The Obelisk

-Chapter 40-

“Emperor Avalanche.”

“Yes?”

“The general would like to speak with you, sir.”

“Well bring her in.”

There was a scrabble of claws on stone. A few wing flaps later, there was another, larger set of talons entering the room. The emperor ceased at his writing and slowly turned his head to see the general behind him, bowing deeply.

“Beyla attacks just north-east of the stronghold,” she said, diving right into the subject.

“Oh dear,” Avalanche rasped, pausing to continue his writing. “Was anyone injured?”

“Not much. The soldiers is the area fought bravely, and eventually the Queen retreated back into her cave.”

“Good,” said the emperor, dipping his claw into some ink. “Seal the cave entrance. We don’t want it coming back any time soon. You may leave.” He turned away, focusing his eyes on his document. Dear son, he wrote neatly.

“Of course, sir—“ the general was brambling on, fluffing her wings, “I’ll send soldiers as soon as possible to seal it—but—pardon me—sir—there’s more.”

Avalanche swung his head abruptly in her direction. “More what?” He asked horsely.

“More news,” she said. “Many of the soldiers claim they saw the Five.”

“The five?” Avalanche repeated. “What in Fjordur are you talking about?”

“If I may remind you, they are the carnivores out ally warned us about.”

“Ahh,” the Emperor rasped. “The Five…Hmm. Are you sure?”

“Almost positive.” The general answered. “We believe they are even the ones who triggered the Beyla attack.”

Avalanche suddenly doubled over in a fit of coughs, then regained his strength and stood tall. “What were they?”

“According to most of the soldiers, there was a Kaprosuchus, a Deinonychus, and a Rock Drake.” She said.

“What about the other two?”

“We’re not certain. Some say one was a Shadowmane—but Cavern says that the Dive escaped in the turmoil of the visiting Shadowmane group—so it could have been a misunderstanding.”

Avalanche coughed again and again, covering his face with his wing. “I’m getting too old for this,” he murmured quietly.

He took a deep, shaky breath. “If your asking for permission to capture the Five, General, then you have it. If they are a threat to my reign, then I don’t want them scurrying about in my territory. But you must capture all Five, do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.” She said. “I will lead the search myself. I will also send a group to seal the Beyla cave at once. We will not fail.”

“A l l F i v e,” he repeated, looking her in the eye.”

She bowed a second time before turning away and exiting the room, leaving onto Avalanche and his roomkeeper. All was once again quiet.

A few moments passed. Avalanche coughed weakly.

“Shall I fetch you some food, sir?” His roomkeeper asked.

“No Thankyou,” he said with a small smile. “Please leave me in peace for a bit. I must get back to my document.”

The roomkeeper bowed and left. Avalanche sighed and continued writing.

The Five. He could stop thinking about it.

“They will destroy your land,” his ally had said to him. “If I don’t help. This prophecy—“ he’d thrown a scroll at Avalanches feet—“it was written my a carnivore full of lies. You and me will reveal the truth together.

As the old emperor continued writing, he got more and more sidetracked.

What had the project said?

He coughed, dipping his claw into more ink. Thinking, he swept away his document and pulled out another blank scroll to write in.

Think. What had it said?

He puzzled over the first few words, then gradually, wrote it all down.

In a land of claws and teeth

These wars wage for too long

Nobody knows as it crawls beneath

As everything they know goes wrong

Claws clash claws

Teeth clash teeth

Predators sing a song

Spires break and unleash their power

Some will bond, some will cower

But in a battling world, acrossed the land,

Five carnivores unite,

Unseen to all eyes, until they all rise,

To end this terrible fight.

In a land of claws and teeth.

Creatures seek the light.