was no problem for them or Thundersoul's family. When they left the herd, the mare was happy that her crystalborn companion and daughter decided to come with her and her parents. Thundersoul had told Amaranthine Lullaby that she didn't have to, that it was safer with larger numbers, but Amaranthine Lullaby wanted to stay with Thundersoul.

And that was a good thing, or Thundersoul didn't know if she could endure the most recent turmoil from finding a mate that she loved with all her heart, only for him to leave her to find a better place to live, even though he would miss the hatching of his children. Then, to lay a clutch of four eggs without her herd and only her parents to help. And now, hatching those eggs, only to lose two a day after they hatched. But she still had her parents, Amaranthine Lullaby, her daughter, Rosesoul, and her last egg. They would all be a happy little family, traveling the lands for a better home.

"The egg," Bright Dawn's small voice whispered.

Thundersoul turned back to the egg nestled amongst the shells of its siblings near the base of her tail. The tiny ashy-scarlet foot peeking out of the large hole the foal had opened earlier in the day was moving. Another crack appeared through the egg as the hatchling within struggled to reach the world outside.

The new mother simply watched the egg for a moment longer before returning to gaze at the rain falling from the sky. Her child would emerge from their shell soon enough. Her parents were just steps from her, feasting on water greens in the river. The tip of Thundersoul's tail was submerged in the water next to a cluster of mangrove roots. Everything would be fine.

But…it wouldn't be.


Something was lurking in the shadows and heavy rain of the night. The creature crouched among the roots and tall grasses of the Yellow Petal River. Dark-grey feathers covered their back, allowing them to blend with the withered dark reeds and cattails. The thick feathers upon the stalking clawhand's back did not cover the rest of their taupe-scaled underside or their powerful hind legs. Slowly, the bird-legged clawhand crept ever closer to their next meal, pausing to lick their beak, long clawed fingers curling in anticipation.

In front of the gander was a half-hatched egg, ripe for the taking. It was among three other shattered eggshells surrounded by long grasses, yet completely out in the open. It was almost like the mother was asking for her egg to be stolen, with how little she tried hiding it. And even with two elderly sunseeker longnecks just behind him, the mother no more than a leap away, and two crystalborn, the gander felt he could still snag the egg. Maybe he was overconfident like most of his kind, especially among his rag-tag clan of rogues and outcasts. A goose from his clan had lost her life a moon-cycle ago after she tried stealing eggs from a very large sickleclaw. But he was hungry, and what was life without a little risk?

Silently, the soon-to-be egg-thief, a clawhand called a slenderneck, swiftleg, ringwrist, climbed onto the cluster of roots behind Thundersoul. Thundersoul had yet to take notice, still too deep in her thoughts. The gander glanced over his shoulder at the two elders and returned to his next meal. With one last lick of his beak, he leaped into the chilly waters of the Yellow Petal River.

He stared at the beautiful white shell for a heartbeat, hands posed to take it. Lightning illuminated the world around him, and he grabbed the egg. The taupe and grey ringwrist barely lifted the egg from its nest before he was sent flying into the air. He landed with a heavy splash into the icy waters, squealing in pain. He struggled onto his feet, flank bruised from a heavy blow delivered from the mother's head. At least it wasn't her tail.

Where was the egg?

The ringwrist glanced this way and that but didn't see a sight or fragment of it. Before he could look for it, he saw another opportunity for a meal. Something a little more exotic.

Quick feet splashed through the shallow waters, and a scream rang out. The gander had snagged the back of Bright Dawn's shirt and pulled the girl into his scrawny arms. Bright Dawn kicked and screamed, but the ringwrist was already running.

Amaranthine Lullaby summoned her magic with a song, but she couldn't sing quickly enough. The deep purple magic swirled around her throat, the heat and pure essence of the magic lifting her tawny hair. The woman ran, but nowhere near as fast as the quick-legged ringwrist.

"Give me back my daughter!"

The taupe and grey gander faltered. He stared at the woman. With her hair flowing wildly around her and the strange glow of the purple magic, he froze. Something snapped in the hand wrapped around the little girl's torso. He cried out in pain, dropping Bright Dawn as he cradled his injured hand.

The girl quickly climbed to her feet and ran back to her mother, a wail rising in her throat. Amaranthine Lullaby caught her, whispering, "Good job, my little song. Good job." As she stroked her daughter's wavey black hair.

The ringwrist's mind could not comprehend how one of his fingers was now broken. No matter. His brilliant orange eyes had already fallen upon another, more suitable prey choice.

Rosesoul had scampered away during the commotion and hidden herself within a clump of reeds. Unluckily for the mare, the ringwrist could see well, even during the darkest nights like tonight. The foal's mother wasn't near fast enough. Not many things could rival the speed of a swiftleg's powerful legs. The moment the foal was in his hands, he twisted her neck with an audible snap.

The thunderous bellow of Thundersoul's rage filled the air. She was upon the gander now, swinging a heavy forefoot at his back. He nearly dodged the blow, but the long claw on her first digit scored deep across his flank. Dark-grey feathers littered the ground, splattered with blood. However, that did not stop the ringwrist. He limped forward, the dead body of Rosesoul still in his hands, and ran, his trusty legs taking him away from danger, even as his blood spilled onto the ground.

Thundersoul stared in disbelief as yet another one of her children was taken from her. Her bellow rang out. There was nothing to calm her sorrow…other than a sweet song from Amaranthine Lullaby. It washed over her like a warm wave, blurring the pain until there was nothing. She barely felt the hand press into her side and guide her back to her remaining egg. But…her remaining egg was gone, tossed aside when she bashed the egg stealer with her head.

"Where…where'd it go?" Thundersoul slurred.


When the ringwrist had been tossed aside by Thundersoul, her last egg had been tossed with him. It had landed near a previously unseen singer hollowcrest skeleton, rolling down its spine and ribcage. The half-hatched egg then landed in soft dirt, only to keep rolling. It almost crushed a black wasp only to flatten the lovely purple flower the wasp had been feeding on. The egg kept moving, rolling onto thin but sturdy branches, scaring a few green lizards from their sanctuary. The branches proceeded to drop the egg into a stream, where it continued through the world, bobbing with the crests and troughs of the river until it fell down a small waterfall.

Finally, Thundersoul's last egg dropped among a cluster of thick roots, bouncing off the soft earth until it rolled to a stop, scaring off more of the strange green lizards among the roots and leaves. Throughout the ordeal, the egg had cracked even more. Fractures covered nearly its entire surface, and just one tiny push from the foal inside could shatter the entire shell.

One brave lizard cautiously approached the egg, inquisitively tilting its head. Just as it was about to take another step, or maybe a sniff, the egg cracked, frightening off the lizard. A dark-ashy-scarlet foot burst from the eggshell, followed by another foot and a tail. Soon enough, the foal had shattered his eggshell and found himself with his head under himself, his entire world upside down. The newly hatched foal managed to upright himself, rolling onto his rump with a small grunt. Not sure what had happened in the moments before his hatching and a bit dizzy, he glanced over his shoulder, a sleepy smile pulling at his lips.

"I found him," a girl's voice whispered.

The foal turned to the source of the sound, only to see Bright Dawn. He blinked sleepy, blurry eyes at the strange creature, not understanding what was happening around him. Before his mind could register Bright Dawn as friend or foe, a sweet lullaby without any words, sung straight from the girl's heart, filled the damp air. She knelt before the foal, slowly reaching for him, her face streaked with tears as she sang.

Beautiful light-lilac magic, the same color as Bright Dawn's eyes, swirled around them. It rose off the alabaster skin of her throat, curling into whisps that danced around her, slowly wrapping around the foal. Carefully, Bright Dawn pulled the foal into her lap, her mother's song of calm and numbness off in the distance. The young crystalborn sniffled, stroking the bruises forming under the foal's scales as she continued to sing. It had been a rough hatching for the little one, but it seemed he wasn't too injured. Bright Dawn, too, had suffered slight injuries from the ringwrist. Blood welled from the small scratches on her arm caused by the gander's claws.

Amaranthine Lullaby's song was calming and numbing, while Bright Dawn's was of strength and courage.

Finally, Thundersoul appeared, pushing back the foliage and stepping through the small flowing stream to see her foal in the crystalborn girl's arms. She stared for a long moment, mouth parted as she struggled to speak. After all that turmoil, her last child was still alive and well. Tears in her eyes and a soft giggle of disbelief bubbled from her chest as she carefully approached the pair. A single tear rolled down her cheek, followed by another laugh, a laugh for seeing another of her foals hatch from their egg, for still having a surviving child, for how terrible the night had turned. But, for now, she would enjoy this moment, as she had with her other lost children.

"Here I am, Thundersoul whispered.

The newly hatched foal looked up at the sound of the voice. A dark-ashy-scarlet mare stood high above him, slowly lowering her massive head toward him. On either side of her stood her parents — his grandparents.

The foal toppled out of Bright Dawn's arms and onto his back. Long legs and spindly tail waved in the air for a heartbeat until he righted himself. There, he pressed himself to the soft earth, hiding his small head under a foot and squeezing his eyes shut. Bright Dawn merely sat back, humming her song as she let mother and child bond. No more than a few paces away, her mother stood, and the two crystalborn let their songs mix and turn into one of encouragement.

Thundersoul carefully moved in, oh-so-gently nuzzling her foal, but he backed away, head still lowered and fear shining in those beautiful dark-ruby eyes. He was so small, smaller than his three clutch-siblings. A certain nickname bubbled to the surface as she made another move to nuzzle him. She nuzzled him again, smiling, letting her warm breath bathe his still yoke-wet body. Finally, the foal looked up. Those unusual dark-ruby eyes, rarely seen among those who spoke Leaftongue and those who primarily ate vegetation, were now filled with recognition. He recognized her maternal love and leaned into the next nuzzle Thundersoul gave him. The young mare was a little too forceful this time, accidentally topping her foal onto his back, but he was the least bothered. The dark-ashy-scarlet hatchling clambered on his feet and returned his much clumsier nuzzle to the top of her snout.

As Thundersoul withdrew, many other creatures appeared out of the woodwork. The foal didn't notice them at first as they all gathered around him. There were so many and in all shapes and sizes. The fear was back again, and he slowly began to back up until it turned into a full sprint. Just newly hatched, he fell over his feet and struggled to stand. Panicked, he looked over his shoulder as two creatures closed in. He scrambled to his feet and hid behind his mother's columnar leg.

The first creature to peer deeply at the foal was an olive-green sail-backed lizard — the same lizard that had scurried away when the foal burst from his shell. The second creature was a lizard as well, forest-green with a more robust build. Both green lizards tilted their heads in curious manners, awed at the nearly uninjured state the hatchling was in after such a treacherous journey.

"Don't be frightened," Thundersoul whispered. Still, her newly hatched foal hid behind her leg, but she continued encouraging him, Amaranthine Lullaby's and Bright Dawn's songs helping soothe their emotions. "Come out."

He peeked his head out from behind his mother's leg at the encouragement coloring those words.

So many strange creatures had gathered around him just to stare. There were more lizards. An earthborn, greenjaw smallmouth stood among the creatures. There was also a flock of small skyborn with long tails and with ample white pycnofibers upon their heads and bodies. There were other, less fuzzy skyborn who still had the crested heads and tail-nubs like the massive skyborn who flew the skies above. Something, not quite a lizard, also stood among the creatures. It sported a sail on its back, stood with a wider, sprawling posture, and was covered in soft scales. It belonged to the strange creatures called the shadowborn.

Exhaustion of hatching was creeping over the tiny foal's fear. He yawned, rubbing his face into his mother's leg. Another green lizard scuttled up to Thundersoul's foot to look at the foal. One of the larger, grey skyborn also waddled up to him as he rolled onto his back and yawned. As the foal opened his eyes, he was overwhelmed by the numerous creatures surrounding him. A soft hiccup sounded as he backed away from them in fear.

As the foal attempted to run, he tumbled feet over tail, stopping in front of another large skyborn. The other creatures eagerly followed as he tried to run away again. Finally, Thundersoul ended his torment and carefully picked her last foal up with her teeth. Safe in the sky, the foal relaxed, giggling at all the creatures below. He then smiled up at his mother.

Thundersoul placed her hatchling on her back at the base of her neck. "Now, you be careful, my Bronzedust."

Rosedust, the mother of Thundersoul, leaned in to look at her only grandson and received a yawn in return from the foal. Lilachaze, Thundersoul's father, followed suit, a small smile gracing his face as Bronzedust yawned at him too. Rosedust chuckled and nuzzled her daughter as Bronzedust began to fall asleep.

"Beautiful Littlefoot."

Concern flashed in Lilachaze's gaze, but he said nothing as he enjoyed his only grandson.

"Up?" Requested Bright Dawn as she held her arms in the air. Thundersoul lifted the young crystalborn by the back of her shirt and laid her beside the sleeping foal. Carefully, Bright Dawn petted Bronzedust, cradling him in her arms until she, too, fell asleep.

Everything would be okay.