Journey Chapter 43

Several hours had passed since Kaminari asked if Forest could take Coral with him. And to top it off, he wasn’t sure what answer he should give. He, Crimson, and Nightfall were in the air being carried by Blazerunner and two new wyverns to where the feast was going to take place.

“Here it is for you three, festival bridge.” Blazerunner said enthusiastically. The area was a land bridge between the mountains and the wasteland desert. The bridge had shrubbery and trees for cover. In the center of the bridge were many wyverns sitting, and mingling around a large, black runway of stones. In the center of this runway were several dead herbivore carcasses lined up in a neat row.

President Kaminari was talking to several wyverns he'd met on the mountain before. Coral told him that they were council members of Kaminari’s. As they landed, Kaminari looked and spotted them as they landed and smiled widely.

“Our guests of honor have arrived!!!” Kaminari shouted with excitement, they walked over to where he was sitting and he gestured to where he wanted them to sit. Methuselah was already there, sitting beside Kaminari, and had Crimson sit next to him. As Forest set his bag down with him, he looked around for Coral and her family but they weren’t there yet. Coral and Viper had told them that they might be later to the feast than he and the others. So he wasn’t too surprised about it.

Kaminari called two orange wyverns over to him and told them to do something. Immediately they went into the air and flew close to the ground; they then spewed fire and caught a blaze the carcasses and the black stones turned red with flames. Forest and Crimson jumped at the sight of this. Nightfall cheered on the explosion of fire the two wyverns made. Methuselah and Kaminari chuckled at this and Crimson and Forest’s reaction to this event.

“You’ve never seen a fire pit before, have you two?” Kaminari said, Forest and Crimson shook their heads; Kaminari was right. They had never seen anything like this before. Forest was amazed by this.

“No, I haven’t.” Forest. Kaminari smiled at Forest with a joyful grin.

“Well, I hope you enjoy what you're seeing! And I hope you like cooked meat; we eat it during special occasions like this one tonight.” Kaminari said. Forest looked at him with a surprised expression.

“I’ve never really had any before.” He said. Crimson hissed as she heard him say this.

“Never had it either, but who cares, it’s meat. It’ll taste good enough to eat.” Crimson said. Kaminari laughed.

“Indeed!! But we also put some, unique blends of taste in the meat.” Kaminari said. As he spoke several more wyverns flew past, dropping trees on the pit and several bushes. Some of the fire wyverns landed on the coals, quickly stuffing the bushes of plants into the carcasses.

“What are they doing?!?” Crimson shouted. “THEY'RE GONNA RUIN THE MEAT!!!” she went on as she started charging the pit, but Kaminari spread his wings out in front of her.

“Now hold it, you can’t go out there. The coals will cook your flesh before you make it to save them. And they don’t need saving; it’s actually aiding it.”

“What do you mean?” Forest asked. Now curious himself at what was occurring.

“He means, that by cooking the meat, it lasts longer than raw meat, and the coals give the meat a unique flavor.” Methuselah said as he strode over, hauling large pillars of white rock behind him. Forest looked confused at this statement.

“What?”

“Well, cooked meat is great and all, but its taste is further pushed when blended with some of the leaves of specific bushes,” Kaminari added.

“—And with salt too.” Methuselah said as he dove into the sand and started swimming in it towards a large deposit of salt. And without hesitation, Methuselah rammed the salt pillars into smaller chunks. As he finished breaking them down further, he emerged from the sand and returned to his seat. Fire Wyverns took the smaller chunks of salt and flew them into the fire pit as soon as he did. Landing and placed them inside the carcasses along with the bushes. Crimson’s face said it all for her. She was very surprised and seemed speechless at what they were saying.

“If you say so.” she said. Methuselah chuckled.

“Believe me, I understand; I was the same way when I was a hatchling. But once you try the meat this way. You’ll never want it any other way.” Methuselah said.

“I’ve heard it’s to die for!! And this will be perfect to try with the show that’ll be put on!!” Nightfall said unable to hold his excitement.

“Show?” Crimson asked.

“Oh, you’ll love it—” Methuselah said. He went on discussing what this "show" would be. But Forest was getting distracted by something he had noticed. Kaminari had the same burns on him as Coral, but he also had burns that looked completely different. Forest had seen those burns before, but he didn’t remember where. He looked back at Crimson trying to remember where he had seen them, and then, it hit him. Methuselah, he remembered that he had burns on him. He could even see from here; he had the same burns on his back as both Coral and Kaminari. Though he had another set of burns, Forest had to guess it had something to do with one of the wyverns. Forest had to ask about this.

He looked back at Kaminari who seemed to be admiring something behind Forest, but there was nothing but Crimson and Methuselah talking behind him.

“Uh, President Kaminari…” Forest said, grabbing his attention from wherever it had been.

“Yes, Forest?” He asked.

“Why do you and Methuselah have burns on you that seem to be from other wyverns? Did they attack you like they attack Coral?” Forest asked. Kaminari sighed.

“Well, they did, but it wasn’t out of spite like they did for Methuselah. Or, in Coral’s case, fear. No, this mark is to signify growth.” Kaminari answered.

“Growth? What do you mean growth?” Forest asked.

“Patience young one; this is one of the reasons why we are having this event, tonight.” Kaminari said. Forest sat there, wondering what he meant. He honestly couldn’t piece it together.

As the sun began setting, the more this event felt truly impactful, and over the top for him and Crimson. Wyverns began to gather around the fire pit in droves, young, old, scarred, and fresh-skinned. So many had come. And more and more meat was placed and seasoned in the pit. It was becoming larger than he hoped it would be. Crimson seemed to be irritated by it too, but Methuselah was keeping her company and mostly distracted from the gathering crowds. Forest was also being treated like royalty by many of the wyverns that passed by him. Usually started with Kaminari introducing him as the dragon slayer of legend. Leading them into awe, asking him questions about what his world was like, why he had shown up now, and if he was liking their home. He answered as honestly and as best he could. But most of them were less interested in the answers and more interested in just talking and relating to him.

Forest also noticed how Nightfall was getting the attention of a few of the older, longer-frilled Lightning Wyverns. He heard several whispers and hisses under their breath, and saw a good few scowls as they passed him by. It seemed that Nightfall’s words were true; the wyverns knew the Troodons' secret of their Order, at least the lightning wyverns did. Nightfall tried to ignore most of the hate, but Forest did catch Nightfall hiss back at some of the wyverns or stick his tongue out. When Forest looked back at Kaminari after the last time, he noticed that Kaminari would also be staring with an irritated, and slightly disgusted face; though, he wasn’t sure it was a face he was making at Nightfall, or his own kind. And when Kaminari finally noticed that Forest was watching him. His face was covered in guilt.

“I do apologize for my rude behavior; it’s just hard watching your kin be disgraceful to a guest. Even if one is… like your friend. He's still a guest, and a guest should be treated with respect.” He said. Forest sat there and sighed.

“Nightfall had told me about this adamant resentment of one another. I know he can be a bit much, but he’s been a great help to us; he really has.” Forest said. Kaminari looked down at him, seemingly surprised.

“He told you?”

“He told us a good amount of that, their Order and some other things. He’s a deserter.” Forest explained. Kaminari seemed to get quite interested in what Forest had said about Nightfall

“A deserter? Interesting… Deserters don’t get to survive long from what we know; usually, they're killed within a few weeks. Your friend is lucky to have survived for as long as he has.” Kaminari said. Forest nodded his head.

“Yes, that is very true.” Forest agreed.

“You must be good friends with him for him to trust you with all of that.” Kaminari said.

“I guess so. I’ve only known him for a few days, though.” Forest admitted. Kaminari nodded his head.

“Yes, Methuselah told me he wasn’t from the same place as you or Crimson. Which makes me uneasy about him being here.” Kaminari stated as he looked back over at Nightfall.

“I know, but he is trustworthy; he helped me get here, and he helped us survive here and helped me survive his home, the Island for the short time we were there. And even for the small time I have known him, he’s shown me that he would do anything to help me.” Forest said to defend Nightfall. Kaminari nodded to this.

“I see; I can understand why you trust him. But if it’s all the same to you, I would like to take a private conversation with him when we begin the feast.” Kaminari stated. Forest, nodded apprehensively. In this moment, he was scared of what Kaminari wanted to speak with him about. “Speaking of this ‘Island’, how did you end up there? You said your home was Fjordur. And Methuselah really couldn’t explain it to me well. On how you ended up there on the Island.” Kaminari continued.

“I… don’t know. We were burying the rune one minute. Then the next moment, I was in Nightfall’s world.” Forest answered.

“Wait, why were you trying to bury the rune? ” Kaminari asked confused. Forest realized he had said too much of what had happened, and panicked slightly.

“I… well, you see it was a sort of memorial moment that we were doing for the anniversary of saving Fjordur. We wanted to bury it as a sign of peace and hope that we would never have to use it again.” Forest said in a stir. Kaminari didn’t seem to notice but nodded, interested in what Forest said.

“I see, well. It seems that it’s time is needed once again.” Kaminari said. Forest smiled awkwardly and nodded.

“Yes, it does seem to be the case.” He said. Trying to act proud that he was chosen, but the truth was. All that he could think of was how much he wished he could be home again and never see the Rune again. He sighed and looked over to see what Crimson and Methuselah were doing, but it was in fact Crimson who was watching Kaminari and Forest talk while Methuselah was talking to an older-looking wyvern next to him. Forest was surprised and smiled awkwardly; Crimson just glared at him before going to listen to Methuselah’s conversation. Forest was even more surprised by her reaction.

‘What was that all about?’ He thought as he sat there confused about why she would be giving him the cold shoulder.

A few moments passed, with fire wyverns flying in with new corpses, moving the corpses of the animals that were on the burning coals and adding small plant matter to them and the new ones. Forest could notice the smell coming from the meat, and it was like nothing that he had ever smelled before. Even Crimson seemed surprised by how it smelled. It was a good smell. It smelled of meat that he had always eaten, but there was so much more. He could smell smoke, but it was of meat and small bits of plant. The plant’s smoke stung his nose, bearing a scent that smelled hot and stingy. But really good with the smoky meat. All he could hear for a moment was his stomach growl.

Then, a fire wyvern flew from the fire pit, over to Kaminari. Whispering into his ear. Kaminari nodded and permitted the wyvern to return to his duties.

“Family, friends, Wyverns of all!! I have been told that our first set meals are ready to be served. Now, of course, not all wyverns are here. But, that is alright, as we have enough Morellatops to feed the entire scar and then some.” Kaminari declared. “But, this feast has been prepared for the Wyvern Slayers. Therefore, they’ll be the first to be served!!” he continued. As he spoke two fire Wyverns carved some of the meat off of the animals in the pit, both bringing meat over to him, and Crimson in their teeth. As they came over, they seemed to be awkward about something or another as they talked to each other.

“I’m sorry to say this to you now Forest and Crimson, but could the two of you move back off the feeding stones? We don’t want the meat to get covered in sand.” Kaminari said. Forest and Crimson looked down at the large smooth stones they were sitting on. Forest then looked around to see that everyone else, including Nightfall, had the same stones and sat in front of these stones.

“Oh, I’m sorry… I’m really sorry.” Forest apologized as he backed up behind the stone and started wiping off any of the dirt and sand he had gotten on it with his tail. He felt horrible for getting it dirty.

“Gee, should have been something told to us sooner…” Crimson grumbled. Forest gave her a look; she scowled back. “Just saying what was on my mind, just like it was your mind, Forest.” Crimson snapped.

“I do apologize for not saying anything. I hadn’t noticed you two were sitting on our feeding stones. Is that not something you normally have?” Kaminari asked.

“Well, it's not something we normally see, and not to this size either.” Forest answered. As he spoke, the servers set the food upon their feeding stones. Forest sniffed the food and it almost smelled like heaven. He looked over at Crimson who was taking big sniffs of the meat, and touching it with her claws. She was very hesitant about what this food was in front of her; since neither of them had ever even heard about the idea of cooking meat. Forest was more so curious about it than worried though. He didn’t hesitate to bite it. And as he swallowed his first bite, an explosion of taste occurred in his mouth. So many flavors, so many different tastes; even the taste of the meat was so different. It didn’t blend at all, and it made him want to gag. But with all the wyverns watching, he didn’t want to seem rude. So he continued to chew and swallowed it.

“What do you think of it?” Kaminari asked perky towards Forest.

“It’s interesting,” He said as he thought about what he would say. He grabbed another piece of meat and started eating it, although, he wasn’t sure why. “I think I like it.” Forest said as he ate the next piece. The tastes were growing on him a bit. Though it would take a while for him to do so.

“Don’t worry about holding your tongue about how you think it is right now. Most of our guests have said it’s overbearing for their first time.” Kaminari said. Forest stayed quiet as he chewed the next piece in his mouth.

“It’s alright, not fish or even raw. But, I can eat it.” Crimson remarked as she ate. Kaminari smiled.

“Let the feast begin!!” Kaminari announced. The wyverns cheered on as several more wyverns started helping carve the roasting Morellatops. As the festivities continued, Forest watched as he saw Viper come to the feast with Coral and two other younger wyverns. Forest could only assume they were Coral’s siblings. Coral waved at the three of them as she landed by her meal on the other side of the coal pit. Forest waved back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nightfall being guided away from his meal to talk in private with Kaminari.

“We need to talk about your issue Forest.” Crimson said. Forest gave a strange look at her statement.

“What issue?” Forest asked.

“Your issue with the Rune; you’ve been strange even before we were flung who knows where.” Crimson said as she chewed on the cooked meat in front of her. Forest sat there and sighed. He wasn’t really wanting to talk about it, at all. So he redirected the conversation.

“We need to take Coral with us.” Forest blurted. Crimson's eyes widened into a glaring rage.

“WHAT! Why in Vanaheim would you think we would need to take her!!” Crimson snapped. Forest shrugged.

“I wasn’t at first, but President Kaminari requested that we take her, and Viper also wishes the same thing.” Forest said. Crimson let out a sarcastic laugh.

“Great— even her kin are annoyed by her that they ask strangers to take her away.” Crimson remarked.

“Crimson, she’s their seer. Kaminari has told me she’s had dreams that only a seer would have.” Forest said.

“Yeah, no dung she’s a seer. She’s strange enough just to be the answer.” Crimson said. “No Crimson, I mean Kaminari told me they have a prophecy of their own, one that says there is a chosen seer to leave the scar and go with three travelers to a new world.” Forest said. Crimson shook her head as she looked at Forest.

“How convenient, he says all this now. Even if it is true, how is he to assume we’re the ones to take her, or even that she’s the seer?”

“Because he told me of one of her visions, and it was of Fjordur.” Forest answered. Crimson’s suspicious look disappeared with one of shock.

“She had a vision of Fjordur? Are you sure?” Crimson asked.

“From what he had told me of her dream, it sounded almost exactly like it.” Forest said.

“Well, that still doesn’t mean-” “Look, I already told you I think we are missing someone who needs to follow us on this adventure back home and this is making me wonder if she isn’t the one.” Forest said. Crimson snorted.

“About that, what did you even mean about that? Why do you think we are missing someone?”

“Because of Nightfall, Nightfall for some reason came with me here when I arrived here, and I think we need someone to come with us from here to our next stop.” Forest said. Crimson bit hard into the meat she ate.

“But does it have to be her?”

“I don’t know…” Forest said as he wasn’t sure what to do. But, as he sat there. An idea formed of how he could find an answer. “—Let me try something.” He continued. He grabbed the rune; and it hummed lightly as he grabbed it, and its dull green glow shone through Forest’s eyes. He then turned back and looked in the direction of Coral. And waved her over. At first there was hesitance from her, but it was soon broken as she excitedly got up from her loafing and flew over the coals towards Crimson and Forest. As soon as she did, two of the young wyverns next to her went off after her too.

“What are you doing?” Crimson asked.

“Testing something.” Forest said as he continued to wave her over. As she landed and got closer to them. Forest looked down at the rune to see its dull glow grow brighter as she drew closer to them. Similar to how the rune acted with Nightfall.

“Hi guys, what’s up?” Coral asked. Forest wasn’t really sure what to say.

“Uh, I wanted to test something with you if it’s okay.” Forest asked.

“Uh… ok.” Coral answered hesitantly. Forest smiled. As they spoke, the other two wyverns came to a landing and lumbered over.

“Coral, what are you doing?! We should be seated until Kaminari comes over for the ceremony. And if Mom catches us over here disturbing the guests of honor, she’ll clip our wings!!” The larger wyvern snapped. He was a dull brown with slight yellowish accents on his wings, and he had a large, floppy, frill for a young wyvern, even though he towered over all of them there.

“I know Terciopelo, but” “Fer-De-Lance” he interjected. “…Forest asked me to come over to test something on his mind.” Coral responded as she ignored his interjection. “Oh, Forest, this is Ter-Fer-De-Lance, my older brother.” he continued.

“Nice to meet you.” Forest said. He was slightly scared of her brother being here. Then, the smaller wyvern shot around from behind Fer-De-Lance.

“Forest, that’s a cool name!!” She said as she then ran up to him and started trying to climb on his back. Forest was startled at this; he wasn’t expecting something like this.

“Gah, Twig!! Stop that, you can’t just climb on everyone’s backs!! Especially the guests of honor!!” Fer-De-Lance snapped. She seemed to ignore him as she crawled over from Forest’s back to his shoulder and perched there.

“What are you? I have never seen anything like you?” Twig asked as she jumped off his shoulder and walked over to Crimson.

“Hi there! You have very sharp teeth; what’s your name?” Twig asked. Crimson smouldered for a second as she looked at the small wyvern about three-quarters Crimson’s size.

“Crimson.” She said. Twig’s eyes perked up with amazement

“That’s a cool name!!” Twig said amazed. Crimson raised an eyebrow.

“Do you even know what these names mean?” She asked confused at the young wyvern.

“Nope, but they still sound cooler than mine. Also, what are you?” Twig asked Crimson this time.

“I’m a Rock Drake, and she’s a Kapro. Also, thank you. Though I think my name is kinda silly.” Forest responded for Crimson. Crimson gave a small scowl as he answered for her.

“It’s not, believe me, being called Twig is silly. Like I have the same name as a stick!! At least you got an interesting name.” Twig responded in a very serious tone. Forest smiled.

“Thank you, Twig. And I don’t think your name is silly either; it’s a very good name.”

Forest said. Twig smiled wide as she giggled and hopped back over to her brother; who looked slightly embarrassed.

“I’m sorry about her; she’s only two, and at this age, they ask a LOT of questions.” Fer-De-Lance said as he looked down at Twig, who stuck out her tongue at him.

“It’s fine, I understand and don’t have any problem with that.” Forest said.

“Uh, Forest, you had asked me to test something?” Coral asked a bit sheepishly. Forest’s eyes widened as he realized he got off track.

“Oh, right!! Thank you for reminding me!! Could you hold the rune for a minute?” Forest asked. Crimson gave him a look of confusion at what he was up to. Coral’s eyes widened with shock. Terciopelo gave a gaze of dread.

“You… you want me to hold the rune?” Coral asked as she looked at the Rune. Her violet eyes reflected the shimmering of the Rune.

“Better, question. Is that thing safe for her to hold?” Fer-De-Lance asked.

“The last wyvern who held it disappeared without a trace in front of our eyes.” Crimson remarked. Forest wasn’t sure if this was a warning, or a suggestion. Fer-De-Lance didn’t like it either way.

“I’m sorry, what?” He said with a hiss.

“Ignore Crimson; those were severely different circumstances. I’m confident it’s safe to hold for you.” Forest said awkwardly. He stretched out his claws towards her with the rune.

“I don’t like this one bit, Coral. Don’t take it from him.” Fer-De-Lance said. Coral just stood there for a moment, staring into the Rune right in front of her. Her face expressed that she was deeply uncomfortable with the idea of taking it from Forest. She looked up.

“It’s okay Coral, trust me. It won’t do anything to you.” Forest reassured her. She smiled softly as he did.

“Coral, don’t!!” Fer-De-Lance hissed. She sighed and slowly grabbed it. Terciopelo’s eyes widened in fear at what would happen. As she held it, nothing happened, at least, nothing absurd. All that occurred was the rune pulsing fast and timely in luminous flashes. Her eyes’ widened at the sight of this. She was in pure amazement.

“Phew…” Fer-De-Lance sighed. “Don’t do that again Coral, now give the Wyvern Slayer his weapon back, before something else happens.” He continued in a slight hiss. Coral looked at her brother with contempt before handing it back to Forest.

“Thank you for letting me do that. Was—was that a good thing?” Coral asked as she gave it back. Forest looked over at Crimson who was shocked, although, Coral and her sibling would have thought she was disgusted.

“It’s… a curious sight to see. But I would say it's a good sign.” Forest said smiling, knowing that she was who they were looking for. Coral seemed to blush. Crimson grumbled to herself slightly before turning away for a minute.

“Coral, we better be going now.” Fer-De-Lance said as he put Twig on his back.

“I’m gonna stay for a moment longer Terci.” Coral said. He scowled.

“Coral, we need to go.” He said in a stern voice.

“Then go; I’ll be over in a minute, and it’s not like you do this with your friends at other festivals” Coral said. A seething glare pierced out of her brother’s eyes.

“Coral!!” Fer-De-Lance hissed.

“Go Fer-De Lance!!” she snapped. He paused as he was about to fight harder, then snorted.

“Suit yourself, I ain’t taking the heat for your disobedience. Especially tonight. Goodnight Crimson, goodnight Forest. I hope you enjoy tonight.” He said before flying back. Forest could see Twig wave her wing as they flew away. He looked back at Coral who seemed embarrassed.

“Sorry about that, I didn’t mean to ruin your night with all of this debacle. Have you enjoyed the beginning of the festival so far? I mean, it hasn’t even really started yet, but, you get what I mean.” Coral asked as she tripped over her own words.

“Eh, that was the most entertaining part of the night for me so far. As for the festival, it’s a bit much for me, all this for us? Just doesn’t seem right. Cooked meat, a large gathering to showcase people you don’t know or that even do anything for you? It’s just crazy.” Crimson said.

“Respectfully, you and your companions will be heroes to us just as much as you are to your home. And this is the very least we can do… but, this event isn’t exclusive to you either. Tonight’s the Festival of Age, where young wyverns are proclaimed into young adulthood. The feast was in your honor though.” Coral said as she sat in a more upright position. Crimson rolled her eyes and huffed.

“Same difference.”

“Are you one of the wyverns to be proclaimed Coral?” Forest asked.

“Me? No… not for another few years; I shouldn’t be. Terciopelo should be called up tonight. He’s a bit nervous, but I know he’ll do great!!” Coral said enthusiastically.

“Well, I hope it goes well for him too!!” Forest said. As he spoke, Kaminari walked back with Nightfall trailing behind. Kaminari sat down at his place in front at the feast. He smiled seeing Coral with the others.

“Good to see you here tonight Coral!!” Kaminari said with a smile.

“I always love the festivals, plus I can’t wait to see my brother be declared an adult!” Coral said.

“Indeed, it will be quite an interesting night tonight, for everyone” Kaminari said. Coral smiled as she looked to Forest and Crimson.

“Well, I better head back to my seat. I’ll see you after the festival.” Coral said as she flew back across the fire pit. Nightfall looked at Crimson and Forest as they watched her cross.

“Why was she over here you guys?” Nightfall asked. Forest looked over at him.

“We were testing something… and we have our answer.” Forest said smiling. “What did Kaminari want to talk to you about?” Forest asked.

“Oh, not much. He told me to enjoy the feast, and festival. Told me the night would be enjoyable for all of us. And he threatened me if I planned to betray them. You know, the usual type of stuff.” Nightfall said.

“Oh… that’s very kind of him” Forest said hesitantly.

“I think so.” Nightfall said as he sat down to eat.

As the evening progressed and the sun rose down on the earth. Music started to play as drums by wyverns on the ground in a powerful, yet elegant beat. Other strange yet beautiful-sounding instruments were also beginning to play to build up this song. Forest felt this strange feeling overtake him as he sat there. He had felt the music play to him deeply before, but this wasn’t something he had ever really felt before. It was primal, almost calling to him to leap in the air. The music played on as his chest felt lighter and his feathery crest stood up.

“Forest,” Crimson whispered. “What is wrong with your feather face?” Crimson went on. As he was about to say he wasn’t sure. Forest and the others watched as some of the wyverns began to fly into the air. And he watched as several of the fire wyverns flew high into the air. Locked talons with each other and started plummeting back to the ground. Spiraling in a fast spin, and spewing fire into intricate designs, they fell to the ground before releasing each other’s claws and flying away from the ground. It was jaw-dropping to Forest.

“They call that dance the Ring of Fire.” Nightfall said as he was in admiration of more of the wyverns beginning to do the same thing.

“That’s a dance?” Forest asked in shock.

“Yes, the Wyverns of the World’s Scar of Scorched Earth are all known for their dances during their festivals. But even word of mouth doesn’t compare to seeing it right in front of you.” He said watching the sky.

“That is an understatement.” Crimson said as she tried not to look amazed by their dancing. But Forest could tell she was just as amazed and in awe as they were. And Nightfall was right. The sky lit up with beautiful designs of fire and even smoke as the fires dissipated. For a few minutes, his head just stayed adjusted facing the dusk sky at the dancing wyverns. It made him wish he could fly like that. Especially as the sun started to set behind the dancing wyverns.

“Drakainas and Drakons, please return to your seats, and may I have all of your attention, please!!” Kaminari's voice boomed across the Scar as he sat in front of the fire pit. Within minutes, many of the wyverns flying around the event and dancing across the sky quickly returned to their seats.

“We’ll return to much of our festivities here once again. But, since sunset is approaching I think it is time for the main event of the night to occur.” Kaminari said. “For our guests and the few hatchlings that don’t know. This is our annual Festival of Age. Where wyverns who have reached the age where they are called to get the Marks of Adulthood. These marks, are burns given by adult wyverns from two of the three wyverns of the scar. Usually, each wyvern type gets the burns of the other two wyverns, but, there have been exceptions to this rule.” Kaminari continued as he looked at Methuselah.

“May the wyverns who have reached the age of trial come line up behind me.” Kaminari said with a thunderous boom. Forest watched as over a dozen wyverns flew out of the crowd of wyverns and circled over to Kaminari and landed in a fine row. Forest could see Coral’s brother in the group of them.

“Drakainas and Drakons, these are the wyverns who will be known from now on, as adults. These are your children, your brothers, and sisters. Your neighbors and relatives. We have all watched them grow from little hatchlings that chewed on their shells, into fine and mature wyverns. And I couldn’t deny that I am proud to be able to call upon these wyverns as adults tonight. May I call for Commander Viper, and Ashriser to come stand beside me.” Kaminari said. Viper stood to her feet and flew over to stand next to Kaminari, then another wyvern, gray in scaling with touches of orange landed next to Kaminari as well. There was a moment of pause and silence; Kaminari looked up at the mountains seeming to search for the right words he wanted to say.

“Commander Viper, and Ashriser, one of the scout leaders for many years, will be helping me give these wyverns their marks tonight. As they are examples of what one of us can become. Strong, wise, and fearless draconians in our society.” Kaminari said as he looked back up into the mountains.

“But… there’s one other wyvern I want to-” he paused as he continued his speech. He continued looking into the mountains. As he ate more of the overflavored meat, Forest looked in the same direction Kaminari looked, and he gaped with his food-filled mouth. Birds, hundreds of Argentavises perched across the side of the sunlight-covered mountain. Sitting in plain sight.

As Forest stood there, he heard the loud echoing of dozens of squawks of the Argentavises, and Forest watched as they launched themselves into the air and flew towards the gathering of wyverns below.

“PREPARE FOR BATTLE, WE’VE BEEN AMBUSHED!!!” Kaminari shouted.