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Oresetes flew for a full day and night, not stopping
for anything, before finally collapsing, exhausted, on a rocky cave ledge. The
air was getting colder, he had noticed, and the skies were often a stormy gray
in colour. He knew that he was getting closer. Oresetes relished the feel of
the wind ruffling through his feathers, it was such a great sensation. He felt
better, to. As if a huge weight had been lifted off his back. He was free! Only,
what would he do now? He supposed that he could try and find his mother, or
his father, it didn't really matter. He needed a goal. He couldn't just linger
for the rest of his life. Oresetes stared out over the star-strewn sky, his
eye set on the huge, glowing white moon. He sighed, he felt so pointless when
he witnessed sights like these. How many people really cared about him? Julie
probably didn't, no anymore. And his mother... She obviously had no problem
abandoning him when he was little more than a kit. Who was he, anyway? And what
was he doing here?
"What did I expect?" he whispered.
Suddenly, all of his elation at being free disappeared,
and was replaced by a large, empty feeling in his stomach. No one was here for
him, no one cared. Oresetes looked down from his ledge out over the huge expanse
of snowcapped forest. His eyes came to rest upon a huge lake, shimmering silver
in the moonlight. Oresetes blinked once, furrowing his brow in concentration.
He felt like diving down at the water, letting it seep through his mane, sink
into his feathers... Before he could stop himself, Oresetes had dove of the
cliff face and put himself into a pitch-dive, headed straight for the lake.
Oresetes shrieked in alarm and tried pumping his wings to regain altitude, but
it was a lost cause. The force of the rushing air was too powerful. He let one
low moan of despair escape his throat as he plummeted into the crystalline depths
of the lake.
Oresetes crashed down through the glassy surface,
and plunged maybe a few meters into the lake, but he came bobbing back up. He
couldn't sink, he was too light. Oresetes shook his head. The icy water had
cleared his mind. He was surprised the lake hadn't been frozen. Oresetes clambered
clumsily back onto the shore, and lay down, wheezing. He lay there for awhile,
looking out over the lake, not really feeling anything. He had almost drifted
to sleep when he heard a sharp crack! sound, coming from behind him. Oresetes
snapped back up, his eyes roving around furiously. He growled low and threatening,
trying to discourage whoever was out there from coming any closer.
"Don't worry, I mean you no harm." As if out
of nowhere, a wizened, female Eyrie came padding softly forward. Oresetes gasped
in shock, he recognised her! The flowing rags of birchcloak, the necklaces,
it was Ternayro. He remembered now, being in her nest, looking fearfully around.
And his mother, she was so sad. But why? He took a step backward. Ternayro smiled
softly.
"You returned, Oresetes Icetalon."
Oresetes clacked his beak. "Yes, I did. I was
different from those other, wimpy pets. I wanted more, I wanted independence
and freedom."
Ternayro bowed her head. "I know. I sentenced
you to that life."
"Why?"
"I needed to. You were full of anger, I could
see it. You were not fit for the life of the wild Eyrie. You were dangerous.
Though I see now that you were not meant to be a pet, either." Her eyes sparkled.
"You certainly are a broken puzzle piece, eh?"
"Why did you take me away? Do you have any idea
what I've been through?"
"I've been watching you."
"How?"
"The lake. It is no ordinary lake, Oresetes.
I can see the past, the future, and the present. But only I can."
Oresetes turned away. "I don't believe you."
Ternayro cackled. "Don't believe me, eh? Don't
think the lake is magical? Well look at you! See how you've changed!"
Oresetes raised a brow. Clearly the old Eyrie
was crazy, but he decided to humour her. "All right, I'll go look at myself
in the lake."
The surface of the lake was so calm and still,
that it was as good as any mirror. Oresetes looked over the edge, and almost
did a double-take. There, staring straight back at him, was an Eyrie. Icy blue
in colour, with a perfect white snowflake mark on his right foreleg. That Eyrie
was him. Oresetes trembled. What had happened to his electric paint job?
"The lake has powers, sonny boy, powers that
you'll never be able to comprehend."
Oresetes turned. "W... why do I look this way?"
"Because," Ternayro said, "you are the Eyrie
of winter."
There was a blinding flash of light, and Oresetes
had to cover his eyes with his wings. When he looked again, Ternayro was gone.
***
Stearoyx had spent the last month strengthening and reinforcing his troops.
He now had a total of ten-score Draik soldiers, each one a cold-hearted mercenary.
Stearoyx stood before them, the firelight playing eerily on his grotesque features.
"In three days, we march onto Eyrie territory.
Take no prisoners! Soon we will have their land, and we will say goodbye to
these putrid caves forever!"
One thousand Draik warriors raised their weapons
in salute and began chanting,
"Stearoyx! Stearoyx! Stearoyx! Stearoyx! Stearoyx!"
***
Oresetes was searching for his home. He knew that, when he saw it, he would
remember it. Hopefully he could find it, and if he did, hopefully his mother
would be there. He wanted to see her so badly, and tell her how sorry he was.
He was dangerous, he realised that now. He shuddered, remembering his outburst
upon discovering his true name, and then all the deceit and lying that he had
done. Oresetes suddenly felt ashamed, no wonder Julie had wanted to abandon
him! He straightened up, resolution shining in his eyes. Well, now things were
going to be different. He was going to be kind, and just and brave and all that
bunk. No, he reprimanded himself sharply. It's not bunk. It's good, very good.
He had watched some adventure shows on television, and he knew how the heroes
acted. They were always valiant and perilous. They were perfect. Was he perfect?
No, of course not... Oresetes was temporarily brought out of his reverie by
the sight of three large Eyrie, flaying in an arrowhead fashion. Oresetes was
puzzled. Why were they in a such a tight-nit group? He didn't have much time
to ponder this, because the three Eyrie soon caught sight of him and came gliding
over to him. The Eyrie at the front, a yellow female, stared suspiciously at
him.
"State your name and heritage." She commanded
curtly.
Oresetes stared blankly at her. He had suddenly
felt overcome by a strange, warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest. The yellow female
clacked her beak impatiently.
"Well? We don't have all day here!"
Oresetes shook his head, to clear it. "Uh, I'm
Oresetes Icetalon. Son of... Son of..."
He smiled, embarrassed, at her. "I don't really
remember my parent's names."
"What? What do you mean, how could you forget
your parent's names?"
Oresetes lowered his head sadly. "Well, you
see, I was sort of abandoned at birth and..." He looked into her eyes. "I never
knew my parent's names."
The Eyrie furrowed her brow, as if trying to
recall some forgotten detail. "Hang on, you said you were Oresetes, right?"
Oresetes nodded.
"Oh! I know about you, my mother told me about
you. Apparently Ternayro said that you were dangerous or something, and that
you had to be expelled from the colony." She raised a brow. "And now you're
back? Oh well, I suppose that's okay. You don't look that dangerous to me."
She smiled warmly. "You're the son of Galewing
Stonebeak and Kenya Freefeather."
Oresetes grinned. He knew his parent's names!
That was great! He smiled gratefully at the yellow Eyrie. "Thank you! But, who
are you?"
The yellow Eyrie raised her head and folded
her ears back against her head. "I am Celeste Sharpeye. I serve under all the
Eyrie in the colony, to protect everyone from the invasions of the vicious Draik
lord Stearoyx." Celeste bared her claws and curled her tail proudly. "I am the
daughter of Ulysses Barkclaw and Termina Brightfeather, and I am a warrior!"
Oresetes grinned. "Nice name, Celeste. Do you
think that you could take me the colony's leader? I wish to speak with him,
or her."
Celeste and her two companions lowered their
heads respectfully. "Our brave king, Falstaff Oakwing, went onto rest after
suffering from great wounds in a terrible battle against the Draik packs in
the west. They have been attacking us frequently, and we fear that a war may
break out. We have no king, or queen. No candidate for either position has stepped
forward."
Oresetes sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know.
Do you know where my mother, Kenya Freefeather's nest is?"
Celeste nodded. "Yes, I do." She made a vague
gesture with her wing. "Her nest is in the northern area of the forest, I'll
take you there, if you like."
"I'd very much like that."
***
Oresetes and Celeste were flying at a fast pace towards Kenya's nest. Celeste
had instructed her companions to continue and patrol and notify the Eyrie general
if they caught any sight of a Draik scout. Oresetes liked flying with Celeste.
She never ran out of interesting things to say, though she was just as happy
listening to Oresetes' stories of the Neopian world, where pets were made to
serve the humans. Celeste made a face.
"That's awful, who would want to live a human?
I'd hate it. I'd much rather be free."
Oresetes grinned. "That's the way I felt! That's
why I left."
Celeste chuckled. That was another thing that
Oresetes liked about her, she had a great laugh. "Wow, you'd have to be pretty
brave to fly off on your own!"
Oresetes nodded. "I had wild blood in my veins,
I was never meant to be a human's pet."
Celeste blushed, and turned away. "Here we are."
She suddenly said.
"Where?" Oresetes inquired.
Celeste pointed with her wing. "Over there,
here, follow the direction my wing is pointing in."
Oresetes squinted, and at last he saw it. It
was a tiny little bundle of twigs and mud, nestled snugly between the boughs
of two massive, dead pine trees. With a sense of bewilderment, he soared softly
over to the nest, searching for any signs of movement. When he made it, he saw
that the entrance was very small. Almost too small for him to get in. Oresetes
stuck his head in the nest and peered around.
"Mom? Mom, it's me, Oresetes."
Oresetes heard a soft rustling sound, and at
last his mother came into view. She yawned, and looked at the large, icy blue
Eyrie that had made it's way into her home. She blinked, and gasped.
"Oresetes? You came back! But why?..."
Oresetes nuzzled her affectionately. "Because,
I didn't belong in Neopia. I longed to be free."
Kenya pulled away from her son. "Ternayro ordered
me to. She said that you were, that you were..."
"Dangerous." Oresetes whispered.
Kenya nodded, tears forming in her eyes. "Did
you think I wanted to? I didn't. My only son... I had to say goodbye before
I even met you, really. Ternayro said that you were dangerous."
Oresetes bowed his head. "I know mom, I was.
But I've changed, for the better. I identified my faults, and I dealt with them."
She stared off into the distance. "With you
gone, I was all alone."
Oresetes stepped forward. "What about my father,
Galewing?"
Kenya sighed sadly. "He's dead. The scouts said
that he was ambushed by a squadron of Draiks, and... and..."
Kenya buried her head in Oresetes' wing and
sobbed. Oresetes stared forward, his eyes like twin chips of ice.
"The Draiks will pay. If they start a war, I'll
fight them. I'll fight them as long as I have air in my lungs and a single talon.
I'll fight them to avenge Galewing and Falstaff's deaths."
Kenya looked up, surprised. "You know of Falstaff?"
Oresetes nodded. "Celeste told me."
Kenya smiled. "Celeste? Is she here? Such a
nice Eyrie, she is."
Oresetes blushed. "Yeah, she's nice. And she's
here, to. Celeste, hey Celeste! Mom wants to see you."
Celeste poked her head shyly around the entrance,
smiling at Kenya. Kenya beckoned her in with her wing, holding out some apples
that she had stored in the nest.
"Poor Oresetes. You must be hungry."
Oresetes wolfed down the apple in seconds, Celeste
frowning and kidding him good-naturedly about his eating habits.
"Really, Oresestes. You're acting like a starved
Lupe! Didn't those humans teach you to chew with your beak closed?"
Oresetes batted Celeste playfully with his wing.
"And why aren't you eating anything? Is an apple not good for you, or is it
my presence that's offending you?"
Kenya chuckled, watching as the two young Eyries
play-fought, tumbling around on the floor of the nest. Everything would have
been perfect, had it not been for that frantic Eyrie messenger that burst through
the entrance, carrying his bad news.
"The Draiks are coming! Ten-score of them, everyone
come with me to the central roost for a council of war. The Draiks are coming!
To be continued... | 
