Young Flame

Okay, so Imiha is the child of the previous leader of the Meja Matriarchy. Turns out, in Meja, being the daughter of the previous ruler meant you would be the one to lead. Or, at least, that’s how it used to be.

The leader of áed tribes were usually the oldest or strongest, but not always. Elder Cyrus was both, and everyone trusted his judgement. There were other tribes that the leader was neither, but the tribe trusted them enough to make decisions.

Though, comparing the way our tribes considered leadership to any nation I’ve been to would be hard. A leader in our tribe never had absolute power. They were simply the ones everyone listened to during high-intensity moments. When time was not of the essence, everyone’s thoughts could be heard.

The Chairman of New Vetus had no blood relation to the previous ones, as far as I’m aware. I might be wrong. I never learnt much about how he came to power while I was there.

Now that I think about it, I never really paid much attention to the structure of the nations I wandered through. Everything was so strange that I just accepted things as they were. But as we pass through the lands resided by the mermineae, I have to wonder if they have their own governing structure.

They have no buildings of their own. Weapons and clothing seem like obscure concepts to them. They can make those horrible cloaks from sap and their own fur, so it’s not like it is impossible for them, more like they choose not to.

Are the Forvaal clergy their leaders with the god Kalma as the ruler on top? Or are they only a faction amongst the mermineae? Despite the clergy being immensely opposed to their escape from the Euroclydon’s Hunting Grounds, the mermineae seem to have the coordination to organise so many of their race to move toward the Alps.

The Forvaal we are working with have not mentioned any group besides themselves. But is it even possible for such a large number of people to unite spontaneously like that? The clergy simply call them traitors, never going into detail about our enemies more than that. Are they hiding the existence of another group from us? Why?

I snap out of my thoughts as I feel the familiar thermal shape of a merminea below. They stand rock still, as the mermineae tend to when they feel threatened.

“There’s one below,” I call and direct Grímr down.

The merminea remains frozen stiff as we land ten metres before it. Grímr’s landings have improved immensely. His talons no longer leaving gouges through the earth.

It is only when Grímr takes a few steps toward the merminea, that it bolts. The camouflage of its fur remains intact as it weaves through the old stumps.

“Wait, we only want to talk.” It seems that the sudden movement was enough for Remus to spot despite their camouflage.

Grímr takes to the air again and I point out where our fleeing target is. Bunny jumps off and tackles the merminea out of its sprint. Remus follows close behind.

“Stop squirming, we won’t hurt you.” I don’t know whether it was Remus’ words, or just the merminea freezing in a panic, but they comply.

Bunny loosens her grip, but doesn’t let go.

“Now, we are looking for some ‘outsiders’. You wouldn’t happen to know where they are, would you?”

“N-no.” The merminea’s eyes dart between each of us surrounding him. “You’re the first I’ve seen.”

“None of the other mermineae around here mentioned seeing anyone?” Bunny asks, her grip tightening.

“There was one a month ago, but they’ve long since left.”

“Where did they go?”

“I don’t know.” The mermineae lets out a panicked yelp as Bunny squeezes him. “I really don’t, I swear on Kalma’s fury.”

Remus sighs and waves for Bunny to let him go. The merminea doesn’t wait a moment and dashes out of sight.

“Whelp, I guess we need to keep looking,” Remus says and we climb up Grímr’s back once more.

Before Grímr can beat his wings, we spot Imiha speeding toward us, flying a metre above the stumps. Her ivory markings change pattern and she slows to a stop beside us. Aana tumbles out of her grasp and trips on her own feet. On all fours, she scampers around Grímr, using him as cover.

“Oh, come on, it wasn’t that bad,” Imiha says to the cowering merminea.

“Why did you have to attract them like that?” Aana shouts around the thick metal body.

“Why not? It’s not like those overgrown birds could hurt me.”

“They’d be able to hurt me!”

“Oh, nonsense. I’d never let them through.” Imiha focuses her attention on us. “Anyway, we’ve found where our target has gone. There’s a lake a little way south-west from here. Apparently, that’s where they’ve been the past few weeks.”

❖❖❖

Damn, why did it have to be a lake? I would have taken the snow covered Alps over this. I know a lake is a large body of water. Every time I’ve been near large bodies of water, things have never gone well. The first, with the titan, and then later when I was shipped across the sea as a captive of the Henosis army.

Hopefully, the Beith mercs are only near it and we don’t have to go too close.

As I look over Grímr’s head, I can only barely see the lake at the edge of the horizon, so it should take at least fifteen minutes to reach it, even with the boost Imiha gives Grímr’s flight speed.

The wind whips against my face, and it’s only with the help of Bunny holding me steady I don’t fly off. It might make it easier on me if I reverted to incorporeal… but this is fine.

“Shit! Land! Now!” Imiha’s hurried voice cuts through my thoughts.

“What?” Grímr asks as we all look back at her.

Imiha is not looking our way. Her eyes have spun around and watch directly behind us. It doesn’t take long to notice what has her so alarmed. The impossibly large buzzard, Euroclydon, has spread its wings. Despite the distance, the creature still looks massive. Its brown and black feathered wings twist the light in a spectacular manner that is captivating to observe.

Then, the wings beat.

They don’t make a sound, but the light twists around each wing. The image of the Titan disappears within a sphere of immensely distorted air.

“Land right now, you moron! We don’t have time!” Imiha screams and before he has a chance to bring us down, she’s already using that strange element of hers to rocket us into the ground.

Grímr slams headfirst into the earth and sends us all flying. I feel a pull around my chest and see Imiha has a tentacle around Jav and Bunny as well. We speed through the air, her ivory markings glowing with intensity, before we slam into a stump.

“Lay yourselves flat or hide behind a stump!” she yells to the other two.

What is going on? Why is she so panicked? I try to lift my head to look at the Titan again, but Imiha holds me down. Frustration wells in me, and I’m about to push out of her grasp when it hits.

The bang is earth-shattering. My ears involuntarily drop out of corporeality as the rest of my body shakes. Intense wind, stronger than any I’ve felt, slams into me. A visible barrier of wind rushes overhead, distorting light as it moves.

Grímr holds himself flat to the earth, doing as Imiha said. It isn’t enough. His wings catch in the gust despite his best efforts to keep them bolted at his side and he’s sent flying. His body slams into a stump, bending around it in a way that would be excruciating for anyone but Grímr.

The stump stops him from flying off, but I note how many of the nearby stumps seem to edge upward together.

A cloud of dirt and debris blow overhead, blocking light and raining loose rock down on us. Day turns to night in moments, lacking even moonlight to see. I light up our surroundings, but it doesn’t help the haze flying past in the wind.

We huddle together in the cover of the stump. Both Remus and Aana have found their own.

Soon, the wind eases and my hearing returns. Chunks of stone, dirt and wood splinters rain down from above. A cloud of dust lingers in the sky, but without the intense wind, we can finally relax.

What in Eldest Ember’s name was that? We’d have to be hundreds of leagues away from the Titan at the very least. Sure, the wind was strong, but it couldn’t possibly cross such distances so quickly, right?

Gusts thread through the tree-stumps around us, creating a low humming whistle, but no longer is it strong enough to be near as dangerous. Grímr, no longer pinned, rolls to the earth and remains motionless. His spine must have snapped on impact. There’s no other way his body could have bent like that. Hopefully, he’ll be able to fix himself up without issue.

The saplings that previously grew from the base of the stumps have all ripped clean off and shred in the wind. The foliage is no more.

Imiha’s limb still wraps around me tightly, but considering the circumstances, I’m not too worried. It’s strange to think about, but not long ago, I wouldn’t have been able to deal with her hold, even under the threat of a Titan attack.

It’s nice to know I have more freedom of thought than before.

A sudden, terrible migraine rips through my mind. I hold my head and the pain recedes. What was that? Did the Titan cause that somehow?

I look around, but nobody else seems in pain. Imiha peeks over the trunk toward where the Titan was resting. It’s impossible to see through the cloud of dust, but she is intent on not moving her eyes.

The winds continue to slow as the dust storm falls around us, layering our bodies with dirt. I burn anything that lands on my outfit.

What would have happened if we’d still been in the air when that hit? I can’t imagine a pleasant landing, assuming we aren’t torn to pieces by the intense blast in the first place.

We wait in silence until the dust thins enough to see the horizon again. The Titan’s massive body soars to the north. As the buzzard descends the Alps, a tempest accrues beneath it. The storm spreads down the slope far ahead of the Titan, enshrouding everything in clouds and dust.

Imiha sighs in relief as the incomprehensible being flies past the horizon, out of sight, and away from us. The winds still whip past us, but they are closer to natural gusts than the unbelievable crushing force its wing-beats triggered.

“Wow. That was… incredible,” Remus says, rising from behind his stump.

I can only agree. Incredible… and terrifying. What would that have been like if we were still near the entrance to the tunnels? Could the Titan have dealt with all the mermineae for us? One can hope.

“Thankfully, it’s not coming our way,” Imiha says. “We can relax.”

“Have you experienced that before?” Bunny asks.

“Thrice. The initial wind is bad, but you don’t want to get stuck anywhere near where it flies.”

I head over to Grímr’s side. He’s rolled to his chest and I hear a sickening crack as his spine realigns itself.

“Are you alright?” I ask as I pass a cool flame over his plumage, cleaning off the accumulating dirt.

“No problem,” he says. “Just going to be stuck here for a few hours until my body’s spine is healed.”

“Your bones are metal, right? Would heating until malleable make them easier to fix?”

Grímr eyes me for a moment. I don’t know if he’s considering my words, or has a problem with my proposition. “That might work, but it would definitely damage the muscles and tendons. Those are surprisingly harder to heal than an alicanto’s bones.”

I settle in by his side and stare into the sky. We’re in a hurry to find the Beiths, but there is nothing to be done when our ride can’t move. Such a tragic event will halt our search.

I’m not at all ecstatic that we have put the trip to the lake on hold. Nope.

Clouds roll in from over the horizon, approaching at incredible speeds. It’s not thick cover, but the grey blobs roll above, threatening to drop their payload. Flashes of light spark out from many. Each cloud its own small thunderstorm.

Unlike normal lightning, the flashes of light don’t travel to the ground. They stay entirely isolated within their dark blotches.

I watch each one as it moves toward us, ready to dive under Grímr’s wing should they decide to be less self-contained and pelt me with their concerning liquid.

I’m trying to ignore the fact that the Titan is actively wandering around. The sheer presence of the other one was enough to nearly put an end to my tribe. Only due to fortune did I survive myself. If that monumental bird comes anywhere near us, I can’t imagine being so lucky twice.

Even if we saw the Titan coming toward us, is there anything we can do? I doubt we’d be able to run out of its path before it reaches us. The being had to have travelled a hundred leagues in only a few minutes. There’s no chance of outrunning it.

I shake my head and pull my head from the clouds. The Titans are natural disasters, there is no avoiding it if it comes. Not even the Beith mercenaries could survive the proximity of a creature like that.

Jav seems far more alert than he’s been in a while. He holds an incredibly thin needle in his hands and works on his suit. Did Bunny make that for him when she was making all the other weapons? Or did Imiha?

Remus appears pleased as he watches over the volan’s shoulder. I guess the shock the Titan gave his system was enough to wake him. Hopefully. he’ll be able to return to himself soon.

Imiha walks up beside Grímr and rests a couple tentacles on his back. Green markings glow, and within a minute, Grímr is standing up and shaking his plumage. The feathers spin around one another like tiny weaving saws.

I guess we’ll be heading to the lake immediately.

Damn.