Terror of Talons ✦ A Wings of Fire Fanfiction

Chapter Nine

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Shrike found himself in an unfamiliar dreamscape, the air thick with a foreboding sense of dread. The sky above was a swirling mass of dark clouds, occasionally illuminated by flashes of crimson lightning. He stood on a barren plain, the ground beneath his claws cold and lifeless and dark. In the distance, a figure emerged from the shadows, her presence commanding and unsettling.

It's that NightWing again, Shrike realized, his muscles tensing as she approached him. Her piercing yellow eyes, flecked with red, stared into his very soul, or at the very least it seemed as though they did. She carried an aura of ancient power and wisdom, her movements fluid and deliberate.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice trembling with a mix of awe and fear. "How did you-" Shrike paused, his wings twitching by his side. "How did you dreamvisit me?" He managed to finally ask, recalling the scroll on animus magic that he had read.

The dragoness regarded him with an inscrutable expression, her rather intense gaze unwavering and firm. "I am Hereafter, the Bloodmoon Prophet," she intoned, her voice resonating with an meaningful, solemn weight. "I have visited you, for I have seen you many times in my visions."

Shrike's mind whirled with confusion and a growing sense of unease. What? "Why? Why have you seen me in your visions?" He stopped again, trying to gather his thoughts. It doesn't matter, he said to himself, glancing again at the shimmering red scales embedded behind her eyes. She's a mind reader. "What do you want?"

Hereafter's gaze remained fixed on him, her expression enigmatic and entirely undecipherable. "The threads of fate are woven tightly around you, young hybrid. Your presence is significant to the unfolding events that will shape the coming future."

"But why me?" Shrike asked again, his voice a mix of frustration and desperation that bordered on pathetic. "I'm just a guard. What can I possibly do?"

The prophet's gaze softened slightly, though her tone remained grave. "Destiny often chooses its bearers without their consent or understanding. You stand at a pivotal juncture, Shrike. Your choices, your actions, will have profound consequences. We can tell."

Shrike felt a chill run down his spine. We? There's more? "What must I do? How can I change what might happen?"

Hereafter shook her head slowly, her eyes never leaving his. "That, I do not know yet; the stars have yet to guide me as to why you specifically hold significance; I can see that there are others, too, but you shall meet them when the time is right, when the cosmos have permitted it. The future is not fixed. It is influenced by the decisions we make. Heed the warnings you receive, be vigilant of the signs. Seek wisdom from those who can guide you, and trust in your own strength and judgment."

"Why can't you tell me more?" Shrike implored, a note of urgency in his voice. "I need to understand, please."

The prophet's form began to shimmer, the dreamscape around them growing hazy and indistinct. "There are truths that must be discovered, not handed to you. The answers you seek will come in time."

Her words left Shrike with more questions than answers, his mind racing with the implications of her carefully laced words. "Is there no way to prevent the coming chaos? No way to avert the disaster, the- the war you foresee?"

Hereafter's gaze grew distant, her voice tinged with melancholy. "Some events are beyond your control, shaped by forces greater than ourselves. The path you tread is fraught with peril, that I know for certain. Trust in your instincts, trust the judgement that you have now, for you may not always possess such a clear heart."