Fall of the Stars Book 2: Victory's Wing

Tyler Colter I

It was wild and thrilling. It was frightening. It was a thing of beauty. It was a complete disaster. As the bird swooped low and the screams of the tiny creatures became audible again Tyler decided to leave his eyes open to actually witness the carnage as it was happening. Men lay askew on the ground, their body parts tossed and flung in every which direction. The bird had taken a chunk of the castle's walls and with it a claw full of men. There was blood everywhere, even in Tyler's nose. The screams were so loud and numerous that they did not even bother Tyler anymore.

"You are the first yellow man to witness such a sight." Vania or, as she preferred to be called, Wildcat turned back at Tyler, smiling as she kicked the side of the bird with her heels and pulled it upwards. She was the eldest of the Chief's children and one of the best riders according to him. She was the same height as Tyler, but she was a lot stronger and fiercer. He had been on the gryphon's back for only about an hour and his back and rear pained him, yet she could ride for hours on end with no complaint. Tyler held her waist tight as she pulled the bird down for another dive. "Careful with your beak, yellow man," she joked. "It is dangerous to fuck while flying." She spoke his tongue more fluently than every other Arnishman Tyler met, but she was no less insulting and vulgar.

To Tyler's right the Chief was on his own bird. It was massive—so large it made Wildcat's look like a kitten. Its gigantic white head and golden beak moved rapidly as it stood on the ground and pecked at the men trying to either kill it or flee. It's no use, Tyler thought. The bird was larger than even the castle. The most they could do was scratch at its claws, and even then that would just agitate it. The wiser of the men turned to flee, but they would not get far with Drake Barawayne's men waiting for them on the other end of the hill.

Wildcat's bird landed atop the ruined castle. From the top, Tyler could see the thousands of men beyond the large hill led by Sir Scott Travis and Justin Wayne. Most of them would get no action since nearly all of the enemies were dead.

"What was this palace called?" Wildcat asked.

"Rolly Hill. And it is a small castle, not a palace. Its ruler is...or was Lord Terry Salter. He's probably dead. The one we took yesterday was called Sirestar."

"If you look over there you can see snow." Wildcat pointed north towards the Snowlands. It was faint, but in the distance you could see the white hell beyond the plains. "And if you look over there you can see trees and tall grass." She pointed south to the Starlands, where winter never touched and everything was sickeningly green. "Opposites, yet so full of beauty. This is a beautiful view, Muski." Muski was the name she gave Tyler. She said it meant 'kitten' in their tongue and she called him so because the hair on his face reminded her of her pet cat, which was also missing an ear. "I heard you western peoples have this tradition where a man and a woman live together for the rest of their lives and take no other partners. Is this true?"

"It is surprising you don't know that. Do Arnishmen not practice marriage?" These people are more backwards than I thought.

"Marriage it is called? No, we see it as a silly western thing. But western things intrigue me. Like this little castle. I would like to live in one of these." Her bright green eyes seemed to sparkle as she looked back at Tyler. He felt uneasy. "Let us go meet with my father," she said, turning the beast back towards the front of the castle where the chief and his generals were.

As they landed Tyler could faintly hear yelling in the background as the remainder of the men were being slaughtered by Tyler's men. The chief's giant bird was curled up behind him, completely blocking the setting sun from Tyler's view. His generals in their brightly colored feathers stood next to him, smiling like happy children.