The Supernatural

THE SUPERNATURAL

BY MICHAEL CHESLEY

CHAPTER ONE

Two shapes walked slowly through the blizzard, shielding their eyes from the downpour of whirling snow. The small one, an Otter named Lightpaw, chuckled softly, and said to his companion, ”I wonder wot Taggerung ‘ll do once we tell ‘im wot we found?” Ironclaw, the Black Panther, spoke wisely. “ You know exactly what he’ll do, Light`. He’ll try t` go and find it, so we’ve got t` stop him. Now, save your breath, taint far now.” And on they walked, trudging through the snow, headed towards a small cave a short distance away.

Taggerung, Tagg for short, had light brown hair and was seventeen years old. Pacing slowly about the cave, he was a fearsome sight. Armed with swords, knives, and a longbow, he looked ready for anything. Looking up, he saw two dark figures approaching the cavern. Quickly drawing his twin swords from their sheathes, he took a step toward the cave mouth, speaking in a harsh language, “Son racsel, sel ven sol!” The reply came in common. “’Tis just us, Taggerung, no need to fret.”Taggerung sheathed his swords, calling out, “Hello, Lightpaw,Ironclaw. Did ye find anythin?” “Yes, we did, but don’t go rushin off to it, will ye? All of us ‘ll have t’ go this time.” The two animals padded into the cave, shaking off snow from their fur. From the way Ironclaw emphasized the word “all”, Taggerung knew Ironclaw meant more than just the three of them. “All right then.” Taggerung replied. “Sit down. Are ye cold?” He gestured toward the small wood arrangement in the center of the cave. A sudden burst of Lightning shot from his hand like an arrow toward the pile, sending sparks flying. In seconds the pile was aglow, crackling away, lighting the inner depths of the cave.

Taggerung is a supernatural. A supernatural is someone who has powers. Throughout all their lives, supernaturals had been shunned for their differences. Taggerung’s own abilities include ice control, lightning control, invisibility, and mind-speak. A supernatural also is mutated in some way. Taggerung has dark green blades on his arms, and his eyes change color to match his moods. If one locks eyes with him they find themselves hypnotized, unable to move until he looks away. Also being part elf, Taggerung is immortal to age.

Looking around him the next day, Taggerung thought it to be wonderful scenery that the blizzard the previous day had caused. He sighed, and brought forth his power with the animals. When he had met Ironclaw and Lightpaw, they had become close friends and had taught each other their languages. Taggerung could speak animal, though he did not prefer to, whereas Ironclaw and Lightpaw chose to speak common. Soon a snow owl came to the cave, attracted by the source of wild power radiating from Taggerung, a supernatural trait. He quickly scribbled out a note and tied it to the owl’s leg, while explaining to it that Darkfire, Charcoal, and Nightcrawler were most likely in Aclo, Swarod. A week passed, with no sightings of any slythersades, but with a few successful hunting trips. And then, at the dawn of the eighth day, the owl returned, telling Taggerung that she had found them, and they had followed her to Mt.Scythe. Giving her his thanks, Taggerung stood up, shrugged off his vest, and walked out into the snow. As he left, he turned back to see Lightpaw putting another log on the fire. Stopping, his eyes a light green, he spoke. “Lightpaw, keep the fire low, alright? We don’t want to attract attention from any slythersades wandering around.” “ Right you are, Tagg.” The strong otter replied. “See ye!” Taggerung started off again, this time at a jog. As he ran, he looked around him. There was a blanket of snow covering everything, and there was rocks scattered about. Every few minutes there was a tree or two, but not many. Stopping to catch his breathe, he saw movement behind a large rock. The creature turned, and Taggerung could see it more clearly. It was a Melista buck, a deer-like creature with two antlers, but had a thick fur coat and a long, shaggy tail. Instinctively, he reached for his bow, but then stopped. They had enough food at the cave, and the buck was very thin, and wouldn’t sustain more than enough food for two. Smiling slightly, he let his hand drop and continued to jog down the mountainside. He had not gone far when he heard a noise. He hunkered down quickly, hiding behind a small snow bank. Sssssst! Ssssst! Sssssst! Three four-inch dark green blades rose out of each of Taggerungs arms, opening the leather straps that were made for the blades, so Taggerung didn’t have holes in his clothes. Standing up, swords drawn, he called out in the same strange language he had used before. “Selcas, ras ortae praseras lontae? Spelter!” There was a low chuckle, and a voice answered back, “Tagg, that better be you. I’ve seen one too many living snowmen for my liking.” Taggerung roared with laughter, and sheathing his swords, leapt over the snowbank, tackling a light haired seventeen year old, whose name was Darkfire. Small though he was, he managed to shove off Taggerung and climb to his feet. “Darkfire!” Taggerung exclaimed as he stood up. “Nightcrawler! Charcoal! Its been how long? A year? I’m sure glad to see ye!” Charcoal, a tall, dark haired eighteen year old, stepped up, emitting a wave of heat as he went. “Figures you’d be on Mt.Scythe, doesn’t it? With the snow and all? We’ve been on this cursed mountain for three days, traveling to reach you.” Nightcrawler, fifteen years old with black hair and flaming eyes, spoke next. “Not to be all cold on ye, but isn’t there a reason that you called us here?” Taggerung’s happiness at seeing his friends died down instantly, his eyes changing to black. “Yes, there is. It’s big. Real big. And it involves him.” Everyone grew silent then. They all knew whom Taggerung meant. The one supernatural on the other side. The one supernatural that led team Venom and the slythersade population. The one supernatural that had become known for the long steelish claws that gave him his name. And the one supernatural that Taggerung was destined to fight to the death.
Dragonclaw!

CHAPTER TWO



As Taggerung and his friends trudged up the slope of Mt.Scythe, there was no talking. None of them knew exactly where this mission would take them; just that one of them could be killed, or more. Although no one knew what it was besides Ironclaw and Lightpaw, they did know that it was important. It wasn’t very far from the cave where they had met, so they got there quickly. As they came around a large pile of rocks, they could see the entrance to the cave. “Man!” Darkfire groaned. “Not slythersades again!” Standing in front of the cave were two large reptilian creatures. One of them turned to face the four of them, snarling loudly. A slythersade is your basic shapeshifter. Its natural shape is like a small dragon standing upright, but with a large killing claw on its feet, and eyes that were black except for a splotch of color in the center. Their scales were a reddish yellow, with spines from their forehead down to the tip of its arrowhead tail. The slythersade facing Taggerung and his friends pulled a long, rusty cutlass from his waist strap, and began advancing on the four friends. Ssssssthhhht! Taggerung moved so fast that if you weren’t looking for it, you never would have seen the small knife that went shooting forward and buried itself in the slythersade’s chest. Taggerung was famed for the throwing knife, and wasn’t known to miss his target. Leaping up, he unsheathed his swords and went to finish it. It rose its cutlass point to face Taggerung with a snarl. Though the knife wound would prove to be fatal if not treated, the slythersade was a strong creature. Taggerung parried the first slice, disarmed it with a cut of his own, and killed it with a quick uppercut. Darkfire stepped forward, saying “I’ll take the other one, Tagg.” He ran forward, drawing a dagger from his belt. He raised his other hand level with the other slythersade’s chest. Fwwissss! A beam of dark black flame shot from it, making the slythersade cry out in agony, both from the flame and the dagger Darkfire had stabbed in its chest. A moan escaped its lips, and then the flame turned it to steam. Ironclaw ran from the cave to Darkfire, saying, “Hello, Darkfire, Nightcrawler, Charcoal, I see you found us. “Are you or Lightpaw hurt?” “Not too badly, no.” Ironclaw replied, showing a small gash on his foreleg. “But we gave as good as we got.” He nodded toward the deep slices and claw marks on the remaining slythersade’s body. Taggerung soon began administering to the cut by tearing a strip from his tunic and binding it to the leg. “Hello, everyone, and thanks for taking care of those slythersades.” Lightpaw said, poking his head out of the cave. “All right, now that were all settled, I think it’s time for you to tell us what all this is about.” Nightcrawler said. “Okay then.” Ironclaw said as they all went into the cave. “Let us talk let us talk.” The six of them sat down, unstrapping weapons from their waists. “Very well then.” Charcoal spoke calmly. “This interests me. I would like to know why we were called up here. So tell us what happened. And do so quickly.”

Taggerung couldn’t believe what Lightpaw and Ironclaw had said. He had waited for the story until his three friends came, so he hadn’t known what it was about. Until now. He had known that Dragonclaw was cunning, powerful, ruthless, and very smart. But he hadn’t thought that he could come up with this. He, let alone anyone. Dragonclaw had raised a slythersade army including the entire population of slythersades, which would leave him with approximately fifteen thousand! And then there was the other thing that they were told about. A knew invention, that was even worse than the news about the army. Some sort of formula. But Ironclaw and Lightpaw didn’t know what it was. They also knew that it was unlikely that the two slythersades they had slain wouldn’t travel alone, and that the others had gone back for reinforcements. “Tagg, hello?” A quick tap on the shoulder from Charcoal brought Taggerung back to reality. “Tagg, we must relocate. They’ll be here soon.” Yes, you’re right.” Taggerung said as he stood up. “Where’s Ironclaw?” “Out hunting.” Darkfire had barely spoken when in he padded, carrying a large snowshoe rabbit in his jaws. “Ironclaw, eat that quickly. Taggerung said. “We must wipe out all evidence that we were here.” Going outside, Taggerung tore his knife free of the slythersade’s chest and stuck it in the chest strap that contained his other knives. He lifted his hand toward the slythersade. A sparkling jet of ice shot at it, and encaged it in a block of ice. Darkfire came out. Lifting his hand towards the creature, he focused on it for a few seconds, then, using his telekinetic powers, made it fly off the edge of the platform of ice and bury itself in the snow below. The others soon came out of the cave. “Have you cleared the cave of any evidence that we were there?” Taggerung asked. “Yes, all covered.” Nightcrawler responded. “Ironclaw, which way was the Venom facility?” “That way” Ironclaw said, jerking his head toward the still rising sun. “Well, we’ll be heading in the opposite direction.” Charcoal said. And so they left, unaware of the dark shape that followed them from the cliffs above.

Taggerung lay down to rest. They had found a suitable cave for the six of them, just a few miles away from their first campsite. After unpacking their bedrolls and other gear, they could do what they pleased. At the moment, Taggerung and Lightpaw were the only ones there. The others had gone to hunt. Feeling the drowsy pull of sleep descend on him, Taggerung drifted deep into the grasps of slumber.

Lightpaw peered into the cave, about to tell Taggerung that the others were back. Seeing the outline of his sleeping friend on the dimly lit cave floor, he decided to let him sleep. He needs his rest, that one. He thought. Probably hasn’t had a bit of rest since we told him about Dragonclaw. He then left the cave to tell Darkfire to start up a fire and to say Taggerung was asleep, and that he’d cook Taggerungs share for him.
Taggerung woke smelling cooked meat and bread. Getting up, he went out to see what was going on. “Hey, Tagg, over here!” he looked to his left to see Darkfire and the others standing around a fire. Taking his share of bread and the Melista doe that his friends had caught, he joined in with the talking, jokes, and laughing. “Hey, Darkfire, where did ye get this cider? Tastes absolutely wonderful!” “Aye, it does, got it off an old merchant, just fer a few coins. Seems `e didn’t know how good it tasted, or he would`a charged me more!” “You li`l rogue! Tell me `ow old was this merchant, sixty, you great buffoon!” The friendly banter went on and on, all of them trying to forget the fact about the slythersades. Around an hour later it was getting dark. Taggerung got up and went to bury the few bones that had been in his share at the far end of the clearing in front of the cave. Coming back to the fire, he helped his friends put it out, ignoring the temptation to use his ice power, knowing that doing so would only weaken him, and he needed to keep up his strength. They then went into the cave, all of them thinking about things they might need to do for the journey ahead. Darkfire, thinking about training, honing their skills against those of the enemy. Taggerung, about recruiting more supernaturals for Team Nartae, hope in the elven language.

~~~~

Taggerung woke to the sound of rock falling on rock. Opening his now blue-green eyes, he saw it was still dark. He lay very still knowing there was something outside the cave. Beside him, Darkfire awoke. Putting a finger to his lips to tell him to be quiet, Taggerung turned his eyes back towards the mouth of the cave, and sat up. Suddenly seeing a movement, he froze. Calling on his power of invisibility, he disappeared the instant the creature came into view. It was not a slythersade, Taggerung could see. It had a human shape. In fact, he would have believed it a human but for the shining emerald green eyes that gave it away. No human had eyes like that. It was a supernatural.
Knowing that he couldn’t trust it, supernatural or not, Taggerung slowly stood, careful not to make a sound. Wake up and be quiet. Don’t move, and don’t make a sound. The others began to wake, hearing Darkfires mindspeak in their heads. Standing up slowly, Taggerung quietly unsheathed his twin swords. Hearing the sound of steel on wood and leather, the supernatural turned towards him, hissing loudly. Taggerung looked toward the mouth of the cave. It was getting lighter. Dawn was coming. Taggerung took a step forward. The supernatural hissed again, stepping back. Though invisible, the supernatural could still hear and smell him. With a quick movement, the supernatural unsheathed a sword of its own, drawing a long, curved knife with the other hand. It stepped toward the seemingly asleep form of Charcoal, eyes glinting. Suddenly Charcoal sprang to his feet, blade whirling. The sound of steel on steel rang through the air as the supernatural lifted his own sword, deflecting Charcoals blow. Quickly turning, it sped out of the cave, Charcoal at its heels. Taggerung reappeared, knowing they had lost the advantage of stealth, and followed Charcoal.
Taggerung dashed out of the cave, Darkfire and the rest right behind him. He followed Charcoal out past their campfire, the embers still aglow, when Charcoal slowed down, and swung his sword. There was a loud clash, and a slight grunt of pain from the supernatural, feeling the force of the blow. Quickly it swung its own sword, and they continued to fight. Suddenly the supernatural spun around and sliced charcoal’s side. Charcoal cursed, and backed away. Taggerung jumped in with a roar. The supernatural proved it was good with both hands, blocking all of Taggerung’s blows. Taggerung realized that it was too good of a swordsman for him so he tried to use a throwing knife. Taggerung did a quick sideways roll, sheathed one sword, and reached for his knife belt. The supernatural cut off this attempt by slicing the strap, letting the knives fall to the ground. As Taggerung quickly got up, he wondered why Charcoal, Darkfire and Nightcrawler weren’t helping. He looked to see all of his companions struggling to lift some kind of magic. He quickly realized that it hadn’t affected him because he was part elf. He did another side roll and unsheathed his left sword again. He tried a quick side slash, but once again, the supernatural’s blade found its way to block it. Many times it would slide its sword down to the tip of Taggerung and spin it around to slice him. Taggerung parried a blow, knocking the supernatural back, and seizing his chance, quickly bent forward, grabbed his bootknife, and flung it at his opponent, leaving a bloody gash on its face. It yelled out in pain, but managed to block Taggerung’s next slash. Endlessly they fought and fought, but to no prevail. After a while, Taggerung and the supernatural were tiring. Then the supernatural changed tactics, sheathing his sword and knife and taking out two straight knives that gleamed in the darkness. It fought savagely, quick but brutal with all of its attacks. Taggerung was barely able to block and dodge the speeding slashes and uppercuts. Once the supernatural did a quick prance to the side, and lunged in with a stab. Taggerung, seeing the supernatural bearing down on him, leaped to dodge it, but was too a second too slow. The knife’s tip dug a furrow in his side, flaying his skin. He doubled over with pain, biting back a yell. Taggerung stood up straight to block a slash, then checked his wound. His side was covered in blood, and the gash, though not deep, was extremely painful. Trying to clear his mind of any thoughts of pain, Taggerung looked his opponent. The supernatural had backed down, apparently as tired as Taggerung. Anger and hate rose inside Taggerung, and his eyes turned a deep blood red. He lunged at the supernatural with a roar, forcing it back. The ferocity of his sudden attack startled the supernatural; it soon found itself fighting for its life. Only barely dodging Taggerung’s fierce blows, the supernatural was now panting for breath. Suddenly with a burst of desperate strength the supernatural spun on one foot and smashed the hilt of a knife into Taggerung’s right hand. Taggerung dropped the sword with a roar of pain, and leaped to the side to avoid a stab. Taggerung quickly stood, but the supernatural was at his side with inhuman speed, still panting, a knife pointing at Taggerung’s throat. “So.” Its voice was quiet and cold. “Not so tough after all, are we, Taggerung?” Behind the supernatural, Charcoal slowly stood, shaking off the spell at last, for his own mage powers helped him fight. Behind him, the others began to also recover. Charcoal’s cut was bleeding, and he winced slightly as he stood. Then, with an angry yell, he grabbed his sword and charged the supernatural. The blow would have decapitated it, had it had slower reflexes. It rammed its knife in the air, blocking Charcoal’s smash, but sending it to the ground. It rolled to one side and then stood, slamming both knives at Charcoal. He quickly deflected them, and swung his sword in an arc at the supernatural. It blocked the slash, but was too slow to keep it from slicing its hand. Charcoal could see that it was tired, but hesitated for a second too long. It flung one knife at him, making him duck and then jump back up. Then the second knife was thrown, yet instead of the blade hitting him, it was the handle. The supernatural, thinking charcoal was slain, came back to Taggerung, who had just caught his breath and was holding his hand behind him. Sensing the supernatural above him, as his face was to the ground, he rolled to the right, and sent a beam of ice shooting towards the supernatural. It countered the attack with a flaming beam of its own, but the ice made it stagger. It sent out an invisible wave of telekinetic power that knocked Taggerung to the ground, hitting his head hard on a large rock. Taggerung cursed as he landed on his injured hand, but shot out with a beam of lightning that the supernatural barely dodged. Bam!!! An explosion of flame erupted next to the supernatural, conjured by Charcoal, who had used the time Taggerung had gained him to call on his magic. The explosion knocked it to the ground, and its concentration completely broken, unleashed Nightcrawler, Darkfire, Lightpaw and Ironclaw from the spell that had held them. The supernatural tried to get up but found four swords pointed at its throat, as one of Taggerung’s was still lying in the snow. It growled in frustration, and came to having Darkfire hit it on the its singed head, knocking it unconscious. “I’m sorry, Tagg.” It was Darkfire who spoke. “We all are. We tried, we fought the spell, but….”his voice trailed off as he saw Taggerung’s crooked hand. “Tagg! Are you alright?” “Yes, I’m fine, Darkfire, I’m fine.” Charcoal inspected the hand closely. “ Tagg, if you think you’re fine, that telekinesis must have jolted your brain. Your side wound wont be too bad, though it’ll take time t` heal, but we’ll need to clean that blood away to be sure. You’ve got a nasty head wound from that rock, for one thing, but there’s at least two fingers broken there, and you’ve sprained your wrist. That supernatural sure was tough, eh?” “Yeah, he was….”Taggerung’s words faded away as his head began to spin. I used too much energy, he realized. Too many powers at one time. “Nice explosion, Charcoal….” The last thing he heard was “Sleep, Tagg. You’ve earned your rest. Now sleep….”

CHAPTER THREE


Taggerung woke to find himself feeling an ache in his head, hand and wrist. His side didn’t hurt at all, but he knew it was only until he got up. Almost the second he opened his eyes, Nightcrawler was there, holding a small bowl towards him. “Tagg, hurry, get that down ye and get up, there’s not much time.” “Time for what?” Taggerung asked. “You’ve been asleep fer naught but an hour. Charcoal used some mage power on ye, to make ye heal faster, but it’ll still need time, though I think ye’ll be able t` fight with that hand, if ye go easy on it. We bound up that supernatural, Ironclaw’s guardin` him, and the others are outside waitin’. You’ve got ‘t hurry, the slythersades ‘ll be on us soon.” Taggerung came completely awake with a start. Slowly standing up, he gulped down the rest of the mixture and stretched. Nightcrawler gave him a small flask of water, which he drained and set on the cave floor. “All right then, we have to leave most of our supplies here, or is that already taken care of?” Nightcrawler nodded. “Yer weapons are right here,” He said, presenting Taggerung with a bundle. Taggerung took it and began fastening them on, hooking this strap to that. “Charcoal fixed yer knife strap, by the way. Ye ready?” Shouldering his quiver and bow, Taggerung nodded. “How’s yer hand feel?” “Fine.” Taggerung answered. “Lets go.” They quickly walked out of the cave. The others were waiting for them, and they shouldered their packs as soon as they saw Taggerung and Nightcrawler. “Here ye go, Tagg.” Darkfire said, handing him his pack. “Are ye feelin all right?” “Yes, fine, now lets get going.” Taggerung answered. “I see ye got ‘im to cooperate?” “Yes, we did. ‘E ‘asnt spoken a word since ye fought ‘im though.” Charcoal said. They then began their long trek down the mountain.
They had been hiking down the slopes and rocky edges for about an hour when Taggerung heard a noise, the noise of crumbling and falling rock. He quickly urged his team to get down behind a boulder. Slowly peeking his head up over its edge, he looked around. Seeing nothing, he was about to tell his friends to continue, when his elven reflexes took over. He suddenly threw himself to the ground as a barbed arrow streaked over his head. He quickly got to his feet, along with his friends, crouching as not to let themselves be seen. “All right, they’re here fer sure.” He whispered. “C’mon, we’ve got to find a better place to stand ground.” He quickly took a look of his surroundings. They were in a bowl shaped valley of snow, probably where a glacier had once passed through. From the direction that the arrow had come from, he knew where the slythersades were, on the far side of the valley. He saw an old, gnarled tree that might’ve been a good place when it was younger, but it looked like it wouldn’t take much to fell it. Then he saw the place, a rocky outcrop half surrounded by stones that jutted up towards the sky, a good defense from arrows. Even better luck, he thought, it’s on the opposite side as the slythersades. “There,” He said, pointing to it. “On my call you guys run for it, I’ll be right behind ye. Try to make it to the place alive, ok?” His friends nodded. “ Ready,” Taggerung said, grabbing his bow. “Set,” He continued, choosing an arrow and knocking it to the string. “Go!” He suddenly yelled, and quickly stood up, took aim, and loosed his arrow. It shot forward into the chest of a slythersade who had been bold enough to come out into the open. It staggered, dropped its own bow and fell to the ground. By this Taggerung was up and running bow in hand, grabbing another arrow as he came closer to the outcrop. The slythersades began to appear, standing from behind rocks and clumps of bushes. He winced as an arrow shot by and grazed his leg, but continued, firing another arrow at the nearest target. He turned back and ran again, and saw the stones loom up upon him. He had made it! Running to the backside of it, he climbed up over the rocks and was in. Darkfire looked at him and grinned.” Nothing like a good old archery competition, eh?” He stooped to avoid an arrow and fired one of his own. “How many?” “Two.” Taggerung answered. He quickly loosed another arrow and was rewarded by a scream of pain. “Now three.” The four of them shot again and again, Taggerung a bit slower than the rest, as his hand was injured. It wasn’t long until Charcoal voiced all their own thoughts. “I dunno about you guys, but I’m near out of arrows.” “Same.” Taggerung answered. “Looks like their runnin` low too.” It was true, for most of the slythersades had stopped firing. Taggerung smiled grimly. “ I think we’ll have too go face t` face soon. Ironclaw, Lightpaw, you guys guardin` `im still?” “ No need, Tagg. Seems he don’t want t` harm us anymore.” Ironclaw replied. “Yeah, Ironclaw’s right,” Said Lightpaw. Taggerung ducked to avoid an arrow and looked at the supernatural. It was true; He was just sitting there. “Oh well, Lightpaw, You keep guardin` im, Ironclaw, you’ll have t` fight.” Lightpaw nodded, and Ironclaw gave a low growl of anticipation, sheathing and unsheathing his claws. Taggerung knocked his last arrow and shot it, catching a slythersade in the eye. It howled in pain and dropped from the perch it had been standing on, its skull pierced through the bone. Taking off his quiver and setting his bow on the ground, he unsheathed his swords, saying, “I’m out.” Charcoal nodded, setting down his own bow. The others soon followed the procedure. Taggerung tried a few twirls and slices, testing to see if his hand would protest. It did not, however, and felt just fine. Taggerung smiled again, and said grimly, “Meet ye out on the battlefield or somewhere else, friends.” Leaning his right sword against the rock, he put his hand out in front of him. Darkfire and the rest put theirs on his, all of them saying together,

“Friends together, fighters true.
If gone soon, peace be with you. Break!”

They raised their hands swiftly, and ran from the security of the outcrop. Taggerung rushed forward, swords at the ready, forgetting the soreness of his hand. The slythersades had put down their own bows, and were clambering down the sides of the small bowl-shaped indent on the mountain, drawing weapons of their own. The two sides met with a clash, supernatural against slythersade. Taggerung found himself surrounded, but he met them with a yell, slashing and ducking and hacking, dealing out death with his swords, which were aptly named, Fate and Wrath. The slythersades parried slash after slash, but Taggerung’s swords seemed to have minds of their own, disarming and killing slythersades in the blink of an eye. He encountered a more advanced slythersade, who continued to dodge and block his blows. Taggerung suddenly tried a new move, whipping his swords forward from opposite directions in a scissor-like movement. The creature parried one sword but was unable to stop the other. It bit into him and he gave a scream of pain as it ripped open his side. Taggerung tore his sword from the creature, dispatching another slythersade in the same movement. He suddenly winced in pain as an arrow tore through his leg. He looked around, trying to spot the slythersade that had shot it. He saw his friends, battling the slythersades with a fierceness that could only be found in a supernatural, one that would make them continue fighting even with the worst injuries. He saw Ironclaw, killing with a ferocious accuracy, leaping forward and digging his claws into the enemy’s throat. Darkfire and charcoal, covering each other’s backs as they swung and blocked, Nightcrawler, spinning and slicing fiercely, defending Lightpaw and the supernatural. There! He saw a single slythersade, standing high on a platform of rock, still with a near full quiver, an empty one slung across its other shoulder. Taggerung followed its gaze and the aim of the bow. With a start, he realized it was aimed right at Lightpaw! Without thinking, Taggerung spun both his swords in a wide arch, sending slythersades to the ground. Throwing the blades in the snow, tip first, he grabbed a knife and threw. The knife shot forward, going straight for the space between slythersade archer and Lightpaw. The knife flew. The arrow fired. And, by pure luck, the two weapons collided. The sharp knife sheared through the crudely made barbed arrow, sending it to the ground. Taggerung sighed, relieved that Lightpaw was safe for the moment. He ran up to the rock formation, swords in hand, and leaped onto the first level of it. He leaped forward and up, knowing that someone’s life was at stake if he didn’t hurry. Finally he was on the top platform, and he ran to the slythersade. It was ready, and as Taggerung came upon him he swerved around, releasing his arrow at point blank range at Taggerung. It would have killed him, had he not been prepared. The arrow struck a barrier of ice, shattering it but falling to the ground along with the shards. The slythersade Looked at Taggerung wide eyed, struck dumb in the sudden pain of being stabbed. Slowly it lowered its head and sighed, a final dying sound. Taggerung pulled the sword Fate from its body and wiped the blade on the creatures torn, ragged tunic in disgust. He looked down at his friends, finishing off the few slythersades remaining. He saw one advancing on Nightcrawler’s now exposed back and leaped. The slythersade broke his fall, crumpling to the ground as Taggerung hit him swords first, breaking his spine. Nightcrawler grinned and spat out blood from a trickle of blood that ran down from a wound above his eye, and said, “Well, looks like we got `em after all, Tagg.” “Aye, Nightcrawler, that we did. He walked over to Charcoal and Darkfire. There was a single slythersade still standing. Darkfire, advanced on it, and throwing down his sword, showed the creature why he was called that; Darkfire. Four claw like bolts of blackish flame sprung out from the middle joints of his fingers, flickering and waving. The slythersades nerve failed him; he turned and ran, but Darkfire caught up with him easily. In a move of desperation he swung his sword, but Darkfire jumped back, and before the creature could swing again, he lunged forward, burying the flames in its chest. The flame acted like steel, sinking through the flesh and burning it the instant it touched it. The slythersade gave a choking gasp and fell dead, four thin lines in its chest were the flames had hit. There was a questioning gleam in Nightcrawler’s eyes; He had joined the team only two years before and did not know Darkfire as well as the others. Darkfire noticed and said, his voice cold, “You are wondering why I killed a defenseless creature? I killed him because I knew if I had not he would go on, murdering the weak and innocent for no reason but pleasure. I killed him because he and his kind are evil and cowardly, or at least all those who follow Dragonclaw; At least we have the courage and the will to oppose him. I also know that, if we do ever meet a slythersade with courage, one who opposes Dragonclaw, that I would never befriend him, for `twas their kind that killed my family.” Nightcrawler nodded and swallowed; He wouldn’t like to be a slythersade and in the same room as Darkfire, not at all. Taggerung heard a groan and looked to where the sound had come from, still caught up with Darkfire’s speech. He saw a slythersade sit up, nursing and broken foot and a sliced stomach. He walked over to it. Seeing him, it smiled crookedly and said, “Go on then, kill me. I couldn’t get away from ye, not by a long shot.” Taggerung’s eyes turned an icy blue. “No, scum, I wont kill you. I have a message for you t` tell Dragonclaw.” Taggerung then proceeded to tell the wounded creature him message. When he was done, he said, “ Get on with ye. I’m go`in t` close me eyes, and when I open `em you’d better not be there; If ye` are, I wont be so kind. Get go’in! Taggerung closed his eyes and heard the slythersade scramble to get away. When he opened his eyes he saw it, off in the distance, soaring away on its leathery wings. Taggerung smiled slightly at the message that was being delivered to Dragonclaw, and turned back to help his friends bury the dead.

~~~~

“Roaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr!” The terrifying voice of one of the ancient, savage creatures know as the Saberteeth echoed throughout the huge, underground cavern. slythersades were everywhere, carrying stones, digging, and running to obey their master’s orders. One of them, known as Redwing, darted up a staircase that led to an outlook that you could see the entire underground cavern from, desperately trying to quiet the howling sabertooth. The beast turned toward the slythersade, a ferocious gleam in its eyes. The creature was not any normal saber, however. Its fur was soot black, and its eyes were bright red. The slythersade tried to calm it, speaking to it in a rushed voice. “Darkfang, quiet, Dragonclaw will be back soon, and you can transfer your wishes to him. C’mon, you know we can’t understand you!” The beast quieted, its roaring going down to a growl. Suddenly, there was a clash from the entrance to the cavern, and a quiet voice said, “It sure is pitiful when a guard is sleeping on duty.” The crumpled body of a slythersade was thrown aside with brute force, and there stood the one known as Dragonclaw. He was tall, with dark brown hair and blue eyes that shone brightly. He had a knife in one hand, bloody from the slythersade that he had slain. “Why is one of you on the peak?” Redwing froze and slowly stood from the crouched position he had been in. Dragonclaw swiftly darted up the stair to the peak, watching Redwing intensely. “What are you doing up here without permission?” He asked Redwing, “What is your name?” My name is Re-Redwing, Sire.” Redwing stammered. “As for why I’m up here, uh, Darkfang was howling for something, and I, I was trying to calm him. We couldn’t understand him, Sire, not like you can.” What is it, Darkfang?” Dragonclaw asked the saber. “What is wrong?” Darkfang made a series of whimpers and growls, finishing with a short roar. “He says that you are lazy.” Dragonclaw said. “He says that many of you had deserted your posts, lounging about and talking with each other. Is this true?” “No Sire, no, we were tired, but we didn’t desert our posts. Oh Sire, please don’t kill me!” “With a deft move Dragonclaw had five, long, steel claws aimed directly at Redwings throat. “Don’t worry, Redwing.” He said. “I won’t kill you, at least not yet. I have more important things to do.” He slowly moved his hand away, the claws shrinking back into his fingertips. “But no mistake, if you disobey me again, I will. Get back to work, scum.” And with that, he turned and started giving out orders to his captains, who had followed him into the cavern. “Spineback, take ten of our people and start digging a pit in that corner.” He said, pointing. “Make it be about five or six yards down, three wide and long. Have five diggers at a time, and switch `em when you feel like they’ve had enough. “Bonetail, I want you to chose a replacement for that fool I slew. Patcheye, see that these miserable creatures do their share of work, or no rations for them tonight! If someone doesn’t cooperate, kill ‘em or report to Shadowflare!” He then dashed down the stair and out the entrance. Everyone watched after him, as if he would reappear and kill them all with his magic. Patcheye recovered first. “Well, you heard ‘im!” He yelled. Get t’work!”

Dragonclaw stormed out of the gigantic cavern, Darkfang following loyally. The entrance was a thick layer of rock, on the other side of which was a long hallway, which narrowed into a great oak door at the end. There were two guards there, chatting quietly with each other. Suddenly realizing who was striding toward them, they quickly rose to attention, scrambling to salute their master. One of them gave a quick bow, and rose back to attention, saluting and saying, “Lord!” The other, a slythersade with dark grey head spines, followed to do so with haste. “Hurry up you fools, I have no time to spare.” Dragonclaw’s icy voice echoed in the long hallway. The grey spined one proceeded in taking out the keys and unlocking the door, pushing it open and then returned to attention. As he did so, one of his footclaws caught the hem of Dragonclaw’s cloak, nearly tripping him. The slythersade gulped as Dragonclaw spun around, claws fully extended. He pressed them against the slythersades throat. Suddenly smiling, he let the claws shrink back and merge with his fingertips. “Let the temper get the better of me, didn’t I?” He said, his tone friendly. “Mustn’t let that happen, should we?” His voice turned hard and cold. “However, you must be more careful. Darkfang?” The soot-furred cat growled, bent its powerful back legs and pounced, knocking the slythersade to the ground. The beast then proceeded to rip and claw at the slythersades side, tearing the ragged garments the creature wore to shreds. The slythersade screamed in pain as the claws dug into its body. After a short while, Dragonclaw called Darkfang off him and as the slythersade slowly rose, whimpering, He spoke. “Well now, some tough creature you turned out t` be, didn’t even fight back. I expected more of a guard, yer s`posed to stop unwanted creatures from passin`. Huh, if the one called Taggerung came by `ere you’d be dead in a second, he’s nearly as fast as me, I’ve heard. He then left through the door, Darkfang following, only this time with blood on his paws. The second slythersade closed the door and locked it, then spoke to the grey spined one. “Greytail, are ye all right, mate?” Greytail gave a groan and spoke back, “There was no call fer that, mate. Look wot `e did t` me, ripped open me side. Uuuhhhh, d`ye got any herbs or summat that I can put on this thing?” The second slythersade, known as Gritback, tore a piece of his rags and bound it to Greytail’s side clumsily. The pair straightened up and returned to their guard duties, Greytail still complaining. “Oohh, that `urts, I think I’m wounded fer life, matey, if I dies, tell the others t` desert Dragonclaw, twill do them no good t` wait t` be killed. Oooh, me pore side!” “Shut yer mouth!” Said Gritback. “Tis bad enough fer me havin t` listen t` it, but if someone else `ears they’ll kill ye fer shore! Greytail soon quieted, mumbling about his own friend betraying him.

~~~~


“Stay here, Tagg.” The tall man said as he buckled on his armor. Hide, hurry.” The boy Taggerung did as he was bidden, hiding behind two large sacks of grain. “Yes, father.” The boy said. “But please come back. ”The man left the cart. Sudden snarls and shouts began around the cart, and then the sound of steel on steel, combined with screams of pain, the horrible sound of battle. Then it was quiet, all quiet. Then the drapes to the cart entrance were ripped aside, but not by a father, instead, a slythersade!! “ Quickly turning invisible, Taggerung backed against the wall, getting as far from the creature as possible. A second entered the cave. “Nortclaw, anything?” No, Alastar, sir. “Then lets go, you fool.” Said the second. The pair then left the cart. There were sounds of others leaving, but Tagg stayed hidden. Then, after he was sure they were gone, he came back into sight and left the cart. Bodies were everywhere, beaten, ravaged bodies of slythersades. All in front of the cart they were, about a score or so of them. Looking across the scene, however, the boy saw only one thing; an armored human, lying on the ground, two arrows in his side. ”Father!” Taggerung yelled, and jumping from the cart, ran to his father’s side. His father’s body was covered in dozens of cuts and wounds, but Taggerung saw something a human would not; the steady but faint rising and falling of the chest. His father was alive! “Tagg.” His father spoke, his voice faint. “Tagg, I am dying.” “No, father, no.” Tagg said, choking back tears. “Yes.” His father smiled, saying, “Yes, my son. It is my time. I will go as I wanted to go, fighting to the end. Tagg, promise me something. Bury me at Flyte Hy Oak, please.” Taggerung, finally accepting the fact of his fathers dead nodded. “Yes, father, I will. But please tell me,” He said. “Who did this?” Then his father spoke again, but this time, his voice was one of pure hatred. “Dragonclaw!” He then gave a soft, final sigh, and his eyes glazed over in death. “No.” Taggerung said. “No! No!!!!! No!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Wake up, Tagg, wake up!” Taggerung was brought back to reality with a jolt. He was lying in the snow-cave they had built the night before, wrapped in sweat-soaked Melista skins. Just a dream, He thought, just a dream. Yet he remembered every detail of it clearly, for it was his past. It had been then that he first found out about Dragonclaw, on the day of his father, Giertae’s, death. Shakily standing, he sat on the skins, thinking about his dream of the past. “I’m fine, guys, fine. `Twas just a dream.” “If you’re sure Tagg.” Charcoal nodded. Giving Taggerung a playful shove, he said, “So, if you’re sure you’re all right, d`ya think we could do some contests?” “Suddenly grinning, Taggerung tried to forget his dream. “Sure Charcoal, we could do that. Darkfire, Nightcrawler, how about some contests!” The two supernaturals that were outside’s yells of joy could be heard easily. On a journey, one of the ways Taggerung and his friends entertained themselves was by having contests of skill. They would fence, have races, archery tournaments, see who could pin who in wrestling (Charcoal almost always won that), and many other tests of combat and skill. Standing, Taggerung nodded to Charcoal. As Charcoal left the room, Taggerung quickly shed his nightclothes and put on his normal ones. Taking his many weapons, Taggerung strapped on his leather boots. Taking his wristknife, he sheathed it on the inside of his sleeve, where it would be hidden until he needed it. Covering his other weapons with the Melista skins, He straightened up and ran outside. His friends were all waiting for him, and even the lone supernatural, silent and stone faced, was sitting alongside them.
“Alright, team.” Taggerung said, pacing back and forth in front of them. “If ye want t` have a contest, then we've got t` get ourselves ready. First of all, we have t` finish cleanin` up this mess.” He nodded towards the pile of weapons they had taken from the slythersade bodies.
“Some o` those are good quality, and we don’t want t` just leave `em here t` rust. Now, here’s the deal; we finish sorting this mess, take a break fer lunch, and then, if we done wi` this, we’ll have a contest. Deal?” “Deal!” Shouted his friends, but before they could go anywhere, the supernatural, for the first time, stood up and began to speak. Taggerung and his friends stared on, but couldn’t make out his words. It spoke louder, and this time they could hear it.
“Please.” It said, voice hoarse. “Listen. I am sorry.” And then, He suddenly came up to Taggerung and faced him, slowly speaking. “I can tell you about the enemy. And I know what he is planning.” His words stuck in Taggerung’s mind, and he realized he had to listen. “ I did not attack you.” He continued, and then, to both Taggerung and his friends, he said two words. “Dragonclaw did.”
“First of all, who the hell are you, second, how in this cursed universe would Dragonclaw have attacked us if we all saw you do it, and third, why haven’t you told us this sometime sooner?” Charcoals angry statement caused the supernatural to cringe as small eruptions of magical flame appeared in front of Charcoal, a display of anger. I think you’d better answer his question, right now, right here.” Taggerung said. He flicked his knife and caught it as it sprung from the sheath, then cut the bonds that had held the supernatural’s hands behind his back. Rubbing at his sore wrists, the supernatural winced as blood was brought back into his hands. Sitting down, he spoke.
“I will tell you all I know. Sit down, for it is a long story. Taggerung and the others sat, and the supernatural continued. “ My name is Ravenwing. I have been alone since the age of twelve, and am sixteen now. I was traveling when they took me, those creatures you call slythersades. They spoke of Dragonclaw, and of how I would be of great use to him. I fought and fought, but they took me to him anyway. There he questioned me, about you, and especially Taggerung.” He peered forward at Taggerung.
“That must be you, isn’t it? Well, after that, he grew angry, for I had given him nothing, not out of defiance, but because I had no knowledge of you. Then he took me to a different room in the fortress I was in. He then forced a potion down my throat, and before I knew it, I felt all my energy seeping away from me. I tried t` strop it, but couldn’t. Then suddenly it was returning, only it was much more powerful. Then I was moving, an` I found I was not controlling` m`self. Dragonclaw was. Somehow, the potion had given him the control over my body, but he had added to my strength with powers and magic of his own. Then, the next thing I knew, I was fightin` ye, and I still couldn’t control m`self. He only had part control over me, an` wasn’t used to me, that was why ye beat `im. Since then, after ye captured me, he kept tryin` to take over, but only just now has the potion’s affects faded. And, I guess that is all.” Taggerung suddenly felt he believed him, and now that he thought about it, he realized that the potion must have been the formula that Ironclaw and Lightpaw had spoken of!
“I believe you.” He said calmly, and then asked the one called Ravenwing a final question. “You say your name is Ravenwing. You say that you are a fighter, born to survive. And, most importantly, you say that you hat e Dragonclaw? “The supernatural nodded. “Then Ravenwing, my friend, how would you like to join our team?” Ravenwing’s face lit up with pleasure as the other supernaturals nodded at Taggerung’s wit. “If you are serious, then I guess, well, yes!” Ravenwing replied, and with that, the supernatural Ravenwing was accepted into the team of Nartae, without a second thought.