Chapter 13: A year of brutal conflict
"Wow, that truly was amazing to hear, Thomas and Jasmine. Your parents truly sound like two reasonable and honorable birds." Jewel said with much amazement.
"Yeah, I wish that I could meet them in real life!" Tiago said joyfully.
"But you said that you only were able to live 12 years in peace, right?" Nico asked.
"You heard that right, Nico." Thomas replied.
"So where did things go wrong?" Mimi asked.
The faces of Thomas and Jasmine fell a bit.
"The doom of our temples already begun at the end of the 12th year, although we didn't know it at that point." Jasmine said.
Everyone looked a bit shocked. Did she just say 'doom'?
"What happened?" Rafael asked.
"The first thing we noticed was that the earth under us shook a very little bit, but we didn't seem to bother at all. About half a week later, we saw hundreds, if not thousands of birds coming from the west, migrating eastwards. We were even able to speak with some." Jasmine said.
"What did they say?" Eva asked.
"All the same." Thomas replied. "That their homes were mostly destroyed by a massive earthquake that had hit Peru. They were searching for a better life in Brazil, where they wouldn't have to face those threats."
Jasmine: "Some of them remained with the other birds in the surrounding forests of the temples and decided to live a new life there. Everything seemed fine for us, though, unaware of the true danger that was about to come…"
Everyone listened attentively.
"One week after the start of our 13th year at Twelve Peaks, I was on patrol. Nothing usual was happening, but that's when I saw it. From Peak 8 I saw something coming from the west. It was dim at first, but as it came closer, I saw it more clearly. It was a horde of birds. Later, I saw their color was orange and it covered all of their bodies." Jasmine said.
She paused a moment.
"I went to Peak 1 to tell mom and dad about it, but after telling it, screaming was heard across the southern parts of Twelve Peaks. Those orange birds, who were macaws as big as us, were attacking the southern parts of our temple city. They were ferocious. At the first day, they even managed to take the lives of 30 of our tribe members, 30! Five of them being children." Jasmine told them.
Blu, Jewel, the kids and all the guests gasped in horror to hear this.
"Orange macaws?" Bia asked herself. "Never have such birds been found. I never even heard of them."
"That's because the humans never discovered them, Bia." Jasmine told her niece.
"How where they called, that tribe?" Jewel asked.
Thomas: "They called themselves the Emberwings and their leader was the vilest of them all: Terrin the Terrible. He was a cruel and sadistic, yet also very powerful macaw that could easily take 10 strong Azul Clan members alone."
"This Terrin guy sounds like a real tyrant." Pedro said.
"Oh, he was, Pedro." Jasmine said. "And he wasn't the only one. He had a few other that formed his circle of evil, the most vile of them being his deranged and bloodthirsty wife named Davina, another formidable foe."
Thomas: "In just 1 day, 6 of the 12 temples were lost to the Emberwings, namely the ones in the south and west. We built a strategy to take it back, by attacking them from the labyrinth tunnels, but it didn't take long for them to find out about the Underpassage and before we knew it, the tunnels were overrun by countless orange macaws. We even lost contact with some underground outposts, never to see those Azul Clan members again."
Jasmine: "The invasion quickly turned into a full-scale war that was fought both in the skies, on the ground and in the tunnels, where the Emberwings would launch surprise attacks on outposts.
"That is why you said yesterday that the spix and red macaw tribes didn't know anything about what war truly is, right, Uncle Tommy?" Tiago asked Thomas."
"Indeed, it is, Tiago." Thomas replied.
"Despite the brute strength of the Emberwings, they never managed to claim the other temples, particularly Peak 1, which had most defenses. Each Emberwing member that tried to enter it, was mercilessly cut down by Azul Clan members. And on top of that, we had allies: the Caimans, the beavers and many of the birds in the surrounding forests, who all despised the Emberwings for their cruelty and how they looked down on other types of macaws. Together, we were making plans to destroy the Emberwings once and for all and reclaim our lost temples. Little did we know that the conflict would only turn more complex with the arrival of a second enemy for both us and the Emberwings…" Jasmine said.
Everyone let out a small gasp. A second enemy? Weren't bloodthirsty birds like the Emberwings not enough? everyone thought to themselves.
"What kind of birds were they? Also ones not discovered by humans?" Carla asked.
"Discovered by humans, no." Jasmine replied. "But they weren't birds at all, Carla. They were creatures who we later in the war learned, have been spying on us unseen months before the Emberwings came."
"What were they?" Tiago asked curiously but with also some fright in his voice, because he heard the word 'creatures' and it gave him some uncertainty.
Both Jasmine and Thomas were quite for a moment and looked at each other with concerned looks, wondering if they should tell them, until Thomas broke silence.
"Deep under the world, they chittered and planned. Watching. Waiting…" Thomas said in an ominous voice while closing his eyes.
He held his eyes closed, but in the darkness, he could imagine how devilish glowing red eyes would stare at him.
Everyone waited for Thomas or Jasmine to say something, but still nothing happened. It gave an unnerving atmosphere.
Then, in Thomas' head, an awful high-pitched screech sounded. It was the first time he heard that screech when the Azul Clan and Emberwings had one of their battles in the tunnels of the Underpassage.
"When they emerged and showed themselves for the first time to both the Azul Clan and the Emberwings, it was a nightmare vision." Thomas eventually said, breaking the silence and opening his eyes again. "The Svaken, a ravenous horde of verminous, red-eyed rats…"
Everyone frowned and some of the birds (Jewel, Roberto, Mimi, Bia and Carla) looked dumbfounded. Rats? They were definitely not expecting vermin to be part of the downfall of Xlaxlan Twelve Peaks, especially since rats in South America mostly lived in the sewers of big cities, like the ones in Rio.
"We don't know where exactly they come from, but from rumors that our spies heard, they had gnawed at different places in South America for quite some time, like an infected wound, wiping out entire other normal rat colonies and even attacking many bird tribes." Jasmine said.
"They mean to rule over ruins. For that is, in their eyes, the will of their god, the Great Horned Rat." Thomas told everyone.
"I wonder something, Auntie Jassie and Uncle Tommy." Bia interrupted.
Jasmine: "Yes, Bia, dear?"
"What kind of red eyes did these Svaken actually have? Because I read that the eyes of rats can vary vastly, with white albino rats being the most well-known having red eyes." Bia asked.
"Well, Bia, there were some Svaken that had albinism, but their eyes were all the same: blood red. And when it is even pitch dark, you could even see them glow." Thomas told his niece.
"In the pitch dark?" Blu asked. "Without any sorts of light reflecting their eyes?"
Bia: "I was about to ask the same question, dad."
"You heard me right, guys, their eyes could glow in the dark." Thomas said seriously.
Bia looked dumbfounded with her right eye browse raised and said: "That's biologically not possible…"
"And yet, we aren't telling you any lies here, Bia." Jasmine said. "What else is biologically not possible? That rats could walk and run on two paws on their own will? That they can't hold objects, like sticks and stones that they would use as weapons, for a long time? And that some rats, like black ones, if they stand on two paws, would tower as high as Eduardo, aka you 'pop-pop'?"
Bia looked EXTREMELY stunned, with shock written all over her face. Jasmine, the aunt where she and Miguel have been studying insects, various plant and runes and had so much fun in sharing each other's wisdom, was now saying that rats could walk and run on two paws if they wish, that they could hold objects as weapons and that black rats could grow in size to that of her grandfather, who is tall for a spix macaw.
Everyone noticed Bia's shocked face after 20 second of pure silence. Tiago even waved his wing before Bia's face.
"Hey, Bia! You there?" Tiago asked.
Bia snapped out of her stance and said: "Yes, thank you Tiago."
"Uh, did I say something wrong there, Bia?" Jasmine asked.
"Well, let's just say this. Rat can stand on two paws, but it's not that they can walk like we or humans would do." Bia told her and even continued. "And from what I have read, almost every black rat only grows to 12.75 to 18.25 cm and with the tail included, which is 15 to 22 cm, they could be between about 27 to 40 cm, with their paws on the ground." Bia added.
Everyone listened attentively to what Bia said, with only Tiago thinking twice as hard about what his second oldest sister had just said about the biology of a black rat.
"There is no way that a rat, especially a black one, could grow as tall as pop-pop, tail not included, and although rats could hold objects, there is no way that they would do it the way humans do." Bia pointed out.
"Oh, yes, they could!" Tiago suddenly said.
Bia looked dumbfounded at her brother and asked: "Oh, yeah? And why are you so certain of that, little brother?"
"Remember when we still lived in Rio, when we watched that Disney movie together, Ratatouille?" Tiago asked his sister.
Bia rolled her eyes in complete disbelief. "That was a movie, Tiago. There is no possible way that a rat could cook in a human kitchen of a five-star restaurant."
The two stared at each other with frowning eyes, until Carla intercepted. "Alright, bro and sis, stop it. I wish to hear the rest of Uncle Tommy's and Auntie Jasmine's story."
"Thank you, honey." Jewel said in relief.
"You said that rats, especially black ones couldn't grow the size of your pop-pop, right, Bia? Well, maybe with normal rats you are right." Jasmine said, which made Bia smile, a bit triumphantly that her logic is always right.
"But the Svaken, were NOT normal rats. Their great leader, a black rat, always stood on two paws and was almost as tall as Eduardo." Thomas added.
"What was his name?" Roberto asked.
"He was called Queek." Jasmine said.
The kids suddenly burst out laughing, hearing that name, with Tiago laughing the hardest.
"Kids, please." Blu said sternly.
"You may laugh now, kids, but if you were faced by him, the laughing would instantly fade away, especially since he was an exception within the Svaken themselves." Thomas said in a serious tone.
"What do you mean, 'an exception'?" Jewel asked.
"Well, the Svaken's real strength were simply their overwhelming numbers and know that EVERY Svaken is individually a spineless coward, only showing savagery if cornered. Queek on the other hand was an exceptionally fearless and unwavering Svaken, always leading from the front. He always stood on his two paws during battles and held two stones that were sharpened and looked like what humans call 'knives'." Jasmine told everyone.
"Did he also have a right wingman?" Roberto asked curiously.
"Well, Queek called it 'right paw'. Yes, he had. Tretch. Tretch Craventail. A big brown rat that was almost as tall as Queek, with two sticks he used as what humans call 'spears'. He boasted that he was mighty and would do especially if a battle was won by him taking the lead. But when losing, he always intents to sacrifice his fellow Svaken for him to live." Thomas said with some disgust in his voice.
"Did they not care about each other?" Mimi asked very confused.
"Cared about each other? Kinship? Pah!" Jasmine spat. "Every Svaken only cares about him or herself, even siblings would find themselves expendable, only when Queek threatened to end their lives personally if they don't fight would they fight as one."
"Yeah, but I wanna know how big their impact and the ones of the Emberwings was on how your temples were doomed." Rafael said.
"Yeah, same here." said Pedro.
"Oh, yeah, we're deviating from the story at this point." Jasmine said.
"As we said, they came from underground and caught both us and the Emberwings completely of guard in the Underpassage. In just two days, they managed to take over many tunnels and captured 4 temples: the central and southern temples on the eastern side and the central and eastern temples on the southern side." Thomas said.
Jasmine: "After the Svaken had established their foothold in the captured temples and tunnels and after the Azuls and Emberwings had regrouped, one thing was clear, the war for Xlaxlan Twelve Peaks became one where three sides would fight for one thing: total dominance over the stronghold, its underground tunnel network and even the forests and parts of the river around it. To summarize it very quickly, Peak 1, 2, 3 and 12 were still in our possession, Peak 8, 9, 10 and 11 where in the possession of Terrin and the Emberwings, and Peak 4, 5, 6 and 7 were in the paws of the Svaken. Besides that, the tunnels of the Underpassage were also in the hands of the 3 combatants. Some of them were even layered under each other, with for example the Emberwings holding one above one of the Azuls and next to them was one that the Svaken held."
Everyone listened very attentively, with some of them almost forgetting to breathe, Tiago and Roberto in particular.
Thomas: "A new age had set upon the temples where the Azul Clan had resided for nearly two centuries and the ones we called home for 12 years. It threatened the very existence of the clan. In the very beginning, many Azul Clan members were trapped in the Underpassage in Isolated 'islands'. Some of them managed to battle their way through and made it back to our peaks, others… weren't so lucky…"
"Did you also send spies into the territories of the enemies?" Nico asked.
"Yes, many times, and some didn't even return at all." Jasmine replied.
"Did you find out how they lived and what their ultimate goals were, besides capturing the temples and the Underpassage?" Nico asked.
"Yes." Jasmine said. "But are you sure you wish to hear this? I mean (looks at Bia, Carla and Tiago), there are children with us."
The three looked at each other, until Carla stood up and spoke.
"We always have lived our lives in comfort and peace, auntie Jassie, both in Rio and here. The only time we fought, was last year against logger, whom we drove off." Carla said very seriously. "You on the other hand, had to face both bird and vermin alike, where even the children would be forced into go into combat, I assume (Jasmine nodded at this). They have probably witnessed countless horrors that hardened their hearts and souls. That is why I wish to hear the whole story, so I could respect the souls of those children that died probably." Carla said.
Tiago: "Well said, sis! I wanna hear the rest of the story too."
Bia: "Can't argue here."
Thomas: "Alright then. The society of the Emberwings is one of sadism and a lust and desire… to spill enemy blood. They usually hold violent contests against each other that made even the most stubborn Azul Clan members vomit. Terrin is the undisputed leader as we said before, with his blood-crazed mate, Davina. Aside from them, there were 5 other powerful members that completed his inner circle of evil. I will tell more about them another time, since nightfall is coming soon."
Jasmine: "In battle, the Emberwings fought with brute strength and an extraordinary bloodlust. And only weeks after they had first fought with us, they began to adopt our tactics. Using toxin plants, that we were so used to fight, with ease against us. When they fought for too long, they would temporarily activate what they call 'Murderous Prowess', a group-like killing frenzy that made them physically stronger for about 10 minutes, which could be seen when their eyes were glowing."
Was this real? Did Jasmine and Thomas actually spoke the truth about these Emberwings? These were all questions that raced through the listeners their heads, even the ones of the children. It all sounded like magic…
"Although we fought the Emberwings at every place, we mostly fought them in the air above Twelve Peaks, just outside the temples and on the plaza itself. Each of us giving the other no mercy or remorse, with the intent of not giving up an inch of land. It was especially hard if Terrin or one of his inner circle members showed up on the battlefield." Jasmine said.
"Did you also fight them in the jungles around the fortress?" Blu asked.
"Oh, yes, little brother, and I can guarantee you that we also had help from the birds and other animals that lived there, including the caimans, who secured the river and its banks for us, and the beavers, who controlled the amount of water that poured into the river. Sadly though, we mostly had to fly around to get there to contact the beavers, in order to not alert the Emberwings."
"Did one of you, or maybe both of you, ever fight those Emberwings of rats alongside the beavers at their dam?" Tiago asked his uncle and aunt with some enthusiasm.
"Ah, yes… That takes me back to that night." Thomas recalled himself. "I, Willfried and some other Azuls had to deliver a message to them from our mother, when we were suddenly ambushed by some Emberwings as we arrived at the dam. The caimans had heard our call and came as quickly as they could. At the beginning of the battle, I stood face to face with one Emberwing that was about to attack me, but then he was suddenly attacked by a Svaken. Turned out that there was an army of them, with the intent to take the beaver's dam for their own. We held our ground against both of them, until the caimans arrived alongside some birds from the Jungle, who heard the commotion."
"Oh, wow, those caimans must have been awesome to see them in action." Tiago said.
"Oh, they surely had their bellies full of those filthy rat-spawn, Ti." Thomas said with a smug on his face.
"How was the life within the society of the Svaken?" Mimi asked.
"The society of the Svaken can also be described as extremely cruel and unforgiving, where the strong devour the weak. Like I said before, they care nothing about kinship and backstabbing and schemes weren't uncommon within the Svaken society. Sometimes when a famine is present or when weakness is seen, it wasn't uncommon for Svaken to devour their own kin, even it was brothers, sisters or even parents eating their own children to survive." Jasmine said.
This gave a chill down the spine of all the birds that were present inside Blu and Jewel's hollow, especially Blu, since he wouldn't be able to bear the idea of devouring his own children.
"A Svaken can often be described as very cowardish and selfish and also has a natural fear as instinct. This is the thing that thrives them to survive." Thomas said.
"Also very typical about them is that they speak very… how should I say… 'squeekish'." Jasmine said.
"Can you describe 'squeekish', Jasmine?" Jewel asked.
"With 'squeekish', Jewel, I mean that they mostly say things twice, twice but with different words and they call all non-Svaken 'things'." Jasmine replied to her sister-in-law.
"I'll give some examples." Thomas said. "With saying things twice there are the examples of 'yes-yes' or 'no-no'. They called us, the Azul Clan, the 'spix-things' and the Emberwings the 'orange bird-things'. With words they say twice but use different words, Jasmine means something like this: 'Kill-death the spix-things!' Or I remember this one phrase a Svaken once said to my face: 'I can see-see your soul, spix-thing, and it is weak-soft!'"
"Wow, what a strange language is that." Carla with some disgust.
"You said you mainly fought the Emberwings in the sky, right? But what about the Svaken?" Bia asked.
"Although there were times we fought them on the plaza, which mostly took place at night, because they have better visions in the dark, we mostly fought the Svaken in the Underpassage. the Emberwings did a similar thing." Thomas said.
"A great difference with the Svaken was that, in the beginning, we lost few birds in fighting them within the Underpassage, compared to the losses we suffered at the talons of the Emberwings." Jasmine told everyone.
"How so?" Eva asked.
Jasmine: "This mainly happened between the middle of the 2nd and the end of the 4th month when we were fighting. At the times that Svaken strike forces or even an entire army was sent towards one of the tunnels to surprise attack us and take a temple from below, the rats found out that the Azuls had changed their style of underground warfare to counter their efforts."
Jasmine: "We began to use our fiery toxin plants to guard the passages beneath the temples, where the Svaken numbers became irrelevant. The morale and will to fight within the Azuls was extremely high and the fact that we were able to fly and the Svaken not, made it all too easy for us to drop the fiery plant sap onto the chittering and scurrying rats."
Thomas: "The Svaken forces that managed to bypass these patrols and got closer to the underground entrance of one of the temples, were soon faced with lines of Azul Clan members that held sticks and sharpened stones, who were extremely well-trained and once the Svaken arrived at the scene, the air witin the tunnels was filled with the clashes of their weapons, mowing down Svaken with merciless strength."
Jasmine: "The tunnels echoed at that point with the sound of screaming rats and the defiant war chant of the Azul Clan: "Áfram, Ászulæ!"
"What does that mean?" Tiago asked confused.
"Well, Tiago, it means: 'Forward, Azul!', it captures the rallying spirit and the courage of the Azul Clan in battle." Thomas said proudfull.
"Everything went well in our war against those rats, but every time the Svaken would lose thousands of their rats, it would only take a little bit of time before they returned with new rats, since they bred extremely quickly. Yet, as they came too, we mowed them down once more and so did the Emberwings, except they took extreme joy in killing them. In some cases, three armies fought against each other in the tunnels, but then casualties on all sides would be higher." Jasmine told.
Thomas: "Little did we know that it wouldn't last. The Svaken eventually made use of our tactics, by studying and training with toxin plants and the worse part… were the mutations…"
"Mutations?" Bia asked, with an eyebrow raised.
"They managed to put a something in those plants that can cause diseases and the fiery sap of the plants, that is normally yellow, had turned to light green, making it even more deadly than it was already." Thomas replied.
"And soon, before we knew it, countless members of the Azul Clan, men, women and even children who were sent to the frontlines, died agonizing deaths, sometimes in the pitch blackness of the Underpassage. This also was the case with many of the Emberwing members." Jasmine said.
"At the same time, the Svaken also made a new weapon: the Doomwheel, a big wooden wheel that goes forth if the Svaken in it run. It could roll down Azuls and Emberwings on the ground when they least expect it." Thomas said
"Thomas and I mostly speak of how our battles went against the Svaken, but we fought more against the Emberwings than those vermin. On several occasions my brother and I fought against Terrin himself, but each fight ended in a draw. We were at least a match for him. For some reason, he and the Emberwings hated spix macaws more than any other types of birds." Jasmine said.
"Why was that so?" Roberto asked.
Jasmine shrugged and said: "No, idea, maybe he hates color blue? I really don't know."
Thomas: "So this went on for over a year in Xlaxlan Twelve Peaks. The fortress that was once the gem of the spix Azul Clan for nearly 2 centuries, became a battleground for survival between 3 species. Above, around, within and underneath the 12 temples raged a bloody war of attrition. Inch by inch, tunnel by tunnel, each step or flight forward was paid with pain, suffering and blood. Although there were some territorial changes, the battle grinded on and on… in a permanent state of siege."
Jasmine: "During that year, not a day went by in Xlaxlan Twelve Peaks without some plot, probing raid, ambush, assassination or full-scale assault. Emberwings, Svaken and Azuls fought incessantly over who would have total dominance over the entire hold and the lands around it, with the warfare evolving incredibly over the span of one year."
"That's horrible…" Jewel said with shock in her voice. "You truly must have seen countless horrors during that one year, right?"
"Jewel, it was extremely painful to hear how you lost your tribe as a chick, but if you were a child within Twelve Peaks at the time of the Emberwing and Svaken invasions, you would get traumas and nightmares for the rest of your lives to what you would have seen there." Jasmine told her sister-in-law.
"You said that the war lasted for one year, right? Well, how did it end?" Mimi asked curiously.
"Eight days before the conflict would reach its 1-year anniversary, our parents and Andor were discussing how to end this conflict once and for all, since neither side really made any territorial progresses and the death toll for the Azuls was rising. Eventually, they came up with a bold idea they would carry out one day later." Thomas said.
"And what exactly was that plan?" Rafael asked.
"In the largest tripoint, where 3 halls came together, within the Underpassage, the 3 species gathered, ready to battle. But, after they battle cries were song, our mom and dad flew to the middle of the tripoint, alone. This caused some confusion amongst our enemies, until mom and dad called out the leaders of their foes. From the Emberwing side, Terrin and Davina came forth, whilst from the Svaken, Queek and Tretch came forth. There, after some discussing, they all agreed that this conflict needed to stop and that each species would get a week of rest, to gather their strength. After that, the 3 species will gather on the surface of Twelve Peaks, and there, one final battle will be fought. The leaders agreed that it will now be a battle to the last bird or rat, with no retreats." Thomas said.
"Oh, a fight to the death?" Tiago asked.
"Exactly, Tiago." Jasmine said. "For 7 days we trained for the upcoming final battle and called upon our allies, the caimans, the beavers and the birds in the surrounding forests to come to our aid when we will need them. They all agreed, since they too wanted to live back how it was in the old days."
"Little did we know that in the west, it had rained with enormous amounts, and this would also cause an end to the war." Thomas said, to which everyone raised and eyebrows, not knowing what he meant by that.
Jasmine: "Eventually, the day came. After the first twilight could be seen, all the Azuls, male, female and even children, gathered outside of their temples, all yelling: "Áfram, Ászulæ!", alerting everyone in and around Twelve Peaks. The birds of the nearby jungle to the north and northeast joined us and so did the caimans on the ground. The beavers also came and after we gave them some weapons, like sticks, sharpened stones and Toxin plants, both balls and sacks, many of them stood on the backs of the caimans."
Thomas: "After about 10 minutes, the Emberwings emerged out of their temples and began shouting things like: 'Blood and death!' and 'Die by our claws!' Later, the Svaken emerged out of their temples in numbers that outnumbered the Azuls and Emberwings combined about 4 to 1, if not more, but like I said before, they are merely vermin and only hold advantage of numbers. There were 5 doomwheels, however, standing ready at the ground entrance of each of their temples."
"Did they also have a battle cry before the battle started?" Carla asked.
"Yes." Thomas said. "From what I can remember, it was something like: 'Rika-raka! Rika-raka!' and 'Slash-stab! Crush-break! Svaken-dominate!'"
"After that, each leader gave a speech to his tribe. I don't know what Terrin and Queek said to their people, but I still remember the speech of our dad clearly." Thomas said, looking up with a smile on his face.
"What did our dad say? Blu asked curiously.
(Flashback to the past)
Alejandro stood on the top of Peak 1 and stared at the temples where the leaders of the Emberwings and Svaken had just given a speech to their peoples. Now it was his turn.
He flew a bit higher, so that everyone could hear and see him.
Camila, Thomas, Jasmine, Andor, Amalia, Willfried and all the others looked at him proudly. Then Alejandro spoke.
Alejandro: "Brothers and sisters of the Azul Clan, caimans, beavers and other birds, today we stand on the brink of destiny. For thirteen years, I have called this clan my home. We have shared joys, sorrows, victories, and defeats. Though my blood may not flow entirely with the lineage of your great ancestors, my heart beats as one with each of you. Our bonds are forged not merely by kinship, but by the unbreakable spirit that unites us!"
Every Azul, caiman, beaver and other member roared at this.
Alejandro: "We have seen parts of our sacred Twelve Peaks, our home, and our heritage fall into the talons of the ruthless Emberwings and paws of the verminous Svaken. They believe they can crush our spirit, tear us apart, and erase our legacy. But they do not know who they are up against. They do not know the strength that lies within the heart of each Azul warrior!"
Another roar came from the Azuls.
Alejandro: "Today, we fight not just for ourselves, but for the generations that came before us and the future we will secure for those yet to come. We fight for the honor of the Azul Clan, for the freedom of our lands, and for the memory of every fallen comrade whose spirit still soars with us."
Alejandro: "Look around you, at the faces of your friends, your family, your kin. Remember the love that binds us, the dreams we share, and the hope that fuels our courage. In this final hour, let us stand together, united and unbreakable. Let our wings beat as one, our voices rise in unison, and our hearts burn with the fire of determination.
No force of Emberwings or swarm of Svaken can match the power of a clan that fights with honor, courage, and an unyielding spirit. Today, we reclaim what is ours. Today, we show the world the true might of the Azul Clan!"
All of the Azul clan members, beavers, caimans and other birds let out a roar once again, this time bigger than the previous ones.
Alejandro: "Forward, my friends! Forward, Azul Clan! For Xlaxlan Twelve Peaks! For our ancestors! For our future! Fly with me, and let our enemies tremble at the sight of our united strength. Victory is ours for the taking! Áfram, Ászulæ!"
All Azul Clan members: "ÁFRAM, ÁSZULÆ!"
And with that, the Azul Clan and other birds flew at the direction of the Emberwings and the Svaken, with the caimans and beavers running on the plaza towards their foes.
Terrin: "Attack! Murder them all, Emberwings!" and with that the Emberwings flew with a roar towards the Azuls, the crocodilians, the beavers and the rats.
Queek: "Hhhrn! Get them, Svaken! Hhrn, hhrn! Get them now-now!" and with that, almost all the rats scurried from the temples in the direction of their enemies, screeching. From the 5 doomwheels, 2 went into the direction of the direction of the caimans, beavers and Azuls, 2 went into the direction of the Emberwings and 1 stood still at Peak 5 as a reserve.
And with that, the final battle for Xlaxlan Twelve Peaks began.
(back to the present)
"Wow, that was a very inspirational speech." Mimi said.
She then looked at Blu and said: "Now I know why you're able to give such great rallying speeches, Blu, like the one you said before we went to battle the loggers. You have that feature of your father."
Blu, blushed a bit and awkwardly said: "Mimi, you didn't need to boast about that, I simply did it to save the tribe."
"What happened during the final battle, Auntie Jassie and Uncle Tommy?" Tiago asked curiously.
Jasmine: "The battle may have lasted 3 hours, but before it ended, it was ruthless. The Azuls and Emberwings mainly fought in the skies, scratching and slashing each other with utter brutality or bombarding each other with toxin plant balls. Meanwhile, both Emberwings and Azuls alike fought each other and also fought the Svaken on the ground levels, with caimans, beavers and other birds aiding us. It was more ruthless on the ground than in the air, especially with those doomweelhs driving around, rolling over Azuls and Emberwings alike."
"Thomas: I remember that I saw our father battle Terrin and our mother battled Davina at some point, neither of them daring to give ground to each other. To me it was the same when I fought some of Terrin's inner circle's members and even Queek."
Jasmine: "As we also expected, the Svaken tried to destroy us with their overwhelming numbers and even with the usage of their own toxin plants, both balls and sacks. But we managed to destroy them first with the ones of our own. That, combined with the strength and beaks of the caimans, who tore both Emberwings and Svaken to shreds, ensured that the Svaken fell in the hundreds, if not thousands by the end of the first hour of fighting."
Thomas: "At the end of the 3rd hour of fighting, it even seemed that the Azuls and their allies were on the point of finally winning, as the forces of the Emberwings and Svaken alike began to dwindle. But as our spirits longed for victory, tragedy was the one that ended the war and even won it if I may say so."
"What do you mean?" Nico asked.
"All the birds at that point were on the ground or just off it, but not high in the skies. Due to our screaming, we didn't hear it, but from the river in the northwest, where the beavers had their dam, a tidal wave of water approached that was the result of all that rainfall in the west. It had presumably first destroyed the dam and then, it crashed over the plaza… All birds were caught off guard and before we could react, the amount of water and its strength washed everyone away towards the east." Jasmine said with her eyes closed.
The birds were in complete shock. A flood? Did that end the war?
"Before I was able to be washed away into the Amzon river, I grabbed myself onto a stone of a temple and was able to barely save Jasmine from facing a similar fate, but before we both fainted form exhaustion, we saw Emberwings, beavers, Azuls, other birds, caimans and rats being washed away by the floods and then, our whole world turned black." Thomas said, his voice cracking a bit from grief.
The faces of the birds turned into a sad one, sympathizing with Jasmine and Thomas, especially since Jasmine was already shedding some tears because she couldn't handle the emotional stress.
"When we woke up, we saw that everyone had been washed away and the only bodies we found against the walls of some temples, were lifeless. These were Svaken, Emberwings and Azuls alike. We couldn't even find any beaver or caiman that was allied to us." Jasmine said, now really in tears.
"After that… We decided to leave the place we called home for 13 years." Thomas said with a heavy sigh and putting his wing on his sister. "For 6 years we traveled across Brazil and even in the jungles of some other South American countries, like Colombia, Ecuador and Peru."
"And during those *sob* times, we often had to endure weeks *sob* without food or even shelter. We were truly on our own in those 6 years. We had to survive against all odds, but luckily, we had our strength and each other to defend ourselves." Jasmine said, tears still rolling down her face.
Everyone, especially, Blu, Jewel and the children looked shocked and felt truly sorry for them. Blu couldn't imagine all the pain that his older siblings had gone through. At the time they lost their home, he was still living comfortably in Minnesota with Linda and when he was happily together with Jewel and had 3 wonderful kids, they were probably out there searching for food and shelter for the night.
"Aw, it's alright, dear." Mimi said while putting a wing on Jasmine's shoulder, trying to comfort her. "We also know what it's like to live in fear. We had it for years with humans, who poached on us or even burned the forest down. That's how we lost Jewel in the first place."
Jewel than stepped towards Thomas and Jasmine and said: "I know the pain of losing your home and the ones you love. And know what it's like to live with uncertainty, for I had it for years when I was in captivity at Rio de Janeiro, even if they were trying to help me. However, I have let most of my past behind me and focus on the fact that I now have a family. At first it was only your brother and our kids, but since last year I also found back my father, my aunt, my friend Roberto and even the entire tribe I lost. And since yesterday I found out that my mother was still alive and well and (smiles at Jasmine) that I have a brother- and sister-in-law."
Jasmine smiled, despite the fact that there were still tears in her eyes. She got up and hugged Jewel, catching her off guard. Jewel, however, accepted the hug and was soon joined by Thomas, Blu and even her children. This gave much awe to Nico, Pedro, Mimi, Eva ad Rafael.
Eva then looked outside and saw that it was already pitch-black outside.
"Oh, my, that story truly took us late into the night." Eva said.
The spix macaw family then looked outside and were surprised that it was already dark, they never knew the story took them all the way into the night.
"Oh, well, time for bed, then." Jewel said.
After saying their goodbyes, Mimi went back to her home and Eva, Rafael, Nico and Pedro went back to their 'guest hollows'.
Blu and Jewel wished the kids a good night as they went to their rooms, and they also thanked Jasmine and Thomas for telling their story and that they must know that they now have a family after years of enduring hardships.
And with that, the spix macaw family went to sleep.
To be continued…