​Fal felt as though his chest was cracking open like the skull of the runner from his meal that morning, which he so easily crushed in his jaws. His chest hurt, red hot pain radiating outward from the center, burning lightning into his shoulders, up into his throat and all the way down to his gut. His throat was parched. He badly needed water to drink, or blood. At the thought of blood, sudden, flooding nausea threatened to overwhelm him. He lost his balance and veered off, his wings tipping sideways in the air.
 
He felt tipsy like a morning flier drunk on old berries. It was all he could do to stay in the air, even as his wings flapped desperately. He couldn’t find his center. The balance so natural to him in flight was gone. His tail turned frantic circles in a futile effort to regain the equilibrium lost to him.
 
His nostrils were filled with the spicy, floral scent of her, mixed with the coppery tang of the smaller Guardian's blood. It was an enticing combination. She was so beautiful, so delicate. Even in his rage he had seen that. Nausea flooded over him at the thought, and he lurched off in the wrong direction, feeling as though he might at any moment empty the contents of his stomach.  
 
An enormous tree loomed up before him and he just barely negotiated his way around the shaggy, grey trunk by tilting his wings wildly and careening off in another direction entirely. He had to backtrack then, circling around to head back toward his cave.
 
His cave was all he wanted now, dark, comforting and safe. Whatever was happening to him he could deal with there, if only he could get back. He flapped his wings, lost his balance and crashed hard into the ground. His neck crumpled underneath, as his body rolled over onto his back and he lay there, stunned.
 
Slewing himself over onto his stomach, he promptly retched up his recent meal in an undignified series of undulating neck movements and stomach heavings. Then he pushed himself up onto his legs and began the laborious process of shuffling his way back to his cave, even as another wave of crippling pain shot through his chest.
 
*****
 
Tim ran, tears streaming down his cheeks. All he could see was that small, exquisite Guardian, ripped and bleeding. Sobs tore from his throat, wheezing through his chest. Still he ran. His body guiding him, knowing the way, his heart and mind still on the mountainside grieving over the dying Guardian. It was all his fault. He never should have hired the Hunter. He should have warned that Guardian to stay far away. He never should have let it come near the Fallen. And what about the Fallen? He had seen the way Fal flew away, haphazardly, dangerously unbalanced, making for his cave. Was Fal injured? He might not be able to do anything for that small Guardian… at this thought, Tim sobbed harder, but he could and would help Fal. His legs moved faster, leaping over stones, roots and branches in his way, carrying him back around the base of Guardian Mountain, toward Fal’s cave.
 
He careened around the side of the cave, one hand catching hold of the rough stone edge, and all but fell into the opening. The cave was dark and silent. Regaining his balance, he took several steps in, allowing his eyes to adjust. There was no looming, deeper shadow within. No sound of rocks grating beneath huge claws. No bellows-like breath. Fal was not there. Where could he be?
 
Tim went back outside and stood looking frantically in one direction then another. He heard a crashing from the woods off to his right, as of a great creature moving unsteadily through the trees. Fal! Tim followed the sounds of cracking branches and pushed his way through a patch of scrub growth. There he found Fal. The great Guardian labored, one step at a time, breasting through the undergrowth. His tail dragged the ground, wings dangled unevenly off the sides of his back, his head hung down, jaws agape and tongue lolling. His breath moving in and out in gasping heaves.
 
“Fal!” Tim rushed to his side, “are you alright?”
 
Golden eyes rolled upward at Tim, then Fal took in a shuddering breath and collapsed against him, bearing both of them to the ground.
 
*****
 
“Fal! Get up Fal!”
 
Fal felt something pushing at him, something else being pulled from underneath him. He opened his eyes. Tim was beside him, no, mostly under him.
 
Unwilling to squash the boy just yet, Fal dragged himself into a sitting position. He was aware that his wings and tail sprawled inelegantly and he didn’t care. It was enough that he was upright.
 
“Fal, are you hurt?” Tim touched his side, running gentle hands over his back, wings and legs, looking for signs of injury. The tender hands felt good. Fal leaned into them. Not because he needed such attentions, but because the boy needed to feel useful.
 
“Why did you do it Fal?” The words whimpered out of the boy as if unwilling, and unwilling Fal’s mind was pulled back to the scene on the mountainside.
 
The question, Fal thought, was not why I did it, but why did I stop? Nausea threatened to consume him and he felt retching waves move up his neck. Dizziness caused his balance to waver, and he spread his forelegs wide to stabilize himself.
 
Such thoughts were better left alone.
 
Fal cast an eye over the boy. He saw a bedraggled and gangly younger, part-man, part-boy, all human. Dirt streaked his face in tracks down his cheeks beneath red-rimmed eyes. Curly, black hair stuck out in clumps, stuck here and there with twigs and bits of leaves. His tunic was rumpled and hung askew on his thin frame.
 
Fal felt his chest expand as if something inside filled a space suddenly grown too small. It hurt, the pressure building. On a gasping intake of breath, he realized he felt something for this boy, his boy. Unwilling to pursue that or any thought further, Fal turned his head away, lunged to his feet, and made his way to the beckoning womb of his cave, Tim trailing behind.

Ell threw up her head, watching the enormous Guardian diving at her. Her jaws opened defensively, then it slammed into her. She felt the thudding impact as a tremendous weight bore her body to the ground. Huge claws stabbed and ripped agonizingly into her sides, grabbing at her neck and pinning her head to the stony earth.

She looked upward into a gaping, toothed maw, nostrils filling with the rotted flesh scent of heated breath as it came at her. Her mind filled with the horrific vision of this enormous Guardian crushing her skull in it’s jaws, like the shell of an egg.

“Git offa her you, you…!”

Terris never finished his demand as he leapt at her attacker. Out of the corner of her eye, Ell saw Terris fly through the air, thrown wide by an enormous, whipping tail. She felt a stab of fear for him, knowing Terris had already been injured even as he leapt upon her foe.

Ell prayed. One, protect these precious humans who have given so much to protect me.

She felt her heart expand and was suddenly aware of all that took place from a vantage point above, observing.

She knew this Guardian. This was Fal, the dark light.

She felt the loving presence of the One fill her to overflowing. It tingled throughout her body, easing the terrible weight crushing her into the ground, and the burning pain of the claws that ripped at her.

Her fear melted away and she was oddly curious to see what would happen next.

She knew with certainty that it was all perfect, whatever happened, and she was filled with a deep sense of peace. Then sadness welled up in her heart as she felt the agony, fear and rage which consumed Fal and her heart reached out to him.

“Elllll...!” Lisle screamed high and long, from the mountain path above. Ell saw Lisle hurtle recklessly down the mountainside, slipping sideways on the graveled surface, face contorted with anger. She charged at the Fallen, beating at him with her fists.

Another arrived at that same moment, the boy Ell had seen from the air, the one she recognized as Tim. Long legs and arms pumping furiously, he raced to Fal, pulling at him, trying to get him off of her back.

She was grateful for their efforts, even knowing they were futile.

The thought came to her, I am of the One and of the One I remain. She knew this to be her deepest truth, despite what was happening to her physical body.

Then, as her body struggled for breath beneath that terrible weight, she mind-spoke, Fal, we are ONE.

The light of the One flooded outward through the back of her heart. She felt the warm energy and an intense tingling sensation which dampened the burning pain in her back and neck from where his claws tore through her scaled hide. She felt love, huge and encompassing, engulfing her and the one who rent and tore at her.

Distantly, she felt the pain intensify in her back as his claws clenched spasmodically, powerfully, and then suddenly released.

With a shrieking roar the Fallen lifted into the air and flapped away in the direction from which he had come. She turned her head to watch him and saw that his movements were awkward. Long, dark tail wheeling, trying for balance, he pitched drunkenly in the air with none of the accustomed grace of a Guardian in flight.

Ell heaved desperate breath into her lungs, and her consciousness fell back into her body as its arching defensiveness collapsed. She felt the intense burning pain of her wounds return and groaned. A sound that vibrated from her gut and all along her neck, exacerbating the agony, and which she quickly cut short.

Lisle and Tim stood on either side of her, staring at her.

She heard the boy whisper, “I’m so sorry.” Then his feet pounded off in the direction the Fallen had taken. She didn’t lift her head to watch him go.

“Ell, you’re bl…bleeding!” She felt Lisle’s gentle hands on her back, and heard her catching intake of breath. “Oh, Ell.” Lisle quickly removed her over-tunic. She tried without success to rip it in pieces as she started to sob. Then she gave up and used the whole tunic to mop at Ell’s back and neck. 

“One bless you, Ell, yer a bit tore up,” said Terris through gritted teeth. He limped over to her, pressing his hand hard against his side. 

“There now, Younger, Ell ‘ll be alright.” Terris sounded out of breath as he moved over beside her and Ell felt another hand upon her back. “It looks a mess, but nothin’ as won’t heal up.” He paused to drag in another breath, still pressing his hand against his side. “You keep doin’ what you’re doin.’ It’ll stop the bleedin.’” Lisle snuffled, wiping her nose on her sleeve, and reached to mop Ell’s neck where it dripped crimson. Terris sank down on the ground beside Ell, breathing hard. Then his eyes rolled back, his head canted to the side, and he slowly toppled over.

The strain of holding the weight of two men in her claws was unbearable. Ell tried to control their fall even as they tumbled through air that whistled past her. She felt a ripping pain burn through her chest. Despite the agony, she opened her wings a little more, the soft skin at the edges flapping wildly. Still they fell, plummeting toward the mountainside.

She clenched harder with her claws just as she felt herself lose hold of one of the men. Glancing down, Ell locked eyes with the larger man as he silently fell away beneath them.  She screeched in frustration at the loss, unable to stop it, and thrust her wings wide, chest and shoulder muscles screaming.

She would not lose Terris.

With the weight lessened, their plunging fall transformed into a steep, downward glide. Air rushed over her wings and back, and pushed at her chest. It dragged at Terris, trying to pull him from her grasp. The effort to hold him, as well as trying to control their descent, was almost too much. Burning stretched across her chest, back and shoulders. It felt like her muscles were shredding apart. She hadn’t a hope of flying with him in the thin, mountain air. All she could do was hold on and pray that she wouldn’t crush him when they crashed into the rocky mountainside.

The ground rushed upward at them, jagged stones looming large, their rough, grey surfaces blanketed in orange and green lichens. She tilted her wings slightly, desperation and instinct combining to allow her to maneuver between the enormous rocks. Then she threw herself to the side so she wouldn’t land on top of Terris.

There was a jarring impact, and they were tumbling in a great mass of arms, legs, wings and tail.

Rolling to a stop, Ell lay, stunned, half-way down the mountainside, wings spread awkwardly. She was aware of the wind, now a gentle breeze flowing softly over her, carrying the blossom scent of white flower from fields in the distance. Then she felt Terris at her feet still wrapped in her talons. He moved. The jangling sensation of muddled, but living energies surrounded him. Blessed One, he is alive. The relief she felt was so great that her head spun with dizziness and she had to lie still to let the sensation pass.

“I’m dead, ain’t I?” said Terris.

Ell, lifted her head, long neck aching with the effort, and looked him in the eyes.

“I ain’t?” Hope lit his face. “Ell, you saved me! Thank the One!” Terris fumbled a bit trying to get up and help Ell up at the same time.

“Could you let go a me a bit?”

Ell tried. She pulled her legs back, dragging Terris, scraping over the pebbled surface of the ground towards her.

“Ooof, hold up there, Ell.”

Her toes ached terribly, strained with muscle cramps. Mortified, she realized that she could not release her talons to let go of Terris.

“Ya cain’t let go a me can ya’? I seen that happen ‘atimes to the hunter fliers. I’ll jess help you a bit.”

Ell sucked in a breath, inadvertently holding it against the pain, as he gently, then more firmly, pried at her toes. She forced herself to breathe deeply while she endured the indignity and discomfort of the process.

Once separated, she and Terris climbed rather shakily to their feet. Ell shook out her legs and talons carefully, relieved to be able to release the cramping. She studied Terris as she did so. He busied himself brushing dirt and twigs out of his hair. He was a bit bloodied with scrapes on his face and hands. Yet remarkably, he was unharmed.

Ell closed her eyes. Thank you One!

Sharp, painful twinges in her chest and shoulders warned her not to attempt using her wings. She eased them into a folded position on her back, then looked about for the other man, the one she had dropped.

She spied him, a sprawling heap on the mountainside below. She could see the path of broken shrubs and disturbed pebbles darkening the ground where he had tumbled down, finally landing up against a striated boulder. He wouldn’t be hunting them again. Ell’s heart clenched at the needless loss of life. Then her keen eyesight focused in on his face. His eyes were open. There was no fear there, no anger. His lips were tipped upward in a boyish, almost innocent smile.

She heard Terris take a shuddering breath and turned her attention back to see him shaking all over. He wrapped his arms about himself as if cold. He was staring at the body of the one who had hunted them. Then his legs gave way beneath him and he was suddenly sitting on the hard, stony ground.

He’ll be alright, Ell thought, warmth filling her heart, for this small, courageous, man. The One had blessed them both with survival. She looked up and took a deep breath of the fresh, mountain air. Lace-like clouds decorated the sky as they drifted overhead. It felt so good to be alive. The aching throughout her shoulders and back, reminded her of just how alive she was, and served to emphasize the depth of her gratitude. She was filled with an expanding sense of joy and took in a great gulp of air. She needed more than anything right now, to bellow out her thanks to the One.

Ell opened her jaws to voice her gratitude, but before she had a chance to make a sound, a deafening roar thundered down at them from above. Rage, not her own, surrounded her; the intensity of the emotion stabbing, red-hot. A shadow moved over her, eclipsing the warmth of the sun. She whirled around and saw a Guardian, huge and black, arrowing down at them in a stooping dive. 

Climbing steadily upward, Terris stopped to catch his breath, scraggly beard and spiky hair outlining his head against the blue sky behind him. The creases around his mouth and across his forehead dug deeper now, his cheek bones standing out clearly. Weeks of travel had left their mark. He stood bent over, hands on his knees, chest heaving and chanced a look over the edge of the trail. His eyes traveled down, down the rock stubbled slope, down through the trees to where they had first started their climb at the base of Guardian Mountain. By his reckoning they were almost half-way up to where he could see the yawning, dark opening in the mountainside, signaling the tunnel entrance to Guardian Cavern. He remembered Lisle telling him in her halting way, how the mountain itself had created that tunnel with its own fire. She said the Guardian had shown it to her. Still, he wondered how much of it was a younger’s fancy. Don’t matter none if it is or 'taint. We’re goin’ there.

They were at the edge of the tree line now and he was glad to note that his legs felt strong, even if his breath puffed a bit. This journeyin’s been the strengthen’ of me. His mind drifted back. I’m some different now than I was, fer sure. Back then I alus hungered for coin. That don’t seem real important now.

Looking up he saw Ell venture out from between the trees in front of him. Her graceful neck turning, golden eyes searching this way and that.  Then she took a running leap into the air, wings outstretched. She soared up, stroking hard to gain altitude. Transparent streaks of clouds filled the sky behind her as she took a swooping pass over the whole side of the mountain.

The air was still, as if holding its breath, waiting.

Lisle was next to leave the cover of the trees, Moss hovering at her shoulder. Terris followed. He was glad to feel Gareth’s solid presence right behind him and thought with pleasure how the big man treated him now. Terris’s chest filled with a sudden intake of breath as he realized, he respects me. He looked ahead at Lisle moving purposely forward. She calls me her friend. His lips curved upward.

Moss suddenly appeared beside him, buzzing to land lightly on his shoulder.

“How’s it lookin’ there Moss?”

She patted his cheek and chittered softly.

“Well and good then,” he said.

Ell back winged in to land hard, a little way up the mountain in front of Lisle. He saw her sides bellowing in and out, reminding him of his blacksmith shop at home, such as it was. He didn’t miss that shop one bit. He watched the Guardian, still breathing hard, as she waited for them.

She’s lookin’ some worn out by all this.

Lisle reached the Guardian and moved up next to her, laying her hand upon the Guardian’s shoulder. Then they turned together to resume the climb, the Guardian staying with the group, shuffling ahead to lead the way, claws scraping on rocky earth.

As he watched, he felt that deep sense of awe that he always felt when he looked at the Guardian. Her scaled and muscled hindquarters moved powerfully up the incline ahead of him. Long, ridged tail lifted in a slight curve, wings tucked neatly to her back, her long claws dug in front and back, pulling her up the slope.

He felt proud, that he, Terris, a not very good black smith from a no-name village, had helped protect and companion this servant of the One, all this way to Guardian Mountain.

He no longer worried about filling his belly. He worried about the safety of these, his first friends. I’m a differnt man, an’ a good thing it is. Terris hoisted his pack higher on his shoulders and bent forward, strong legs pumping up the side of the mountain.

*****

The Hunter arrived at the base of Guardian Mountain, staying well-hidden within the cover of the trees. He felt the strain of the journey as strange thoughts pulled at him, urging him to give up and go home.

Home, he thought with sudden longing, a place he hadn’t seen in a very long time. Stopping, his hand unconsciously felt for the little cloth bag tied on a leather thong about his neck and tucked beneath his wrinkled and greying shirt.  He pulled it out between travel-grimed fingers and felt of its lumpy contents through the rough fabric.  

He knew his fa would have passed by now, his ma gone long ago. The village where he grew up would be different. But his sister might still be there, married to that fellow. What was his name? She might even have young ones, a family. She’d welcome him, he knew. She was just that kind. She’d given him this bag, filled with the tiny treasures of their shared childhood. She didn’t need to know what he’d become - a hunter of men, and worse still, a hunter of sacred creatures of the One. He shook his head as if to shake the thoughts loose, and let go of the bag.

I’m proud of the name I've made. 

The conflicting thoughts raged about in his head with questions that had followed him all the way from where he picked up the companion’s trail back in the forest. He felt unbalanced and angry. 

Seeking escape, he gazed up the side of the mountain, his hunter-trained instincts judging the best path to take through the trees. As he watched, he saw movement on the mountain high above him. He stared intently and made out three, small figures emerging from the edge of the tree line. He figured the Guardian would be in the air somewhere, but didn’t see it. Looking further up the mountainside he noted several places in the rocks where he might take them one at a time as they passed through.

That’s it then, he thought. I am the Hunter or I am no one.

He began to trot upward, tracing a path that would wind up and around, well above where the companions must pass. He had found the perfect place for an ambush.
 

​Lisle searched the trees from her seat astride Ell’s shoulders with frantic eyes, desperate to locate the rain-shrouded figure whose terrifying laughter echoed around her. She took a deep breath of waterlogged air, and reloaded her stone shot. Shaking, wet hands made the task difficult, as the small stones slipped about in her fingers. Rain dripped into her eyes, and she hastily wiped it away with her upper arm.

Lisle jumped nervously, as Terris popped his head up beside her, using Ell’s tail to lever himself up. Water ran over his scalp and down the sides of his face. She saw his dripping, clenched fist shaking at the trees in the direction Ell was staring, scattering droplets of wet about them both.

“Come out an’ fight us ya beast, and stop yer cursed cacklin’.”

She turned to see Gareth recover quickly from where Ell’s protective sweep had thrown him. He knelt, knocking arrow to bow once again, carefully out of range of Ell’s neck. Veiled in the downpour, he looked ghostly and insubstantial. Lisle shivered at the thought, and fearfully made the warding sign down at her side, thumb to forefinger.

She had no idea where Moss was.

Ell took in a deep breath and extended her neck, jaws wide. Lisle felt the vibration through Ell’s shoulders and chest beneath her as she roared again. It was deep and bellowing, resonant with challenge.

The laughter from the woods cut off.

Misty, white vapor rose from Ell’s neck, even as the rain poured down. Lisle held her stone shot in one hand, and placed the other on Ell’s neck which was blushing a reddish hue. She felt the hard scales beneath her fingers radiating heat, then became aware of a burning sensation, rising through her thighs and backside from where she sat on Ell’s shoulders.

Her seat was growing rapidly hotter now, so much so that she could barely tolerate it. She had to keep lifting one leg and then the other, holding onto Ell’s spinal ridges and shifting her weight. This is no good, she thought as she fidgeted, I need to be able to shoot.

The spines on Ell’s head, stood erect and bright red, a flush of crimson color extending down her neck and onto her shoulders. She opened her jaws and let out another deep roar, which ended suddenly with a huge gout of flame spurting out. It seared the air, a brief, golden light reflecting off the trees before them.

Ell’s head reared backward, almost knocking Lisle off, as she clamped her jaws shut on the flame, cutting it off with a gulping sound.

Lisle could only stare at Ell in amazement. She watched smoke drifting up from between Ell’s clenched teeth.

“Did ya’ see that? She’s a flamin’! Ya’ best get down from there, younger.”

Terris reached up to pull Lisle backwards, sliding her off behind the protection of Ell’s extended wing and jumping down beside her. Lisle landed on her feet, grateful to be off Ell’s burning shoulders.

An arrow pounded through the branches well above them, thudding through the leaves. The tattered remains chasing the rain down and scattering over Gareth.

“You’ll have to do better than that! One curse you!” Voice rough with anger, Gareth knelt with one-knee on the ground. Rain streamed over his hood and down his back as he drew his bow and aimed in the same direction that Ell had flamed.

A rumbling belch bubbled up through Ell’s throat and out her jaws. She shook her head, long neck waggling back and forth as if uncomfortable. The scent of Ell’s fiery breath drifted back to Lisle, smelling almost like that of the eggs from their layers back home.

Lisle pushed past Terris and out to the edge of Ell’s wing, aiming her stoneshot at the trees once again. She searched for shadowy movement. This time, she would make her shot count.

*****
The Hunter’s laughter ended as abruptly as it had begun. He moved closer, the pounding rain covering his approach. He stood behind a tree, rain pouring down around him, a grey shadow in a  grey wood. He watched the Guardian, an arrow knocked in the deadly, long bow that was his hunting weapon of choice. Drawing the bow, sinewy, powerful arms straining, he took aim for the delicate patch under its forearm with practiced skill.

It roared yet again, loud and challenging, and he felt a startling kinship with this supreme hunter. He marveled at the blade-like teeth bared in defiance; the claws ripping at the earth beneath it; the sheer massive power of it. He stood in awe before this marvelous beast. He could feel its rage with every bellow, and that intense anger moved something deep within him.

It unexpectedly let loose with a gout of flame, burning white-hot through the watery, grey air right at him, and he took a startled step backward. His nostrils filled with a warm, moist scent like that of the bubbling pits he’d encountered in the far North. Then his foot slipped in the mud beneath him and his arrow shot high and wide.

Steadying himself, he again took aim, even as his mind questioned. What is this creature of fire and air? He had never seen it’s like.

It fascinated him, and, it confused him. He tried to sort it out.  Arms trembling with the strain of holding the draw on his hunting bow, he carefully released the pull on the arrow and dropped the bow down to his side.  Emotions roiled inside him. Strange, new feelings of admiration and longing raged in his chest. The cursed beast inspired something in him. Something even more than kinship; it was like a soul-deep recognition.

He shook his head, snarling, disgusted with such flights of fancy.

Then, an unobtrusive voice in the back of his mind, so small as to easily go unnoticed, it asked, do I really want to kill this amazing creature? 
​
This strange inner conflict was suddenly too much. Even as the kneeling man beside the Guardian taunted him, the Hunter melted back into the trees. 

The rain lightened momentarily. Lisle lifted her head and pushed back a thoroughly soaked hood to rest dripping about her neck.  I don’t know why I even bother to wear it, it’s so wet. She looked to see misty, open air on the other side of the trees to her left. Moving ever North, the companions slogged along, traversing the side of a steep incline, as they pushed closer to Guardian Mountain.

The storm raged on. The group were pummeled with an almost constant downpour. Water streamed away down the incline to their right, rivulets of runoff crossing in front and behind them, rushing to merge into the river far below. The ground was soggy underfoot, mud sucking at their boots. Occasional slides of stones and pebbles made the footing treacherous.

Lisle breathed deeply of the wet air filling the woods. The clean, damp scent would have been pleasant if she had not had so much of it recently. What’s more she was feeling increasingly agitated. She was sure they were being watched, and kept looking around, checking their backtrail every few minutes. Her hand, damp and white-knuckled, gripped the handle of the stoneshot at her belt.

The constant beat of rain pouring down around her was split by a tremendous roar from above that vibrated through Lisle's body. Jumping, she looked up with startled eyes to see Ell arrowing down between the trees. She was terrified that Ell was injured, as Ell landed almost on top of the companions, wings outstretched.

Roaring still, Ell backed into the four of them, herding them behind her, up against the huge trunk of an ancient tree, as she released another stentorian scream of rage at the mist-veiled tree trunks surrounding them.

Frightened still, but relieved, Lisle could feel that Ell was not injured. Ell was terrified and very, very angry.

“Let me see, Ell!”

Yanking her slingshot from her belt, and clamping it between her teeth, Lisle pushed her way free of the green, scaled haunch that held her against the rough, dripping bark of the huge tree. She leapt, grabbing onto a spinal ridge on Ell’s back, and scrambled up to her shoulders, like climbing a ladder.

The sky opened up, rain driving down. Lisle wiped the rain from her eyes and looked to see a dark, man-shaped shadow scuttling from tree to tree, moving ever closer.  

Moss, chattering angrily from inside Lisle’s overtunic, pushed her way out and took to the air, only to be grounded immediately by the driving force of the rain.  She landed at the base of the great tree and pulled herself up the trunk, climbing the shaggy, wet bark upward. Her hair was immediately slicked against her head by the rain in long, green waves streaming down over her shoulders.

“One curse it, Ell! Let me by!” Gareth struggled his way past the wing that pinned him against the tree trunk.

Another scream of defiance from Ell momentarily deafened Lisle as she stared out frantically from under eyelashes dripping with rain, looking for anything that presented a target for her stoneshot.

“Keep yur cussed head down younger!” Terris yelled up at her, wrestling with the enormous tail that held him. “Let go a me ya’ great lizard!”

Gareth pushed by Ell’s wing, knocking an arrow in his bow as he did so. He moved to stand in front of the raging Guardian. Ell roared deafeningly and knocked him aside and behind her with a sweep of her long neck.

Lisle felt rage, frustration and terror filling her up like an overfull water bladder. She had to let it out before it consumed her and opened her mouth to loose her own high, scream of defiance as she flung a stone uselessly into the trees.

From the woods before them, amidst the clattering of rain on the water-soaked ground, a howl of laughter echoed.

*****

Behind a tree, the Hunter bent over, hands on his knees, choking with laughter. Rain poured down around him, drenching his already soaked overcoat and splattering another layer of mud over his hide boots.  It didn’t matter if they heard him. They already knew he was there, and he was delighted by the inept tableau in front of him.

He guffawed as he thought of the Guardian herding and pinning its humans behind it, and those incompetent men fighting against the Guardian, uselessly trying to defend it.

 He laughed so hard he could barely catch his breath.

Then he thought of that younger, sounding like some crazed night singer, wildly flinging a stone at him. It was all just too much, and he howled with laughter again, hardly able to stand up.

That Guardian though, it gave him pause. He sobered and stood up straight, tilting his head and looking out from behind the tree trunk which hid him. Rain dripped from the brim of the hat which protected his eyes as he watched the roaring beast before him. He felt an emotion so foreign to him it was almost frightening. He couldn’t put a name to it.

The huge green-scaled creature was rippling with muscle. It stood upright on powerful hindquarters, long, curved claws gouging huge tracts in the muddy earth. With its wings spread wide, and open, sharp-toothed jaws it looked like some enormous avenging demon.

It seemed a creature not of this world, the likes of which he had never come across before. It was all that he had hoped, and so much more. The beast inspired him, a totally new and unfamiliar sensation.

Suddenly he wanted it, more than he had ever wanted anything in his life.  That Guardian is mine!

He studied the beast. It was covered all over with scales. Even the belly was lined with yellow protective plating.  The Guardian roared again and flapped its wings, its forearms flailing. His attention was drawn to the area just under its forearms. He wiped away the rain which had blown into his eyes and looked to see that under the forearms was covered with small, delicate looking scales. A well-placed arrow there will bring it down, he thought. Then I can deal with the humans.

The Hunter searched the area about him, and pin-pointed a tree which would give him a better vantage point for his shot. Staying low, mist shrouding his movements, he crept into place.

Gareth, brows knitting, looked at the sky with concern etched into his features. The dawn that morning was bright with red streaks, and a solid bank of slate-grey clouds built to the Northeast, stretching from one side of the horizon to the other.

​“That’ll be full on us soon. We’ll need to find good shelter,” said Gareth. Lisle nodded. Gareth knew about such things.

Ell waddled into a running leap, wings outstretched, then shot up between the trees and out of sight. Moss followed her upward for a short distance, wings a green blur. She hovered and turned in a full circle, peering all around them. Seeming satisfied, she fluttered down to land delicately on Lisle’s shoulder. Lisle hitched up her pack, careful not to dislodge Moss, and fell in behind Gareth, who had already started out. Terris followed closely behind them all, as Gareth rapidly outpaced his companions. 

They pushed hard, traveling all morning without a break. Lisle and Terris collected what firewood they could carry along the way.

The terrain grew rockier and they traversed an increasing incline as they moved North. Their feet swished through thick patches of lacey, green ferns growing at the foot of the great trees, and peeking up between large outcroppings of grey-stone.

Gareth scouted back and forth, walking sometimes with them, sometimes ahead or behind. By midday he returned to them, having found shelter.

He led them to a cave almost hidden in an embankment clustered about with tall evergreens. Its entrance was covered over with ferns hanging down from a mass of spongey moss clinging to the rocks surrounding it. Inside was evidence of past habitation by the small, winged darklings for which the forest was named, but the entrance of the cave was relatively clear and unsullied.  Here, there was enough room for their small encampment.

Not long after their arrival, with barely time to get themselves settled, the wind blasted bringing the storm full upon them. Their camp was protected by the grey-rock overhang and remained relatively dry, despite the constant drip of rainwater from the ferns hanging down.

Lisle settled herself on her bedroll. It was pleasant to rest there as the storm raged outside the cave. Very pleasant, she thought, with images of sleeping the day away by a warm fire in her mind. Moss snuggled into Lisle’s pack, wrapped in her small section of fur. Terris stretched out on his bed, hands clasped under his head, legs crossed, the picture of relaxation. Ell sat upright, toward the back of the cave, eyes closed. Gareth crouched close to the entrance, wrapped around with his bedroll, and prodded at their struggling fire with a small faggot. Every few minutes he scanned the storm lashed wood in front of them. Soon the fire was warm and crackling at the cave mouth. The welcome scent of woodsmoke curled around them even as wind and rain howled on the other side of the rocks. Lisle laid her head back. It feels so good to rest, she thought, as she drifted off.

Ell lurched to her feet and moved out from the back of the cave, into the rain, crimson ridged tail thrashing. Lisle's eyes popped open as Ell passed by her, and she  groaned. Time to go, and she nudged Terris with her foot and then Gareth. “P..pack up.”

The companions reluctantly left their shelter. The forest, so quiet the day before, now howled and grabbed at them. Wind-blown rain assaulted them, tearing at their clothes and packs, drizzling cold wet down their necks. Within minutes they were soaked through. Movement kept them warm enough, and travel hardened muscles kept them going.

Ell, grounded by the storm, walked beside Lisle. Lisle was grateful for Ell’s comforting, bulky presence next to her, even as she could feel Ell’s need to hurry. Gareth too, stuck close.

End-day was a miserable affair, hunched against a tree trunk to get out of the worst of the wind and rain. The sky, when they could see it through the driving rain, ranged in color from stone to deepest slate. The dark clouds formed curious, almost black, bulbous patterns such as Lisle had never seen before. Thunder growled and roared almost continuously. The rain, lit by lightening, seemed with each flash, to be caught at a standstill on its way to the ground. Wind thrashed at the tree branches above them which threatened to tear lose and cascade down upon their heads. They rested only long enough to choke down a cold end-day meal, then got up and slogged on, hoping to find shelter for the night.

*****

Rain and wind slashed downward, making tracking, even for the Hunter, near impossible. All traces of the trail he had followed so easily washed away with the storm. Lightning stabbed downward, flashing off dark, wet tree trunks and illuminating the forest about him in skeletal white on black. Thunder roared. The scent of ozone and soaked earth permeated the air.

Resigned, he squatted beneath the low, hanging branches of a densely needled evergreen, as he considered his options.

A short while later, having consumed a portion of dried rooter from his pack, the Hunter stood up, pushing his way free of the sheltering boughs. He stared up into a dark and glowering sky that seemed determined to continue on with its temper tantrum, as rain dripped from the brim of his hat, running in rivulets down over shoulders already soaked.

He picked up a hefty, arm-length branch from the ground in front of him, where it had been knocked down by the heavy winds. Its rain-softened bark felt crumbly and rough in his hands, as he looked about at the changes wrought by the storm. Driving rain wiped clean all trace of his quarry’s passing. The ground was now covered with leaves and debris blown about by the violent weather.

Tracking the humans was no longer possible, but he knew the companions traveled North, running for the safety of Guardian Mountain. He would travel due North and travel fast. With luck he would come across their trail on the way. If not, he would take them at the mountain. I will have that Guardian, he thought, and viciously stabbed the end of the branch he held, deep into the wet earth at his feet.

Several days passed and Gareth’s condition improved rapidly. Soon, he was sitting up, and able to lean carefully against the grayed trunk of a tree whose branches provided a canopy for their campsite hidden within Darkling Forest.  A few more days saw him standing and moving about tentatively.

Finally, he was well enough to travel.
​
The night before they were to leave, Gareth lay,  his head resting on a bedroll and hands clasped over his stomach. Lisle watched Gareth as he scanned the woods with haunted eyes. She sat with him beside their neat fire, holding slender hands over the coals. Despite it being full summer, the evening air was damp and chilly. Moss sat, watchful, upon Lisle’s shoulder, running tiny fingers through the verdant tangles of hair haloing her small head.

Ell lay curled, tail tip over muzzle, eyes open, reflecting the small flames of the campfire. Only Terris seemed relaxed,  fiddling about in his pack, pulling out various small bags of herbs and considering each one. Wagging his head in the negative, he’d stuff the small bag back into his pack and reach in for another one.

Haltingly, Lisle told Gareth of all that had happened after he was shot. She told him how Terris had saved the Guardian.

Terris looked up at them. He squared his shoulders. “I didn’t do nothin’ you wouldna’ done if you coulda’ Gareth.” Then he looked down quickly and fumbled with the bag he was holding.

Gareth carefully pushed himself to a sitting position. His lips twitched but he nodded solemnly to Terris.

Lisle continued on, telling Gareth how Moss had chased away Gareth’s startled assailant, quite possibly saving Gareth’s life. At this, Moss stood up on Lisle’s shoulder and puffed up her chest, wings lifting. She shook her fist at their remembered foe and loosed a string of staccato, clattering syllables.

Finally, Lisle told him how the Guardian sat with him, not eating, not moving for days, as Lisle cared for him the best she knew how. “W…which was n…not v…very g..good,” she said, looking down at hands now twisting in her lap.

“It was good enough. My gratitude to all of you,” Gareth looked at each one in turn as he said this. Then, eyes and head tilting up and to the side, he remembered, “I heard singing off and on, thought it was my Marn.” He turned to look at Lisle. “Was it you?”

“It e…eased y…you. I…I sang e…even when you w…went into th…that s…sleep. I d..didn’t k…know what else to…to d…do.”

Gareth shifted to look at her directly, grimacing slightly as his newly healed wound pulled. His eyes lighted,  “I had a dream.”

Gareth told Lisle of the lake and meeting Ell and the choice she had given him.

A pot crashed, jolting Gareth and causing Lisle to start. Together, they looked over to see Terris trying to regain his balance as he leapt over the offending pot now lying on its side on the hard-packed earth and stumbled to his knees. He looked up at them with an embarrassed grin.

Gareth pushed himself to his feet. Looking down at Terris he stepped over and offered him a hand up. Terris looked at the proffered hand with eyes wide, but accepted it and got to his feet. “Ta,” said Terris as he brushed off the legs of his trews, and set about righting the pot to make breakfast.

The next morning, they packed up and set off. Gareth walked up front, occasionally moving off into the woods, then returning to say all was clear. They didn’t travel far that day. Nor could they travel far for many days as Gareth gradually gained his strength back. Lisle took to feigning exhaustion at times to get Gareth to rest, and Terris soon caught on and contributed his own weary complaints. Gareth lost patience with them a few times, refusing to stop.

Unusually, several times each day Ell dropped down from where she flew above the sheltering canopy of the forest, back winging to come to land before them, dried leaves and dust flying up into the air about her. She would settle herself for a rest and look over at them calmly as if this was their usual routine. Always, this was just as Gareth felt exhaustion setting in, despite the desire to push himself. The companions soon learned that she would travel no further until they had all rested. 

That afternoon they settled by a brook. It was a comfortable place with the sound of the running water nearby. It was an hour or two before dark and they sat around a crackling fire, replete from a supper of ground flier, which Ell had provided, and Terris had seasoned with just the right herbs and a touch of salt.

Terris fiddled with the handle of a pot that needed mending. Then he looked up at Gareth. “It’s a strange thing I’ve jus’ remembered. That man what attacked the Guardian, he yelled, ‘For the Fallen!’ Jus’ like that. That man was terrifyin’, he was. He wanted to die.”

Gareth looked up sharply, “The Fallen? I remember something of that.” Gareth searched his memory for stories he had heard back when he was traveling with Lur. “There was a group who worshipped one called The Fallen. Anyone who serves the One is their enemy. Those that attacked us, they were after Ell. Makes sense her being a Guardian and of the One.”

Terris groaned. “Rend and tear it,” he said, shaking his head. He put the pot down and took out his knife and whetting stone, and began scraping the blade carefully against the stone. ”We’ll be ready for ‘em if they comes back.”

Gareth looked at him, eyebrows raised, his lips tiling upward. He recognized his own cuss words coming from Terris’s mouth, but said nothing. He was feeling a growing respect for the small man before him; glad now that Terris was with them.

“Yes,” said Gareth, “we will.”

Tim stood at the entrance to the cave which squatted at the base of Guardian Mountain, one tan and dirt encrusted hand grasping the rough, grey rock at the cave mouth. He leaned his head inward, straining his eyes to peer into the dark depths.

He knew it was here, though he didn't know what 'it' was.  

Tim was tired. It had been three anxious suns of walking due north through the frightening Darkling Forest. Yet anything was better than the torment of living with the scorn of his brothers and father, and his own growing hatred. The nights of his journey had been terrifying,  wakeful, hearing his name called over and over. All of it had brought him unerringly to this place.

While his body might be tired, his heart was thumping hard with excitement. He just knew this was what he was seeking; this was what had been calling him. 

Wind rushed past his back, carrying browned leaves fallen too early for the season, and brushing them on by. He didn’t notice. He was too intent on studying the tiny flashes of light which blinked at him from countless crystal points embedded into the walls and ceiling of the cave.

He heard a loud, snorting breath bellowing forth from some huge beast within and startled backward, his head rearing up. He saw it then, an outline of darkness, shadowing the crystal points of light, moving slowly toward him from the back of the cave. He heard the crunching sound of movement on rock, heavy and slow.

Terror vyed  for control of his body. His mind knew he should run yet his heart kept him rooted to the spot.

A deep green, scaled forearm stepped into the light. His eyes followed it downward as long, ivory talons curved into view, then another forearm moved up beside it, cruel talons clicking on rock. A tingling thrilled through Tim’s arms and legs, his body begging him to flee. Still he did not.

His mouth dropped open unheeded, full lips dry, as Tim’s dark lashed eyes followed the gleaming, scaled forearms back up to powerful shoulders, rippling with muscle. Shoulders which shone in the light as the enormous beast emerged from the dark shadows of the cave. Tim's riveted gaze picked out the sparkling details of each scale, looking as though they were made of purest, dark green emerald. He had never seen anything so beautiful.

His eyes traced further upward to the sinuous neck, reflecting the sunlight in an emerald green so dark as to look almost black, shading back and forth with a startling sapphire blue as the neck wove to and fro in the light. The effect was mesmerizing.

Tilting his head back to look further up, Tim saw powerful jaws and ridged, reptilian head duck under the rock overhang as the beast emerged slowly from the dark of the cave, it’s claws grating and crunching over the rock floor.

Run! Run! Run! Tim’s mind screamed at him even as he ignored the fear that coursed through his body.

A Guardian. It called me here. It wants me! Awe filled his chest on a gasping intake of breath.  He had never been so sure of anything in his life. Here was power, strength, and dominance, everything he wanted and more.

Tim fell to his knees bumping his forehead to the ground, almost touching the great, ivory claws. “I will serve you with my life, Great One, only give me  your power and strength,” his words fell to the earth followed by tears of fear, release and joy.

The huge jaws lowered deliberately to hover in the air just above Tim’s head. The breath blew out through enormous nostrils and Tim felt his hair parted and blown about. He didn’t dare to move. Perhaps the Guardian will take my life. He trembled involuntarily at the thought. It would be my honor to serve so, though he hoped the Guardian would have better use for him than that. He kept his head bowed to the ground, clenching his elbows tight to his sides trying to still the trembling that shook him.

It would seem that it did have a better use for him, because he felt the warm wind of breath quiet and the great head move away.
Tim lifted his own head from the ground and risked a glance upward. Large, round pupiled eyes the color of molten gold stared down at him from the bejeweled head, green ridges, dark as obsidian, standing high.

The Guardian slowly turned, long, graceful neck curving around, claws scratching over stone, and moved back into it’s cave. Tim knelt, watching spellbound.  The beautiful creature turned it’s head back once again to look at Tim, as if in invitation.

Tim, tear streaked face full of boyish wonder and pure delight, scrambled to his feet and followed.    
  

 Lisle stood next to Ma-Marn’s trunk in the cottage, face serious, pack on her back. Mina stood beside her. Sunlight streamed in through the window, lighting elongated squares on the worn, woven rug of indeterminate color, covering the floor.
​
“I want you to have this,” Mina said, lifting the lid of Ma-Marn’s trunk and carefully removing the fabric covered Book of One.

“Buh…buh…but…”

“No arguments. You take it. You might have need of it.”

Lisle reverently took the book and unshouldering her pack, placed the book carefully within.

“Th…th…” Lisle swiped at her eyes, as tears started to run down her cheeks.

“I know. Hush now, or you’ll have me crying like a younger.” Mina put her arms around Lisle.  “I’m going to miss you little sister.”

“Mm..mm...me t…too.” Lisle hugged her sister hard and let the tears flow.

Wiping her eyes, Mina insisted on accompanying Lisle to the Guardian’s clearing. Having already weighed down Lisle’s pack with provisions to the very limit of Lisle’s ability to carry it, Mina wanted to bring still more to Gareth.

Calming, Lisle looked at Mina’s preparations questioningly. “H…he’s a huh…huh…hunter, you know.” Lisle said, as if that explained everything. Then she stared as pink rose up in Mina’s neck and traveled up into her cheeks. Lisle rolled her eyes.

“He’ll need more than just meat, you know,” Mina replied, fussing with a piece of red fabric covering the huge basket she intended to bring, and not looking at Lisle.

“F…fine,” said Lisle, smiling at the still blushing Mina.

They started out on the long walk that would take them to the Guardian’s new location. Fortunately, it was early. Early enough that the air was warm but not too warm for an enjoyable excursion. A gentle breeze played in the top branches of the trees as the path they trod twisted through the woods.

“I can hardly believe that Jessamin and Farn gave you permission to go,” said Mina as they walked.

Lisle looked at her sister and nodded. “M…me too.”

“They must really trust the Guardian.”

Lisle nodded again, “A…a…and Guh…Guh…Gareth.”

“Yes, Gareth,” Mina smiled and sighed.

“Yuh…you a…and Guh…Gareth huh?”

Mina looked at Lisle, startled. “Well… not yet… but what would be so wrong with that?” She finished in a rush. Mina’s face turned pink again. She hefted the basket and marched ahead.

Lisle smiled and shook her head, following along in her wake.

A morning of walking brought them to the Guardian’s clearing.

Ell was trotting about, flapping her wings. Gareth was carefully packing his scant possessions. He looked up as the girls entered the clearing, his gaze immediately drawn to Mina. Smiling he put down his pack. He sauntered over to them, or tried to as he barely missed a root that stuck up from the ground in front of him. He did a fast, awkward hop over the root, arms flailing. Recovering his balance and his dignity, he approached Mina.

“Day of the One, Mina.” Then it was as if words failed him. He just looked at her, lips twitching upward.

“Day of the One, Gareth.” Mina, cheeks pink, looked up at him.

Lisle stood next to Mina, looking back and forth between them. She made a disgusted noise and walked over to greet Ell, who had stopped running about and was watching the proceedings.

Lisle hugged Ell about the neck and turned to the pair seemingly locked in place, “L…let’s g…g…go.”

Mina, as if remembering herself, blinked and shoved the large basket toward Gareth.

“I thought you might need some travel food.”

Gareth grasped the basket by the handle and then quickly put his other hand underneath to support the bottom, as the weight of the basket almost dropped from his grasp.

“Thank you, Mina.”

He looked at the basket in his hands and then at Mina. Haltingly, he said, “I’d…I’d…” Then he blurted out in a rush, “I’d like to come back and see you after I get the Guardian and Lisle safely to Guardian Mountain.”

Mina’s face lit up, blue eyes wide, staring up at him. ”I’d like that very much.”

Gareth’s whole face beamed, eyes crinkling, mouth grinning, and cheeks turning rosy.

They looked at each other for what seemed like forever to Lisle.

“Well, shine it, we’d better get going,” said Gareth.

Mina held out her hand to him and he put the basket down and took it in both of his.

“Will you wait?” He asked, his face serious now.

Mina’s stared into his eyes. “Yes.”

Gareth nodded, grinning again, released her hand and bent to lift the basket and walk back to where his pack lay on the ground. Then he stood, looking perplexed as he studied the basket and then his pack, and then the basket again.

“I’ll do that,” said Mina, and she bustled over and made quick work of stuffing his pack full.

Gareth just gazed at her, his lips curved upward, eyes soft.

Finished packing, Mina stepped over to Lisle and Ell, nodded her head respectfully to the Guardian and gave Lisle another hug.

“Stay safe, Lisle. Come back as soon as you can.”

Just then Moss buzzed into the clearing and landed upon the Guardian’s back. A tiny bag hung across her chest. She looked from Lisle, to Mina and then Gareth and nodded.

“Would you look at that,” said Gareth. “Moss is coming with us. Usually, flier folk stay close to home.” He moved closer to where she sat now upon a gleaming ruby ridge on Ell’s back.  “We are honored to have you join us, Moss.” Moss bowed her head in acknowledgment. She lifted into the air, wings whirring and looked back and forth between Gareth and Lisle.

“Ready to go?” Asked Gareth.

Moss nodded once and started off to the North, toward Guardian Mountain. Ell turned and with a running leap and a downward sweep of her wings, took to the air. Lisle started off after them, then turned to wave to Mina. Gareth gathered up his pack and smiled back at Mina. “One keep you,” he said.

“One keep you all,” said Mina, tears in her eyes as she waved her hand.