His Burden

Dawn slowly crept onto the Forest of Skyleaves, painting the Blightbringer village in hues of soft green and pearlescent pink. 

A soft chirp from beyond the clay walls of the chief's house was the first indication of the new day, rousing Cole from his restless sleep. 

"Kgh… Yawn~" He sat up, stretching his stiff muscles and massaging his swollen face, and glanced across the room to see Lyra already awake, perched like a watchful gargoyle on a makeshift ice stool.

"Oh, good morning…" she murmured, her voice as hushed as the rustling leaves outside.

Cole returned the greeting with a grunt, running a hand through his sleep-tousled hair. "Good morning to you too, Lyra. I see you've woken up already."

"Yes."

He stumbled out of the house, heading towards the small river that meandered through the village with a rough walk, dragging his steps.

Albeit, Lyra followed silently, her icy blue eyes tracking his every move. 

As they reached the water's edge, Cole cupped his hands and scooped up a handful of the cool, life-giving liquid. But as he brought it to his lips, a wave of nausea slammed into him. 

"Bluergghh–!" The water turned in his throat, and with a choked gasp, he emptied the contents of his stomach onto the riverbank.

Lyra watched with a mix of concern in her unmoving eyes. "Are you alright, Cole?" she asked, her voice still the same as ever.

"Just… a bit off this morning," he gulped, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Maybe something I ate yesterday."

"I see…" Nodded Lyra, an awkward silence following as Cole cleaned his hands.

After a few seconds, Lyra, breaking her silence, spoke and approached a subject that was being avoided, "So, do you finally believe me that I'll be of help and use to you?"

Cole, avoiding her eyes, gulped down fresh water to clean the bitter taste off of his mouth, replying, "Yes, naturally I would."

"I see," Lyra nodded.

Awkwardness lingered as Cole hesitated.

"To be honest…" he began, still avoiding her gaze, "I believed– No, I wanted to believe you since the beginning. But I was… insecure after… well…"

Suddenly, a guttural retch tore through the silence again as his expression distorted. 

Cole doubled over, his throat convulsing once more. The bile splattered onto the ground, a grotesque sight to see.

"Khac, khack! Kghaa–" Coughing and heaving, he held his stomach.

"Rest," Lyra urged, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're not fit for work today."

But Cole shook her off, his eyes flashing with defiance. "Work? There's work to be done every day, Lyra. We don't have the luxury of taking it easy."

And so, Cole marched towards the center of the village, trying his best to ignore the visions that had been replaying in his mind every single second he slept.

He rallied the Blightbringers through their young interpreter, the once frightened fledgling now bearing the weight of responsibility with surprising aplomb. All were summoned, the fluent and the tongue-tied, the warriors, the young and the old.

"Listen here y'all, we have work to do. Knowing what you all are made of and for!"

The gathering became a whirlwind of assessment. 

Cole and Lyra observed the Blightbringers in detail, dissecting their strengths and weaknesses. 

They were a curious sight. 

These avian humanoids, their sleek feathers ranging from the deep crimson of ripe berries to the emerald green of sun-dappled leaves. 

Their limbs, though slender, were surprisingly strong, honed from years of grappling throughout the trees of the Skyleaves.

'Whether they were this strong before 'that' event, and only grew these powers now, I'm not sure…' Cole trailed inwardly.

Their beaks, sharp and hooked, could shred flesh with ease, while their venomous breath, though potent, lacked the range and precision of true magic.

"This may not be magic, Cole. I personally think it is just another feature of their bodies, just like the Fire Breath of the Dragonkin."

"I see, indeed, it makes sense." Cole nodded and then–

"They're agile," he mused, watching as a group of young Blightbringers flitted through the air, their movements quick and fluid. "And their feathers offer some protection, though nothing against steel or magic. Nor the Feather Blades of their own kind."

Lyra, currently the strategist of the duo, nodded in agreement. "Their venom could be useful, perhaps weaponized in some way. And their natural camouflage in the trees could give us an advantage in guerilla warfare."

"Truly, we have to make arrangements and constructions to make full use of them," Cole whispered.

They discussed drills and formations, ways to maximize the Blightbringers' natural talents while minimizing their shortcomings. 

Cole envisioned them as scouts, spies, and assassins, their aerial maneuvers would definitely pose to be constant thorns in the side of their enemies. Their speed especially would be Cole's snipers.

Lyra, on the other hand, saw them as a living shield, their combined venom would potentially become Poison Bombs if she filled ice globules, since, conveniently it seems they don't penetrate through her ice spells.

"Sigh… Preparing a small army of yours when you have no experience whatsoever… is quite rough." Cole trailed off with a shake of his head, lines creasing his forehead.

'I decided to become their shield, and now, as the weapons that they are, they've become my burden which I must take care of and sharpen up.'

***

As the day wore on, a disquieting sense of unease settled over the exhausted Cole.

The forest surrounding the village, usually alive with the vibrant chorus of birdsong, crickets, and cicadas, had fallen eerily silent.

"This doesn't make me feel good…" Cole chose to remain vigilant at the uneasy quietness. 

He paced the perimeter as Lyra rested inside the Chief's house, his senses stretched to the limit, waiting for the inevitable storm that Cole was dreading against.

"..."

And storm it did.

"Krrighyaa–!"

A chilling shriek tore through the stillness. It was a sound, unlike anything Cole had ever heard, a high-pitched keening that sent shivers down his spine and raised every feather on the Blightbringers huddled within the village walls.

"Lyra!" Cole roared, his voice cutting through the panic. "Wake everyone! Prepare to defend!"

He didn't need to repeat himself. The Blightbringers, their fear momentarily overridden by instinct, scrambled to their positions. Warriors donned whatever equipment they had taken from the previous humans who had dared to stroll in on their forest and become their food.

From the depths of the forest, a sinuous shadow emerged. 

It slithered into the clearing, its scales shimmering like liquid mercury under the pale moonlight. 

"Tch, based on its appearance that's a Silver Serpent." Lyra clicked her tongue as she stationed herself next to Cole, seemingly not up for fun against this type of species.

A Silver Serpent, a serpentine creature whose speed and lethality were well-known across Goldenvale even before the Celestial Eclipse. 

Its immense body, easily longer than two of the tallest Blightbringers stacked head-to-talon, undulated with predatory grace. Its serpentine eyes, cold and calculating, fixed on the curled-up figure at the edge of the village – the young Blightbringer who had served as Cole's interpreter.

At that moment, for the first time since he had awoken, Cole's blood ran cold. 

'I can't let such a piece be wasted!'