The Obelisk

-Chapter 69-

“Wait, now?” Moonbeam asked.

“Yeah.” Said Orbit. He gestured to the Five. “Stay right behind me. Moonbeam, come on.”

They were led outside of the cave and back through the main cavern, where Orbit took a right turn.

A giant rock loomed in a large curve of the clearing, where Orbit was heading. When they reached it, him and Moonbeam jumped onto its base and climbed of the top of the rock.

"Everyone!” Orbit called from the rock. “Everyone assemble for a Camp Gathering.”

Shadowmane after Shadowmane arrived, until there was a crowd big enough to fill the largest cave. Once everyone was present, Orbit cleared his throat quietly.

“You all may have heard by now, that Nyx— Chief Blazehearts daughter— has returned.”

The crowd bustled happily, several Shadowmanes brightening.

Orbit sighed deeply. “But unfortunately, the others have not. Blazeheart and the rest of the group are still at Runheimr.”

“What?”

“Why?”

“All will be explained soon enough.” Orbit said. “But there are other matters to attend to. Although the rest did not come, Nyx has not returned alone. Come on up.”

Forest, Crimson and Rust were first, with Nyx jumping up afterwards.

Forest wheeled around to see Spark, who hesitated. “I’ll just—stay down here.”

“What's wrong?” Forest asked her.

“its—its just a little high.” Spark said nervously.

‘Oh.’ “It’s not that high,” Forest said comfortingly. “Come on. Its Ok.”

She looked up at him. “Ok.”

“These are the juveniles who have helped Nyx return to us,” Orbit was saying from the top of the rock. Forest and Spark stepped up and climbed side by side, stopping to sit just behind Moonbeam.

“We believe that they are the Five.”

This did not seem to satisfy anyone at all. Snarls erupted from parts of the crowd, making Forest feel very, very small, even at the top of that rock above them all.

“Quiet!” Moonbeam roared. “let him speak.”

Orbit gazed down at the mass of Shadowmanes. “I didn’t believe at first either, but so far, everything this prophecy is telling us seems to be true. Evil is lurking, although we don’t know what kind yet. It’s hard to believe, but it’s not impossible. We have to at least be careful. Things like this have happened before—"

“This isn’t Pandora!” A small Shadowmane yelled from the crowd. “That dragon was killed years ago. She’s long gone, if she ever even existed at all.”

“Pandora may be gone,” Moonbeam broke in, “but what did you think? that all evil in the world just died along with her? that nothing bad was ever going to happen again?”

“We l o s t our h o m e.” Moonbeam continued. “Do you really want to stand by and do nothing as others lose theirs? Just like the times of Pandora? Listen, I know several of you are not exactly for this prophecy, but we can n o t be against it.”

“Even if they are who they say they are,” called out an old-looking Shadowmane, “how do you know we can trust them?”

Moonbeam looked down at him, then glanced back at Forest and the others, her expression vacant.

“I mean seriously,” the Shadowmane went on. “One’s a Deinonychus, for Fjordur’s sake.”

Forest glanced at Rust, who was staring down at the ground, blinking.

After a moment, Moonbeam turned back to the crowd below, and yelled, “have you forgotten that Nyx is one of these Five?? Would she betray us? Would she work against us?”

More Shadowmanes talked amongst themselves, whispering and snarling at one another. “So what do we do?” Asked one.

Moonbeam and Orbit met each other’s gaze. A second later, Orbit nodded and stepped back up to the edge of the rock, his voice carrying acrossed the camp. “The prophecy doesn’t tell us much, but we do know these Five are a part of it.”

“It’s not safe!” called the tiny voice of a Shadowmane kit. “Trust no one. That’s what Blazeheart says.”

Forest regarded the small, brightly colored kit. An older Shadowmane pulled him closer to her, and Orbit said sadly, “I know. He is a very smart Shadowmane. I wish he were here too, to make the decision or us.” He let out a breath. “According to Nyx, back at Runhiemr, when these carnivores came to Blazeheart seeking help, he took them in. He trusted them.”

“So I have decided… that the Five will be kept here. To train.”