Chapter 17: Fourteen

Btw this chapter is the cheesiest thing you'll ever read, but it will get less cheesy throughout the story.

I was looking at wyverns.

Wyverns were looking at me.

Wyverns weren't extinct.

I found Wyverns.

I was going to die.

I stared wide-eyed at the creatures who were crowded around the wall of trees and branches I had just come out of, creating a half-circle around me, and blocking all of my exits.

Cauldron boil me, they were big. Really, really big.

I was going to die. No doubt about it. At least maybe I could go out in a blaze of glory. Literally.

All I could do was stand still as I stared, my thoughts going a mile a minute. I was definitely not trained for this. Was there a protocol for dealing with Wyverns, Cauldron, there had to be. I was surrounded and there was nothing I could do to get away without being killed instantly.

But, If I was going to die, which I most likely was, I was going to die strong, and not as a girl in shock from a bunch of wyverns. I steeled myself, pushing away my thoughts.

I held my head tall as I took a step forward in protest, the wyverns closest to me narrowed their eyes in warning, but I did not back away.

I would not yield. Not to anyone or anything.

We stared at each other for a second until many of the wyverns seemed to become more alert as they raised their heads higher as if listening to something my mortal ears couldn't pick up on, many of the wyverns backed away to two sides. They were creating space for something, I realized. I cocked my head in confusion but then I saw what they were making space for. And I could feel my face pale about 10 shades as a night-black wyvern strolled towards me.

Mother save me, it was magnificent. Its scales seemed to shimmer in the moonlight. It was bigger than the other wyverns by a solid few feet but it seemed to tower over them all as they nodded their heads in salute. But its eyes, its eyes seemed to glow a sapphire blue, and they promised violence.

I didn't know if wyverns had hierarchies or any of that but if they did... this wyvern would crush them all. I was so damn scared, but I couldn't help the small sense of awe that crept into me at the sight of the creature.

It strolled towards me, its head held high, and what looked like smoke made of pure rage coming out of its nostrils. It wasn't happy I found my way here. Not at all.

If I hadn't realized it before, a new wave of realization hit me, I had made the biggest and possibly last mistake of my life coming here.

In seconds the wyvern was towering over me. It leaned its head down as if getting a better look. It still looked filled with such rage I had to resist a shudder. The wyvern seemed to take a deep inhale as if to scent me, and I had no idea what it smelled but all traces of anger left its eyes and were replaced with some form of wyvern-ish surprise as it stepped back as if I'd struck it. It looked startled, oddly so.

When the wyvern seemed to gather itself it did something I didn't expect and tipped its head back releasing a roar that could shatter mountains (And my ears) before facing me again. I thought I was alarmed at the roar. But when the wyvern dipped its head to the ground in a bow, all thoughts had truly left my head, leaving only silence in their wake. This one beast of a wyvern was soon followed by every one of them that had gathered around me when I entered.

When the first wyvern rose again it looked like a painting, so surreal that this couldn't possibly be real. It glanced at me once more before turning around and beginning to walk somewhere. I just stared at it, too stunned to move. That all happened so fast. I honestly didn't what did happen.

What did it scent on me for it to bow? Was I the first human here since they went away? My mind was crowded with questions as the majestic animal walked away.

I was snapped from my questioning thoughts by a nudge at my back, then another. As if signaling me to walk. I turned back to see a lighter-colored wyvern pushing me forward, when it noticed my stare it nudged my shoulder this time. And I took that as my cue to follow that night wyvern. I felt like a prisoner.

I had to run to catch up to it, the wyvern was so far ahead of me it would have taken some fae minutes to walk that far. It held some kind of grace that made even me want to follow it. This wyvern had to be the leader if there was one.

Wyverns seemed to obtain a higher level of comprehension than most animals and seemed to understand a great deal more. It was honestly fascinating, maybe if I don't die I could learn more.

I truly looked at my surroundings for the first time, and it was huge. This place had to be glamoured by everything and everyone, if not because of its size than the large mountain that stood tall in the middle that I definitely didn't remember seeing earlier.

The lands were shrouded in flowers that stood out in the moonlight, this place clearly followed the laws of the spring court, though that was a bit surprising.

After a while of strenuous walking trying to keep up with the wyvern, we came to a stop. I looked ahead of the creature and noticed a large cave mouth in front of us. It was as if all the light had been cut off from it and poured into the land around us. I had a feeling it didn't just look like this at night.

I took a better look at the exterior, this time noticing carvings spread across the entrance. The best part is I understood them. Many of the markings were from a language that was only spoken at the very beginning of this world, when creatures had escaped through the cracks of their own realm and came here, the language was called Leshon Hakodesh, also known as the holy tongue, and the language of the ancients.

The Flame had been around since the dawn of time when Fae were play-toys to the beasts that escaped through those very openings in the rifts of the worlds, beasts who feasted on flesh and bone, creatures of the night who would prey on unsuspecting victims and take their minds.

The Flame was formed after The Wild Hunt millions upon millions of years ago when those very monsters of different worlds used Fae as prey to hunt for. That is until the Fae formed a resistance and overthrew the terrible creatures.

The group of rebel Fae who banded together against the beasts eventually formed The Flame. They passed down knowledge of anything and everything they knew, from ancient languages of worlds to war in every realm.

The Flame had thrived in the years passed, taking innocent children and turning them into the best killers the world has ever seen in case those monsters come back, or at least that was their original purpose for taking people's free will, the only part of the flame I will ever take pride in is that we are humans. And we are deadly as shadows and night.

All the Flame wants now is power and money, their greed has gotten the better of them and now all they want is to be feared, respected, and full of riches.

The Flame trained us for battle in case Prythian needed armies for hire, if Prythian could pay for the most elite warriors the world has ever seen, it would cost more than a large kingdom.

They trained us as assassins, to be silent as though we could meld ourselves with the shadows, they trained us to kill, and maim, and torture, to make us all the better pawns for them to exploit.

They made us monsters.

Because I could not have been born this way. Because I could not have become this thing on my own. Because the girl I used to be would never have let her heart grow so cold. And because monsters are not born, they are made, made by cold hearts tainted with evil.

And they have made me one of them.

As much as I hated it, Prythian was a reprieve from those cold hearts that aren't my own. They would get me back, no matter if I wanted to or not. Not because they cared, but because I was a soldier. And I was the best of them all.

They would know anything I was up to here. They would know if I ever found happiness here, and they would use it against me. They would drag me back and kill anyone in their wake. I suppose its a good thing they already rid me of my happiness a long time ago.

I was pulled roughly back to reality, my thoughts had gone so far, and I had forgotten the situation at hand. I looked at the markings again reading them carefully. Many of them a run down from age, but they were still manageable to read.

There were three in total, one on each side, and one at the very top of the cave mouth.

The one to the left translated to "Light", the one on the right was "Darkness", and the one at the center was a bit more puzzling as it translated to "Middle".

The wyvern then stepped into the cave mouth, shooting me a look to do the same before it was taken by the shadows. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts of fear, and stepped through the cave mouth and it's wall of shadows.

I thought the cave would be filled with only darkness, that I would not be able to see and the wyvern would kill me. But no, there was light, fire to be exact. It hung from the ceiling in whisps somehow, I'm sure it was some ancient magic by the kind fae who helped them disappear. This fire was probably thousands, possibly millions of years old.

I looked down to see the night wyvern looking at me, with confusion and shock. Likewise. The wyvern cocked its head towards the wall, and I looked. I heard a small gasp, it think it was me, at what I saw.

It was art. No, a story, I realized. It was more intricate than any of the works I'd seen in the mortal lands.

I looked back at the wyvern not knowing if I should try to decipher what it said. This was a story, probably for a trusted few, and it probably told story's that were ancient and sacred. It felt like I would taint it if I knew it. But, the wyvern dipped its head, as if telling me to read it. And so I turned my head back to the drawings and began.

The first picture was depicted as beasts riding next to some kind of creatures on horses that I didn't want to know. The beasts and creatures were chasing people. Fae. This was the story of the wild hunt I realized. But it seemed... Different than the versions I had heard.

My eyes found the next image, it was of the creatures, this time without their deadly steeds. They were in front of a shrouded wood. In front of a wall. Mother above, it was the wall of trees I had just come through. This sanctuary was millions of years old. And I had disrupted it.

I found the next image with greed, the wall had been opened, not by the creatures, but by the wyverns on the other side. It was an image of them coming through. The wyverns had befriended Fae in the past and believed they could be trusted. They were wrong.

The creatures attacked. Pulling out ropes and chains, and anything they could get their hands on as they captured the wyverns. Getting as many as they could. But the wall of impenetrable trees closed before they could capture more.

The creatures were enraged, doing anything they could to get more, to get in. But, the creatures eventually gave up, realizing they would not get it, they took the wyverns they already had, binding them with ashwood and iron.

The wyverns became slaves of war, used in battles, and occasionally to sniff out fae in the hunt. They were no longer free as they were before, they were taken from their homes and honed into a weapon. Like me.

Years later the Fae banded together and overthrew the terrible creatures. The Flame. But they did not free the wyverns. No, they were still kept as slaves. Winning battles and glory as mounts for the soldiers and royalty, for Mother knows how many years.

Until one day, a Fae male came saw them. He had a kind heart and hated what they did to the majestic creatures. He freed them, told them to fly away, go back to their homes. And they did without hesitation.

When the male was questioned about his actions, he claimed that he killed the wyverns and their brethren in the forest behind the trees. He claimed that only he could get into their sanctuary. That he killed them, and there were none left.

In their rage the Fae killed the male in the brutalist of ways. But the male never revealed the truth of his actions. That they were alive.

The wyverns were overjoyed to have their lost friends back. But their joy was tainted by the fear of what people would do if they ever found them again. So they stayed in their glade, forever lost to the world.

Until one day, a goddess of light and creation came to them. The goddess claimed that hope was not lost. She said that she had foreseen a prophecy. That a woman of Light and fire would save them. That all they had to do was wait and freedom would be theirs again. That the Lady of White Light would save them with her consort of darkness.

The goddess, aware of their deep despair, created this cave with their story, to remind them that hope was not lost. The shadows of the cave would protect their story, only the wyverns and the Lady of light could enter, anyone other than that, good intentions or not, could not survive the suffocating shadows.

The goddess spread the prophecy of the Lady of White light and her Consort of Dark Fire across the lands, hoping it would convince them to come and help.

The Wyverns believed the goddess and her prophecy, and have waited for the Lady ever since.

I was stunned. I had heard so many different versions of that story, none like this. But it wasn't that fact that the story was so heartbreaking and held so much information that contradicted everything I'd ever known that truly sent my mind into a whirlwind of thoughts.

But the fact I had entered the cave.

And I had lived.

That was when it all went dark.

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Hi everyone! Sorry this took so long, it was hard to figure out how to write this chapter, without it being too cheesy. Hope you like it!