But he choose against the life of war. He hated it. Unless it was for a noble cause and not a futile one, he would play no part. To kill a fellow bird was not worth the scars of burden in return for mere glory.

So he escaped to a retreat in the high mountains of Kawdon. A retreat of brothers and sisters who dedicated their lives to the studies of life. The laws of nature is what they were taught, in the hopes of one day becoming a master. Curetis, after studying countless different subjects, felt he belonged most to the art of Medicine.

Being such a strong flyer, Cure was found to be the most adequate retriever for the ingredients for the medicines; for he was a master at weather interpretation and could journey through unpredictable and ever-changing weather in the region of Kawdon with such grace. Cure, unlike many others, understood how the air rose and fall and how to use the different pockets of currents to his advantage. He knew the mountains and the surrounding area like the back of his wing. He was one of the very few members of the retreat who would leave its safety and travel the surrounding lands, and he was renowned for it.

Cure knew off by heart where each different herb, plant, flower and root grew in the land of Kawdon. But most importantly of all, he knew where the cave lay in the mountain, one which held an underground stream which cut for miles and miles into the deep Earth. It was in there, with his little Whoot, a master miner and its Lightmite, they could explore the underground shafts and retrieve the mystical crystals to cure the sick.

But I was part of the army now. And the lieutenant did not care to be careful towards me, even despite my status and what it meant to him. I was glad though; being royal was far from a treat. If I could escape it, I would. I'd pluck my whole body bare if it meant so. My brother is king and he is a great ruler; so seriously, who needed me?

He moved onto the largest, the last one. I steadied myself for the pain. And when it was done, I watched it as it fell gently to the ground. I would miss my crest, I really would. Of course it would grow back, but being part of the army, the Glarion army, we had to make sacrifices. The plucking of the crest showed that despite being birds of Rivian, known for their beauty over all others, we were not vain. I however think that was just a fancy excuse over the fact that, without our giant crest feathers, our battle rebelliar would fit over our heads better.

The rest of my regiment gawked when my helm was brought out. It was the first time I had seen it. It looked newly cast, a gorgeous deep golden colour, and the design in it's face was very intricately ingraved. A few little crystals sat on it too. Hmpf, was this really necessary? It was far more beautiful than anyone else's, save the King's of course. And we call ourselves not vain, how ironic.

The helmet was placed and my regiment bowed. I could feel the magic buzz through me as soon as it was placed. The crystals, I reminded myself. Crystals were known for their power. The Sky Talons, the name of our Regiment, was the top in our army. We were known to be the best fliers in all of Rivian. And we used a special type of crystal; Peridot, known to give strength of the heart to its wearer. Already I could feel confidence brimming through me.

After the ceremony was done, I took off my helm and picked up my newly plucked crest feather. I wanted to keep it, as a memory of my past life... I then headed back to my hollow, pondering. I had just been made second in command in the Glarion Army. And comprehending the sheer enormity of fact was difficult, even for me...

Your my best flyer, he remember his brother saying, and my Chief Marshal, so I knew you'd be the best one for the job. If there is anyone who can train those young un's to be the best flyers they can be it is you, Curetis. Cure growled to himself as he didn't believe his brother one bit. The fact was, he felt he was put to this job as a distraction. He had no idea where his regiment, The Sky Talons, were at this hour. When ever he returned from his flight training, they were gone, only to fly back into Glarion during the late hours of the night.

You alright, Marshal? His Wing Commander asked, noticing the worry on Cure's face. Cure shook himself, tucking all his thoughts away. Thanks Red, he answered, But I'm fine. Lies, he mind re-tolerated, but he pushed it away. He would do the job he was asked, and he would do it well no matter what.

When it was over and the first streaks of darkness began to fade over the sky, Cure headed back to his regiments head quarters. And as usual, none of the Sky Talons were in sight. Where is everyone, he grumbled. He was second in command; he should be informed! Yet whenever he asked the rest of his regiment where they were at this hour, they always fell silent. It was eerie, and Cure was determined to discover what they were doing that was so top secret it had to be hidden from him.

So silently his flew off into the night. When he finally reached the cost of Glarion Island, he saw a blur of light beneath the clouds. It glowed eerily far into the horizon. And perplexed, he left the boundaries of his island and headed out to sea.

It was a short flight as the winds were in his favour, pushing him over the sea quickly. When he finally could see the first sight of the mainland, the distant mountains reaching into the heavens, he realized what the light was. A blazing forest fire had spread across clusters of trees across the coastline. And horrified, knowing a port post was there, he speeded towards it. The noise was what hit him first; the huge roar of it, something he was familiar with rattled his eardrums. He always had felt the noise was more overwhelming than the heat. Then the heat hit you next; fires scorched feathers, and once a shaft had been scorched it would never grow back. Lethal.

He flew high overhead, but the smoke mixed with the night made it impossible to see anything that was going on. He tried gliding down closer but then the up-drafts hit him, causing him to spiral back up again. Frustrated, he dived headlong, not caring when the intense heat hit him as he approached the roaring fires. And as he did he was greeted by a horrible sight. There, banking across the outskirts of the fire, was the Sky Talons. He heart froze a little in its place when he instantly spotted members his regiment carrying buckets and the glint of red rocks glowing in there. Fire crystals! He gasped out, No, it can't be! But it was. And that meant one thing. The Sky Talons had caused the fire.

To be continued...