9 Climactic Ritual & Power
790 Words
"No time! It's too fast! We'll never make the village!" Pelt Monkey gasped, teeth bared in pain. A ricocheting rock had torn a bloody gash across his arm.
They fled through jagged terrain, ducking behind boulders, then plunging into a tangle of colossal vines. Mu Hao slithered in like an eel. The others scrambled after.
Darkness swallowed them, filled only by ragged breaths and pounding hearts. Miles of terrified flight had exhausted the dozen boys. The Azure-Scaled Eagle's power was absolute – a single strike would pulp flesh and shatter bone.
"The entrance is narrow. That monster bird shouldn't fit..." Relief was tentative, eyes still darting nervously.
The cave plunged deep, connecting to subterranean rivers. An icy draft sighed through it. The boys exchanged worried glances. How to get home? The exit was a death sentence.
"Ee-ya..." Mu Hao scuffed his foot, suddenly shy. "Last time... chased a crimson bird... got lost... ended up here."
"Heh! Three years old, still on the teat! Bird-chaser Hao!" the older boys jeered, momentarily forgetting the danger.
"Pfft! Forget mythical Vermilion Birds! Even an Ember Sparrow could wipe out a super-tribe! If it was a true Vermilion Bird? A sneeze would shatter a kingdom!"
THUD!
"HEAVENS! IT'S TRYING TO GET IN!" Faces drained of blood.
CRUNCH!
Collective gasps. The beast was living steel. Terror froze their veins.
Its talons hooked into the rock face like iron claws into soft clay, ripping out hundreds of pounds of stone with terrifying ease.
CRACK!
"Can it... carve through this whole hill?" a voice trembled. "If it keeps this up... it'll flatten this cave!"
SHHHHWWW!
CLANG!
Despair thickened. Even their strongest bows were useless. Close combat? Suicide. They were trapped.
Mu Hao acted. He snatched a heavy iron spear from an older boy. A quick sprint, a burst of speed – he hurled it towards the cave mouth! The weapon streaked like lightning, a bolt of cold fury aimed at the beast's eye!
Arrogance flickered into shock. The Eagle jerked its head aside, refusing to let the spear find its mark.
The spear clattered down. But a single, ice-blue scale near its eye was torn loose. A trickle of vivid blood marked the strike.
Several boys stumbled back, falling hard, hands clapped desperately over their ears against the Eagle's next, earth-shattering SCREECH! Without protection, eardrums would burst.
CRUNCH! CRACKLE!
Rocks flew – from dozens to hundreds of pounds – shredded like rotten wood by those talons. The cave mouth widened. The enraged Eagle pressed its assault.
"Woodgrove's close!" Mu Hao's voice cut through the panic. "Grandfather Chief will hear! He will come!"
The Eagle's shrieks intensified, shaking dust and pebbles from the ceiling. Its scaled bulk heaved closer, relentlessly carving through stone.
Outside, the mountainside became a maelstrom. Rocks exploded skyward, ancient trees whipped into frenzy. Frustrated by the cramped space, the Eagle withdrew repeatedly, each exit leveling more of the surrounding land.
In Woodgrove, alarm spread. A sentry spotted the distant chaos. Elders were summoned. They climbed the village watchtower, gazes locked on the devastation.
"THOSE LITTLE HEATHENS!" Mu Linhu roared, smacking his thigh. He remembered Pelt Monkey eavesdropping when they discussed the Eagle's nest.
Woodgrove's mightiest warriors mobilized. Rage burned hotter than fear. Ancestral Beast descendant or not, it threatened their children! They charged forth – brandishing spiked war-clubs heavier than men, shouldering giant bows taller than their wielders, gripping black iron greatswords that blotted out the sun. Killing intent radiated like heat haze.
They moved like a stampede of enraged beasts. Arrows flew long before they closed the distance – thick shafts like javelins, tipped with cold iron. Trees shattered under the barrage. They roared like primordial giants, hurling curses at the winged terror.
WHOOSH!
The Eagle's wings fanned a gale. Iron arrows and spears clattered harmlessly off its scaled hide, sparks flying like angry fireflies. It tilted its head skyward, unleashing a challenge that shook the clouds, then dove, a scaled comet aimed at the heart of the charging men.
"FORM THE TURTLE!" Chief Mu Yunfeng commanded. "LINHU! SUMMON THE RELIC!"
"OVER HERE, BALD CHICKEN!" Mu Linhu bellowed, planting himself at the vanguard, glaring up at the plummeting doom. From his tunic, he drew a thick, curved bone – clearly the forearm relic of some ancient predator.
"By the Ancestors..." the Chief breathed, eyes wide. "It does bear inherited runes! A fragment of primeval power!"
FWOOM!
Crimson light erupted from Mu Linhu's left arm. The beast bone relic fused with his flesh, becoming one with his limb. Primal power surged through muscle and bone.
- Writer
