Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 857: Hunting ()

~The Fodder Grooves, Keep Skies.

The air was dry and humid. Like something tainted, something cursed. The wind billowed softly, but it was sparse and heavy. The trees stood eerily still, branches frail and sickly.

The leaves didn’t sway in the wind. There was hardly any left on the dried out branches, rather, they had all wilted, littering the earth with death and decay.

The lush greenery of the Fodder Grooves was long gone, replaced by a rapidly spreading decline. The Fodder Grooves thrived all year round, the roots of the trees deep enough to survive even the most bitter winters.

This despairing sight was an unusual phenomena in these parts. But nothing touched by shadow toxin remained as it was. This was no exception.

The skies were unusual too. It was daytime, yet there were no clouds to be seen. The sun was gone too. Just a vast expanse of pale grey-blue indifference.

It was like the weather couldn’t decide on what it wanted to be.

The dryness clung to Jian’s skin, itchy and coarse, like he’d been dusted in a layer of sand. Underneath it, a layer of sweat stuck to him, adding to his growing discomfort.

How long had it been since he was out here in the grooves? He wasn’t certain. He’d flown overhead quite a few times but the grooves itself had not been threatened since the troll golem.

Keep skies had always been relatively safe from external threat. At least more so than the other fortresses. And even in the past two months, the growing threat plaguing the Stronghold had stayed away.

Until now...

A few days ago, the first dimension crack within the vicinity of Keep skies ripped open right at the boundary of the Fodder Grooves. The earth had caved, taking down with it a third of the groove.

Now, shadow toxin leaked out of the crack, poisoning what was left of the groove.

For a short time, the crack laid inactive. Until a day ago. The first activity was marked by the rise of a great orc, and the Fodder Grooves had become a battlefield.

In the chaos, something sinister had slipped by the well guarded perimeter.

"How long?" Jian asked, his eyes narrowed in displeasure.

His fists were clenched tightly and his gaze moved between Verothrax and Decaron. Both dragon lords lowered their heads in guilt.

"Half a day." Decaron reported in a grim tone.

Half a day... it’d been that long since the manticore pack emerged from the dimension crack in the midst of the battle.

It was long enough time for the beasts to have covered a great distance in any direction. They could be headed anywhere.

To Dusk Castle, to the Elf settlement South...Creator forbid, to the Citadel.

"How is it that a pack of forlorn beasts could get past you both? With the entire fourth squadron at your disposal?" Jian’s tone was eerily calm, but his eyes shone with a dark, deathly fury.

"I have no excuses." Verothrax muttered, his tone barely audible.

Jian hissed lowly. That in itself was an excuse. One he didn’t appreciate.

His predator surged forwards, seeking an outlet for his building rage. The temperature in the clearing dropped steadily. A layer of frost formed beneath his feet, spreading rapidly.

Xenon’s hand moved to his shoulder, centering him. The cloud of rage was cleared by a measure. The frost retreated, and then disappeared.

Jian turned, facing away from his subordinates. His eyes went closed, steadying the chaos within him.

Xenon stepped forward. "It is imperative we track them down." He said

"Before they get too far. Manticores have an insatiable appetite for human flesh...it’s most likely they will head to the Citadel, where there is a large population of humans." He asserted thoughtfully.

"Cassian and the Keep dragons are on the lookout. But at their known speed, it will take a day more than flight to arrive at the Citadel. We need to cut them off here in the Fodder Grooves."

"Rauron already caught their tracks." Decaron reported. "On your order, My Liege."

Jian finally faced them again. "Split the squadron in two. Decaron will come with me to go after the forlorn... Verothrax will stay behind and guard the perimeter of the dimension crack until the mages lock it down."

"My Liege... I..." Verothrax protested.

"You’re still injured and unfit for battle." Xenon interrupted. "You will do as you’re told."

Verothrax glanced at Jian in dismay. But Jian had already turned away. He made to step closer but Xenon was faster, blocking his path to Jian with a dark glare.

"Stand down, boy." Xenon warned.

Jian sighed. "Let him through, Xenon."

Xenon’s glare lingered on Verothrax for a moment longer before he stepped aside.

Verothrax stopped a few paces away from Jian.

"My Liege, send me to battle." He lowered his head to a bow. "This is the only way I can... make up for turning on you."

"My sin...can never be compensated for." Verothrax’s voice broke, "So just let me...do what I know how to do. I can keep you safe, if nothing else."

"No." Jian replied blankly. "You’ve done enough. Your death... won’t ease my burden or bring her back to me."

"Jian..." Verothrax whispered, barely audible.

Jian turned to meet his gaze. "Guard the dimension crack and keep the mages safe. Those are your orders."

He turned to Xenon. "Summon Egwain. And Let’s go hunting." He strode away.

Xenon nodded once. His gaze moved to Verothrax who still stood rooted in place.

"I meant no disrespect, My Lord." Verothrax muttered, inclining his head in apology.

Xenon’s gaze narrowed slightly. "I know."

"But I expect you to know...not to force his hand in these times. It is hard enough on him already, Verothrax."

"I just..." Verothrax trailed off, his head hung low.

"I know you think of him as a father. And you wish to ease his burden, fight alongside him, and prove yourself worthy of his love. But that is your wrong. You keep trying to prove, when you already have it... what you seek."

Verothrax’s shoulders trembled visibly.

"You’ve been away from civilization too long, Verothrax. Take this time to relearn what it means to stand by his side. As long as you cause him pain... I will not tolerate you." Xenon paused, "And his safety is my responsibility, not yours."

He turned and followed after Jian.

________

The skies darkened, signalling the beginnings of a storm. A flash of lightning tore through the sky, and a clap of thunder echoed in the distance.

Down below, the Fodder Grooves, or what was left for it, stretched for miles. Trees grayed and bowed, like a stronger wind would topple them over. The stench of decay rose to the skies, evidence of the trail of wildlife carcasses Rauron followed.

The pack of maticore had ravaged through the groove, leaving behind a trail of destruction. But it wasn’t so easy to track them.

The forlorn beasts were swift in movement and their senses were extremely sharp. They were as rare as the Hydra beast and so Jian himself didn’t know much about their patterns, save for the sparse memory of tales from the age of the forlorn, that had been passed down from his father.

The beasts moved in a well organized pattern. They knew to conceal their tracks by creating misleading tracks. They also left watch guards behind to keep note of how close their pursuers were, even at the risk of reducing their numbers.

The pack numbered to about four dozen from Decaron’s report. In the past hour, they’d hunted down over a dozen stray maticore watch guards.

But the actual pack itself was still elusive. The dense foliage of the Fodder Grooves, even in its state, provided the beasts an advantage to remain hidden, especially from watchers in the skies.

It’d taken much longer than Jian had thought it would, but by Rauron’s calculations, they were catching up to the main pack and would be on them soon.

Jian couldn’t wait to be done with it. He’d been forced out of Dragon Keep for this reason alone and all he wanted to do was return to his quarters and ignore the world for another few days.

While he would not have been moved to handle it in person if it were any other situation, this was too close to Keep Skies. Too close to his territory...

He’d washed his hands off the conflicts of the stronghold, but dragon territory? That was off limits. Be it to the tributary races or damned beasts creeping up from the abyss. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Jian caught a swift movement from the corner of his eyes. It was far down below, hidden beneath the towering trees but it was unmistakable.

"There." Xenon’s voice in Jian’s head confirmed he had also caught the shift down below.

"Rauron?" Jian asked Xenon.

"He’s closing in with the second squadron. Decaron has cut off their retreat." Xenon replied.

"Go. Take care of it." Jian ordered.

Xenon wasted no time, he shot down, and soon disappeared below.

Jian descended slowly till he was just above the tree lines, circling the perimeter.

At this level, the pack had become visible. The hideous beasts barricaded in on all sides by the second squadron.

"Wipe them out." Jian ordered without hesitation.