The King of the Wyverns

Chapter 1

One year after Ares’ father died…..

Ares flew over a trench which vaguely reminded him of his home- his past home, now- and he turned away. He flew far away from his home in the trench towards where his father had said his mom was born, a snowy land. For many years, Ares had studied maps and memorized his way to the lands.

First over the Stormy Mountains, which lead into an endless amount of trees. After the Land Of Trees, Ares would have to fly through swampy and muggy terrain. The land of snow would follow shortly after. Thankfully, he didn’t have to do it alone.

“Hey, Ares,” Cleo said. “How much longer is this place? We’ve been flying for almost a year!”

Ares snorts. “You know how big this island is?” he asked, referring to the island they live on. “We barely made it out of our town.”

They fly on for a while until Ares said, “Hey, Cleo. You’ve been flying with me for a long time. You helped me hunt, you helped me think independently. So, is there any place you wanna stop?”

Cleo looked sideways at Ares. He avoids eye contact and looks straight ahead. “For real?”

“Yes, Cleo,” Ares answered. After being forced to run away, Ares has matured and became very…. taciturn.

Cleo’s eyes lit up in excitement as she started flying circles around Ares. “Then… what about Wyverns Central? My older brother has always talked about it! It sounds SO exciting.”

Ares had spent a lot of time around Cleo’s older brother, so he knew about the Wyverns Central also. All different types of wyverns gathered there.“I guess we can stop there.”

Cleo shrieked with happiness. “No way! Thanks so much, Ares.”

Ares grunted. “We should stop somewhere around here for tonight.” He looked towards the setting sun and then looked below them. Just trees and a small hill. But wait…. Ares looked closer. In the hillside was a cave with an opening that looked big enough to fit a pretty big wyvern. Maybe even a couple of wyverns.

Cleo hovered right next to Ares. “What?”

He nods toward the aperture. “We can rest there.”

Cleo immediately started flying towards the cave. “Last one there is a rotten egg!”

Ares rolled his eyes at her immaturity, but he was secretly grateful for her joy. If it was just him being glum and boring, he wouldn’t be able to last long. But Cleo gave him something to enjoy every once in a while.

Before long, the wyverns reach the cave. “Hey, I’m gonna explore a little!” Cleo announced.

“Be careful, Cleo,” Ares warned. “We know nothing about this area. For all we know, there could be a swarm of territorial argentavis around here.”

Cleo snorted in disbelief. “Are you not educated? Argentavis live on mountains, silly.”

Ares sighed. “Just be careful.”

Cleo flew away happily as Ares settled into a deep sleep. For months, they had slept on rocks, grass, out in rain, or in smoldering heat. But since he got a cave to sleep in with a roof over his head, he felt an odd sense of peace and tranquility. His peace didn’t last long, though. For the first time in a few months, he had the dream.

“Run, Ares,” his father whispered, “to the Snowy Lands.”

Hiro smirks even harder as the former king’s head lolls to the side. “Grab the prince.”

The guards move to obey and all Ares can do is stand there in shock. “Run Ares!” he hears.

Ares slowly moves his head and looks at Cleo. “Run!” she shouts again.

Hiro shakes his head. “You can’t run. You have nowhere to go.”

A guard grabs Ares’ left wing and Cleo, out of fear for Ares, shoots a massive bolt of lightning at the guard, which sends him flying into the wall.

Hiro screeches. “If you can’t get him yourselves, I will!” Hiro darts at Ares, claws out, and shoves his talons into Ares’ right eye. He wakes from his stupor and starts to thrash around. The other guard which was not hit by Cleo’s attack raises a talon at Ares and-

Ares awoke to being tickled on his neck. “Stop, Cleo.” It continued. “Cleo, I said stop.”

Still, it goes on. He whipped around and started to yell, “Stop Cleo!” when he sees it's not Cleo at all. It's another creature.

“Hi!” says the onyc cheerfully.