 
### The Legends of Zenith

### For those who are Broken

### By Josiah S. Childs

### * * * * *

### PUBLISHED BY:

### Josiah S. Childs at Smashwords

### The Legends of Zenith-for those who are Broken

### Copyright © 2012 Josiah S. Childs

### Smashword Edition, license Notes

### This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for your respecting the hard work of this author.

I thank my brother for all of the many games we used to play together that made the legends of Zenith possible in my mind. I thank also my family for supporting me as I wrote and made The Legends of Zenith and for encouraging my artistic side and allowing me to create such imaginative characters. I hope I will make them proud with the results.

The Legends of Zenith was created as a completely fictional story with completely fictional characters, but it has a base in games that my brother and I had played out when we were younger. I then took some of the events and created a mythical world revolving around then and thus began The Legends of Zenith I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

### *****

### The Legends of Zenith

### For those who are Broken

### *****

Prologue

The Great Falling--it was a term of legend among the Ominice People. According to the elders, there were creatures that had inhabited the earth long before them, but a war bigger than anything the Ominice people had ever seen had wiped the creatures out about a thousand years before the Ominice came to be.

Ominice are reptilian creatures with hollow bones, long necks, thin, slithery tails, and wings which most Ominice did not use. Only a certain few would actually learn to fly. These fliers were known as Graurer, and they were great warriors that surrounded the high liege, or king. of a clan.

Jair, of course, wanted to learn to fly and become a part of the Graurer, but he was only a yearling. In order to be in the Graurer, you had to be a Yarling, or eighteen years of age. Jair was determined to do it, though. His body was strong, and his eyesight was good. He only needed to be older. As a small Ominice pup, he had watched the Graurers fly from their Cliffside keep, watching over the land surrounding them. Ever since then, he had been captivated by the thought of flight.

Growing up in the small Salacien village, he had always heard tales of the Graurers flying into battle with some of the other neighboring clans, but being born from a different clan himself caused Jair a slight problem--the problem of blood. Jair was not an actual native-born Salacien. When he was young, he had been given to Salacine as a peace offering by one of its neighbors, the Yarmara clan. This caused Jair a great many grief's throughout his life because very few treated him as a true Salacien. Jair had no parents since he was given away, and he was only given a small hollow in which he lived by himself, learning all that he could about life by watching others, and doing as they did.

It was by watching others that he met his best friend, Quein. Quein was born roughly the same time Jair was, and his parents had a burrow dug next to his. Now, most of the Ominice would have disregarded Jair's presence, but Quein's parents--a sandy-colored female named Clair and a light blue male named Hrow--had a soft heart for young pups, so they let Quein and Jair play together. As the years went, by Jair's and Quein's friendship grew and grew until nothing could separate them. It was as Jair and Quein were reaching the beginning of their Yarling years that the legend of Zenith truly began.

### Chapter One

Jair and Quein

Jair sat motionless with his wings clamped tight against his body, his eyes shut lightly, and the sound of nothingness surrounding him. An air bubble silently floated past his nostrils and quietly made its way to the surface, where it sat until a dragonfly swooped down and popped it with one of its many legs. Grasses moved gently to and fro on the muddy floor of the lake, disturbed only by a passing fish as it floated by in search of food.

Suddenly Jair's first set of eyelids snapped opened, leaving a second clear membrane to protect his pupils from the intruding water. He then started looking for the fish that he sensed not too far off to his left. It was a decent-sized fish--perfect for a single meal. He was about twenty feet below the surface of the great lakes and had been lying dormant, feeling for the fish's movements in the water for almost ten minutes. Now he would make his strike like he had done so many times before.

He saw the carp lazily swimming through the lake's gentle underwater currents hidden beneath the surface of the lake, and, with a quick thrust of his tail and wings, he came up upon it and caught the tail end of it between his jaws before the carp ever had a chance to move more than a few feet. His needlelike teeth held it in place as he made his way to the surface, and as he surfaced, another Ominice was already waiting for him. He was the color of desert sand with a blue streak that ran along the left side of his face. He fluttered his wings and cocked his angular head towards Jair.

"Nice catch, Jair." His words came sharp and to the point, almost glittery as he spoke them.

"Thanks, Quein," Jair replied. Quein was a yearling like Jair, only he was a lot smaller, and his movements weren't as smooth as Jair's. The two of them had managed to get the same village job together last summer and had spent a lot of time in the Great Lakes, learning all of the tricks and special fishing areas as part of their village duty. Everyone in the village worked not for themselves, but the entire clan, and each Ominice had a responsibility to perform, so that everyone could benefit from the work.

Quein suddenly stood up. His clawed feet scraped against the gravelly earth, and he dove head first into the water. A splash issued in his wake, and Jair watched him weave his way through the water, much like a snake would. Quein's fishing tactics were far different form Jair's.

Jair preferred to let the water calm down, so he could let his senses pick up the movement of the fish, but Quein preferred a cat and mouse approach. He would spot a fish in the water and chase it all over the lake, trying to outmaneuver it, rather than ambush it. He justified his actions to Jair after fishing one day a while back. He said it gave the fish more of a chance to escape, and that he preferred to catch them by outmaneuvering them rather than just using a trick. Jair didn't bother replying back. This was the way his friend was, and he wouldn't have had it any other way.

A few moments later, Quein came up with a fish between his jaws. The fish struggled meekly as Quein pulled himself from the cool water, and the water droplets wove their way through his scales, in search of the ground. Quein spit the fish out on the ground and began flicking his tongue in and out of his mouth. This was one of the many ways the Ominice detected pressures and smells in the air.

"I think it's going to rain," Quein said as he looked to the sky. Large trees surrounding them kept a good portion of the sky out of sight, except for what was directly above the lake. This was why detecting pressure variations were so important to the Ominice. The forestry surrounding their home was only broken up by the many lakes that had laid themselves into the ground so close to the tree line that some of the trees were half drowned by the lakes water, and the gnarled ancient trees rose hundreds of feet into the air, keeping the ground far beneath them bathed in shadow so that no one could ever know what the weather was really like above. Jair began to flick his tongue in and out also but, after a few moments, he stopped and looked at his friend.

"How do you do it?" he asked

"I don't know. I just sense it," replied Quein.

"I have been lying in the lake trying to tune my senses for days, but they will never match yours, Quein. You definitely have something special. I think it's amazing how precise you are every time. There will definitely be a special job for you when you're a Yarling. Maybe you will even get into the Graurer."

"I don't know about that," Quein replied, "all I do is feel the pressure fluxes, but you will get in for sure, Jair."

" I wouldn't count on that, either," Jair said, feeling slightly depressed.

"Why not?" Look at you, Jair. You're almost twice my size, your wings are twice as long as mine, and look at the size of your Gorors."

Gorors were spines that lined the ends of the Ominices's tails. They were like large porcupine quills, and they grew up to as long as one foot. Ominice sometimes had Gorors on their head or arms also, and this was one of the main ways the Ominice fought. The Graurers derived their name from the word "Gorors" because, while in flight, the Ominice would use their Gorors to try to injure their opponents, and Jair's Gorors were rather large for his age.

"Size is not everything, Quein. You know why I wouldn't get in."

"Blood is not everything either, Jair, and if the elders know what is good for them, they will let you in with open arms."

"Well, maybe you're right," Jair said, kicking a stone into the lake. "I just hope we both get in."

"I hope we do, too," Quein replied back, and then they both looked over the lake's surface and watched the water for a moment, taking in all the sights and sounds at the lakeside bank. Jair then stood from his kneeling position.

"Well," he said, "we best get these carp back to the village. They are not going to eat themselves you know. Race you there!"

Quein didn't need a second invitation. He jammed his fish back into his mouth and jumped into the lake. Jair dove in right behind him, and they both swam as fast as they could to the other side. Quein won, of course, with almost a quarter of a mile distance between them, and as they both entered the Salacien village, storm clouds began forming in the east.

### Chapter Two

The Falls

"Wake up, Jair. Wake up!"

Jair opened his eyes to total blackness. It took a couple of seconds before his eyes adjusted, and then the whole cave filled with a hazy light. He was in his hollow, and he looked around the cave and found Quein at the entrance.

"What is it, Quein?" he asked as he tried to shake the sleep off.

"It's nearly midday, Jair. We get the day off today, and some of the others wanted me to join them up at the falls, but I told them I wouldn't go unless you came."

"The falls sound like a great idea to me," Jair said as he rolled out of his bedding. "Who is going to be there?" Jair asked as he stood and stretched out his back.

"Gletch was the one who invited me, so he will be there, and he also said he invited some of the others, but I'm not sure who," Quein replied and he looked down the tunnel from which he had just come.

"We should be going then," Jair said, and he and Quein left the hollow and walked through the winding tunnels of the village. They met several other Ominice as they turned and twisted through the many different tunnels of the village, Several of them greeted Quein, but they did not say a word to Jair. They barely even looked at him as they passed by.

"I do get tired of that," Jair said as they turned the bend and entered a new set of tunnels.

"They act as if I'm nonexistent."

"I wish I could do something for you Jair," Quein replied as they continued to make their way through the tunnels. "They are all just stuck up higher-ups, and if they don't acknowledge your existence I can't force them to, even though I acknowledge your existence fully. It's just a small bit of cruelty that is in our clan that I wish we could erase, but I don't think it will ever change. "

"It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't look so different. Just by sight everyone can tell that I'm not Salacien. My snout is longer, and my Gorors are twice the size of most everyone here."

Quein looked over at Jair as they walked. A hint of worry shone in his eyes. "You have been looking at the lake's surface again, haven't you, Jair? You should not do that. It's not good for your health. You are Yarmara, Jair, and you shouldn't want to be anything other than what you are."

"I know, Quein. but sometimes I wish--for just once--I could live like every other family in Salacien."

Quein stopped at the path that left the village and entered the forest surrounding it.

"I know, Jair, and I wish I could give you that chance, but all I can do is invite you over to my family's home for the evening. Clair hasn't seen you in a couple of days, and she would like to have you over for our evening meal. If you want to, that is. Would that make you feel better"

"Of course it would, Quein," Jair said, and Just then, another Ominice came around the corner. He was a big male Ominice and, in fact, he was the one who invited Quein to go to the falls in the first place. He was colored a deep grey and was a good deal larger than Jair. He also had a large number of Gorors on his tail head and down his spine. He was one of the few who actually had more than Jair.

"Jair, you know Gletch," Quein said, pointing to the large Ominice. "He was bedded with us last winter when we had the shortage of hollows."

"Yes, I remember." Jair said.

"That was one miserable winter," Gletch spoke up. "At least there was no shortage of company to help us through it. How is life for you, Jair?" Jair remembered Gletch quite well. He was one of the few Ominice that treated him as somewhat of an equal. It was due to his gentle nature, which was quite contrary to the rest of him. "These are my buddies," said Gletch as two other Ominice walked up--one male and one female. "Redith is the male, and Crane is the female."

Jair and Quein exchanged quick greetings with both the Ominice, and once every one was acquainted with each other, they then started for the falls, snaking their way through the forest until they came to the edge of the Great Lakes. From there they made their way up to a set of cliffs and finally into the falls. The falls were where the Aaron River connected to the Great Lakes in a spectacular waterfall. Many of the younger Ominice came to the falls because the water at the bottom was thirty feet deep, and there were no obstacles in the way. It was perfect for diving, and that's what they did.

"Come on, Quein," Gletch said as they stood near the edge of the falls. "I have heard that you're an excellent swimmer. Why don't you show us a thing or two?"

Quein seemed to double in size at the praise he received from Gletch, and he made his way to the edge of the cliff and pulled off his best flip into the water. They all watched for a second as Quein made a little underwater acrobatic act beneath them. Then, without warning, Gletch leapt off the cliff also, curling up into a ball. He made an enormous cannonball splash at the bottom. Jair jumped into the lake next, and the other two followed, hitting the cool water below before swimming to the edge and then making their way back up for a second dive.

Most of the day was spent in the water or lying around on the shore. As evening rolled around, the five of them grew hungry and began fishing. They caught a fair amount of fish and then hauled them to shore, where they made a meal of them. They did not cook the fish because they had no way of making a flame, and even if they had, Jair would not have eaten it cooked, anyways. Cooking was more of a luxury rather than a need, and Jair preferred the fresh, uncooked taste of fish rather than the charred burnt taste that cooking it would bring. Fish was not the Ominice's only source of food. They could eat just about anything--roots, fruits, and insects--but meat was better. Better than insects or plants, that is.

As the day grew older and the sun began to sink toward the horizon, the small group made their way back to the village. Jair was listening to Redith talk about the surrounding lands and what creatures and sights were beyond the forests and lakes Jair knew as home. Apparently, one of Redith's parents was an elder, so they had told Redith about many of the things that they had seen. Jair was surprised to find this out because the elders were some of the worst when it came to bloodlines, and Redith had actually spoken and acknowledged Jair throughout the day. It may have been a very small thing, but to Jair, it was like a giant step forward. As far as he was concerned, talking to an elder's son was unheard of.

"Can you believe it?" Redith went on. "There is an area east of here that has grass as far as the eye can see, and it moves like the Great Lakes do--in giant waves. Beyond that, they say there are these huge mountains where these giant creatures live, and they have sharp talons and a beak that puts our Gorors to shame."

The female, Crane, seemed extremely interested in Redith's knowledge--almost too interested, in Jair's opinion, but it was none of his business. He was just happy to listen to the conversation. Jair then quickened his pace and caught up with Quein and Gletch, leaving Redith and Crane to talk. Gletch and Quein were going over burrowing techniques and swimming maneuvers. They entered the village and each went their separate ways, going to their individual homes. Jair followed Quein as they made their way back to his burrow. They were immediately greeted by Quein's mother, Clair.

"Hello, Quein. How was your day today?" she asked as they came in.

"We had fun. We all went up to the falls and went cliff diving," Quein replied.

"I used to cliff dive when I was your age. It was always such fun," Clair replied, stopping her work for a moment and looking at the two of them. "Feeling the wind fly by as you dive is like no other feeling on earth. It was the closest thing to flying I was ever allowed to get, so we went cliff diving all the time."

"Where is Dad?" Quein asked, looking around and not seeing his father.

"He should be here shortly. They had him working later in the new burrows today, so he should be here any moment. Are you staying for the evening meal, Jair? We would love to have you."

"Yes. If you will have me," Jair said politely.

"Of course we will have you, Jair. Just find a seat and make yourself comfortable."

Not long afterwards, Hrow entered the burrow. He was covered in dirt and mud. "Wow! What a work day," Hrow said as he sat down next to Jair. He greeted Jair as well as the rest of the family, but their talk was soon interrupted as Clair brought out the meal. Jair ate happily--glad to be in company of friends while eating and not alone in his solitary burrow as usual.

Nothing exciting happened the rest of the evening, but Jair didn't mind. They spent most of the night in the eating hollow talking of the day's activities, among other things. As the night was well underway, Jair made his way back to his burrow with a full stomach and a happy spirit. He loved spending time with Quein and his family. It made him feel like less of just a peace offering to the village and more a part of the village. It was a position he wanted desperately to have, but he knew that it would never come to be that way.

### Chapter Three

The Elders Decision

The next few days were uneventful. Jair and Quein went back to their village chore of fishing and in the evening enjoyed some of their catch with Gletch, Redith, and Crain. They would all sit in the dining hollow and talk of the day's activities. Jair was totally enthralled by all of the new Ominice he had met and made friends with within the last few days.

_Something must have changed,_ he thought to himself as he lay in his hollow one evening. _I have spent years in Salacien and have never had more contact with other Ominice than I have in this past year. Indeed, he was correct._ Within the Elder Council, an uproar was arising as a new member attempted to change the minds of his superiors. He had kept an eye on Jair for the last few months and was not pleased to see the way their peace offering from Yarmara was being treated. He fought endlessly to try and convince the council to think on this.

"Others are coming, and the Yarmara may have given Jair up half heartily due to the condition of his parents, but the others will have royal blood and will not be happy if you treat their offering as you have treated Jair. They will expect unions with the high liege's daughters, and I would act as graciously to them as I would the high liege himself, or we could see a full-on war with our neighboring clans. We all know we will not last a day against the other clans," the new member said, standing out in front of the Elder Council.

"What are you suggesting then, Reinen--that we sit Jair next to the high liege?" said an older Ominice who seemed to command a great deal of importance in the council chambers.

"No. All we need to do is make Jair happy. My son Redith said that Jair would love nothing more than to be a part of the Graurer."

"For heaven's sake, Reinen! We depend on the Graurers to defend our lands. You know of Jair's parents as well as I do. How do you expect us to trust him?" one of the elders spoke out angrily.

"Just put him in some small position where he can cause no harm--like a scout or recon. It's for the best, and any other clan that talks to him will find out that he is perfectly happy and will be more willing to ally with us."

The older Ominice gave a slight sigh and, after a short discussion, stated his conclusion. "We will put Jair in the Graurer's first Yarling, but if we find anything displeasing with him, he will be removed immediately."

The room suddenly came to life with shouts and arguments as some of the remaining council members were unsatisfied with the results, and Reinen left the council chambers with a look of triumph in his eyes.

### Chapter Four

The Yarling Festival

Jair had never been so excited in his life. It was the first day of Yarling where all Ominice old enough were recognized as adults by the others, and Jair stood in the center of the meeting chamber. Several pairs of eyes were watching him, and there was a soft murmur of voices. This was the Elder Council. They were deciding where Jair would go and what job he would have. He looked about the room nervously. There were nine elders in the council, and they were charged with all aspects of the village, from food to development to the running of the village itself.

The council room in which Jair stood was probably the most finely furnished room in the entire village, with chairs for each of the council members and a half-circle table that fit the curve of the room perfectly. Roots ran up along the walls, which gave the room the support it needed to sustain its shape, and they looked like an enormous sculpture made of snaking branches.

All of a sudden, the soft talking stopped. One of the elders stood. His body was bent over with age, and he held a cane in his right hand. He looked as if he could fall apart on the spot, but he stood up nonetheless and looked Jair straight in the eyes.

"Well," he said, his voice raspy with age. "After going over what others have told us about you and then seeing you for ourselves, we are about to make our decision."

Jair slowly blinked. _How long will this take_? he thought to himself, and then the old Ominice made his way down from the crescent moon table and stood before Jair.

"Let me see you then," he said, stabbing Jair in the gut with his cane. Jair then stood up straight and spread his wings out to their full extension, which made the room seem to shrink in size. All of the elders watched as Jair did so, but none said a word. The old one then made his way back to his seat behind the crescent table and talked to another elder for a few moments. Then he turned back to Jair. "We have decided that you shall be located in the high cliffs as a Graurer trainee, and you shall learn the art of scouting," said the elder, and Jair nearly jumped out of his skin with joy upon hearing the elder's words.

"Thank you, sir! Thank you!" Jair said as he backed his way out of the hollow. The old Ominice watched with no emotion as he left.

Jair was met outside the Council Hollow by another Ominice who told him where he should report the next morning and how to get there, and then Jair was free to go. The first thing he did was search for his friends. He was one of the last Ominice to receive his job assignment. His friends had already received theirs and had left. He found them in the great hollow eating and having fun. In fact, the entire great hollow was full of village people, and all were feasting and drinking as part of the Yarling festival.

Jair made his way through the hollow, dodging other Ominice as he went. Over the noise of the crowd, he heard Gletch's deep voice boom as he called out his name. Jair looked up to see Gletch waving him over, and a moment later he stood next to the big brute.

"How did it go?" Gletch asked as he sat down at the table and began digging into a roasted fish that was sitting on a platter. Quein sat next to him, along with Crain and Redith.

"Well?" Quein asked.

"It went great. They asked me a bunch of weird questions, like what the length of my arms and wings were and other things like that. They also talked to the hunting master to see how well I did while hunting, and afterward they talked quietly to each other for what seemed like hours until at last the oldest elder-."

"Ah, that would be Bramen," Redith broke in. "He is a bit lopsided in the head, if you know what I mean."

"Quiet, Redith!" Crain corrected. "Jair is telling his story."

Jair took a moment before continuing on. "Bramen looked me over and then assigned me to the Graurers as a scout."

"That's great, Jair" Quein said excitedly.

"What did you get, Quein? Jair then asked.

"I'm also going to become a Graurer. The Elder noted that I am an excellent swimmer and figured I would be equally as impressive in the air, so they are going to teach me to fly and train me for air battle. I'm going to be one of the battle flyers, so I can defend Salacien's skies," Quein said with great excitement. Jair was about to reply, but Glitch spoke up first.

"I'm training to become a Graurer warrior," he said, standing from his seat, his chest held high and his wings spread out. "I'm too big to fly nimbly like you, Quein, so I'll be the ground force, and you had better keep those harpies off my back while you're up there."

"I will, Gletch." Quein reassured him.

"If anyone deserves to be a Graurer warrior, it's you, Gletch" Jair said. Just then an Ominice stood up on a table and started yelling for everyone's attention. Jair recognized him immediately as Garath. Garath was a higher-up. Higher-ups were Ominice born with aristocratic parents like Redith--only Redith wasn't as full of himself as Garath was. At this point, Garath started speaking. "As you all shall know, I am being positioned as a Graurer warrior in the high cliffs.

"Oh great!" Gletch said aloud and rolled his eyes.

"So make sure you all give me the respect that I deserve." With that, he raised his cup and yelled, "This is the year of the Yarling!" He drained his cup, and many others followed his example.

"Oh, brother!" Crain said, looking away from the festival. "That lizard gives me the creeps. He is so full of himself! Why can't he be more like you, Redith?" she said and reached over and wrapped her arms around Redith. Gletch then winked at Redith, and Redith smiled back nervously.

The Yarling festival went on late into the night, and at one point, a dance took place in which Redith was dragged off by Crain. Jair, Quein and Gletch laughed until tears filled their eyes as Redith tried to keep up with the highly energized female, and by the time they returned, both were exhausted. The five of them found their way to their hollows. Tired and weary from the day's activity, they all slept very well.

Jair woke. His eyes took a second to adjust to the familiar deep blackness of his hollow. Thoughts of the previous day flooded back into his head as he made his way out of his hollow, and eventually out of the village entirely. He met up with Gletch and Quein on the way to the lower cliffs as they, too, were headed in the same direction as Jair.

"You ready for this?" Gletch asked as the three of them came together

"I think so," Jair replied, and then the three of them headed to the high cliffs.

The high cliffs were where the Graurers lived, and this where a large part of the village went to stay when they became old enough. It was located on top of the cliff that the village was cut into, hence the name high cliffs. Getting there was no easy task because the path up was extremely narrow and only big enough for one--or maybe two--Ominice at a time. They met their guide at the bottom of the cliff, a well-built Ominice with a rosy red color to him. Jair, Gletch, and Quein were not the only ones there. There were several other new Yarlings whom Jair did not know. After a few moments of waiting, their guide addressed them, standing in front of the small band so his voice reached all.

"You are all about to embark on the Graurer climb--a climb that is not just a leisure climb, but a rite of passage. If you are worthy, you shall pass, but if you fail, then most likely you will die. We chose you because you were the most likely candidates to survive the climb."

At this point, Jair became a little nervous. _If I don't make it, I'll most likely_ _die_. One glance at the cliffs showed him exactly why. The path was really steep, and it wasn't really a path at all. It seemed more like an obstacle course with rocks that jutted out this way and that, and in some areas, there were gapes in the path where nothing but air stood. _This is going to be hard_.

"Follow my lead, and you'll be fine," the guide concluded, and then he started up the cliff with all of the new Graurers on his tail. The climb took most of the day, and it was the most treacherous landscape Jair had ever been on. Their guide, whose name Jair later found out was Sreven, was like a mountain goat and knew how to traverse the cliffs very well. There were no casualties on the climb, but there were several close calls, and even one where an Ominice had fallen off the side of the cliff, but Sreven had just managed to catch hold of him before he completely fell. Afterwards, with Gletch's help, they managed to dragged him to safety.

At last, just as the sun had begun to fall to the horizon, they made it to the top. Jair couldn't help but watch the sun as it dipped below the hills to the West. He had never seen the sun set before--not in this particular fashion, that is. He had always seen it through the branches of the forest, but now he sat above them and could see the whole landscape spread out before him like a painting on a canvas. Treetops could be seen for miles around, and he could see mountains off in the distance. He could also see the falls where he had swum not that long ago, but the sun was what kept his attention. Surrounded by clouds, its deep yellow played across the land like the water in the lake, and he couldn't help but get lost in its golden ripples. This was the easy part, Sreven had told them as they were making their ascent, and Jair couldn't help but wonder what the rest would be like. _There is only one way to find out,_ he thought to himself and headed into one of the many burrows that were dug into the cliff face.

Jair was assigned a hollow were he would sleep for the next week, and Quein managed to get into the same hollow. They were given hollows so that they didn't have to climb the cliff day after day. Once they finished their flight training they would be allowed to move more freely, but for the moment, they were earthbound. The high cliff tunnels were way different from the village tunnels Jair had been used to. The village tunnels were dug for convenience, and they were easy to move through and very comfortable, but the high cliff tunnels were built for defense. The outside was like a castle etched into the stone, and the inside was a maze of tunnels that crisscrossed and had several dead end hollows. It was created so that invaders would become lost and confused as they tried to navigate through the fortified underground palace, but it also gave newcomers a bit of a hard time, as well.

The high liege had his own set of tunnels and hollows, and guards were stationed at every corner. Jair had only seen the high liege once, and it was when he was very young, but he could remember that he was a large Ominice with the cunning of a fox. He had come out to settle a dispute with another clan, and all had gone well. No one was hurt, and that was the last he had seen him. Now he would be a scout for his troops. Jair could hardly fall asleep as he thought of what the next day would bring, and he wasn't sure if he was excited or nervous--a little bit of both, he decided at last. _I'll finally be able to fly,_ he thought to himself, and then he drifted to sleep.

### Chapter Five

First Flight

"Come on, you yellow-belied snakes! Flap those wings! My great-grandmother flies better than you lot!"

Jair's wings burned from the strain of the flight that he was forced to endure. He had a small boulder chained to his ankles, and his wings flapped continuously as he tried to keep the boulder just a few inches off the ground. This was the sixth day on the high cliffs, and it had proven to be a gruesome six days. At first, they had simply chained a few large rocks to the chains around his ankles but, as their wing strength grew, so did the rocks. The Ominice that hurled insults at them was called Draime, and he was relentless--pushing everyone to the point of exhaustion each day. He justified his actions by saying things like, "What if you had to carry someone while flying? You would be sorry you didn't go through the proper training. You'll thank me later, youngins. Believe me. You'll thank me later. He repeated this several times during their six days of training.

All of a sudden, Draime barked, "Halt!," and every Ominice collapsed their wings and sank back to the ground. Then he walked over to a rack holding Ominice helmets made from hard iron. He plucked one from the rack and returned to his original position. "Now we shall fly," he said, his eyes burning with delight. "We will free fly and learn aerial combat all in one. You will all need a helmet, and you must do exactly as I do. Follow my lead and watch for my signals, just like you read in the books."

All the new recruits were required to learn flight maneuvers and signals through reading, which they did in their hollow with the roughest looking books that had ever been made. Jair unhooked the chains from his ankles and found himself a helmet, but Draime stopped him before he had a chance to put it on.

"You're not flying with us," he said. "You will be flying with the scout troop." He pointed across the flight deck to where an older Ominice sat stretching out his wings.

Jair was confused. He had expected to learn to fly with all of the others, but realization slowly dawned on him. His heart fell two notches as moved away as Draime instructed. He knew that there really wasn't a scout Graurer now, and that the position was only made to keep him out of the way. It was a twisted way to reiterate the fact that he was not a true Salacien. He was still the nobody he had always been. With his heart in his feet, Jair made his way over to the old Ominice across the room, but he was stopped short by Quein.

"Where are you going, Jair?" Quein said as Jair passed by.

"To scout training," Jair replied without looking up.

Quein looked across the room and saw the old Ominice preparing for flight, and he too understood what it meant.

"I'm sorry, Jair." Quein said, but he was interrupted by Draime before he could say anything else.

"Move it, Quein. I don't have all day." With a sad glance, Quein ran to the edge of the flight deck and leapt off and joined the other battle flyers in their training.

Jair watched as they disappeared over the horizon before turning and walking up to the older Ominice.

"You must be the Ominice I must teach scout lessons to," the older Ominice stated as Jair walked up.

"Yes. I'm the one," Jair said, and the older Ominice turned around and looked at him.

"oh, the peace offering. Interesting," the older Ominice said as he looked Jair up and down. "Sorry. I wasn't expecting to be teaching one of the peace offerings."

"My name is Jair," Jair said, liking the old Ominice less and less as their conversation continued.

"I'm Harron," the old Ominice replied. "Well, Jair. Let's get this started. Have you ever flown before?" he asked.

Jair shook his head. "Not fully--that is, I have hovered under Draime's instruction, but that's all."

"Well, this ought to be interesting then," Harron mumbled to himself. "The easiest way to learn is to just leap off the cliff here and learn by trial and error." Harron said as he walked to the edge of the flight deck. With this said, Jair definitely didn't like Harron very much at all. Harron then leapt off the cliff's edge and flew a short ways, circled around, and then landed back where he had started.

"Now your turn," he said, looking directly at Jair. Jair gulped down the fear within him and took a look over the edge of the flight deck. He saw the trees well below him, and it took everything in him to leap off the flight deck. The minute he left the edge, he felt the pure sensation of falling through the air like a stone, and a shiver ran the length of his spine. He wasn't sure whether to be scared to death or totally mystified. Either way, he knew he had to fly or he would be smashed against the trees and rocks below.

"Flap your wings, for goodness' sake. I don't want you to die on the first day," he heard Harron yell from above. Harron had leapt off the ledge after Jair and was flying towards him as fast as he could. Jair opened his wings and felt the wind slam into them, and then he tried as hard as he could to flap them and gain altitude. It was a thousand times harder than it looked. He succeeded to stay aloft for a few moments, but it was such a queer flight that he wasn't able to sustain his weight for too long, so he fell lower and lower toward the forest below until he was in the forest itself and dodging branches as best he could manage.

"Land, Jair! Land!" he herd Harron below out from behind, but Jair didn't know how to fly--let alone land, and with no experience, Jair's flight ended in a crumpled heap on a large branch before he fell completely to the ground.

With the wind knocked from his lungs, Jair sat on the ground, clutching his chest, and Harron alighted next to him a moment later.

"Not too bad for a first try," he said as he circled around Jair. "No injuries to the flesh. No broken bones. Just loss of wind to the lungs. You did quite well." Jair was too busy trying to regain his breath to care what Harron was saying, but once he had regained it, Harron made sure he was all right before asking if he had had any experience in take-offs.

By the end of the day, Jair had managed loose flight and was able to keep aloft for a good distance, but it was obvious he still needed work. He kept having to readjust his position because of the wind turbulence and pressure changes. It was a little more difficult than he had imagined, but by the end of the day, he wouldn't have traded it for anything. Flying was like letting an imprisoned wild animal free, and he felt he could do anything and fly anywhere, even in his choppy learning state.

### Chapter Six

Rest and Relaxation

"As you all have probably heard by now, we had an injury yesterday." Everyone was back in the flight hollow, and Draime was going over what had happened the previous day.

"You shall be glad to know he will be all right. He busted his wing up pretty decently, though, and he will no longer be with us until his wing heals. The good news is that the rest of you have passed low level flight training and will be allowed a three-day leave so that you can go back to the village and have a little rest. Just don't get in trouble," Draim said to an excited group of trainees. They were less excited to learn that after the three days, they were to return and face combat training, which was going to be even tougher than flight training, but for now they were free to do as they wished, and Jair immediately headed over to join Quein.

"Sorry about yesterday," Quein said as Jair came close enough.

"Don't sweat it, Quein. I'm used to that sort of treatment, but it really wasn't that bad. At first, I thought I was going to hate it because the old Ominice teaching me didn't really have any sort of teaching method. He just said, 'Jump off the cliff and fly,' but, by the end of the day, I was enjoying myself. We both flew quite the distance yesterday, and it was absolutely amazing feeling the wind on my wingtips. It's like nothing I have ever felt before."

"I know!" Quein replied, just as excited as Jair was. "We flew all the way to the edge of the Salacien territory, and I saw some of the outposts that the Naben have. We didn't fly close enough to cause any trouble, but it was so cool flying that close to one of the other Ominice clans."

Just then one of the other battle flyer students passed by and shoved Jair out of the way as he made his way through. "Dirt! You're lucky you're in the Graurers at all, Yarmara scum!" he said to Jair and then continued on.

"Hey! Lay off!" Quein shot back, and the Ominice gave Quein a nasty look before disappearing amongst the crowd.

Jair scratched his clawed foot on the ground and didn't say anything about the remark.

"I don't know why they do that," Quein said, clearly agitated at what the Ominice had said.

"Don't worry about it, Quein. Let's just go back to the village and find some good food. I'm hungry," Jair said and, with a little more persuasion, the both of them walked to the edge of the flight deck and prepared to take off and fly to the village at the bottom of the high cliffs. Before they took off, Jair saw a line of Ominice making their way down the path below them, and he guessed that all of the training groups had three days off, as well. Both Quein and Jair leapt off the flight deck and glided to the ground. _I'm already getting better at this,_ Jair thought to himself as he flew in for a landing. Quein and Jair made their way to the village dining hollow and, as they entered, Redith called them over. Quein left to find some food, and Jair continued over to Redith. Crain was with him. The two of them had been inseparable since the Yarling festival. _They are definitely a pair_ , Jair thought to himself as he walked up, and then Quein came in with a plate full of salmon. He set it down and began to dig into the fresh meat.

"So, Redith," Quein said in between bites of his fish. "You never told Jair your village job."

"No. I didn't," Redith agreed, turning to Jair. "I am a diplomat trainee for the Elder Council."

"That sounds like a great job to have!" Jair said, impressed that Redith had already edged his way into the council.

"Yes. I deal with many of the other Ominice clans in diplomatic situations. I have the help of others, of course. Eventually I will become one of the village elders. It's quite the privilege, really, to follow in my father's footsteps," Redith said, holding his head high.

"Redith is extremely talented. He has already settled a small disagreement with the Naben clan," Crain said as she wrapped her arms around Redith's. The Naben clan was the closest clan to the village, and the Ominice were generally peaceful, but there were often light disputes over certain territorial regions, but nothing like the Yarmara and Endrithida clans to the south, who were constantly at war with each other. They were larger clans and could afford long wars, whereas the Salacien and Naben clans could not.

"Well, I am happy for you, Redith. It seems that you have a great job." Jair said and then a large group of Ominice entered the hollow, and Gletch was with them. He made his way over to the table at which the four of them sat, and Redith stared up him with eyes open wide.

"He's even bigger than the last time we saw him," he said aloud, and all the others agreed. They thought Gletch was big before, but obviously the training had made him even stronger.

"Thank the Maker," he said as he sat down. "That was the hardest week I have ever had in my entire life." Gletch sighed and went on to explain what he had gone through the previous few days, and then everyone else took turns telling Gletch of their own experiences. They sat late into the night, talking and laughing with each other, not knowing that their happiness could not last.

Just south of the village, an Ominice was slinking through the trees until he reached a small clearing where he was met by several other Ominice clad in white armor. The Ominice, who desired power over everything else, were joined by other creatures of a different race. They were immense beasts, and they had the face of a bear and a cat combined which was covered by a wicked-looking helmet made of iron. The rest of them were also clad in armor and carried a large assortment of weapons. They were listening intently as the young Garath gave detailed information on all the hollows within the village and high cliffs of every tunnel and sentry guard position.

### Chapter Seven

Blood in the Water

Quein silently got out of his bedding, trying not to wake the rest of his family, who were still sleeping. He made his way down to the lake and slowly slipped into the cool calm waters. His whole body shivered as he received the cold liquid. Quein had no specific plan for the day, so he decided to start out early with one of his favorite activities--swimming.

He sank down deep into the lake and flowed with the lake's gentle waves—letting himself get carried away by the smooth currents. He swam until the sun was just beginning to reach its high point in the sky, and he felt the twinge of hunger pressing in on him, so--with a thrust of his tail and legs--he escaped the current he was gliding through and headed for the surface for air. Ominice were natural born swimmers, and some Ominice were known to hold their breath for up to fifteen minutes. Quein was one of those.

As he breached the water's surface, he took a deep breath and looked around at his surroundings. He was on the far side of the lake. Trees overhung the bank's edges, and Quein knew that there would be a plentiful amount of fish in the rocky shoreline next to the trees. That's where he planned to go and maybe find a fish or two, but just before he went down, he heard a strange noise and then muffled talking. _Nobody is out this far at this time of the day_ , he thought to himself, but then he heard the voices on the shore.

He swam closer to shore, but right before he reached its edge, he heard a voice that he knew instantly was not Ominice. The voice was deep and snarly, unlike anything Quein had ever heard in his life. As he drew closer still to the voice, his wings clamped close to his body, and fear creped in. on the shoreline and only a few dozen feet away from him was the nastiest looking beast he had ever seen in his life standing next to several other Ominice clad in white armor, just inside the tree line. Quein took note of one specific Ominice that was talking to the entire group.

_That's Garath! What's he doing talking to that thing?_ Quein thought to himself as he moved in closer to so he could hear their conversation better.

"Now is the time to strike," Garath was saying. "All the guards are relaxed, and none of the young trainees have access to weapons. It will be as easy as walking in and taking it over. There is no better time to attack the village than now."

Quein sat silently on the shore line in total shock at what he was hearing. _No!_ he raged silently to himself.

"You better not chisel us out of the deal," said the beast in return.

"I will not as long as you hold up your end of the bargain and make sure the entire elder council and royal family is dead. I do not want any of them left alive."

_I have to warn them!_ Quein thought desperately and turned around to leave, but before he could move any further, one of the strange beasts walked around the corner. The two of them stopped in their tracks, stunned at each other's sudden appearance. Then the beast leapt forward, snarling madly with his weapon raised.

Jair entered the dining hollow a little troubled. it was nearing the midday meal time, and he still hadn't seen his best friend yet. He made his way over to the table where he always sat. Gletch, Redith, and Crain were already there. They were eating fish, as always.

"What's troubling you Jair?" Crain said, looking a little worried at Jair's worried look.

"I can't find Quein anywhere. Have any of you seen him?

Everyone looked at each other. No one knew where he was, and Jair's mood sank even deeper than before.

"Maybe he went out to the lakes and just hasn't made it back yet," Redith offered.

"It's possible, but it's not like him to be gone so long," Jair said, still worried and wondering.

"How about you go and fetch yourself some carp and maybe, in that time, he will show up," Gletch offered.

With reluctance, Jair did as Gletch advised and found himself a nice plump carp. As he made his way back to the table, the entire hollow became dead silent, and shocked expressions poured over the crowd like water. Jair turned around and instantly found what had caused the disturbance. He dropped his plate in horror as an Ominice stumbled through the entrance, and into the dinning hollow. Blood covered the whole left side of his chest, and one of his wings had been literally ripped from his body. Other slashes leaked blood, as well, and his eyes were hazy and almost unseeing. The Ominice was Quein, and he was an absolute horror to look at.

"Quein!" Jair screamed and ran through the crowd pushing over anyone who got in his way. He reached his friend as he sank to the floor on his knees, and Jair grabbed him just before he fell completely to the floor. Quein looked up at him, eyes a milky white color.

"I am so sorry Jair, I tried." Quein said his voice weak and drained.

"Who did this to you?" Jair asked, but Quein did not reply. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he remained silent. Gletch had made his way up front and was now standing next to Jair, along with Redith. Crain had run off to get the medical Graurer, and Jair looked up at Gletch helplessly.

"What do I do?" he asked desperately, but Gletch could do nothing but give a sad look back. The medical Graurer arrived a few moments later and put Quein on a stretcher. Jair followed them to the infirmary where he sat at Quein's bedside, along with Crain and Hrow. They remained there for the rest of the day and also through a good portion of the night. The next morning, Quein slowly regained consciousness, but his mind was confused, and he couldn't stay conscious for very long. In the short periods of lucidity, however, Jair was able to extract a single name from his best friend--Garath. Jair stood, and a new fire burned deep within his soul.

"Let's hope the Maker gets to him first," he said aloud to no one but himself and stormed out of the infirmary. Gletch was right behind him and felt exactly the same way, but he was worried about what Jair might do if he managed to find Garath. Jair marched through the tunnels of the village with a vengeance. He was beyond angry and almost to the point of insanity.

"That wretch injured my best friend!" Jair was screaming back at Gletch as he walked, and Gletch continued to try and keep pace with Jair as he raged through the tunnels.

"Where are we going, Jair?" Gletch finally asked

"To get weapons!" Jair spat back.

"Now, let's not get too hasty. The council will put you into exile if you kill Garath," Gletch said.

"Let them!" Jair said, giving a Withering glance back at Gletch, and then he continued on. Jair continued to march out of the cave and was just about to take flight when Gletch caught up with him again.

"Jair, you know killing Garath will do nothing to help Quein," he said just before Jair took flight. Jair then stopped , and his wings sank back down before he turned and looked at Gletch and saw the concern in his eye, and he slowly began to calm down himself.

"I know," he whispered. "I can't let him get away with this, though." Jair said miserably.

"The council will decide what will become of Garath--not you, Jair. Just relax and come back with me to the village. I will take you to the council tomorrow, and we will make sure Garath is severely punished. I swear it to you." Gletch said, and Jair began moving back toward the village. Before he came more than three steps toward Gletch, a large branch snapped from behind, and Gletch's eyes narrowed to slits. Then, before Jair could take another step, Gletch had grabbed him by one of his head gorors and literally flung Jair behind him.

Jair, in a stunned daze, turned to see Gletch snout to snout with one of the biggest and meanest creatures he had ever seen in his life. Their arms were locked together in a power struggle over a weapon. Gletch was slowly losing the struggle, but he had a one advantage his opponent did not--a tail. Gletch whipped his tail out and around and then drove his primary tail goror deep into his opponent's knee. The beast gave a great cry of anguish, and then Gletch grabbed the beast by the head, and just as if he was opening a large jar, he snapped the monster's neck. Gletch then turned to Jair.

"Warn the others, you must fly and tell the high liege. We're under at--," he yelled but was unable to finish his sentence as another beast leapt from out of the forest and charged at him.

Jair, not needing any other explanation, unfurled his wings and, with a few strong wing beats, was airborne and headed to the high cliffs. Instantly, an Ominice in full white battle regalia flew up next to him and started taking snaps at Jair's tail. Jair quickly adjusted his flight pattern, as choppy as it was, and started flying in amongst the rock pillars that jutted out along the high cliffs. His plan was to put as many obstacles between him and his attacker as possible. It worked. He heard a metallic thump behind him as the white armored Ominice struck one of the many pillars of the high cliffs.

Jair then came up to the flight deck, wide-eyed and shaky, with the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He looked over the flight deck, and Draime was the first Ominice he saw. Draime looked up as Jair landed rather heavily on the flight deck.

"What do you want?" Draime asked as Jair ran up to him.

"We're under attack!" Jair blurted out.

Draime's expression went cold and--not a moment later--a group of the white-armored Ominice flew in and landed on the flight deck. They immediately began firing arrows at the Salaciens that were there. Draime roared with rage and pulled an arm goror and shield from its rack. He charged the Ominice attacking them. Jair, not knowing what else to do, followed his example.

Already five Salaciens were dead, cut down by the deadly shafts from the white-armored Ominice's bows. Draime slammed into their ranks and began yelling and calling as many troops as he could to help him, but it ended poorly for Draime. One of the Ominice slammed him into the ground and ended his life with a thrust of its arm goror. Jair was shaky all over and could barely hold his weapon as he, too, charged the ranks of the white Ominice. He caught a glimpse over the edge of the flight deck as he went, and the sight below him stunned him.

The beasts that had attacked Gletch were coming up the cliffs, leaping like mountain goats from one cliff to another. Their bodies seemed to shake the earth with every leap. _There is no way Gletch got out of that,_ Jair thought in dismay as the crowd of beasts surged forward. Just then, a voice rang out, and Jair turned to see Salacien soldiers pouring out onto the flight deck. In a matter of moments, the flight deck had been retaken and cleared of all enemy soldiers. Then a line of Salacien battler flyers was set up at the edge of the flight deck, and Jair was forced into ranks with them. Before he fully knew what was happening, the battle flyers began leaping off the flight deck and headed toward the oncoming enemy. Ominice after Ominice poured over the cliff to meet them, and Jair was right there with them. He didn't have the slightest clue as to what he was doing, but at this point it didn't matter. They needed all the troops they could get.

The noise was deafening. Between the wind and the shouting of the Ominice, Jair could hardly hear himself think. The air itself thrummed with the amount of wing beats that hit the air at the same time, and the oncoming enemy force halted--but only for a second--as they looked up at the new oncoming attack. Then they surged forward even more quickly than before.

Battle was a messy business, and Jair was not accustomed to it. He did all he could to stay in the air, alive. He lashed out with teeth, claw, arm goror and tail at any enemy close enough to strike. He landed a few blows and watched the beasts fall to their deaths, screaming all the way down. With every one slain, two more took its place. Jair was extremely grateful for the training he had done, and Draime was right that he would thank him later for pushing them so hard. As it was, he was losing to losing strength fast.

As the enemy deaths began to mount, the beasts then did something Jair had not expected. They began jumping off the cliffs and latching onto the nearest Ominice they could and, with the extra weight, both Ominice and beast would fall to the earth and hit the ground hard. Jair watched as several Ominice fell to this new tactic. He could see them get smashed by the beast landing on them after their fall. Then, before Jair could react, a beast leapt off the cliff toward him. He could see into his hate-filled eyes hidden behind his gruesome mask. Before he could move, the beast caught him by the leg. Jair gave a shocked cry as his wings buckled at the sudden weight. Then the trees came rushing toward him, and all went black.

Jair woke a second later with the forest surrounding him. His thoughts were a tangled mess as he tried desperately to remember where he was and what had happened to him. He looked around for a moment and then realized that he was on the forest floor. All of a sudden, commotion made him look to the right, where he saw a beast struggling to his feet. All of his thoughts and memories came rushing back, . He tried struggled to his feet, but the beast was already up, a branch in his hands. Before Jair could do anything to stop the beast, stars flew everywhere, and all went black again.

Chapter Eight

Whither

Jair's eyes opened slowly, cracking the seal of liquids that had sealed them shut. His vision was blurry, but he could see and smell well enough to make out his surroundings. The first thing he saw was many Ominice lying on the ground, surrounded by the beasts that had attacked them. He saw the high cliffs and a vast number of Salaciens pushed over the cliff's edge. Any Ominice that attempted to fly were shot out of the air by white-armored Ominice. Even at the distance from which Jair watched, he could still hear the screams, as most of them fell to their deaths. Jair's head swam, and he couldn't think straight as he sat on the muddied earth. He reached up and felt the large knot on his head where he had been struck by a tree branch. Then he glanced at the village entrance, which had flames licking out from it.

It was like living inside a dream--a nightmare--that he couldn't escape. He watched pitifully as his village and people died, and he was helpless to do anything about it. Then he looked at all the Ominice all around him. They were covered in mud and soot, as he was, and looked as miserable as any creatures could get. Children wailed for their parents, and the parents screamed for their children, and it was a terrible noise. Like a nightmare at its worst--a bad dream that could end at any moment--but Jair knew that it was no nightmare. This was real and happening, and there was nothing he could do about it but watch and try to stay alive. Rain had begun to pour from the sky, making the scene even more miserable than it already was. Then Jair caught sight of an Ominice not too far from him. His body heaved as he breathed, and the stub of his wing twitched as the rain hit it. It was Quein, and his eyes were shut. He did not move. Jair crawled his way over to his best friend and laid his head on his chest.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Quein," he whispered, and tears filled his eyes _._

Thunder clapped overhead, and then one of the beasts, wearing an elaborate helmet, barked at the entire group of Ominice to get up, and all the Ominice stood at once. Jair pulled Quein into an upright position and tried to wake him, but Quein only stirred. One Ominice, unable to stand because of a broken, leg remained sitting, and the beasts tried to force him to stand. When he couldn't, the beast with the elaborate helmet stabbed him through the chest with a spear. He writhed on the ground for a second, and then the life left his body. Jair could hardly register what had happened, and several of the female Ominice gave a great cry.

"Shut up!" the beast screamed at them. "Those who can't walk die," the beast said with no remorse. He then began leading the way away from the torched Salacien village.

Jair became frantic and tried to wake Quein, but Quein remained in his coma-like state, so Jair did the only thing he could. He lifted Quein up and set him on his shoulder. A beast not too far from Jair gave him a stern look but remained silent, and then the group started to march. They all marched on through the night without stopping, leaving the village to burn.

Jair carried Quein for over three days with little to no stops for rest. The beast drove them on unmercifully, only letting them stop when the beasts themselves became tired. It was at the night of the fifth day, and they were halted by a lakeside, that Jair sank to the ground and let Quein down easily upon the grass. A fly swooped down and landed on his friend's face, and Jair brushed it away. Tears flooded Jair's eyes as he looked upon his best friend. His lungs no longer heaved, and he no longer moved or groaned when Jair shook him. Quein was dead and had been for two days, but Jair could not bring himself to believe it. On that fifth night, as the clouds swept around the lonely moon, Jair finally came to terms with the loss of Quein, and despair filled his heart.

Moving to the lake, Jair eased Quein gently into the water and released him, letting the current carry him along. Quein's body floated downstream, bobbing as the waves lapped against his body. Jair curled up on the shore, as miserable as ever. The moon was shining brightly, casting ghostly shadows on the ground around him. He sat motionless, not feeling anything. His best friend, who he had grown up with--the only family he had ever known--was now floating down the river, and now he was alone--totally alone. Even with all the other Ominice surrounding him, he was totally alone!

A beast standing guard saw Quein's body floating down the river and fired an arrow at it to make sure that he was dead. The arrow stuck the body, but there was no cry of pain, so the guard went back to his usual business. Quein continued onward and out of sight.

Jair woke the next day to the prodding of a guard's spear. Groaning, he began his march once again. This time he didn't care, he just marched for the sake of marching. His feet had blistered, and scrapes and scratches covered his body, but he felt none of them. All he felt was the rhythmic thumping of his own footsteps.

He walked for what seemed like years, hardly taking any rests at all. When he did manage to catch a few minutes of sleep, nightmares haunted him. Images of Quein's torn body plagued his unconscious thoughts, along with the screams of those who were being slain or pushed to the point of exhaustion during the day by their captors. He was trapped between the hell of day and the nightmares of night, and all he wanted was for it to stop--to have it end, even if it meant life ending itself. He was tired, so tired, and he wished to die. Despite his wishes, he still continued. He had no clue how long he had been walking because night seemed to clash into day in the endless cycle of misery. He was not sure what continued to force him onward, but suddenly he was aware that something had changed. It was subtle at first, but as he moved on, it became more noticeable. The terrain was changing, and the change was less than good. The landscape had turned rocky with deep black sooty dirt where few plants grew.

As they progressed even further, the trees and other brush became scarce and eventually disappeared altogether. The Withered grass turned into a black, uneven carpet of rocky dirt devoid of all life, and Jair's clawed feet scraped against the ground as he walked. With each step, an echo seemed to cascade on forever.

The prisoner escort had entered a volcanic Ashland, and Jair was soon able to see the volcano itself. Lava spilt over the edges of the lava peak, and the red sap oozed down the slope, snaking its way to the bottom--burning all the life around it to dust. About a third of the way up the mountain was an enormous structure. It was charcoal black, just like the rest of the volcano, and if it weren't for the sun bouncing off the towering pointed spires, Jair would never had known it was there. The prison escort made their way to the immense structure, and as they neared, one of the guards pulled a horn from a pouch and gave one long blast that shook the air. Two huge doors were opened, and the prison escort entered the black fortress, where no light touched.

Entering the gate they were immediately thrust into long dark corridors reaching hundreds of feet above their heads. Jair looked up as he walked and saw Kraw eyes looking down from above each of them menacing and glaring, just before he was shoved into a side room off to his right. Entering the room Jair was immediately grasped by two Kraw, and he was then chained so that he could not move. Then another Kraw pulled a branding iron from a hot metal plat full of coals.

Jair's eyes flashed. His maw opened wide, and his tongue flicked out. He gave an ear-splitting roar that vibrated his whole body, and then the beast stepped back and set his branding iron back into his fire pit. "Next," he yelled, and Jair was unchained.

He fell to the floor, clutching his chest. A red hot symbol was burnt into his chest. It resembled a volcano that had just erupted. Then he was dragged to another room and chained up again, but instead of wielding a branding iron, this beast held two very sharp o-rings. Before Jair could even guess what was going to happen next, the beast walked behind him, grabbed both his wings, and pulled them close together, stabbing the rings through the soft tissue of both his bat-like wings.

Jair shook all over as the beast unmercifully drove the ring through his wings. Then the beast clamped the rings shut with a pair of pliers. _I will forever be maimed,_ Jair thought to himself in dismay, and he was drug off to another room. As he was leaving, he watched another Ominice being chained up in his previous spot. Just as the door was slammed shut behind them, he heard the Ominice cry out in pain.

Jair was taken to the back of the fortress and thrown into what seemed like a prison yard filled with Ominice and other creatures he had never seen before. To his surprise, the same beasts that imprisoned him were also held captive here, but they had more of a wolfish appearance, rather than the bear/cat face appearance. The beasts that caught his attention the most, though, were in amongst the rocks and huddled together. Jair could barely make out what they looked like. They were the strangest thing he had ever seen, but they were large, so he decided it was best to stay far from them. _By the Maker! How ignorant am I?_ Jair thought. He didn't know anything about these beasts. He didn't know whether they were dangerous or not, and yet he was judging them as if they were. All he knew about them was that they were covered in black soot, and whenever a breeze managed to blow by, they seemed to shimmer or move all over. It was all very alien to Jair.

Feeling a sudden shiver of pain, Jair arched his neck and swung his head back so he could see his wings, which were extremely sore along with his chest. He winced as he saw the cruel rings twisted together. Blood seeped from the wounds. He could not open his wings at all. They were clamped so close together that it hurt, and he had no clue if he would ever be able to freely move them again. Jair then stumbled over to the grouping of Ominice across the prison yard.

They were all huddled in a corner, pressed tightly together to keep the warmth in because the nights were quite cold at the altitude of the fortress he was in, and the volcanic magma offered little comfort. Jair could see a few stars starting to show their faces as the day turned slowly into night. He made his way closer to the Ominice grouping, but, as he neared the Ominice, many of them turned toward him, but then they did something Jair did not expect. They began hissing and growling at him. This confused Jair. _Why are they acting this way?_ It was an aggressive behavior that Jair was not accustomed to, and as he drew closer, the growls became deeper and more forceful. Then, suddenly, one of them struck out, and Jair jumped back out of the way just in time. He could hear the Ominice's jaws clamp shut behind him.

Perplexed, Jair left the Ominice group and headed for another corner that was dark and empty. Large shadows cast by the building made it colder than any of the other places in the prison yard. Jair laid down, not knowing what to make of the Ominice he had just seen. _Why were they so hostile?_ He thought to himself as he tried to drift into sleep.

As the night grew older, it also grew colder, and Jair shivered in his sleep while his dreams began haunting him again. The memories burned images and horrors into his mind with every passing moment, but he slept nonetheless.

The next morning, Jair woke stiff and very sore. His sleep had not helped to alleviate the pains of the previous day. He sat motionless, trying to move as little as possible. After an hour or so of waiting, the guards opened the doors and began throwing food into the prison yard. Really, it could barely be considered food. It was more like the leftover scraps they were not going to use, but every beast in the yard treated it like gold.

Jair watched as several fights broke out as each creature tried to claim its own share of the choice morsels. Jair didn't bother joining the fight for food. He did not feel hungry, and he doubted that his body would be able to stand against some of the other creatures in the yard. After the food had been eaten, a series of guards began ushering the creatures from the prison yard out. Jair wasn't sure where they were going, and he honestly didn't want to go with them. None of the guards bothered to force him anywhere, so he sat until the entire yard was empty and the doors had been closed once again.

A short time later, the gates were thrown open once again, and two guards came out and forced Jair to his feet. He was then taken to a dark chamber lit by only one torch that flicked dimly in the dark cell. He shivered as he tried to warm himself, but with there was no relief from the cold. The frost that had come during the night was still on his scales, and his body ached from the cold he had endured during the night. He struggled to look into the shadows of the cavern, but before he could make out where he was, a voice cracked the silence. It was cruel, and made Jair's scales want to crawl away.

Then forms moved in the shadows, and two of the beasts emerged, heavily cloaked. They seized Jair before he could move. Another beast slipped from the shadows, as well. His face was barely visible, but what Jair could see made him shrink back in fear. Its face was mangled and barely recognizable as one of the others at all.

"Hello, Prince of the High Moon," it said. "I thought I recognized you when you first came in." Jair stared back at him in total confusion. _What is he talking about? Prince of the High Moon? What is that supposed to mean_?

Jair had no clue what was going on and guessed it had something to do with the mark that was given to him when he first arrived.

"We must prepare you for the first full eclipse. Don't worry. You will feel plenty of pain," said the mangled beast, and the two guards pushed Jair to his knees.

Jair struggled, but to no avail. More guards came in to hold him down. Then the mangled beast walked over to a metal cask and lifted the lid. Jair could see the heat rise from its contents. Then the beast pulled a red hot coal from the pot and slowly walked toward Jair. Jair stared at the beast in total fear as he came closer. He was completely helpless. All he could do was writhe in pain as the searing coals were pressed against his skin.

Later, as the sun began to sink to the horizon, Jair was thrown back into the prison yard. He landed heavily upon the blackened earth, and then he began crawling, dragging his legs as he went over to the corner where he had slept the previous night. There he lay, not moving, and not wanting to feel. If a random passerby would have seen him, they would have thought he was dead. Sadly, he was not. A short while later, Jair could hear the distant rolling of thunder. He saw the sky begin to darken, so he shut his eyes and tried to block out every thought that entered his head.

_I must not lose hope_ , he told himself. _That is exactly what they want. They want me to break, and I will not. No matter how long they torture me._

But, secretly, Jair was unsure how much more he could take _._ He was ebbing every day closer and closer towards the death he so longed for _._ He then felt the cool raindrops begin to fall from the sky and land on his searing hot skin, and he welcomed them. The tiny drops of water cooled his wounds and made the pain more bearable.

As the night began to settle on the land, all the creatures that had left the prison yard were forced to return, and Jair still remained in the corner, unnoticed by all. Even when they threw the food in for the evening, he still remained where he was. He was just another shadow amongst all of the others by the cliffside wall.

After the sun had fully set and there were no lights in the sky, one of the strange creatures Jair had been looking at earlier turned to him and started moving toward him.

She found Jair in a shallow sleep that was broken by tossing and turning. She had dealt with many Ominice in her lifetime, but this one was different, and she wasn't entirely sure why. She knew he wouldn't live long--not with the cold temperatures of the night, so she slowly crept over to where he lay and watched him for a moment. She tried to figure out what had drawn her to him. She cocked her head to the side so she could see properly and began looking at him from head to tail. Then her eyes rested upon the symbol burned into his chest.

"Full eclipse," she whispered quietly to herself and then sank down next to him and covered him with one of her two feathered wings.

### Chapter Nine

Nilo-Hain

Sometimes just knowing that someone is there is enough to make a weak soul strong. A lone man with no one to confide in will slowly lose himself and go insane. It's hard to have no one to hear your thoughts and ideas--the feelings that bottle up until they explode. Having just one person who will listen can bring life back into any situation.

Jair woke the next day to an odd sensation of feeling partly buried. There was a strange substance that surrounded him, and it was extremely light, so he brushed it away gently. As he was moving it, he noticed it was not dirt covering him. It was a body part of a creature that lay asleep next to him, and its whole body was covered in the strange substance. It was the weirdest thing Jair had ever seen, so he did what anyone would have done. He investigated.

The thing was covered in the strange lightweight substance, which was actually feathers, and he found four feet which were featherless and had a rough skin instead of the feathers that covered the rest of the body. He continued to search the body and found that the part that had covered him was actually a wing. _This thing can fly,_ he thought to himself. He was astonished that such a large beast could manage to get off the ground. Jair's wings were completely different compared to the creature next to him. It was upon investigating the head that Jair became dazzled. This is the creature Redith had told him about way back at the village. Its head gave it away. It was covered in feathers, just like the rest of its body, but the dead giveaway was the beak, which looked like what Redith had tried to describe.

This creature was a griffin, and it was one of the most curious creatures Jair had ever seen. Just then, one of the creature's eyes opened wide, revealing its deep golden color, and Jair jumped back in surprise. The griffin sat up in an upright position and looked down at Jair. "What were you doing?" she asked. Her voice cooed like that of a morning dove.

"I was--I--I was just looking," Jair stammered, and then the griffin ruffled all of her feathers before returning her eyes to Jair.

"You could have asked," she said and stood on all four of her featherless legs. She stretched out her wings while giving an earsplitting screech that only griffins can make.

One of the nearby guards leaned over the battlements and yelled at her. "Shut up, you stupid overgrown bird, before I come down there and give you a reason to squall." The griffin glared at the guard but remained silent.

"My name is Nilo-Hain," she said, turning back to Jair. Jair looked back at her for a second before responding.

"I am Jair," he replied.

"Nice to meet you, Jair. I'm sorry if I scared you when I woke. You probably weren't expecting anyone to sleep next to you last night, but when I saw you shivering in the cold, I couldn't let you just sit there all by yourself freezing. None of the others would dream of coming near you, but I am not like them."

Jair watched her for a moment before responding. "Thank you," he managed to say at last.

"Where are you from, Jair?" she then asked, and Jair looked away and stared at the ground.

"I would rather not talk about that." Jair said. The memories of his former home were no longer pleasant, and he wanted to think of them as little as possible.

"I'm sorry," Nilo-Hain said.

"Nothing to be sorry about you did nothing wrong," Jair replied, turning away and forcing himself to calm down. He changed the subject. "How do you fly with those wings of yours?"

Nilo then looked at her wings. "I have never really flown with my wings before, so I couldn't answer your question," she said, looking rather distant. "The Krouwel do not allow flying, so I have never been able to learn."

There was a short pause between the two. Neither one of them wanted to ask any more questions for fear of treading on some unknown part of sacred ground between the two of them, but Jair broke the silence anyways by asking a question. "What did you mean by no one will get near me?"

"You have the mark of volcano burned into your chest," Nilo replied, and Jair looked down at the brand burned into his chest. Its cruel edges were still swollen from when it had been placed.

"What does this mean?" he asked, and Nilo-Hain looked at him gravely.

"It means you're marked for death, Jair. On the night of the first full eclipse, you will be taken to the crest of the volcano and cast into its center. Your life can end in the flash of an eye. I've seen it happen time after time. These fools think that, by sacrificing someone to the volcano, somehow it will prevent the volcano from spewing its lava and engulfing their precious fortress. They are very superstitious that way, and it happens quite often."

Jair didn't know whether to feel horrified or relieved at what he had just learned. He had wanted to die ever since Quein had. The few things he did love were gone now, so what was the point of life?

"You do not look worried," Nilo-Hain said, seeing Jair's expression.

"I am not. I don't have a lot to live for anymore, and what little I had is lost forever. Maybe they sensed this, and that's why they gave me this mark."

Just then, the gates to the prison yard were thrown open, and Kraw came out and began forcing all of those within the yard to their usual duties. As they came toward Jair, he became frantic.

"No, please," Jair begged as two Kraw grabbed him by the arms and began dragging him back to the door from which they had come. Jair looked back at Nilo-Hain as he was being dragged off. His eyes displayed petrified fear at the knowledge of where he was going and what was to happen there. Nilo stared back, wide-eyed. She had never seen this behavior with the Kraw before in all her life while living in Whither, and she knew something terrible was going to happen to the Ominice she had just met. She just wasn't sure what or why.

Jair was dragged back into the room, and blazing hot coals were placed on his body once again, and his screams could be heard cascading through many of the halls of Whither.

Nilo-Hain came though the entrance of the prison yard with a new layer of black soot covering her. Upon see Jair in his new state, scared by the coals once again and lying limp on the muddied earth, she ran over and sank to the ground next to him. She looked greatly disturbed at what she saw. She had never seen this sort of treatment in Whither before. Never. She gave a low, mournful cry.

"How can they do this?" she said, but Jair did not respond. He just bared his teeth and groaned from the pain. Nilo then stood and walked over to a very damp portion of the prison yard and grabbed a talon full of slick mud. She then returned and placed it on all of the major burn sites on Jair's body. The mud sizzled as it hit his skin, and a small bit of steam rose into the air with each placement.

"A trick my mother taught me," Nilo said as soothingly as possible, and Jair gave a small moan as she placed the wet mud on his scales.

"What--What was your mother's name?" Jair asked, trying to take his mind off the burns.

"Eminilo-Hain." Nilo replied

"It sounds like yours," he replied "Where is she?"

"She is dead," Nilo replied, and her expression became saddened.

"I didn't mean to bring up bad memories," Jair said weakly

"There are no bad memories of my mother," Nilo said tentatively. "She hatched me ten years ago in this very fortress. She had to do it secretly because the Krouwel wouldn't allow it. The Krouwel nearly killed me when I was first born, but my mother fought them off, and that's when they marked her for death, just as they have you."

Jair then realized that Nilo was actually younger than he was. He would never have guessed her age if she had not told him.

"She was a beautiful bird," Nilo continued. "She told me many stories of the world. She told me what flying was like. She told me of the lands she had seen, and about a beautiful place she called Palin-Lailil, or the sea of grass, as she sometimes called it. She said it was the most beautiful place she had ever flown over and that she could see the land shift beneath her like waves of the ocean."

Jair thought of Redith's talk of a similar land and how the grass ran on forever and ever, and he wondered if it was the same place. _What an intelligent Ominice Redith was,_ he thought.

"Let's go there, Nilo," Jair broke in suddenly. "I wish I could go to Palin-Lailil and see the ground that moves--the sea of grasses. I wish I could break free of this place and fly far away. Away from the burns. Away from the Kraw. Away from everyone. And you could come with me--just the two of us," Jair said

"I wish we could too Jair, but Whither is a large fortress with many Kraw. There is little hope of escape, and there is no way they will let us free without very good reasons."

"Then we will escape the only way they cannot follow," Jair said defiantly. The burns he had received had lessened in their pain, and he could think more clearly now. A plan suddenly formulated in his head. "We will fly. I will teach you everything I know about flying. I don't know much, but maybe it will be enough to get us out of here. And once you are able to fly, we will fly far away from this place and never look back. He lay back down and closed his eyes. His energy had been drained from struggling with the Kraw, so he was very drowsy and fell asleep a short while later, leaving Nilo to ponder his words.

"Free," she said aloud to herself. She had never dreamt of the word free, and it seemed odd to even think of it. She had been imprisoned her whole life in Whither and knew nothing of the outside world. She was both excited and nervous about the word and was even unsure if she liked the sound of it or not. Nilo lay down next to Jair as he slept to keep him warm as the night began to creep in on the land once again, and it wasn't long before she herself was sleeping soundly.

Both of them sat solitary apart from all the other creatures in the prison yard. Nilo was the only creature who dared to get within twenty yards of Jair. The others knew Jair was marked for death, so they avoided him at all costs, fearing that somehow being near him could cause them the same fate.

The next day was very similar to the first, and the day after that was the same as the last. Each day, the coal from the fire hurt just as badly as the day before. Nilo-Hain continued to help Jair with his burn wounds and stayed near him when she could so that he had someone to talk to. Jair was soon introduced to the digging process that left Nilo so dirty every night, cutting into the side of the ash-covered mountain and expanding the already immense fortress. Time seemed to elude Jair as night clashed into day, and the imminent threat of death was always present. But as the days turned to weeks and the weeks to months Jair, became less concerned about what the next day would bring and more worried about how he and Nilo would escape.

A routine was soon established. Every morning, Jair would be drug off to what he called ceremonial burning, where he was tortured repeatedly with coals. Afterwards, he would be taken to work with the others. As time passed, the coals no longer bothered him, and he could stand the heat because his scales were beginning to harden and become as hard as stone. No one ever came near him though--only Nilo--but Jair didn't mind that much. Nilo-Hain and Jair grew closer and closer as the days slowly slipped by. Nilo showed Jair a secluded area that she had found in the prison yard years before, and they both adopted it as their prison home and flight training area. It was hidden out of sight from the main gate of the prison yard and was sort of a hollow cave that had been eroded into the cliff over time by the harsh rains that plagued the area.

Here they could find a little peace, and they spent most of their free time there. The two of them talked about everything. Jair had been reluctant at first, but as time ticked away, he couldn't help but confide in the griffin that had saved his life in more ways than she knew. Jair would have gone insane if it hadn't been for her. Her mind was like a ray of sunshine in a darkened area, and even though she had never left the fortress, she could visually imagine all that Jair would tell her. She was especially interested in Jair's ability to fly, and her questions were endless.

How do the winds act in higher altitudes? What's the time it takes to reopen your wings after a free-fall? Jair answered all that he could, but he couldn't answer all of her questions.

"I'll fly from this place one day," she said after a quick lesson one afternoon. Her wings were stretched to full extent, and Jair couldn't help but envy their beauty. He began to think of how unsightly his wings were, especially with the iron ring clamping them together.

"Why haven't they cut your feathers like all the other griffins, Nilo?" Jair asked, confused as to how she managed to escape the Kraw's detection.

"Simple," Nilo said, folding her wings back and turning to Jair. "I was never taught how to fly, and these Kraw are very lazy, so they have never cut my feathers. Even though they have argued about it several times, they have done nothing."

"Why haven't you asked any of the other griffins to teach you to fly?" Nilo then looked down to the floor and kicked a stone off to the side.

"Their minds are broken, Jair. They don't talk very much. They just eat sleep and do as the Kraw tell them. I've tried to be friendly with them, but it's very difficult. That's what Whither does to you. It destroys your mind and makes you go through life lifelessly."

"How did you manage to keep your mind so keen?" Jair asked, still confused.

"I was born here, Jair, so I guess I've never known anything aside from the cruelty of these Kraw; that is, until you came along." With that said, the two fell silent, pondering each other's words.

"Well, I'll teach you to fly, Nilo." Jair said. "My mind is not broken, and I'll be sure to keep it that way." Nilo stared back at Jair with eyes aglow, her best and only friend. She loved his determination and sureness about everything. His courage gave her the strength she lacked. She would learn to fly, and then she would fly both of them to Palin-Lailil.

Teaching Nilo to fly was no easy task. Jair had not spent a lot of time on the subject himself, so all he had to go on was Draime and Harron's teachings when he had been posted in the High Cliffs back at the Village. He started off easy teaching Nilo how to cup her wings so that she could catch a greater amount of wind, but her feathers were different than his velvety membranes, and it took him time to figure the angle was different than his had been.

Another problem was time. The only time they could practice safely was in the evening because their day was taken up by less than desirable activities. Nilo learned quickly, though, and gave good feedback that helped Jair determine the best ways to proceed with teaching her. Within two weeks, she was able to hover a few inches off the ground. Within a month, she was picking up rocks and flying short distances with them. Her strength improved greatly, and, during digging hours, the two of them would go over scenarios and wind patterns that could potentially be harmful.

It took Jair a good deal of time to discover her rudder system. Her tail was long like his, but it was feathered and rather weak--not good for a rudder. With time, Nilo discovered that she could use her front and back legs to help with ruddering.

"That's it," Jair said, standing. "I think you're ready." Nilo had just lifted a rather large rock and carried it across the rough cave. She set the bolder down gently so as to make no noise.

"I feel ready," she said, flexing her wing muscles.

"Tomorrow at dusk we will flee this dreadful place and go to the land of the grass sea," Jair said.

"Palin-Lailil," Nilo echoed back.

"Yes, Palin-Lailil, but tonight we need our rest, so let's turn in and get a well-deserved night's sleep." Jair walked to the edge of the cave and looked up at the sky. He saw the dull stars that had begun to show their shining faces. _We will finally be free,_ he thought, and then lay down at the cave's edge. Nilo found a comfortable spot near him and did the same. Soon both were sound asleep, dreaming of what Palin-Lailil would be like.

### Chapter Ten

The Great Escape

Jair woke as normal and made his way down into the prison yard as he always did. The Kraw took him to the ceremonial burning, and the day continued to proceed as normal, but something was off. Jair wasn't quite sure what it was, but there was an abnormal amount of shouting and bustling around by the Kraw, as if some important event was happening on the other side of the fortress.

Not knowing what it was, Jair continued to work as usual , and an excitement surrounded him as he worked. He could tell Nilo felt the same way because she, too, seemed happier. The work didn't seem as hard as it had before, which may have been because there had not been the idea of escape before.

Jair had spent over a year in Whither now, and Nilo hadn't seen anything other the prison yard and the quarry, so the idea of leaving made them both want to jump for joy. As they were thrown back into the prison yard at the end of the day, the excitement had mounted to a final crescendo.

Jair met Nilo at their usual place in their cave. Just as she came in sight, something happened that they did not intend. The gates were thrown open, and four Kraw walked into the prison yard. This was not unheard of. Oftentimes Kraw would enter and exit the prison yard throughout the day, but the most startling thing of all was that the Kraw walked directly up the path to their cave. Jair instantly knew they had been discovered and turned to Nilo.

"Fly, Nilo! Fly! I will hold them off!" he yelled, but Nilo was stunned and unable to move. Jair charged the first prison guard that entered the cave and knocked him over, but before he could do anything else, the three other Kraw grabbed him. Jair was forced to the ground, and two Kraw held him there. Nilo had also been grabbed and was pressed to the ground, as well. One of the Kraw held her down by her head while the other was pulling one of her wings out, holding a blade in his other hand. Nilo was shrieking helplessly, unable to throw off her attackers.

"We have enough problems outside our walls. We don't need any more inside," the Kraw said as he raised his blade and readied to strike. Jair was screaming and cursing the guards with every word in the book as he watched them, helpless to do anything about what was going to happen. They were not just going to take the feathers off Nilo's wings. They were going to take the whole wing. Jair knew this, and his veins burned like fire. They were just about to strike when, suddenly, there was a high-pitched whistle with a deafening crash.

The whole earth shook, and rocks fell from the ceiling, crushing the Kraw that held Nilo down. Debris fell on Nilo also. She remained on the ground, motionless. Her eyes were closed shut, and she was deathly still. Visions flashed through Jair's eye's a mile a minute, and memories of his best friend, Quein, dead and dying were the only pictures he saw. He knew he couldn't let another friend die in his arms. He heard one of the Kraw who was holding him down say that the attack had begun, but a rage fill Jair's mind. Rage, pain, and anger--everything all at once, and he could no longer contain it. The Kraw that held him down were looking around, frantically hoping another rock would not strike the cave, and Jair seized the moment. He yanked his tail free from the grip of one of the Kraw and drove his tail goror into the back of its head. The Kraw went limp instantly, and Jair then lurched up and caught the other by the throat. The second Krouwel gave a shocked cry as Jair's jaws closed tighter. Jair finished him off and let him fall, lifeless, to the ground. Then, wasting no more time, Jair sprinted over and slid in next to Nilo.

He frantically pushed rocks and debris from her body, but still she did not move, and her eyes remained shut. "Come on. Come on," Jair whispered to himself, and then Nilo's eyes flickered open.

"Thank the Maker," Jair breathed out, and tears began to fill his eyes. He kissed Nilo on the forehead. Nilo looked around, a little dazed.

"What happened?" she asked

"I don't know, but we have to leave now. Can you fly?" Jair asked

"I think so," she said, flapping her wings a couple of times. Dust flew everywhere, and then she lifted off the ground. Jair climbed onto her back, avoiding her wings so she could fly freely, and then Nilo launched herself into the air. Nilo flapped her wings heavily to gain altitude, and soon the entire fortress was beneath them,. They looked below, and what they saw was shocking. Whither was under attack.

Large boulders were being hurled at the black fortress by catapults, and it was one of these boulders that had saved Jair and Nilo from the Kraw. It had hit right above their cave, causing a shower of rock to shatter and fall, saving the both of them. Hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers marched toward the black fortress, and they could see the Kraw fighting back. Nilo immediately flew in a northeasterly direction, doing all she could to avoid detection. Before long, they had been spotted by the invasion force, and a group of heavily armored Ominice began flying in their direction.

At first, Jair was relieved, but as they grew closer, he began to feel uneasy. The Ominice wore bright white armor and held wicked-looking weapons. One of them pulled ahead of the small group and flew up next to Nilo, and Jair recognized the armor from when he was attacked back at his village. Without even a word, the Ominice lashed out with his weapon and struck Nilo's left wing. Nilo gave an ear-splitting cry of pain. Jair bared his teeth and let out a roar himself, and then Nilo lashed back out with her talons. For the first time, Jair saw the true power of a griffin. Her talons cut through the white armor of the Ominice like he was paper. It went through scales, skin, and bone, dropping the Ominice toward the ground like a stone. But the damage was already done, and Nilo also began to descend quickly. She was hurt and spiraling toward the ground, unable to keep aloft with her lack of experience in flying.

She landed heavily on the earth, and Jair was flung from her back. He landed in some Withered, dying bushes.

"Are you, all right?" Jair said, getting up off the ground.

"I think so," Nilo said, breathing heavily. Jair could tell she was in pain, and he could see blood drip on the ground next to her torn wing.

"We need to go. They are coming," Jair said, seeing the other Ominice flying in the sky shift in their direction. Running up to Nilo, Jair helped set her injured wing back to its normal position, next to her side, and then they both began moving as quickly as possible over the rough, semi-wooded terrain.

_If we can just reach that tree line, then they won't be able to follow us from the air_ , Jair thought desperately as they ran, but in his mind, he knew it wouldn't do much good. The Ominice would most likely follow them into the woods, and they were in far better condition than he and Nilo were. Still, they had no choice. They had to make it.

"We can make it," Jair said aloud, trying to keep his weakened spirit alive. Just as the Ominice were nearly upon them, they entered the dark shadows of the tree line.

The sun was long gone, and the stars shone brightly in the sky. Jair stood in a clearing about ten miles from the hellish fortress Whither. His nose was to the wind, and he set his body tense and rigid. He had lost his touch, being forced to live in the fortress, but it was slowly coming back. Now everything in him told him that they were being followed. The scent of Ominice was in the air, and he could almost feel their heavy footfalls.

"They are close," he said as he found his way back to Nilo.

"How close? " Nilo asked, her voice shaky and uneven. She was near her limit, and Jair could sense this, among all of the other things. She had never left the fortress before, so everything around her was new. With the pursuit of the white-armored Ominice and her torn wing, she was near the point of exhaustion.

"Half a mile, if we're lucky," Jair replied.

"What do we do, Jair?" Nilo asked, sounding as scared as ever.

"I'm not sure, but we may have to fight," Jair said sounding as strong and confident as he could.

"I'd rather not fight them if we can help it," Nilo said, looking at her injured wing.

"I would give both of my wings not to fight them at this point. I'm sure they outnumber us by a great deal, so it will hardly be a fight either way," Jair said depressingly.

"Well, I don't care if they outnumber us. I would rather die than go back to that fortress," Nilo said defiantly.

"I don't think they would take us back to the fortress, and I would rather not know where they would take us. They didn't even give us a warning or reason as to why they attacked us. These white-armored Ominice, I think I have seen them before, and if I remember correctly, they are just as cruel as the Kraw we just left. Right now we need to put some distance between us and them, so let's go," Jair said, and the two of them were off again.

The moon was slowly rising into the deep black sky, and clouds swirled around it menacingly. Two creatures--an Ominice and a Griffin--wove as silently as they could through the forest underbrush. It was difficult because the shadows were always moving as the forest canopy moved above them, and it wasn't long before they heard the Ominice crashing through the brush behind them, breaking the midnight silence. Then, to Jair's dismay, a black, looming cliff rose up above them, pinning them between itself and the white-armored Ominice behind them.

"Well, this is it," Jair said, turning around to face the oncoming enemy.

"Jair, I want you to know that you're the best thing that has ever happened to me. I never told you, but before you came along, I was alone in that fortress. No one ever really talked to me, but when you came along I found hope that I never thought existed."

Jair gave Nilo a quick glance. He desperately wished it didn't have to be this way. It was like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. _I never seem to get a break_ , he thought to himself. _Everything I love is continuously taken from me. But not this time. I watched them take my home and my best friend from me, but I'll die before they take Nilo, and I'll die before they take me to some prison like Whither again, so it's here and now where it gets decided whether I live or die._

Then the Ominice came bursting into the clearing, and Jair stepped forward, ready to face the oncoming onslaught. Nilo-Hain gave a high pitched shriek that set all the nesting birds into a panicked flight, and then more white-armored Ominice stepped into the moonlit clearing, but they were armed differently than the first group. One white Ominice with a helmet that had a series of long blood red feathers attached to it stepped out from amongst the others. Seeing Jair and Nilo, he turned and began to leave.

"They are just prisoners. Kill them both for wasting my time," he said, and the remaining soldiers raised their bows to firing position and unleashed a flurry of arrows before Jair and Nilo were able to move more than a few feet. Jair fell to his knees with several arrows stuck in his body, but they were not nearly as deep as he thought they should have been. The world spun around him, and everything began to haze over. He could hear the wailing sound of an injured griffin behind him, but there was nothing he could do to help her as he fell unconscious.

### Chapter Eleven

Safe

Voices could be heard, and he caught a quick, hazy glimpse of a Kraw. Then Jair felt the sensation of movement flowing over his body, but it was so patchy because he was drifting in and out of consciousness that he couldn't tell what was really going on. He could feel pain throb in several key points of his body, and it was at the point in which he stopped moving that the pain grew worse and worse. Then, without warning, Jair's eyes snapped open wide, and he could feel the pain clearly now. It was almost everywhere. Jair's first instinct was to run, and that's what he tried to do.

He struggled to get up, but a voice next to him rang out. "No, don't let him get up. I haven't removed them all yet." It was on these words that Jair felt hands press him back down into the bed, but Jair knew what being held down meant, and he began struggling like mad to escape his captor's grasp. He struggled with everything he had left in him to try and escape, and the voice that had previously said to hold him down was now yelling the opposite.

Jair struggled to his feet. His whole body was quivering uncontrollably, and he fell against a rock wall that was next to the bed where he had been lying. Using it as a crutch for his weak body, Jair tried the best he could to focus his night vision and look about the room.

"Where am I?" he rasped out, trying to catch his breath.

"You are safe," said a voice directly in front of him. "My name Simmon, and we are here to help you."

Jair's eyes adjusted to the dark, and he looked up to see a Kraw standing not too far from where he had woken up, but this Kraw was different than the Kraw who had held him prisoner. Simmon was his name, and instead of the bear-cat face, he had the wolfish appearance. He was, in fact, a Krouwel--not a Kraw, slightly different from their cousins both in appearance and attitude.

"Nowhere is safe," Jair said, and he took a moment to look at his surroundings and found that he was in some sort of a cave. By the slight breeze that blew through the room, he knew it wasn't too far from the surface.

"Where is my friend? The griffin I was with?" Jair asked, gesturing to the Krouwel named Simmon.

"She is in one of the other tunnels and is getting treatment for her wounds, just as you should be," Simmon said, pointing at an arrow in Jair's side. Jair looked down and spotted an arrow sticking out of his lower side. Reaching down, he grasped the arrow and, with a quick yank, pulled it free.

"There. Now can I go see my friend?" he asked, and Simmon sat still, a shocked expression on his face. He did not know what to make of the Ominice that stood in front of him. He was the queerest medical patient he had ever seen. He was an absolute mess, but he still insisted on seeing his less injured friend. So, with no other choice, Simmon led the way out of the cave. Jair found that the cave he was in was only one of many. The caves themselves were dug into the side of a mountain that rose up around them, and there were timber structures built into the caves. Nilo-Hain was lying in one of these structures, and she was awake and alert. Upon seeing Jair, she gave a great sigh of relief.

"Jair, you're all right," she said, attempting to stand, but her legs failed to comply, and she sank back to the floor. A Krouwel next to her stood up from his seated position and told her to keep still, and told her it was best she didn't move too far for a while. Then he turned toward Jair and gave Simmon a questioning look. Simmon waved him over and told Jair he could visit with Nilo. Jair wasted no time. He walked over and sank down next to Nilo.

"How are you holding together? Are you all right?" Jair said as he wiped some of the blood from his side, where he had yanked the arrow free.

"I have been better," Nilo replied. "I was hit with four arrows but, somehow, none of them struck anything vital."

"It's amazing neither of us was killed," Jair said, going over in his head why and how they had managed to survive a firing squad. Both Jair and Nilo sat quiet for a few moments and watched both Krouwel outside talking to each other.

"They are excellent healers. Look at how well they dressed my wounds," Nilo said suddenly, lifting her wing. Jair winced as he looked at the bandage wounds.

"It's not as painful as it looks. It just makes it hard to move," Nilo said, seeing Jair's expression.

"Well, I hope we don't have another encounter like that again. Next time we may not fare so well."

"Yes, I agree it was quite fortunate that Zack and his friends came along when they did. Those white-armored Ominice left us for dead. I couldn't move, and you just lay there. I thought you were dead at first, but they looked at your body and found out that you were still alive. I don't think I have ever been so scared in my life," Nilo said, scratching at the floor with one of her sharp talons.

"I am not sure how I survived, but somehow I did. I don't think we were supposed to die back there. It must be the makers will to keep us alive, and I don't need any more explanation than that," Jair said as he went over in his mind what had occurred before the white-armored Ominice began firing arrows at them.

"I think we're in a safe place," Nilo said, still watching the Krouwel walking about the small village they were in.

"Nowhere is safe," Jair whispered again, still unsure whether to trust these new creatures that had taken them in. He had seen some of their kind imprisoned within Whither, but it would take a lot more than a few enslaved Krouwel before he could completely trust them. The only creature he trusted fully was the griffin he had come to know so well, and he knew that she would not let him down. Nilo soon fell asleep, exhausted by the flight she had made and drained by the multiple wounds she received when trying to escape. She fell into a deep, uneven sleep, and Jair made sure that nothing bothered her so that she could sleep and regain her strength fully.

Jair, on the other hand, remained awake, his distrust for everyone around him kept him alert and awake. He didn't fall asleep until the rest of the day had faded and a larger part of the night had passed by. Even then, he did not intentionally fall asleep. His body forced him to when the weariness of the day before was too much for him to take.

Jair woke to an empty cave. The cave was bare, and Nilo was nowhere to be seen. Jair immediately cursed his inability to stay awake through the entire night, and he tore out of the cave in search of Nilo. At this point he would have torn the entire village apart to get to her, but before he had gone more than twenty feet, he heard her smooth voice not too far from where he was. With a sigh of relief, he began to search for her more diligently than before and found her not too far from the cave sitting with Zack, the Krouwel that had dressed her wounds when they had first arrived in the small village. He was showing her several different kinds of plants and telling her what they were good for and if they were able to be eaten or not. Jair had mixed feelings about what he was hearing and seeing. Ultimately, he was surprised and pleased by what Zack was doing. Nilo was in need of such knowledge. She had never really experienced anything aside from the cruelty of the Kraw while living in the fortress Whither. Jair had planned on teaching her everything he knew, but the reality of it was that Jair knew very little himself, and seeing Zack teaching her made Jair feel as if maybe he didn't have the whole world against him. Still, he didn't like the idea of Zack teaching her anything.

Jair made his way over to Nilo and Zack, picking his way through the tangled forest. The sun was a quarter of the way into the sky, and the heat was beginning to mount. He walked into the small clearing in which Zack and Nilo were resting happily and going over the different plants. Zack stood from his teaching and addressed Jair as he entered the clearing.

"Good to see you up and about," he said. "Simmon told me that, once you were both awake, I was to take the two of you down to the lake so you can wash up." Jair was about to protest, but he stopped. _Clean_ , he thought to himself and he looked down at his filthy body. All of the soot and dried blood that caked his scales from months of working in the Whither quarries. He had almost forgotten what it was like to be clean and to see the natural colors of his scales.

Clean was not a word known to those in Whither. The ground and air had a constant flow of soot and dirt within them, and there was no way of fully cleaning oneself. So Zack led the way down to a small lake hidden in amongst the forestry. Jair felt that taking a bath was like seeing gold for the first time after a full year of living in Whither. Jair wasn't sure if he would ever be able to fully clean himself of the filth from Whither's walls because the dirt of the place covered more than just the body, and he could only imagine how Nilo felt. She had never had an actual bath in her entire life. In fact, she had never seen more than a bucket's worth of water in all the ten years of living in Zenith. Even when she got to see sea water, it was always so clouded with ash that it might not have been considered water at all. But now she would be able to see a full lake of shining, glistening, clear water, and bathe and drink as much as she pleased. Zack led the way to a lake, and both Jair and Nilo stared over its smooth surface.

"I have never seen so much water in my entire life," Nilo said in awe.

Jair didn't say a word. He just walked to the water's edge, drove his muzzle into the cool water's surface, and drank until he could drink no more. A moment later, Nilo was right next to him, doing the same.

"This is the best tasting water I have ever had in my entire life," Nilo said in between gulps. "Even better than the rain water that we collected to drink when we had the three days of rain a few months back." She continued to marvel, and Jair agreed with her, barely taking his face out of the water's surface.

Zack watched them in disbelief. "What did they do to you?" he said as he watched the two of them drink feverishly. After Jair had had his fill, he sat back and looked into the clear lake's surface. A few ripples flowed over the cool lake surface, and Jair saw his reflection for the first time in months. He almost didn't recognize himself at first with all the soot on his body, but it was the scars that gave him a real shock. His body was covered in scars from the ceremonial burnings he received, and he could see the lines snaking across his body where the hot coals had been placed. _I don't care_ , he thought to himself. _Let the scars be a testimony to my life. They are a part of me now, and I'm a part of them._ With this thought in mind, Jair splashed his reflection away, stood, and waded into the cold water, sinking deep into its clutches. With his wings still clamped together it was harder to swim than normal, but he swam anyways.

Nilo slipped into the water along with him. She was a poor swimmer, as well, and stayed near the very shallow ends, but that was to be expected. The soot and blood slowly seeped from Jair's scales as he swam around the lake, and the deep green of his scales could be seen once again. He came to surface after a long underwater dive. As he did, the most staggering sight awaited him at the surface. The first thing he saw was Nilo's beautiful golden eyes, but her eyes were not the only golden part of her. Her feathers were also a deep golden color--except for the ends, which were still coal black. Jair crawled out of the lake, barely taking his eyes off his newly colored friend. It had never occurred to Jair that Nilo might not have been black, and now that she stood before him, in a bright golden color, he was totally speechless.

"There. That suits you a lot better than that nasty black sooty color," Zack said, walking up to the two of them. "Jair, Simmon wants to take a look at those iron rings in your wings. You can find him back at the caves. 'm going to continue to teach Nilo some of the different plants here in the village, if you don't mind. If you don't want me to, I won't. But I would like to."

Jair looked over at Zack with a hard eye and realized that Zack knew he didn't trust him, so he was asking for permission to gain his trust--what little he could. _What a clever fellow_ , Jair thought to himself. With reluctance, he agreed to Zack's plan, after a little convincing from Nilo. Jair had developed a hate for any beast that looked, smelled, or even moved like the beast that had attacked his village and held him captive for so long, and Zack had all three of these traits. Jair wasn't sure if these new beasts wouldn't hand them back over to the Kraw the first chance they had.

Jair walked back to the caves and found Simmon, just as Zack had said. Another Krouwel was with him--a big fella, as black as night.

"Ah, here he comes now," Jair could hear Simmon say to the big Krouwel as Jair walked up. Jair walked over to them, and the Krouwel took a step forward.

"My friend here tells me you have an unfortunate wing problem," he said, and Jair looked up at the big Krouwel, suddenly feeling very small. Jair was quiet for a moment before answering yes. The big Krouwel circled around Jair and looked him up and down, taking a moment to feel over the two rings clamping Jair's wings together.

"My name is Coren, by the way. Simmon here tells me you're very jumpy and defensive about everything he tries to do to help you out, but I don't blame you. Whoever did this to you needs to be hung higher than any tree branch in this forest could ever reach. This is awful. I'm a blacksmith. I do metalwork for the Crow here in the village. What is your name, so I know what to call you?"

"My Name is Jair," Jair said, "and what's the Crow?"

"The Crow is the village you are in right now. It's a Krouwel village. There are not very many Krouwel on this side of the world, and this village is one of the largest villages in all of Aaron." Just then Jair jerked away as Coren touched one of the rings, and Jair sank into a defensive position and growled at him menacingly.

"Yep. Probably infected, but that's not my cup of tea. I'll leave the diagnosing to the professionals," he said casually, looking over at Simmon.

"Calm down, Jair. We are not here to hurt you," Simmon said and did what he could to reassure that no harm would come to him. "Can the rings be removed Coren? I'm sure Jair would be very grateful if they were?" Simmon said, stepping forward.

"I could probably do it, but I'm going to need a fire, and it is probably not going to feel too good. Do you think you can handle that?" Coren asked. Truth be told, Jair did not know whether he could or not, but if the rings could be removed, he would risk the pain and take his chances with the Krouwel to get it done.
Chapter Twelve

True Freedom

Jair stood looking down at the two iron rings lying on an old table. Fresh blood covered them, but their removal meant something more than just the extraction of the rings. It meant freedom--true freedom. Jair walked outside and stretched his wings to full length, and he could feel the pain from the two ring insertion points, but he was finally able to stretch. There was no way he could fly anytime soon, though. His muscles had degenerated since his capture, and he wondered if he would ever manage to restore them back to the point where they used to be before he was dragged off to Whither.

He watched the sun slowly dip toward the horizon, casting its glorious colors upon the land and making the tree leaves change color. Nilo came out and stood next to him, her new golden feathers shifting gently in the wind. Shimmering, Jair thought to himself, and tried not to laugh at his own ignorance.

Nilo looked down at him. "You have beautiful wings," she said, and Jair gave her a heartfelt glance. Her warm praise cheered him, and he needed to hear that. Even though his wings were an absolute mess, she still complimented them. Contentment flowed through him as he stood there watching the day fade into night. The forest was active with all sorts of insects, and their calls rang throughout the forest to the point that it was almost deafening. Birds flew to and fro, making trips from their nest to their food, and dragonflies glided just above the lake's surface, creating their multitude of tiny waves as they touched the water's surface with their many legs. Occasionally a fish broke the water's surface in an attempt to catch one of the insects. _Fish_ , Jair thought to himself. He had just eaten fish for the first time today in what seemed like forever. He had received little to no food in Whither and had quite nearly died of starvation, along with everything else that happened in that terrible place. Now he was free to eat what he wanted and go where he pleased.

_So peaceful_ , he thought as he sat on the shoreline of the lake. The two of them spent the better part of the night looking over the lake's surface, not needing anything else aside from the sight of living creatures and the warmth of the plant life around them. At midnight they fell asleep, and rain began to poor on them, but they did not wake. They had spent so many hours in rain that it had become more like a cool breeze on a hot night, rather than a soaking rain. Simmon and Zack stood at the cave entrance, looking at their new guests.

"Zack," Simmon said. "These two have been wounded further than our healing knowledge could ever heal."

"I know," Zack replied, "but it is our vow to help those who are injured. It's our religion."

"Yes, but this world continues to get worse and worse. More have found their way to our village, wounded and broken," Simmon noted, and then he turned and went deeper into the caves, leaving Zack to stand at the entrance, pondering his words.

Jair woke the next morning to the quiet cooing of a mourning dove in one of the trees far above. The whole forest was quiet and nearly still. Water could be heard trickling near the lake, and the smell of freshly disturbed vegetation was heavy in the air. Jair lay silent for a moment, looking at the beautiful scenery surrounding him from beneath Nilo's soft golden feathers. After a while, the sun's golden rays changed the landscape from a cool blue to a warmer yellow, so he then carefully slipped away from Nilo and headed for the lake. Once at the lake he took a moment to get used to the cold water by slowly wading into its shallower regions. Only once he was fully covered did he launch himself into the deeper water with strokes from his newly freed wings.

_I am already becoming stronger_. He thought to himself. Seeing a large fish far below, Jair began to feel the urge to challenge his new strength, but he decided not to. Instead, he looked for an easier meal. It wasn't long before he spotted a small school of fish, which he could catch without taxing his strength too greatly. He brought one to the surface after catching it and set it on the shoreline, and then he went for another. After he had collected six or seven, he gathered them up and took them back to Nilo, who was already awake as he came in sight of where they had rested through the night. She stretched out all four of her legs and then swung her head around towards Jair.

"Fish," she said, seeing Jair overladen with his catch.

"Yes. I caught breakfast."

"You must be feeling better then," she said, standing.

"Now that the rings in my wings have been removed, I am feeling a lot better," Jair replied, setting several of the fish at Nilo's feet. Nilo was bigger than Jair, so she required a lot more food. Jair gave her the better part of his catch for this reason. They both ate in silence, and it was only broken when Zack came around the corner and sat down next to them. Jair offered him a fish, but he rejected it, saying that he did not eat meat. Jair and Nilo looked at him, stunned, their meal temporarily forgotten. "You don't eat meat?" Jair said as if to reconfirm what had already been said.

"Yes. I do not eat meat. It is part of the vow that I took when entering the Crow."

Jair looked over at Nilo, but she was just as shocked as he was. "What do you eat, then?" Nilo asked.

"Mostly nuts berries and roots, and occasionally other plant life," was Zack's reply, and Jair tried to judge just how much food Zack had to eat to stay his size. He was about the size of Jair himself, so Jair didn't think it would take a whole lot of food.

"Most of our day is spent looking for food. There are probably about ten scout parties out right now. Zack said, but Jair was still slightly confused.

"So what exactly are the Crow, then?" he asked. "You said it was a vow that keeps you from eating meat, but why?"

Zack thought for a moment before beginning to tell why he was the way he was. "The Crow are named after Anamancrow, the founder of the Brotherhood of Crow, or Crow, for short. We have built villages in his name and help those who are in need. Quite the opposite of our Kraw brethren, who do the opposite. We are slowly trying to rebuild our reputation in this land so that we are not seen as mindless beasts that kill and capture for no reason. It's not really a religion. It's more a way of life. We choose not to eat meat because we think that all creatures are made by the Maker and deserve a plentiful life. Even though others may choose to eat meat, we do not," Zack concluded.

"I think it is a very noble thing to do," Nilo said, and Zack thanked her.

He stood. "I think I should go. I have some other duties I must complete." He looked toward the caves. "Simmon wants to examine you a little better sometime today, Jair. He wants to make sure none of the arrows did any damage, since he hardly had a chance to the other day because you were not very cooperative." Jair didn't reply. He was still very wary about everyone and everything.

"You should go, Jair--just in case there is anything that might have happened," Nilo said, encouraging Jair as best she could.

"It's all right. You don't have to go if you don't want to, Jair, but Simmon thinks that there is something odd about your scales," Zack continued to encourage him before making his way back to the village.

Jair gave Nilo one last look and saw in her eyes that she wished him to go and get fully checked out. So Jair, with a heavy sigh, followed Zack up the hill and caught up with him before he reached the village.

They found Simmon in one of the caves awake and already looking over one of the other Krouwel who had gotten an injury when cutting wood. Jair waited for Simmon to finish with his first patient before he was then seated on a wooden stool in one of the half-wooden structures. Simmon looked Jair over from head to tail and barely said a word aside from the occasional interesting. After a good deal of time, he finally spoke a full sentence. "That's what I thought," he stated, and then he turned away from a table that he had been using to examine two scales. One was Jair's and another was from an Ominice he had helped with a broken leg not too long ago. "Jair, you have remarkable scales. I have never seen anything like them."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Jair said with a questioning look on his face.

"Yes, indeed. It is a compliment. Your scales have saved you from death."

Jair was surprised by Simmon's words. "How so?"

"Well, I have looked at your scale here that I extracted, and a similar scale from another Ominice that we had here not too long ago, and through a series of tests have discovered that your scales are twice as hard as those of the normal Ominice. I was wondering why you were not dead when we first brought you here because there were so many arrows in your body. We almost didn't even bother checking to see if you were alive because we didn't think it was possible. Fortunately, we did check you and found you miraculously alive. Until now I had no idea how you had survived, but now I see that every arrow that struck your body barely made it a quarter-inch deep. As to what would cause such a change in scale density is beyond me. All I know is that your scales have been tempered."

"What does tempered mean?" Jair asked.

"It is what blacksmiths do to swords to make them stronger so that they do not break," Simmon answered and Jair sat silent for a few moments before responding.

"I know how this happened," he said gravely. "Just like a blacksmith--fire did this."

Simmon thought about it for a second before responding. "Yes, I suppose fire could cause such a change, but not alone, and that would take long exposure to a very hot....." Simmon stopped in mid-sentence as realization dawned on him. "Oh, Maker Almighty." He looked at Jair, and Jair gave him a sad nod. "How long?" he asked.

"They started the day I entered, and it wasn't until I escaped that it stopped, and I was in Whither for over a year," Jair replied.

"That's the reason we cannot gain any respect in this land--because the Kraw taint our very existence by performing terrible deeds such as these," Zack raged from the corner.

"I call it Ceremonial Burning," Jair continued. "I was also marked to be cast into the volcano's center at the first full eclipse, but luckily I escaped with Nilo before that ever happened." Jair looked at Nilo as she lay in the sun a short ways away from the building he was in.

"What horrible beasts!" Simmon said, shaking his head. "You both are welcome to stay here as long as you need. We are glad to have you." Jair thanked him.

Then Simmon told Zack to clear out two caves each for their two gests, but Jair refused. Instead, he decided to have only one. Simmon tried to persuade him otherwise, but he finally gave in.

"I don't want to take up any more space than I have to," Jair concluded, and Simmon could do nothing more.

"Just as long as you do not sleep in the rain anymore," he said finally and went back to work.

Zack showed them around the forest occupied by their village and took them to a place where there was bigger game, like deer they could catch instead of the smaller game such as the fish Jair had caught earlier. They met many of the Krouwel from the village, but Zack was the most interesting of them all, and both Jair and Nilo grew to like him very much. He taught them all he knew about plants they came across, and Nilo's brain was like a sponge soaking up all of the information eagerly. This was because she was not permitted the opportunity to learn when she was younger and now, with the sudden flow of new experiences and knowledge, her body just naturally picked up on it.

Jair's mind was not quite the same, though, and some of what Zack taught eluded him, but that didn't stop him from trying to learn what he could, anyways. Zack was highly intelligent and loved to express all he knew whenever the opportunity presented itself. He did so quite often. As the days slipped by, Jair's wings grew stronger, and he accelerated their progression by swimming in the lake constantly until he was able to make short flights across the village. Nilo's wing healed quickly also, and she was flying as well as ever in no time at all.

It was during the evening hours about a month and a half later that they sat on the bank of the small lake and watched the cool water lap against the shore's side. Their strength had returned, and they were looking as fit and as sleek as ever. Dragonflies were hovering above the water silently, and cicadas could be heard in the trees high above, chirping their love songs. Jair and Zack were resting against Nilo's side as Nilo plucked lazily at some grass with her beak.

"Zack, we need to let you know something," Jair said, turning to the pure white Krouwel. "Nilo and I are going to be leaving soon."

Zack gave a heavy sigh. "Where will you go?" he asked quietly, and Jair could instantly tell he was deeply disappointed.

"We will be going to Palin-Lailil, the Sea of Grasses," Nilo said aloud, turning from her grass picking.

Zack gave another deep sigh. "Will you ever come back?"

"Yes. We will come back every chance we get," Nilo replied.

"But won't you come with us, Zack? We will be able to cross the countryside and see all the plant life in the world, and we could use your knowledge. That--and we would be glad to have you along," Jair said.

"I would like to, but my place is here with my people--and with the Crow," Zack replied. Jair became silent, and Nilo went back to plucking grass, trying to hide her disappointment.

"We will be taking a test flight tomorrow, just to make sure my wings are strong enough, and then, after that, we plan on leaving."

"I'll let Simmon know," Zack said, dropping into silence once again. Then all three of them stared out across the lake and watched the sun drift to the horizon before the trees blotted it out.

### Chapter Thirteen

Departure

The next morning was perfect for flying. There was no sign of rain, and the clouds were high in the sky, casting their large shadows on the distant ground. Jair and Nilo were preparing for flight--flexing their wings and extending them to full length and flapping them to test their buoyancy. There was an air of excitement as many of the Krouwel gathered in the clearing to watch them take off. Zack and Simmon were there, along with several others from the village, and each watched in wonder as the two of them prepared for flight.

"We shall return by mid-afternoon. I need to test my wings to make sure I will be able to fly without any trouble," Jair said, and then he leapt into the air and used his powerful upstrokes to gain altitude. Nilo leapt up into the air a moment later, and there was cheering and applauding as the Krouwel beneath them called out their goodbyes. As the two of them gained altitude, they were soon buffeted by the gale winds as they came over the tops of the trees. They pressed on forward, harder, until they rose high above the strong, low winds and were able to level off on the high, gentle winds. Jair made two passes over the watching Krouwel as a goodbye sign and then continued on, heading east.

This was the first time Jair and Nilo were actually able to fly with each other side by side and were able to enjoy the sight of the land without the threat of being hunted and chased down. Both mimicked each other's movements as they glided from place to place, landing every now and then so that Jair could catch his breath. Ominice were not made for long-distance flying, and it was definitely showing as Jair struggled at times to keep up with Nilo. Nilo, on the other hand, could fly for hours without being even remotely tired, but her wings were built differently than Jair's.

Jair's fatigue also had to do with the lack of strength in his wings from being clamped together for so long. Though spending time in the Crow village had helped him a great deal, he was still not nearly as strong as he once had been.

The two flew over forested terrain until the sun was high in the sky and beating down upon them. Nilo spotted a herd of deer and, for the first time, the two made a meal of the animal. It was strange to Jair, and he preferred a good salmon over the deer meat because he had eaten fish all of his life. Nilo, on the other hand, found it delicious and was hooked by the first piece she managed to swallow.

"I can't believe I have never heard of these before. This is the best meal I have ever had," she said as she tore into the carcass.

"You were in Whither all your life and lucky to get table scraps, so even if you did manage to find a piece, you wouldn't have been able to taste what it really tasted like," Jair replied.

After they finished the meal, they then headed back the village and landed in the same place that they had taken off from. No one was there waiting for them, and so they landed with little trouble. Just as they landed, Jair caught the scent of something unfamiliar to the area, and he stuck his nose to the wind because he knew he had smelt it somewhere before. He sat for a moment, sifting through his archival memory for where, and when, he had smelt it, and then it struck him. He saw himself back on Nilo's back as they fled from Whither, and the Ominice that had attacked them for no reason. Then he was back at his village just before he leapt off the flight deck to defend against the Kraw. It was the armor of the white Ominice he smelt. The odor of the substance they used to turn their armor as white as bone was very strong in his nose, and he knew that the white-armored Ominice were close.

"The white Ominice," Jair said aloud to Nilo, and they both began to search the surrounding woods nervously.

"I think they are a little ways away," Jair said, beginning to look for a weapon. He didn't plan to get caught off-guard as he was last time, so he found a hefty branch near a tree and picked it up. It wasn't the best weapon in the world, but it was the best he could do with such short notice. Just then, someone came crashing through the brush, causing Jair and Nilo to spin around. Jair was just about to attack when Zack stumbled from the tree line and landed, hard, on the ground in front of them.

Jair was stunned at first. Neither he nor Nilo moved an inch because Zack was in rough shape. After they had a moment to recover from the sudden shock, the two of them ran up to Zack's side and found him covered in his own blood. An arrow protruded from his right shoulder, and his white fur was matted with dirt and debris.

"Zack," Jair said as he knelt down next to the Krouwel.

"They are coming. Leave me, and fly away. Don't look back. Please," Zack said, lurching up suddenly as he desperately tried to stay conscious.

Jair shook his head. "No. We won't leave you," he said as he looked at Zack, lying helpless on the ground like an animal caught in a snare, waiting for the hunter to come and end its life.

"There are too many. You have to go," Zack continued to urge until his words failed and he became unconscious. Then Jair heard the snap of a twig where Zack had previously passed through. He told Nilo to stay with Zack, and he himself snuck into the tree line. It took only a moment for Jair to find a large tree, and he climbed it until he was about thirty feet above where Zack had come through. He sat for a moment, as silent as stone, and then the cause of the disturbance came into sight. It was just as Jair had thought. Two white-armored Ominice blundered through the brush, as noisy as ever.

"I know he went this way. He has to be around here somewhere," Jair heard one of the Ominice say, and then they both walked beneath the tree he sat in.

"There he is," said the other. "And what's that with him?"

"It's a griffin," said the first, again readying his weapon. Jair leapt from the tree and landed behind both Ominice. The white-armored Ominice spun around and saw Jair in his white hot anger and, before either of them could act, Jair slew them both. He let the second white Ominice fall to the ground lifeless, and then he immediately ran back to Nilo and Zack.

"We have to leave now!"

"We are not leaving Zack," Nilo said firmly.

"I wouldn't dream of it. He is coming with us, regardless of whether he wants to or not," Jair said, lifting Zack off the ground and onto his shoulder. Zack gave a moan, and Jair saw a second stab wound to his lower back.

"Curse these white Ominice! They are worse than the Kraw," he spat out and he, along with Nilo and a severely injured Zack, made their way through the woods as quickly as possible. The two Ominice Jair had attacked remained where they were, lifeless in a pile of bushes to be discovered by their comrades a good while later.

### Chapter Fourteen

Cry of the Krouwel

Zack was in real bad shape, and the going was very difficult. They were only able to carry him a mile or two before they were forced to find a place to hide so they could try and tend to his wounds. They found a cave in the side of a cliff. It was low to the ground and just big enough for the three of them to fit in. Overhung by grass and hidden by a tree, they were lucky to have stumbled upon it, and it was more than enough to conceal them from any searching eyes, so they stayed there for the night.

Zack was laid down on the cave floor, and Jair worked to remove the arrow in his shoulder. It was a messy business, and Zack lost a lot of blood during the process. But, with some of the plant knowledge Zack had taught both him and Nilo, they were able to quell the bleeding and fix the wounds as best they knew how. Soon afterwards a fever set in, and it was almost a week before Zack was fit enough to tell them what had befallen the village and how he had ended up in his degenerated state of health.

When he first woke he immediately asked for food and water, so Jair and Nilo set out to collect some for him. Nilo flew out and searched the surrounding forest for any sight of the white-armored Ominice, but there was no sign of them anywhere, so she began looking for food. Jair had guessed that the white-armored Ominice had either not found their dead comrades or had left without them and returned to whatever land they came from. Either way, they were the last creatures he wanted to see.

_Every place I go trouble finds me_ , he thought to himself. I must be cursed. _There is no other way so many troubles should follow me wherever I go._

Nilo then flew in and landed with a rabbit in her beak, and a cherry bush in her talons. "This is all I can find for food, and I don't want to spend much more time out there alone in case the White Ominice are still hanging around," she said after she had set the rabbits on the ground.

"It will have to work" Jair said, picking up the meat. Zack ate what he could from the cherry bush, which wasn't a lot, but it was enough to help with his hunger. Jair and Nilo ate a rabbit. Afterwards, Jair sat opposite of Zack and asked the question that had been plaguing his and Nilo's minds ever since they had found him. "What happened, Zack?"

Zack looked at the ground for a long minute before beginning to tell all that had happened after Jair and Nilo had left. "I was in a sour mood because I knew you were going to be leaving soon, so I didn't do much, and Simmon let me off for the day. I went down to the lake where we always sat, and I did a lot of thinking. It was there that I decided that I would accept your offer and travel with you to Palin-Lailil," Zack said and then stopped his narration. He sat staring off into space for a few moments.

"Go on, Zack," Nilo encouraged.

"I had to let Simmon know of my decision, and I knew he wouldn't like the idea, but I was set on the decision I had made. I left the lakeside to tell him but, as I came over the ridge and in sight of the village, I saw two Ominice clad in white armor. Simmon was confronting them, and as I got closer, I could tell that they were arguing. All of the brotherhood of Crow was watching Simmon talk to the strangers. I knew the white Ominice were bad news because of what they had done to you two, and I tried to get closer to Simmon to tell him this, but something flashed in the woods and caught my eye. It was just a flash—that's all--but I could have sworn it was more of the white Ominice, so I doubled my pace, and that's when I heard shouting and screaming from all the Krouwel that stood around me, and I looked to see that one of the big Ominice Simmon had been talking to had used his sword and stabbed Simmon through the chest with his weapon. Immediately after that, other Ominice started firing arrows from the woods, and then everyone tried to flee, but they couldn't. We never stood a chance. We were weaponless and defenseless. I can still hear their screams in my head," Zack said, choking on every word he was saying. Nilo had tears falling from her eyes.

Jair listened with a stone cold face, he did not know who, or where, these Ominice came from, but he swore he would kill any of them he came across.

"I was struck in the shoulder," Zack continued, "but I was near the back, so I ran. I was intercepted by two of the White Ominice, and one of then stabbed me in the back with his weapon. I think he thought he had killed me because they started to chase after another Krouwel. I then did what I could to stand up and ran into the forest as fast as I could, but one of them saw me again and started chasing me. It took everything in me to reach the clearing where you had left that morning, but something inside me told me that, if I could reach that point, I would be safe. But, once I got there, I couldn't think, and I couldn't see very well. Then I saw your faces, and all I could think was to send you away. I didn't want the white Ominice to capture you. I don't remember much after that." Zack finished his tale, and the cave fell silent. Only the call of a brush-shrike could be heard far off in the distance, along with the buzzing of the local insects.

"You are with us now, Zack, and we will keep you safe," Nilo said.

"We will keep each other safe because it is apparent that this world has become a very dangerous place," Jair said, looking at the two who sat in the cave with him. "We need to stick together if we are going to make our way through this world alive."

### Chapter Fifteen

The Traveling Three

Zack's wounds healed quickly, and as soon as he was able to walk, they left the Cliffside cave and continued their search for Palin-Lailil, getting as far from the Crow village as fast as they could. Deciding which direction to go was a little more complicated than before. Jair and Nilo had never exactly known were Palin-Lailil was, so they had just planned on flying around until they happened to stumble upon it, but now with Zack with them, they were no longer able to use this plan because Zack could not fly.

After a great deal of discussion, they finally decided to travel east because Jair remembered Redith saying that a grassland with grass as far as the eye could see was far to the East and away from Aaron, so the four of them headed east, with Jair leading the way. They traveled during the twilight hours because they decided it was best to travel during the night so that they were undetectable by as many creatures as possible.

Since Jair had the best night vision from living his whole life in dark tunnels, he led the way. It took them a while to get used to the strange hours of being up all night and asleep during the day, but after a time, it no longer bothered them. During the daylight hours they would seek out a cave or thick underbrush to conceal the presence, and then they would travel as soon as the light had faded to black.

Nilo hunted for them, flying out and bringing back a doe or a buck--the food she had become rather attached to--while Zack ate the local plant life along the way. Traveling with Zack and Nilo soon became the most memorable days in Jair's life. They were able to go anywhere they wanted and eat what they wanted when they were hungry. Time went by quickly and, even though they only traveled at night, they were still able to travel quite great distances. Within two weeks they came to an opening in the forest. Directly in front of them was the Aaron River, and it cut through the land like a snake through grass. It was like there were two different worlds on each side of the river.

On one side were the tangled forests of Aaron with towering trees that had branches that reached high in the sky in full leaf. On the other side, there were rolling hills full of long grasses and flowering plants. The three of them looked out from the forest canopy, and the difference was like night and day to them. Behind them was the forest with its deep black canopy that kept the night in and the day out. In the opposite direction were the plains and, in the dull moonlight meadows, they could see the grass sway gently in the evening breeze. The clouds above the planes blanketed the sky above, swirling around the half-moon as if inviting its cool glow, and then fading off once again, stretching out to hold the moon's touch as long as possible.

"Palin-Lailil," Nilo whispered quietly. Indeed it was, or at least a part of it, and the three were left speechless at the distance they could see before them. Even with the rolling hills in their way, they could still see the better part of a mile. There was only one problem, though, crossing the Aaron River. For Jair and Nilo it was easy. They could just fly over without even having a second thought about it. It was Zack that would have troubles, and the Aaron River was an extremely fast river, which would cause even more problems. Jair was going over different ways in which they could get him across when the sudden the scent of Kraw caught his nostrils.

"Get down," he said as quietly as he could, and the three of them ducked into a nearby thicket. From over the hill and across the lake, they could see four Kraw walking away from them over the hill in a single file line, their silhouettes looking like ghosts against the moonlit background. Jair watched them slowly move out of sight. He remained where he was for a good time afterwards, not wanting to risk a run in with the Kraw. Once he was sure they would not come back, he slowly left the cover of the forest and went back into the moonlit bank of the river.

"What are Kraw doing this far east?" Zack asked as he walked up next to Jair.

"Something must have driven them to cross the river, just as we are." Jair answered, looking in the direction in which the Kraw had left.

"I don't like it," Nilo said. She had lived her whole life with Kraw and had grown to dislike them greatly.

"We should cross this river as soon as possible," Jair said, and then leapt into the air and glided across the lake's surface, flying low until he reached the opposite bank of the river. Nilo was right behind him, and the two of them sat on the opposite shoreline and watched Zack as he made his attempts to cross also.

The river was fifty yards wide and had strong currents that sped past silently, making little noise as the water carried itself downstream. Zack took his time picking the best route to take to get across. He would start, making his way in the water a short ways, but then he would recede back as he found that particular spot unwelcoming. After a few tries he found one he felt comfortable with and began to swim across. Within five minutes, he was on the opposite bank, shaking the water from his fur. From there they made their way across the waving fields of prairie grass and to the hills beyond.

Jair had never seen so much grass in his entire life. _So tall,_ he thought. In some areas, the grass was as tall as Jair himself and so thick that it was almost thicker than the forest underbrush.

They wove their way through the grass, and Jair took note of how easy it would be to track them because of the great lines they left in the grass as they went. _This is a whole new world that I'm not used to_ , Jair thought to himself, and he wasn't particularly fond of it. He felt like a yearling again, trouncing noisily through the forest for the first time. Only now the forest was grass instead of trees.

Zack seemed to have the same feelings because he was constantly looking behind him, but Nilo didn't seem to share their anxieties. She just continued to push her way through the grass without worry. The thought of her mother's words were clear in her mind.

Jair was worried about their exposed position in this strange land. He could see for miles upon miles when in the right places, and he knew he could see enemies if they were following them, but that was only if he was the one doing the looking and not the one who was being looked upon.

As the night wore on, there was absolutely no sign of life aside from a few deer which bounded over the hills of grass as the three of them came too close. Jair became a little more at ease and less jumpy as time progressed, and this relaxation was most likely the reason they ran into what was ahead.

As Nilo was leading the way, they had headed into a large patch of grass that was too tall to see over. As they entered it, their sight became literally what was immediately in front of them. For Zack, it was Nilo. For Nilo, it was Jair, and for Jair, it was grass. They were moving through it as quickly as they could when, all of a sudden, they came into a clearing. In the center of the clearing rested an enormous beast that could have rivaled a rhino. It was called a Breyal, and it was a beast created at the dawn of the Great Falling so many years ago. Breyal were big beasts that fed on various grasses--long grasses, and Jair did not know this, otherwise he might have been more cautious about traveling through long grass. This one was a lone bull that was sleeping. As the three came into the clearing, they made just enough noise to wake him.

Breyals are not usually aggressive animals. And, in many places, they are used as pack animals, but like all wild animals, they do not like surprises--especially when they are sleeping and suddenly wake to find strange creatures watching them.

The Breyal's eyes shot open and fixed on the small group. Jair, Nilo, and Zack stood stock still, just as surprised to see the Breyal as it was to see them. The Breyal reared up and gave a loud blast of its vocal cords, which shook the midnight air around them. It was twice the size of Nilo and had a protective plate of skin and bone attached to the back of its head. Two fans spread out on the side of its head in a defensive display, and it pawed the ground in preparation for attack.

"Run!" Jair yelled, and then all three of them split and ran in all different directions. Nilo took two bounds and leapt into the air, and with heavy wing beats she gained altitude and flew away. Zack ran for the grass closest to him and Jair, not being able to take off as quickly as Nilo, did the same, but the Breyal was right on his heels. he ran as fast as he could through the tall grass, trying to evade the massive beast.

He covered thirty yards in a flash. Even with the long grass hindering his escape, the Breyal was still very fast, and the big beast plowed through the tall grass after him just as fast as Jair could run. In a matter of moments, the Breyal had nearly overtaken him. Then before Jair knew what was happening, the Breyal had caught him and sent Jair sprawling to the ground. Jair rolled, trying to avoid the Breyal's deadly feet, and he was tossed around as the Breyal tried to crush him with one of its mighty legs. Carried by its own momentum, the Breyal continued on past Jair for a short distance afterwards before turning back and preparing for a second charge. Stunned, and with his vision blurred, Jair could hear and feel the heavy footfalls of the Breyal getting closer and closer as it came to end his life.

He tried to move out of the way, but he was too stunned to think, and just before the beast trampled him, he felt two arms reach up under his own. And he felt himself being dragged backwards. Jair didn't know what was happening, but he let himself get carried back and tried to help by pushing back with his feet, as well. He could see the dull form of the Breyal get closer and closer through his hazed vision, and then all went black, but not the usual blackness that is associated death or unconsciousness. Instead, it was like the deep black of night.

A sudden huge vibration a second later confirmed that he was neither unconscious nor dead. It took Jair a good while before he regained his sight fully again. When he did, he tried to figure out just what had happened.

Looking around at his surroundings, he found that he was in some sort of a tunnel. It was like the one he used to live in, only this tunnel was a lot smaller. It was so small, in fact, that he hardly had room to move at all. He had just enough room to turn his head around and find out who it was that saved his life. Spinning his head around, Jair found himself staring into a very large set of eyes. Behind the bright illuminating eyes was a leathery faced creature with rough, quill-like fur that started on the tip of its snout and worked its way back along the top of its head before ending a short ways down its spine. Two long ears drooped on both sides of the creature's head, giving it a pleasant appearance. Iron rings hung on its ears at the tips, and one of the ears had apparently been injured, as it had a rough bandage wrapped around it. "You must have a death wish," said the strange little creature. "I watched you try and take on that Breyal bull. That takes a lot of guts."

"I didn't do it voluntarily," Jair replied, looking back out of the entrance to the tunnel.

"He is a mean beast and gives me trouble every time I come home, but he keeps unwanted creatures away." Jair could barely understand the little creature that sat next to him, but he was sure glad he had been there when he did. Unable to leave because the Breyal kept them in, Jair spent the rest of the night in the tunnel with the little beast, which he found out was a called a Nave. His name was Yar, and he had the strangest accent Jair had ever come across in his entire life. He was constantly having the poor Nave repeat himself, but Yar didn't seem to mind.

As the sun began to rise, Jair had become restless from being crammed in the small tunnel for so long, and it wasn't long before he heard Nilo's high-pitched screech off in the distance. Yar became very uneasy at the sound of Nilo screeching, and he wouldn't leave the tunnel, but after a good deal of time, Jair convinced him that Nilo was his friend and was just looking for him. After that, the Nave was a little more inclined to leave the tunnel.

"Do you think the Breyal is still up there?" Jair asked the little Nave.

"I think he has left by now and has probably gone feeding, but I'll check just in case," Yar said and popped his head up from the tunnel. His big ears went to work immediately, and the earrings on his ears clanked together noisily as he raised them. Seconds later, he came back down and reported he could hear the Breyal feeding a short distance to the right of the tunnel. Jair had to stop and admire Yar's hearing capabilities. He had known no one who could tell distance by just listening to a sound. So, with the Breyal potentially out of the way, Jair and Yar left the safety of the tunnel, being careful not to make too much noise. Yar led the way through the grass and to its edge using a series of grass tunnels woven in the grass. Jair crouched as he made his way through the tunnel woven in the grass and took note of how long it must have taken to weave a tunnel out of the grass and clear a path to the smooth, shorter prairie grass outside the long grass boundaries. Once Jair was out of the grass he looked toward the sky and found what he was looking for immediately. Nilo was flying high in the air, searching for her best friend. When she spotted him waving her over just outside the long grasses' edge, relief flowed through her.

Those few hours had been the hardest she had ever had to deal with. Not knowing were Jair or Zack was, she had been entirely alone, but she had shortly afterwards found Zack just outside the grass line, searching for her as she was searching for him. Jair, on the other hand, had simply vanished, and she knew the Breyal had specifically been chasing him. Visions of him smashed on the ground, crushed by the big beast, found their way into her mind, and it was almost too much to bear. The appearance of Jair had lifted a great weight off of her, and she could finally breathe easy, knowing he was safe.

Jair watched Nilo fly away and dive toward the ground, and he sat for a second, wondering what she was doing. A moment later ,he saw her fly back up into the air, directly toward him. She then alighted on the ground next to Jair, walked over, and smothered him in her wings in what could have been called a hug.

"I feared the worst," she said before noticing Yar standing a little ways off, eyes wide with fear at her approach.

"Who is this?" she asked.

"This is Yar. He saved me from the Breyal."

At that moment Zack broke free from a large patch of tall grass and stumbled over to the three of them. He gave Yar a quick glance before walking over to Jair.

"Are you all right? I thought you were gone for sure when I saw that big beast chasing you."

Only after Jair had reassured Zack that he was all right did Zack inquire as to what Yar was and were he came from. Jair then explained how Yar had bravely helped him into his hollow and saved him from the Breyal. Yar simply shrugged and said that he couldn't have just let the beast run Jair over and kill him, and that he would have felt bad for not helping. While saying this, he continued to look from one to the other, wide-eyed, and he felt like a flea next to the giants that surrounded him. Especially Nilo.

"Where are you three going?" Yar asked after a while, and Jair was about to answer, but he found that he had no clue where, exactly, they were heading. Before they had been trying to reach Palin-Lailil, but he had never thought of what he would do once he had found it. All three of them sat silent, unable to answer the obvious question. Yar looked at them again each in turn.

"You have no clue where you're headed, do you?" he asked.

"No, we don't," Jair admitted. "We are just trying to leave the lands that we lived in before, and we are trying to find a new home. This land here is foreign to us, and we don't really know where we are or where we are going."

"So you need a guide then." Yar said, and Jair was surprised at the Yar's bluntness.

"Well, yes. I suppose a guide would be great."

"Then I will guide you," Yar said in an "I've already decided" tone of voice.

"What about your home here?" Nilo asked.

"It doesn't matter," Yar said flatly. "My clan was taken over a few years back, and I was kicked from it, so I have been a nomad, wandering Elon for quite some time now."

"Elon?" Nilo asked.

"Yes. All of the grasslands and the mountains that surround this region or anything east of the Aaron River are called Elon. On the other side is the region you came from, Aaron."

Nilo nodded in understanding, and Jair thanked Yar for offering to be their guide. Not knowing what else to say, he remained silent after that.

"My pleasure," Yar said in return. "I have to go back to my home and get some things before we leave, so if you would just wait a moment, I'll be back in the blink of an eye."

So the three of them waited as Yar ran back into the long grass and came back a few minutes later carrying a spear and a strange-looking helmet.

"Now," he said as he walked up. "You are all looking for a place where you can live peacefully without any sort of trouble. I might know of a place. Not too long ago, another Nave found his way into my burrow, and he was a Nomad just like me--similar situation, you know--and he told me of a place he was going. It is called Zenith. He said that Zenith was the most beautiful place on earth and that more than just Naves lived there. He told me that there were griffins," Yar said, looking at Nilo. "He also said there were Kraw, Krouwel, and Ominice as well. He said there were other races too, but I'm not totally sure what other races he was talking about. He said go east. It's built into the side of a mountain that was said to touch the clouds--the great Zenith City. In my opinion, as a guide, this might be the place you three are looking for."

Jair looked at his three companions, and they nodded their heads. And so it was set. Jair, Nilo, Zack, and their new guide, Yar, were headed to Zenith.

### Chapter Sixteen

Isherwood and Crixa

Yar was instantly adopted into the small party as one of their own. He completed them, in a sense, because he was very light of heart compared to the three of them. He kept them moving even when they were tired and ready to quit. He constantly sang little songs and cracked jokes to ultimately keep their spirits high, no matter the conditions.

They continued traveling during the night hours, even though Yar told them that traveling during the day was perfectly safe. Harsh experiences told the three otherwise, so they preferred the cover of night. Yar didn't complain about it at all, though. It made it easier for him to keep their position in check by using the stars as guidance. He just found it odd that they traveled at night and slept during the day. It was different than what he was used to. Over the next few weeks, Yar proved himself to be invaluable because he was so efficient with the spear he had brought along that he could catch any type of food he desired. He used it to catch rabbits most of the time, and since there was not a lot of other food around, he was the one who kept the others from starving. He also told Zack of plants he could eat on the grasslands, so that Zack could keep to his vegetarian diet, leaving the meat to Jair and Nilo. Yar taught Jair how to make a spear after coming across an oak tree standing alone amongst the sea of plume grass. They then broke one of the limbs off and Yar filed one of the tips down to a fine point using a rough rock.

"It will do," Yar said, standing back and admiring his work. "This won't be nearly as sharp as the one I have, but it will be a decent hunting spear."

Yar's spear had a metal tip that was as sharp as any sword point, and he wielded it in as deadly a way as any warrior could. Yar then began instructing Jair in the delicate art of rabbit hunting, but Jair wasn't very good at it because his hearing was nothing like Yar's. Yar could pick up on the subtle sounds that Jair just couldn't hear, so he only caught one rabbit to Yar's three. Jair didn't mind, though. At least he knew he could catch them, and it could come in handy at a later date.

The small group walked silently and unseen through the nights, and only Yar's songs broke the evening air, aside from the crickets' loud chirpings. A few days passed, and they reached an area that had many more hills and even small patches of trees that stood lonely in the dark moonlight. A stream was running smoothly a little ways away, and it was overhung with grass that fell over the side of the bank and reached down. It barely touched the water's surface, making small ripples in the water's slow current. Small fish nibbled on the ends of the weeds, thinking the grass were bugs landing on the water, but they went back down disappointed at their lack of a catch. The small party had decided that the stream would make a good place to rest for a while, and Jair wasted no time in going to the water's edge with his spear. He was looking for the small fish that were swimming just below the surface. It had been months since he had tasted the sweet flesh of fresh fish, and the sight of the stream made him crave it even more than normal. The rest of them sat resting for one of the very few rests they took during the evening hours.

Nilo lounged near the stream, just as Jair had, and her dark form could be seen dipping her large beak into the water. She came up a moment later with a mouthful of water. Zack leaned up against a small gnarled tree that sat solitary, close to the water's edge. Yar was lying on the ground a short ways away, and he was resting against his helmet while singing one of his songs quietly. Jair watched a fish swim up to the top of the water, and he was about to strike when his attention was suddenly brought to a black figure who sat at the top a hill on the other side of the stream. The figure had not been there a few moments ago, and his sudden appearance had attracted Jair's attention in the flash of an eye--a skill that came from constantly being paranoid of every living creature that passed by.

Jair stood stone still, unmoving, and he quietly whispered to the others around that they were being watched. The other three ceased all movement immediately and remained stock still just as Jair had, but the strange figure did not leave and clearly had already spotted them. Both the stranger and the small party remained fixed to their positions, and it was the figure that made the first move. He walked directly toward the small band, and Jair readied his spear as the stanger came closer. Yar slid his helmet on in preparation for some sort of conflict while Nilo stood, splayed her talons, and readied herself for the confrontation as well.

Jair looked around quickly, trying to spot any sort of possible ambush, but there was none--only the lone figure. As the figure came closer, Jair was able to make out the shape of an Ominice, and he wondered if it was one of the white Ominice that they had seen so many times. If it was, Jair was going to run him through with his spear. He knew what they did and how they had killed with no reason at all. The Ominice stopped at the edge of the stream and stood for a moment, unmoving.

"Hello?" came the strange Ominice's voice. It was cool and calm. "I have been watching you."

Jair didn't move. He was in the shadows and did what he could to stay out of site. He had not been expecting a welcoming tone from the stranger, and it made him feel out of place as he stood there, spear ready for attack.

"I don't know if you have shelter or not, considering you are staying outside in the middle of the night, but we would like to offer you some if you would care to join us," said the stranger.

Jair was instantly alarmed because the strange Ominice had used the words "we" and "us" instead of "I" and "me." There were more of them, and Jair had no clue where they were. He began to panic, searching all the shadows and expecting other Ominice to jump out from everywhere at any moment. But nothing happened.

"It will be raining soon, so if you do decide to stay with us, you can find our tents over the hill and on the far side of the valley." With that said, the strange Ominice turned around and headed back up the hill from which he came. The small party watched as he disappeared over the hill and was lost to sight.

"What was that all about?" Zack asked after the Ominice had left.

"I'm not sure," Jair said, lowering his spear.

"It would appear that we have been offered shelter by this strange Ominice, but I wouldn't take it too readily," Yar said, and his voice echoed hollowly from inside his helmet.

Nilo stared up at the sky. She could see the storm clouds that the Ominice had been talking about slowly making their way over the edge of the hill, and they looked anything but friendly. It was a huge wall of clouds blacker than the night itself, and they seemed to devour all light and replace it with a darkness that was darker than the deepest night.

"Well, what should we do? Should we take the Ominice's offer? He seemed nice enough," Zack said.

"I would rather not," Yar said, turning toward Jair. "Nice doesn't always mean nice. There are many slavers in Elon, so I suggest we stay away from that Ominice and his dwelling."

"Then we shall stay here," Jair said. "Let's set up a watch in case they are aggressive and that Ominice was just sent to get our numbers to make sure we weren't too big a match for them to take."

So it was decided that they would stay at the stream for the rest of the night and the day. Each of them would take turns keeping watch, but none of them were able to do so. The storm that the stranger had told them about was no joke. It came upon them fast and hard, first hitting them with large gusts of wind, and then dumping gallons upon gallons of rain on them. The rain came down in thick sheets, slamming into all four of them and pinning them to the ground. There was no way to escape its soaking grip. The four of them remained at the lake's edge, huddled under the single tree that offered very little cover. The small lake began to swell and the grounds became thick with mud as time passed. In no time, they were covered in mud and as miserable as one can get in their situation.

Lightning flashed in the distance, lighting up the sky with its brilliance, and even though the sun had come up, it was still as dark as night. Thunder shook the ground, and Jair had to yell to get everyone's attention.

"I think that we should take the stranger's offer," Jair said, and his voice was nearly drowned out by a loud clap of thunder overhead as he proposed the idea. The other three shook their heads in approval.

The four of them crossed the small river and headed over the hill toward the strange Ominice's camp. The river was moving very quick by this time, but they all managed to make it to the other side without any trouble. Coming over the ridge, they could immediately see a couple of carts on the opposite hill of a valley. Next to the carts was a large tent structure pegged securely to the ground. A large, dancing fire could be seen illuminating the tents' insides. Several Ominice were moving around on the other side of the fabric. Their silhouettes dashed back and forth on the tent walls as the flame burned brightly.

The four found their way closer to the tents. As they came nearer, they could hear the rain slamming on to the tents' roofs. After a moment of sitting in the rain just outside the entrance, all of the laughter that was previously coming from inside the tents stopped, and Jair could see all the silhouettes turn in their direction. Then one of the figures split apart from the others and threw open two flaps that held the tent closed. A head and half a torso stuck out from the opening. It was Ominice, but recognizably different from Jair. Unlike Jair, this Ominice had a long thin snout with an under bite in which teeth could be seen poking from the lower jaw. Iron ring piercings lined his bottom jaw on both sides, just like Yar had in his ears.

The strange Ominice looked at all four of them, drenched and miserable, and he didn't waste any time. "Come in, and get out of this rain," he said, stepping aside and giving them a welcoming gesture.

All four of them walked in warily, ready to dash out at the first sign of trouble. As they entered, their fears melted away in the homely place that awaited them. Several Ominice pups looked at them with wide eyes. Nilo was the main attraction because of her size and species, and they could barely take their eyes off her. There were other Ominice that were older, as well. There was also a female with a lovely blue-green hue to her scales and a few other older males. There were twelve Ominice in all, and they all sat looking at the newcomers.

"My name is Isherwood. This is my wife Crixa, and these are our pups," said the Ominice that had let them in out of the rain. Jair looked around the tent and saw all of the faces staring back at him.

"These are all your pups?" was the only thing he could manage to croak out.

"Yes, they are," said the mother of them all, Crixa, and she had pride in her voice when she said it.

"You have a lovely family," Nilo said, amused by the little pups, who were awestruck by her appearance.

"What are you all doing out here?" Yar said, stepping forward. "I have lived in Elon all my life, but I have never seen this many Ominice this far east. Ever." Everyone in the tent suddenly became somber and quiet as Yar finished his question.

"We were driven from our home, along with several others a few months back," Isherwood replied. "We used to live in the Endrithida clan, in one of the northern villages, but then one day we were attacked. Before anyone knew what was happening, several Endrithida villages were gone, and soon after, the whole clan fell to a new clan called Divinity. They were ruthless and killed many from our clan, and a group called the Untainted was the worst of the lot. They wore white armor and killed anything that was unlucky enough to step in their path."

At the mention of the white armor, all four in the small band took in a deep breath. _How could they have destroyed the Endrithida clan?_ Jair thought to himself. _They were such a big clan. What else have these white Untainted done?_ Jair's mind was buzzing with questions, but he knew he would have to wait for Isherwood's story to finish.

"Afterwards, they forced us to build shrines for some god of theirs, but many of us resisted and were executed for this reason."

"How terrible!" Nilo broke in, shocked by what Isherwood was saying.

"Yes, it was. After that, most of the other Ominice converted to the Untainted's twisted ways, but we did not. I was determined to get my family as far away from Divinity as I could, so we snuck away at the first chance we could. It was incredibly dangerous, but by the Maker's will, we made it out, and ever since, we have been heading east. We heard of a place called Zenith, where many of those who had escaped are trying to head to, and we hope to find some safety there."

"Zenith. That is where we are headed," Zack spoke up, and Isherwood looked at all four of them again.

"Really? You should travel with us then. We would enjoy the company, and there is power in numbers. We will be able to keep each other safe."

Jair thought about the idea for a moment. They knew very little about these Ominice aside from what they had just told them, and he wasn't prone to trusting anyone, especially if he had just met them. But Isherwood was correct. There was power in numbers, and they could all help each other out in the end. Still, larger groups are easier targets to spot... Jair looked around at his four companions, and each of them seemed to like the idea.

"All right. We will travel with you to Zenith, Isherwood."

Isherwood gave a satisfied nod and then showed them around the tent before busying himself with making preparations for the next day. Jair helped him while also talking to him about the route and possible places that Zenith could be. Zack conversed with Crixa and was bestowing his knowledge of medicinal herbs on her, which seemed to be the way he became acquainted with most new people. Nilo was overrun by the smaller Ominice pups as they asked her all sorts of questions which she couldn't answer fast enough. Yar went over to some of the older pups, singing one of his quirky little songs. Apparently it was a good one because all of them were laughing hysterically, and it was the laughter that distracted Jair from his work with Isherwood. He looked up and saw his friends joking and laughing and having fun for the first time in what seemed like forever. The air itself seemed to glow with warmth, even though the rain beat heavily outside, and thunder could still be heard clashing overhead. It was like a little piece of heaven inside the warm tent--like a sanctuary amongst a terrible battle. All was calm, and Jair could finally rest without fear. These new Ominice accepted them as if they had been there all along.

### Chapter Seventeen

Family of Twelve

Traveling with the family of twelve was very different from what the four of them were used to. The family of twelve used Breyals as a means of transportation, and they would hitch them up to their karts and use them as pack animals, just as explained earlier. The Breyals were tame, of course, unlike the one the small party had encountered a while back, and the big Breyals pulled the kart easily through the endless grasslands.

It was harder to keep the beasts from eating the grasses than actually traveling through it, and Isherwood constantly had to slap them to get them moving again.

Jair and his friends were accepted by Isherwood's family almost as if they were relatives or family themselves. And, for the first time since entering the plains, Jair felt safe walking in the daylight hours instead of the twilight hours of night. It was a pleasant change to see the sun and be able to see the land that spread out before them in a sunny light instead of the black shadows of the night.

Jair walked next to the front kart and watched the various grassland birds flying to and from their nests, bringing nest supplies and food back to their young. Watching them fly gave Jair an uncontrollable urge to fly himself. He had not done so in quite some time because the only one who could fly before they met Isherwood was Nilo, and he didn't want to leave his friends who couldn't fly back on the ground, but now he decided that he needed the exercise. He then dropped back to where Nilo walked at the rear of the small caravan and asked, "Want to go for a flight?"

"That sounds like fun!" she said excitedly. She loved flying, and any chance she had to use her new flying ability, she took it. After they had escaped Whither, and she had finished her first flight, desperate and broken as it was, she had ever since been filled with the overwhelming need to flap her wings. In truth, the only reason she did not simply fly until she could fly no more was because of Jair. Otherwise she would have left and gone and seen the whole world.

One of the nearby Ominice pups heard their conversation and instantly jumped up and said, "I want to come along."

Jair looked up at him. "That's not my choice." Jair said, looking toward the pup's mother. Crixa gave the pup a look that was only known to the pup as a yes, and, on seeing the look, the pup jumped up with excitement.

Crixa turned toward Jair, "I have been meaning to ask. Do those holes in your wings cause you any trouble when flying?"

Jair opened one of his wings a short ways and looked at the two holes that bore through the soft flesh. It had long been healed, but it still was a grim reminder of his less than pleasant experiences of the past.

"Oh! Those look terrible." Crixa said with surprise. "I'm sorry, dear. I had only seen the one when you first came to our tents, and I had no idea that there were more. May I ask what happened?"

Jair looked at her for a moment before answering quietly. "Very bad things happened. Things that I would not wish on anyone." Crixa's expression became very sad, and she did not press the matter.

Jair had sounded so hurt that she honestly didn't care to know the terrible reason the holes were bored into his wings. "All right, Torhin. You may fly with Jair and Nilo. Just be safe," Crixa said, changing the subject, and the little pup jumped off the kart , spread out his wings, and tested them, while completing a couple of stretches. All the other pups watched as the three of them readied for takeoff. Then Nilo sat back on her haunches and, with her powerful back legs, launched herself into the air. Jair and the pup Torhin took a short running start and launched themselves into the air after her, beating their wings heavily to gain altitude.

The pups below felt the wind of the takeoff, and they gave great cries of excitement as the three of them flew overhead. They then flew high into the air and nearly touched the white clouds that loomed overhead. Jair was awestruck by the sight below him.

_This truly is Palin-Lailil,_ he thought as he looked on from above. Below, the grass was moving in large waves as the winds skirted the ground, causing the grasses to shift back and forth in great gusting motions. The sight was one of the most bewildering sights he had ever seen in his life, and the sky and clouds added to the brilliance as they cast large shadows upon the ground below.

Jair, Nilo, and the little pup Torhin flew gently on the warm breezes that cascaded from the south, and Torhin hit wave after wave of wind and followed it like a surfer would on the ocean. He spun off the wind and cut through its turbulences. Jair was immediately impressed at the little pup's flying ability, and he wasn't sure if he could manage maneuvers like Torhin had just done. Torhin then spun around and took a headlong dive for the ground. Without hesitation, Jair followed, locking his own wings close to his body and going into a steep free-fall. The two of them fell toward the ground at an incredible speed.

Jair could feel the wind pass by him as he fell, and he was forced to close the clear membrane on his eyelids so he could see. Torhin was a short distance away from where he was and had opened his wings slightly to perform a downward falling barrel roll, as well as other various maneuvers until, at last, the ground was nearly upon them. Then, as suddenly as it began, it ended. Torhin threw his wings wide open and landed heavily upon the ground. Jair landed next to him a moment later. The two of them then waited for Nilo, who had decided not to take the headlong dive and instead was circling in the air and descending slowly like a vulture gliding down to the carcass of a dead animal.

"You're an exceptional flyer, Torhin. Where did you learn to fly like that?" Jair asked, turning to the little pup, who was only a little taller than Yar.

"My dad taught me how to fly. He used to be one of the fly guards when we used to have a home," Torhin said, looking to the kart that was rolling over the uneven ground toward them. "Mom said he was one of the best flyers in the entire clan, and he took it hard when the clan was overthrown, but we don't talk about that."

"I see," said Jair, looking up as Nilo came in for a landing. She alighted on the ground next to them, and then the three of them waited for the karts to catch up before moving on once again.

"Did you see me, Mom? Did you see me?" Torhin said the minute the kart came close enough, and Crixa did as any other mother would. She said she had seen him and went on about how good a flyer he was and how he was the best flyer in the entire world.

Jair pulled himself up onto one of the karts and sat next to Isherwood. "Torhin told me you were a fly guard," he said, and Isherwood gave a heavy sigh.

"Yes. I used to be, but I try not to think of that right now."

"What happened?" Jair asked, trying not to encroach too far into the wrong territory.

"What happened was about the same general thing that happened to you, Jair, from what I hear. I talked to your friends, and they said that you don't talk about your past very much. I would like it to be the same now with me."

"I understand," Jair said and looked off into the distance. The two of them became silent, and only the creaking of the kart wheels and the Breyal's bays could be heard. Nilo had moved back to the rear of the karts and was entertaining the little pups, just as she had the previous night. They all laughed and squealed with joy as they beat her with their wings.

Nilo didn't mind. She enjoyed the attention and played with the pups just the same. This was the way things were for days on end. Most days were spent hunting, foraging, and traveling, with an occasional stop for rest or to investigate some odd sight or location they happened to cross.

Hunting parties were soon formed, and Jair would fly with Nilo and one of the older Ominice named Vannan. Together they would spot game on the ground, and then drop from the sky to collect their meals. It was a little harder than it sounded, but they were able to bring a few small game animals back each expedition. Most of them were rabbits.

Vannan was just as good at flying as his brother Torhin, and Jair felt that his self-taught flight was inferior to the elegant flight of Vannan and Torhin. It was hard for him to maneuver as Vannan did partly because of the holes in his wings and partly because he had never been properly trained, but he was determined to do what he could to keep up with them.

Yar led the ground expedition, and he had taught the oldest Ominice Warren how to hunt on the ground in the long grass. Between the two groups--the ground and the air--a small contest began to form. Both groups tried to catch the most game in a single day, and the one who came back with the most was able to choose from the best of the catch. The contest went back and forth between land and air each day, but most of the time it was about even. These contests helped to keep their minds busy and their bodies fit, which was best for both groups in the end, and it also kept food in all their bellies.

As the weeks slipped by, the days began fading away sooner, and the nights grew longer and longer. The winds changed also, as did the grass, changing from its beautiful deep green into a rustic brown. Jair sensed pressure changes in the winds and a distinct smell in the air, as well, that screamed to him of the changing seasons. Isherwood and Crixa seemed to pick up on the changes also and became more restless as the time progressed. The wildlife also sensed these changes and began to act differently than before, and the ground expeditions began collecting more food than the air groups. The seasons were beginning to shift from late summer to fall, and soon it would be winter.

### Chapter Eighteen

Slavers

The moon rose high in the sky. Its large form was encircled by clouds that lazily drifted by. A fog had settled on the ground, covering everything in a mist, but it was not incredibly thick--just wisps hiding in the shadows. Long plumes of grass shifted in the wind lightly, and a large patch of it had been trampled down in a rough circle.

Two Breyals munched happily on the old grasses, not traveling too far from their staked lead ropes. A small fire snapped and popped in the middle of the circle, where a small pit had been dug so that the flame could not spread. In the circle, Jair, Nilo, Zack, Crixa, and Isherwood enjoying the evening stars high above. Together they had traveled over a league looking for Zenith, but so far, there had been little to no sign of the supposed city. Jair was beginning to doubt that there was such a place at all. He didn't care if it existed really. He had come to like his life with the family of twelve. Sitting around the fire and telling stories was something he began to cherish. It seemed to fill a void that had been placed in his heart as a child--a void that had been there since birth.

All of the little pups were sleeping in one of the karts, along with Yar a short distance away, and the older Ominice had taken over the second kart and were resting peacefully inside. Jair and Nilo did not need to sleep anywhere but on the ground. They had become accustomed to sleeping in the most miserable conditions, thanks to living in Whither, and the grass was like a feather bed to them, so there was no complaining between them. Zack was the same way. He didn't mind the grass, and Crixa and Isherwood would give up their lives for their children, never mind a comfortable place to sleep.

It was at the moment when the moon was a little over a quarter of the way into the sky that a sudden scream from somewhere close by jerked everyone from their sleep. Jair was up, spear in hand in the blink of an eye, and Nilo was right next to him. The others were up almost as quickly, and a sudden commotion near one of the karts attracted everyone's attention immediately. From the foot of the kart, two Naves with odd marking on their faces, looked up with their large eyes at the now wakeful group of creatures that they had been robbing, but it wasn't just stealing that they were performing. It was worse. They were kidnapping.

Both Naves had Torhin tied up, gagged, and held between the two of them. Torhin struggled desperately to try and escape his captors, and had managed to work free of the rope they had gagged him with. He was doing all he could to break free, but the two Naves held him tightly. Upon see the group awake and very angry, the Naves dropped Torhin and began running for the long grass closest to them. Jair hurled his spear at the fleeing Naves but missed, and the spear stuck in the ground right behind them. Crixa ran over to the kart and gave a wretched cry as she saw it was empty of the rest of her offspring.

Isherwood quickly cut Torhin's bindings, and the little Ominice began crying at once. Zack was at Torhin's side in an instant, and he checked for any sign of injury, but aside from rope burns, there were none. Jair wasted no time, and he was issuing orders before anyone else had a chance to know what was going on.

"Vannan, you, Nilo, and I are going fly, and just like we are hunting, find those Naves and the rest of the pups. Look for any sign of movement in the grass. Yar, you and...." Jair stopped and looked around for a moment, confused.

"Yar? Yar!," he shouted.

" Yar is missing" Nilo said as she finished circling the entire camp. "They must have taken him too."

"Or he is with them," Isherwood spat out, turning on Jair with a fire burning in his eyes.

"There is no way Yar is with whomever these other Naves are," Nilo shrieked back.

"How do you know?" Isherwood said clearly, enraged that his pups were missing. "Maybe he had been planning this all along--find a nice group of creatures, travel with them a few weeks, and then let all of his buddies kidnap and plunder them in their sleep."

"Keep your mouth shut, Isherwood," Jair said forcefully. There was no reason that Yar would do such a thing. "You take your boys and search the ground for any sign of the Naves that took your pups. Nilo and I will search the skies."

Isherwood stared at Jair for a second, his chest heaving with anger, before storming across the clearing and calling his sons to him. "Comm, Homm, and Warren, you will follow me. We are going to find your brothers and sisters." Isherwood said, and the four of them started into the long grass with spears in hand.

Zack then slipped in next to Jair. "What should I do, Jair?" he asked

"Stay here and make sure the mother and the other pups are protected. If the Naves come back, I expect you to fight them, or at least drive them off," Jair replied

"I would rather not fight, but if it comes down to that, I will do what I must," Zack replied and Jair gave him a nod. Together with Nilo and Vannan, he turned back into the clearing and jumped into the air, flying off in search of the kidnapped pups. Below, they could see Isherwood and his oldest sons pushing through the long grass, searching for any sign of the Naves they had seen leaving the area.

Yar was furious. How could he have let himself get caught off-guard so easily? He went over what had happened at the time of his capture in his head. He was sleeping happily when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, hands grabbed him and clamped his mouth shut. He struggled, of course, but there were many of them and only one of him. He soon found himself bound up tight, being hauled off through the long grasses, and he knew he was in a tad bit of trouble. He knew he wasn't the only one to suffer the same fate because he could hear the muffled cries of another victim not too far away. He guessed it must have been one of the little Ominice children of Crixa and Isherwood. Just thinking of the poor thing tied up made his blood boil.

_When I get out_ , he swore to himself, _I'm going to make these fiendish Naves wish they had never set foot within a thousand miles of us._ Yar then raised his ears as high as he could so he could hear better and learn any information he could to help him escape, but the two Naves carrying him made it difficult. "What a night! In fifteen minutes we made a whole year's worth of wages," Yar could hear one of the Naves who was carrying him say.

"Yes. The boss will certainly be pleased," the other replied.

"How much do you think we will get for each one?"

"At least fifty pounds for each. Maybe more."

"What do you think those white-armored Ominice do with them, anyways?"

"I don't know. Just shut up, and let's get this done."

_Oh, great. Slavers!_ Yar thought. He knew their currency, and fifty pounds a piece was a large number. Nave based currency off of pounds of food. There is very little food out on the grasslands, so it is the most valuable thing for any Nave colony.

Yar soon could hear the sounds around him begin to change. It was subtle at first but, after a few moments, it was clear that they were moving through some sort of cave. The air reverberated with sound, and he could hear every footstep of those who carried him. He also heard many other footsteps as well and guessed that there were about fifteen Naves in all.

The slavers wound their way through the tunnels of the cave, which seemed rather large for Nave tunnels, and their journey ended just as abruptly as it had begun. Yar was tossed onto the hard cave floor, and he gave a grunt as he landed heavily on the stone floor. After he had regained the wind that had been knocked from his lungs, Yar struggled free of his bindings and sat up. He pushed the nets that had held him down off of his body completely and looked around the cave he was in to gain his bearings. His eyesight adjusted to the darkness of the cave, and he could see the outline of the rocks around him. He found four bundles lying on the ground next to him, and he knew it was the four little Ominice pups of Crixa. Yar reached over and began untying them, but before he had untied the first pup, another Nave kneeled down right next to him and began helping him. It was a female Nave, and she was trembling all over. She looked as if she would pass out on the spot from sheer fright. After each of the pups were untied, Yar looked at his surroundings once again. They were in a cave with a high ceiling and only one entrance in which two Nave guards stood watch. He then turned to the new Nave.

"Who are you? What is your name?" he asked.

"I am Giselle," she said weakly.

"My name is Yar. Did you just get captured also?" Yar asked

"No. These slaver naves found me a few days ago and dragged me to this place," Giselle replied.

"Do you know who are captors are?" Yar asked.

"I don't know who they are, but I do know they have been trapping as many of the free creatures of Elon as they can find and selling them for profit. Many of my clan members have already been taken, but I didn't know where, and none of them have been seen since," she concluded.

Yar's mind was racing over every bit of information he could think of that might have been useful for him. He went over the distance he suspected they had traveled and recounted the steps it had taken his captors to reach his present location, and he also went over the turns they had taken in the cave.

Right, left, right, right, ran through his head at a million times a second. Yar had been meticulously trained when he had been with his old clan. He kept this information bottled up inside him, telling no one that he had, before his exile, been the royal guard for the king of his clan, or Pumma, as the Naves called them. Yar had been the best and had received the best training because the Pumma he protected was his very own father--until his father's unfortunate assassination, that is. After that, Yar was forced into exile. He never fully forgave himself for his own failure to save his father's life, and he was actually lucky to have survived the assassination at all. In most hostile takeovers the heirs to the Pumma were usually executed as well, but his former mate had saved his life by begging the new Pumma desperately to spare his life. It had worked and, instead of being executed, he was exiled. He was given nothing but a spear and his father's helmet as a constant reminder of his failure and exile. It had torn Yar up inside for years, and he traveled from place to place, never finding a place where he could truly fit in as an outcast, until that fateful day when he saw an Ominice fleeing an angry Breyal's wrath.

"Just stay close to me and do as I say, and we will be out of here before sundown," Yar said suddenly to Giselle, as he figured out what the best action for their situation should be.

"You know a way out?" Giselle asked hopefully.

"No, but my friends are looking for me and the four pups by now. Either way I mean to find out where these slavers are going to take us."

"You brought your clan with you," Giselle said with a hint of hope still in her eyes.

"Even better," Yar replied with a slight smile.

"What could be better than a clan?"

"You will see if we can manage to escape, but for now, let's try and calm these pups down." The two youngest of Isherwood and Crixa's pups had begun to cry, so Yar and the little female Giselle did what they could to calm them down.

"What is your name, honey?" Giselle asked as she gently patted one of the poor little Ominice on the back.

"Izzy," the little pup replied between sobs.

"And the one next to her is Guage, then Allren, and the last is Henna," Yar finished.

"It will be all right, Izzy. Don't cry." Giselle tried to comfort the little Ominice, but she herself was shaking just as much as the little pup was.

"What kind of a clan do you live in?" Giselle asked, trying to calm her own nerves.

"It's different, and that is the best way to explain it," Yar said, and then he began going over in his head the easiest ways to escape so that he could manage to get all of the pups, plus the new Nave Giselle, out. He could kill the guards. _It wouldn't be that hard_ , he thought to himself, _but the noise would attract the others. I can't take more than two, so it's best to find a different solution._ _Is there any other way out of this cave?_ He began looking throughout the cave for any sort of weakness or possible route out.

Giselle looked at him questioningly. "What is it?" she whispered.

"Nothing. I'm just looking for a way out."

"There are no tunnels or places where we can dig our way out. This cave is solid rock. I have already checked," was her reply. Yar gave an agitated sigh and then looked from the pups to Giselle to the two guards standing watch.

Then he looked back at Giselle. "Can you sing?"

"Sing?" Giselle echoed back, confused at the odd question.

"Yes, sing. Can you sing?"

"I suppose so," Giselle replied, still confused at Yar's intentions.

"Good. Will you take the pups over to the far wall and sing to them for a few moments?" Yar said, standing. "Just make sure they do not look back or hear what's going on over here."

Giselle ushered the pups over to the far corner of the cave and started a beautiful tune that set the whole cave alive with pure notes of her voice. _Yes, she can sing,_ Yar thought to himself as he made his way to the guards. The two guards at the entrance began yelling at Giselle, telling her to keep her maw shut, and Yar slowly moved toward them, unhindered by their shouts. The guards, then seeing Yar, immediately averted their attention from Giselle to Yar. They raised their spears and started barking at Yar to get back with the others, but he continued forward, ignoring their petty threats.

Jair landed heavily next to Isherwood and quickly folded his wings into their normal position. "We spotted a cave about two hundred yards to the north. There seems to be movement, and we think that is where the pups might have been taken."

"Then let's get to that cave as soon as possible," Isherwood said and immediately started in the direction Jair had pointed. The kidnapping of his children had left him in a mood that could have woken the dead, and a rage burned just beneath the surface of his skin so hot that Jair thought he could feel it himself.

He and his older boys had made crude wooden spears like Jair had, and they were intending to use them to their fullest ability. Nilo was still in the air, searching for any sign that could possibly confirm their suspicions about the cave. They had traveled roughly two miles from their original camp, and all paths seemed to lead to this one hillside cave that burrowed itself into the side of a cliffy hill. The sun was just beginning to show its face, and the wind had picked up speed, while grey storm clouds began to form overhead. The small search party covered a hundred yards in a flash, barely looking at the clear path that lay ahead of them. It was obvious that several creatures had passed this way recently because the grass was laid flat and pressed to the ground.

They continued to run until suddenly, from overhead, Nilo took a dive toward the earth, and they all came to a sudden stop.

"Something must be happening ahead!" Isherwood barked out and then broke into a full sprint. They came into a clearing and found Nilo on the ground with all four pups alive behind her massive body, but there was also another. Pinned to the ground by one of Nilo's large talons was a Nave. Her eyes were so wide with fear that Jair thought they would fall from her face, and she was shaking so hard that she could barely speak the words she wished to say.

"He is inside the cave!" she shrieked over and over again before passing out from sheer terror a moment later.

"Yar must still be in the cave," Jair concluded.

"He is working with the kidnappers," Isherwood said again.

"No he is not!" Jair snapped back once again.

"I am going in after him. Whoever wants to come is more than welcome," Jair said.

Vannan stepped forward. "I'll go with you, Jair," he said, and Isherwood looked at his son with a hard eye. "I don't believe Yar is a kidnapper, and I don't think you should either, Father, so I am going to help Jair find him."

Isherwood looked at his son a moment longer. "You better not go and get yourself killed, boy, ya hear?" he said and then he turned to Jair.

"Keep my boy safe, and I hope you find your friend. If he is working with these Naves, run him through for me," he said. Jair nodded his head and then turned to Nilo.

"I can't fit in those caves, Jair," she said with disappointment in her voice. "I will help take the pups back, but please be careful. Caves are dangerous places to fight in."

"I will, Nilo. Just make sure everyone gets back safely."

"What about the Nave?" Nilo asked, looking down at the small she-Nave.

"Take her with you. I don't think she is with the kidnappers, so she is probably one of their prisoners," Jair said as he made his way into the darkness of the cave.

Darkness enveloped Jair instantly as he entered the cave, and his senses began to tingle all over his body. The smell of the damp cave loomed in the air, and the sound of water dripping somewhere off in the deep crevices within the cavern could be heard as it made its way to his earholes. He flicked his tongue in and out to sense the pressures changes around him, and he could feel the weight of the earth above him as they moved deeper into what appeared to be a manmade cave carved deep into the hillside. His clawed feet scraped against the stone floor, making it impossible to be stealthy, but they still did what they could to keep quiet. Moss clung to almost every rock, giving the air an undesirable smell that nearly choked them.

Vannan was on Jair's heels, trying to stay close so that they would not become separated and then lost within the maze of tunnels. The two of them walked through the cave for what seemed like forever, expecting enemies to jump out from around every corner at any second, but strangely, there were none. It was eerily quiet, like all the life on earth had suddenly vanished, and only Jair and Vannan were left in its empty vastness. Vannan kept shifting nervously every time they came to a stop. It was obvious he was uncomfortable, but he continued to press on despite that fact, and Jair was grateful for his support. Isherwood's distrust of Yar had made him a little unsure of himself and put doubt in Jair's own mind as to whether Yar's intentions were good or not, but Vannan's trust in Yar gave him the reassurance he needed.

The two kept moving forward through the cave, stopping at any sound or sign of danger, and after a period of time, with continuous stopping and then starting again, their nerves began to mount to the point of breaking. Then, from up ahead, they heard an odd sound. It was some sort of movement coming toward them in a strange lolloping kind of way, and Jair motioned for Vannan to ready himself. Then, from around the corner, came a Nave. He was dragging one of his legs awkwardly behind him as if wounded and was making his way down the hall as quickly as an injured Nave could. Upon seeing Jair and Vannan ahead, he gave a low groan and then pulled a spear that he had been dragging loosely behind him to a readied position.

"Come on with ya, then. Come and get me!" the Nave barked at Jair and Vannan.

Jair instantly recognized the strange accent. "Yar!"

Yar sat for a moment, looking at his two friends in front of him before dropping his spear to the ground.

"Jair, thank the Maker it's you," he said with a great sigh of relief. "I'm hurt, Jair, and I need some help."

Jair and Vannan ran to his side and saw a jagged line running from Yar's ribcage down to his knee.

"Don't worry, Yar. We're going to get you out of here," Jair said, picking Yar up like a small child.

"You have to go now, or they will catch us. There are white-armored Ominice right behind me," Yar said, grunting as Jair lifted him off the floor.

"Untainted are here?" Jair said, surprised.

"Yes, and they are not happy, so we have to leave now."

Jair then handed Yar to Vannan, and they immediately headed back the way they had come. Jair stopped to pick up the spear Yar had been carrying. As the three neared the cave entrance, the loud movements of armored Ominice could plainly be herd behind them.

Bursting from the cave exit and into the full shine of the sun, all three of them had to cover their eyes for a moment. Once their eyes had adjusted, they made a dash for the tall grass a short distance away, but Jair stopped short and turned around to see a flash of white armor break free of the darkness of the cave. Just like the three of them, the Untainted soldier shielded his eyes from the sudden brightness of the sun, and Jair saw his chance.

With all of his might, Jair heaved his wooden spear at the Untainted soldier. The wooden pole buried itself into the Ominice's white armor. The Untainted soldier gave a cry of shock and fell backwards against the hill behind him, but a moment later he was back up again. He pulled the spear from armor, unhurt. The spear had penetrated the armor, but not enough to cause harm to the wearer.

Afterwards, more Ominice and a few Naves flooded out of the cave entrance, but before they were able to advance any further, a high-pitched screech rang out from above. All of the Untainted looked up as Nilo dropped from the sky. She opened her huge wings at the last second, just before colliding with the ground, and slammed into the earth, sending debris flying in every direction. She let out another one of her ear-splitting cries, and the Untainted wavered in their advance. Then Jair stepped up next to her, spear in hand and ready to meet anyone that dared challenge them, but the Untainted started retreating back into the cave, unwilling to fight the two of them. Nilo pawed at the ground, hungrily, awaiting confrontation, but a moment passed, and all the Untainted were lost to sight, hidden within their cave.

With the Untainted gone for the moment, the four of them quickly retreated back to their camp, wasting no time in discovering whether the Untainted would come back out of their caves or not. Once in sight of the karts, Isherwood spurred the Breyals forward immediately, ready to put as much distance between them and the Untainted as possible.

It was nearing sundown, and they were many miles from the caves before they all began to feel safe again. Nilo ensured that they were not followed by flying overhead and searching the ground so that no one could sneak up from behind.

Yar was put onboard one of the karts, along with the female Nave he had helped to save, and Zack immediately began to tend to everyone's wounds. Isherwood kept the Breyals at a steady pace, not willing to risk resting in case the Untainted should be following. Nilo continued to fly overhead, ensuring their escape was final. Once she was sure that they were not being pursued, she landed and began traveling on foot with the rest. The whole party rode in silence. No one wanted to say anything. They were all just ready to get away from the area. Zack bandaged Yar's wound as best he could, but with the lack of tools he had, it was a rather rough job. But it worked, and that was all Yar needed.

"You won't be able to run for a few days, but it is only a flesh wound, so it should heal quickly," Zack said as he finished up the last of his work.

"It was worth it." Yar said, looking at the bloodied wound before laying his head on a pillow and closing his eyes.

Zack shook his head. "That Nave has the strength of you Nilo," he said.

"He is quite brave," Nilo replied, but she was busy looking at the new female to pay too much attention.

Jair saw her, and he knew she was wondering the same thing he was. "I wonder where she is from." Jair spoke his thoughts first.

"I don't know, but I think I nearly scared her to death," Nilo replied with a sympathetic tone. Giselle was still passed out and lying in the cart with Yar. Zack was putting some sort of a liquid potion together that would wake her.

"I didn't mean to," Nilo continued. "I just saw her with the pups, and I thought...." Nilo's sentence drifted off as Giselle began to slowly awaken. Her head bobbed up and down for a moment, and then her eye cracked opened. She then came to full alertness, and the first thing she saw was Zack's pure white fur and his menacing appearance standing over her. She gave such a start that it caused everyone to look and see what had happened. Her eyes were wide open again, as she looked up at him.

"It's all right. It's all right." Zack said, backing away a short distance to give her space. Giselle sat for a moment, frozen with fear, looking at all of the giants looming over her. Her breathing was quick, and her eyes flashed from Zack to Nilo to Jair and then, lastly, at Yar. Upon seeing Yar, she started to calm down.

She sat silent, shivering before finally collecting enough courage to ask a question. "What are you going to do with us?" _Us._ Jair thought to himself for a second before realizing that the little she-Nave thought she and Yar were still prisoners.

"Nothing," Jair then replied flatly. "You are free to go if you like, and so is Yar, but I doubt Yar will want to." Jair said, and Giselle looked around, confused. She was sure that she was being dragged off to some other dark place where she would never see daylight again, but on closer inspection, she found that she was not imprisoned. All of the little Ominice pups she had helped rescue were sitting comfortably in the kart ahead of her with a creature who appeared to be their mother.

"Do you have anything to eat?" she asked after a moment, and Zack then reached over and pulled a few crabapples he had found a few days earlier from a pouch and handed them to her. She ate them hungrily, and once she was finished, she began to look around.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"We are headed for Zenith. At least, that is the idea, anyways," Jair replied "Technically, we have no clue were Zenith is, but we do know it is somewhere in Elon, and that's where we are going."

"Zenith. I have heard of it. When I was back in my village, they talked of the big city, but no one ever told me where it was. I just know it is a huge city in the northern parts of Elon."

"Well, that is where we are headed, and you are welcome to join us, if you like," Jair said.

"I don't think I have too much of a choice. I wouldn't last a minute out on my own," Giselle said worriedly.

"I think you did a very good job on your own," Yar's voice suddenly rang out, and he sat up.

"You should be resting, Yar," Zack said, giving him a stern look.

"I'll be fine. You worry too much, Zack. Anyways, I'm sure you are all wondering what happened in those caves back there."

Jair, Nilo and Zack looked at each other for a moment. They all were curious about what had happened, and how they were all able to escape the caves with as little injury as they had.

"All right," Jair said. "Tell us the story, then."

Yar grinned and then began his tale. "Now I will begin at the beginning. I was sleeping happily when these Naves jumped out of nowhere and tied me up. They then took us to the cave, as you all know--and deep into it, I might add. That is when we met Giselle," Yar said, looking over at the little she-Nave. "At this point, I didn't know whether the rest of you knew we were missing or not, so I decided to make my own escape. There were two guards guarding the entrance to our open prison cell, which was just a rock cave, so I had Giselle take the four little ones over to the opposite side of the cave while I dealt with the two guards. After I had finished taking care of them, I led Giselle to the mouth of our cell and told her the turns it took to make her way out. You see, I had mentally made a map while they were carrying us to our cell, so I knew the general way out, but before we had even gotten more than five steps out of our prison cell, one of those white-armored Ominice came lumbering around the corner. I tried to stop him before he could warn his comrades, but I was too slow, so I sent the Giselle ahead while I covered the rear and made sure no one could attack us from behind. Luckily, there was no one up ahead of us, otherwise everything might have gone differently. It wasn't long before they came after us, so I turned and faced them and sent Giselle on ahead alone. You saw the results of the fight. It didn't end very well for me, but I was able to push them back," Yar said, turning over and exposing his wounded side.

Giselle's ears drooped to her side at the sight of the wound. "Are you all right, Yar?" she asked. "Yes. I will be sore for a while, but I'm still alive."

"From now on we will have a watch posted every time we sleep so that nothing like this can happen again," Isherwood said so that everyone could hear. "I'll be willing to take the first watch, and we can figure out who will take the next watches afterward."

From then on, a watch was placed each time they rested to guard over the sleeping bodies so that they would at least have a better warning if something beset itself upon them.

### Chapter Nineteen

The Rift

The small caravan of creatures continued to travel through the grasslands, making their way north and around the edge of a large forested area. Their journey was time-consuming, especially because the karts continuously got stuck in holes. Jair, Nilo, Isherwood, and his oldest sons would push it out again back onto solid ground.

The weather was generally fair, though, and only a few times did the heavy thunderstorm bring torrents of rain down upon their heads. As time passed by, the nights began to slowly grow colder and colder. Jair, for the first time in his life, felt the new sensation of winter on the land. It was an odd sensation that caught him off-guard. He at first thought he was catching some sort of foreign disease, but after telling Nilo his worries, he was reassured, as she too noticed the changes.

With this knowledge, he was greatly relieved, but he was still very edgy about the whole situation. He kept his fears to himself, hoping that the strange occurrences would pass, but it only became worse. It was early the next morning that he woke and was shocked to find the ground covered in a strange substance that was as white as Zack's fur. It was extremely cold to touch and scared Jair stiff with fear. Yar later explained to him that it was the first snowfall and was totally harmless. He also explained that more was to come.

"What do you mean by 'more?'" Jair asked.

"I mean that it will start raining this stuff from the sky, and it will cover the ground until you can no longer see the grass."

"I don't like the sound of it," Jair said, perplexed. He didn't understand what, or where, this substance came from, and his life experiences had taught him to fear the unknown. _We have to find Zenith soon,_ he thought to himself. _This white stuff is going to cause us problems._

Ominice and cold weather did not mix well. Ominice are not built for cold climates and many Ominice had been known to freeze to death in temperatures as low as forty degrees Fahrenheit. Their blood simply did not flow well in cold climates, so they--just like humans—had to rely on other animals to stay alive in the colder climates. Now, of course, there were some Ominice clans that had thrived in colder climates. Using the hide of oxen to keep themselves warm, they were able to adapt to the colder climates, but most Ominice stayed closer to the warmer climates.

Jair tucked his fears of the cold away as best he could and forced himself to press on. By mid-afternoon, the snow had melted away and everything went back to normal. He breathed a sigh of relief and was glad it was gone, but his relief was short-lived, as it only grew worse over the next few days. The cold nights became frigid to the point where they all huddled together next to the Breyals to try to keep warm. Jair looked to Yar for advice, but Yar had never spent a winter out on the plains. He had simply stayed in his burrows deep within the earth, away from the frigid temperatures above him, and he only ventured out when he needed food, so he was just as much at a loss as Jair was.

It was then that the situation became dangerous, and the first snowfall fell on the prairie lands in huge blankets of pure white, and the temperature dropped rapidly. _Now what do we do?_ Jair thought, looking across the miles of prairie land that spread itself out before him. There was no sign of Zenith, and Jair's belief in the city was disappearing. The only thing he could think of was trying to find a warmer climate.

"We have to leave the prairie lands," he said to Isherwood one evening while he was stood guard. "It's too cold, there is little food and shelter, and I fear that it will only get worse as time progresses."

"I agree," Isherwood replied. "We must get out as soon as possible, or we will all starve to death. There is a black line on the horizon ahead of us. I think that it might be a forested area, so I suggest we head there."

"Do we have a choice?" Jair said depressingly.

"No. I suppose we don't."

The next day, heavy storm clouds rose in the sky in front of them, and they all pushed on through the large drifts of snow toward a faint black unknown line on the horizon. As they closed half the gap between them and their destination, snow began to fall. As the minutes ticked by, so did the wind until the world around them began to haze over as the blizzard set in.

Jair threw his hand up in front of his face to try and stop the tiny frozen water drops from stinging his eyes. He took one moment to consciously look at his hand as he held it up, shielding his face from the snow. He watched his own arm shake because he was extremely cold and had nothing to protect himself from the frigid air.

Pressing on, Jair fallowed in the path of Yar, who was a few steps ahead of him. Yar, who had recovered from his wounds, was walking just behind the kart and followed the rut the wheel left in the deep snow. He, too, was shivering from the cold. Suddenly Yar's ears perked up as they caught a distant sound. A sudden backdraft in the winds had caused the noise to drift towards him, and as he heard it, he instantly recognized it from having heard it several time before. Most often, his friends were the ones who created it. It was the steady beating of wings. Ominice wings.

"Jair, someone is fallowing us!" Yar yelled back so that Jair could hear over the deafening winds. Jair then looked back over his shoulders just as the snow cleared for a slight moment, and he saw several figures, black and luminous, flying towards them.

"Untainted!" Yar screamed. All in the caravan looked back and saw the ugly glints of the white armor as the Untainted flew towards them, and they all immediately began to panic.

"What do we do?" Crixa screamed, and many of the Ominice pups began to cry at their mother's fear. Jair's mind raced. He was at his wit's end with the storm, the Untainted, and not knowing where to go or where he was. It all massed together into one giant ball of life-threatening problems that left Jair feeling absolutely desperate. If it was just himself and his friend, he would attempt to run and hide, but with so many others it was impossible. For a fraction of a second he thought of abandoning the family of twelve to their fate, but he instantly threw this idea out as he looked ahead at all of Crixa's pups huddled and helpless in the kart ahead of him. He would get them out of this mess--all of them--even if it killed him.

"Run!" Jair bellowed over the storm's loud winds, and the Breyals were spurred into a full sprint. Everyone pushed forward as quickly as they could through the deepening snow. Jair ran up to the closest kart, which had his spear in it, and he pulled it free. Total chaos flowed through everyone as they desperately tried to escape their pursuers, but they all knew that they could not escape.

_I have to get them to safety. There is no telling what these Ominice will do to us if they catch us,_ Jair thought to himself as he ran on. _If we can just reach those trees, he told himself._ But that was never how it worked and, as they neared the black horizon line, their last string of hope was broken and tossed into the wind with the rest of the now.

The line that had been in front of them was no forest at all. Instead, sheer cliff rose hundreds of feet high and as far as the eye could see in both directions.

"Now what do we do?" Isherwood yelled in frustration. He sat for a moment, thinking over their situation before walking to the nearest kart and pulling free one of the wooden spears that they had made. Then he started making his way back toward the Untainted.

"What are you doing, Isherwood?" Jair yelled as he passed by.

"I'm going to try and save my family," Isherwood said and continued on.

"Not alone, you're not," Yar said, jumping from the kart, already hooking his helmet into place. "I'm coming with you." Isherwood's oldest sons, Comm, Homm, Warren, and Vannan also had retrieved their spears and were ready.

"We are coming with you, Isherwood. You're not alone," Jair said, and then he turned to Crixa "Crixa, you fly all your pups to the top of the cliff and get them as far from here as you can."

Crixa shook her head "no." "I won't leave you here," she said, and Jair looked back at Isherwood for his help in the matter.

Isherwood stared at Jair for a moment before confronting his wife. "Crixa, you have to leave now before it's too late. We will give you as much time as we can. You must take the pups and find Zenith. There you must try and make a new life."

"I can't leave you." Crixa said as tears filled her eyes.

"You must go," Isherwood said tenderly. "You must get our children to safety." They embraced, and Jair thought he saw tears falling from Isherwood's eyes.

"Go save them," Isherwood said and then turned and headed back toward the oncoming Untainted.

Crixa, strengthened by Isherwood's words, turned and began to take her pups to the top of the cliffs, crying all the while.

Jair turned to Nilo. "Nilo, you have to go with them."

"I know," Nilo replied. "I will come back for you," she said before lifting off the ground and flying toward Crixa and her pups. Jair then turned back to the carts to see Zack lifting a weapon from the cart. He said nothing to him as walked up. He only acknowledged that this was the first time he had ever seen him with a weapon in his hands.

The Untainted outnumbered them three to one. Secretly, Jair didn't plan to live through this fight. It was his last battle. His last performance for those he loved. The only thing that mattered now was to save at least a small part of the family that he had come to know so well.

He made his way up next to Isherwood. Together they led the way toward the Untainted.

"Try and keep it on the ground. Force them to come to us!" Yar yelled as they drew closer to the Untainted.

Suddenly, the Untainted shifted their flight pattern and went into a steep angled dive toward them. Jair watched the Untainted fall toward the ground, and his heart began to beat rapidly in his chest as the adrenaline flowed through his veins. He watched them as they drew closer and closer and, with each wing beat, he could feel his heart lurch. The sound of his own beating heart pounded in his ears, and he watched as the Untainted spiraled down toward him, their jaws open wide in snarls of rage.

Just before they made contact, Jair leapt up into the air, spear in hand. Two Untainted slammed headlong into Jair, and the three of them crashed onto the snow-laden ground. skidding to an earth-grinding halt. Jair pushed the first of the Untainted off of him, and he was dead, skewered by the spear Jair had brought to point just at the last second before the collision. The second Untainted was still alive, and he reached for a dagger on his belt. Jair threw his arm up against his assailants forearm just in the nick of time, stopping the blade inches from his chest. Then Yar rammed his spear into the second Untainted's side, and he went limp. Jair heaved him off, picked up the dagger that the Untainted had dropped, and rolled out of the way just as another Untainted slammed down on the ground right where he just had been.

Everyone was locked in combat--a thick, heavy combat that was so fast it was almost impossible to comprehend. Isherwood went head to head with an Ominice twice his size, and he dodged every slash of the enemy's blade, barely able to counterattack himself. Yar, with the most combat experience out of them all, cut his way through a group of Untainted with precision and accuracy Jair had never seen in another creature, and Zack was back to back with all four of Crixa's oldest sons. His pure white fur was already stained red with his own blood from a cut to his chest.

Jair didn't waste a second, and he too joined in the fray. More Untainted were flying in by the second, so he charged them with little regard of his own safety. He was beyond caution at this point and, as he charged, he let them know this with an earsplitting roar. The Untainted weren't hindered by his approach. Jair closed the distance between him and the Untainted in the blink of an eye, and the Untainted swung their gorors toward Jair's unarmored body.

Jair ducked and jammed his dagger into the armor of the Untainted. The dagger stuck in the hard metal, and Jair was forced to abandon it, leaving the Untainted injured but not out of the fight. Now, without any true weapon, Jair then turned to his own natural-given weapons. Jair whirled around on the Untainted closest to him and struck him hard in the head with his tail gorors. There was a metallic ring as he struck the Untainted's helmet. The enemy was knocked to the ground, dazed and confused. Then a third Untainted slashed at Jair's midsection, and sparks flew in every direction as the blade raked across Jair's abnormally hard scales. Jair turned on the Untainted, snarling, and he checked himself for any wounds on his body, but there was none. For just a fraction of a second, all the Untainted attacking him backed off and stared at him in disbelief. The Untainted were shocked that Jair had managed to survive, but their surprise was short-lived, as they charged a second time, but this time with even more ferocity than before.

Jair whirled around as the Untainted surrounded him, and he struck back with all his might, but his tail goror did nothing to the Untainted's armored body. In the end, one of Jair's tail gorors shattered after he had struck as hard as he could at the closest Untainted. Jair was getting weary from defending himself, and the Untainted was able to get closer and stab Jair in a less protected area in the upper leg. Jair gave a roar of anguish and then fell to his knees. The Untainted wasted no time and began stabbing mercilessly, looking for other weak points on Jair's body. They soon succeeded in opening several wounds, and Jair could feel his body begin to weaken as his eyes began to blur.

He glanced across the battlefield as his vision swayed back and forth as if he was on a boat and seasick. As he finally brought his eyes back into focus, he could see Isherwood. He was lifted off the ground by the big Ominice he had been fighting, and an arm goror was pierced through his chest and protruding out of his back. He shook frailly for a second before falling completely limp, and then the big Ominice pulled Isherwood off the blade and chucked him aside. A great cry rose into the air as Isherwood's sons looked at the unspeakable sight.

_This is it_ , Jair thought as he watched an Untainted stepping closer to him, and he could see his own blood beginning to pool, turning the pure white snow a deep crimson red. He noticed that the snow was swirling around him and watched the individual snowflakes flury by him, acknowledging that each was different and, in its own way. It was at this point that a shadow enveloped him, and he heard the most beautiful sound he could think of--Nilo's high-pitched screech, along with many others that he did not recognize, but he could not see anything anymore. He shut his eyes and fell fully to the ground, letting his dull feelings flow over him. It was distant, and he could hear a voice calling his name, but it was like they were calling from the other side of a vast canyon. All was black, but he could feel his body suspended in the air. It was like swimming in a pool of liquid, and the voice continued to echo. Some he knew, others he didn't, but each reassured him that he would make it. Then all was silent, and there was nothing but darkness.

### Chapter Twenty

The City of Zenith

Death is a fickle thing, wrapping itself around us like a blanket, confusing the living in its mysterious ways. It comes in all shapes and sizes and attacks everyone at one time or another, but in the end, all fall to it because it is unsurpassable. Then there are those who have seen it but just turned the other cheek and passed it by. Then there is the in-between state—a transcending into a midsection between both life and death, a lingering sleepless wake in which an eternity seems to pass by and yet, at the same time, everything is slow.

This is where Jair sat. Cold and near death, but not fully so. He had been prepared to die in the frozen battlefield out in Palin-Lailil, but Nilo had set the sky alight with her voice, and the will to live welled up deep within him. It could be said that, with that single screech, Nilo had saved Jair's life. Her voice woke a force within Jair that many do not consider as a relevant or real source. His soul, which was set afire and burned deep within his broken body, determined him to keep alive and slowly turned itself outward until it flowed through every inch of him. He could hear voices--voices that he had never heard and others that he had. Nilo's was one of them, but hers was very far away, and it echoed in the distance.

It was like floating through a dream that had no path to follow, and the voices grew louder until he thought they would burst. Then one voice, in particular, broke away from the others, and Jair could feel himself choke as it spoke. "Wake up, Jair." It was as distinct and clear as a bell in a chapel.

Its long thrums vibrated the air around in a solitary manner, as all bells do. Jair yelled to the voice within his unconsciousness for it to fallow, but it would not. The voice was Quein's. Memories of Quein's bloodied and broken body floating down the river Jair had laid him to rest in found their way back into Jair's empty mind. All that had befallen him since that first day when he had fished with Quein ran through his head like a movie--all of the regrets and wishes that would never be fulfilled. Then all was silent--totally silent, like midnight in the most remote place on earth. Deathly still, and Jair could hear a faint voice that he recognized but did not know. "I am not finished with you yet," it said so silently that it was barely audible.

Jair's eyes opened. He looked from side to side and tried to guess where he was, but it was apparent he was in some strange tunnel. Beautiful architecture rose directly above him in the form of Ominice dancing across the ceiling. Their forms were gleeful and happy, and it was like nothing Jair had ever seen before. He tried to sit up, but he fell back with a grunt of pain, sinking into the bed that he had been laid upon.

Nilo, who had been sleeping in the corner, woke instantly at Jair's groan. "Jair?" she said rather hesitantly, moving closer to his bed. Seeing that he was awake, she sank down next to the bed. "Oh, Jair! You're awake. I was so worried when I saw you lying on the ground covered in blood. I didn't know what to do, and then they said you weren't going to make it, and you nearly didn't, and I was so scared. I didn't want to believe that you might not make it, and now you're awake." Nilo was in tears as she continued to talk. She threw her wings around him out of pure joy.

"Where are we, Nilo?" Jair asked. His lungs burned with every breath, but this pain just reassured him that he was still alive.

"We are in Zenith," Nilo stated with excitement. "Once over the cliff, Crixa, all of the pups, and I ran as fast as we could, but along the way, we met this strange creature walking with a couple others of her kind, and they spotted us. At first they were ready to fight us, but once they saw the pups, they ran over and started to help. They were Zenithians, Jair, and the one who saved us was really nice. They all were. Her name is Gweine, and she blew a horn. Within moments, griffins flew over and landed next to us. Then Gweine told me to lead them to the Untainted, so I led the way and saw what had happened. You were lying on the ground, motionless. The Untainted surrounded everyone else. It scared me so much, Jair. I thought I had lost you."

Jair sat for a moment and just enjoyed Nilo's embrace. It was nice to know that they were safe. "Don't worry. I am not going anywhere," Jair said in a whisper, and then Yar walked in the doorway. Giselle was with him, and they ran over to Jair's bedside immediately. Their ears flopped around as they ran.

"You're awake!" Giselle said, giving Jair a big hug.

"I knew he would make it," Yar said happily. "Anyone who can live through the trampling of a Breyal is one tough creature."

Jair smiled at Yar's comment and then looked up to see Crixa and her oldest sons walk in. Crixa's eyes were swollen with sorrow, and her son's looked as hard as stone. Jair's smile faded quickly as the memory of what had happened came back to him. Isherwood, with a blade stuck in his chest, and an Untainted standing over him.

"I'm so sorry, Crixa," Jair said, his heart reaching out to the grieving mother.

"Don't be sorry, Jair. You did all you could, and Isherwood died protecting us. He died protecting his family, just as a good father should," she said with a sad smile. Then she changed the subject. "I'm glad to see you awake and well, dear." She gave Jair a hug of her own. Her sons looked well--a little roughed up, but still alive. Each one of them had some sort of bandage on, covering one wound or another. Nothing as extensive as Jair's, though. Most of them just had some sort of an arm or hand wound.

"Where is Zack?" Jair asked suddenly, not seeing the big white beast present in the room.

"Zack is in one of the other rooms, resting," Yar said. "He took a rather nasty slice to the chest, but he should be all right. I doubt he will bounce back as quickly as you, Jair. You heal quickly, but Zack should be well in a day or two."

Jair then looked around at the room he was in and asked, "What does Zenith look like?"

With this question, everyone began speaking all at once, and Jair could hardly take in everyone's interpretations of the place, but the group seemed genially excited. "It's beautiful," were the last words said, and it was Nilo who had spoken them.

Just then one of the strange creatures Nilo had been talking about walked into the room. Jair stared at him for the longest time, trying to decide what to think of him. He had the head and neck of a horse that ran into a humanlike body. His feet clip-clopped on the floor as he walked, and Jair couldn't help but marvel at his hoofed feet and long-haired tail that continually flicked back and forth. He was deep black in color, aside from a few patches of white strewn throughout his body, and he was not as tall as Jair had expected his rescuers to be. The little creature asked everyone to leave the room, so they did as he asked and slowly proceeded to leave.

Once they had all left the room, the little beast made its way to Jair's side. "Hello. My Name is Bream, and I have been the one curing your wounds. Might I say you are the most peculiar patient I have ever had?" he said, looking Jair over from head to foot.

"I hear that quite often," Jair replied.

"You're quite lucky to have survived what you went through. You had multiple wounds in several different places, but strangely, none of them were lethal, and your core body temperature was the lowest I have seen in years." The little beast sat for a moment, staring at Jair.

"How did you do it?" he asked bluntly.

"How did I do what?" Jair replied. "How did you get all these lines running throughout your scales? I have never seen anything like them, and I have worked with all different clans of Ominice."

Jair craned his neck and looked at the lines that snaked their way up his torso and ended just behind the base of his skull. "You don't want to know," Jair said, sinking back into the bed's comfort.

The little creature didn't bother pressing the issue further and began looking over Jair's wounds. "Your wounds were not too deep, and the worst of it is over, so you should be able to recover within a day or two, but I must again say, you are lucky to be alive. You nearly died out there. You will have to thank your griffin friend for your survival."

"I owe her more than I can count," Jair said.

Bream continued his wound check. "We will be having a grand meeting in the Collenel in three days. Hopefully, you will be well enough to make it." Bream uncovered one of Jair's bandages.

Jair winced as the bandage came off, and he looked down at the jagged wound. "What is a Collenel?" he asked, trying to take his mind off the pain of the wound.

"It is where we hold all our meetings here in Zenith. Once you're well, I will have someone take you there," Bream said.

"Thanks," Jair replied

"There is no need to thank me. I'm glad to help," Bream replied, finished checking the last of the wounds, and started to leave the room.

"One more thing," Jair said before he left completely. Bream poked his head back in. "What are you?"

Bream chuckled to himself. "I am a Neyhan," he replied, and then he left the room.

Jair ran the name over and over again on his tongue, trying to pronounce it correctly. After a while he gave up and slipped back into a light sleep, embracing the warmth of the bed and the goat skin blanket that surrounded him. Mountain goats were quite prominent in the Zenithian mountain range.

### Chapter Twenty One

St. Dagan's Academy

Jair was up and walking about in two days, just as Bream had said, but it took a great deal of motivation to do so. Even then, he was only able to move with the help of Nilo. He used her for support, leaning the greater part of his weight on her. When the third day came, Nilo helped Jair to what Bream had called the Collenel.

The Collenel was the meeting place where all of the leaders of Zenith, or councilors, went to talk of important matters. Upon entering, Jair immediately looked up and drew in a deep breath because of the sheer size of the Collenel. It was a large oval structure with a center pedestal that held a crystal as big as Nilo's head. It flashed from the light that dropped from an opening high up in the ceiling, and illuminated the whole room with a pale blue light. Griffins sat on ledges encircling the room, and they all looked down upon those who entered. Hundreds of cave structures spiraled their way up the Collenel, where griffins flew to and fro, landing one moment, just to glide back to where they had come from a moment later.

Surrounding the room's outer edges were numerous chairs and perches in which all manner of Zenithian creatures sat and perched. Behind them were pillars, carved into the different races. There was the griffin, the Neyhan, the Nave, the Ominice, the Kraw and Krouwel, and the last, which Jair had not seen yet, was the human. The human was a strange-looking race, very different from what he had been used to. It took all he had in him to keep from staring. Jair and all his companions, including Zack--who had almost fully recovered from his wounds--Crixa and her sons, and many others, were ushered into the room. Once everyone had settled down and finished gawking at the Collenel's magnificent wonders, a Neyhan stood with his head held high in the air and began to quiet the crowds. He was pure white in color and as stout as a full-grown redwood tree. Bream stood off to the side behind him, along with two others--a pure white female Neyhan with an elaborate set of metal plate armor and a fully armored soldier that stood off to the right of her.

"Welcome to Zenith," said the white Neyhan that had just quieted the crowd. "We know you have traveled very far to get here, so we will make this quick. First, as you can see, we are a city of many different races, and none is higher than the other. We treat each other with respect and kindness, which has always been our way. My name is Wherim. I am the strategic commander of the ground forces here in Zenith. Those surrounding you are also commanders and leaders of one sort or another. We lead Zenith through thick and thin, chosen by the people to make decisions best fit for Zenith."

Jair looked at all of the different faces of the different races in the room. They were all nodding their heads in accordance to Wherim's speech.

"We welcome you all to our city," Wherim continued "For those who are wishing to become a part of our city, we will be dividing you up into groups to find the most appropriate place for you. Those who do not wish to join Zenith may leave at any time. We will escort you to our borders, and you may continue on your way. No one is prisoner, or forced to stay here against their own will, so if you would all please begin to form lines at the nearest councilor, we will help you find where you need to be." Wherim's speech was so plain and upfront that no one really knew whether they should join Zenith or not. There was a sudden murmur that spread throughout the crowd, and Jair, Nilo, Yar, and Zack sat and stared at each other for a moment. None of them knew what to do.

They had spent months trying to reach Zenith, and now that they there, they were unsure which direction to travel in. They knew nothing of Zenith. They didn't know where it originated from. They didn't know their systems. They didn't know if they were trustworthy. They didn't know anything. Again, Jair felt that sensation that you get when you dive headfirst into something you have not the slightest clue as to what it was, and all of them were apprehensive about what needed to be done.

"I want to join Zenith," Jair said at last. "But not without everyone's consent," he said and turned to his companions.

"We have traveled hundreds of miles and faced every danger possible. What is the worst that can happen if we join the place we have searched so long to find?" Yar said, turning toward Zack.

"I think we should join them," Zack said. His voice was level and calm, as always, when important decisions needed to be made. "I am no fighter, and that is clear. These Zenithians saved our lives, so I would like to return the favor someday and maybe use some of my knowledge to save theirs."

Jair then turned to Nilo. "What about you, Nilo?

"I go where you go, Jair," was her only reply.

"Crixa, are you and your family going to make a home in Zenith?" Jair asked, and Crixa looked at her four oldest boys next to her. Her oldest, Warren, a sturdy long-snouted Ominice that looked much like his father, Vannan the second oldest, who had his mother's appearance, and Comm and Homm, who were twins of the same age. The rest of her children were back at the infirmary with Giselle.

"I have little choice, Jair," she said. "But this is probably the safest place in all Elon, so we will stay."

"Then it is settled. We will join Zenith," Jair stated and then made his way toward the front of the Collenel, with the help of Nilo, to a line of creatures big and small forming up so they could join the city of many races, as well.

### Chapter Twenty Two

Fallon and Gweine

"You are in no way obligated, or forced, to live or be here. You may leave at any time, and no harm will come to you," Wherim said. He was talking to a small family of Naves that was worried about the type of work they would have to perform if they joined Zenith, but Wherim reassured them and offered the suggestion of farming and other possible jobs they could perform for their keep in Zenith.

"Farming is always needed here in Zenith, and it is very simple," he was saying. "We will supply the seeds needed to start, and we only request half of what is produced, if it can be spared. Any that cannot be parted with will stay with you. There are several places in some of our outer colonies that have the most nutritious ground, perfect for planting. If that does not sound good, there are several jobs here in Zenith that are always in need of good help."

The Naves eventually decided on the farm life, and Wherim ushered them to another Neyhan who would help them from there. Other creatures came to Wherim's counsel, and it was the better part of a half an hour before Jair was finally next in line. The Collenel had become less crowded, as most of the occupants had left, and Jair made his way to Wherim. As he stepped up, Bream, the medic that had helped to heal Jair's wounds, stepped next to Wherim's side. They had a quick, quiet conversation before Bream returned to his original spot.

"And you are Jair," Wherim said. "Bream here tells me that you are quite the peculiar creature, and that you and your friends have had quite the run-in with the new nation to the west."

Jair sat for a moment, not knowing how to react, and he hoped that they wouldn't be thrown out or—worse--handed over to the Untainted.

"May I ask what it was that you did to draw their attention?" Wherim asked. "For curiosity's sake only. Your answer will not change the treatment you receive from me, he added.

Jair began slowly in his explanation, thinking through his words carefully.

"We did nothing. They have chosen me and my friends as a target for some reason, and my best guess is that they didn't like that we fought them after they had kidnapped some of our own," Jair said, and he felt that this was the most appropriate explanation. "My friends and I are simple creatures looking for a peaceful place to live, and we have traveled a great distance to do so."

Wherim sat silent for a moment and thought through what Jair had told him. "Well, then," Wherim replied in a softer tone than he had begun. "Where do you come from, Jair? Jair felt as if every eye in the entire room was upon him, so he kept his eyes locked with the great white Neyhan, trying not to let any sign of weakness show.

"I have no home," Jair stated flatly. "So I come from nowhere, and my friends each have their own stories, and we have never asked each other where we come from--only where are we going." Wherim looked at all of the companions that surrounded Jair, and then back to Jair himself.

"What are your skills then, and what do you wish to do with them?" he asked, and Jair sat for another moment, thinking. He did not know what their skills would be considered. He and all of his friends were all generally knowledgeable about everything, each relying on the others to cover their weaknesses. "Survival," he decided at last. "We are skilled in survival."

"Interesting," Wherim replied and then wrote some notes on a piece of parchment he had with him. "Well, if survival is your skill, then I think I have the perfect job for you and your friends. But first you must be properly trained." Wherim then turned and faced the heavily armored Neyhan soldier behind him.

"Fallon, will you take Jair and his companions to the lower towns? Show them to the training grounds and St. Dagan's Academy." For the first time since entering the Collenel, the big armored knight next to Bream and the white female moved. It was only his head and even then ever-so-slightly, but at least now Jair knew that it wasn't just an empty suit of armor. From there, the mysterious knight and his beautiful white Neyhan companion led the way out of the Collenel and into a series of tunnels, lit brightly with delicately carved torches. They all walked in silence for a short while before Yar broke the silence by first catching up with the big Neyhan warrior and then trying to match his long stride. The Neyhan looked down at Yar for a moment before returning to his original position.

"So, Fallon, where are you taking us?" Yar said in his usual manner.

"You can talk to him, but do not expect a response," said the female Neyhan walking next to Fallon.

"He has been poor to talk to since he took an arrow to the throat that made him mute."

"Oh, the poor dear!" Crixa said sadly.

"It was a price well-paid. He saved several others in making his sacrifice," the she Neyhan replied.

Nilo then leaned close to the side of Jair's head, near to his ear, and began speaking, "Those two were some of the ones who saved us the other day," she said in a whisper. "The white female is Gweine. Remember? I told you about her the other day. You already know who the one on the right is." Jair gave a slight nod in recognition of what Nilo was saying.

"Fallon was the reason I joined the Falke," Gweine continued.

"What is the Falke, exactly?" Zack interrupted.

Gweine then turned her head in his direction. "The Falke is one of the many factions in Zenith that carry out specific tasks that need to be completed. Falke is mainly based on search and rescue, as well as defending Zenith against any attacks from the air. There are four factions in all. The Falke--which is the one Fallon and I are in--the Fusch, the Lowe, and the Eule. They are a sort of division within Zenith that is based on the specific skills of those who are in each faction. We Falke fly under the falcon banner because our skill lies in the air."

"No offense, Gweine," Nilo broke in, "but how would your skills lie in the air? You have no wings, and you cannot fly." She asked looking a little confused.

"You will see once we enter the training grounds. Until then, just listen. This could help you once you have been situated in St. Dagan's Academy. The Fusch are infiltrators, and their skills are based in espionage. They weave their way through enemy lines and find out information invaluable to our Lowe ground troops. The Lowe is the ground force, as I had just said. They are the brave soldiers that fight on the ground and protect our roads and cities from attack. The Eule are the ones who come up with all of the plans and tools and ideas for defending Zenith and attacking her enemies. They are the brains of Zenith, really. All of the most intelligent creatures usually find their way to the Eule. Together we make one hole--the falcon, the fox, the lion, and the owl, all coming together to protect those within Zenith's rule. Unlike what Wherim has said, there are slight breaks in each group. Each faction, of course, thinks that their faction is the best out of them all, which can sometimes lead to disputes, so don't go around saying your faction is the best. You might find yourself challenged in a duel, or something unpleasant like that."

"Why are you telling us all this?" Jair asked.

"Simple," Gweine replied. "I need your trust if I am to work with you, and this is the easiest way to gain that trust--by letting you know everything right out at the start."

Jair was confused as to why Gweine was so trusting with him and his companions .They had only been in Zenith for a few days, and she was giving them the rundown on all of Zenith's little quirks, but Gweine's logic actually made sense to Jair, and it played on his mind as a legitimate reason to tell his own story. _To truly trust someone, I must learn to let go so that nothing is hidden._ He was rolling this over in his mind when, all of a sudden, they entered into the clear light of day. Jair squinted as the light hit him in the face, and then a sudden gust of wind reminded him of how cold it was outside the tunnels of Zenith.

"Here Put these on. They will keep you warm. Most of Elon is well below freezing during the winter season, so you will need protection," Gweine said, pulling several yak skin coats off racks and handing them out. It took Jair a moment to figure out how the coat went on, but once he figured it out, he found that it fit him quite well. There were several different sizes and different shapes of coats made for each species in Zenith. Jair's had a long hood so that his head and neck would be protected from the cold. Two slots were cut in the back so his wings could be let outside of the coat instead of cramming them inside, which allowed him to move more freely.

Yar's was small and fit as if it was built for him. Zack and Nilo went without. Zack was born with a fur coat, so he would not become cold, and Nilo's feathers were more than fit for the chilly weather as well. She fluffed herself up as they exited the tunnels, and Yar started laughing at her sudden change in appearance.

"Are you done yet?" Nilo asked after Yar had finished laughing and pointing.

"Sorry, Nilo. I just found that incredibly funny. I have never seen you do that before. Do you always fluff up like that when it is cold?"

"Sometimes," Nilo replied, and then she turned around and headed down a staircase that had been carved into the side of the mountain.

Gweine, leading the way again, turned to Fallon. "This group is going to be harder to teach than I thought," she said as she passed by. The big Neyhan didn't make a sound. He simply turned around and followed her down the stairs.

The trip to the bottom of the mountain was a long one. There were over a thousand steps to a bridge that crossed a short canyon and then entered what Wherim had called Lowtown. It was an extremely long descent, but in the end, the scenery made up for the inconvenience. Miles upon miles of the grassy landscape covered in the crystalline snow could be seen by entering one of the many elaborately carved guard posts that lined the stairs. Guards greeted them as they passed, and each wore similar attire to the one before them.

Reaching the bottom, they were immediately thrust into the streets of Lowtown after entering through a large gate. Lowtown itself consisted of wooden and stone buildings surrounded by a large wall at the foot of the mountain. Smoke drifted lazily from the chimneys of nearly every house in sight, and the smell of maple wood filled the air. The sound of hammers hitting anvils could be heard clanging away in the distance, and a moment later, they came across one of the many forges based in Lowtown. A human stood in his forge, his hammer raised above his head before he brought it down again with a resounding clang. Sparks flew everywhere with every strike of his hammer, and the metal he was working slowly began to bend to the shape he was looking for.

Jair still couldn't get over the sight of a human. The entire body structure seemed rather awkward to him, but the thing that made him stand out the most was the lack of a long snout. Human faces were totally flat, with eyes that sat right in the middle of their heads and a mouth that was just the same. It was the facial form that had created the humans' secondary name in Zenith. All humans were called Snoul, which was an abbreviated version of the word "snoutless." The blacksmith looked up for a moment from his work at the newcomers as they passed by before continuing on. Gweine and Fallon led the way through the town's numerous cobblestone streets and marched right up to the biggest set of structures in the entire city. The size of it gave Jair the chills because it reminded him of the fortress Whither, only it was not as big.

"This is the heart of Zenith," Gweine said as they walked beneath the opened gate that led into what was essentially a small castle.

"This is the home of the Falke, the Fusch, the Lowe, and the Eule--or at least all of the upcoming defenders of Zenith. The Falke reside in the eastern wing, so that is where we will be taking you. The Fusch are in the western wing. The Lowe actually reside in both the north and south wings, and the Eule are really everywhere," Gweine said, and then she continued to lead the way through the entrance of St. Dagan's Academy.

They passed training grounds in which several training sessions were taking place. Looking up at all the walls around them, they could see large banners with the symbols of each faction within Zenith etched on the cloth. The fox, the lion, the falcon, and the owl symbols were all intricately woven into each banner. It was easy to tell which banner belonged to what clan. Gweine moved quickly through each faction's residence so as not to disturb the training, and Jair could not help but gawk at all of the magnificent architecture surrounding them.

They made their way through the Lowe quarters, which was very well-kept with a large fountain in the center of a courtyard and two buildings that rose sky high on either side. Every building within St. Dagan's Academy was interconnected, and there was little separating one faction from the other, aside from the banners that were placed at every entrance. Jair made note of this as they passed through each faction's residence.

They then entered the east wing of the academy, and Gweine immediately entered into one of the many buildings surrounding the training grounds. As they entered, the first thing they saw was a griffin perched on one of the strange perches that Jair had previously seen in the Collenel. As they came in, the griffin looked up.

"Oh. Hello, Gweine. I thought you would be longer up at the Collenel today," he said, and then he spotted all the newcomers behind her. His expression changed to a very welcoming one. "Who is with you?" he asked in a lighthearted manner, and Gweine walked in casually with Fallon right behind her. Both seemed very comfortable in the oval room, which was, in fact, a library.

"This is Jair, Nilo-Hain, Yar, Zack, Crixa, and her sons. They will be joining us here as Falke," Gweine said, gesturing toward Jair and his friends as they looked around at the numerous books that lined the walls on large oak shelves surrounding them. Zack made his way over to one of the shelves and was just about to pull one of the volumes off the shelf when the griffin perched in the middle of the room suddenly burst out.

"No. No. Please don't touch anything. Some of these volumes are extremely old and fragile, and I have spent quite some time alphabetizing them."

As he said this, he got down off of his perch, making a loud ruckus. He walked around the large pile of books and over to the small band. He was an older griffin with sleek brown feathers that coated his body like armor, and he was a little larger than Nilo. He moved with a bob-weave movement that Nilo lacked and wore a long hood and cape that covered his head and the larger part of his back before falling to the floor. An owl symbol surrounded by both night and day, which was the Eule symbol, was etched into left and right sides of his hood and cape, and he wore it as proudly as he wore his own feathers.

"Malic-Rie is Eule." Gweine said, gesturing toward the old griffin. "He has been here as far back as I can remember and has always helped the Falke with any question that needed a knowledgeable answer. If there is anything you need to know, ask him."

"The lady Gweine is most correct. I have spent the better part of my life exploring life's mysteries, and I know a great deal. I will help wherever I can," Malic-Rie said as he looked at each of them, one after the other. "It's so nice to see new faces. I always find it so fascinating. Where do you all come from?"

The whole room fell into an awkward silence at his question. No one spoke or said a word. It was Crixa who broke the silence. "We are from Endrithida. We have been driven from our homes and are now seeking shelter here in Zenith."

"Well, Zenith is nothing like the beautiful forests of Endrithida, but I do hope you all find it to your liking," replied Malic-Rie.

"So far it is lovely," Crixa said. Malic-Rie's attention was once again diverted to Zack, who was searching through the title of some of the many books in the room.

"We should be leaving," Gweine broke in. "We need to get them to their quarters."

"Yes, of course. I shouldn't keep you here any longer, but may I talk with this young fellow here for a few moments? I promise I will bring him back as soon as I am finished," Malic-Rie said, looking at Zack.

"All right, but once you're finished, bring him to the Falke housing quarters," Gweine said and then led the group out of the oval library and into a long hallway, leaving Zack behind to talk to Malic-Rie. Nilo found her way up close to Jair.

"I wonder what Malic-Rie wants with Zack," she whispered. "I hope he didn't get in any sort of trouble for looking at those books."

"I don't think so," Jair whispered back. "Malic-Rie did not look angry. He looked more interested that someone was taking an interest in his books. He spends a lot of time in that library. I can smell it on him, and I think Zack's interest in those books is something that he doesn't see too often."

"We will have to ask him once he meets back up with us then, to be sure," Nilo said. Then they drifted into silence.

The hallway was long and highly decorated with statues with a couple of bends made so that the end could not be seen, but at last they reached the far side, where two large oak doors barred the way. Fallon walked up ahead and thrust them open to reveal the inside, which was an enormous circular room with a domed ceiling. The circumference was a hundred yards all the way around, and the ceiling was a hundred yards high. Hundreds of griffins, Snoul, Neyhan, Naves, and Ominice were crammed into its outer reaches, leaving the center bare, with a sand-covered floor. Two large platforms rose up on either side of the dome and faced each other, stretching from the outer reaches of the dome toward the center. Upon these were two griffins armed to the beak in full battle armor. On each griffin was a rider who wore battle gear, as well. Both riders held long wooden lances in one arm and a shield in the other. Leather ropes were tied to their waists and then tied to the griffins so that no one would injure themselves if they happened to fall.

The griffins pawed the wood platforms they were standing on in their preparations for what was to come, and their riders shifted back and forth until they found a position they felt comfortable with. One of the griffins was red in color and had a helmet that was equipped with a long unicorn horn on the front, which had a large cork on it so that it could do no real damage to his opponent. His rider was a Snoul, and he had a metal plate helmet that covered his face and kept it hidden from view.

In the opposite corner was a coal black griffin who wore no helmet. A long scratch raked across his beak and gave him a rather nasty-looking appearance. His rider was a Nave with a lance that looked too big for him to carry, and his helmet also covered his face, which was carved to look like a large flying bird that was coming in to land. Its wings spread outward and on both sides of the Nave's head and then melded into the hard iron on the front of the helmet. He had a cup in his hand, which he tossed to the ground, letting all the contents spill out as it hit. Then he readied his lance for the upcoming event.

With a sound of a bell, both griffins hurled themselves into the air, and their wings beat furiously to gain altitude as they both raced to the top of the dome. Once they had reached as high as they could, they both stopped for a second in mid-air, and then they went into an angled free fall. Their wings adjusted course as they neared each other, and the crowd began a chant. The sound grew louder and louder as the griffins grew closer and closer, and then they struck! The sound was deafening, and Jair could have sworn he felt the crash himself, as if he had been the one to take the hit. Wood splinters flew in every direction, and the Snoul rider was thrown from his mount while both griffins struggled to gain dominance over the other as they fell to the earth.

"Let's move!" Gweine yelled over the crowd's noise, and she started making her way through the crowd to the opposite side of the room. Once they had reached the other end, she led the way through another set of doors. Jair looked over his shoulder and caught a last glimpse of what was happening in the dome room, but all he could see was the black griffin on top of the other, which was on the ground, defeated. The crowd was cheering hysterically, and then the door closed shut and the cheers became muffled.

"What was that?" Nilo asked after they had gone a little ways down the next hallway they had entered.

"That was Falke Force battle training," Gweine said. "And don't worry. If everything goes according to plan, you will all see that training ground more than once."

They continued on a little longer and at last reached their true destination--a building with many rooms and windows. It was brick in structure and was built off the ground into the side of the mountain. Large pillars held the structure up so that it would not fall, and, as they entered it, they found that it was much larger than it first appeared. This was because the structure was not only built onto the mountain. It was also carved out of the mountain. It was made this way so that all who dwelled there had a small piece of home. The Naves and Ominice had tunnels and hollows like they were used to, while the Snoul, Krouwel, and Neyhan had a structure that was well-lit and more comfortable for them.

For the griffins, there was something entirely different. It was a miniature Collenel, called the Cole. It was built in the exact same way as the Collenel, filled with ridges and shallow caves in which hundreds of nests were made from large branches and other material, all built in the same spiraling way as the Collenel. These sat nestled into the cliff crevices and were easily accessible to griffins and Ominice. At this moment, several griffins were nesting, flying through the air, and making themselves comfortable.

"This is where you shall stay, Nilo-Hain," Gweine said as they entered the large structure.

"The rest of you will be assigned a hollow--except for Zack, who will find it more comfortable in the overhanging building with me and Fallon."

Nilo suddenly became very nervous. "I would rather stay with Jair," she said, her golden eyes shifting between Jair and Gweine.

Gweine looked at her for a long moment before suddenly realizing what Nilo was so nervous about. "How about," Gweine said, stopping to think a moment, "Nilo-Hain, I have a dear friend I would like you to meet that might be able to help you to get started in the Cole. She will be able to teach you how to build a nest while, in the meantime, letting you share hers if you would like to do so."

Nilo sat hesitant for a moment. She finally looked at Jair for counsel. "Go on, Nilo. I won't be too far off, and if you decide you don't like it, you can always come back," Jair said, knowing that Nilo was extremely reluctant to go anywhere he was not. Jair knew the feeling all too well himself because he felt the same way. He was the only creature she knew she could count on, and she didn't want to leave that security.

"All right, Jair," Nilo said and then turned to Gweine. "What is your friend's name?"

"Sreya-que is her name. She is a dusty griffin, and I am her rider, so I trust her very much. She has been a very good friend of mine for a very long time."

Gweine lead the way to Sreya-que, who was resting in the mess hall and eating a couple of rabbit which she had caught earlier that day. She was a delicate-looking griffin with a small frame that was covered in bright white feathers dusted with spots of grey that ran the length of her body, clustering in random spots.

"Sreya!" Gweine yelled over the noise of the mess hall.

The dusty griffin looked up from her meal. "Gweine! There you are. Where have you been? I thought we were going out to the Clefts today."

"Sorry, Sreya. I have been a little busier than I had expected today," Gweine replied as she came up to her friend.

"Hello, Fallon," Sreya said casually to the big Neyhan who never said a word.

"I have someone I would like you to meet," Gweine said, gesturing toward Nilo. "She's new here and needs some help getting acquainted with the Cole, and I told her you would be the best creature in all of Zenith to help her with that."

"Oh? How are you all liking Zenith so far?" Sreya said with a hint of excitement in her voice, and everyone said that they liked it very much.

"Her name is Nilo-Hain, and these are her friends. They have traveled a long distance and are joining us as Falke," Gweine said.

"Welcome, all," Sreya said, looking at all the newcomers that stood before her.

"We must be going. I have to direct the rest of them to their hollows. I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the Clefts with you today. I'm just too busy," Gweine said.

"Don't worry about it, Gweine. I understand you're a busy gal, and I think Nilo-Hain might find it enjoyable to see the Clefts, if she is up to flying there with me," Sreya said, looking at Nilo.

"I might go, if it is not too far," Nilo replied, and then Sreya lead Nilo out of the mess hall. Jair watched them leave. Every bone in his body wanted to call Nilo back, and keep it how it was since he met her at Whither--just the two of them--but he knew that it could not always be this way. Nilo needed contact with other griffins. He knew, deep inside himself, that Nilo was different from other griffins, and her seclusion at Whither was the primary cause of that. He wanted to do what he could to help her become what she naturally was. The best way to do that was to let go a little.

"Come on, Jair," a voice suddenly brought him back from his thoughts. He looked down to see Yar standing next to him.

"She will be all right. Sreya will watch over her."

Jair took one last glance back before moving on and out of the mess hall. Gweine showed the rest of them to their quarters, and then they were free to become acquainted with their surroundings. The Falke hollows were quite comfortable and spacious for the number of people living within them, and Jair quickly became acquainted with many of the creatures housed next to him. He shared a hollow with Yar and Vannan, while the next hollow to them was shared by Comm, Homm, and Warren. Crixa herself went back to the Collenel and was given residence with the rest of her children in the hollows that encircled one of the four levels of the Collenel.

Giselle decided that she would return to her clan in the east with the help of one of the Zenithian griffins, and she thanked those who saved her earnestly--especially Yar. Yar was a little disappointed to watch her leave, and he went with her to the edge of the city and watched her and her escort leave and head for her homeland.

Zack stayed with Gweine and Fallon in main housing, but Jair had little knowledge of what the main housing was like. He thought that, if they were half as nice as the hollow he was in, Zack would have been pretty well off.

Later in the day, Jair decided to check and see what the academy had to offer, so he set off down the one of the many halls to become acquainted with his new home. Yar and Crixa's four sons followed Jair as he explored the large academy, each just as interested as he was to explore their new surroundings.

"This academy is enormous," Warren said as they walked through an area that overlooked a large part of the academy.

"This whole city is enormous," Homm replied.

"What do you think they teach here? This is the academy, after all," Vannan asked.

"I would guess that they teach almost anything you need to know," Homm said, leaning over the side of the balcony and watching the other creatures down below bustle about in the cold as they worked to complete tasks given to them.

"I used to be in an academy of a sort, but it was not nearly as big as this one," Yar then broke in. "That was when I lived in my old clan. They taught me everything I know today." There was a silent pause for a moment as no one spoke.

"I say we do as Yar did and learn all we can while we're here," Jair said, and he looked across the academy grounds. "Any knowledge is useful knowledge, and we need all we can get."

"I agree with you, Jair, and I also think we should become acquainted with some of the locals," Comm said just as a couple of female Ominice passed by.

"I agree with Comm," Homm spoke up immediately, and the two of then left and caught up with the girls that had just passed by. They could be heard making fools of themselves as they disappeared down the hall.

"Can you believe those two?" Vannan said, shaking his head in disbelief. The rest of them continued on exploring the academy, but Jair soon returned to his quarters sore and tired as he had not fully healed from his wounds. With Nilo gone, he had no one to lean on, which taxed his weary body even more. As he lay in his new hollow, he could hear the sound of the griffins as they shrieked and flew, as well as the many other noises that were new to him, and he found it difficult to drift off. Once he did, he slept soundly and very long, but it was sleep that was well-deserved.

### Chapter Twenty Three

Ulire

Jair woke the next morning to a loud voice yelling a short ways down the hall.

"Wake up, and be in the dome in fifteen minutes!" the voice yelled, each time growing louder and louder, until it reached Jair's hollow. Then the one who was waking everyone walked in. He was a Snoul about six feet tall with broad shoulders and muscular arms. There was no hair on his head aside from a goatee on his face, but tattoos worked their way around his neck and down his shoulders. He held himself as if he had seen many hard times and more than enough troubles within his life. This point was driven even further when looking into his hard blue eyes, which Jair had to keep himself from staring into.

Jair's fascination with the big man was short-lived, as he had little empathy for their newness to Zenith. "Are you three Falke?" he asked, his voice hard.

"Yes, we are," Jair stated, standing from his bedding.

"Good. Be at the dome in fifteen." With that, he left the room and was heard in the next room going over the same thing with Warren, Comm, and Homm.

All six of them fumbled their way through the Falke quarters, trying to find their way back outside and into the dome building they had seen the previous day, but they became hopelessly lost and had to backtrack a couple of times before they ran into Nilo and Sreya-que.

"Where are you heading?" Sreya asked as they came into view.

"We are supposed to be at the dome, but we are late and lost," Jair explained.

"We are headed to the dome as well, so I can show you all how to get there from here," Sreya replied. Then she led both groups thought the Falke quarters and to the dome.

Moving through the Falke quarters, they passed through many different corridors and hallways that Jair had not seen yet, and he found himself completely lost, but Sreya-que seemed to know exactly where she was and how to get to where she was going.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the two oak doors to the domed room loomed up ahead of them, and they entered the dome and were instantly thrust into the middle of a number of training sessions already in progress. Ominice, griffins, Neyhan, Naves, and all the other creatures of Zenith from every different faction had already starting their training. Normally the training was done outside, but since the weather was cold and unpleasant, they took their training inside the dome. Each group in the dome was divided according to their training level.

Sreya-que led Jair and his friends to a group of new students headed by one of the nastiest looking Ominice Jair had ever seen. He was not very big, but he was extremely muscular, and his wings made his body seem smaller because they were quite large. He also had something Jair had never seen before--tattoos and piercings. Tattoos on an Ominice are a rare thing, and Jair thought that he must have had some sort of rare scale condition but, in truth, they were only tattoos. The tattoos were not the only spectacle this Ominice had to offer. He also had an eye patch on one eye that was surrounded by deep scars, and he also had piercings around the jaw that seemed rather odd to Jair. Despite his strange appearance, he seemed to command a strange sort of respect by those around him, and he stood barking at those who had been assigned to him.

"Move in closer. You will have to get used to each other eventually, so why not now?" he shouted, and they all did as they were told. Once everyone was close enough, he then began speaking once again.

"My name is Ulire, and my job is to teach you all that I can to keep you alive in the line of battle. You are a part of the Falke, and being a part of the Falke is no easy task. We are charged with protecting our city from the air. We defend Zenith's skies from all her enemies, but we are also taught to fight on the ground in case the need arises and our enemies are grounded. It's a lot of learning, and it is needed for the dangerous work at hand. I'm sure you have heard of the threats that we are now facing with the new nation Divinity to the west, so our first lesson is working with swords. There are several things you will learn while in the academy, but fighting and self-defense are our first priorities. Without the proper defense and offense, you are all no good to us. A dead Ominice is never able to help anyone, so that is why we teach you combat first."

Ulire then pulled a sword free from its scabbard and threw it on the ground in front of him. It landed with a dull thud on the ground a few feet from those watching, and then Ulire picked up an arm goror and threw it on the ground next to the sword.

"See that?" Ulire said stepping forward. "See the difference between a sword and the arm goror. You have all seen an arm goror, I am sure. Anyone who is Ominice--or has fought an Ominice--has seen one, but a sword is something quite different. It is smaller, thinner, and weaker than an arm goror, but it has something the goror does not--maneuverability. Swords are faster, lighter, and easier to stick between plate armor. That is why we use them. I plan to show you more than just how to use a sword. I will teach you how to be unstoppable with them. So who wants to go first?" Ulire said and then began to pace back and forth while everyone looked from the sword to Ulire and then back to the sword. Everyone fidgeted where they stood, and no one dared move.

A full minute passed before a rather large Ominice stepped forward. "What do I do?" he asked.

"It is our first training lesson, so you will be given wooden weapons with which to practice," Ulire said, and then he handed the Ominice a wooden sword. The Ominice took it and felt its awkward length and grip in his hand. He walked a few feet away and fiddled with the wooden weapon as he went. "Who else?" Ulire said, looking back at the group. Again, no one moved. Jair looked around at all of the faces standing in the training yard and decided that he would be the next Ominice to step up to the plate, so he stepped forward. Ulire gave him a full up and down bodily look over.

"Are you well enough to fight?" he asked as he finished his inspection.

"Yes, I'm well enough," Jair replied, and Ulire handed him a sword, still looking him over with a keen eye. Jair took the sword and walked a few steps back while testing the sword in his hand, just as the other Ominice had done. He looked around at all of the other training sessions that were taking place all around him within the training ground. Griffins were going over some sort of flight maneuver a short ways off, and he could see a large number of Neyhan practicing with swords similar to the one he had in his hand. Only he could tell they had been using them for quite a while because they were maneuvering them expertly. Then he turned to the Ominice he was about to face.

"This is not just playing around now. Act as if the other was trying to kill you. If you end up with a burse or two, then you are doing your training correctly. When I say stop, you must stop immediately and put down your weapon," Ulire instructed.

As he said this, two other Ominice, who had been standing nearby, walked up and fitted Jair and his opponent with padded armor. Once they were both suited up, Ulire raised his hand in the air, and then dropped it, signaling the sparring to begin. Jair immediately moved forward, sword held above his head with one arm. His other hand was still slightly injured from the previous day. His opponent took a more classical approach and came at him with his sword held closer to the hip, which is how most arm goror fighters would begin their starting maneuver.

Jair had no real idea what he was doing, and he was sure he looked like a complete fool, but he had never held a sword in his life and had only fought with an arm goror once, except for when in panic or desperate situations. He had never really fought in a sanctioned battle, and now coming face to face with this Ominice in a training situation unnerved him a bit.

The tension mounted as Jair moved closer and closer to his opponent, and it was once they were within arm's reach that the real action began. Jair's opponent suddenly lurched forward and slashed with his sword at Jair's midsection. Jair leapt to the side just in the nick of time, and he could feel his leg shiver as he came to a stop. He then circled around and began wondering why their first training lesson had to be against each other, but he had no time to think, as his opponent brought his sword above his and charged him again, arching his blade downward for Jair's head.

Jair immediately jerked his sword to a defensive position, and a loud crack split the air as the two swords met. He then cast the attacker's weapon aside and again faced his opponent. Without warning, the Ominice attacked a third time--only this time the Ominice swung low for Jair's legs. It connected with Jair's upper leg where one of his wounds had been healing. Jair felt the sudden searing pain through his leg, and he stumbled backwards and nearly fell over. Now he was truly set into defensive mode. Instinctively, his pupils dilated as the sudden shock drove adrenalin through his veins. He felt the surge and charged immediately afterwards, blind and enraged. Jair, with one fluent movement, knocked his opponent's sword aside and then brought his own crashing down upon the other's head. There was a wood shattering crack so loud that nearby trainees turned to see what had happened.

Half of Jair's wooden sword flew off and landed in the grass a short distance away as the force of the blow shattered his wooden weapon into splinters. Ulire's eyes glowed as he saw what had happened.

The Ominice Jair had struck fell limp to the ground, knocked out cold from the force of the blow, and the crowd took a deep breath in. "STOP!" Ulire yelled, and Jair cast what was left of his sword to the ground. Ulire then ran to the fallen Ominice's side. Then he instructed one of his helpers to go and get the medics.

"I want to make sure this one is all right," Ulire said, and then the runner went to get the medics.

Jair stumbled backwards, unable to comprehend what had just happened. He had hit that Ominice with the full intent of killing him. It was as if a switch had been flipped after he had been struck in the leg, and he hadn't known what he had done until after it was over.

"You. Remain here until I am available," Ulire said, pointing at Jair. "The rest of you are free to do as you wish until this afternoon."

The medics arrived a minute later, and the training group dispersed, but Jair remained and watched as they picked up the fallen Ominice and carried him to the infirmary. Afterwards, Ulire led Jair to the far end of the training grounds where there were fewer creatures to get in the way, and they could talk without being interrupted. Ulire instantly began looking Jair over from head to tail. "Yarmara breed, a little over six-foot tall. Two distinct marks on each wing and on the neck. Interesting," he said aloud to himself with a bright gleam in his eye. Jair was left wondering what, exactly, he was doing.

"What is your name, and where are you from?" Ulire asked after a moment.

"My name is Jair, and I am from Aaron," Jair replied.

"Aaron, then, is it?" Ulire mumbled to himself. "I have taught combat and leadership skills here in St. Dagan's Academy for quite a few years now, and never has any of my pupils ever been injured in any of my training sessions. Have you had previous training in the art of combat?"

"No, not any formal training. My friend Yar taught me a trick or two with a spear, but today is the first time I have ever held a sword, and I have never really used an arm goror before. Will I be kicked out of the academy because of what I did today?" Jair asked.

"No," Ulire said in his normal, coarse voice. "There are very few students that I have taught that would go to the length of knocking another student out. The last one to perform the feat was not in my training group, but I wish he was. He went into the advanced courses quite rapidly. Methusela is his name, I think." Ulire said, and he thought on what he had just said.

"Am I in trouble?" Jair asked, confused still at Ulire's intentions and why he had been pulled aside.

"No. Definitely not. In fact, quite the opposite. Your actions and mindset are hard to come by, and I plan on having you train with me to improve your skills. I am one of the trainers here at the academy, but I am not only a trainer. I'm also a platoon commander for the Falke Force, and I want to personally train you for both a position amongst our Falke Force and, more specifically, I want you in my platoon. Platoon leaders often search through the academy for talented new recruits for their platoon, and what you did today is a rare occurrence. I think you have what it takes to become a great warrior, Jair. Will you set your blade in with mine? I can teach you so much."

Jair sat silent for a long time. Ulire's one eye searched him over for an answer. "I will have to think about it," Jair said at last and turned and prepared to leave.

"I am going to train you, Jair, even if you don't join with me. You're worth more than you think. I can see it in your eyes. I will ask you again in the future. If there is anything you need, do not hesitate to ask," Ulire concluded, and then he turned and walked into the crowd of training Zenithians.

Jair then made his way out of the dome and began wandering around the hallways of the academy, thinking on what Ulire had said. _Something is different about that Ominice,_ he thought to himself, but he couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was .Jair wandered the halls a little while longer before he found himself in the academy dining hall. There was already a crowd of people in the hall, and they were eating and drinking happily. Jair found himself a seat and sat next to a large number of Ominice, who were eating and singing merrily.

"Hey. You're the one who knocked out that big fella today," Jair heard one of the Ominice say. He turned to see the whole party staring at him. "Yes, that was you. That was one of the coolest things I have ever seen," said the Ominice who had first spoken, and he stood up and moved over to where Jair sat.

"My name is Alec, and these are my friends. Have you been in Zenith very long?" Alec asked.

"No, I haven't," Jair replied.

"Well, you can join my crew, then, if you would like. I started it a while back, and we are always taking new recruits. We call ourselves Wolfe, and were hoping one day to get in with the big factions like the Falke and Lowe eventually--you know, start our own faction. We're still small, though, and someone like you would fit well in our little group."

"No thanks. I'm already in the Falke," Jair replied.

"That doesn't matter. We are all in the Falke--well, all except for Obadin. He is part of the Fusch," Alec said, turning and looking at a slim, slithery Ominice behind all the others. "We could use an Ominice like you. It would help to get the word out."

"No thanks. All my friends are in the Falke, and I would rather not leave them," Jair replied once again. Just then, the mess hall started to fill with the students of the academy, and Jair spotted Nilo and Yar in the crowd.

"There is always a spot open for you, if you want it. Remember my offer, and if you need anything, let one of us know. You're Ominice like us, and we never let one of our own out in the cold," Alec said, and he and his friends slid a ways down the table and began joking and eating their midday meal once again. Moments later, Jair was met by Yar, who slid in next to him at the table. Nilo was right behind him. It wasn't long before Crixa's four sons found their way next to them and, together, they began to eat their meal. Zack walked over a short time later, carrying a plate full of roots and berries--and several books.

"Where have you been, Zack?" Yar said in his usual manner.

"I have been studying like mad," Zack replied. "Malic-Rie wanted me to join the Eule, so I did, but no one told me he was a slave driver. I have had my nose to a book all of yesterday and today."

"Well, that doesn't sound that fun," Yar said with a disgusted look on his face. "I hate books."

"Once Malic-Rie is finished with me, I'm not sure how much I will like them, either," Zack replied.

With a nudge of her wing, Nilo drew Jair's attention from Yar and Zack. "What did Ulire say about what happened earlier?" she asked.

"He wasn't mad about it. In fact, quite the opposite. He wants to train me personally."

"What happened, Jair?" Nilo asked.

"I don't know, Nilo. When that Ominice struck me today it was like some uncontrollable force forced me to attack him with everything I had. I honestly don't remember what happened. All I could think of was the pain in my leg and stopping the one who had caused it," Jair replied.

"Well, I could have told you that was going to happen. Jair, you're used to fighting for your life. Look what you have gone through your entire life. It's no surprise that he attacking you turned on your defensive reflexes--that, and I think many of the creatures here in Zenith are fairly new and not used to fighting. I talked to Sreya-que, and she said that Zenith has not been in Elon for very long, and many of the creatures here are refugees from Aaron and other places."

"What do you think of Ulire, Nilo? Should I trust him?" Jair asked, still thinking about what he had said earlier.

"Well," Nilo replied, "I think if he wants to train you personally, then you should probably let him. He seems strong and intelligent to me, and I think you could learn a lot from him, but those are only my thoughts. This is, after all, only the first time I have met him, but if he offers to help, then what do you have to lose?"

Nilo's words made sense, only it was difficult for Jair to get his mind around the idea that someone wanted him for the skills he had. He was not used to the attention, and he felt very uncomfortable about it, but the least he could do was try it and see what became of it. So, after the midday meal, Jair began searching for Ulire.

### Chapter Twenty Four

The Change of Seasons

Ulire stood in his room, a hollow dug within the Falke quarters. His one good eye was fixed on a map he had pinned to the wall. The map displayed Zenith and all of its surrounding lands--Aaron to the west, Carpernia to the north, Latian to the south, and Guize further to the east. Major cities and other locations were written on the map in bold letters and, in some locations, the name had been crossed out. Ulire looked at each of these locations and studied them gravely. He took note of each name crossed out--Salacine, Naben, and Endrithida. With a heavy sigh, he reached up and crossed out Yarmara. And then looked over to the location marked Zenith. "We are next," he said to himself, and just then a clicking of claws on rock drew his attention. He turned and looked to the mouth of his burrow, just in time to see Jair enter. "Hello, Jair. What brings you to my burrow?" he asked.

"Well, I have been thinking about what you said earlier, and I think I would like to take your offer."

"That's good to hear. Do you think you are ready to start, then?"

"Yes. I think I am ready."

"Good. Let us head down to the dome and begin."

"What about the rest of the class?"

"I will get a friend of mine to finish the lessons today. I want to see what you can really do."

So, after talking to one of his friends, Ulire led Jair down to the dome and over into one of the remote corners, where training weapons and armor lined the wall. Picking a helmet from one of the racks, he handed it to Jair.

"The Nave tradition is helmets are given to young Naves representing their souls. It is said that their soul was to reside within the helmet. That is why, if you have ever seen a Nave army, no two helmets look alike. That is also how I want you to treat your equipment that I give you. Treat it as if it is a part of you because, someday, it will help to save your life. Later, if you wish, you can have the blacksmith fit your helmet to our liking. For now, it is just a standard helmet. You must learn to deal with all of the restrictions it gives you and figure out how to utilize it to your advantage. You must also be acquainted with other forms, so that if you come against creatures bearing it, you know their weaknesses and strengths. Knowing the weakness of your opponent is almost more important that actually fighting them. Weakness in your armor can get you killed, so I will give you books on all the types of armor recorded here in Zenith. Learn well. Ominice armor, for instance, is often built for looking down on their prey, but they often neglect the things that are above them, so if you can ever get above an Ominice solider your chance of completing a lethal maneuver will be greatly increased. Griffins are often vulnerable in the belly and haunches, and Kraw the back. These are only a few different generalizations. Each set of armor often differs from faction to faction and city to city, but do what you can to learn them all."

Jair listened intently as Ulire began to spill all of his knowledge, and he took note of the weakness in Kraw armor because he had a special hatred for the Kraw. Anything that would help him take down a Kraw, he wanted to know. Now there were Kraw that lived in Zenith, but many of them were more like Krouwel than Kraw. Their demeanor was lessened, compared to their brethren, which is why they had been outcast. Jair did not consider them any different than Zack, but any other Kraw other than those in Zenith made his scales crawl.

"Here Take this and prepare to defend yourself," Ulire said, handing Jair a wooden dowel practice sword and then backing a few steps away and taking up a fighting stance.

"Legs shoulder width apart, it gives you a better foothold, and lean your sword forward slightly just like I am." he said and Jair did as he was told until he had the form right. "This is the fighter's stance. It will give you a solid base, so that you will not be thrown off balance during a fight. I highly suggest you use this stance when in ground combat. It is very useful." Then, without any further conversation, Ulire advanced on Jair with his weapon raised, and the training began.

Jair had come face to face with many different opponents throughout his life, from Breyal to Kraw, but he had never fought anything quite like Ulire before. He was as fast as lighting and as nimble as a minx with the precision that only a truly experienced warrior could have. Within seconds, and before Jair knew what had happened, Ulire had brought him down to his knees and then disarmed him. Then, without a sound, Ulire walked back over to where he first began and raised his sword back into a fighting position, while Jair choked on the ground from the force of the blow he had just received. After Jair had regained his breathing, he stood back up and shook the dizziness out of his head. He raised his sword back into a fighting position.

"This time try and parry my attack. That last attempt was a poor effort to stop me. This time be quick about it. Use your sword to block mine and then push it to the side," Ulire said, and then he charged again with the same speed and ferocity as before. Jair did as he was told and threw his sword up as Ulire's came down. And it worked. Jair was able to block, and then he pushed Ulire's blade away, but Ulire barely noticed the hindrance and came back with a swiping slash of his tail that struck Jair in the lower legs and knocked him flat.

Jair stood back up and faced Ulire once again. "Ominice are considered the fiercest fighters in the world because we have eight points of contact we can use against our enemies--the arms, the legs, the head and teeth, the tail and the wings. Never fear to utilize these natural tools to help you win a battle. There is no shame in it."

This went on for hours. Jair defended, while Ulire drove him back mercilessly. Jair attempted to counter Ulire's attacks every once in a while, but they were relentless, leaving Jair barely time to block, let alone perform a counterattack. At last, there was a short pause, where Jair managed to have a moment to catch his breath. He was breathing heavily, and the once light sword he had in his hands now felt as heavy as stone. Ulire, on the other hand, looked barely winded. Jair could hear his breathing, steady and smooth as always, and he wondered what was inside him that allowed him to fight on forever.

Ulire paced in front of Jair for a moment as they both took a short break, in which Ulire urged Jair to get beck up.

"Get up, Jair. You can't rest. Not now. Endurance during battle is more important than actually using your sword. Your life will depend on your ability to fight for hours, not just minutes. Imagine thousands of enemies on a single field. Endless fighting. You can't stop now. You must continue."

Jair slowly stood back up, determined to withstand Ulire for at least a few moments longer. As soon as he regained his footing, Ulire stopped his pacing and rushed Jair once again. Jair did what he could to fend off the attack, but it was useless. He managed to avoid the first two attacks, but the third strike hit him straight in the head, and he could feel the force of the blow vibrate through his entire body. He stumbled back a ways, as though his head was in a muddle. "Again," Ulire barked, and Jair lifted his sword back up just as Ulire's came down.

As the sun finally fell to the horizon, Jair made his way back to the Falke quarters and into his hollow. He was extremely sore and terribly tired. More tired than he had been in his entire life. After he reached his hollow he fell immediately into his bedding. Yar was already there, lying in his own bedding, and Vannan was too.

"I don't think I have ever felt this sore in all my life," Jair said as he stretched out.

"I know what you mean. It's been awhile for me too," Yar replied from the other side of the hollow. "I was paired up with Nilo-Hain today, and we are training as flyer and rider. She and I will be fighting together if we get into any scuffles. Just like we saw in the domed room the other day."

"Well, at least it is nice to know that she is with someone who can handle themselves." Jair replied, and then they both fell into silence. They could hear Vannan's steady breathing as he slept, and Jair guessed that the training Vannan had gone through was just as tiring as the training he had gone through.

"I have a question, Yar," Jair said after a moment.

"Yes? What is it?" Yar replied, trying to keep quiet so that he didn't wake Vannan.

"You know all these things, such as how to make spears and hunt and how to use your spear in combat, but how did you come to learn so much?"

Yar gave a heavy sigh, and then silence ensued for a long time before he answered. "I was not always a loner in the wild, as you know. I used to live in a Nave city, but I was banished and forced to leave all that I had."

"Why did you get banished? What did you do?" Jair asked.

"Nothing. I did nothing, Jair," Yar replied, and then they both fell into silence once again.

"Is it true, Yar, that in the Nave tradition, helmets are given to young Naves, representing their souls?" Jair asked

"Yes, Jair. It is true," Yar whispered.

"What happens if you lose your helmet, then? I'm curious."

Yar never answered the question. He rolled over in his bedding, and Jair knew there would be no more questions. He hoped that he had not overstepped his bounds too much.

The next few days were much the same as the first. Jair went through his training with Ulire in the morning and then, afterwards, he would meet back with Ulire and all his friends for flight training, which was a brutal process of flying through various obstacle courses, and occasionally the long and cold distance flights in which Ulire and all his students would suit up in warm gear for winter and then fly scout trips out, and around, Zenith. Jair quickly became acquainted with many of the Ominice in his learning group, especially those in the Wolfe gang. He found, for the first time, a whole community that accepted him for what he was--not just because of the blood running through his veins, or where he originated from, but because of how he acted and what he accomplished.

In his free time, Jair spent time with Nilo, Yar, Zack and Crixa's four sons. They would find their way back to the Collenel and into Crixa's new home, a beautiful hollow carved out of the granite that was so common in Zenith's mountain range. Crixa became like a mother figure to all of them and would make them all come in, and then she would feed them all until they begged her to stop.

Little word was heard from Aaron, and it appeared that the movement of Divinity, and more specifically the Untainted, had slowed. Jair was even able to visit some of Zenith's outer villages and towns. They were small farming and fishing villages nestled throughout the quiet prairie lands of Elon. A large number of the villages in the grasslands were solely inhabited by Naves and not affiliated with Zenith in any way. This was because the plains were the Naves' native territory. They had been settled in Elon far before Zenith had arrived. Zenith was looked at very highly by the Nave villages because Zenith kept them safe from harm and gave them help when help was needed.

Jair was astounded by the hospitality of all the people who lived in Elon. It was as he was visiting one of the rimming Zenithian towns that were located in the forested mountains near the Rift that he met a wonderful family of humans. He and Ulire's entire class were on one of their long cold scouting trips, and he needed a place to stay, so two humans offered a place for him to stay while he was there. Jair had accepted, mystified by their gesture, and he spent a great deal of time talking to the male who was a carpenter in the small town and created many of Zenith's perches, seats, and furniture.

The mother of the house busied herself in making a meal for her guest, and constantly made sure Jair was comfortable. That night Jair, for the first time, did not sleep in a hollow. Instead, he slept in a bed, which was one of the strangest things he had ever done, but it was very comfortable. In fact, he enjoyed it and found the change quite nice. He thought that, maybe one day, he would try living in one of the wooden structures that the Neyhan and humans loved so much.

The next morning he woke refreshed and ready to take the flight back home, so he thanked the family and then left with the rest of the class. Once back at Zenith the training continued, and Jair was soon able to keep up with Ulire, to a point, in their sparring practice, but there was still no way he could manage to outmaneuver him. Yar and Nilo became very skilled as flyer and rider, and the two of them made a really good team-especially when it came to flight and maneuvering. Yar was cautious at first, not wanting to fall and injure himself, but once he became used to the heights, he excelled at every aspect of his training.

Zack became knowledgeable in many things, as Malic-Rie schooled him in everything. If Jair ever had any questions, he would ask Zack. If Zack did not know, he would find out. This is how the days were spent in Zenith. As the days turned to weeks and the weeks to months, it slowly grew warmer in Zenith until the long delicate icicles that once hung from every rooftop of every building melted away and the flower buds on the trees began to show their colorful faces once again. Insects came alive, and the world was filled with their noise. The smell of growth and damp soil was unmistakable in the air. It was a new smell to Jair, and it made his heart beat for joy, as he could taste the warmer weather on the way.

Jair walked through the calm streets of Zenith and passed several of the shops that lined the streets specializing in various things. All of the shop keepers busied themselves with making their displays look good for those who walked the streets. Jair's claws clicked on the cobblestone pathway as he made his way to one of the many blacksmith forges spread throughout the city. He was seeking out one of the smiths so that he could have his helmet fitted for him. There were several other Zenithians out and about in Lowtown, same as Jair, each one of them glad to be in the warmer air, and they each said hello as Jair passed and noted the falcon engraved on the plate armor he wore.

He was not entirely used to the armor's heaviness and restriction of movement, so he was doing as Ulire had suggested when he had first given it to him a few days back, and he was wearing it around for a day or two, so that he could become used to all of the imperfections that came with wearing the armor. He was not the only one trying to become accustomed to wearing armor. Nilo, Yar, and Crixa's four sons were also armored in the same manner, as well as many other new students to the academy. Jair was simply happy that he didn't have to wear some of the armor that the Lowe had to wear. Their armor made Jair's light armor look like a toy. He had run into a Neyhan that belonged to the Lowe faction a few days back that had sent shivers down his spine just thinking of having to fight the big brute. The Fusch, on the other hand, had a totally different look with cloaks blacker than night that wrapped close to their body. They probably had the lightest attire out of everyone.

_Zenith definitely has a little bit of everything,_ Jair thought to himself as a smithy came into sight. He then entered the smith and immediately felt the intense heat flow past his body. The smell of the wood and charcoal that was used to create the blaze was in every fiber of the small building. The Snoul that worked the forge didn't look up as he came in, and all of his attention was focused on the metal that he had sitting in the coals of the fire. The man was shorter than Jair and wore a shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbow. A thick forging apron was wrapped around his waist. Two well-worn thick leather gloves covered his hands, and he was covered in sweat and ash.

"What do you need?" he asked, still not taking his eyes off the fire. Jair shifted where he stood for a moment, and then he set his helmet on a table close by.

"I would like you to alter my helmet, if you can manage," Jair said, and the smithy suddenly stopped and looked up from his work. He glared at Jair angrily.

"Does it look like I can fit your helmet? Did it ever occur to you that I might be just a little busy?" he asked, and Jair looked at the Snoul, surprised at the sudden outburst, not knowing what to say in return. A moment passed, and then the smithy lost his glare and started to laugh.

"I love doing that to all the new guys," he said between his bursts of laughter, and Jair couldn't help but join in.

"You should have seen the last poor fella in here. I think he nearly fainted when I did that to him," the smithy said before finally containing himself and straightening up and clearing his throat to regain his composure.

"The name is Klien," he said, sticking out one of his gloved hands.

"I'm one of the smithies here in Zenith. I primarily make and repair swords, spears and arrows, but I would love to work on your helmet. May I have your name please?" Klien asked, and Jair gave it to him.

"My name is Jair, and I'm one of the Falke students," Jair said and shook Klien's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Jair, and I could tell you were Falke because of the crest on your breastplate," Klien said, tapping the symbol of the falcon on Jair's armor. "Now where is your helmet? I want to see what I can do with it."

"It's on the table," Jair said, pointing at the standard issue Ominice helm. Klien picked it up and turned it over in his hands. Then he moved back to Jair.

"Hold still a moment," hhe said. Using a stick with markings all up the side, he began measuring Jair's head. It was a long process, the measurements, and Klien would walk back and forth between Jair and a piece of paper that he would write notes on. Jair had never been taught how to read or write, so he had no clue what was on the paper, but he guessed it was the size of his head and body. Once Klien was finished with his head measurements, he then began measuring Jair's arm.

"What are you doing?" Jair asked, confused.

"I'm measuring the length of your arm, so that when I build your weapon it will match you perfectly," Klien replied. "Every time someone new enters my smithy, I build them a sword. It's a business strategy, really. Helps them to come back at a later date when they have a little more coin in their pocket."

"Well, it works for me," Jair said as Klien finished his measurements.

"Good," was Klien's only reply. "I plan to build you a hand and a half sword about three feet in length, but your helmet will be my first priority, as soon as I finish with previous jobs I have already in progress, then I'll get right on it, so it will be a couple of days. Does that sound decent enough for you?"

"Yes, that sounds great," Jair replied. "I'll be back in a day or two," he said, and then he made his way out of the forge. Klien accompanied him to the edges of his forge, and then they both exchanged quick farewells before Jair left completely.

Jair was in high spirits as he made his way back up to the St. Dalen's Academy. He knew that soon there would be a great feast, and all of Zenith would be lit up with dancing and song because of the new arrival of spring. Each year, at the first sign of the prairie grass and the barn swallows, the spring festival would transpire. Jair couldn't wait. Gweine had told him many different things about the festival, and it reminded him of the festivals back in his hometown. Gweine had said that it was great fun--with games and food and many other things to keep one occupied for the entire night. As Jair was nearing St. Dalen's Academy, he suddenly ran into Crixa's four sons, and they were not alone. Three females were with them, and they hung on each of their arms, except for Vannan, who was a short distance ahead of the rest.

"Stay away from those three," Vannan said as he came closer to Jair. "They have all gone crazy."

"You're just jealous!" Comm yelled out playfully from behind. "It's just because I'm better looking than you."

"No, Comm. I am fairly sure he is better looking than you, but he is not as good looking as me" Homm cut in.

"We are identical twins, Homm. We look exactly the same. How can you possibly look better than me."

"Do not worry, brothers," Warren piped up. "I can take care of this issue for you both. I look better than both of you combined."

"Oh no you don't," both Comm and Homm replied at the same time, and all three of the female Ominice they were with began giggling and laughing as they continued to try and figure out who was better looking.

As Jair left the four brothers, he could still hear their playful word jousting far behind, but he continued on until their voices were inaudible. Jair then came into sight of the large arches into St. Dagan's Academy. Moving through to the academy, Jair walked along his usual route, making his way slowly because he was in no hurry. He then entered the library, where Zack and Malic-Rie were going through several books.

"Hello, Jair," Zack greeted as Jair first entered.

"Hello, Zack. Have you found anything interesting today?" Jair asked. He had gotten in the habit of asking Zack about important information that could help him better understand his newfound home Zenith.

"As a matter of fact, I have," Zack replied. "Did you know that Zenith was founded by three creatures about sixty years ago? The founder's name was Zenith, and he met a griffin and a Snoul, and together they started to build the city Zenith. Soon others joined, and Zenith expanded quickly, encompassing a large part of Elon. This very academy we are in right now is named after the griffin that helped forge Zenith. Zenith, Dalan, and the Snoul, whose name was Lain, were all exiled from where they originally came, so they came and accidentally found each other. Interesting, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Jair replied while rubbing the bottom part of his jaw.

"Yes, that is a large part of our history," Malic-Rie said from his perch. "Another chapter is about the death of Dalan and how Lain left and has never been seen since. It was said that he traveled north to try and make a new home. There should be a storyteller at the festival that will go into more depth, if you want to hear more."

"Why did Lain leave?" Jair asked.

"Sometimes the deaths of those who you have become very close to can cause creatures to do strange things. For Lain, after Dalen's death, it meant leaving the memory behind. Wherim would know better than any of us exactly why Lain left. He knew him better than anyone."

"So, wait. Wherim knew Lair?"

"Yes. Wherim was young when he first came to Zenith, and he met Lain, Dalan, and Zenith. He was handpicked by Zenith to run the city."

"So Lain could still be out there in this world right now, and Wherim knew him?" Jair asked, a little stunned that Zenith, the city itself, was so young that its creators were possibly still alive.

"Yes. Lain could be still out there, only he would be rather old by this time, if he hadn't passed on by now."

"Does that mean Zenith himself is alive?" Jair asked with a hint of excitement.

"Unfortunately not. Zenith died about eighteen years ago, murdered by his own brother, who worked as an assassin. Zenith was later buried with his wife in Yarmara," Malic-Rie said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Oh, I should be going then. I was going to meet Nilo. She and I were going to fly up to the Clefts before the festival starts. I'll find out more of Zenith's history at another time," Jair said and excused himself. He walked out of the library and down the hall to the training grounds. Once outside in the training grounds, he unfurled his wings and leapt into the air. With a few wing beats he was airborne and floating on the pleasant spring updrafts.

There were several other Ominice and griffins flying from one place to another, just as Jair was. He ignored them and flew straight for the Cole. Once there, he shifted his flight pattern and descended into the Cole's top opening and headed directly into the Cole's core. It took Jair a few moments to find Nilo's hollow, which was nestled in the far corner, next to Sreya-Que's. Nilo was perched on the edge of the cliff that her hollow was built on, and she watched Jair as he descended toward her. Sreya was on the opposite cliff, and the two of them were talking to each other as Jair landed. The space for Jair to land on was rather thin, so Jair had a rather rough landing. He braced himself against the cliff wall for support as he came to a stop and used the claws on the joints of his wings to grip the wall, much like a bat would.

"Hello, Nilo," Jair said once he had straightened himself up and folded his wings back to their normal position. "The nest is looking good." Jair looked over to where Nilo had made her bedding out of branches and prairie grass.

"I had a good teacher," Nilo replied, gesturing toward Sreya.

"Now don't go giving me credit for something you did," Sreya piped up immediately. "That nest was all you. I only gave you a few pointers."

"Are you ready to fly up to the Clefts?" Jair asked, turning his attention back to Nilo.

"Yes, I am ready," Nilo said and stretched her golden wings out.

"Don't be gone too long. You wouldn't want to miss the spring festival." Sreya said and then both of them leapt into the air and started the hour flight to the Clefts.

The Clefts were a series of cliffs that surrounded an enormous waterfall south of Zenith. Many of the Zenithians from all over Elon made regular trips to the Clefts to see the magnificent anomaly. For the griffins and Ominice, it was easier to visit the Clefts because of their ability to fly, but all creatures of Zenith had taken at least one trip or another to the Clefts at one time in their life. It was Jair's first time. A he flew over the first set of waterfalls, his breath was taken away momentarily by the enormity of the falls. Even before he had reached the Clefts, he knew they were going to be large because the river they were following was the largest in all of Elon. But even with the large river, he had not been expecting the sheer wild beauty of it all. He and Nilo circled around the falls, not saying a word. They soaked in all of the musical notes of water falling into water and breathed in the mist that was left behind.

The Clefts were one of the few places in Elon that a multitude of trees grew, and many different species of animal hid within its shaded canopy. It was like an oasis in a desert of grasses, Jair thought as he glided close to the water's edge and heard the roar of the water in his ears as it fell around him. In a matter of seconds, Jair was completely covered by the water from the falls, and he closed his eyes and let the cool water flow over his scales in the most heart pounding experience he had ever had in his life. A moment later he opened his eyes and picked a spot in amongst the Clefts in which he could land. It was a high, secluded area nestled by the side of one of the many roaring waterfalls. After both he and Nilo had landed, Jair began removing his now waterlogged armor and set it on the ground.

"This place is beautiful," Nilo said after a moment, looking up into the trees that surrounded them. Several different types of birds she had never seen before flew pell-mell overhead, chirping and enjoying themselves as much as Nilo and Jair were. There were other birds at the bottom of the Clefts sifting through the water looking for food. After a while, one of the birds caught a fish and swallowed it whole before returning to find some more.

"Yes, it is beautiful. It kind of reminds me of home," Jair replied, and then he stood and walked to the edge of the cliff. Looking down, he saw the bottom of the falls about fifty feet below.

"Perfect," he said aloud to himself, and Nilo gave him a quizzical look.

"Perfect for what?" she began to ask, but she was too late, as Jair had already backed up a few paces and run forward and leapt off the cliff into the air. Nilo watched as Jair fell like a stone toward the water beneath him, and she heard a splash as he hit the water below. She then looked over the edge and saw him resurface a moment later.

"It's great. Really deep. You should try it," he yelled up to Nilo, and Nilo shuffled back a few paces and then did the same as Jair had done. As she fell into the water, she let out one of her great shrieks that sent all of the nearby birds into a panicked flight. They all burst from the trees, the grass, and the water and flew in great, swooping clusters before finding their way back into the trees once again. Nilo hit the water with a splash that Jair thought was legendary, and the resulting waves rocked him where he swam. Nilo's head resurfaced a moment later. Her golden eyes were filled with excitement.

"That was fun. Let's do it again," she said, and Jair could no more resist her request than he could resist chasing the numerous fish that swam beneath him, so he and Nilo flew back up to the cliff and jumped again.

### Chapter Twenty Five

Spring Festival

The sun worked its way around the globe, slowly making its way up until it had nearly settled on the other side. Jair and Nilo then prepared for the flight back to Zenith, and he looked back as they left the oasis behind. He wished he could have spent more time at the Clefts, but he knew he would have plenty of chances to return. Maybe then he would bring Yar, Zack, and the others along with him so that they could all enjoy the pleasures of the Clefts. _That would be great,_ he thought to himself as he flew on through the cloudy sky.

The trip back was easygoing, and they ran into no trouble. They flew until Zenith's spires came into sight, and hundreds of lights lit up the now-darkened sky. The lights could be seen illuminating the streets and windows of Zenith, and Jair knew immediately that the festival would be starting soon. Once they were close enough to the city, they were picked up by the Sky Guard--the group of griffins and Ominice Falke flyers who kept the skies over Zenith safe and alerted Zenith if there were any dangers. The Lowe also had a patrol, but it was based on land, and they guarded the walls and roads of Zenith instead of the sky.

The Sky Guard escorted Jair and Nilo into the Collenel. From there, the two of them made their way down into Lowtown. Entering Lowtown they were immediately greeted by thousands of lamps hung from the rooftops of various shades of color. The shades made the surrounding buildings look like they had come from some sort of a painting with all the different colors displayed across the city street.

Zenithians were everywhere, dancing and singing in the streets. Many of them could be heard before they were seen. Jair was instantly pulled into the crowd's cheerfulness, and every creature in Zenith appeared to be flooding into Lowtown's streets. It was so crowded that Jair could barely make it through the streets in some areas, but it wasn't a mean, pushy crowd. Everyone was laughing and cheering as they moved about, not shoving and yelling, so it really wasn't so bad. The crowd was like a wave, surging in certain sections and then receding back before shifting current after something blocked the way. With a good deal of shuffling around, Jair and Nilo were able to make it to St. Dalen's Academy, but it was just as crowded in the academy as it was in the streets. They were able to make it halfway to the Falke quarters when a voice rang out from the crowd.

"Nilo-Hain." The voice was accompanied by a big griffin. He was about a head taller than Nilo, and was bald. Bald griffins are just like our bald eagles, so they are not literally bald, but they have a white head. This particular griffin had a pure white head and a sandy-colored lower body, and he was built like a tank--strong and broad. There was definite power and strength in him, as well as intelligence. Jair could feel it in every step he took towards them. He pushed his way through the crowd and sat before both Nilo and Jair.

"Hello," he said to Nilo, and Nilo said hello back as delicately as she could.

"Who is this, Nilo?" Jair asked

"Sorry. My name is Deme-Trius, and you must be Jair," said the bald griffin. "Nilo told me about you and your journey here to Zenith. Stories like yours and Nilo's helps me know that I made the right choice in joining Zenith and fighting for those who cannot." Jair stood silent, not entirely happy to hear that Nilo had told this griffin about his past.

"Nilo, I was wondering whether you would like to take a night flight with me tonight?" Deme-Trius said, turning back to Nilo.

"What's the night flight?" Jair asked, alarmed.

"You don't know?" Deme-Trius said with a shocked expression. "At midnight of every spring festival, all the flying creatures of Zenith take to the air and fly four times around Zenith, signaling the start of the new season. It's customary to have someone accompany you on such a flight, which is why I'm asking Nilo."

"Can I go Jair, please?" Nilo broke in, and Jair sat for a moment, not saying a word.

"I think you are the one to decide whether to go or not. It's your choice, Nilo," Jair replied after a moment, and Nilo jumped with joy. Then the two of them headed off into the crowd. It was difficult for him to watch her leaving with someone Jair knew very little about, but he knew it was best for Nilo. He needed to let go at least a little bit, if she was to ever meet anyone else like her, but it was still the hardest thing he had ever done. Nilo was like a sister to him and, like all older brothers, he wanted to make sure that nothing bad would ever happen to her, but he also knew that Nilo was strong and very intelligent, and if anyone could handle themselves, she could. Jair watched them both leave until the crowd had swallowed them up completely.

"Hard, isn't it?" Suddenly came a voice from behind, and Jair turned around to find no one behind him. It wasn't until he looked down that he spotted the one who had said the words.

"You look like you could use a drink," said the Nave, who had apparently been watching all that had happened within the last few moments. "I'll buy you a drink. Come on," he urged in a grizzled voice before pushing his way through the crowd toward a nearby bar. He didn't bother going inside. There were seats already prepared outside because the inn itself was overflowing with people.

Jair sat down with the Nave, not wanting to be rude and not knowing how to object to the offer of a drink. Especially since Jair did not drink.

"Bartender!" the Nave yelled and, after a moment, a Snoul walked up to their table.

"Two hard mugs, please. Me and my friend need to relieve some stress," said the Nave, and the tender went back in to fetch their drinks.

"I would keep an eye on that pretty little bird of yours. The world is a dangerous place," said the Nave, turning back to Jair.

"I'm sorry. I didn't catch your name," Jair said, liking the Nave less and less as the minutes passed by.

"My name is Fang," said the nave, "and I mean what I say too. Keep an eye on that girl."

"How would you know anything about her or of any griffins at all, for that matter?" Jair said with a hint of venom in his voice.

"Because I have one of my own," Fang said in a much calmer tone, and with what Jair could only guess was a hint of sadness.

"You have one of your own," Jair said, looking him over with surprise. "What do you mean?" he asked, his anger falling away slowly.

"What do you mean? What do I mean?" Fang replied. "About ten years ago, I found a little griffin hatchling. He is up on the balcony right now. You can see him from here." Fang pointed, and Jair turned around and looked but saw nothing. It was pitch-black outside and, aside from the light of the lamps, there was no other light in the sky.

"You probably can't see him," Fang continued. "It took me years to able to find him in the dark, but anyways, it was when I was working as a mercenary in Carpernia, in the northern half of the continent, that I found him. Me and my troops were off to another day's work, and It was along the way that we heard a pack of wolves raising Cain not too far from our route. I tried to get some of the other mercs to join me and see what all of the ruckus was about, but none of them would deviate from the path. So, naturally, being a mercenary, I went anyways, hoping to collect whatever it was for myself. As I came up over the rocky slope, the first thing I saw was the wolves and two dead griffins. I could tell the griffins had been dead for days, but it was what I saw next to them that I do not wish to ever see again. I found a little griffin--Methusela, I later named him--lying next to his dead mother and begging her to wake up while wolves were all around him, tearing at his body. Before I knew what I was doing, I was down right next to the poor little guy and driving the wolves off, but they wouldn't back down, so I ended up killing a few. There were at least twenty wolves, and they soon overwhelmed me, but Griffins are a lot stronger than you would think. Methusela, even though he was bleeding and injured, jumped on the nearest wolf and tore it to pieces. His distraction to the wolves was just long enough for me to regain my foothold and together, me and the little fella kept the wolves off us through the entire night. The next morning, the wolves left us both for dead, and I did what I could to patch us up, but I had no medical experience--just enough to keep me alive 'til I reached a town. I tell you what, that was the longest walk the two of us ever made. I was wounded, he was wounded, the both of us were bleeding out like crazy, but we made it. That's why I tell you to keep an eye on your girl because I later found out that Methusela's parents were murdered by his own kind--and all because they were not the same color as the rest of his clan. Griffins can be cruel creatures, so watch out for your girl, even when she is with other griffins." Fang then fell into silence, and Jair did not break it.

"It's kind of ironic, though," Fang said after a moment. "In saving Methusela's life, I also saved my own. The troop that I had been traveling with ran into an ambush after I had left and were totally wiped out. It's only by the Maker's will that I am here today."

At that point, the tender came out with the mugs full of the strong smelling liquid Fang had ordered and he set them on the table. Fang picked his mug up and began to drink, but Jair fiddled with his mug, not liking the smell of it.

"Why are you telling me this?" Jair asked, confused why Fang, a total stranger, was spilling his life story to him.

"Why," Fang said, setting his mug back down on the table, "because Methusela has become very despondent lately. He has been staring at the stars each night and not talking much--not that he talked a lot to begin with, but even less than normal. Truth is, I am worried about him, and I think some new contact with different creatures will do him some good. The most activity I have seen out of him is when your little griffin friend is around. He has been watching her everywhere she goes, even though he tries not to let me know. He can't fool me. I have eyes in the back of my head."

Jair suddenly became very alarmed. He didn't like the thought of anything spying on any of his friends, especially Nilo.

"Calm down, Ominice. I keep him on a short leash. He won't do anything without letting me know first. Just please hear my words. Help me out, and let him follow you around for a little while. It might open him up a little bit more, if nothing else. He is the only family I have got. I can't lose him."

The last words Fang had said struck a chord with Jair. He saw himself not too far from the grizzled Nave, and he knew he was just trying to help his friend.

"All right," Jair said, "if you can manage to convince Ulire tomorrow when we go on our scout trip, I will see what I can do to help him."

"Thank you," Fang said, and he started to stand from the table, but he stopped short and looked from Jair to the mug he had not touched and then back up to Jair again. "Are you going to drink that?" he asked, and Jair shook his head. Then slid the mug over to him. Fang picked it up, drained it of its contents, and then walked off, saying thanks over his shoulder.

Jair watched him leave, and then stood up from the table himself and went to his hollow in the Falke quarters and removed all of his armor before rejoining the festival. His mind went over what Fang had said.

The festival was one of the most fun things Jair had ever done, and everyone he came into contact with was inviting and pleasant. He met up with Yar, Crixa and all of her pups, including Vannan, Warren, Comm and Homm, and together they walked down to the town square, to where a great choir formed by the students of St. Dagan's Academy sang songs to the crowd. Afterwards it was followed up by various other entertainments, such as the reenactment of battles from the past, and then a storyteller stepped forward. With a wave of his hands, the storyteller began,

"Many years ago, three creatures met on this very spot. Each of them had been cast out from their homes and exiled to a life of wandering the land. Dalan, the great griffin from the west, was cast from his home because had been overthrown as leader of his griffin clan. Lain, a common man with the courage of a lion whose village had been destroyed, leaving him a refugee with no home. Lastly, there was Zenith. Born across the sea far to the west, he made the journey to Zenith to escape those who hunted him. Here in Elon the three of them happened to meet after each of them tried to build their homes on this very mountain. The three of them immediately began to quarrel over the land, but Zenith stepped forward saying, 'Friends, if we continue like this, we will all be dead before the snow falls. Let us not quarrel any longer and instead work together and build our home. Then we will be safe and have plenty before the snow falls upon the land.' With this said, the three of them joined forces, and Dalan used his sharp talons to carve the Collenel into this very mountainside. Lain used his knowledge and ingenuity to craft magnificent structures on the mountainside where he and his family and friends could live comfortably, and Zenith dug deep burrows into the land so that none who came to Zenith would ever be without a home. Together they ruled over Zenith and watched this magnificent city grow and flourish, but to my utter despair their happiness could not last. Zenith's enemies from across the sea and found Zenith,. They then tried to take Zeniths life, but Dalan and Lain would not let them. In the attempt on Zenith life Dalan was slain but the assassination was foiled. Lain, broken by his best friend's death, left Zenith and headed far north. Zenith continued on and managed the city Zenith by himself until he met a sweet little girl in Yarmara. With her in mind Zenith created the council so that the city could be running while he was gone. Finally Zenith made his way to Yarmara, where he wed his sweetheart. Shortly afterwards his enemies caught him unprepared, and Zenith and his newlywed wife were murdered by his own brother. Such is the tale of Zenith and its leaders, and every day we thank them for their sacrifices," the storyteller concluded, and the entire crowd erupted in cheers.

As the moon rose to a quarter heights in the sky, the crowd began filing toward the Center of Zenith, where a great feast was taking place. The streets were cleared and hundreds of tables were set along its cobblestone walkways, with food as far as the eye could see. There were more choices of food on the tables than Jair had ever seen in his entire life. Meats, breads, cakes, specialty dishes made specifically for the festival, fruits, and vegetables--there was something for everyone.

Jair looked around and found his friends. Nilo, Zack, and Deme-Trius sat at one of the tables, so he ran over and sat with them.

"Isn't this wonderful?" Nilo said as Jair came close enough

"Yes, it is," Jair replied. It wasn't long before Yar came along, and together they all joked and laughed as they ate all they could manage, leaving no food untried or untested. After the feast, lamps were handed out to everyone who had wings. Some lamps were larger than others, and they were all the many different colors of the rainbow. Jair received a red-colored lamp that he held in his hands, and Nilo received a yellow one, while the rest received various other colors. Then every flying creature in Zenith began leaping into the sky and flying away with their lamp in tow. Jair, not knowing what he was doing, followed the Ominice in front of him, and he was soon hundreds of feet above Zenith, looking down upon the city. He could see the streets below moving as all of the land creatures hung lamps on the outer walls of Zenith, and he watched as the flying creatures flew in great hordes to the mountainside. The lamps they were given glowed like little beacons in the dark night, and it looked as if a rainbow was forming around Zenith, broken and yet whole. The dots of light came together and then broke apart, only to form back together again. It was a constantly moving circle of light, and it engulfed Zenith entirely.

Jair flew silently by himself and listened to all of the different conversations around him. He looked across the horizon and saw a series of lights making their way into the sky way off into the distance, just as in Zenith. Jair guessed that the surrounding towns controlled by Zenith were having the same festival. Then many of those around Jair began descending and were landing on the mountainside, where they set their lamps on the ground and watched the moon as it slowly made its way around the globe. He also noticed that everyone around him had someone they were flying with. Nilo had Deme-Trius, all of Crixa's boys flew with someone, and he had no one. He had not known about the night flight, so he had not even attempted to become acquainted with anyone.

Suddenly feeling very alone and distressed, Jair headed back to Zenith, his lamp beginning to flicker out as the candle within it began to burn to nothing. As he came in for a landing, he had to pick his platform carefully because the streets were still full of the creatures of Zenith. He ended up finding a less crowded area in St. Dagan's Academy in the training yard where he could land. In the training yard those who did not go on the night flight had made a little party of their own, and they had formed a dancing circle. Everyone was dancing merrily, and Jair stood motionless again, confused by the Zenithian customs.

"Dance!" an older Ominice, seeing Jair standing alone said, but Jair had no clue how to even start. He had never danced with anyone in his life, so he jumped in with the circle. The musicians played, and Jair found himself in between a Neyhan and a Snoul in the dance line. In the middle of the circle, friends pushed other friends into the middle, where they would be paired with a dance partner, and the two of them would show what they could do, no matter how ridiculous it looked. Everyone cheered and laughed and egged each other on, and then Jair was shoved forward after a pretty rose-colored Ominice had entered the ring. Jair felt as foolish and as awkward as ever because nothing happened after he had entered the ring, and he didn't know where to begin. She was very pretty, and Jair would have been thrilled to dance with her, but she did nothing and wouldn't even look at him.

"Are we going to dance?" Jair asked, yelling above the noise of the crowd.

After his comment she finally looked up at him, and the look was not pleasant. "You are the ugliest Ominice I have ever seen," she said. "I wouldn't dance with you if you were the last Ominice on the earth."

Jair stood stupefied and totally paralyzed. It was like a knife had sheared his heart right out of his chest. This was the most hurtful thing anyone had ever said to him, and he slowly faded away from her and the crowd. He shook all over as the words she said kept pounding in his head and found his way into the Falke sleeping quarters, where he sank down next to the fountain that supplied the water to the building. Torches burned overhead, casting uneven shadows throughout the room, bathing everything in a yellow light.

He had never been so self-conscious in his entire life. The words, "ugliest Ominice ever," echoed in his head over and over again, and he did everything he could to keep tears from leaking down the side of his face. He brushed them away angrily when they came, anyways. Stretching his wings out, he inserted his hand into the jagged hole that pierced his flesh, and then looked at his reflection in the fountain's cool water.

"It's not my fault," he said as he looked at his reflection, and his reflection looked back at him with the ugly red lines from his numerous burns he had received while in Whither slinking their way up his neck and his snout. He ran his finger along one of the many scars, and then he turned away, unable to look at himself any longer. With anger surging through his veins, he ran to a balcony that overlooked Zenith and let out a roar of anger and rage. It echoed throughout the mountainside that surrounded Zenith before it was lost a moment later in the distance. The noise of the crowd and the festival could still be heard down below, unhindered by his pained heart.

"I know the feeling." Came a voice from Jair's right, and Jair instantly jerked his head to the side, ready to fight whoever it was that had said the words, but he saw nothing. A moment, later a black griffin's head slid into the light that was being emitted from within the Falke quarters. The griffin had two piercing yellow eyes that searched Jair up and down as he proceeded to move further into the light. The feathers were sleek and black, and Jair could tell that he was a rather young griffin. The most distinguishing mark on him was a long jagged scar that raked itself across his beak and then worked its way down the left side of his face.

"You are not the only one to bear scars, my friend," said the griffin, his voice smooth and calm, as he walked fully into the light.

"Methusela," Jair said out loud.

"You know my name," he said, pausing for a moment to think on what he had just said. "Fang must have told you. He is the only one who knows my name, but why would Fang be talking to you?" Methusela leapt up on the balcony next to were Jair stood, and then he lay down, making himself comfortable.

"Fang asked if I would let you join me and my friends on a scout trip tomorrow. We are going up to some of the northern regions of Zenith, and he wanted you to come with us," Jair said.

"He is worried about me again, then," Methusela said passively. "He worries about me every year at this time. I would think he would be used to it by now."

"Used to what?" Jair asked.

Methusela slowly looked back at Jair and stared at him a moment, judging whether he wanted to explain or not. "Every year I have a week of mourning for the loss of my parents and family, and every year Fang worries about me. That is one thing you will need to know if I am to scout with you tomorrow. Do not ask too many questions because I will not answer many of them."

"You are coming tomorrow, then?" Jair asked.

"Yes, I will go with you tomorrow, and do not worry. Your troubles will work themselves out. They always do."

With that said, Methusela rolled off the balcony and fell into the darkness of the night and was lost to Jair's sight, but he could hear wing beats a moment later receding into the distance. Jair returned back to the festival, his mind taken off what had happened earlier. He was focused back on what he had told himself many times before. That the scars showed his past, but not his future, and Methusela had showed him that he was not the only one who was dealing with scars from the past--inside, as well as out.

The rest of the festival went smoothly, and Jair didn't bother anymore with what he looked like. He enjoyed the rest of the festival in his friends' company, making sure to keep them close so that the cheer they had could wrap itself around him, as well.

### Chapter Twenty Six

The Tower

"Just a little ways further," Ulire yelled back. It was evening of the next day, and Ulire flew a short distance ahead of the rest of his class, leading the way to the northern outpost on the outer reaches of Zenith's boundaries. The northern outpost was a tower built in amongst the Elonas mountain range that wove its way from Elon to Aaron. The mountains were very tall and covered with thick forestry, so finding the northern outpost was quite difficult. Everyone was tired, and the only ones who did not look as if they would drop out of the sky were Ulire, who had made several flights in full battle gear before, and Methusela.

Methusela flew silently beside Nilo, and Fang sat upon Methusela, keeping a steady eye on everything that went on around them. He kept shifting back and forth in his saddle, and he continuously looked down at the ground far below. It wasn't long before the northern outpost came into sight, looming tall and dominant over the terrain around it. It was a rather large tower that broke from the forest canopy and stood like a beacon for all those who flew through the valley between the mountains. Ulire led the whole class down to the tower landing platform, where they all landed, grateful to have a rest.

"That wasn't so bad," Ulire said as the final student landed, and they were all beginning to regroup.

"That's easy for you to say," said one of the Ominice students named Brurous. He was a bigger Ominice, built bigger around the belly and stout around the shoulders.

"It's good for you, Brurous. Gets the blood flowing through your veins and makes you feel alive."

"Maybe so, but I would sooner fly short distances, rather than these long endurance flights," Brurous rebutted, but Ulire paid him no attention. His eyes were drilling the wooden door in front of him that led to the inner tower.

"What is wrong, Ulire?" Fang said suddenly, and he put his hand on a spear tethered to Methusela's side.

"there are no guards to great us." Ulire replied, unsheathing his own weapon. Everyone instantly grew silent, and only the howling of the wind could be heard as it whipped around the tower.

Ulire moved slowly to the door, and Methusela and Fang were right behind him. Then Ulire unlatched the door, and it was forced open as a guard fell to the ground. The guard had been slain, and Ulire paid him nearly no attention. He stepped over the dead body and continued down into the unlit corridor.

"This was not supposed to go this way," Jair could hear Ulire saying to himself as they continued downward. After a good deal of walking, they reached a platform built a third of the way down the tower. The platform was the living quarters for the guards, and it had been upturned. There were few guards who had also been slain lying on the floor. Continuing on, they passed a few others before finally reaching the bottom. At the bottom of the tower was where the guards had made their final stand against their attackers, and the outcome for them was a less than desirable one. The bottom room was filled with the bodies of the guards, and the barricades they had attempted to construct had been destroyed and lay in shambles on the floor.

"What happened here?" Jair heard one of the students say, but no one answered.

"Up to the first platform we passed," Ulire said, and everyone left the room and headed to the first platform that they had passed. Once there, Ulire began clearing out the room and preparing a place for them to spend the night. Jair could tell that Ulire was very unhappy, and he could hear him mumbling as he worked. "Come on. Get this place cleaned up," he said angrily, so everyone began making the place a little more livable. The guards that lay on the ground were removed, and all the cupboards and shelves were checked in the hopes of finding supplies, but the place had been picked absolutely clean. Nothing was left that they could use effectively, so they did what they could with what they had.

"This is where we will be sleeping for the night, so make yourself comfortable. Whoever killed those guards is probably long gone, so we will be safe for now, but I am no fool. I'm going to set watches out tonight to keep an eye out for any dangers." Ulire said and everyone began removing their gear. Then Ulire took Fang aside and they had a quick conversation before Ulire descending the stairs and returned to the bottom level.

"What is Ulire doing?" Jair asked as Fang walked by.

"He is checking to see how the guards were killed, and with what weapons."

"Are you going to take your armor off and rest?" Jair asked, but Fang was fiddling with his gear and didn't bother to look up.

"Nope," he stated, "Me and Methusela are heading to the top. Ulire asked me to take watch, and I don't sleep anywhere where I'm not the one keeping watch." Fang began ascending the stairs, with Methusela right behind him.

Jair sat for a moment and then called Nilo over to him before also beginning the climb to the top of the tower.

"Where are we going, Jair?" Nilo asked quietly as they made their way up.

"I am going to the top to keep watch with Fang and Methusela," Jair replied over his shoulder.

"You know those two?" Nilo asked and gestured towards both Fang and Methusela.

"Yes, I met them at the festival the other day, and I am part of the reason they are here today," Jair said before reaching the door at the top. Opening the door, they saw Fang busily untying a bundle of wood that Methusela had been carrying with him. He then began stacking the wood and started making a fire out of the dried timbers. The fire would cause no damage to the building because it was made from solid stone, and only a black mark was left after it had burned itself down once the night had progressed.

Methusela sat a little ways away from the fire, barely visible in the fading light with his head pointed toward the sky. Jair sat next to Fang, and the two of them watched the embers of the fire glow red with each passing breeze.

Nilo slowly made her way over to Methusela as he sat in his solitude, gazing at the evening stars. He sat, unmoving, aside from the wind, which ruffled his deep black feathers as it passed by and made its way off into the night.

"May I join you?" Nilo asked shyly as she came up behind him. Methusela did not say a word. He simply gave her a nod of approval, and Nilo joined him. She then looked to the sky as he was and saw the display of a thousand twinkling stars overhead. "Beautiful, aren't they?" Nilo gazed at the blue orbs as they showed off their brilliant display.

"Yes, they are," Methusela replied. "I watch them quite often." He drifted back into silence, but he unexpectedly broke the silence not long after that. "There used to be a time when watching the stars was something I truly enjoyed. They used to show me many of the stars and their constellations, and they would say that one day I would fly so close to them that it would feel like I could reach up and touch their light."

"What happened to them?" Nilo asked, not knowing who Methusela was talking about but knowing that something awful had happened to someone dear to him because of the way he spoke about them.

"They were murdered, and I was left for dead, and if it wasn't for Fang, I--." Methusela paused, not knowing what to say next. "He saved me from wolves that came to feast on my parents' bodies, but the wolves left their marks." He shifted his head so that Nilo could see the jagged scar on his face, and then he lifted his wing, showing another gruesome set of scars where the feather did not grow. There was only the white of his skin, bare and gnarled.

Nilo's heart ached as she looked at his broken body, and she knew how he felt. "My parents are dead also," Nilo said. "I didn't even know my father, and I watched my mother die right before my eyes. That was the worst day of my life." Nilo closed her eyes and tried to block out the image of her mother being cast into the volcano in Whither.

"Life is cruel, you know. You have to find someone who you can trust to watch your back at all times; otherwise, you won't last a minute," Methusela said, looking away from the stars and at Nilo. He stared fixedly at her for a moment before closing his eyes and forcing himself to look away.

"I found someone," Nilo replied and then looked back at Jair.

"So did I," said Methusela, looking at Fang. "It's nice talking to someone who has gone through similar events as I have. I am not like other griffins. I'm broken. I suppose that's the best word for it."

"Yes, I know how you feel. I will never be like the other griffins, but I think you and I are a lot alike, Methusela," Nilo said, turning toward the midnight black griffin. She looked up at him and saw a light burning deep within his coal black eyes--a burning that she guessed was a spark of hope, the hope that maybe he wasn't the only one of his kind, and there were others out there like him. She felt the same way.

"You all should hit the haystack," Fang's coarse voice suddenly split the air. "You'll need all the sleep you can get for tomorrow. I'll keep first watch, Methusela, and you can take second." Without arguing, they all did as Fang said and found a place to rest for the night.

Jair woke suddenly with his jaws clamped shut so that he could not make a sound, and the first thing that went through his mind was fight and struggle, but before he had the chance to escape, he recognized who it was that had a hold of him. It was Fang. He was fully alert, and his expression was that of a warrior. Cold as stone.

"Quiet, Ominice," Fang said in a hushed tone as he let go of Jair's jaws. "Wake your little friend and tell her to wake the others down below. There is trouble out in the woods, and I suggest we leave immediately."

Jair looked out over the edge of the tower and saw a glow off in the distance. It was the glow that was only made by one thing, fire, and at the distance it could be seen, Jair guessed it was a very large fire.

"I sent Methusela to investigate, and he should be back any moment, but I don't plan on waiting around in case there is real trouble."

This was the most upset Jair had ever seen Fang, and he instantly knew that whatever was going on, Fang did not like. And anything that made Fang uneasy, made Jair uneasy. Fang had said he was a mercenary, and mercenaries are used to dealing with extremely dangerous situations. Jair was sure Fang had seen many different unpleasant situations throughout his life, so he trusted his judgment.

Jair quietly woke Nilo and told her the situation, and she quickly made her way down to wake the others below. Jair then began putting his armor on and, by the time he had finished, Methusela came flying in and landed on the tower roof. "There is a village about two miles down, and it's lit up like a torch," he said as he touched down. "Men, women, and children are being rounded up for some reason or other. They are all Nave, and the village is not under Zenith's protection. Their attackers are Ominice, and they are all armored in white," Methusela told Fang.

"Curse these Ominice!" Fang spat and picked up a spear that he had sitting nearby. He then ran over and leapt up onto Methusela's shoulders. Methusela aided Fang in his mount and then turned and readied for flight.

"What are you doing?" Jair asked.

"I'm going to save my kin," Fang said, the anger clear in his voice.

"You will be cut to pieces," Jair said, trying to bring Fang back to his senses.

"Maybe, but I'm not letting these Untainted harm more Naves than they already have. I am not afraid of them, and I am not willing to stand by and watch as they cart my people away like Breyals to the slaughter."

"I'm coming with you, then," Jair said and also began readying himself for flight.

"Don't be stupid! You have no weapon," Fang said, and this was true. Jair had not brought any weapon with him on their journey.

"Ominice always have weapons," Jair replied, and he brought his tail up and flashed its gorors in the firelight.

"I hope you know how to use that tail well, Jair," Fang said as all three of them leapt off the edge of the tower and headed toward the firelight. Within a matter of minutes they came within sight of the village, and the first thing Jair saw as the trees parted and revealed the small Nave village below was the broken bodies of all the Naves that attempted to fend off their attackers. Their forms could be seen lying motionless next to their burning homes, and the remaining Naves were being forcefully thrown into caged carts, pulled by Naves of the same village. Jair watched from above as one Nave, unable to walk because of wounds, lay on the ground with an Untainted above him. Jair knew before it happened what would take place, but he hadn't the time to react. The Untainted drove a spear through the midsection of the poor Nave and watched him take his last breath.

Seeing this brought Jair back to what had happened to his own village--a very similar fate. His blood ran hot as he made another pass over the village, but this time he had seen all he needed. There were about thirty Untainted, all armored and armed to the teeth. Most of them were circling the caged cart, except for a few looting buildings a short ways off. Jair saw another injured Nave limping as fast as she could toward the cart, but an Untainted, not thinking she was moving fast enough, kicked her to the ground. Seeing this, Jair quickly angled his flight and went into a steep descent. The Untainted raised his blade above his head and was about to strike when Jair fell from the blackness of the night and, with a force that could crush a Breyal, he slammed the Untainted into the muddied earth.

All of the other Untainted around the cart turned and looked to see what had happened behind them and found Jair, fully armored and with the rage of a mother bear who had just lost her cubs, standing over the crumpled body of their comrade. They looked from their fallen comrade up to Jair, and then another wretched cry rang out from behind them. They all turned once again to see an Untainted helmet rocking back and forth on the ground, with its wearer nowhere to be found as Methusela had swooped down and plucked him from the ground, and only his helmet remained.

"Ambush!" One of the Untainted yelled and, with military precision, the Untainted formed into a tight formation, with shields held up and weapons ready. Jair had not expected this from the Untainted. He had expected them to give chase, but now he was at a loss as to what to do. He was only one Ominice against thirty and, at this moment, the only other creatures that knew where he was were Methusela and Fang. He then began to think that his hasty decision to drop down and save the Nave that lay next to him was a bad idea, but he looked down at the Nave that was at his feet. Her eyes were wide with fear making her already large blue eyes look larger than ever. She looked directly up at him without saying a word. She just shivered uncontrollably.

It was at this moment that Jair knew his decision was not in vain, and that he would have made it a hundred times over. Jair bent down and pulled free the arm goror from the Ominice he had just slain and looked into the Nave's eyes.

"It will be all right," he said, and the Nave shook her head in shocked gratitude. Jair then stood up and began walking to the metal wall of shields that the Untainted had made and stopped a good distance away, being sure to stay out of throwing distance.

"Where is your commander?" he shouted. After a few moments of shuffling around, an Ominice came forward. Blood red feathers flowed from the top of his helmet as he walked, and Jair took note that he was a large Ominice with piercing yellow eyes that could be seen shifting beneath his helmet. His bottom jaw overlapped his top, where sharp fangs could be seen sticking out, and his chest was bear with no armor to protect it. In place of the armor was a belt with several different skulls attached to it from the many different enemies he had slain, and the skulls clanked together hollowly as he walked forward.

"I am he," said the commander of the Untainted in a gravelly voice that sent shivers down Jair's spine. "What does a whelp like you want with the commander of the Feumur division of Divinity?" he barked out loudly, and Jair stood tall, trying to show as little fear as possible.

"Release all of your prisoners and return from where you came from, and your lives will be spared," Jair said loudly and forcefully.

"How dare you talk to me as if you are over me, Ominice! The great goddess Sayreen will pick through your bones, and then I will have another skull to add to my collection!" the Untainted commander shouted back, and then he pulled his arm goror from its sheath. "Kill him!" he yelled back to his troops, but as the Untainted started moving closer, there was a sudden high-pitched screech that Jair knew very well. A moment later, Nilo, Ulire, and the rest of the class landed next to him, weapons drawn and ready for the fight that was inevitable. Every student immediately fell into a single file line surrounding Jair--except for Ulire, who walked a short ways forward.

"Are you all right, Jair?" Nilo asked, seeing the crumpled Untainted that lay a short distance away.

"I am now," Jair replied and then returned his attention to Ulire, who was beginning to speak.

"I am Ulire, flight captain of Falke Force of Zenith. What do you want with these Naves?" he said, and again the commander of the Untainted came forward.

"It is not I who wants these Naves. It is her holiness, Sayreen—goddess of blood and fire--, who wishes them, and if I were you, Ulire, I would hide in the caves of the mountains and pray for mercy now that we have found you," the commander replied.

"I cannot let you take these Naves. Release them and return to Aaron and tell Sayreen that no creature under Zenith's protection will ever be hers. Not as long as I live," Ulire said defiantly.

With this comment, the commander became infuriated. "You will rot under Sayreen's weight, all of you!" he screamed and then signaled the charge. His troops bounded forward and began racing toward them. Ulire quickly hurried back to his own lines while barking orders as he went.

"Griffins up front, use your shields. Ominice behind, protect the griffins, just like I have taught you back at the academy. Now, this is going to get bad really quickly."

Griffin shields are different from normal shields for a human. They are more like armor. Typically, one side of the griffin will have a huge pauldron, or shoulder armor, that starts at the base of the foot and works its way up the leg and over the shoulder blade. This pauldron will be very broad and cover a large part of the neck and side. In some cases, like with the Lowe back in Zenith, the griffins will have two of these shields, along with metal plating on both of their wings. This allows them to make huge walls of griffin and metal when standing side by side with other griffins of the same type. Nothing is more intimidating than an army of Lowe heavy armored griffins marching to battle. What was happening now was no Lowe battle line, but it was still intimidating. Unfortunately, it was not intimidating enough to hinder the Untainted.

They charged headlong into the wall of griffins, and in a frenzy of talons and gorors, the battle began. Nilo, who was in the front line, held her shield position next to another, and Jair stood directly behind her. The arm goror he had picked from the fallen enemy became very useful as he stabbed at the Untainted from behind Nilo's bulk. He herd Ulire yell just before the chaos and began to watch for jumpers, or Ominice that attempted short flight maneuvers to get over the griffin wall, but the sound from the collision of the two parties was deafening, and the cries out afterwards were even worse, so Jair did not hear fully what he had to say.

Jair stuck out with his weapon over and over again and finally sank it into an Untainted's neck that was trying to break through Nilo's defenses, while Nilo slashed with her talons and crippled another. Then a jumper, just as Ulire had warned, leapt into the air with his wings spread out. and Jair readied himself for the attack. But before the Untainted hit the ground, a black shadow swooped down and plucked him from the sky.

Jair watched as Methusela carried the screaming Untainted off and finished him in the darkness beyond. Then the Untainted commander, in a rage because the battle was not going well, raised his arm goror in the air and charged himself. He roared madly as he thundered forward and slammed into a griffin in the center of the battlefield. The griffin--Thane was his name--buckled under the sudden pressure of the attack and fell backwards. The Untainted commander buried his arm goror deep into Thane's tender flesh. Then, leaving his blade behind, the commander threw a hard punch at the nearest Ominice and crumpled the Ominice's armor into his chest. Both the griffin and the Ominice fell in a blink of an eye, and then the Untainted commander picked up another weapon and began striking out furiously at those around him. But before he was able to do any damage Ulire flung himself at the Untainted commander and both their blades stuck and locked.

Ulire attempted to push back the Untainted, but there was a gaping hole in the defenses that could not be mended because the Untainted now flooded the gap and began to split those from Zenith into two sections. That was when the battle line broke, and it turned into a scattered fight with mingling of both sides. Jair did all he could to stay next to Nilo, and together they fought every oncoming Untainted, slashing and tearing into any that came close enough.

Nilo used her great talons wile Jair used his jaws, gorors, and weapons to slay Untainted after Untainted. There were so many Untainted at Jair and Nilo's feet that the commander took notice himself and saw the two surrounded by his troops, and still his troops failed to end their lives. He then decided it needed his personal attention, and he abandoned Ulire and fought his way over to Jair.

Jair looked up as the Untainted commander rose above him, and all he could think was that he was far larger than he had first thought. With hatred in his eyes, the Untainted commander struck at Jair, but Jair threw up his arm goror, and the two blades struck with a resounding clang.

The Untainted then lashed out with his tail, and Jair jumped back, missing the deadly gorors by a hair's width, but his enemy was quick. Before Jair could fully recover from the second attack he attacked again, bringing down his arm goror upon Jair's left shoulder. Jair felt the force of the blow and was driven to one knee, and the Untainted looked down at him with an air of victory before jamming his blade into Jair's gut.

"NO!" Nilo screeched as she looked on in horror, but Jair was not dead, nor dying. The blade had crumpled a section of his armor and proceeded through to the flesh, but as the blade struck, the commander's thoughts of victory quickly turned to confusion and fear. Jair pulled the blade free from his abnormally hard-scaled body and stood back up.

"What is this witchcraft?" the Untainted screamed and struck furiously at Jair, but Jair then remembered his training with Ulire, and he began a series of parries and counterattacks. Soon he had the Untainted commander backing away and giving ground instead of taking it. The commander, then fearing for his own life and not willing to sacrifice anymore of his own troops, signaled a retreat. All of the untainted, in a confused flurry, took to the sky and made their way back into the forest.

"Do not follow." Ulire issued the command as the last Untainted leapt off the ground. "Let them go."

Jair watched as the last Untainted became a dull flashing of white reflecting from the moon's rays, as they disappeared beyond the horizon. Then he looked at the carnage that lay at his feet.

_So fast_ , he thought as he saw those who he had just been talking to an hour ago, now dead or dying at his feet. There were seven casualties for those under the Zenith flag. One was Thane, who still lay with the Untainted commander's arm goror protruding from his neck. Another was the Ominice who had taken the hit to the chest. He was not dead yet but very close to it.

Another that had died during the fight was Brurous, the Ominice that had been jesting with Ulire earlier in the evening. This saddened Jair because he had spent some time with him, and they had both gotten along quite well together. Another killed was one of the Wolfe, and Jair watched as others from the group surrounded their fallen comrade and mourned his death

"So young," Ulire said over and over, as he looked through those who did not make it, and Jair knew then what the cost of war was. He had seen it before in his home village, and now he saw it again, only this time with the creatures of Zenith. They carried the bodies of the fallen back to Zenith, leaving the eighteen dead Untainted to deteriorate naturally, and they released the Naves who had been held captive.

The trip back home was a less than happy one, as Ulire led the way on foot. They had to bring the displaced Naves with them because their village was a total loss and was no longer safe. The injured were flown back to Zenith to receive care by the Falke Force, who were alerted as to what had happened, and those on foot were met halfway by a group of Zenithian Falke griffins bringing supplies, so that they did not have to forage for themselves.

Sreya-que, Gweine, and Fallon were amongst them, and they immediately started drilling Ulire with questions of what had happened.

"This was only supposed to be a scout trip. How did it end up this way? You know these students should not be fighting yet. They are not ready," Jair heard Gweine lecturing Ulire.

Methusela and Fang had disappeared the night of the battle, and Jair hoped that nothing had happened to them. He knew there was no way the Untainted had captured them, so his best guess was that they were either killed in battle and their bodies were not found, or they had decided the odds were too great and had abandoned the fight, but he hoped that neither of the scenarios was true. Methusela and Fang were fierce fighters, and Jair had a feeling that Zenith was going to need them very soon. Their sudden disappearance was not a good thing.

Returning to Zenith, Jair went straight to St. Dagon's Academy and to his room, where Yar was waiting.

"What happened, Jair?" he asked as Jair removed his bloodied armor and set it on the ground. Jair then sat on his bedding and took a moment to work out all that had happened in his own brain.

"Naves, Yar. The Untainted were caging Naves for some reason, and we had to stop them, so we fought, but we didn't save everyone. We lost some of our own," he said while rubbing his head. "The Naves were not part of Zenith, but we fought and saved them, anyways because they were in need of the help."

Yar then looked at Jair with an air of awe. "I have such high respect for you, Jair," he said. "You fought for my species without hesitation."

"I couldn't let the Untainted cart them off to wherever they were taking them. Whatever the Untainted had planned for those Naves, I knew it was nothing good. I know what it is like to have your whole world torn apart in front of your eyes, and I wasn't going to stand by and watch the Untainted do the same things to those Naves that they did to me," Jair concluded. He then went over what the Untainted commander had said about their goddess Sayreen, and something he had said to Ulire also seemed wrong.

"Sayreen," Jair said aloud to himself. "Isherwood had talked briefly about this goddess of the Untainted, and he had been truly scared of her. What is this goddess that the Untainted have adopted?" Jair did not know the answer to his own question. _There was one thing for sure_ , he thought to himself. _We need to find out._

"Where is Zack? I have to speak to him immediately," Jair asked, turning to Yar.

"He is with Malic-Rie in the library. As usual," Yar replied, and Jair stood from the bedding.

"Let's go and see him. I need to know who Sayreen really is."

So the two of them left their hollow and headed for the library. They met Nilo along the way, as she was washing the blood off her talons in the fountain, and she soon joined them. As they entered the library they were met by Malic-Rie. He ushered them to Zack, who sat surrounded by books and looked as if he had been reading for hours. He looked up as they entered the room, and relief flowed over him. "What is it, Jair?" Zack asked, glad to see them all well and alive.

The three of them stopped right in front of him, and Jair came forward. "I need some help, Zack," he said. "Remember when we were out on the plains, and Isherwood said something about the Untainted's god, Sayreen?"

"Yes, I do," Zack replied and remained attentive. "Have you ever read anything that might hint as to who Sayreen might be? I think that if we find out what this god is we might be able to better understand of why the Untainted do what they do--how they operate. I know it's a long shot, but I also know that some of the Naves have strange gods. I'm wondering if it might not be one of them. Can you find out for me?"

"Sure, Jair," Zack replied.

Malic-Rie immediately broke in. "There will be very few books, or any way at all of discovering out who this Sayreen might be here in Zenith," he said, "but I do happen to know a Snoul who spent a lot of time collecting all of the different religions throughout the land and compiling them into a series of books. He lives in a monastery in the outer towns northeast of Zenith. Zack and I could take a break and go down and meet with him. He will be the best equipped in discovering who the god Sayreen might be."

"Could you please, Malic-Rie?" Jair asked.

"Yes, I could, and I think I will because you might be on to something, Jair. Understanding your enemy can be a very valuable tool. It's a marvelous idea. You are quite intelligent to think of it, really. Have you ever thought of joining the Eule?" Malic-Rie asked suddenly.

"The Falke need me more right know, Malic, but thanks for the offer," Jair replied, trying to sound as sincere as possible.

"Oh well. Maybe some other time," Malic said, and then he and Zack left the library and began readying themselves for the trip to the Easebrich Monastery.

So it was set in motion, and Zack and Malic-Rie left the next morning just as the sun began to show its face over the horizon on the Elon plains. Jair, along with Nilo and Yar, were there to see them off on their journey, and they watched as the two started east, slowly moving through the long wavy grass. Only once both Zack and Malic-Rie were no longer visible did the three of them return to the Collenel to visit with Crixa, as they often did.

They spent the better part of the day with her and her family, including Crixa's four oldest, who were terribly curious about what had happened the previous day.

"What happened the other day?" they all asked.

"The northern guard tower was attacked, along with a Nave village. It was the Untainted," Jair replied.

"Is Zenith going to respond to these attacks?" Warren asked.

"I don't know. I hope they do because what the Untainted did cannot be tolerated. We cannot just let them continue doing what they are doing unanswered, but it's hardly my choice in what we should do."

As the sun drew closer to the horizon, they returned back to the Falke quarters, but before they were able to pass the library, they were met by Gweine and Fallon.

"Jair, you must follow us," Gweine said.

"What is going on?" Jair asked.

"The counsel would like you to give them an account of what happened the other day. They want to know exactly what happened and how it happened."

"All right," Jair replied, and he said his farewells to Nilo and Yar. Then he continued on with Fallon and Gweine. As he came closer to the entrance of the main chambers in the Collenel, Jair could clearly hear raised voices. One of the voices he recognized as Ulire, but the other he had never heard before.

Ulire was shouting in anger. "I did what had to be done and nothing less! If Jair, Methusela, and Fang had not intervened, all of those Naves would have been at the mercy of the Untainted, and God only knows what they would have done to them then!"

"Do not raise your voice at me, Ulire. I did not ask what could have been. I am wondering how two former mercenaries managed to leave your company and stumble into an Untainted platoon under your watch, and then, in doing so, caused the deaths of six of your students," hissed a female voice back in the same angered tone. "Six of your students are dead because of your negligence, and if it were up to me, I would have you demoted and placed in a position little better than that of the student you teach."

"Shelobe, that is quite enough!" Wherim's voice broke in.

"Fine, if that is what you want it, so be it," Ulire interrupted. "I would rather be demoted to a student than watch innocent lives being carted off to some grizzly end."

The conversation was cut short as Fallon opened the door to the Collenel and then all three of them entered.

"We shall decide what is to be done at a later date," boomed the voice of a Griffin. "Ulire, you are to remain in the Falke quarters until summoned, and you are not allowed outside the academy until the council has decided what is to be done with you. Do I make myself clear?"

Jair immediately recognized him as the commander of the Lowe ground forces for Zenith. He was an enormous gray griffin with thick talons and beak. His name was Breaken-Var, and if any creature in Zenith could have scared Jair, it was this one. Next to Breaken-Var sat a Snoul, the leader of the Falke, Blaine. Jair had met him on several occasions and knew him fairly well. His shaved head and goatee were exactly the same as when Jair had first met him, and he remained silent in the matter that was in front of him with only a thoughtful expression on his face. He gently pulled at the goatee on his face and looked from person to person. Next to him sat a Nave, bent and wrinkled with age. The sandy-colored Nave remained attentive to the ongoing conversation. Next to him was an Ominice, and Jair guessed that this Ominice was Shelobe. She sat straight as an arrow in her seat, with her wings slightly splayed, giving her a larger looking appearance. There were a few others in the room, including a female Kraw and Wherim. All of the council members watched as Jair entered the Collenel and came forward. As he entered, Ulire began to leave.

"Watch out, Jair. They are in a condemning mood," Ulire said as he passed by, and Jair could feel himself start to become a little nervous. With his nervousness came his heightened senses of awareness he always had when he became agitated. He could sense the weight of the surrounding rocks and the slight precipitation that was forming outside. His tongue began to flick in and out, in his nervous fidgeting, and his wings clamped tight against his body. Gweine and Fallon walked over and took up their position behind Wherim's chair. Then the meeting began.

"Welcome, Jair," said Wherim. "We called you here because we are trying to find out exactly what happened the other day. Will you please tell us, in your own words, how you came upon the Untainted, and the events that transpired afterwards?"

Jair took in a deep breath. He was glad that Wherim was the first to speak because it helped to calm his nerves. "Well," Jair began, and then he told all that had happened the night of the attack. He told of the tower and their decision to go after the Untainted and then the confrontation with the Untainted chieftain himself and, lastly, about the ensuing battle. The entire council sat silent until Jair was finished with his telling of the story.

Then Shelobe sat forward. "Where are Methusela and Fang now?" she asked cynically.

"I do not know," Jair replied truthfully, and the room broke into discussion.

"Do you suppose they are spies?" Jair heard one of the council members say.

"No, they are mercenaries. The Untainted paid them off," said another.

"They were never really part of Zenith. They were probably working with the Untainted when they first arrived. Do you remember how we found them?"

The speculations went on and on, and Jair couldn't believe his ear holes. "What makes you think that they had any part in the attack?" Jair asked, angered that they would make such presumptions. the entire Collenel became quiet. Wherim then stood from his chair.

"We have been having information leaking out, Jair. Some of our Fusch infiltrators have been exposed and then executed at the hands of the Untainted. There is a mole here in Zenith, and we are desperately trying to find out who it might be. Now, Jair, what I have just told you must never leave this room. Do you understand me? Do not even tell your friends because we do not want the spy alert to our intentions to catch him."

"Wherim, we already know who the likely culprit is," Shelobe said.

"Yes, but there might be more than one, Shelobe. So, from now on, guard your tongues, council members. In truth, Jair should never have heard this conversation that we just had, but I trust Jair well enough to keep a secret," Wherim said, turning to Jair and looking him straight in the eyes. "Do not prove my trust wrong." Wherim dismissed Jair from the room.

Jair walked down the Collenel stairs, his head spinning with all that he had just herd. Methusela and Fang spies? He just couldn't believe it. In the short time Jair had spent with the two, he had learned a great deal about them, but was that information even real, or was it just a cover story for their true intentions? The greatest upset was why had they left, and where were they now? Jair continued to ponder as he walked down the stairs, but he stopped as he came to one of the guard posts. There was no guard there, so Jair looked out across the great expanse of land that surrounded Zenith, and he watched the sun, halfway sunk down on the horizon. It cast its many different colors on the low bearing clouds that lazily drifted by. He watched as the wind blew across the plains, shifting the grass in great waves, and it brought back the memory of when he first saw the Elon plains. He would never forget that moment. _Palin-Lailil_ , he thought to himself, and he continued to watch until the sun was all but gone before returning to his hollow in St. Dalen's Academy.

The following day, Wherim sat erect in the chair where he always sat. His ears shifted according to the direction of the sounds that were projected throughout the Collenel. Those who were speaking were the new refugees, all of the Naves that had lost their homes to the Untainted. Mixed with their voices were the voices of the leaders of Zenith. The Nave Pumma was the primary speaker for the refugees, as was expected. He stood slightly apart from the others with both of his sons by his side.

"We do not wish to join Zenith," said the Pumma with the authority of his clan. "We have lived in Elonas valleys for generations, and we don't wish to leave now." His voice was as cool and calm as ever.

"We are in no way forcing you to live here in Zenith. We just want to make sure you and your people are safe," Wherim said in his diplomatic tone.

"Let us at least give you protection while you rebuild your village," Breaken-Var's voice thrummed in, and the Nave Pumma's head sank lower as his decision was made.

"As much as I wish I want to dismiss the offer, I cannot. I will accept your offer of protection while we rebuild," he said and started to head back to the rest of his clan. "Today I watch my people, too weak to protect themselves," he said to himself as he left. Wherim watched as the Collenel became empty, and he looked over as the last of them exited the large room. He caught sight of Jair, Nilo, and Yar. They were leaving with all of the others that had come that day. For the first time, Wherim saw Jair in a different light. He wasn't sure what had set it in his mind--whether it was the light of the room, or the way in which Jair moved that put the thought in his head--but he was sure that he had seen Jair before, years ago. He knew that it wasn't Jair he had seen, but someone else.

"Gweine, please accompany me to my chambers," Wherim said and then stood and left the Collenel. Gweine gave Fallon a curious glance before following as ordered, and Fallon followed right behind her. They made their way through a set of corridors and into a hall with a lonely door at its end, where Wherim and Gweine entered. Fallon stayed behind and stood watch at the end of the hall, making sure no one came within earshot of the doorway. Once inside his chambers, Wherim closed the door and locked it. Then he turned to Gweine.

"I want you to do a favor for me, Gweine," Wherim said. "I want you and Fallon to watch Jair and his friends. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, I can. But why?" Gweine asked, confused at Wherim's sudden interest in Jair and his friends. "You don't think they are spies, do you?" Gweine said, worried what the answer might be.

"No, I don't think they are spies. I just want you to watch them and make sure they do not become harmed. I think Jair may have made himself a target for the Untainted, with what happened at the northern outpost the other day. I also have my suspicions about something else, but I must first look into it before I can verify if it is true or not. If you would, please keep an eye on them. You can let Fallon know what I have just told you, but tell no one else. Can I count on you?" Wherim asked, now looking her in the eyes.

"Yes, father. You can trust me," Gweine said and then unlatched the door and left. A moment later, she met up with Fallon down the hall. Together, the two of them left to complete Wherim's task. Wherim watched as the two of them disappeared down the corridor, and then he himself headed for the Collenel's library.

The Collenel's library was one of the few places off-limits to all but those who took care of the books and the commander of Zenith. Wherim greeted the librarian as he entered. She was an older Nave named Alana, and she kept good track of all the books' places within her library. Wherim spent a few hours searching through all of the different assortments of books before he found the one he was looking for. Then, plucking it from the shelf, he found a reading stand and began going over the information within until he finally found a small section that had the names he was looking for. As he turned the page, to his dismay, he found it had been torn out, leaving him even more confused than before.

### Chapter Twenty Seven

Word of an Army

"There you are, Jair. Fits perfectly," Klien said, stepping back to inspect his work.

It was mid-morning the following day, and so far it had been a very uneventful one. Jair was more than happy to try on the helmet Klien had fitted for him.

"It's quite nice," Nilo said from just outside the forge limits, and Yar agreed that it fit quite well.

"Wait 'til you get your hands on the sword I have made you," Klien said, pulling a finely crafted weapon from his rack and handing it to Jair. Jair lifted the weapon and felt its weight and balance. "I tapered the end to a point with a slight curve. It gives it more of an arm goror feel to the blade, and I know how much you Ominice like your arm gorors."

"Thanks, Klien. It will work perfectly," Jair said, still shifting the blade in his hands.

"Oh, I have one other thing for you, as well. It's the first I have ever made, so I don't know how well it will work, but I made it specifically for an Ominice. I spent some time watching Ominice the other day sparring up in the ring, and that's where I came up with these babies," Klien said, pulling a long leather belt from a cupboard which was covered in a series of foot-long metal spikes that were as sharp as knives.

"I call them artificial gorors, based on the gorors of an Ominice tail," Klien said as he held them up so Jair could see them clearly. "A device I made after watching the Ominice bash each other with their tails. It was a deadly means of attack, yes, but tail gorors can break, causing all sorts of problems. These will help to keep that from happening and make it so that Ominice can fight harder and longer without worry about bodily damage. Do you want to try them on?"

Jair looked at the artificial gorors for a moment, and they reminded him of an oversized dog collar. "Why not?" Jair said and flipped his tail over so that Klien could belt them on. After they had been secured tightly to Jair's tail, Klien then stood up and pulled a wooden dummy from the corner of his workshop.

"Here I had this brought down so that we could test them properly," he said and cleared out his forge so that they had room to move. Jair shifted his tail back and forth a couple of times, and the metal spikes scraped against the ground as he moved.

"They are heavy," Jair said, looking up.

"Will it prevent you from moving?"

"No. I should be able to move freely."

"Then let's try them," Klien said, holding the dummy an arm's length away. Jair swung his tail back and forth a couple more times, and then he fixed his eyes on the dummy. With a quick rotation, Jair spun around and whipped his tail through the air at the dummy. A sudden crack split the air, and the splintering of wood signaled that Jair had successfully hit his target. The force of the blow nearly knocked Klien off his feet, and when Jair attempted to remove his tail from the dummy, it would not budge. Nilo and Yar, who were watching from outside, began laughing hysterically as they watched Jair try and remove the spikes.

"Here I got it," Klien said, and he unbuckled the artificial gorors and examined the dummy. "Well, I'll be," he said, holding it up. One of the artificial goror spikes was buried all the way to the belt, while another was a couple of inches in.

"I like them," Jair said, picking up one of the ends of the belt.

"Well, once I remove the one I have here from the dummy, then I will give these to you," Klien said and quickly began removing the metal spikes from the wood.

"Klien, do you think you could make me a pair of those in Nave size?" Yar said in a joking manner while flipping his short, stubby tail back and forth.

"I would have nothing to belt it to, my friend," Klien jested back. And Yar began chuckling to himself. "Well, there you are, Jair." Klien handed him the belt. "I hope they come in handy during a fight, and remember, you got them from me first."

"Thanks, Klien. I will remember," Jair said and then he, along with Nilo and Yar, left the forge and headed back to St. Dagon's Academy. They wove their way through the cobblestone streets, which were quite busy at that time of day with many people coming and going, carrying different goods and products as they went about their business. Several times the three of them had to move over as a cart being pulled by a griffin made its way down the streets. It was one of these carts that blocked off the path ahead so that the three of them had to take a side road to get around.

"You would think that they would have a little more consideration for others," Nilo was complaining as they made their way through a back alley.

"Yes, it was quite rude," Yar agreed.

"They were rude because I told them to be rude." A voice from above suddenly came out of nowhere, and all three of them immediately recognized it and looked up quickly to see Methusela perched on a support beam a short ways above their heads. Jair immediately reached for his new sword.

"Don't bother, Jair; I am no spy or traitor to Zenith, as they think," Methusela said, already knowing what Jair was thinking. "In fact, I am quite the opposite, whether the leaders of Zenith know it or not. I came here to warn you--not to kill you."

"Warn us of what?" Jair said, now more attentive than ever.

"To warn you of what is coming. Meet me tonight on the balcony by the fountain. You know it, Jair. I'll be there when the moon reaches it's full." With that said, Methusela leapt off the beam and flew low in amongst the building. Then he was lost to sight.

"What is coming?" Nilo asked, sounding worried.

"I don't know, but I mean to find out," Jair answered and began to leave the confines of the alleyway and headed back onto the streets. Before they left, a platoon of Lowe guards burst into the alleyway and ran by, in search of Methusela.

"Who was that?" Yar asked after the guards had left.

"That was Methusela," Jair replied.

"Methusela said he was not a spy. What did he mean by that?" Nilo asked. "Who thinks he is a spy, and why were the guards after him?"

"What I am going to tell must not be told to anyone else," Jair then said, making sure no one was around to eavesdrop. "The council thinks that Methusela and Fang might be traitors to Zenith, and they are obviously searching for them."

"Are they traitors?" Nilo asked, confused.

"No, I don't believe they are, but I do think Fang and Methusela have stumbled onto something very important--important enough to risk a trip here to warn us, even though all of Zenith is after them. I say we meet with Methusela tonight and find out what exactly he is talking about. We will meet at the fountain at the first sign of the moon and then continue on to the balcony to meet with Methusela. Yar, bring your spear. Just in case," Jair said, and then the three of them left the alley and went back to the Falke quarters, where they waited for the day to turn to evening.

As the moon silently rose into the clouded sky and the owl hooted her lonesome song, Jair and Yar emerged from their sleeping quarters as quietly as possible They snuck their way down the hall and avoided detection by the Falke guard. After weaving their way to the Cole, they were met by Nilo at one of the bottom entrances that connected the Cole to the Falke quarters.

They proceeded to the balcony, passing the fountain that could be heard letting its cool water flow into its large bowl. Then they entered the large open balcony that overlooked the Elon plains. Once there, they sat silently watching the moon rise in the sky. The clouds moved lazily, surrounding the moon and cradling it gently, and the moon responded back by throwing its uneven shadows on the land below, giving it a ghostly light that was both smooth and calming.

Jair had seen its coolness many times and could think of nothing more beautiful than the moon and her ghostly shadows.

"Look at all the stars," Yar whispered, his big sapphire eyes shining brightly in the dull moonlight surrounding them. After the moon had reached its zenith, the three of them began searching the skies for Methusela, but there was no way they would be able to spot him until he chose to show himself, so they remained silent and patiently waited. It wasn't long before he flew up, materializing out of the blackness and perching on the balcony's edge next to them.

"Sorry I had to meet you this way, but I had to make sure I didn't get caught," Methusela said as he landed.

"What is this all about, Methusela? Why did you have us come here tonight, and where have you been for the last few days?" Jair asked

"Let me explain, Jair," Methusela said in a calm voice. "We fought in the battle that saved those Naves, but unlike you and the rest of your class when you left, we didn't. Fang and I continued to hunt down the Untainted, fearing that they would call reinforcements. We chased and killed all that we could, but we were not efficient enough, and five of the Untainted made it back to their camp, including their commander.

"It wasn't long before we found a whole horde of Untainted right off the Elon borders. There had to be at least two hundred all camped at the edge of the Elon Mountain range south of the Rift.

"We couldn't sneak in very close to find out what they were up to, but we came close enough to learn that the Untainted commander was executed on the spot for his failure and another was placed in his position. We also were able to get a glimpse of their numbers more clearly. They were four hundred strong, and all of them were armed for battle. Then we returned to the tower and began destroying the trail that you and the Naves had left. Once we had destroyed as much as we could, we then created another trail heading in the opposite direction. It was a lot of work, but we were able to finish it just in time. We hid ourselves once the Untainted came looking for you and the Naves. We then followed them back to their main camp, where the Untainted have amassed a force on the eastern peaks at the edge of Elon and are launching an assault on the smaller villages that are under Zenith's control. I fear that already more than one of the outer towns has been taken." Methusela stopped his narrative for a moment and let it all sink in. "Now you understand why I need your help. I know you have only known me for a couple of days, Jair, but if you do not trust me, terrible things will happen"

Jair sat in complete silence. He was stunned and a little unsure how to react to such news, and it was Yar who broke the silence. "We wouldn't be on this balcony if we did not trust you, Methusela, and if you say Zenith is under attack, then I believe you."

"And so do I," Nilo then spoke up, and Jair remained silent, looking at the big black griffin in front of him.

"Yes, I do trust you, Methusela, but the question is, what should be done about this invasion?"

"We should tell the Council, of course," Nilo said.

"No, we can't just tell the Council. What would we tell them? That we talked to the spy, and he says that a massive army is going to attack Zenith soon? That won't work, and we would be likely to find ourselves in deep trouble," Yar replied, and he slowly started pacing back and forth.

"Yar is right. They do not trust me and Fang at all. They never have. Fang and I have been sketchy in their books for the simple fact that we are mercenaries, and it doesn't help that we have never fallowed their rules too well," Methusela concluded, and then they all fell into another silent spell where no words were said.

"Suppose we found the Untainted army," Nilo said suddenly. "We get permission to fly out on a scout trip or something like that, and we just happen to stumble upon the Untainted. Then the Council will find out through us, or they will send out a scout party to find out exactly what we are talking about."

"That should work," Yar said in agreement.

"That will work, but there is one thing," Jair said, turning toward Methusela. "Fang and Methusela will still be considered spies."

"Do not worry about Fang and me right now," Methusela replied. "We didn't plan on returning to Zenith, anyways. We are not like those in Zenith. We are used to a harder life, and Zenith was never really what we needed."

"Will you be leaving us, then?" Nilo asked, disappointed.

"Well, we can't just leave and let our friends fend off the Untainted by themselves. Right now, Fang and I are going to settle near the Rift for a while, and if any of you need anything, you can come to the Rift. Your plan sounds solid. You should put it into action and warn Zenith before it is too late."

Methusela then made his way to the edge of the balcony, where he launched himself off and glided off into the night, leaving the three of them on the balcony watching the night sky where Methusela had vanished. None of them moved or said a word. They soaked up the information that they had just received, and were unsure how the three of them would manage to warn a whole nation of its imminent threat.

"Well, let's get a good night's sleep because we are going to be busy tomorrow," Jair said and then left the balcony and passed the fountain before returning to his sleeping hollow.

### Chapter Twenty Eight

A Scout Party

"You are requesting permission to form a scout party, then," Blaine said, turning from his work. He was in his Falke councilor's chamber within the Falke quarter. Jair, along with Yar and Nilo, were huddled at the entrance, hoping to gain permission to set in motion the first part of their plan. "I'm already short-handed because of the incident that happened the other day with Ulire, so I really do not have the resources to deal with such a scout request. Why, may I ask, are you specifically requesting a scout trip--especially after what had happened the other day?"

"It was part of Ulire's original planning to have the newer members of the academy go out on scout trips every other day to become familiar with the surrounding landscapes of Zenith, but since Ulire is no longer teaching at the moment, we do not know what to do," Jair said, trying to sound as truthful as possible.

"Fine. I will grant your request under one condition. You must have someone with two years' experience in the field accompany you."

With this, Jair was both relieved and disappointed. He was relieved that they had gotten permission but disappointed that they now had to find someone to accompany them on their trip. The three of them left Blaine's quarters and immediately started looking for someone to go with them.

"Sreya-que has been in the field for far longer than two years. She could take us," Nilo offered, but after searching for her for a while, they learned that she was already on a scout trip with a different group.

"Well, now who could help us out?" Jair asked, thinking hard. The three of them were walking through the training fields of the academy at this point, trying to think of someone who could help them. They had just entered the Lowe grounds when Deme-Trius walked up to the three of them. He was in full battle armor, and he made quite the ruckus as he walked up next to them.

"Hello, Nilo," he greeted. "What are you three doing here in the Lowe grounds? It's not too often that we get Falke visitors."

Jair had warmed up a little bit more to the bald griffin, but he still was unsure whether he liked him or not. "We are looking for someone to take us out on a scout trip, but we're having a hard time finding someone with two years in the field at the academy to help us out," Nilo said.

"I could take you. I've been in the field for two and a half years now, and I'm sure my battle master can get it approved with yours," Deme-Trius offered.

"Can you really do that for us?" Nilo said hopefully. "Sure, for you I could." Deme-Trius replied, and Nilo wilfed with the embarrassment, and Jair felt his skin become hot.

"Let me go and get it approved with my battle master. It will only take a few moments."

"Do you think you can make the flight?" Jair asked. "We are going a long distance." Deme-Trius turned and looked at Jair with amusement

"I may be Lowe, but that doesn't mean that I can't fly. It just means that I prefer ground fighting over air battles," he said, and then he started toward his battle master. "I'll be back in a few moments!" he yelled over his shoulder before disappearing into a crowd of Lowe in training.

A short while later, all four of them were in the air and flying west with Deme-Trius as their scout leader. They had planned a two-day trip, making it to the Rift on the first day and then reaching and searching the mountains for the Untainted on the second. So far, their plan was going perfectly, aside from the small hiccup of finding someone with two years in the field. Now all they had to do was to find the Untainted and report their finding to the council, but they would have to be very careful not to get discovered by the Untainted, otherwise they might never see Zenith again.

The sun was beginning to disappear over the horizon, and the long grass of Palin-Lailil was as golden as the sun that shone down upon it. The four of them had just come into sight of the Rift and were now flying low to the ground and riding the light gusting winds that drove the grass to look like waves from above.

Deme-Trius was a good flyer, as he had said, but he lacked the endurance that the others had and was breathing heavily when they finally landed. Jair had become used to the long flights, even when in full gear, and he could thank Ulire for that. Ulire was as rough as sandpaper on everyone he taught and drove his students relentlessly. In the end, though, it all paid off.

"Wow! That was a long flight," Deme-Trius said as they landed, and he sank down on a pile of prairie grass to rest and recover his strength. Jair immediately started to search the surrounding land for any potential dangers, a habit that he had grown accustomed to. Finding nothing for miles, he sat down with the others.

"I'll take the first watch, and then we will have two-hour shifts," Jair said as he sat down.

"I'll take the second shift," Yar replied as he took off the helmet and stabbed his spear into the ground before lying down on the cool prairie grass.

"You should all get as much rest as you can. We will be needing it tomorrow," Jair said, and so everyone found a nice place to lie down. Within moments the only sound that could be heard was the steady breathing of those who slept, and the occasional coyote howl in the night air, which was always answered by another a short time later.

Jair woke suddenly from his light sleep and immediately came to full alertness. Above him stood Yar, his helmet was on, and he held his spear in his hand. he had been the one to wake Jair by shaking him gently. As Jair's eyes came into full focus, Yar pointed toward the horizon where, in the dim light of the morning, he could see a large plume of thick black smoke rising into the air.

"What is it?" Jair asked, still not fully awake.

"It's smoke," Yar replied. "About twenty minutes ago the wind shifted and I could smell it, but it wasn't until it grew lighter before I could see what it was and where it was coming from. One of Zenith's towns lies in that direction, and I think Methusela is right. The outer towns are being targeted by Divinity."

"We have to fly to the smoke as quickly as possible before the Untainted make their way any further into Elon," Jair said, standing. "Let's wake the others and get moving now."

So, without a moment to lose, Yar woke both Nilo and Deme-Trius, and they showed them what they had already seen. Then the four of them put on their armor, left the Rift, and headed for the black, luminous cloud of smoke hovering in the distance.

They flew quickly and low to the ground to avoid as many eyes as possible if there were any spying on the skies. As the sun reached its highest point in the sky, the four of them came upon a clearing where the trees parted, leaving a small patch of grassland. Deer, seeing their approach, bounded off into the forest in flight, fearing for their own lives with the sight of the large predators flying overhead. The four of them landed in the small clearing that the deer had abandoned.

"From here, we will move one foot," Jair said as the last of them landed, and then they began slinking through the forest, trying to conceal their presence as much as possible. The forest was thick with brush and undergrowth, but they were still able to make their way through without making a large amount noise. Then the forest suddenly ended, and they found themselves in a clearing about two hundred yards in length. In the middle of the clearing was the village and Jair, for the first time, saw the true color of the Untainted.

"Maker Almighty!" he heard Deme-Trius say behind him, and Nilo gave out a cry of mixed shock and sadness. The village looked as if it had been placed in an oven and cooked for way too long. The whole town--plus everything around it, including some of the forest--was burnt to an ash covered crisp.

The four of them slowly proceeded into the town and began to walk through what used to be the main road. The bodies of the villagers were everywhere, unrecognizable and lying on the ground with mothers still clutching their children. Yar reached out and touch a young girl, and she fell into a pile of ash at his feet. "What could have done this?" Deme-Trius said, not withholding the anger in his voice.

Jair made his way through the village in a lightheaded trance until he reached the opposite end, and there he stood, gazing up at the burned skeleton of what used to be a house. Nilo walked up next to him and also looked over at the broken house.

"I know this house," Jair said in almost a whisper. "These Snoul offered me a place to sleep a few months back. They had two kids, and they were the nicest people I had ever met," Jair said, choking on the words as he spoke them. "This doesn't get any easier, Nilo--to watch everything around me get torn apart."

"We have to leave Jair. We have to warn Zenith of what has happened here, even if we do not find the Untainted horde," Nilo said with a tear forming at the corner of her eye.

"Yes, we should leave this place," Jair agreed and, as he turned around, he caught sight of the white armor of an Untainted soldier a short ways away. The Untainted had spun around the corner of one of the remains of a house with a bow in his hand and his arrow aimed at Nilo's head. He released the shaft, and it flew at lightning speed, passing the expanse of space between him and her in the blink of an eye, and Nilo could do nothing but watch as it came speeding to her. At the last second, Jair's breastplate moved into its path, and the arrow came to a sudden stop in Jair's chest. Jair fell to the ground, gasping for breath with the arrow protruding from his body. Yar, spotting the Untainted, heaved his spear at him, sticking him in the unprotected neck. The Untainted fell instantly into a crumpling lifeless pile of flesh and metal.

"How stupid of me!" Jair said in anger as he regained his breath.

"Are you all right?" Nilo asked hysterically.

"Yes, I'm fine," Jair said, and then he snapped the wooden arrow as close to the base of his armor as he could. "We have to leave. Now!" Jair stood to his feet and began sprinting back the way he had come. "The Untainted have set a trap for anyone who tries to find out what has happened to this town! I should have expected this." Jair was angry with himself for failing to recognize the trap that was so obvious, but as he feared, it was too late. The trap was already set into motion, and now they were surrounded by the Untainted. They came from every entrance of the town, spilling out of every structure that was still standing and pinning the four of them in.

Yar, without hesitation, ran up to Nilo and leapt up, grabbing the feathers on her haunch. Then, pulling himself up into his flight position, he pulled free a spear and readied for the fight to come.

"What do we do?" Nilo asked, seeing that they were outnumbered and surrounded. Jair's mind was spinning as he tried to figure out what to do. He was thinking a mile a minute over all the possible action and routes they could take to escape the Untainted. After a second of sizing up the situation he came to the best solution he could think of. "What do we do Jair!?" Nilo asked again, only this time she was clearly scared.

"We fly!" Jair yelled, and then he unfurled his wings and leapt into the air. Without a second to lose, Nilo and Deme-Trius threw open their wings and were right behind him.

The Untainted fired arrows at them as they took off, but none of the shafts met their mark, so they then began to pursue the fleeing party. In a confused mess of beating wings and metal, all four of them managed to break free from the Untainted and out into the open sky.

Once free, Jair flew as fast as he could and cleared half a mile in little more than half a minute. Nilo and Deme-Trius were right on his tail, but the Untainted managed to keep up with them all the same, never missing a beat. In between wing beats, Jair was able to catch quick glimpses of the pursuing Untainted, and he tried to add them up as he flew. He counted nine Untainted total, four on the right and five on the left. It was then that Nilo suddenly cried out.

"Look out! Above you, Jair!" she screeched, and Jair looked up to see two Untainted locking wings and going into a steep free fall from above. They were performing a simple tactic that falcons often use to catch their prey, but it had failed because Nilo had spotted them before they could make their move. _Two more_ , Jair thought to himself as he locked his own wings and began to fall like a stone to the earth.

The wind rushed past him at an incredible speed, and all he could hear was the high-pitched whistle made by the wind passing through the holes in his wings. He then looked behind and found that the two Untainted were gaining on him. And, with the ground beginning to creep up on him, he decided to take the fight to the Untainted.

_It is time to put Klien's artificial gorors to the test,_ Jair thought as he opened his wings slightly to slow himself down a little and allow the Untainted to gain a little ground on him. When the Untainted came close enough, Jair threw his wings open wide, and the Untainted, seeing what he had done, desperately tried to correct their mistake. It was too late. Jair whipped his tail as hard as he could through the air at the closer of the two, and the artificial gorors stuck and sank deep into the Ominice's flesh, bypassing the armor meant to protect its body. Jair then latched onto the Untainted and clamped his fangs into the side of the Untainted's neck. The creature responded with a roar of pain, and counterattacked using its own tail to try and pierce Jair's side.

The second Untainted was close by and trying to find a way to help his comrade, but with both Jair and the Untainted in a free fall scuffle--or a Falling, as it is called--he could do little to help him. It was Jair who broke up the Falling by kicking away with his clawed feet and launching himself upward. The Untainted he had been fighting, now injured, was not willing to go a second round with Jair, so he hobbled his way back to the earth, along with his companion.

Jair then looked for Nilo, Yar, and Deme-Trius, and he found them about two hundred feet above his position. They had been surrounded by the Untainted and were desperately trying to fend off their attackers.

Nilo, not being as skilled a flyer as most griffins, relied heavily on Yar to fend off the Untainted, but Yar had already spent all of his javelins and was now down to his bow and arrows. He sat with an arrow knocked to his bow and was leaning forward, pointing it at an Untainted on Nilo's starboard side. Yar's head bobbed up and down as he felt the rhythm of the Untainted's wing beats and, on the third beat as the wings reached their crest, Yar loosed his arrow. It struck the Untainted in the radius of its first wing and passed through into the radius on the opposite wing. This locked the Untainted's wings together and, with a cry, the Untainted fell to the earth. Yar then spun around while knocking another arrow, and fired it at the closest Untainted. This time he missed, and it sailed off into the distance.

Deme-Trius proved to be an exceptional flyer for his size, and he dodged and weaved his way through all of the Untainted's attacks, even managing to latch his talons on one of them, showing his exceptional strength by dismembering the Untainted in a single movement, but he was not used to air battles and was losing strength quickly. Jair sensed this as he came closer, but he hardly had time to reflect on it as he blindsided an Untainted who was making a run on Nilo and Yar.

Without thinking, Jair went into a Falling, and the Untainted let loose a string of curses as he tried to gain a foothold. The Falling ended inconclusively as both Jair and the Untainted broke off and went their separate ways, but Jair had managed a couple of nasty tail goror strikes that made the Ominice think twice before charging again.

Even with all of their successes, the four of them were greatly outnumbered, and Deme-Trius was just about spent of all his energy and had a long slice on his neck that was now bleeding freely. Jair guessed that he wouldn't last much longer in their present situation, and he wasn't entirely sure how much longer he himself would be able to last.

"The Rift!" Nilo suddenly shrilled, and Jair breathed a sigh of relief as the black line appeared on the horizon, surrounded by the great expanse of grasslands. His relief, however, was short-lived, as he was again attacked by the Untainted. Jair, by this time, had become more comfortable with the air combat style and was able to focus on key points in taking out his assailant. He had not been properly trained in aerial combat arts yet, but with quick action and thinking, Jair latched on and went into a Falling with an Untainted. This time he quickly struck hard and fast with his tail and jaws. Then he pulled free the sword Klien had made for him and jammed it into the least protected area on the Untainted's armored body. The blade went in, and Jair twisted it before pulling it free and watching the Untainted fall limply toward the earth. Jair then spun around just in time to see an Untainted speeding toward him. In the blink of an eye, everything went black.

Jair woke up a moment later with his wings fluttering in the wind limply in front of him as he fell with his back leading the way to the ground. He then came to full alertness and, realizing where he was, flipped around and opened his wings to full extension to allow the air to fill them fully. With a sudden jerk, he came to a grinding halt, and he looked around and tried to find Nilo and the others.

He had fallen quite the distance and could see Nilo and Deme-Trius diving toward him from above, the Untainted hammering on them from both sides. Then, out of nowhere, another griffin flew in and caught one of the Untainted in its talons. Another griffin Joined in the fray and another and another until the Untainted were fully overwhelmed and in full retreat. Then, to Jair's utter surprise, Sreya-que flew up next to him.

"Jair, are you all right?" she asked as she flew closer.

"Yes, I think so." Jair replied and then started mentally scanning his whole body for injuries. He had a few stinging pains in both his chest and on the right side of his body, but nothing too serious.

"You all get down to the Rift and rest. We will deal with the Untainted," Sreya said, and Jair did not argue with her. He was exhausted and more than willing to let her and her companions deal with the remaining Untainted.

Landing on the crest of the Rift, Jair instantly fell to the ground with his strength leaving his body completely. Nilo and Deme-Trius were little better off. They too fell to the ground and sucked in deep breaths of air in an attempt to slow their heartbeats. Yar was the only one who did not have any injuries, and he used what little medical knowledge he had to help his friends. As the sun started to sink to the horizon, Sreya and five other griffins landed on the Rift with them.

"We have to leave now," were the first words said as she landed. "There is a massing of Untainted south of our position, and they are headed in this direction."

Jair had never been as relieved in his life as he heard her words. They had completed what they had set out to do and, even better, Sreya-que was the one to find the Untainted horde, not them. The Zenithian council would definitely listen to what she had to say. With great effort, the three of them lifted off the ground and started their flight back to Zenith, along with Sreya and her five companions. Yar rode with Sreya, so that Nilo did not have to bear his weight on the way back. This allowed them to travel quicker and farther, but they still had to make several rest stops along the way.

As Jair's adrenaline levels began to diminish, he could feel how sore and tired he had become. As they came into sight of Zenith, he was totally spent. The whole party was met by the flight patrol and escorted to the Collenel entrance where they all landed, and Sreya immediately began issuing orders to nearby Zenithians.

"We have four wounded. Get them to the infirmary. Yar, you will come with me," she said and then headed down a corridor, along with the rest of her scout troop. Jair, along with Nilo, Deme-Trius, and another sandy-colored griffin with an injured leg, was led to the infirmary, where they were able to get some well-deserved rest.

Jair woke the next morning with aching pain in his chest and a burning in his side from the wounds he had received the previous day. Only now the pain was more pronounced than it had been before, and he shifted in his bed, trying ease the pain a slight bit. He then heard voices in the room and turned to see Bream, the head of the Infirmary, tending to Deme-Trius's neck wound. Jair then instinctively started to search for Nilo, and found her a little ways away resting silently, so he settled back down in the comfort of the infirmary bedding.

After a while, Bream came over to Jair's bedside, and Jair opened his eyes to see the black Neyhan looking over him.

"You have some wounds, Jair. Do you mind if I have a look at them?" he asked.

"Gladly," Jair replied, sitting forward and wincing as he agitated the already tender wounds. Jair had removed all his armor when he had first entered the infirmary and had checked the wounds for himself, but there was little he could do for them. He had found two puncture wounds to his right side that had probably been caused by being stuck in the side by one the Untainted's tail gorors while in a Falling. He also had the remains of the arrow he took for Nilo still in his chest, which was what Bream was most concerned with. The arrow had not penetrated very deeply, but it was an object that needed to be removed.

Jair's pierce wounds had already been bandaged by one of the other healers in the Infirmary so there was little threat there, but the medic had left the arrow so that Bream could take it out because he was the most skilled healer in the entire infirmary. Bream worked quickly to remove the arrow, and once it was removed the wound started to bleed freely. He then bandaged it and set the arrowhead on the table next to Jair. It was a thin arrowhead in the shape of an elongated triangle with small barbs on the end.

"You are one lucky Ominice, Jair," Bream said as he continued his work. "Not very many creatures can live through an arrow shot in the chest, especially when it is aimed for the heart. If it weren't for the scales, for a second time we would not be having this conversation. Still, I would be a little more carful if I were you. Your luck cannot last forever," Bream concluded.

"I had no choice, Bream. I saved Nilo by taking this arrow, and I would do that a thousand times over," Jair said, looking at Nilo.

"What were you doing that far east, anyways?" Bream asked, stopping his work for a moment to hear Jair's response.

"We were on a scout trip," Jair replied.

"You were on a scout trip far north and just so happened to come upon a band of Untainted soldiers?" Bream said, apparently not convinced with Jair's story.

"We saw smoke, so we investigated and found that one of the outer towns had been burned to the ground. We were ambushed once we entered the town, so we ran until Sreya-que found us and helped us fend off our attackers," Jair explained.

Bream gave a thoughtful look. "Well, Zenith is definitely interested in what you stumbled upon because Zenith is now mobilizing troops. Sreya-que found a horde of Untainted close to the area where you were discovered. Just be glad that it was not the whole horde that found you, and only an ambushing party. Zenith is now forming an army of Falke to meet the Untainted threat. It would appear that Zenith is preparing for war, and rightly so, in my opinion. We should have done something about Divinity long ago," Bream said. Then he turned back to his work.

The remainder of the day Jair spent in the infirmary resting peacefully, not knowing that outside there was great commotion, as all of Zenith drew up weapon counts and plans for their attack. Wherim and all the other council members were in the Collenel, discussing all that needed to happen. Yar and Sreya-que gave detailed accounts of both their stories and, with each story, the council members grew more and more somber. Once both accounts were given, Sreya and Yar were dismissed, and the council began talking amongst themselves over preparations of war.

### Chapter Twenty Nine

Word of Assassins

The next two days were busy for everyone in Zenith as the Falke prepared for the battle that was to come. The Council fought over who was to take part, and there was heated discussion over whether the students of St. Dalen's Academy would fly or not. In the end, it was decided that the students would not participate in the battle and that only the fully trained soldiers of Zenith would attempt the fight.

This angered Jair a great deal because he hated the Untainted and wanted to see them put down himself. He paced back and forth in his hollow, unable to hide his apparent anger, and Nilo and Yar were with him, feeling the same anger he felt.

"They cannot do this! I have seen the Untainted kill more people than I care to remember. I have a right to face them in battle and avenge the wrongs they have committed against me," Jair said in frustration, while Nilo and Yar watched him continued to pace back and forth.

"There is nothing we can do, Jair," Nilo said. "It's probably better this way. The Falke Force are very good fighters and know what they are doing. What would we do but get in their way?"

Jair turned on her in anger. "No, Nilo. I have fought the Untainted and tasted their blood on my tongue, felt their pulse through my teeth. I know how to fight them."

"Calm yourself, Jair. We know you know how to fight the Untainted, but each time you have fought them, you have nearly ended up dead, and many times you have been severely injured," Yar reasoned, and Jair's anger subsided as he reflected upon what Yar had said.

"He is right, Jair." Nilo broke in. "You may have killed a few Untainted, but you have nearly died twice in doing so."

Jair then slumped down upon his bedding. "You're right," he said. "I shouldn't be so upset. I just feel so helpless, and I hate feeling helpless. It brings back so many bad memories."

"We did our part, Jair, and Zenith is now aware that an army sits right outside their door," Nilo continued. "I think we should rest now, knowing that we have helped in the best way that we can."

"What should we do then?" Jair asked. "How can I rest, knowing that outside, the Falke are fighting a fight that I wish I could join?"

"Food is always a good way to avert the mind," Yar offered. "Every now and then I go down to the main town. There are several places that offer lots of food and drink for every different kind of creature here in Zenith. The Griffin's Den is my favorite place to visit." Yar's mouth watered as he thought of all the delicious food and drink prepared at the Griffin's Den.

"That sounds like fun," Nilo said, standing. After a little coaxing, Jair also agreed that a good meal was probably the best thing for all of them.

"First, we must say our goodbyes and good lucks to the Falke Force," Jair said, and the three of them left the Falke quarters and entered the Lowtown streets where the Falke Force would soon be traveling before leaving Zenith and heading to the battle that awaited them.

All of Zenith turned out to watch the Falke as they marched to the front gate of Lowtown, where they would then take flight and head south to do battle with the Untainted. There were great cheers and sorrowful goodbyes as they made their way down the cobblestone streets, and those not going gave as much encouragement as they could muster. The sight was truly spectacular, with all of the griffins and their riders leading the way, fully suited for battle in their finely polished armor. Jair couldn't help but marvel at them. He felt the same way he did when he was younger and watched the Graurers as they left for battle, but this was even better.

Crixa and her whole family were with him, along with Nilo and Yar. Crixa's younger pups were at the front of the crowd, and they handed flowers to some of the passing Falke Force, who took the flowers and proudly attached them to their suits of armor. Jair saw Gweine and Fallon pass by. Gweine was mounted upon Sreya, while Fallon rode a dark-colored griffin, and both rode side by side. He also saw the council members Blain and Shelobe, who were riding with all of the other Falke flyers. They were the strategic battle masters of the whole operation and would make sure everything went smoothly.

Blain rode an enormous grey griffin that every Falke knew as Polaris because of a white patch of feathers in the rough shape of a star upon his chest. His real name was Lauren-Kra, but very few in Zenith knew him by his real name.

Shelobe led a large group of Ominice, and her poise and demeanor were the same as when Jair had first met her. Head held high and wings slightly splayed, she passed by, and Jair watched as her platoons of Ominice marched into the distance. Then Jair saw the platoon he was most impressed by, and the one he had been invited to join. It was headed by Ulire, and Ulire was fully armored and ready for the fight to come. His platoon of hand-picked Falke flyers trailed behind him and looked just as fierce as he did. As he passed by, he looked directly at Jair with his one good eye, and Jair couldn't help but stare back.

Silently, Jair hoped that Ulire would come back without a scratch. He had become quite attached to the grizzled Ominice--probably a little more than he had initially anticipated. Something drew Jair to him. It was like a kinship, as if they were very similar, but he wasn't sure in what way they were similar. He had never had a father figure in his life, and Ulire was the closest he had ever come to having one.

The whole of Zenith watched as the Falke force took to flight and headed south, and the crowd only left when the last Falke was no longer visible on the horizon. Then they dispersed and went back to their normal activities.

All lessons were canceled for the day, so there were large numbers of creatures in Lowtown as Jair, Nilo, and Yar, accompanied by Crixa's four oldest sons, searched for a place where they could find some really good food. The six of them soon found the Griffin's Den Yar had talked about. It was headed by a pure white Krouwel that was stained by the works of his trade, which was smoking meats.

He was a younger Krouwel who was very high in spirits, and he served them quickly and politely. The food was amazing, and Jair hailed it as the best food he had ever tasted. He had ordered a salmon, which was smoked on hickory wood, and Crixa's four sons did the same. Nilo had a large hunk of deer meat, while Yar had a simple rabbit seared on the coals.

They all ate until they could eat no more, and then they sat back and watched as the busy streets of Zenith bustled around them.

"If Zack were here, he would go insane with the amount of meat we have eaten today," Jair said as his mind drifted to thoughts of Zack and his mission to find out about Sayreen.

"I wonder if he and Malic-Rie have made it to the monastery yet, and if they have found anything out about the Untainted's goddess," Nilo replied thoughtfully.

"I don't know what Zack is doing, but what I do know is that I'm going to get another one of those seared rabbits," Yar said, standing from the table and heading back into the smokehouse.

"I'm coming with you," Comm said, standing and running to catch up.

"Not without me, you are not," Homm replied, following his twin brother.

"Those two are crazy," Vannan said once again before turning back to watching the streets.

After the last of them had had their fill, they paid for their food and then continued to enjoy the rest of the day in the Lowtown gardens. With the spring weather, all of the flowers were in full bloom, and the place was dancing with insects flying from flower to flower to collect the sweet nectar within. Birds sang overhead, chittering and chattering blissfully in the light winds, and other families passed by with their children and pups. Jair truly felt more like he lived in an actual community, as he enviously watched the younger children playing with their parents in the garden, but his spying was broken by Nilo, who ushered him over to where the rest of their band were playing a game of hide and seek, which was quite childish but still fun, nonetheless. As they headed home, the sun had already set low on the land, turning the sky around it a deep purple and pink with a background of dark blue, but it was as they came around a corner that Nilo suddenly stopped.

"What is it Nilo?" Jair asked, alarmed at Nilo's sudden tensing.

"I think I just saw Methusela," Nilo said.

"Oh, really? I'll ring that traitor's neck," Vannan said, stepping forward.

"Quiet, Vannan! Methusela is no traitor!" Nilo shot back.

"That's not what we have heard on the streets," Comm replied, coming to his brother's defense.

"The Council is wrong about Methusela and Fang. They may be very reckless, but they are not deserters or traitors."

"Well, in that case, let's go and see what he is doing," Warren said, already walking toward the alleyway.

As they came around the corner they saw no one, so they continued on. Jair looked overhead in all of the shadowy places, expecting Methusela to materialize out of any one of the shadows above them at any moment, but he never appeared. Instead, they were interrupted by a Nave sitting on a set of crates a short distance away. It was Fang.

"Hello, Jair," Fang said, dumping the contents of a cup he had in his hand onto the ground and then leaping off the crates and slightly pulling his sword free from its scabbard belted to his hip. "Who are your friends? I don't know them." Fang took a defensive stance.

"They are friendly, Fang. They are not Lowe guards, or anything like that. We have traveled together. Before we came to Zenith, I traveled with a family from Endrithida. These are the four oldest sons of that family."

Fang eased up his stance a little bit, but he continued to keep his hand on the pommel of his sword. "I'll get straight to the point, Jair. There is not much time." Fang paced back and forth. "I came here to warn you, Jair."

"This sounds familiar," Yar muttered, but Fang ignored him.

"Warn me of what?" Jair asked.

"Warn you that the Untainted are far craftier than you and the Zenith Council realize. Craftier than myself, even. After the Falke Force left to face the Untainted army, Methusela and I kept an eye on the remaining Untainted. They built a base camp hidden within the Elonas mountain range, and that's how we have been hearing about all of the Untainted's plans, you see. As you know, they sent a horde of Untainted to attack the outer towns."

"Yes, I know this," Jair said hastily.

"Well, as I feared, they also sent a splinter of their forces north instead of south. This wouldn't have bothered me so much, aside from the fact that these Untainted were different. There was only about five of them, but they were dressed differently, and the fact that neither Methusela nor I could track them disturbed me so much that both of us went back to the base camp and infiltrated it. It wasn't hard with so few troops to guard the camp, but what we found out was not good. The splinter group of Ominice that we couldn't track were not soldiers at all. They are assassins and Attentater, no less. If you don't know what an Attentater is, then you better listen carefully because they are the most lethal assassins I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. They never miss a target, and they are incredibly hard to kill. I have never come up against any other assassins as dangerous as the Attentater. They are masters in the arts of poisons and illusions, and they do their jobs well. The worst part of this whole dilemma is that you're on their hit list, Jair."

Jair was totally shocked as Fang's last word left his mouth, and he felt a slight tinge of fear deep within himself. These Attentater clearly scared Fang, and when Fang said that they were the most lethal assassins he had ever seen, Jair knew that they should not be trifled with. He tried to quell the fear within himself as he asked Fang the big question. "Why would they be after me?" There was a slight tremor in his voice.

"It's not just you they are after. They are after the entire council. I think they are looking to cut down any leadership in Zenith to make it easier for a full-scale invasion by Divinity, but word has spread of an Ominice that cannot die, and I think this intrigues the Attentater, so they have marked you, as well. I know they enjoy taking the impossible assassination missions just to prove that they are the craftiest and most lethal assassins in the entire world, so this does not surprise me, but its means that you are in real danger."

Jair gulped down another spell of fear, and his mind went over all of the different times he probably should have been killed, but wasn't.

"The highest mark on their list is Wherim. The council is right when they say there is a spy amongst them, but I still haven't been able to pinpoint who it is. I'm sure the council is working hard to find out who it might be, but he has covered his tracks extremely well so far. The Untainted now know that Wherim is the most influential of all the council members, so they plan to take him out first."

"Then we need to warn him!" Nilo blurted out.

"Yes, you must, and I suggest you do it soon. Chances are that the Attentater are already within the city limits. I sent Methusela to find Wherim, and he will help you in any way he can, but both he and I are still outlaws and traitors here is Zenith, so it's difficult to get around."

"Thanks, Fang," Jair said, turning and starting back toward the street. "We must find Wherim before the Attentater do." Jair ran through the alleyways and then entered onto the main street.

"Wait, Jair," Vannan said suddenly. "If the Attentater have already breached into the city, then shouldn't we arm ourselves. I personally would hate to meet the deadliest assassins in the word unarmed."

"I agree with Vannan," Yar replied.

"Then let's find some weapons. Klien's forge is just up ahead. We can borrow some from him."

So the seven of them quickly found Klien's forge and armed themselves. Klien was not in his forge for some reason or other, and knowing that they were short on time, they wasted no time in waiting for him to return. Jair started to pull freshly forged weapons from the racks that lined Klien's forge.

"Forgive us," he mumbled to himself as he pulled a spear down from its pegs and handed it to Yar. He then found a few sets of freshly made artificial tail gorors sitting on one of the wooden tables, so he grabbed those also and handed them to Crixa's sons.

"Put these on quickly. I'll show you how," he said and, in a matter of minutes, they were as ready as anyone could be if they were going to face a group of lethal assassins. The only thing they were lacking was armor for their bodies, but they had no time to find armor.

From Klien's forge they then ran to the bridge that led to the stair leading to the entrance of the Collenel. Without stopping, they sprinted through the great arching gateway and out onto the bridge. They could hear the Lowe guard behind in the guard towers immediately yell at them to stop. Jair skidded to a stop and looked behind to see a series of Lowe guards, with bows in hand, stationed on the gate.

"What are you doing with those weapons?" shouted one of the Lowe guards.

"We don't have time for this," Yar said, grimacing.

"None of you move, or you will be fired upon," the guard yelled out.

"Great. Now we will never get to Wherim in time," Comm said, his wings sinking lower in his depressed mood.

"I should have thought of this," Jair said aloud. "Of course the Lowe guard would never let us run through the Collenel, armed as we are."

"What should we do then?" Nilo asked, but Jair was at a loss. He needed to warn Wherim of the danger he was in, but the Lowe wouldn't let them even pass the first checkpoint.

"Wherim's in danger. We need to warn him immediately," Vannan yelled back up at the guards, but the guards still did not bring down their bows.

"We will just have to go with them and tell them what is going on," Warren said, turning to the others.

"Why would they believe us, and what would we say? Assassins are here to assassinate the Zenithian Council. It's just like when we needed to warn the city of the army to the south," Yar said, irritated. Just then a shadow passed over them, and Jair looked up to see the black form of Methusela speeding toward them.

He was flying fast and low, and as he landed on the bridge, he dug his talons into the stone to slow himself.

"Follow me," he yelled, and then he leapt off the opposite edge of the bridge into the canyon below. Jair unfurled his own wings, as did all of the others, while Yar leapt onto Nilo's shoulders.

"Stop!" Jair heard one of the Lowe guards shout out again, and then they all leapt off the side of the bridge, just as a hail of arrows hit where they had just been standing. Jair could hear the Lowe guard yelling and mobilizing back at the guard tower, but the Lowe had no way of following them.

"I know where Wherim is!" Methusela shouted as they flew. "He is in the library on the cliffs. See those stained glass windows? That's where he is, and he is in trouble."

Jair looked out over and across the canyon and saw what Methusela was talking about. About a third of the way up, the mountain was a structure carved into the side of the mountain. Large sets of stained glass windows allowed light to flood into the structure which was a library, and, as Jair flew in closer, he could see figures on the other side--Wherim and five others opposite him were clearly Ominice, but not of Zenith. Without thinking of anything else but helping Wherim, Jair locked his wings and headed straight for the large plates of stained glass. A moment later, his whole world was filled with the earth-shattering sound of glass breaking all around him.

### Chapter Thirty

Attentater

The day had been rather uneventful so far, as Wherim listened to one of the council members give his daily report on the provisions, food stores, and what the upcoming seasons would hold. It was the last of the reports of the day, and in Wherim's opinion, the most insipid one of all.

His mind kept drifting to his daughter Gweine and the danger she was going to face with the Untainted, so he found it hard to concentrate. _She is strong and smart. She will make it back fine,_ he kept telling himself, but something deep within him said otherwise.

He felt that there was something wrong, but he wasn't entirely sure what had caused him to think of such things. Just then the meeting ended, and everyone was dismissed. Wherim left the meeting chambers and wove his way through the corridors of the Collenel, passing through the various layers until he reached the bottom layer.

The Collenel was comprised of four layers. The first layer held all of the Collenel's defenses, food, and water storage. The second and third levels were housing for all of the different creatures of Zenith, and the fourth was where the council conducted all of their meetings and where another griffin nesting Cole is located in the upper potion above the meeting chambers.

Wherim passed all of these layers and instead headed to a small entrance guarded by a single Lowe guard.

"Hello, sir. Off to the library again, I see," said the guard as Wherim drew closer.

"Yes, Ben, and I would like you make sure no one disturbs me. I'm trying to find one specific book, and a piece of information which is quite time-consuming. If there is anything important, just tell Alana, and she will give me the message."

"Yes, sir," Ben replied, and then Wherim continued past the guard and up a long set of stairs before reaching another door leading into the library. He opened the door and entered the room which was bathed in a multitude of different colors caused by the room's multiple stained glass windows.

This was Wherim's favorite place in all of Zenith. He looked out through the stained glass windows and at the opposite cliffs that rose up around him, and he could see a mother mountain goat and her two kids bounding and leaping from one cliff to another before settling down and munching happily on the sparse grass that grew there.

"Hello, Wherim," came a friendly voice from across the room, and Wherim was distracted from his nature watch. He looked over to see Alana sitting at her desk as usual. Her long Nave ears hung down on both sides of her head, and she remained seated, staring up at Wherim.

She was an older nave and part of the Eule, as well as being one of the original students to St. Dalen's Academy when it first began. At that time, they had been less knowledgeable than they were now, but Alana had been one of the brightest of the bunch and brought in a new era of ingenuity and science.

"Hello, Alana," Wherim greeted.

"Here to go over those books you asked me to find for you?" Alana asked, pushing a small stack of books forward.

"Yes, and I thank you for taking the time to find them for me," Wherim replied.

"Oh. It was no trouble," she replied with a smile. Wherim picked up the small stack of books and made his way to the back table and began reading through several chapters of each book. Finally he came to the portion he was looking for--the second part to the puzzle he had spent days trying to figure out.

"So that's who you are, Jair. I knew I recognized you, but I hadn't expected this," he said to himself, and then something shattering on the floor from up front startled him from his reading.

"Alana, is everything all right?" Wherim asked out loud. After a short pause with no answer, Wherim stood up and went to check and see what had happened. As he came around one of the many sets of bookshelves, he stopped dead in his tracks.

In front of him were five strange Ominice whom he had never seen before and did not know, and they were clearly not any faction of Zenith. He could tell by the clothes and armor they wore. These Ominice clearly meant ill will, and this point was driven further as Wherim looked down at the floor next to their feet where Alana lay. To Wherim's dismay, she was dead.

She laid in a pool of her own blood, and a knife could be seen protruding from her chest.

"Attentater," Wherim spoke aloud with venom to his voice, addressing the five Ominice in front of him, but the Ominice did not respond back. They simply unsheathed their daggers and began advancing toward Wherim.

"First Zenith, and now me. How appropriate!" Wherim said, but Attentater did not respond to any of Wherim's words. They began to fan out in a half-circle around him and readied their short swords for the kill.

Wherim knew he had no chance. It was him against five, and he also knew the capabilities of the Attentater. His eyes flashed over to the wall where a set of ceremonial swords hung crossed together and bound to a shield, but he knew he would never be able to reach them in time. Standing tall, Wherim prepared for death, but it did not come. Instead, the whole world filled with the sound of shattering glass.

Wherim ducked as hundreds of shards of glass rained down on him, and the five Attentater did the same. This was the distraction Wherim needed, and he charged for the ceremonial swords.

Jair slammed headfirst into the large stained glass window, and the force of his contact with the window did far more damage than he had anticipated.

The whole window shattered. Glass went flying everywhere, and he landed a moment later, just as the five Attentater were recovering from the shock of his arrival. The Attentater were quick to regain their composure. They charged Jair just as a second window was shattered by Methusela, sending another hail of debris upon them all. Afterwards, all four of Crixa's sons swooped in through the openings, along with Nilo and Yar.

The Attentater moved quickly, and they recovered once again, far faster than Jair had expected. They charged forward with weapons drawn.

Jair answered their attack by charging himself sword high above his head and slashing at the nearest Attentater, but the Attentater sidestepped, and Jair hit nothing but air. Then the Attentater lunged forward and slashed at Jair's belly, but as the blade made contact with Jair's midsection, a few sparks flew from the blade, but there was no damage done to his flesh.

The Attentater, confident that his strike had finished Jair for good, moved on to Vannan, who stood just behind Jair. Vannan attempted to block the Attentater's oncoming attack, but the Attentater was clearly more skilled than any of them. After a couple of parries, the Attentater drove his short blade into Vannan's shoulder.

The blade sunk in, and Vannan cried out in pain. Then, with lightning speed, the Attentater pulled free a dagger from his belt and was about to drive it into Vannan's neck when Jair grabbed his dagger arm from behind and sank his fangs into the Attentater's neck. The Attentater gave a shocked cry just before Vannan drove his own sword into the Attentater's chest.

Meanwhile Comm, Homm, and Warren had their hands full with one of the other Attentater. Somehow the assassin was able to dodge and maneuver around every strike or slash the three of them used to attack him with. He was dancing around the three of them with little worries, and he decided to end his dance by sinking his blade into Warren's chest. Warren fell to the ground, and Comm and Homm screamed his name as he fell.

The Attentater took a few smug steps away from the fallen Warren, and then Comm and Homm grew very angry with the sight of their fallen brother. They both charged the Attentater at the same time, mimicking each other's movements. The both of them wove their own deadly dance which the Attentater could barely defend. It ended when both Comm and Homm slammed their tails together, pinning the Attentater between the both of them. "That's for our brother!" Comm spat and then jammed his sword into the defeated Attentater's body.

Yar and Nilo, on the other hand, had little to no trouble with the Attentater that came after them. He charged forward, and Yar simply heaved his spear at the scantily armored Ominice. It buried itself into his midsection, dropping him instantly. "Catch that," Yar said afterwards. Methusela kept his confrontation short and sweet, using his powerful talons to crush the fourth Attentater against the closest wall.

The last Attentater ran after Wherim as he attempted to reach the ceremonial swords hanging on the wall. The Attentater could not beat Wherim to the swords, and he knew that if Wherim managed to acquire a weapon, he had little chance of succeeding in his assassination, so he pulled free one of the daggers at his belt and hurled it after Wherim in an attempt to stop him. The dagger flew through the air with ease and the precision that only a true professional could manage. It would have sunk into Wherim's heart but, at the last second, Wherim jerked out of the way. Burying itself into Wherim's heart and killing him, the dagger hit him in the lower back. Wherim gave a harsh grunt as the blade hit him, and then he reached up and pulled free one of the ceremonial swords. Turning around, Wherim slashed at the Attentater behind him, but the Attentater was plainly out of reach, and the blade caught nothing. The Attentater, now seeing Wherim armed and very angry towering over him, decided that the fight was lost. He retreated, running to the broken stained glass window where he leapt out and was lost to sight.

There was a silent moment of victory as Jair watched the last Attentater fly away, but it was short-lived, as the cost of saving Wherim's life floated to his ears. He watched Crixa's three sons surrounding their brother, Warren, who was gravely wounded.

Warren was not dead yet, but he was in really bad shape. He lay on the floor of the library with trickles of blood seeping from the edges of his mouth. He was barely breathing, and what little air he could manage to breathe in was accompanied by the blood in his mouth. Vannan was injured, as well. He still had the Attentater's blade stuck in his shoulder, but all of his attention was on his dying older brother, and he barely noticed his own wound.

Just then, the door to the library burst open, and Jair turned just in time to see a Krouwel's fist slam into his head. Stars leapt in all directions around his eyes, and then the world started to turn grey as he blacked out. The last thing he could remember was hearing Wherim yelling in the background, but he couldn't comprehend all of the words. Then it all became quiet.

### Chapter Thirty One

Battle of the Falke

Rain poured down in great heaving sheets, and the sky was as black as night, aside from a small ray of sun that had managed to break through the thick storm clouds deep on the horizon. A single flash of lightning cut its way through the sky, illuminating the hundreds of Ominice that flew on the horizon, marking the destination the Falke had flown to confront the very creatures that threatened their existence.

_This is going to be the worst fight ever,_ Ulire thought to himself as he continued to draw closer and closer to the Untainted horde. He could see large numbers of Falke troops flying ahead of him, and he looked behind to see his own platoon, thirty gifted and well-worn Ominice ready to give their lives for their way of life. None of the Ominice in his platoon looked back at him. Their eyes were fixed to the horizon and the enemy that awaited them there. He could tell that they were very nervous and frightened, as all soldiers get before entering the battlefield.

"Pass this on!" Ulire yelled over the noise of the pounding rain to the Ominice closest to him, and the Ominice relayed the message to his companion until everyone had the message. "It's going to get rough up ahead, so stick to my tail. I don't want to lose anyone." Ulire's message was relayed to the rear of his platoon. Ulire then turned and looked ahead again, and another flash of lightning shot from one cloud to the other, revealing again the massing of Untainted up ahead. Only, this time, they were closer.

Air combat is a very tricky sort of combat, especially when dealing with large numbers of troops because there are so many angles in which an attacking opponent can strike. The ideal position is to get above your opponent and then drop down from above, but this maneuver is a lot harder than it sounds because, usually, your opponent can move just as easily upward as you can, and moving in platoons makes this even more difficult. Luckily, for the Ominice in Ulire's platoon, Ulire was one of the best platoon leaders in all of Zenith, but even then Ulire knew he wouldn't be able to keep all of the members of his crew alive.

Another flash of lightning lit up the night, and Ulire knew it was almost time. He quelled the pre-battle nerves as he had always done before battle and then prepared for what lay ahead.

A sudden clash from ahead signaled the beginning of the fight as a platoon of griffins plowed headlong into a platoon of Untainted. There were screams of pain along with shouts and curses, but Ulire put all these out of his mind as he saw the dark shadows of Untainted moving quickly toward him. Even in the poor light, Ulire was able to read the enemy platoon leader as he flew in closer, and so he reacted to his enemy's movements.

With a flick of his wings and tail, Ulire barrel rolled and went into a steep free fall, letting the air and rain flow past him as he dropped. His platoon followed his example, and the enemy sped past them without a second glance. Then, arcing back up, Ulire beat his wings and began to gain altitude with his platoon following his every lead.

The sky was now a confused mess of both Untainted and Falke troops, wrapped together by roughly made platoons from each nation, flying together, and then breaking apart again in their fierce fight for dominance for the skies. Through the slit in his helmet, Ulire saw a group of Untainted beginning to flank a platoon of Falke griffins. Acting quickly, he shifted his course to intercept them before the Untainted could catch the Falke off-guard. The Untainted were unaware that Ulire had flanked them, as they were beginning to flank the Falke. By the time they found out, it was already too late. Ulire's entire platoon slammed headlong into the unaware Untainted.

Ulire went straight for the Untainted's platoon leader--his favorite tactic. He figured that, if he took off the head, the rest of the body would die, and this proved generally true. He clashed the Untainted platoon leader at full speed, and the Untainted was taken so much by surprise that Ulire didn't even need to perform a Falling. Using his tail, Ulire drove his primary tail goror into the back of the platoon leader's head and dropped him immediately. Then, without a second to lose, he turned to the next closest Untainted to him, while dodging one of his own. He latched onto another Untainted and, pulling a dagger free from its sheath, he inserted it into the Untainted's eye slit within his helmet. The Untainted roared with pain, and then Ulire kicked away and let him fall to his death before, a moment later, being struck and latched onto by an Untainted he had not seen flying in from the left. The Untainted managed to latch himself onto Ulire's back, which was a very dangerous situation for Ulire.

Ulire suddenly felt a stinging pain in his right wing which coursed down his spine as the Untainted attempted to cripple his wing by smashing it with his tail. Putting the pain out of mind, Ulire instinctively sank his wing talons into his attacker's upper wings and, with all the strength he could muster, Ulire pulled his wings in opposite directions. There was a tearing sound, as if someone had torn a large piece of cloth, and then a deafening squeal as Ulire tore through his enemy's wing membranes. Ulire then quickly performed a rapid scan on the pain in his wing himself and concluded that it wouldn't bother him too much, so he continued on.

At this point, Ulire's entire platoon had effectively wiped out the untainted platoon they had just flanked, but Ulire knew it was going to take a lot more than one platoon to keep the Untainted from continuing the fight.

_These Untainted fight like mad men,_ he thought to himself as he looked around for a brief moment at the battle as a whole. The griffins were working wonders and tearing apart the Untainted with very little effort, but the Untainted fought back desperately, almost as if they were scared of not fighting. Ulire had very little time to reflect on this as another group of Untainted had shown themselves on the horizon. He could see them as they flew with great speed towards him and his platoon so, turning around, Ulire planned on leading his squad head to head with the new grouping of Untainted, and he was joined by a platoon of mounted griffins, who flew in to support him.

He looked over as the griffins flew up next to him, and he could see the leading griffin flying heavily with a wounded wing and a Snoul on his shoulders, raising a spear in the air before setting it into a readied position of attack.

Both the Untainted and the Falke force drew closer together but, at the last second, a bolt of lightning shot across the sky, and Ulire saw something he had not seen before. All of the Untainted in front of them were carrying long spears. Their metal tips glinted with the sudden shock of light, and Ulire immediately pulled up his entire platoon, screaming warnings as he went. The griffins were not as quick as Ulire had been in detecting the spears, and Ulire watched as the griffin platoon leader plowed directly into one of the spears the Untainted were carrying.

He knew that the griffin was killed on contact but, even in death, the griffin slammed into the Untainted, and they both fell toward the earth. Dead. The griffin's rider, seeing his imminent doom, cut the safety cord that held him and leapt into the air with his spear held in hand, ready for his last strike, but he never had the chance, as he was taken out a moment later by another Untainted's spear. Several other griffins were injured in the same way with the hidden spears, and the griffin platoon numbers began to dwindle. Ulire, enraged by what had just happened, flipped around and went into a free fall towards the enemy platoon leader. He was now in the most favorable attack position, and he wasn't about to misuse it. He slammed into the Untainted platoon leader at a speed that most likely had broken his back. But, just to make sure he was finished, Ulire then reached down and yanked his neck to the side until he felt a crack. Then he kicked free of the defeated Untainted platoon leader and watched all the rest of his platoon perform similar Fallings all around him. It was then that he heard an earth-shattering sound that could have been mistaken as thunder. Unfortunately, it was not.

_I know that sound_ , Ulire thought as he maneuvered around to see what had created such a noise that could penetrate the sounds of the storm around him. Thick clouds blocked what little he could see, so he saw nothing. Then from the cloud cover, a pillar of fire shot, and Ulire had barely enough time to dive below the blazing fire that raged overhead. Even then, he was still scorched by the fire temperatures which were so hot they incinerated some of the Ominice in his platoon who were not able to escape the torrent of flame in time. Another roar shook the air again, and Ulire watched as his platoon fled in total panic and fear. "How is this possible?" he said to himself as he could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

Every cell in his brain told him to fly as fast as he could away from whatever it was that was coming, but he had trained himself better than that. He had learned to stay calm while others ran. He had taught himself to suck fear in and release it after what had to be done was done, but now he could see all the Falke fleeing for their lives, and he wasn't sure if his courage would last. No griffins, no Ominice. Just him, sitting and waiting for whatever it was to show itself. Then the clouds parted and were pushed out of the way by a creature so big it dwarfed Ulire like a man would a kitten.

It was covered in scales and had an angular head, much like an Ominice. Its massive wings beat the air, and with every beat, Ulire could feel his eardrums pulse from the pressure it emitted. Spines ran down its back that resembled Ominice gorors, only they were much larger and much more bonelike in structure. It also had two pouches on either side of its head that inflated before it released another torrent of flames, which Ulire had to dodge once again.

Ulire, now seeing his enemy for what it was, pulled his sword free from his scabbard and began flying toward the beast, giving a coarse battle cry as he went. "Come on!!" he yelled, and if there ever was an epic moment in the entire history of Zenith, this was it. A single Ominice, alone as all of his comrades fled in fear, flew head to head with a beast ten times his own size. Every creature from Zenith from that day on knew Ulire was no coward.

### Chapter Thirty Two

The Image of Sayreen

"Not much further," Hue's voice echoed throughout the cavern. He was the monk that Malic-Rie and Zack had traveled so far to find. He was an older Snoul with light grey wispy hair, but his age did not hinder movements.

He walked quickly in front of both of them with a torch burning in his hand, leading the way deep into the monastery's bowels so that they could see a depiction of the goddess Sayreen. After first arriving at the monastery both Zack and Malic-Rie began searching for Hues immediately, and they were soon told of his whereabouts. From there, Malic-Rie took a short time to get reacquainted with his old friend before asking the question they came so far to ask--if he knew of the goddess Sayreen or not.

"I'm afraid I know very little about the goddess Sayreen. I have heard of her, but what I have is very little, and the clearest images of her are on a tapestry in the monastery here. Strangely enough, the tapestry has been in this monastery since before we came here. We found it after excavating a portion of the monastery in a hollow room deep within," Hues stopped in mid-sentence, as he thought about the matter. "She must be very old because this monastery was built on one of the pre-Falling structures. I don't know, but my suspicion is that Sayreen is some sort of goddess of death and destruction. That is one thing that I would say is apparently clear."

"Death and destruction," Malic repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. That is the only thing I have been able to deduct about the goddess Sayreen, and it didn't take a lot of looking to find that out. I could show you the tapestry now, if you would like."

With that said, the three of them set off to find the tapestry. Hues took them through many different corridors throughout the monastery. Lastly, he led them into an older section of the big building. "This is actually the core of the monastery," Hues explained. "The monastery is built around ruins built by those who lived before the Great Falling." He stopped and looked up. "I have searched for years to find out what the Great Falling was, but I just cannot find anything on it."

Hues then put his ponderings in the back of his mind and continued on. At this point, they were heading down a set of stairs, and Zack wondered if they would ever end. He took note that there were several areas that looked as if a doorway had been put in place but had long been gone. He also noticed that the presumed doorway areas were extremely thick, and he guessed at what the door might have looked like. Quite large, he concluded.

At last they finally reached the bottom, and Hues went to work lighting a series of torches that were staked throughout the room. The room was a decent sized, and Zack wasn't sure if he could throw a stone across it because of its length. He then looked up at the wall and saw the massive tapestry painted on the wall that Hues had been talking about. His heart sank to his feet. The tapestry was one of the most horrible things he had ever seen. At the bottom, near the floor, was an enormous head of what looked like an Ominice, but it wasn't quite the same.

There were strange differences, like strange pouches right behind its jawbone. Zack had never seen that on any Ominice before. The head had its massive jaws open, showing razor sharp teeth. Above it were two mountain slopes that angled slightly toward the beast's massive head. On both hills were people, Snoul, and they were falling off the cliffs and into the beast's open maw. Zack looked up and down the tapestry and tried to decipher its strange contents.

"There she is," Hues said, standing next to the wall the tapestry had been painted on.

"Do you notice something about the entire creature in this painting, Zack?" Malic said, apparently just as baffled as Zack.

"They are all Snoul," Zack replied."

"Humans. Yes, I know, for some reason, the tapestry was depicted with only humans being eaten by the goddess Sayreen, which made me conclude that this was some sort of a human god," Hues cut in.

"How do you know that this tapestry is a tapestry of the goddess Sayreen?" Zack stated, unsure how Hues figured the connection between Sayreen and this painting that they were looking at.

"Simple," Hues said, stepping to the far side of the tapestry. "Her name is on it." he pointed to a section of the tapestry in which, in long miserable letters, were scratched the letters SAYREEN.

"Whoever this goddess is, I sure hope I never have to see her," Malic said, shuffling across the room to get a better look.

"We should probably get back and tell the others what we have found," Zack said, having his fill of the repulsive tapestry.

"Yes. That would probably be best for everyone," Malic-Rie agreed. "Thank you so much for helping us out, Hues. We are in your debt. Will you kindly lead us to the surface?"

Once back, both Zack and Malic-Rie said their thanks and goodbyes to Hues, and then they left the monastery and headed back to Zenith, but Zack's mind kept going back to the image of the grotesque head and all of the Snoul falling to their deaths. He knew that, if the Untainted were following the law of this god, it was not going to end very well for anyone.

### Chapter Thirty Three

Champions of Zenith

Jair sat at the front of the Collenel, right alongside Nilo, Yar, and Crixa's entire family. The only one who was not with them was Warren, who was still in the infirmary recovering from his nearly fatal wounds. Hundreds of eyes looked upon Jair as he nervously looked back at the crowd that was staring at him, and he felt a little overwhelmed.

He had been knocked unconscious by the Kraw Lowe guard that came in to save Wherim's life, but before the guards were able to do any real damage, Wherim stepped in and told them what was going on. Then Wherim had those who were injured taken immediately to the infirmary, where Jair awoke to a hero's welcome.

The doctors clapped for him as he woke, and Jair was so caught off-guard by the act that he couldn't figure out where he was until Nilo and Yar told him what had happened. He later found out that Warren was taken to intensive care, headed by Bream, who worked through the night to save his life. By the end, he was successful.

Crixa was hysterical after hearing that her son was nearly killed, and she was even more hysterical once Bream told her that he would pull through. She thanked him vigorously before crying tears of joy and hugging him.

Now they all stood at the head of the Collenel, which was crammed full of the creatures from Zenith. It was packed so full that the people overflowed out the doors and down the great set of stairs. The Council had prepared this meeting to tell the people what had befallen Zenith and what was to happen afterwards.

Wherim, though injured, was elected to be the one to give the speech, and a platform was set up so all those in the Collenel could hear him and see him clearly. The great turquoise stone that sat mounted in the middle of the room glistened throughout the room as if the people of the room had somehow ignited a fire within it. Wherim stood up and walked to the top of the platform, looking at all of the people that turned out to see him talk. Then he began his speech.

"As you all have probably heard by now, Zenith has been attacked. Two days ago, a group of assassins known as Attentater infiltrated Zenith and attempted to take my life. They failed, thankfully, but in their attempt to take my life, they killed two of our own—a Lowe guard named Ben, one of your brothers and my friend, and the Collenel librarian, Alana. She was not only my friend but also a founder of the Eule faction here In Zenith. She will be greatly missed."

The whole Collenel was dead silent as Wherim continued to speak. "Furthermore, they nearly killed one of those who came to my rescue, but due to the brilliance of the doctors in Zenith's infirmaries, I will let you know that this young hero will make it through, so I commend them for their work. I also commend those who came to save my life when I needed it, and I will bestow upon them a gift for their bravery. For the first time since the creation of Zenith, we have had our stone cutters cut shards from our turquoise stone here in the Collenel, and I have had them place the stones in rings for those who saved a council member's life with little regards to their own safety.

"They fended off the most deadly assassins this land has ever seen and have proven themselves valiantly. Usually the stone is only cut when a new council member is introduced to our circle, but due to their bravery, we have made an exception. Bear them with pride," Wherim said and called Jair and his friends up and gave them each a ring--except for Nilo, who received a necklace.

Wherim then had them all turn and face the crowd after they had each received their gifts, and the crowd broke into roaring cheers. Jair looked on as the crowd cheered for him and his friends.

_How far we have come_ , he thought as he stared out across the crowd and looked at all of the faces staring back at him. Wherim then ushered them back to their seats and let the crowd die down before beginning again.

"We are not through with our fight with the Untainted by a long shot," he continued. "The Untainted were the ones to hire the Attentater, and they will try it again, I am sure. They have an army to our south fighting our Falke forces, as we speak. The Untainted will be back again after this battle, and whether we win or lose, we must now take the fight to the Untainted. We have heard word from the West that this new nation Divinity is doing things that are intolerable. They have destroyed or taken over every inhabitable place West of Zenith--all except Yarmara. But we have heard no word from them for months and presume they have fallen, as well. We cannot let the Untainted gain a foothold here in Zenith, or they will destroy everything we have worked so hard to accomplish. We must fight to hold our own country. We must fight to take the cities back that the Untainted have sank their dirty claws into, and we must also fight for the people who have lost faith that they will ever be free again and who now live in total despair. We must fight for those who can no longer fight back because they have been beaten down. We must fight for those who are lost, and we must fight for those who are broken!" Wherim yelled, ending his speech, and the whole crowd watching began shouting in agreement. A chant rang throughout the Collenel, "For those who are broken!"

They chanted on and on. And so began The Legend of Zenith

### Epilogue

Ulire crawled, gripping the grass in his hands and pulling himself forward. He was in terrible shape. His armor was broken and, in some places, melted and deformed. His helmet was off, and the eye patch he once had covering his broken eye was burned off, showing a cauterized deformed eye that was just a mess of burnt skin. His body steamed, and he dragged his legs and tail behind him as if they were not working properly.

He forced himself to press on, crawling away from the beast that had defeated him, but his hand hit something hard and smooth. He then looked up with his one good eye to see a clawed foot, coated in pure white armor. Looking up even further, he saw the face of an Ominice with a helmet that was topped by blood red feathers. The feathers blew gently in the breeze, as the Untainted stared down upon him. Four other Untainted then walked up, and Ulire did not struggle as they lifted him into the air and began carrying him across the grasslands. The Untainted had been successful in routing out the entire Falke force, and they had captured a great many creatures in their pursuit.

It was going quite well for them. "This won't be nearly as hard as I initially thought," the Untainted with the blood red feathered helmet said aloud to himself, and then he began following his troops back to their camp, where the creature that had defeated the Zenith Falke force lay. Screams could be heard as the big beast used his fire to burn his captives alive, and then it proceeded to eat its meal. Ulire wondered if he would make it out alive.

### ###

### About the Author

I hope you enjoyed the legends of Zenith this is my first book I have ever written and I did all that I knew how to make it enjoyable. I live in a small town in the Midwest and many of the locations talk about in the book are vast open prairie land because that is where I grew up and that was what I could describe most accurately.

I have a rather large family, having eight brothers and sisters which is why Crixa and Isherwood became such a big part of the story. The city Zenith itself was actually a real place in my small little world as a young boy. Zenith is actually based on a small thicket of trees that my brothers and I built a fort in and then had many different adventures fighting off hordes of soldiers and enemies all in our vast imagination. This will not be the last of the legends of Zenith as I have already started on book two and hope to complete it in a timely manner. If you're looking for that is a little different from the norm then continue to look for the Legends of Zenith series. I promise you it is only going to become a whole lot more exciting as Jair starts to figure out who he really is.

### To connect with me

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