Children's Vision (V)

"So how many beast-kin kids do we have?" I asked, wondering who I had bought to be freed. Hopping from one city to the next, we destroyed and even tricked quite a handful of slave dealers, which I was proud of. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to say that it was becoming a lot less.

"Seven," Phil spoke. "Every single one of them had the same vision at the same time. Seth confirmed it this morning."

"Okay, if I understand you straight, today is the day the Black Gryphon awakens?" Then it hit me. Just a while ago, while I was sleeping, I too had a dream of a Black Gryphon appearing. What if it was the same dream that all the Beast-kin had? I couldn't help but wonder.

"Yes, all Beast-kin alike are in danger."

"So, that's why we were in such a hurry to pack things away," I said, realizing now how serious this was becoming.

"That's not all; a city will burn in the fire to herald it's coming. It always starts with the hated enemy that killed it. They will go straight to ravage the Beast-kin's city then move to another and another. The Black Gryphon is known to fly around the world and demolish civilizations."

I shuddered just thinking about the amount of destruction they would cause.

"Don't all legendary monsters do that?" I asked. I assumed that all of them would create chaos everywhere they went.

"Yes and no. The most vicious ones are the Dragons and the Gryphons. Their attacks can be frequent as in days, weeks, or months. It all depends on the mood they are in. The following are the Leviathan and the Hydra, which does not destroy things often. They usually space out their attacks in large gaps. The last two the Titan and the phoenix are known to not come out from hiding for a couple of centuries, but things can change."

"So, no city is safe." I looked over my shoulder and saw the human city slowly shrink in size. The horse was being pushed to walk faster than when we came. "But how is the place that we live in any different?"

Phil stared at me strangely at the question that I had stated. "You have to ask?"

"Yes." I didn't see the answer that he could see.

"Think about it; strong monster's mark their territories like a wolf. This keeps certain monsters at bay. We have you." He pointed out, making me think about what he meant. Marking territories wasn't what I ever did. Maybe the barrier around the city might be the cause of it? I wasn't sure.

"Wait, you think this is going to work?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Yes." Phil was confident in his answer.

"What is Phil talking about?" Siva asked, confused. She didn't hear the whole conversation, but she looked at me, wondering what I had hidden. She scooted closer to look at us two.

I unconsciously spoke, "He's saying we have a legendary creature ourselves that can protect us all."

"Really!? How?" Siva eyes were full of fear and worry.

This was the typical reaction I would expect. Phil, on the other hand, didn't see it that way.

Phil continued to explain. "There have been records of the legendary monster's bones keeping the awakened Ones at bay that kept a certain city from total annihilation. Think about it, almost half the world in the history book that I had you read all went to war for one thing."

"Bones or pieces of the legendary creature," I spoke right after, instantly realizing what he meant.

"Exactly, wars were fought to obtain the parts from Legendary Monster when they are killed. A piece of their bones is known to keep even small monsters at bay for decades. A whole carcass would keep a city safe for two thousand years, probably even saving them from any catastrophe even if the Legendary monsters end up in front of their doorsteps."

"So you're saying where you live, you have something like that?" Siva's eyes brighten up in interest.

"Something like that." Phil was staring at me, motioning me to play along.

"Yea. We have something like that. Found it out by pure chance." I coughed and nodded.

"Then isn't your village the safest place to be right now?"

"Yes."

"This is wonderful to hear!" Siva said in delight. "Not only you have freed us, but you are allowing us to stay under protection. I can't thank you enough."

"It's not a big deal," I spoke. Honestly, I hoped what Phil had stated was true. If it was not, then we were in big trouble. It sucked. I could barely do anything when I was away from my territory.

"Why did you tell her that?" I leaned over and whispered towards Phil.

"It's the best chance we got. I need to warn grandma and grandpa. Only a Beast-kin can sense the Black Gryphon's awakening."

I couldn't help but feel pressured. If this was true, we all needed to have a countermeasure ready if the Black Gryphon came. I sat up straight, thinking about what I just learned. "Wait it's not the end of the year, how come it awaken so early?"

"I don't know. We are only two weeks away from the new year, but for some reason, it is waking up today. If I had the answer, I would've told you." Phil spoke. He, too, was concerned about how differently the legend was changing.

"This is an ill omen." Siva shook her head side-to-side, her lips and cheeks slightly pinching from nervousness. "Never in history has this happened before."

"No matter, overthinking of it won't do well with our health," I spoke, trying my best to quell everyone's fear. Even still, the tense air did not dissipate.

"Yea, you're right."

We continued towards our destination without a single rest. The sun reached its highest point, and we all glanced around with worry. Our eyes could not leave the sky for the fear that the Black Gryphon might appear before us at any moment. Throughout the day, we rode in silence, straining our ears for any unusual sounds. The Beast-kin were on edge, and it got worse when the sun was slowly sinking into the distance as evening welcomed us.

"Anything?" I asked. I was beginning to stress out from the high tension in the air.

Siva shook her head.

Throughout the day and night, we continued forward in silence. Even Phil was up all night with worry creased on his face. The second day was uneventful, the Beast-kin and the horses were tiring out fast. We took a short break that lasted throughout the night until the morning.

I was busy helping in packing away the supplies when we heard an unusual screech that pierced through the sky.

"What was that?" I turned behind me and looked up into the sky. I was hoping that it wasn't the Gryphon.

A black silhouette flew high up in the air coming in our direction.

"The Black Gryphon!" Screams and panic could be heard from the people.

"Quickly, get into the forest!" Phil shouted, directing everyone.

The horses neighed in fright. People and Beast-kin ran towards the Forgotten Forest in fear.

I could see that the wing creature was getting towards me at a frightening speed. At the rate that we were going, I knew we were going to get caught.

I didn't understand why now? Why was the Black Gryphon coming towards me? My mind went blank, unable to find the answer. Without thinking, I jumped off the wagon; I decided to stay behind.

"Berry?" Phil yelled, he scrambled to grab hold of me but was too late. He grabbed air.

"Go! I'll keep whatever is busy!" I rushed forward.

"Are you out of your mind?" Phil yelled, looking at me with complete bewilderment.

I dashed into the trees, slipping away from the group as my mind raced with adrenaline.

"Kwwakk! Kwak! Kwwakkk!" The screech intensified and grew bolder.

There was no time to wait; at that moment, I shifted. I could feel the bone snapping, my fingers and tones expanding. Even my neck grew long like a whip as fangs of glittering pearl, ready to dig into my enemy. Wings sprouted out from my back, beating out as it picked up dust. Even though I was not in full size, I was at least the size of a school bus because of my restriction. I could not let whatever this creature was to take on my friends.

Bursting through the trees, I inhaled a sharp intake of breath. With a vicious roar, I blew fire at the monster.

A squawk could be heard from the flaming inferno, and upon contact of flames, a black barrier completely shrouds around its body. Not a single flame touched its body. It wasn't until a gust of black wind blew past the monster, making the fire disappear into smokes. A Black Majestic Gryphon appeared from the mists exactly like my dreams. Its golden beak snapped towards me in an attempt to bite off my arm. With a sharp turn, I lashed out with my tail and hit the Gryphon squarely in the face.

The force of the snap caused a crackling sound that made the Gryphon fly downwards into the ground. Like a bullet, the Gryphon flew with such force that a loud bang could be heard, echoing through the lands.

Siva, Seth, and the other Beast-kin turned around to look behind. Their sharp eyes could see the big smoke circling in the sky, creating its own thunder clouds. Claps of lighting followed quickly back.

The dust cleared out, and the Gryphon shot out. A black glow appeared from its mouth, and a beam of black light shot towards me. Alarmed, I swerve towards the side just in the nick of time. The beam barely grazed my shoulders, leaving behind a small streak mark on my white scale. I did not want to think about how bad it would be if the beam had made an impact.

The fear was gone, and my emotions were strangely controlled. I did not know if it was because I was in my dragon form or if it was just me in general. With a sharp swerve to the right, the Gryphon banked towards me with the wing outstretched.

"Enemy!" The Gryphon squawked in a loud voice. He was staring at me with killing intent. I stared back with just as much ferocity as I could muster.

"Bring it bird brain!" I roared. Our claws tangled with one another. It was an aerial battle for dominance, and I could tell that the Gryphon's power was extraordinary. If I was not careful, I was sure that I would lose this battle of strength. I was not in my usual strength and size.

"Kill!"

"Shut it, bird brain!" I snapped at its face.

"I'll eat you!" The Gryphon squawked, twisting in midblock.

"Yea, I can play that game too!" With a snap of my head, I lunged towards its neck. At the last moment, the Gryphon swerved its head. My teeth instead dug into the nape of its shoulder. I could taste the blood gushing through my mouth, and I furiously tore through skin and feathers.

The Gryphon's claws slipped on my scale, creating sparks. Its sharp beaks strike downwards onto my back. I felt a sharp pain as its bill went through one of my scales and into my muscles.

My hands feverishly claw the Gryphon's side as black feathers fell downwards like a comet. With a sharp inhale of my breath, I blew a small burst of fire at its body, which rarely did any damage.

"Die!" The Gryphon pushed me back, causing us to detach from each other. Once again, a jet of black beams shot out towards its mouth. This time the energy made an impact on my chest. Like a drill, I could feel the energy digging into my scales.

With heavy hands, I raised my claws that were engulfed with fire. With a groan, I placed my hands towards the oncoming beam blocking the black energy with my fire energy. Upon contact, electric sparks of red and black erupted around my hands. Engulfing in a deep breath, I sent out a jet of pure blue fire towards the Gryphon.

With a screech, the Gryphon dipped under the fire and twirled. The Gryphon bolted upwards into the sky, and I followed behind its tail. Each burst of air, I shot out fire from my lips. I was not going to let this Gryphon getaway.

Oh no, today was going to be chicken soup day, and the Black Gryphon was on the menu.

We flew and tangled into each other's embrace. During the exchange, we weren't able to harm each other a single time to the point of being severely injured.