Regaling The Tales I

" Sigh... where did it all go wrong, Demeter? " Hestia asked solemnly, slumped depressingly over her lavish outdoor chair.

" Uhm, I can't really say... I mean, everything seemed to be just fine.. but- sigh.. " Demeter sighed softly, tending to the flowers.

Hestia had come over awhile ago, hoping to have a conversation with her younger sister.

Both Goddesses were currently at Demeter's garden. It was a magnificent sight, the place was practically brimming with all sorts of flora! The garden seemed to display more colors than even the brightest rainbow can ever hope to shine. All sorts of flowers and plants, from common, extremely rare and even some mythical thought to be extinct plants.

" Poor Prometheus... he only wanted the best for them you know? " Hestia lamented, feeling truly bad for him. Though, she knew there wasn't much she could do for him.

" I.. think I can understand that. I mean, I would be pretty desperate if my precious gardens were in similar danger.. " Demeter tried her best to sympathize, putting herself in his sandals.

Demeter may have blessed humanity's harvests, but she never went visit them, only being interested in their potential to make use of nature's blessings.

" Maybe it's best for us to move one to another topic... how about this, have you heard of the peculiar clan of Thunderbirds? " Demeter tried to take her sister's mind away from the matter by bringing up some news that happened over the years.

" Thunderbirds? " Hestia asked, not being very informed on the nature of mythical beasts.

" The huge beastly hawks that are dwarf even the biggest of clouds. They summon storms, sister, those ones. " The Harvest Goddess explained, being quite knowledgeable about all kinds of animals.

" Ah... What about them? " Hestia asked, now feeling quite interested.

" About a few months ago, Poseidon told me of a huge flock of them, about thirty or so. He says the flock covered the sun wherever they flew, apparently because each were comparable to a flying hill. " Demeter explained as she trimmed some of her shrubs.

" I-Isn't that really bad? " Hestia said, straightening herself on the chair.

" It was. He reported that the storms they brewed up reduced some lands to complete devastation. " She says as she filled a bronze watering can.

" ...Was? " Hestia asked confused, what happened to them?

" I was getting to that, apparently they were suddenly wiped out. Good news is that they can no longer wreak havoc. Bad news, we found traces of a particular serpent friend of ours... " Demeter shuddered, equal parts relieved and nervous. The watering can she held was unsteady.

" WHAT?! Why haven't I heard about this!? " Hestia exclaimed, almost knocking over the table and chair she was previously brooding on.

" Ah... don't get me wrong sister! I-it's just that this news was rather recent... I only got wind of the matter this morning. " A panicked Demeter hurriedly explained herself.

" Sigh... still... that being.. huh? " Hestia wondered as she slowly fell back into her comfortable chair.

' Hmmm... the Hydra huh... what reason do they have to wipe out those thunderbirds.. territory intrusion perhaps? But even us Gods don't know where that is... ' She wondered, extremely curious.

--- Somewhere in the Ionian Sea, roughly a day ago ---

A raging storm hovered throughout the sea, blanketing most of the expansive body of water. Lightning struck wantonly, and waves chaotically wandered with fury!

All of this was mere child's play compared to the fierce battle that was currently ongoing. The huge flock of enraged Thunderbirds were currently focusing on five, very frustrated heads. As the giant birds swooped from up high, employing hit and run tactics on the Chaos-born, five heads could be seen contorting in barely restrained rage, marring their expressions in such a terrifying visage that not even a God of Fear could look at them without getting shivers.

Well, not so much rage.. but the monster was so infuriated by the slimy feathered cowards that it was practically much worse than being enraged.

" ENOUGH! " The Hydra chorused, sending the world trembling in surprise! Channeling their Chaos into their clawed arms, fueled by malice. And out of pure immeasurable rage, their relatively long but lithe scaled arms started contorting disgustingly. The jerky movements breaking and cracking bones could be heard audibly.

And, like a miracle born from spite, they raised their arms... and spread them. Indeed! The beast had grown wings! Replacing their claws with a very appropriate limb for this situation.

The wings bore no feathers, only being adorned in thin, almost unnoticeable scales throughout. It retained the beast's metal-like dark grey hue, except their characteristic glowing purple vein system was adorning it, magic pulsing within it like a heartbeat, shining especially majestic along the membrane. It was as if the Hydra had summoned a breathtaking aurora from the icy poles themselves, and used them to fly!

" B O O M ! " And with a mighty flap that broke the sound barrier, the Hydra took to the skies for the first time straight from below the sea! The wings had so much drag that it wreaked havoc among the waves, pacifying it's rage, and redirecting it with a mighty gale with each flap.

" RAAAHAHAHAHH! YOU. ARE. DEAD! HAHAH!" The Hydra screamed with barely restrained delight, a manic glint in all five pairs of eyes.

They had never tried this before, mainly because they saw no need to, but they could not deny that they had felt a little tinge of envy whenever he saw the wyverns fly and land on their scales whenever they rested somewhere.

The thunderbirds could only start to squawk and chirp in terror, recognizing that even with their superior numbers, they stood no chance in the air with THAT thing!

And so began a mighty chase along the sky. The thunderbirds were exceedingly fast, the collective flapping of their wings probably forming typhoons in the distance. Unfortunately, the Hydra was lagging behind, partly due to how inexperienced they were. But it was a miracle they even achieved flight so fast anyway. The real problem though, lied in their mass.. they were just too large to soar so fast!

Though, this was much faster than crawling and swimming everywhere. Ha!~ they can finally conquer the Land, Sea and Sky once and for all! Or not, not that they even cared enough about such a position.

They were above the rules, for they were the Arbiter of Time and Chaos.

Their chase continued for hours, consisting of dogfights- or rather serpent-bird fights(?) every so often, resulting in the massive thinning of the flock, and just a few chipped scales for the Hydra. Their lightning strikes, no matter how numerous, were no match for the things they have endured.

From below, it looked like a giant flying Hydra was chasing a giant living thunderstorm, constantly smitten and bombarded with massive blue bolts. Their aerial bouts had devastated nearly all the islands they had passed, trees were left uprooted and ground scorched.

" SQUAWWK! " They all collectively chattered and squawked, echoing into the dawn. Suddenly, they split off with astounding teamwork and synergy, surrounding the Hydra on all fronts. The monster was just gliding as they watched, some heads passively throwing beams of concentrated poison at the ones in range.

" REEEEEEEE ! ! ! " They chirped monstrously, as giant sparks danced along their feathered forms. And within a moment, giant bolts of blue lightning coalesced with each other, forming a giant formation that trapped the Hydra in a lighting cage!

They slowly started getting closer and bolder, trying to suffocate the monster by greedily occupying every bit of air they could. From below, the Hydra couldn't even be seen anymore, engulfed in a colossal storm of epic proportions!

In response, the Hydra could only twist their expressions in mockery. Channeling the ever familiar energy into their newly-acquired wings, the ethereal vein system glowing in anticipation.

" F W O O O O M ! " The Hydra did an astounding acrobatic maneuver, performing a graceful yet extremely deadly and effective barrel roll! Upon contact with the lightning cage, the Chaos infused wings disrupted the formation with brute force and rampaging energy waves, knocking their enemies out of the sky they so greedily claimed for themselves.

The thunderstorm receded hastily, scattered as each once-terrifying thunderbird fell into the sea. The Hydra gave a mighty roar of dominance, tucked their wings... and began their feast.

It's huntin' time!

--- To Be Continued ---

( And then they hunted all over the thunderbirds. I personally hunted when I wrote this.

What do you guys think of the wings? Should we keep them? Lose them? Or should I lessen their appearance? Personally I find it epic, but I'm afraid it might taint the Hydra serpent beast image we have and turn it more like a multi-headed Dragon one. Give me your thoughts!

Remember to support the novel if you like it. Power stones, comments, reviews especially, anything is appreciated! That's all bye! )