Ravenous Adventures - A Tale from Neverbeen Universe

8

It was evening when Raphael and Gene hit the road again. Not until the volcano corona sloped into the heights did they climb on Tyrion's back and take hold between the two impressive pairs of wings. They didn't take to the sky, though. It was too risky at night; the cliffs were steep, dark shadows in the blackness.

Raphael had good eyesight, so he might be able to navigate the dragon around the volcanic spires. But crashlanding wasn't the only danger out there. These lands were home to even more malignant nocturnal creatures than dragons. In fact, they were the only species which had dragons on their menu, therefore Raphael didn't want to draw their attention.

Gene had calmed since that situation at the hearttree grove, but he hadn't talked about what happened. He didn't need to; Raphael just had to touch his mind and every unsettling detail spilled over at once. He frowned and told him: "The trees played a trick on you. They do that sometimes." The Daemon had left it at that and reassured the human with some mental comfort.

But inwardly Raphael pondered.

There was no man who fit the image Gene's vision had painted; the once so paramount Raven clan had dwindled down from around a hundred members to just the twins, their father the clan chief, his older brother, sister, the three daughters and two granddaughters of theirs. These were all that remained of the once great clan. They still held much power and had an unchallenged sovereignty over their lands. Their name still instilled fear among other species; Lord Rhagkal Raven, the current clan chief, had quite a reputation. But the most infamous clan leader had been dead for five billion years.

'So who was the one Gene had met?' His features were Daemonic, matching the Ravens' prominent ones -- their genes were much too dominant not to show on the phenotype. But there was no possibility of this man existing.

That meant it had to be the hearttrees' doing. They were renowned for storing memories fed to them through blood, and these trees were old. There could have been some Raven guy who resembled the one, and the mischievous magpies of a plant could have mingled some information with their illusion. It would be easy for them to deceive Gene once they got a chance to do so.

Raphael wasn't fully convinced, though. So he wondered and pondered quietly all night, while his lover leaned on him and had some rest. Oblivious to Raphael's internal confusion, Gene blissfully relied on the Daemon to keep him safe as Tyrion carried them onward.

In the meantime Raphael feasted on the night and recharged his resources as long as the darkness was on the rise. He had no real need for food or drink to survive, he gained his sustenance purely from darkness. Come sunrise he was sated.

His mind continued to dwell on the stranger until Tyrion swooshed tired colours through his mind and made him aware of his surroundings again. By now they had passed the mountain chain on the other side of the plateau. Ahead, there was a monticule ideal for setting camp. Thus Raphael suggested a rest to his dragon companion who crowded him telepathically with colourful agreement. Raphael carefully slid from Tyrion's back without waking Gene and quietly built their tent. He then carried his sleeping lover to the freshly made bed, laid him gently down and placed the covers over him. Tyrion turned a few circles before settling down for sleep, soon he also snored in slumber.

Raphael, however, was wide awake. He built a small campfire and sat beside it, stared into the flames and thought about the strange man in Gene's encounter. As the sun rose higher over the mountaintops, he pulled himself from his reverie and busied himself making breakfast before Gene woke. It promised to be a beautiful morning.

As he tossed eggs into the pan, Raphael thought back to the research which he had spent the whole afternoon yesterday. The piece of information he sought had not been amongst the records, which meant Raphael would have to keep on looking for it at a different place. He was sure the documents had to be somewhere in one or other library of his clan's. He just hoped he wouldn't have to pay a visit to his father's stronghold. He'd much rather find the data in one of the minor residences strewn strategically over the territory instead.