Chapter 12: Thayra Family

Following the towering beast through the forest, he witnessed the might of a true mana beast. The mother thayra effortlessly shredded the trees with a swing of her hand. Predators that don't know the strength of a full-grown and adapted mana beast got blasted by a sizzling hot substance that clings to the surface and burned away till either nothing was left, or the liquid was fully used. The liquid was clearly a mutation and the sharp claws and scales too. Her size was also abnormally large for a thayra. She was a true mana beast, as he could sense the dense mana core while walking next to her.

She didn't appreciate the scanning he did and threatened to bite his head off, but thanks to the little one he won't have to reform his head.

But the piercing gaze left Oberon uneasy, while the culprit just hung around my shoulders and cooed innocently.

...

(Oberon POV)

The walk took almost a full day but the group eventually reached a large den under a giant tree. The tree seemed far bigger than the others and seemingly one of the few constants in the ever-changing landscapes of this area.

The mother drakeling used her two large wings to heave a vegetation-covered stone plate up and signaled us to walk inside. The first thing I noticed was a draft of clean uncorrupted mana.

She stared at me like a hawk as I walk past her and down the tunnel. The timer slowly trickled up as the mana filled my body like a dry sponge in water. The walls were lit up by glowing moss, flowers, and rocks.

The sight was quite dazzling as all the lights on the ceiling reminded me of a starry night. I couldn't enjoy the view for long as the large mana beast loomed behind me. "Keep walking Sakata's Tool. We aren't here on a home visit."

"..."'

I wasn't pleased with how the thayra called me. It was a degrading insult that the enemies called us. In the past, I didn't put much thought into it as it was a petty attempt to distract us, but now it irked me. But nonetheless, I nodded and continued walking. Her large mouth glowed from the hot substance threatening to spew out as she growled at me. The creature on my shoulder just huffed and ignored it while periodically tapping on the side of my face.

She became more daring every moment, seemingly not scared of me any longer, was she even scared of me in the first place?

Those thoughts didn't last long as we reached a large room. A small flowing stream was at the corner of the room with light blue grass covering the area. A few comfy sleeping spots were on the other side made out of pelts and hides from different animals.

But what caught my attention was the two other thayras resting on the sleeping spots.

The largest one is half my size and doubles my length. It also has a slight green tint on the black scales and feathers, a telltale sign of having a mutation. The smallest one, who was currently munching on some fruits, is even smaller than the one on my shoulders, being only the size of my arm.

The larger one noticed us the moment we stepped into the room but the small one was content with eating the fruits.

"Latos, get Luta to her room. We have a visitor."

Hearing her mother's voice the smaller one looked up and let out a small chirping sound. She got up and waddled towards her but Latos used his wing to pick her up.

"Who is the visitor, mother?"

She let out a snarl. Looking down at me I could see the clear distaste for me. "A Sakats golem."

Latos glared at me and stood tall. "The ones from the stories?" His anger flared as he noticed that the little one was wrapped around my shoulder, smiling.

"He is a guest... for the moment. So just get your sister out of the room. We have things to discuss."

"Understood." With a quick nod, he walked out of the room from a different exit. "Come on Luta. You have eaten enough, we can play elsewhere." The small one struggled and protested in her brother's wings.

As they left we walked towards the sleeping place and she gently laid down and stared at me who was standing a few meters away.

"Now sit down and tell me why a Sakata Golem suddenly appeared in such a cursed land."

My face formed letters but the giant thayra just sighed. "So they still haven't developed golems that could speak. To think that no progress has been made in such a long time. Can you at least form a mana link?"

Having no reason to explain further I only nodded as I established the connection.

I sat in front of her as the small drakeling around my neck got off and sat beside me.

"Why are you here Sakata Golem?"

'Is that what humans call Deja Vu?'

...

After telling her my reasons for why I encroached on her territory and why her daughter was in my presence she finally relented her piercing gaze, to a frown.

Pointing at the thayra who was staring at me I asked. "Why is the little one, following me since I arrived in this place?"

"This troublemaker is quick to be fascinated. I told her many stories about the Sakata Golems, but it seems that my stories have the opposite effect. And stop calling her little one, her name is Cara."

As the connection is only between two individuals the little one just silently sat there.

"Can she speak?"

"Yes, but not Sakatarian, her vocal cord isn't fully developed yet. But she can still understand it."

"I see."

After an awkward silence, she cut the link and got up.

"As we have agreed on, I will help you guide you to the staff where it might be and you leave this place alone."

I nodded at her but I could see the little one, Cara, jump up and sprint toward her mother ready to argue with her. She has quite an intriguing personality. Too fierce and daring for her strength and no real survival instincts, but still smart enough to survive in this place.

The two left the room and left me alone in this big room. I stood up and inspected the place. Especially the glowing vegetation and the water.

Touching the bioluminescent moos and grass I could feel small amounts of "clean" mana in it. It was taking in the corrupted mana and purifying it. Very interesting. I took a few seeds from the grass and stored them inside my body. Could be quite useful later on, even planting some around the Castle of Rukia, to refine the ambient mana even more. It was probably the reason why the young thayras haven't lost their minds or have excessive mutations.

Scanning the small stream next to it it was clean and non-polluted.

Sensing people coming into the room I stopped and turned toward them.

The mother Thayra with her three children entered the room. "You can sleep here if you want, do not leave the room without permission."

Nodding towards her I already saw the little Cara tackle me and sit on my head. I Ignored it and walked towards them, watching their behavior.

Their intelligence could be compared to mana beasts and other intelligent beasts. The distinction between sapient lifeforms and intelligent beasts was mainly if they would form cities, towns, or something similar and are able to defend those places. There are other factors to it, but not my concern if one is labeled as a sapient race or just intelligent beasts.

But as drakelings they could be in the same group as dragons or even Lizard Folks.

The family ate some smoked meat with fruits. The smallest one, Luta, was glancing toward me while she ate. Even offered me some of her portion which I declined.

The two little ones are quite friendly, an uncommon trait in beasts, even for less feral ones.

As they ate I sensed an approaching figure. A large thayra head poked in from the main doorway. Its head was massive with large plattings and deep red eyes. Spotting me with the others, it calmly walked towards the family. He was oddly calm when he entered the room.

It stopped and sat next to the mother and wrapped a large black golden wing around her before looking at Layla. "I didn't know we had guests, and I guess you have brought it here, Layla." His voice was deep and vibrated the air.

She nodded with a hint of pride.

"Good job. Now, how about you tell me what happened here? We aren't usually kind to Sakata Golems, no matter how long it has been." He looked towards his mate or wife.

"Tss, I found the little troublemaker with the golem. She was adamant in letting him explain himself. He will be gone tomorrow. I will lead him towards the old remains and he will not bother us anymore." Layla pouted and protested but she shrugged back when her father gave her a side glance.

The large drakeling turned his head towards Oberon, "Hmmmm... you look familiar."

Forming a quick mana link I replied, "To my knowledge, I haven't seen a thayra up close."

His face showed an emotion I wasn't familiar with. "Hmmm..." After a short pause, he puffed a plume of smoke out of his nose and said, "Then you are welcome here for the time being, you can call me Kasra."

"I appreciate the hospitality. Name Oberon."

Cutting the link he turned towards his family. "Stop gawking and continue eating. I will join you shortly."

The others seemed to be quite stunned at how the large thayra behaved, so was I. I was expecting some resistance and was already prepared to fight and take hostages if it came to the worst. But luckily such unnecessary energy expenditure was spared.

...

AN: Just wanted to see how well I can write a Golem's POV. I think I will stick to 3rd POV for a while. Anyway, thanks for reading and don't forget to leave some reviews and Power Stones!!!