The Summoner's Mark (First Draft) (Book One)

Changing Course

Upon stepping foot into the area, the first thing that Sin noticed was the half-eaten corpses that littered the ground and while the species of Fae that the bodies belonged too weren't ones that he has had the pleasure of meeting in person; he knew the name of the species thanks to the bestiary that he spends his time perusing.

Even though not every dead Fae still had their head adorning their body; it was clear from the feline body and avian wings, that these Fae were members of the Griffin species though this was even more clear from the two of the three Fae that were still living within the area.

Two out of the three Fae were circling one another while another was cowering a distance away from them as if it were trying to keep itself hidden from the fight that was about to transpire.

Even though Sin was thankful for bringing him to the location that contained the Fae that he was wishing to claim; he wasn't expecting that when he got here that he would be met with a scene that was filled with an abundant level of bloodshed and carnage that had caused the Mages over a millennium ago to place the barrier between their two realms in the first place.

"This Minotaur must have found itself in a Griffin nest and decided that a feast would be the best course of action." Sin muttered out as he tried to move himself a little farther away from the carnage that he walked in on.

Sin knew that the creatures of this world were violent creatures especially the one that he had come to claim; considering that he wasn't expecting the carnage that he came upon, he was beginning to teeter on the edge of whether he should flee and find another Fae to claim instead.

Before he was able to make his decision, the Griffin that was facing off against the Minotaur sent a screech soaring into the air that was so high pitched that Sin felt as if his ears were about to start bleeding. With the screech still echoing through the air around them, the Griffin took to the air.

Flapping the large wings that adorned its body, dust soared into the air as the Fae began to take itself higher and higher. Seeing this, the Minotaur must have assumed that it was about to be attacked considering that it sprinted forward.

Though this wasn't the first time that Sin had witnessed the speed in which a Minotaur could move, despite its size; Sin was still slightly surprised by this. While the Griffin was already aloft, it didn't move fast enough and ended up with the Minotaur grasping ahold of one of its legs. Suddenly, the Minotaur started to spin itself around in a circle which would clearly disorient anyone or anything that this happened to.

After a few moments passed, the Minotaur brought its arms in a downward motion which ended up slamming the Griffin into the ground. A pain filled screech tore from the Griffin as it continued to struggle against its enemy.

In its struggle to free itself from the Minotaur, the Griffin slashed its claws across its enemy's chest and as the ribbons appeared upon the Minotaur's flesh; Sin watched as the Fae's black blood seeped from the wounds that appeared. While the attack appeared to pain the Minotaur, it didn't stop if from continuing to attack the creature it had pinned to the ground.

Horror flooded through him which kept him frozen in place as he watched the next attack that the Minotaur dished out. The Minotaur took one of the Griffin's wings in its grasp and before a heartbeat passed; the Minotaur was tearing the wing from the Griffin's body which sent the sound of flesh and bone tearing and popping echoing throughout the area.

The cries that tore from the avian Fae echoed in Sin's ears which helped him make the decision that he was teetering one since walking in on the carnage that surrounded him. Knowing that the other Griffin within the area would be eventually targeted by the Minotaur, Sin decided that this creature would be the one that he bonded with considering he didn't think he could watch as the Minotaur slaughtered this Fae as well.